Sno- Seal or Silicone for pads

[993Butterfly]

I have both products now and after reading several posts about each both pros and cons. I need to know what is your experience with the product you preferred or tried

Application easy or difficult
butterfly sliding rating 1= worst, 10= best
slide control 1-10
durability 1-10
cleanup of puck marks easy or difficult
problems if any

Thanks for your comments I will post my own after this week. I am starting with Sno Seal cause I can take it off if when the time comes. Not sure how to take off silicon yet but I will have a solution before I do it.

[the_chief1]

I made a thread about this and they all said to use the Armor All for leather, so I bought that and sprayed the insides of the pads. I haven't been on the ice yet, but they feel really slippery when I run my hand along the landing gear.

[Keeps33]

Snoseal keeps water from soaking into the pad, doesnt help slide at all. To make the pads "slicker" i would use Armor all, its cheap and you can buy it anywhere!

[the_chief1]

Originally Posted by Keeps33

Snoseal keeps water from soaking into the pad, doesnt help slide at all. To make the pads "slicker" i would use Armor all, its cheap and you can buy it anywhere!

Yea, it definately makes them feel slicker. I'll let you guys know how they feel on the ice next time I get on the ice.

[993Butterfly]

I heard and read it screws up the ice and wears off quickly. Is this true?

[hYPNO]

I use good old fashioned Kiwi Mink Oil or Kiwi Dubbin with Silicon. I started using it on the old leather pads to waterproof and help prevent wear and continued using it on the weave . Works great to help waterproof and the puck marks come off more easily, but does not do a lot to increase slide but does help a bit. The only other thing is , that you might want to apply it a few times a year , but it is cheap and can be purchased most from places that sell shoe polish.

[Bryan]

Armor All for Leather is pretty good. No issues other than the fact you have to keep reapplying it. Can get pretty expensive compared to once or twice a year application of Sno-Seal.

Sno-Seal is the absolute best both for the long term durability of the gear and for enhancing sliding properties. It lasts a long time, and water-proofs better than anything you can buy.

Spray silicone is a big risk. Many such sprays are solvent based. They will water-proof the gear, and enhance sliding for a short while, but they also cause the surface color of the pads to wear off much faster. It also wears off the pads quickly when you use them, so you have to keep re-applying it. Any manufacturer or retailer who recommends it is intentionally trying to make sure your gear does not last so that you'll have to come back and buy new stuff.

Scotch Gard is garbage. Does next to nothing to water proof or protect, and literally nothing to help sliding.

Bottom line: Sno-Seal beeswax is the very best, hands down.

[njt42]

Bryan, I have sno-seal in my garage, should I apply it to the whole pad or just the calf? I have Vaughn V2s BTW.

[The Brick]

I was using a KIWI shoe shine sponge with clear polish. before the game, about 2 hours, i would rub on contact areas, eg. landing pad,inside of toe, where skate contacts underside of pad. When it ran out i forgot to get more before next game. I took armour-all Ultimate tire shine gel and soaked some into the sponge, applyed to pads put cover over sponge and put in bag. pads felt weird and sticky. In the lockerroom I noticed that where i had put the tire shine was very slick and even slid a little on the rubber floor mats. I took out the sponge and made a second swipe on the toe and landing pad. the first two ore three warm-up b-fly slides were way too long and no control but after that it was perfect, even with crappy ice. I dont do the face with anything. Armour-all gives no rebound controll, pucks go everywhere in a hurry and sno-seal seems to make puck marks harder to remove, IMO.

[ThePM]

Originally Posted by Bryan

Scotch Gard is garbage. Does next to nothing to water proof or protect, and literally nothing to help sliding. .

I beg to differ. Using the green bottle, the sliding on my koho's improved dramatically. I would re apply the spray every 4-6 ice times and it worked absolute wonders. I've also tested it on my Smiths, but found they slide so well that the spray is unnecessary.

[blacksv1]

I had good luck with SnoSeal on my old Bauers. If you take the time to do a small area at a time heating it with a hair dryer first, it will last. I only had to reapply on the wear spots about once a month. It did help the sliding alot to it your leather is worn.

[993Butterfly]

I found the products Sno-Seal and Sno-seal silicone called Water guard for synthetic leather at 3 VETS in Downtown Vancouver on 6th and Yukon.

Yesterday I tried the Sno seal I found after putting it on with a hair dryer it worked really well for the protection and sliding I would say it improved sliding about 15%

After the game I took off the Sno Seal they same way I put it on Hair dryer and a mister clean pad. I put the Silicone on yesterday and tried it tonight. I would say that my Butterfly slide is faster by about 40% and the distance is no problem as I always stopped with my outside foot anyways. As the game progressed(I played 2 back to back game) was that in the later periods I could still slide very well even though the ice was kinda getting chewed and soft. I am going to stick with the silicone for now and try it for a few more games. One thing I noticed if you can't control your slide
you just keep going. It made me think of Alex Auld from the Canucks His pushes are so strong he completely slides right out of his net.

Although control issues are at the beginning of the game with silicone at the end it is a blessing.

Cheers to all and thanks for all your input

[JohnnyOne]

Originally Posted by ThePM

I beg to differ. Using the green bottle, the sliding on my koho's improved dramatically. I would re apply the spray every 4-6 ice times and it worked absolute wonders. I've also tested it on my Smiths, but found they slide so well that the spray is unnecessary.

I agree. Scotchguard works great. Sno Seal works well for protecting the pads and darkening up the material if the coloured surface comes off but it does nothing for improving slides. It help collect dirt and whatever from the dressing room floor also.

If you want to improve sliding, Scotchguard is best. It works well on nylon also.