Equipment Review - Battram New

BACKGROUND:
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After 15 years in the same old equipment it just became time to get a new set. Nothing matched, and my old Vaughn glove in particular was disintegrating (the pocket literally fell apart in one game last year - it's amazing what you can do with hockey tape and twist-ties). In a garage sale I sold the pads and gloves to some guy to use for street hockey, and the rest got put in the trash. The only things I kept were my Bauer 2000 goal skates (I paid $300 Canadian for them about 10 years ago and they are still in great shape), and my Itech Profile Mask.

I still have a couple of holes to fill in (pants, cup and a stick), so I haven't had the opportunity to get this stuff out on the ice yet. This review is based on my first impressions of this stuff brand-spanking new.

GOAL PADS:
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Battram BOLD Senior with Toe Caps.

CUSTOMIZATION:
Some minor graphics, otherwise none requested.

WEIGHT:
This is a very light pad, quite different from the more traditional deer-hair stuffed CCM pads that I just gave up. I like a heavy pad, so I think this will probably be the biggest change for me. It will probably take a couple of games to get accustomed to the change in balance.

WIDTH:
I find these pads quite wide. They probably have an inch and a half on my old pads, but I'm pretty sure that is the norm these days. I may have some initial balance problems when I'm in my butterfly.

SHIN:
These pads are stiff and flat in the front. If you have seen last years Louisville Flexor series pads is stores, you'll know what I'm talking about. This is very different from the old deer-hair stuffed pads. I have the feeling that this will change the dynamics of the rebounds that come off of them. Stuffed shins will probably be what I miss the most about my old CCM's. The thickness and protection is very good. I will be surprised if I have any slapshots that sting through the front of these.

THIGH:
The thigh protection is also quite wide. It is laced-in and can be removed, but it will be required for a while until I can get more bend in the knee. These are also very wide (about 9 inches), I'm going to have to make sure I find a pant that they won't interfere with.

BACK OF LEG:
This protection is outstanding. It goes from the inside of the skate all of the way up to the inside of the knee. There is even a strip that comes up the outside of the knee.

FLEXIBILITY:
There is not a lot of flexibility in the knee when it's new. This will take a while to break in. On the other hand, the ankle is not nearly as hard and stiff as my old stuffed deer-hairs. Breaking in the old CCM's in the ankle took a loooooooooong time, and it limited my mobility considerably. I have taken a couple of opportunities to strap these pads on (with skates) in the front room and the mobility in the ankle feels good. It's still stiff, but not like I have a cast on my leg. Other than the lightness of the pad I should be able to move around just fine on the ice.

SIZING:
I used Scott's sizing method and it came out to be 32 and a half inches. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with 32's or 33's, so I also sent Scott some measurements from my old pads. Scott went with 32's and the sizing turned out to be very good.

CRAFTSMANSHIP:
One word: Excellent. Scott and Darren pay considerable attention to detail. I have seen pads with sloppy stitching, wrinkles, bubbling and ****eyed logo's. These pads have none of that. I can't speak to how long they will last, but initially it looks very good. My only concern is that the knee strap ran out of holes too soon.

OVERALL:
I really like the feel of these pads when I'm wearing them. I do up the 4 lower straps very tight, and leave the top 3 very very loose. This allows the pad to move freely with my foot, which allows me to direct rebounds when standing up, and keeps me mobile when I'm on my skates. For pads that are new I feel that I'm going to be able to be competitive from the first time I step on the ice with them. I'm very happy with my purchase.

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That's it. I also have Battram's Blocker, Glove and C/A. If you find this review useful let me know and I'll post reviews on the others as well.

[badgerit]

two words: post more

[Bryan]

Definitely post details on the gloves and the C/A. Come back and give more details on the pads too after you've used them in a few games. How they feel when being worn in your living room doesn't tell us much. Give an in depth critical review. Be nit-picky about what you'd have done different if you could do it again. Nothing is ever perfect, no matter how good it might be. As much as I think my Brian's Hook catcher is the best one I've ever seen (at least it was when it was new), I can still think of at least a half-dozen things I'd change if I custom ordered another one.

Having only seen the Battram pads on the web site, I can only think of two things that would concern me, and one of them you mentioned.

First, the flat shin face. Most pro and/or custom makers offer a stuffed shin at least as an option. My Brian's Altra pads have deer hair stuffed shin rolls that really kill the rebounds just as well as my old (heavy) all leather D&R LG55's did. Despite the addition of the deer hair, they are still a lot lighter than the flat shin all foam D&R Quantum's I had last. The rebounds took off like a rocket on the Quantums.

