Smith review |pads 7 months use|gloves first week of use

[Barren]

You've probably seen my (one month) pad review or my smith demo glove review, but this is an updated review for both the pads and my new gloves.

I've had my pads now for 7 months and I just got my matching gloves, so I guess it's time to update my review.

Here is the initial review: Smith 4000's Review (1 month use)
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7 month review of pads:

Now, what can I say that I haven't already said? I love these pads as much as I did on day 1.

I don't think there is a negative thing I can say about them. Rotation, comfort, protection, looks, flexibilty, quick drying, water resistance, sliding, etc. are all great.

The pads are holding up very well. The only sign of wear is a couple of corners on the weave are worn just a tiny bit... zero concern...

Here are the pics:

Full glove and pad gallery









^ that is the closest thing to "wear" on the pads... just a little spot on the weave.


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Now for my gloves... SC2000 and SB2000 to be specific. All smith gloves are created equal... the number just determines the graphics. I have sp4000 pads but I have the sp2000 graphics on them, so I went with 2000 graphics on my mitts to match.

I've had the gloves now for a week and I love them! 3.5 hours on the ice so far.

Very comfortable, break in period will really be minimal, the glove closes great right out of the box! My first time on the ice was a little weird, as I knew it would be because the demo gloves also felt a little foreign to me when I used them. But now that I've had them on for awhile, they are very comfortable and I feel right at home with them! I snagged a ton of pucks in my catcher and had no issues what so ever.

And now for the pictures.









The glove opens very nicely to allow for quick drying. Also, access to the multiple adjustment straps. The straps stay right where you want them to, no worries of them adjusting on you when you are wearing it as the flap is secured down and keeps them right where you set them.





The blocker is great, very comfortable and very very lightweight. Performs perfectly!

Any questions? Fire away!

[Barren]

and a full gear pic. *minus c/a*



edited for accuracy.

[manitoba_man]

Thats some sexy gear my friend! I have boks in the same colors colors and everyone keeps telling me how sxy they are

Is the sliding toe bridge advantagous? i ask because i stopped wearing ties on my boks cuz i kept stepping on them because i had to keep them lose for the effect i wanted. with a skiding toe bridge do you think i could go back to toe ties and keep the ties tighter?

[Barren]

The sliding toe bridge is nice. I have a single knot on the back of the bridge and I tie the lace as tight as I can to my skates. It slides around as necessary for perfect rotation. I wear my pads quite loose... just the kneelock strap is tight.

edit: thanks for the compliment, I think they are sexy too.

[jpatmac]

Thx for all of the effort for the reviews, Barren!

One question - You said that you wear your pads loose save the kneelock. I've seen others say that they've had problems with their knees slipping off the pads during butterfly slides or shuffles/partial recoveries. Have you had any trouble with that at all?

Thanks again!

[Barren]

No issues that I can remember. The lock is elastic though, so it's possible that you could pop out of it if your pads are extremely loose. My pads rotate without any issues with straps being loose, but not to the point where my knee comes out of the lock.

[goalie35]

hey adam sweet stuff!

havent talked to u for a while, r u still with the bears? or did u find a different team to play with?

btw: randy got pwn'd in the state finals!

goalie35

[Tater]

I will second Barren on his comments... I wear my Smith pads loose with the knee lock secure and have never had an issue. I have had my Smiths for over a year and only a little wear on the inside toe, just a few specs of wear actually (used on ice and inline). The sliding toe makes for a great recovery, the pads rotate perfectly just as Barren said.

Glad to see they are still working well for you Adam... still coming down to play the Lablatss tourny in May? Hey forgot to mention I was in Fon Du Lac in November for my daughters hockey team, they had a tourny at your rink. I think there was a neighborhood bar every block... nothing to do at night but drink huh? Explains a lot about you

[Gregan]

Is that bench in front of the net for you to sit on when the play goes to the other end?

I need to get me one of those

[Barren]

Originally Posted by Gregan

Is that bench in front of the net for you to sit on when the play goes to the other end?

I need to get me one of those

LOL, you are the first person to mention that! I wondered if I should p-shop it out.

I was setting up the camera and tripod for our team pic.. and I was just "testing" the remote and camera with the pics I took of myself. Although, I could use a bench like that for one of the teams I play for... so boring on my end of the ice!

Alex - Yeah, I played with them this year.. didn't get much time though.. next year had better be different, or I'm walking. I saw that game on tv with Randy getting pwned at states! He got left out to dry by his D. They kept coughing it up the middle on him. He didn't play very well though.

Tater - Not sure about the tourney in May yet... I have to check with my sunday league guys to see if they are planning on going. They just played a tourney without me last weekend and got their butts whipped... they signed up for a 30+ thing and I'm only 28/29 next month, so I guess I couldn't play in it.

[Vision]

Check with the event organizers before you bow out. Most tourney's have provisions for the goalies to be younger then the age brackets, within reason, usually 2 or 3 years. I know that the snoopy tourney allows for that.

::m

[Jim]

awesome!
i added the smith toe bridge to my matrix 2 pads
but those pads look so good.. maybe i should have just passed on my sweet deal and got the smiths..
what a set of pads!
they look awesome!
my next set will be smith!



just awesome gear my gloves should be here in about 6 weeks
long time when your waiting..

How is shooting the puck up ice with the smith gloves?

congrats again!!!
keep us posted.
cheers
Jim

[BlockerGM12]

Hey Barron (and other Smith pad wearers), I have a set of SP2000's and I find that after I wear them for about 45 minutes, the pads start to over-rotate and my knees start to fall off the landing gear.

I've only worn them a few times and and still tinkering with the straps, but have you guys had this problem? I've got the knee lock tight and the three straps below the knee are also snug.

I know I'm going to love them. Super light and very responsive pads!

Thanks in advance for any input.

[Barren]

Shooting - well, seeing as that is part of my game that needs a ton of work... but I've been working on it, I can tell you without a doubt that my puck handling will benefit from the new gloves! I can already pass with quite a bit more precision and power than I could with my bionics. I spent some time in practice tonight shooting pucks down the ice... and during scrimmage I made several head-man passes that were right on target, something I'm not known for!

Kneelock issues - I've worn my pads for 3 games back to back to back.. and I did not have issues with overrotation or issues with my knee coming out of the lock. I'd fiddle with your straps a bit more.. but also, 2000's are different, so I'm not sure.

Another 1.5 hours on the ice tonight with them... loving every minute!

[Sabre35]

by the looks of that link, it seems you have caught my disease called "obsessedwithgearpicsanitis" Sorry, I didn't think it was contagious.