Need advice re: stopping damage to led pads from roller hockey

[keele knight]

Good morning all

long time reader, first time poster, and i have a dilemma.

i've just got myself a brand new set of brians demon leg pads,as my old pads were very old second hand leather stuffed heatons, and would like to use them when i play roller hockey, but don't want to get them damaged.

so can i ask the collective wisdom of the boards:

1) do i need to worry about this? are the new pads suitable for roller hockey without modification?

2) if not, how can i make the risk of damagign the seams less? could putting clear tape around the edges make it less damaging?

please post any ideas that you have
thanks
Keele knight

[AngelsWings]

It depends on the surface you're playing on! I play in a set of CCM Blockades, and there's been hardly any damage to them (save on the toe).

I don't think there's much to worry about! A goalie in my team's older age group plays in a set of Heaton IIIs (I think). So, I don't think there'll be a problem =)

[elite]

Welcome to the boards; good to see you're posting.

I wear new RBK Premier pads and there's absolutely zero wear from a SportCourt floor. However, as the person before me correctly stated, it depends on the floor you play on. If it's concrete, there might be some wear. However, I've yet to see any caused by SportCourt.

[keele knight]

the floor will be wooden smooth planks, nicley polished like a high end basketball court (gotta love university facilities.)

i was thinking, as the sides of the pad seem to be nylon, maybe justa bit of clear tape on the edges, especially at the toe would be enough to keep it nicley new.

anyone else tried this?

[VAgoalie]

if the floor is in good shape and there is not seams between the boards the pads will be fine.

[Golden Eagle #2]

If you're playing outdoor there is not much you can do about it (if there is I'm dying to know!)
I used to just whack stick tape down the inside of the legs, it prolongs life but the inevitable is they just deteriorate, if you're indoor I personally haven't found any wear on my pads.

[Zavesa]

I had a guy made me a cover for my pads from material that is used in soft cover for truck trailers. Works great, pads are almost undamaged in 3 years of use and I use the cover for 1 to 1,5 year. They cost me about 100 $ and are worth every cent. I play mostly on rough surfaces (eats player's wheels like crazy) and SportCourt.

[AngelsWings]

I play on a court at a local college, and the floor there's varnished wood.

I play on a kind of sportcourt as well.

No damage to pads as of yet. Only been playing on it 6 years (with different pads, but none of them were damaged!)

[el shiatzo131]

I play outdoor on a sruface that's like tennis courts. I've got no wear at all. Maybe if you covered your pads in duct tape, it stop. If you're playing on wood, then you wont have any issues with this.

[NJDev803]

I play on concrete mostly because the only rink around here is outdoors..after only a few times out i noticed the nylon lining and nylon straps starting to fray but now its been about 3 months and it hasnt seemed to get any worse.

the league im playing in over the summer has sport court and im rela excited because i might actually be able to slide!

by then ill have new pads (hopefully the DR 5.4 line that should be coming out soon) and i just hope the material theyre lined with slide well on a sport court surface and hold up well

[gregthegoalie]

Originally Posted by NJDev803

I play on concrete mostly because the only rink around here is outdoors..after only a few times out i noticed the nylon lining and nylon straps starting to fray but now its been about 3 months and it hasnt seemed to get any worse.

the league im playing in over the summer has sport court and im rela excited because i might actually be able to slide!

by then ill have new pads (hopefully the DR 5.4 line that should be coming out soon) and i just hope the material theyre lined with slide well on a sport court surface and hold up well

In socal there are a lot of different types of rinks. The wood rink I play on doesn't really make any holes, but it does create a lot of friction wich can make small holes larger.. As for outdoor, I would defenatly recamend NOT playing in your pads outdoor.

There are two outdoor rinks here, and both destroy my stuff whenever I go there. It looks like my pads aged a year after the games. One rink I played at twice, the other I wouldn't go back to. Scratch marks, holes on the corners of the pads, and even the calf raises got torn. I would say there is a possiblity that some outdoor rinks could be good (I played on one as a youth that wasn't this bad, because they treated the concrete like a garage floor) but for the most part outdoor rinks are deathtraps for pads.

Sportcourt doesn't effect wear on pads, that's for sure.

<3 sportcourt, for a long time there weren't any sportcourt rinks in town, and we had to go north to LA to play on it. Now we have 2, and I get to enjoy it three to four times a week.

[HofstraHockey]

I wear Demons on primarily sport court, with some wood and ice mixed in. I do not have anything near sever damage, it's been about 8 months of on average 2 hours per week. Tinyest bit of wear on the inside bottom, that's about it. I've never had a problem with them, and absolutely love them

[keele knight]

hey

thansk for all the advise, i can't wait to play again now (48 hours away)

and as someone said, i love the demons, even thoguh i ended up with them randomly after my fiancee thought the colours would go with our team shirts.

thanks for the help
Go knights!

[Cal28]

I always sew a length of cordura nylon over the existing toe binding. Cut to length and run needle through same holes manufacturer used. Also, I just put some hockey tape on the areas that come in contact with the sport court. At first, I play without any mods so I can see exactly where they need protection. No problems except for replacing the tape every game or two. You can also stick some hook side velcro on there too. Just be careful removing the velcro. It may also remove the outer layer of synthetic leather. That's why I prefer hockey tape.