Vaughn V-Lite pad review

[Aaron]

These are the first Vaughn pads I have ever owned. I had checked out a set of them at the factory about 7 months ago and was pretty impressed by them. I had talked to Mike at the big Perani's warehouse sale and told him my concerns and about my level of play. He highly recommended the V-Lites to me.

In the meantime, I decided I liked the looks of the Koho 560 pads and bought them. I tried them on at the shop, but when I got them in the game, I found I didnt' like them much at all. But that's another story..

So I decided on trying out the V-Lites as I figured I could just sell the 560's in the meantime. I found a SUPER price on them at thehockeyshop.com

One thing that had concerned me was the rebound control. I had heard a few people on the BB say they didn't kill rebounds well, and were stiff pads. When I got the pads, I had some buddies shoot at me while I stood with the pads together, bending down at the knee. The rebounds weren't anything I would complain about. Personally I would like the rebound to go to the blue line and not die at my feet. Also you have to remember, rebounds are controlled by the goalie. I've seen Ed Belfour's pads in person and they're rock hard in the shin area, and he kills rebounds just fine.

The pads are VERY light. I would say about a pound lighter than my 560's at least. When I first saw the pads, I asked Dennis Doll what the differences between the V-Lites and the 5500's were. The only ones are a layer of foam, and the pad is mostly cordura. The cordura helps save on weight as well. Belfour's pads were almost entirely cordura except the knee rolls too. The knee has a "cradle" consisting of 2 small flaps, one on each side of the knee. Also there is the large flap that goes onto the ice/floor for when you butterfly. The top two straps are nylon with the plastic buckles, but I found the straps were too short for me, so I had them lengthened. The pad does have double 5 hole rolls, but the space between the rolls is very small. Compared to my old Kohos anyway, but there are 2 rolls.

They have a large amount of cordura on the pad as well. The thigh rise, shin face, the inside knee area, and ouside of the pad are all cordura. From the knee rolls on down to the bottom of the pad on the inside is clarino, but from the 5 hole rolls on up is cordura. I feel this helps the pad slide better for roller IMO. Most of your weight when going down into the butterfly is applied to this area IMO. And the cordura seems to smooth out somewhat. The pads were a bit stiff, but then again, what new pad isn't? Dennis demonstrated to me how to just prop them under a table etc. to flex them and loosen them up and this has helped out quite a bit. Also there is no calf "wedge" but there is a nice wrap that will cover your entire leg and it has protection inside of the cover.

Overall I am VERY happy with these pads. The very first time I put them on I knew the 560's were on the way out. They fit me way better than the 560's did. I have never tried a double boot strap setup and I find this to be much better for me. I really like the more secure feel of the pad on my skate. I've certainly not felt the shots any more with these than I have with the 560's or my 500's.

If you're looking for a good pair of inline pads with good protection I would recommend these. They are also for ice hockey as well, as they are a "pro pad" without the bells and whistles.


On another note, when I was talking with Mike he told me when he plays, he uses the V-Lite pads. Mike OWNS the dang place, and he can wear anything he wants, and he wears the V-Lites. So that should give some credibility to these pads as not being a "lower end" pad.

[Bryan]

Excellent review Aaron! A couple of questions and one comment:

1) What material is the inside leg channel made of? I've seen V-lites with felt, BS-2100 clarino, synthetic suede, and just plain nylon in the leg channel and always wondered which was the standard.

2) Which toe assembly did you get? I've seen V-lites with at least 5 different toe set-ups.

3) Did you get the double inner knee flap? I've seen V-lites in two set-ups: (a) one thick well padded flap with the inner knee cradle as well, and (b) as one thinner outer flap, one thick very soft cusionny flap, then the knee cradle.

4) Comment on Belfour's gear. I've never seen Ed gear up close, but everytine I see it on TV/pictures/etc, I always think that his stuff looks a lot more like modified V-lites rather than 5500's or 4000's. Particularly the copious use of cordura. I'm glad to see someone who has seen the stuff up close has had similar observations!

[This message has been edited by Bryan (edited December 16, 2000).]

[ouch!]

I've been considering the v-lites and I'm wondering a couple of things. Is the price well below the Legacies and Visions because they lack "the bells and whistles"? I mean are these just as durable as top of the line, but stripped down to the essentials? Is the cordura in areas that will not take a lot of wear (forgive me for not re-reading the whole review). And, could the differences Bryan has seen be a matter of one model year as opposed to another, or Vaughn Canada as opposed to Vaughn USA? Thanks, ouch.

