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shooter27

Question about cat eye cages

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Non goalie here, this is potentially a stupid question, but I'm curious. Why do goalies prefer cat eye cages on their masks? I understand that there is a marginal improvement in visibility with fewer bars, but it seems to me that the risk (however small it may be) of getting a stick or a puck in the eye would outweigh the benefit of the marginally improved vision, especially for beer leaguers. Maybe I'm just underestimating the improvement in visibility from the standard cage to a cat eye, or is there something else?

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Way better visibility, and pucks won't fit, nor will stick blades. Butt Ends are the most dangerous thing that could fit in, and those are covered by the players hands 99.9% of the time anyway

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Way better visibility, and pucks won't fit, nor will stick blades. Butt Ends are the most dangerous thing that could fit in, and those are covered by the players hands 99.9% of the time anyway

That's really what I'm asking. Is the visibility THAT much better that it justifies opening yourself up to that very small chance of a freak accident? I understand it as a pro where that improvement in visibility could mean the difference between the AHL and millions of dollars in the NHL. I'm asking more about beer leaguers. Having been a player and worn a regular cage, full itech, and half shield (I'm back to a cage these days) I always felt that there really wasn't much of a visibility difference after one or two skates wearing the cage. I was always able to just look past the bars. Maybe I'm the minority.

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As someone who plays out and in the net, I feel the small obstructions my player cage may sometimes have never made or broke a play for me. In net it is not worth it to me to have a possible obstruction because losing the puck if only for a split second can result in a goal. Additionally I have been playing hockey for 21 years and the closest I've seen a cat eye come to resulting in injury is this:

3767886.jpg

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That's really what I'm asking. Is the visibility THAT much better that it justifies opening yourself up to that very small chance of a freak accident?

Yes.

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The cage pictured above is also not a certified cat eye cage which has a much wider opening, usually, depending on its construction, due to less bars. Some have the same strength just bar placement allows a wider visual area immediately in front of the eyes. A certified cage, which is required for USA Hockey sponsored league play, has a smaller "cat eye shape" or American Football shape to it as to not allow a stick blade which is the real danger. That picture above is about the widest opening I've seen, most non-certified cages will allow the end of a blade to slip in but not usually a opening so large that a puck could make contact with the owner's face. Might as well go old school American football bars across the front at that point.

A certified cage, will still allow a stick end to slip through, although most tape a knob on their stick end to allow easy recovery in gloves when dropped which would make it even let likely to find that hole. Freak accidents do happen with hockey naturally, you could just as easily take a stick end under a dangle to the windpipe which seems more likely than one to find that cat eye opening. There's risk in hockey and being one of those weird individuals who enjoys having 70+mph (you can convert to kpm if you prefer) pucks shot at them for one to two hours is accepting the inherent risks the random chaotic universe might sling our way. You can minimize risk but when you roll snake eyes, you get bit sometimes regardless.

Best of luck in your decision, I personally accept the risk in a certified cat eye cage bi-weekly and no issues and enjoy a way better visual.

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The cage pictured above is also not a certified cat eye cage which has a much wider opening, usually, depending on its construction, due to less bars. Some have the same strength just bar placement allows a wider visual area immediately in front of the eyes. A certified cage, which is required for USA Hockey sponsored league play, has a smaller "cat eye shape" or American Football shape to it as to not allow a stick blade which is the real danger. That picture above is about the widest opening I've seen, most non-certified cages will allow the end of a blade to slip in but not usually a opening so large that a puck could make contact with the owner's face. Might as well go old school American football bars across the front at that point.

A certified cage, will still allow a stick end to slip through, although most tape a knob on their stick end to allow easy recovery in gloves when dropped which would make it even let likely to find that hole. Freak accidents do happen with hockey naturally, you could just as easily take a stick end under a dangle to the windpipe which seems more likely than one to find that cat eye opening. There's risk in hockey and being one of those weird individuals who enjoys having 70+mph (you can convert to kpm if you prefer) pucks shot at them for one to two hours is accepting the inherent risks the random chaotic universe might sling our way. You can minimize risk but when you roll snake eyes, you get bit sometimes regardless.

Best of luck in your decision, I personally accept the risk in a certified cat eye cage bi-weekly and no issues and enjoy a way better visual.

I personally wouldn't use a certified cat eye cage. I'll stick to the non-certified. But really its all personal preference.

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