Whoa! How did I almost miss this thread?!?!
As people have already pointed out, I am somewhat of an Itech fan and have been using the 4.8 stuff since I returned to hockey around Xmas, 2002 (five months ago now).
I'm only a "fan" in the sense that I use almost exclusively Itech stuff. It's not because of Itech's glowing reputation or flawless equipment (LOL). It's because the stuff was cheap and I like having matching stuff.
rpitcher wearing Itech stuff in April 2003
Adding thigh boards to econo 4.8 Itech pads.
Home made knee lift added to econo 4.8 pads.
Steve L is absolutely correct about needing to reinforce the area of the pads where the straps run through. This is most important on the straps that you wear tighter. For me, I saw separation happening on the lowest leg strap (above my ankle). Having it professionally improved is good advice, but I chose to do it myself. One of the benefits of buying econo pads is not being afraid to hack them up a bit in the spirit of Tim the Toolman Taylor or Red Green.
The wimpy knee protection has been mentioned. The inner knee flap is really just a couple layers of nylon. You really need to improve this, or wear substantial knee pads. I do both. One of the links above shows the home made knee lifts I added to my first 4.8 pads. I have since purchased 36" 4.8's and have been improving them in better ways than I did with my first ones. I hope to take pics and bore people with the explanation soon hehe. I've moved the wimpy knee flap to the edge of the pad (like every other pad in the world LOL). Then I added knee lifts between that knee flap and the knee lock. I am now in the process of moving the calf flap to the edge of the pad, and beefing it up some.
In rating the pads I like to say they are good for the price. I recommend them for beginners, pre-teen players, and no-slap-shot rec/beer leaguers.
The 4.8 gloves are pretty much the same story. Decent for the price, but don't expect high durability or "big league" protection. The catcher is lacking a hand strap (but has a wrist strap). The forearm block on the catcher is soft-n-floppy. The blocker's most obvious defficiency is it's light-weight thumb protection. I have just upgraded to 8.8 glove and blocker, but have yet to use them on the ice.
Are the Itech 4.8's like Tour pads? I have never handled Tour pads so I can't really say. I have read that Tour pads aren't safe for ice hockey. Some people might say that about the Itech 4.8's. I was lead to beleive that the front of Tour pads wasn't substantial enough to protect from hard shots. The front of the Itech pads ARE substantial enough to stand up to hard shots. It's the knee/calf protection and durability that are lacking.
After trying some on, I prefer them to my Heaton 10 pro's
Linear Mode
