My VK5 came today!

[cRoy]

So today my mail lady showed up with a package for me. I knew right off what it was, so I got all gitty like a little kid on Christmas morning. I picked these pads up from a member on the board.

After reading so many positive posts about the Vortek line of gear, I finally decided I had to jump about the ship. So I got VK5 34 + 2 pads, they are prelock out sizing (12 inch wide), colors are navy/white/navy.

When I got them out of the box I did the routine inspection. Man, are the pads ever light! The build quality of the pads look great (just like everyone else says) The boot is a bit different from my last style of pad, so it may take a bit getting use to.

The fit of these pads are just great. My knee lands dead in the center of the knee landing (where in my last pad, I was slightly below) I love the knee lock, makes me feel really secure and positive that these will support me better.

Anyways, here are a few pictures, I am sure most of you have seen these before.



(A few shots of them under the table while I did some running around town)




(And the famous couch shots after being under the table)

I have been talking to Marc, and put a order through for some VK7 gloves. I am getting them in navy/white/navy to match the pads, with Roy embroidered on them (my last name is Roy, so not cause I want to be like Patty Roy) I am also getting sliding bridges for my VK5 pads.

So once I get the whole set I will post some more pictures, unless more are requested of the pads. Unfortunately I will not get to play in these until Aug 12th, I just hope I can make it that long, lol.

[jholland]

Nice lookin pads, congrats!

[glude01]

Best of luck with them, great choice with the gloves too!

Just be honest with everyone, you are a Paddy Roy wannabe!

Craig

[cRoy]

Originally Posted by glude01

Best of luck with them, great choice with the gloves too!

Just be honest with everyone, you are a Paddy Roy wannabe!

Craig

I guess I cannot lie. lol. When I was a kid I had the all the koho gear in habs colors, plus my dad got my mask a paint job like his, lol. BUT my last name is Roy also.

Any suggestions on strap setups for these pads so they will rotate easy?

[glude01]

Chris -

As far as strapping on the VK5's...it is hard to tell you what I did because of the nylon staps...as for my VK7's, the bottom 4 straps are leather, which I prefer.

Right now on the VK7's I do the following and have had good success with rotation. My only beef right now with the VK7s is the outside of the leg channel folding under (in towards my calf), even with the straps tighter than I have ever worn them....

Boot Strap - hole 6, from the end.
1st Ankle Strap - hole 5, from the end.
2nd - hole 4
3rd - hole 3

1st knee strap - relatively tight, but with some slack for comfort
2nd knee strap - fairly loose
Top Strap - loose, but still allows for it to pull the pad's +3 thighrise inwards for optimal 5-hole closure.

Hope this serves as a guide for you...

Craig

[Colonial]

Craig, we have a fix for the calf flap. Picture is attached. I will send you up the tabs to be sewn on.



Marc

[skunis1]

Sweet looking pads Chris.

I can see why you were getting rid of your other gear.

Thanks again for the great blocker.

[Foxton]

Wow my old pads look nice at other peoples houses. Hope you like them.

Hopefully those vectors you sent me come in today.

[glude01]

Originally Posted by Colonial

Craig, we have a fix for the calf flap. Picture is attached. I will send you up the tabs to be sewn on.



Marc

Sorry to hijack the thread - but thanks Marc, got your PM, this photo helps. I will get it put on ASAP as it looks great and will help a great deal. Thanks again -

Craig

[DRE75HABS]

Originally Posted by Colonial

Craig, we have a fix for the calf flap. Picture is attached. I will send you up the tabs to be sewn on.



Marc

Ah crap, just this past Sunday I got fed up with the outside flap tucking into the channel, so I cut a freakin' hole in the flap so the strap goes through. I did it quick in the dressing room prior to a roller playoff game, but this seems like a much better fix. NICE, I LIKE!

[cRoy]

I have now had these pads on for 4 ice sessions now. I love how light the pads are. Right now my only beef is trying to get the straps setup to where I like them.

So far I've had not enough rotation, then they were over rotating. My last time out I had them just about right, but I did some more tinkering at home tonight.

I am not sure how many other guys have did this, but I found that having the two knee stacks in was a bit too much for my liking. So I removed one of them hoping that it will improve mobility/performance a bit, but not take away from protection.

Something else I removed was the thigh guards. I never had them on my last set of pads, and just had a hard time adjusting to them. I currently don't wear knee pads, so I was slightly hesitant about removing them. I did find my mobility improved with them removed.

Tonight I also added some move slack to my toe string. I think this will be the added help to aiding in the pads to rotate better.

For now I also have the VK5 demo gloves here. They showed up last week and I have now had them on the ice twice. I was really surprised by how light these gloves were. It is a night and day difference from what I was using. The glove just fits amazing, and closes like a dream. I did have a few pop outs, but I have only been on the ice 4 times this year, twice with demo gloves.

Once again I would like to thank Marc and everyone else on the board for their help. I am really glad I stumbled across this board and found out about Vortek. Just anxiously waiting for my VK7 glove and blocker to be made.

[cRoy]

Well I got two sessions in on these yesterday, and I think I finally have them where I like them. I ended up putting the thigh guards back on, but still left out one of the knee stacks.

Everything is set fairly loose, the knees are a big snugger then the calf straps. I have the knee lock set as tight as it can go. Boot strap is on the 6th hole, and I have about 2 inch of slack on the toes.

I have sliding toe bridges coming with my VK7 gloves so that should help out some more too.

In the end, I am extremely happy with the Vk5 pads. Very light, very flexible and rotation is finally good too.

[T0rr3nt]

these look like ccm gatekeepers with the ccm vector outer roll

[madgoaieskillz0]

I don't see any resemblance.

[Colonial]

Originally Posted by T0rr3nt

these look like ccm gatekeepers with the ccm vector outer roll

The leg channel design did use the Gatekeeper as a starting design point. The Vectors were not made when our pad was introduced.

The pad I think looks really like the Battram Edge.

Sorry guys had to do it.

Marc