My first review so if something is missing, you want clarification on anything or there are additional pictures you would like to see please let me know and I will try to accommodate the request.
Vaughn’s made overseas…oh no the sacrilege. Some of the Vision line that has been made overseas the quality seems to be hit or miss. Even at the best of times you could see stitching errors and loose threads. Although though these where generally not structural faults I’m on the nit picky side and to me it sort of ruined the overall feel of the equipment. I was a little apprehensive about ordering the 7400’s because of the fact that they are made overseas but the price couldn’t be beat so I just couldn’t resist. When they came into the store and I picked them up I had to examine them three times to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. The stitching and construction where absolutely perfect. I figured maybe I just got a really good set so I looked at the other 4 sets that people had pre-ordered and between 4 sets of pads, trappers and blockers I couldn’t find any build quality issues. I compared them to the various 7500’s they had in stock and I have to say there is no perceptible difference in build quality.
My ATK is 17-17.5 and the 34+1 inch are exactly the right size. The knee hits just off center on the knee stack and knowing that the pads will compress down a little with time the knee will hit right in the middle after the pads get some more wear.
The set brand new after being worn in the house and compressed with straps for 2 nights.
The Pads
My only base of reference in many years here are my Vaughn V2 7000’s. Although I’ve tried on many other makes and models from other manufacturers I haven’t actually played in anything other then 7000’s for a very long time. These pads are a 34+1 inch pad in the tribal design. The 7400’s are pretty stiff coming out of the box but have broken in really fast. A few nights compressed into an “S” shape with some straps, combined with a few hours of wearing them around the house and doing carpet fly’s and they where deemed ice ready. A session on the ice really worked them in and they where most of the way broken in very quickly. I’m really a fan of the added height and I haven’t really noticed the missing inch of width yet. I just don’t think I really will miss it. When I look at all the puck marks on my 7000’s there are so few in the top inch of the pad I can’t see myself ever missing it. With the missing inch and new materials has come a huge reduction in weight. This is something that I could feel immediately and was very impressed with how well I could move around in them.
Pad comparison to the 7000's. Both are 34 inch, 7400's are +1
A side comparison
The leg channel is very comfortable and the knee stack height is of course adjustable. I really like the basic setup they come with so I’m going to go with it for now. I could never get 100 percent comfortable in the 7000’s. The inherent problem was the top “speed strap” setup. Too tight and the pads had to be forced to rotate over properly. Too loose and my knee would miss the knee stack once in a while and slam directly into the ice. I couldn’t find a good middle ground and tried the straps in just about every position including changing the position of the buckles on the speed straps. The 7400’s are a different story and I immediately got them rotating like a dream. The knee stack is attached with an elastic velcro wrap that keeps the pad snug to the knee but still rotates incredibly well. It took me a single try to get pads performing how I wanted them. They also slide really well across the ice, but I may be jaded here as I’m used to trying to push the chunky 7000’s across the ice.
A leg channel comparison.
The only thing I didn’t like about the pads was the included thigh board system. I found it irritating and cumbersome but they are laced in so it was easy to remove them. I’ll probably go to a knee pad or look for an alternative but I’m just not a fan of strapped down thigh board.
Fit, finish, build, comfort and weight are all beyond expectations so I couldn’t be more pleased with the 7400 line. I can’t comment about the durability as of yet but will certainly update once the pads get through 25-30 games and shinny’s just to see how well they are holding up. For everything else the pads are probably a 9 out of 10 for me because nothing is perfect so it is unlikely I would score anything a 10.
The Trapper
A few surprises with this item albeit good ones. First of all this was the item I was most apprehensive about. Gloves are typically the hardest to manufacture properly so I didn’t expect a great glove. I was pleasantly surprised, the glove is a bit smaller then the T5500 conforming to the new size regulations but the quality is definitely great. I could close it immediately with a bit of effort and since then I’ve compressed it under a mattress nightly and played with it in front of the TV. It’s about 85 percent broken in now and has a really good overall feel to it. It doesn’t flatten out on the ice as well as it should but I’m thinking that will happen with time. The pocket is nice and deep and you can see the similarities between it’s general shape and break compared to the 5500 in the below pictures. I’ll make sure to include the status of the glove in a later update once I can see if it can achieve “pancake status”.
Comparison to the 5500
The Blocker
A blocker is a blocker? I guess it really is a blocker. What can I say…it’s light, it’s nicely built and I like it a lot more then the B5500 I have. The B5500 has a top ridge that you can see in the pictures that has caused me a few grief goals. Once in a while you get a puck that will slam off that ridge and instead of going to the corner drop right back to your feet or even spin into the net. I like the flat design, but that’s not really a compliment to this blocker more of a dig at my old blocker. It’s a lot more sturdy then the B5500 and it has a lot more useful padding. I took a puck off the fingers in the front and was only vaguely aware that it hit. That same hit on the B5500 would have caused a good deal of pain. I’ll comment on the durability of this blocker at a later update.
Next to the 5500
Final Thoughts
It’s always been said that you get what you pay for. In this case that statement may not hold a lot of water because in this rare case I think you actually get more then what you pay for. Although there are some differences between the 7400 and 7500 pro-line they are mostly insignificant unless you are playing some really high level hockey. Compared to what’s out there I think it would be hard to beat the value of this set for the dollar spent. I’ve compared them to the other senior sets out there from Itech, RBK and some others. These Vaughns really shine in their category. I’m also happy to announce that Vaughn really did the right thing here and made the Canadian prices match and/or beat the American pricing. I had every intention of ordering these from the states until I found them to actually be *gulp* cheaper at my local sports store. Typically Vaughn prices have been 30-40 percent more in Canada over the last few years but that seems to have changed. The fact that I didn’t have to pay shipping on them made them a steal over what I would have to pay for them from some of the popular American sites.
In short if you are considering these, I would recommend them highly based on the short time I’ve had with them. Take it with a small grain of salt though because I’m simply not in a position to comment about durability. If I had to take a guess based on the quality of construction these will last a good long time but this is just a guess for now.
Linear Mode
