He caved my cage ! ! !

Last night I was the victim of a vicious slap shot from the hash marks. Took the puck right between the peepers...

I wear a Itech Profile with the cat's eye cage. The center bar is bent in and to the left a bit, and the left upper eye bar is bent up a bit. Is this cage still safe??

[jay]

I wouldn't think so. Get a new one ASAP. It is not worth the risk! And kick that shooter's ass next time you see him!

[This message has been edited by jay (edited November 09, 1999).]

I agree! If it's bent, then the metal's fatigued and may already have fractures in it you can't see.

Don't take the chance -- they're relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of a plastic surgeon.

[Bernie]

Dude, there's NO question about it. The cage must be replaced immediately and you shouldn't be playing until so.


Bernie

[Squealagig]

Then give the bill to the guy who broke it

[badgerit]

Hmmm...I'd say keep it another couple games...it should be safe...

[TartanBill]

!!DO NOT USE AGAIN!!

The cage strength relies on both the concave shape and the weld joints. Both have been compromised. Another hard shot could go straight through.

Your cage did its job, now let it retire.

[Bryan]

Bah!! Don't be such fearmongers about head gear. It only has to stop a puck, not an oncoming car.

I really think the equipment industry is way overstating the importance of top level head protection, just to get the big dollar sales from worrywort mothers.

My Jofa cage has partially caved a few times. I just hammer it back out and put it back on. I even re-welded one of the joints once.

I have a basically new top of the line pro mask, but I absolutely do not believe it one iota that I am protected any better by it than I am by my Jofa helmet and cage that's over 15 years old.

[badgerit]

I hope a large portion of that was facetious...otherwise you must have balls the size of Cleveland! You hammer your cage back into shape?!?!?

[Ryano42]

Don't fix it and maybe you'll get the Long John Silver look.
Arrrrr!

[Bryan]

Not facetious at all. This is something I believe very strongly. That the new expensive masks, and the certification, and the "authorized painters only" is all a great big scam.

Now, I would replace the cage once in a while if they were still available, but the ones I use went out of production over 15 years ago, so I have no choice but to fix them myself. They don't show up at used stores very often, and I do buy em whenever I see em. But, every one of those cages is at least 15 years old and who knows what kind of impacts they've seen?

[Bernie]

Bryan, really. I can't believe of all people YOU would trivialize the importance of the cage/helmet. Even if you do mend your own cages, you know it isn't the right thing to do so I hope you aren't condoning this action. The benefits of repairing your cage simply don't outweigh the risks. And I'm sure Tartan will agree with me that banging it back into shape compromises the integrity of the metal even further because of the repeated back n forth stretching.
At least you oughta tell people "don't try this at home" or something!

Bernie

[Squealagig]

Bryan try this. Take a paper clip and bend it backwards and forwards several times. See what happens?

[This message has been edited by Squealagig (edited November 09, 1999).]

[lynchmob]

Squealagig, you've convinced me to stop making my own cages out of paperclips.

Bryan, do you mean you pound out a totally caved in cage (which is nuts), or just fix a bent bar here and there? (which I agree is perfectly reasonable)

Thanks for all the advice... I will replace the cage.

And just so you all know, the shooter lined me up on the shot... he even smiled a bit at me when he let it go.