"Official" Smith Thread

[aussie goalie]

i am a little bit confused about which pads to by. i am looking at Vaughn 7400 or smith sp 3000.

if anyone has opinions or pics (3000 pics would help)

thanx,ben

[RichMan]

You want simple yet still high quality at a low price?...3000s. If you're a big fan of Vaughn and rather not wait, the choice is yours.

[Steve L]

Originally Posted by aussie goalie

i am a little bit confused about which pads to by. i am looking at Vaughn 7400 or smith sp 3000.

if anyone has opinions or pics (3000 pics would help)

thanx,ben

Look for my posts on pages 179 (a link to my FlickR account) and 207. There are photos of black 3000 pads.

As the kid who plays in them, my son couldn't be happier with them, and as the dad that pays for them, neither could I!

[aussie goalie]

thats great keep'em coming

thanx alot,ben

[Goalie Dad 31]

I cannot comment on the Vaughn Quality of their Imported 7400 series.
My conclusions are based on what I have seen with RBK.

Two years ago my son saw the Premier I Pro's and wanted them. Because of his size, we went with the Intermediate Sizing of the Premier Pro, which at that time I did not know the Intermediate product was imported from China.

After one season, he ripped both bottom skate straps, the leather (?) toe tie flap started to fall apart at the seams, the elastic in the knee lock was all stretched out, and the string that laces the pads together broke.... After one year of Pee Wee hockey. We spent over $150 just to repair the pads.

The RBK Int Pro Gloves were 10x as bad...

We spoke to other RBK Goalies about their P1's, and none of them had the problems we had with our pads/gloves. The only difference, their equipment was built in Canada, ours were imported from China.

My advice, if you are going to use the pads for a few years, you're better off spending the extra money on Smiths. You will read hundreds of posts in this thread of Smith Goalies who have had their pads for 3-4 years with zero quality issues.

Replacing a Nylon Buckle is a lot simpler (and cheaper) than having sewing repairs done on your pads.

[Barren]

Originally Posted by Goalie Dad 31

Replacing a Nylon Buckle is a lot simpler (and cheaper) than having sewing repairs done on your pads.

And as I posted a page back... in 3 years with my 4000's, I just broke my first buckle. I absolutely swear by them, so much better than leather straps!

[goblin]

I'm going to order a new pair of pads from Pete soon and was going to give him a call to discuss my order.

Does he usually have time to discuss orders on the phone or am I better off just emailing him back and forth? What are your experiences with communicating with him?

[home0006]

Originally Posted by goblin

I'm going to order a new pair of pads from Pete soon and was going to give him a call to discuss my order.

Does he usually have time to discuss orders on the phone or am I better off just emailing him back and forth? What are your experiences with communicating with him?

He'll talk to you as long as you want. He's great to deal with.

[RichMan]

^^^Exactly. You're a paying customer, he'll make the time for you. I've had 1-2 phone chats with him about his stuff and general goalie talk and he was cool. I'm hoping to meet up with him someday soon, buy him a drink and shoot the ****

[SupermanGoalie1]

I am amazed at everyones turn around on gear, I requested the NCAA thigh protection for Darrin's pads the 1st of February and still can't seem to get them. I guess I will just have to go with something else, the RBK thigh protection he is currently using has completely come apart and it is becoming a safety issue now. Is anyone else using something with their Smith's currently that fits well? He HATED the knee caps on the RBK protection and cut them off. Really all I need is something that will protect the top of his knee/thigh when he is down. He had a coach rip a shot at him when he first began to play at 9 that tore the quadriceps tendon and now I am neurotic about protecting this area. He really does not like many of the options and has tried several brands of protection there so it is hard to find one that will work. Cutting the knee caps off the RBK's wasn't too bad, it sat nicely around the quadriceps tendon area but they fell apart pretty quickly for the price. Does anyone have suggestions? I am really tired of chasing Pete for these any longer.

Goalie mom

[cook222]

the pads should have come with thigh pads, i would recomend them they work like a charm, if not, well, i went a whole season without the thigh pads and only took one little rebound in the knee, freak accidents happen, especially in hockey

[SupermanGoalie1]

Originally Posted by cook222

the pads should have come with thigh pads, i would recomend them they work like a charm, if not, well, i went a whole season without the thigh pads and only took one little rebound in the knee, freak accidents happen, especially in hockey

He doesn't use thigh boards, they did come with them but I want something that actually wraps around the thigh. Yes, freak accidents happen and no amount of protection will prevent all stingers but having something there would have prevented an injury that almost ended his days in hockey.

Goalie mom

[keepr35]

Originally Posted by SupermanGoalie1

I am amazed at everyones turn around on gear, I requested the NCAA thigh protection for Darrin's pads the 1st of February and still can't seem to get them. I guess I will just have to go with something else, the RBK thigh protection he is currently using has completely come apart and it is becoming a safety issue now. Is anyone else using something with their Smith's currently that fits well? He HATED the knee caps on the RBK protection and cut them off. Really all I need is something that will protect the top of his knee/thigh when he is down. He had a coach rip a shot at him when he first began to play at 9 that tore the quadriceps tendon and now I am neurotic about protecting this area. He really does not like many of the options and has tried several brands of protection there so it is hard to find one that will work. Cutting the knee caps off the RBK's wasn't too bad, it sat nicely around the quadriceps tendon area but they fell apart pretty quickly for the price. Does anyone have suggestions? I am really tired of chasing Pete for these any longer.

Goalie mom

My pads are ready to ship tomorrow and I had the NCAA thigh gaurds as an option, Pete didn't mention that there would be a problem getting these

[RichMan]

Originally Posted by SupermanGoalie1

He doesn't use thigh boards, they did come with them but I want something that actually wraps around the thigh. Yes, freak accidents happen and no amount of protection will prevent all stingers but having something there would have prevented an injury that almost ended his days in hockey.

Goalie mom

I'm surprised Pete couldn't respond. In the meantime, you could always check these out(bottom of page):

eBay Store - Goalie heaven: Accessories: Bauer, Itech, Easton

[home0006]

Originally Posted by SupermanGoalie1

I am amazed at everyones turn around on gear, I requested the NCAA thigh protection for Darrin's pads the 1st of February and still can't seem to get them. I guess I will just have to go with something else, the RBK thigh protection he is currently using has completely come apart and it is becoming a safety issue now. Is anyone else using something with their Smith's currently that fits well? He HATED the knee caps on the RBK protection and cut them off. Really all I need is something that will protect the top of his knee/thigh when he is down. He had a coach rip a shot at him when he first began to play at 9 that tore the quadriceps tendon and now I am neurotic about protecting this area. He really does not like many of the options and has tried several brands of protection there so it is hard to find one that will work. Cutting the knee caps off the RBK's wasn't too bad, it sat nicely around the quadriceps tendon area but they fell apart pretty quickly for the price. Does anyone have suggestions? I am really tired of chasing Pete for these any longer.

Goalie mom

I actually did the same thing. When the first person on here said they were available now I placed my order for them since they're something I've wanted for a while now. Not sure the exact date though. Pete said he was still testing them out at that time and they'd be a few months off for mass production, but expected they would have been ready around middle of March.