"Official" Smith Thread

[PSYCHO SID]

Calling all Smith Pad users:

I played Wednesday night in my new (3weeks) Smith pads, and I took a low shot to the knee. Ouuchhh!!! I was looking at the right face off dot and moved on my feet to the left dot, full b/f, and shot came low or on the ice, not quite sure since it came from about 15 feet out, and I thought I was flush to the ice, next thing I know my top inside part of knee(1" above and to the inside) is throbbing from the wrist shot. I had no strength, a little woosy from the sting. Actually left the ice for the first time in my adult career.

My question: Do you guys think it snuck through the thigh board and the knee lifters? Or did it go under the pad and hit above my knee while in the cradle? I think it went through the gap. Anyone do any mods to fix this prob.? I strap everything as several of you have suggested. I keep the knee lock fairly tight and all straps on the top loose, bottom a little tighter. I plan on adding the 1" risers on the pad or maybe even both for another 2", but I don't think that was the issue. Anyone sewn in a pad or some sort of material between the thigh board and the lifter to keep any puck from going in there? I saw Dipietro get one last night with his Itech's as well. Any thoughts appreciated since I still have a swollen and sore knee and would like to eliminate that thought the next time I take a slap shot and go down. Thanks.

Sid

[RichMan]

Sid...KNEE PADS! KNEE PADS! KNEE PADS!

Even Dipietro uses them, but the difference with HIM getting hurt is the shots he faces

Keep in mind, regardless what you wear or how you tweak it, you will eventualy get nailed there at least once in your life time as a goalie. Consider it a blessing if it ONLY happens once

[PSYCHO SID]

Thanks Rich Man. I have them, but I didn't know the NHLer's and you guys were wearing them. I haven't worn them at all in the last 10 years. My knee is telling me to try it again, even with brand new pads. I'm still shaking my head. I have some Brown's.

[ratmonkey]

Here is something I don’t understand.
I realize that he may not be interested in becoming a large production company but obviously there is a certain level of demand for Mr. Smith’s equipment. He is in the Business to provide that equipment. I would think that you would want as many people enjoying your equipment as possible.
How many customers is he losing by having these massive wait times? At the top end of equipment, except for design, a pad is a pad.
I would really consider his pads but I have a big problem with waiting 4 or 5 month for something that you cant even try on beforehand. He has been in industry long enough to know quality workers in the pad making area. Why not hire a few?

[Jim Bob]

Originally Posted by ratmonkey

He has been in industry long enough to know quality workers in the pad making area. Why not hire a few?

How many want to relocate to Rochester, NY?

[royfan33]

Originally Posted by ratmonkey

Here is something I don’t understand.
I realize that he may not be interested in becoming a large production company but obviously there is a certain level of demand for Mr. Smith’s equipment. He is in the Business to provide that equipment. I would think that you would want as many people enjoying your equipment as possible.
How many customers is he losing by having these massive wait times? At the top end of equipment, except for design, a pad is a pad.
I would really consider his pads but I have a big problem with waiting 4 or 5 month for something that you cant even try on beforehand. He has been in industry long enough to know quality workers in the pad making area. Why not hire a few?

He's probably losing a few customers because of long wait times. With that said, the wait times mean he already has plenty of customers. As for not hiring workers, there are plenty of reasons why he might prefer not to do that. Workers require overhead, for one, and not just their pay. More workers means more tools and machinery, more shop space, and, at a certain point, benefits for employees (I don't know enough about business to say when this kicks in, could be moot).

I waited eight weeks for my Smiths a year ago. For less than $700, I got a custom sized pro pad. As I saw it then, it was the best deal in goaltending. I'd think twice about waiting 16 weeks just to save that $200 now, but anyone who's waiting for Pete's gear isn't waiting for nothing.

[Hounsy]

For me knowing that Pete was building my pads was a huge factor in me buying Smith. Now I'm not saying no one else could make the pad as well, but when having a pad built for me it was nice knowing the name on the pad is the same name of the guy that made it.

[brew27]

I guess Tim Thomas is not going to wear Smith pads anymore. Thats too bad.

[admanimal]

As long as Pete is happy with the size of his business and is obviously at capacity as far as the number of orders he can handle goes, it doesn't really matter from a business standpoint how many customers he doesn't get because of the wait time. I'm sure Pete would love to be able to snap his fingers and sell a set of gear on the spot to whomever wants one, but he has to be pretty happy with the amount of gear he is selling as is.

If his wait times were this long even when he wasn't backed up with orders, then he would probably need to rethink his production strategy a bit.