The second is the decision to put a seam on the inside edge of the knee rolls. This is a pretty heavy wear area, and I always wonder why some manufacterers put it there. I would think for durability's sake, a continuous wrap around roll would be better. That was certainly a factor I took into consideration when I bought my Brian's Altras. I could have bought Heaton Helite III's (that I liked about the same) for less money, but that seam made me nervous.

True, I was concerned about posting this review before getting a chance to get on the ice. The biggest concern is that I just moved down to Miami recently, and between that and not having pants and a cup yet I'm really not sure when I'm going to be able to get them on the ice.

That's an interesting point about the inner knee seam. I'll have to keep an eye on it.

[ScottBattram]

Actually the seam is double stitched, and it holds up fine, I have seen pads of ours that are 5 years old and all the stitching is still intact, the difference is in the thread used in the sewing process, we use a heavy thread where other manufacturers may cut some costs in using a lighter thread. As for "stuffed" shins, most of the stuff you see on the market now are not really "stuffed" shins, when one hears "stuffed" they think of the old days with deer hair and fiber fill. The majority of companies offering stuffed shins are using molded foam inserts. These inserts are now being used not only in the shin, but also in the knee and vertical rolls of pads. This method saves some time in the production of the pads. We have toyed with the idea of using a stuffed shin using Dacron fibre but the weight of the pad would be heavy. Our products offer good rebound control with the method we are using for stuffing the core of the pad. We could however do a stuffed shin on the front of the pad, but again weight may become a factor! Who knows what the Millennium pad may feature!

As for the full wrap knee, it does make the pad look nice, but I have found that it may actually increase the 5 hole area as the pad breaks in, and the knees widen a bit... Maybe we can work on something and see what we can do with the knee, to produce a good full wrap on a knee.

[Aaron]

I say just make a super-light plastic shell pad. Kinda like that thing Barasso wears. Like those cheapie Mylec street pads everyone has seen every teenager start out with. If you can get used to super-long rebounds and control them, I think the benefits of the lighter weight would outweigh the big rebounds. ? Call me crazy, but it's just a thought. Plus the pads would be much cheaper. Well...maybe. I'm sure the price would be at least double here in the States

What can I say? One word, best pads ever. Had my pads for less then 24 hours. had them on the ICE for a game, They slide perfectly and youc can recover perfectly with your balance in tack. Even from wide stance. the pads are turned square to the puck. butterfling right to left and vice versa is unbelievable fluid. The double media rolls are unbelievable. Folks this new material "JENPRO" feel just like Clarino instead of JERINO. Its so much better.

[Bryan]

That was a lot more than one word, Ryeno!

The reason people think of deer hair when they see stuffed shins is because that's what many companies write in their catalogs. I know for a fact that my Brian's are deer hair stuffed, because I saw it when I was changing a couple of straps. I had to stuff some of it back into the strap holes! Even the "Do Not Remove Until Delivered To The Consumer" tags list deer hair as one of the stuffing components. And they are VERY light. My pads were a salesman's sample pair, perhaps there are 'regular' and 'pro-stuffed' versions?

I never thought about knee rolls widening. I can't say I've ever seen it happen to the extent that it would affect the 5-hole. Have you seen this happen, or is this just so that it never does? Wouldn't keeping them strapped up tight when not in use prevent this?


[This message has been edited by Bryan (edited November 11, 1999).]

Honestly Scott, these pads are so light that I really can't see shin stuffing hurting that much at all. I just came from pads that were completely stuffed with deer-hair and the weight difference is definitely noticeable, but for the small portion of pad that would actually have the stuffing (and probably an extra layer of Jenpro) it really wouldn't be that much at all.

Your right the weight difference is not alot, but at the end of the game or overtime ,it does get pretty heavy. Even back to back games. Heck by the third game the pads weigh a ton. I had the heaton pro 90z 96 model before the "bold" battram pads. Big difference. Yes, I have played 3 games in a row on Ice. Goalies for some reason in CAlifornia are Flaks, goalies don't pay out here. That's funny considering in Canada Goalies are up for hired. Eh!

[TartanBill]

One of the reasons I replaced my old Cooper GP 2000s was that I could no longer close the 5-hole. They had flatteded a bit around the knee. This is not normally a problem with synthetic materials however.

I am certain that one of the reasons the pad width was increased back in (90? when was that?) was because the new materials would hold their shape, while pads made with the older materials were specifically designed to flatten and widen. So a modern 12" pad is not so different from an old broken in 10" pad.

[TartanBill]

I have to believe Scott on the stuffing. When you get down to about 5 lbs, almost anything added will be a significant change. 1 lb would be a 20% increase!

More problematic is the benefit. When I think about hot the puck is stopped, I conclude that the core stuffing is the most important factor. It comes down to how much energy can the roll absorb. A good dampening roll on a lively core will still give a big rebound.