[Bryan]

Cordura is extremely tough stuff. The durability factor is at least as good as clarino/jenrino/etc, plus it's a lot lighter. It is also a lot easier to repair down the road. In any of the combo pads I've seen, wear began to show on the clarino parts long before the cordura parts.

Remember, it wasn't all that long ago that Vaughn's top of the line pro pad (the Legacy 2000), was the same cordura/clarino combo used in the V-lites.

The V-lites for all intents and puposes are equal to what vaughn's high-end was a few years ago, and they've simply added more toys to come up with models above them.


these are Legacy VPG2000's from a couple of yeares ago.

[ouch!]

Thanks Bryan!

[Aaron]

Bryan, the inside of the leg channel is 2 different mateirals. The knee and boot area are a tan material. I don't know the technical term, but my Koho 500's had them. It seems to be the standard suede type material that most pads have. Along the shin and just above the knee on the thigh rise is a different material. It is also the same material that is used on the calf wrap. It's black and very smooth, but is not clarino. My Koho 560's are clarino in the boot area, and the shin is different. It is very HOT and I don't like it, but the Vaughn is excellent for my tastes.

I got the standard toe strap. I did find the area for the toe was somewhat wide, so I bought some toe caps. I am currently having a problem with them as the pad now wants to slide back on my skate and reveal the toe of my skate underneath the toe cap. I think I just need to torque down on the toe strap more. But another factor may be causing this. Lately the lower boot strap when placed under my chassis keeps rubbing against a wheel, so I ran the strap through the back hole of my chassis. I think this is most likely the cause. I've never tried the strings.

These have the knee flaps/wings and 1 padded flap that goes along the knee strap. Personally I don't like the knee flaps. They get in the way of my goal pants and push them up. I had the same problem with my old Koho 500's so I cut them out and these will be going soon also.

As far as Belfour's pads, they're very much like the V-Lites. Mike told me that most pro's get their pads set up like the V-Lites. Eddie's pads were super light as well. The entire leg channel was that suede type material if I remember correctly and it had no knee flaps or anything, just plain. They were cordura all over, just like the V-Lites also. They do have a pic of them on the Vaughn site in the "Factory tour" section.
http://www.vaughnhockey.com/Images/2...our%20Gear.jpg

I asked Mike if I could get V-Lites with the Legacy 4000 circle pattern and he said yes, but for an upcharge.

As far as "stripped down", I guess you could say they are, but what are you really missing out on? Leg channel flaps, a knee lock, and the top 2 straps aren't leather. Personally I HATE those leg channel flaps, I don't like knee locks, and I could care less about the straps . The inside toe/skate area is clarino. Also the knee rolls, the "medial roll"? (one going down the side of the pad", the 5 hole rolls, and the white stripe in the shin area. I would assume this is to help the white keep it's color. So really the only "wear" area that is cordura is where the knee rolls come around to the inside of the pad.

Also this year Vaughn is changing the V-Lite pad design. If you go to Vaughn's website and click on the "New Product Sneak Preview", you can see them there.
http://www.vaughnhockey.com/2001/Sne..._preview-8.htm

If you notice the large blocks in the boot area, this is to help keep the pad in place. They have the same setup on the new 7000 Velocity pad. This pad looks like it has the extra knee padding on the knee strap area.

I haven't seen them in person. My pads and last year's pad are identical. I got these cheap because they were the last pair in stock and they were just trying to move them. Although they still have them at $609.99 I was told I got the last pair at that price, and if they ordered new it would cost more. They told me how much, but I can't recall.

Also, Royal Sports had them for a good price, but not as good as hockeyshop.

[This message has been edited by Aaron (edited December 16, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Aaron (edited December 16, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Aaron (edited December 17, 2000).]

[Arctother]

Humph...I've got apair of VPG 2000s, nearly 7 years I've owned them, and they were used for maybe a couple seasons before I got them.
Still in good shape, I figure I may be able to get another 5-6 years out of them...And I will wear them until they fall off my legs....

Great pads. Comfortable, durable...They do have leather top straps, but I don't keep them real tight anyway....Sounds like I agree with Aaron, the V-lites sound like the current Vaughn top end pads without the stuff I'd be taking scissors too....