[evildink]

Yes, unfortunately the long wait time has seen me decide to go with the R8 pads (6-8 weeks wait time on those), but I have no ill feeling towards Pete for it. I'm glad he's got tons of orders to fulfill. That means more people are hearing about his wonderful product and soon will experience it. This just means I'll have to wait till later down the line to pick up a set. Pete won't suffer from my initial loss of business. He's got plenty of customers. I still can't wait to get a set from him, this just means I'll have to wait a little longer. I wish him all the success in the world. I think he's bigger now then he was when he had a Stanley Cup champion wearing his pads.

[admanimal]

Originally Posted by evildink

I think he's bigger now then he was when he had a Stanley Cup champion wearing his pads.

Apparently (talk on gsbb) > (stanley cup champion) as far as advertising goes. Gear companies should be paying -us- $25,000 a season to talk about their crap.

[evildink]

Originally Posted by admanimal

Apparently (talk on gsbb) > (stanley cup champion) as far as advertising goes. Gear companies should be paying -us- $25,000 a season to talk about their crap.

As much as people would like to believe, no one is wearing gear just because their fav beer leaguer is wearing it. Sure seeing someone with nice gear every once in a while makes a sale, but it's nothing compared to seeing it on the pro level night in and night out. That's why companies pay the big prices to have their name on gear in the show. Usually you see it on your favorite pro first unless it's like *******, Battram, and Smith. Smith having Thomas wear his gear has definitely added to his sales as his current wait time is showing. That's why he paid the extra $ to have his name displayed on the gear as opposed to having it blocked out. They know they don't have to pay us to talk about it because we all revert to childhood cause we love the stuff so much.

[admanimal]

Originally Posted by evildink

As much as people would like to believe, no one is wearing gear just because their fav beer leaguer is wearing it. Sure seeing someone with nice gear every once in a while makes a sale, but it's nothing compared to seeing it on the pro level night in and night out. That's why companies pay the big prices to have their name on gear in the show. Usually you see it on your favorite pro first unless it's like *******, Battram, and Smith. Smith having Thomas wear his gear has definitely added to his sales as his current wait time is showing. That's why he paid the extra $ to have his name displayed on the gear as opposed to having it blocked out. They know they don't have to pay us to talk about it because we all revert to childhood cause we love the stuff so much.

Well, most of what you are saying is true to an extent, and of course I was being sarcastic in the last post...but I think you are underestimating the influence that this board can have, especially when it comes to convincing people to buy the small brands that aren't (visibly) represented in the NHL.

I never would have bought anything from Smith or Battram if I didn't see this board. If I had even found either of their websites, I would have assumed it was some kind of crappy knockoff gear since no pros are (visibly) wearing it. I had no clue what Thomas was wearing (nor did I really care) until I found this board.

I think this board influences people to buy the big names too. People who otherwise would have been perfectly happy with their gear see others with better or just different stuff, and decide they need it too. Sure, we are influenced by what we see our favorite pros wearing, but what our peers have is probably an equal or greater influence. And I think as we get older, the balance of influence shifts towards our peers rather than the pros.

Think of all of the pics of new gear that get posted on this site, inevitably followed by the "wow those are awesome" posts. I guarantee that seeing that type of thing over and over again has a huuge influence on people, in most cases more than seeing the gear on a pro.

P.S., who paid to have their logos shown? Smith didn't if thats who you were talking about. Thomas never had logos on his Smiths.

[foxbat2500]

Originally Posted by admanimal

Well, most of what you are saying is true to an extent, and of course I was being sarcastic in the last post...but I think you are underestimating the influence that this board can have, especially when it comes to convincing people to buy the small brands that aren't (visibly) represented in the NHL.

I never would have bought anything from Smith or Battram if I didn't see this board. If I had even found either of their websites, I would have assumed it was some kind of crappy knockoff gear since no pros are (visibly) wearing it. I had no clue what Thomas was wearing (nor did I really care) until I found this board.

I think this board influences people to buy the big names too. People who otherwise would have been perfectly happy with their gear see others with better or just different stuff, and decide they need it too. Sure, we are influenced by what we see our favorite pros wearing, but what our peers have is probably an equal or greater influence. And I think as we get older, the balance of influence shifts towards our peers rather than the pros.

Think of all of the pics of new gear that get posted on this site, inevitably followed by the "wow those are awesome" posts. I guarantee that seeing that type of thing over and over again has a huuge influence on people, in most cases more than seeing the gear on a pro.

Well stated - nice post.

[bc30]

He didn't pay the fee and his name doesn't (didn't ) appear on Thomas' pads - but like the Mage, the non-name was a non-issue, since everybody wanted to know what they were and were talking about them. Announcers don't talk about who's wearing RBK or Vaughn.

A few hundred beer leaguers on BB's saying how great they are didn't increase sales as much as one pro, who sort of validated the pad for a lot of people, did. There's a certain element that only believes it's a pro level product if pro's wear it.