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Itech 12.8 C/A & Prodigy Pro pants-1 weekend review-now with pics
Let me start this by prefacing why I bought a new C/A and pants. I had a prodigy pro C/A and it was working very well. However, I would feel the odd stinger against shots that I shouldn't feel. I am moving back to Iowa (and you all know how they shoot) soon so I thought it might be time for an upgrade. Plus I just wanted new stuff, and now that my wife is out of grad school I can afford it. I was looking for something a little more protective but still highly mobile. I liked the prodigy pro's moblity so I figured I would give the 12.8 a try.
The pants I had the oppisite problem. I had the 11.8 pants I felt they where just too bulky. Again did I need new pants? No. Did I want them? Hell ya. While I was at it I ordered custom 9.8 leg pads and gloves but they wont be here for a while. Any way this was more of a prize for my wife and I working really hard during grad school to pay off all our debt and save a pretty good down payment on a house. If you haven't fallin asleep yet here is the review:
12.8 C/A:
Out of the box:
When I opened the box I thought I had made a mistake. The C/A felt way too light to have the level of protection I wanted. Then I picked it up and looked at it. There is about 4 inches of padding starting form the chest plate and finishing with the soft foam that sits next to your chest. The chest plate/heart guard has about a 1/2 inch of soft foam over a 1/2 inch layer of hard foam. Then it had the standard blocks and under that is a pillow soft layer of padding that is about two inches thick. With all this padding Itech some how still found a way to make this C/A lighter then thier last year's prodigy pro. The arms are connected by and elastic band and elastic ties so that the arms move freely as it they where not attached to the chest pad. This gives excellent movement right out of the box, I could touch my oppisite side ear right out of the box. The arms have a hard pad on the tops that protect your bicepts from those annoying skip over shots. The elbow floater are a little stiff but that is to be expected.
Game use:
I recieved this C/A around 3 and I took the afternoon off so I could play drop in at 5 so I didn't get a lot of time to play with anything befor the game. The only problem I had the first game was that my forarms where getting tired because the elbow floaters where stiff. At the first game I took a shot the the chest that I later found out was hard enough scratch the pant in Itech logo and I only heard the shot and didn't feel it at all. After the first game I spent the rest of my night watching playoff hockey and playing with the straps. I played two games on Saturday and two on Sunday and I can say that this C/A is already broken in as well as my last C/A was. I faced some pretty hard shots and didn't feel anything at all, and like every one else on here I only play with guys that made at least 5 all-star games in the NHL. This C/A is very mobil and protective but all that padding comes with a price-heat. This C/A is one of the hottest I have ever used. Not enough to make me like it any less but that was the one thing I would consider a negative. However the light weight of the unit makes up for the added heat.
Overall:
I wanted a highly mobile, protective C/A. I got it in spades. This C/A is exactly what I was looking for. I honestly don't see any shot making it through the chest of this unit hard enough to hurt. The way Itech has connect the arms to chest pad makes it very mobile right out of the box, and break in was a snap. The only negative I found so far has been the heat build up. I would not recomend using this outdoors in summer time, but then again this C/A would be a gross over kill for roller (roller guys don't get pissed I used to play roller too), or if you like to feel where the shot hits.
Prodigy Pro Pants:
Out of the box:
The pants where in the same box as the C/A and after my excitment at seeing the chest pad wore off I finally looked at the pants. My first thoughts where oh ****. I ordered these pants because I wanted something smaller and less bulky than my 11.8s and from the website these looked smaller and more streamlined. These pants are actually bigger then my old pants, but lighter.
Game use:
What can I say, these are a pro pair of pants. There aren't any real soft spots in them to feel shots through, but that wasn't the problem I was having with my old pants. I really didn't notice much of a diffence from my old pants. It will take me a while to get used to a curved instead of flat faced pants. I have always thought that pants are kind of like the blocker of body padding. As long as you don't feel shots through them one pair of pants isn't that different then the next.
Ratings:
12.8 C/A - 80 bagillion trillion quadrazillion/10
Prodigy pro pants - 8/10
Setting a number for these is kind of silly as my 10 points will be different then everyone elses. So I will close this novel with this recomendation:
If you are looking for a light weight, very mobile and pretty protective C/A give the 12.8 a look.
If you want pants that wont get you hurt but aren't anything really special the prodigy pros are just like pretty much every other pair of pants.
Last edited by sjobgen : 05-08-2007 at 08:26 PM.
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. Dangler and neck guard covers the hole but if I get hit there....im gunna be breathing out of a whole in my throat
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