Well, I've had my custom 2000-series pads for about 6 months now, and used them for 70+ ice hockey sessions (probably 150+ hours) and I'm very pleased with the way they've held up. I wrote detailed reviews on them when they were new, which you can no-doubt find in the archives, so I'm not going to repeat a lot of stuff I said back then.
My post-usage review is not going to say too much, because the pads haven't changed very much. I've posted up a bunch of pictures on a geocities page... it should be
www.geocities.com/emufarm21/battrams.htm
The pads were a little long to break-in, and at one point (after a particularly frustrating drop-in hockey sessoin) I went so far as to take a 10-pound sledgehammer to the boot, ankle break and 5-hole. In truth it wasn't the pads giving me a hard time, it was that I hadn't mastered my edge control and style yet, but the hammering did soften up the pads, which made me happy. In case you're wondering, I like a very soft boot and ankle, probably because I spent years playing ball hockey in Itech 900 pads before I started playing in "real" gear.
As you'll see in the pictures, there's little or no wear anywhere on the pads, with only a couple tiny spots where the jenpro has shown wear. All of my original straps are intact, as are the toe bridges and the first skate lace I put into them.
I should also footnote this by saying that I am historically pretty easy on my equipment. I'm not a butterfly flopper; I have a true hybrid style and tend to stand mroe than most goalies. I'm not sure if that's the reason, but I am just not hard on my gear. I play in a mid-level mens' league, and play drop-in against house guys who have played at various levels up to pro, so I don't think it's the shooters. Whatever the reason, the point is that my results "might not be typical," as the disclaimers say, but I doubt it. These pads are just built really well, with quality materials and careful stitching, and I think anyone would see the results--or almost the results--I have.
The pads work great with the overdrive blade--I lace my toe bridges snug, but not tight, through the first hole in the cowling, and the boot is soft enough that it moves out of the way when I go down. The only problem I've had with the pads is that I think I ordered them a bit short--I knew I liked short pads, but I overdid it. These fit me like Martin Brodeur's fit him, which means there's almost nothing over my knee. The thigh rise doesn't curl up to protect my knee, and I got hit on the knee a lot at first. I wear knee pads now, but I think with my next pads I'll order them a bit longer and just have the knee lock and straps moved down a bit. That should give me the unconstrained knee movement of short pads, and the coverage of longer ones.
Oh, and I should mention that I'm using the velocity-style thigh strapping system. I have the quick-snap clips, and both the thigh and knee straps lead into the knee clip. It gives me great flexibility, and great results.
That's it, I suppose. If you have any other questions, I'll answer them.
Chris
Linear Mode
