Hey all,
seen as these threads are poping up all over the board, i thought i'd start one for one of my favorite pieces of equipment and its maker.
i first dabled with the idea of a STACEY mask because of various reviews that poped up on this board. After the loss of my fairly new itech i decided to bite the bullet and get one,
this is taken from the time i got it back in may 2005
here's the link-
Stacey Composites - My new stacey lid
STACEY COMPOSITES MASK + SERVICE
MODEL:
MERCRY MACH 10 + OLYMPIC CONSTRUCTION-NO LIP MODEL. GOLD CERTIFIED CATS EYES, H POINT HARNESS, CERTIFIED BACK PLATE.
HISTORY:
My itech 4000 got cracked and i needed a replacement, originally i wanted to stay itech, as i had the certified cateye cage for that mask. goalie monkey did them on sale, this is where my first mask came from, however this time the shipping had jumped up to $112 + 22% customs charges as i live in sunny old blighty england.
i began to look for other models keeping in mind most delivery charges were around the $80-$100 range and import as well, so this was an extra $150 on top of each helmet.
SHOPPING ROUND:
I did lots of searching and asking, and had narrowde it down to a sportmask richocet from geeks, at the price of $389+shipping, then i thought to my self? maltese do a mask, and seen as i already have the gel in this mask phill may give me discount.
after speaking to phill, he pointed out the fact that i was in the eu as was stacey composites who make one of phills masks, and as there are no customs charges i could get a better mask. i also contacted tony at sportmask and he didn't recommend his richocet for the level i was playing and that i should go for the razor(which was out of my range)
TONY STACEY:
i had already talked to stacey before when i was ordering gel from phill, so somewhat knew him(i just thought i couldn't afford his masks)
i must have sent 50 emails to this guy talking about his masks, cars, how to put the glitter on his mask correctly(im a auto painter) after long talks on materials and bits and bats, we both decided on the mercury model, and tony said that he would do it in the olympic construction for me(kind of a business deal as id set him on the straight and narrow over the glitter)
he repeatedly emailed me and kept me up to date with pics and bits of info as to where my mask was at, like watching you baby grow up
id asked to leave holes out, leave padding out, any request i had was delt with quickly and very accomodating all the time, basically if i wanted it, i got it.
FINAL ORDERING:
before the mask got sent, i had been in 12 mind as what colours and designs i was going to put on the mask, i plumed for a bright orange metal flake, so tony told me he had one gold certified cage left (red rag to a bull) so i got that as well.
DELIVERY:
tony sent the mask on monday(from holland) and it has just arrived now as i type this review(england) so thats quick, im now excited and going to open the box.
i will post pics and update with the review once ive stoped rushing round with it on my head
ive just finished painting it now, the mask came its own bag, with the cage attached, so i removed that and prepped it, id asked tony to put just one coat of paint on the mask just to seal it, ive now based it orange and put the orange candy flake over and laquered it. I now have to leave it over night as im not aloud to bake it(affects warrenty)
tried it on with out the padding, quite a close fit so should be snug whan my gel is in it. also i was shocked to see the shape of the mask, it has a huge bump shape on top all of my old masks have been fairly small in that region.
the cage looks fairly substancial, and the vision is good for a certified cage. the back plate is plain fibreglass by the looks
construction:
there are a few what people call 5o'clock shadow, in the holes for the straps but non in the tear drop shapes, its made of aramid, and fibreglass, and something else i think stacey will prob clear it up for me. the weight is quite a bit but im used to that anyway from my old mask.
all in all looks like a good mask cant wait to try it out on monday
heres some pics
out of the mold
smoothed up a bit
painted
this mask went through various incarnations, but i always had one niggle with it, the weight. i had always had cheap lower end plastic masks, which did me well but moving up to seniors i just needed a fibre glass mask,
so i decided to get back on to STACEY and ask about a super lightweight shell, he replied that with the right money i could get a full kevlar shell that would weigh 300ish grams on its own, the man was true to his word and when it came primed it actually weight 330 odd grams
here's the link for the second mask i got:
**new Stacey Full Kevlar Shell**
heres some bits taken from it:
Hi all
well my mask finally got here after what felt like an eternity(actually bought a house in the process of waiting)
im giving a honest review, even though stacey is a friend i still feel i need to tell you guys about my mask process.
i'll start with the bad:
the only negative thing was the wait, i ordered in dec the 13th, as a birthday present (1st of jan) stace gave me a date of middle of jan, one thing lead to another and dates passed and new ones mentioned and no mask, well after one hell of a killer wait and wanting the mask so bad, it arrived today a little over 19 weeks but as the guiness ad says'good things come to those who wait'
my reason for the mask:
now i already have a stacey mask, the Mercury mach 10 olympic construction. very good strong mask, but of average weight. all in all with a few pieces of maltese gel it comes to 1467 grams thats around 3.23lbs (1 lbs=453 grams)
i wanted a lighter mask, so approched stace requesting just a shel, the same shell only lighter. i would simple switch all the hardware over, and BOY did he deliver. the shel weighs in at an amazing330grams lighter than a pint of beer.
all in all im very happy with this mask, and with a life time warrenty i will never need to buy another. he can give this warrenty tho as he's never had a kevlar mask break
jake
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