$1200 to spend for my head

[rbrownie]

Unless your going pro, I wouldnt bother with such an expensive mask. I bought a sportmask about 10 years ago for $300 and it still works great. And I have taken NHL strength slapshots off it and im ok.

I could see maybe spending $500-$600 but $1200 just seems like a lot of money.

But if you got it to spend then who am I to tell you what to do.

[Flying Dutchman]

[quote=Gregan]What is the cheapest mask that you make FD? 210 US$

My concern is that you're in the business of selling high end masks and that you will do what you can to push consumers to buy higher end lids. Nothing wrong with that, that is your lively hood, go for it. Quite wrong - I'm in the business of HEAD SAFETY no matter what it costs.

The reason I'm going down this road is, is I'm trying to find out where is the cut off point of strength vs. price? Cut-off point is YOUR level of play to a degree and the level of play of the OPPOSITION.

Do you really need a lid that is 2 times stronger then another lid at a lower price point? Heck, I'm sure if you spent 5K making a mask, you could make a mask that was 5 times stronger then your best and strongest mask. Does that mean that we as consumers should be compelled to spend 5K on a lid?
Not at all - ask yourself why GM makes a Caddy as well as low-priced cars. [quote].

Gregan - I've put my answers next to your comments - see above.

FD

[Huntster]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is when you purchase a higher end mask it should come with a lifetime warrenty or a really long one.

You may spend a lot now but you will have a mask for long, long time (excluding replacing foam etc.)

[WI_stinger39]

Originally Posted by Gregan

I'm all for getting top notch gear... but to me it doesn't sound like you are playing a particularly high level of hockey and $1200 on a custom mask seems like MAJOR overkill.

dude, i have full respect for you, seen you post some wonderful posts on this board, and don't want to be mean. but this is the stupidest thing i've ever seen posted on this board.

when it comes to your head, there's no such thing as overkill.. limbs heal, so do bruises, concussions have longer lasting effects


once again no offence man... got all the respect for ya

[Jim Bob]

Originally Posted by WI_stinger39

dude, i have full respect for you, seen you post some wonderful posts on this board, and don't want to be mean. but this is the stupidest thing i've ever seen posted on this board.

when it comes to your head, there's no such thing as overkill.. limbs heal, so do bruises, concussions have longer lasting effects

once again no offence man... got all the respect for ya

It's all an individual risk-reward debate.

Personally, I think the odds of me getting hurt in my league with my SK2000 are about as good as me getting shot driving in my car.

So, I'm not going to drop $1200 that I don't have on a pro level mask nor am I go to spend money to bulletproof my Saturn.

[Colonial]

Gregan,

Stacey makes a very good lower priced lid.

I have always felt that if you can spend the $$$, get the best mask you can. You only have one head. Legs, arms, and collarbones heal. A bad concusion can end a career in a heartbeat.

Marc

[Gregan]

Originally Posted by WI_stinger39

once again no offence man... got all the respect for ya

No offence taken. I just don't think it takes $1200 to protect your head effectively, you disagree, plain and simple.

My opinion is shared by many others in this thread, and for whatever reason I'm taking the heat on this side of the argument, so be it.

$400 Mask getting tested against multiple 85mph slapshots: Video The make of this mask is irrelevant to this argument, just showing how well a mid range mask survives and protects.

[Gregan]

Originally Posted by Flying Dutchman

Gregan - I've put my answers next to your comments - see above.

FD

Thanks FD.

[Colonial]

I can understand everyones point in this thread. The one real benfit you get from the $1200.00 mask along with protection is fit.

My son has a Pros Choice and at 13 many think it is complete overkill. This summer he got clocked in the head by a shooter in a goalie camp that shot in the 90's. Now when he told me this, I thought he was completely FOS. His goalie coach however confirmed that the guy had been clocked at 100MPH plus and when he hit my son he thought he was going to be seriously injured. He did not have any ill effect.Plus he was only kid in the camp to glove his slapshot twice. Of course he took the second one in his palm in an intermediate glove. To say the least his new glove is pro palmed.(he really wanted a triple pro palm) So like Stacey says, you never know when someone can unleash a bomb.

Marc

[macman]

thanks so far everyone. this is helping a lot. i think from some of the things said here, and from some of the PMs i will be going with a mask over a combo, though what mask is still open. when i posted this i was not saying i want to spend all $1200 on a mask just that i do have that much i can spend. if i can get in a safe mask for less i'm all for it. one thing someone said to me at work today was how do you know how much of the money you spend goes into the mask? i thought it was a good point. if a mask is $500 and $400 of it goes into the mask would it not be better then a $800 that cost $300 to make? my point is how do we know.

anyone have any ways to tell what a mask is made of? i know a little about fiberglass from fixing dings in my surfboard. what do i look for?

[kicksave]

If you mean how to tell what fibers are in a mask. If you see a yellow fuzz on any of the edges or in the vent holds that is kevlar. If you see a Black colored fiber it may be carbon fiber. I say maybe as some fiberglasses can be dyed to look the same. take the time to ask each company what they use. I'm sure most will give you the basic list of what they use in there masks.

[Flying Dutchman]

Originally Posted by macman

one thing someone said to me at work today was how do you know how much of the money you spend goes into the mask? i thought it was a good point. if a mask is $500 and $400 of it goes into the mask would it not be better then a $800 that cost $300 to make? my point is how do we know.

anyone have any ways to tell what a mask is made of? i know a little about fiberglass from fixing dings in my surfboard. what do i look for?

Mac - you/your collegues make a very good point there - how do you know. First you study the fibers and what they LOOK like (remember not every black fiber is CARBON!!!!).

Once you know what is what you look at the EDGE of the mask and you can see what and how much "what" is in them. It's not that difficult. If the edge is painted - just scratch some small area clean and observe.

The more black the more carbon/black glassfiber/basalt and the more yellow the more Aramid and the more white the more glassfiber. If a predominately black fiber mask is heavy then it's not carbon but black fiberglass or basalt fiber (or glassfiber with black resin).

It's not in the interest of any of my collegue mask makers to con you as this BB has a wide reaching audience.

FD

[Mudbug33]

Another option to look at is the NXi Nemesis. For its make up you can't beat the price.

[estogoalie]

Originally Posted by Flying Dutchman

Eric - what do you base your logic on????
A widowmaker could give a perfect fit for some guys - but safety in higher leagues - no way so I think (read know) materials play a very important part in protection.

As for your remarks about a 600 and 1200 $ mask - a full ARAMID (not to be confused with 1 or 2 FULL SHEETS of Aramid) will cost you around 11-1200 bucks in some cases, and will ALWAYS be at least twice as strong (definately more than twice) than say a predominantly glass mask costing around 600$ upto 900$ with 1 or 2 full layers of Aramid (Kevlar or Twaron) - commonly referred to as FULL Kevlar or FULL Aramid but having only 1 or 2 sheets of Aramid. So based on MY logic a 11-1200 $ mask made of at least 98% Aramid will protect you twice as much - if not more than a 600 $ mask <<<< more than twice as much if you read up on the fiber characteristics and apply them properly with the right resin.

FD

Hi Stace,
I based my remarks on my and others experience on the ice, and your comments are based on labroom experience. I don't doubt your knowledge on composites, you're probably right that a $1200 composite material is 2x stronger than a $600 material. But does that mean guys wearing $1200 masks will suffer 2x less concussions and head injuries on the ice then guys with $600 masks? I don't think the same linear lab-room logic applies on the ice

From what I've seen, a solid $600 mask (not getting into names) can offer just as much protection as a $1200 mask, and with a better cost/quality ratio. You also have to admit NO mask can gaurantee 100% saftey. Is double the price worth the possibility of an extra 0.01% of saftey? I guess that up to the consumer to decide.

As for my comment on fit: I was meaning that if a mask but it doesn't fit you right, then the material is irrelavent. I'd rather wear a proper fitting low end mask, than an ill-fitting 100% Aramid mask.

[Gotham]

Kirk Jennison makes a funky little combo similar to a Sportsmask.. it would be custom fit to your head mold and everything..and very protective.

Here's a review!

http://d335087.a51.geniusmedia.net/b...ad.php?t=29544