adding padding to goalie mask

[IEhockeydad 0]

HI All, wondering if you can guide a Goalie Dad, my 7 yearold son who has been playing goalie for a year now has been asking for a goalie mask. I was looking at the Youth NME3 but his head is slightly to big for it had the Backplate streched out about 1/2 an inch past the back of the mask. I looked at the junior bauer but they were too large for his head. After researching the Vaughn 7500 Junior mask fits his head circumfrence perfectly and will have room to grow. Found a used one on ebay so took the leap, but when we tried it on, his face is too narrow and has a gaps around the face I was thinking of adding additional padding around the face to make it thicker and to close the gaps.

Thoughts on this idea? worth a try or put mask away until he gets a bit bigger...

Thank you in advance

[bunnyman666 445]

That's how a lot of "customised" masques are fitted; use a general sized shell and pad it to fit. How big are the gaps? If they are huge (over 1/2"), then I'd say ixnay. If 1/2" or less, pad away.

Bicycle helmets have come with foam shims for years. As long as you're not stuffing huge gaps with foam, you should be fine.

What type of foam? Rubatex is cheap and comes in self-adhesive sheets.

[IEhockeydad 0]

Thanks, gaps are between 1/4 and 1/2 all around. I used the little foam shims from one of his bike helmets to get an idea of how they fit but was planning on using this http://www.icewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=GMRFonly thing I have found.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Replace it with one of the padding kits from Maltese

[bunnyman666 445]

Replace it with one of the padding kits from Maltese

But what if the goalie in question doesn't like the colour?

;)

[IPv6Freely 2083]

But what if the goalie in question doesn't like the colour?

;)

Then don't. :)

I don't dislike the padding in my mask enough to replace it with neon green padding. For somebody who needs to replace the padding anyway, it's a good option.

[IEhockeydad 0]

LOL! The color is a bit funky, but if it didn't cost three times as much as what i paid for the helmet I would consider it ;) I'm just looking to add padding not replace the existing padding little Gel pads like those would be a good adition tho.

[bunnyman666 445]

Then don't. :)

I don't dislike the padding in my mask enough to replace it with neon green padding. For somebody who needs to replace the padding anyway, it's a good option.

Hope you caught that I was teasing a bit. I just remember in a reply that you didn't like the neon green. I admit that it can be off-putting for some peoples' sensibilities.

LOL! The color is a bit funky, but if it didn't cost three times as much as what i paid for the helmet I would consider it ;) I'm just looking to add padding not replace the existing padding little Gel pads like those would be a good adition tho.

Sara at PAW sells the Rubatex foam.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Hope you caught that I was teasing a bit. I just remember in a reply that you didn't like the neon green. I admit that it can be off-putting for some peoples' sensibilities.

Sara at PAW sells the Rubatex foam.

Haha yea, no problem. I know. I get that its not a fashion show out there, but honestly if I didn't care what my mask looked like I wouldn't have had it painted. If I thought the Maltese was THAT much of an upgrade, I'd have done it already.

[bunnyman666 445]

Not trying to step on toes, but if my masque maker thought the Maltese gel was that great, it would be standard in his masques. He doesn't use Rubatex; I don't recall what he uses...

I am certain the Maltese gel is a good product; nobody would use it if it weren't. I may even consider an upgrade myself to the gel when it is time to re-pad my masque.

[Stewie 721]

Not trying to step on toes, but if my masque maker thought the Maltese gel was that great, it would be standard in his masques. He doesn't use Rubatex; I don't recall what he uses...

I am certain the Maltese gel is a good product; nobody would use it if it weren't. I may even consider an upgrade myself to the gel when it is time to re-pad my masque.

there are many reasons for someone not to use a particular product in construction, it's not an "if x doesn't use them then y" thing

[psulion22 402]

Haha yea, no problem. I know. I get that its not a fashion show out there, but honestly if I didn't care what my mask looked like I wouldn't have had it painted. If I thought the Maltese was THAT much of an upgrade, I'd have done it already.

Not trying to step on toes, but if my masque maker thought the Maltese gel was that great, it would be standard in his masques. He doesn't use Rubatex; I don't recall what he uses...

I am certain the Maltese gel is a good product; nobody would use it if it weren't. I may even consider an upgrade myself to the gel when it is time to re-pad my masque.

Maltese gel is THAT much of an upgrade. The impact dispersion ability and more importantly the repeatability of it is far superior than rubbatex. I have had the old sealed gel pads and the new frothed gel foam pads. I've taken bombs to the head, knees to the head, and my head to the ice and have never felt a thing. Nothing, not even ear ringing. The mask is much lighter and the ventilation is much better because there is less padding inside. It's really night and day. I also have the neck/clavicle guard and it is the same - pucks and sticks (and even a skate once) to it, and nada. That is the old gel and is getting time to replace it. I'll be getting another Maltese without question, and probably get the knee guards as well.

[bunnyman666 445]

Maltese gel is THAT much of an upgrade. The impact dispersion ability and more importantly the repeatability of it is far superior than rubbatex. I have had the old sealed gel pads and the new frothed gel foam pads. I've taken bombs to the head, knees to the head, and my head to the ice and have never felt a thing. Nothing, not even ear ringing. The mask is much lighter and the ventilation is much better because there is less padding inside. It's really night and day. I also have the neck/clavicle guard and it is the same - pucks and sticks (and even a skate once) to it, and nada. That is the old gel and is getting time to replace it. I'll be getting another Maltese without question, and probably get the knee guards as well.

I haven't heard anyone say it is bad. I will consider upgrading when my foam gets hard.

[psulion22 402]

HI All, wondering if you can guide a Goalie Dad, my 7 yearold son who has been playing goalie for a year now has been asking for a goalie mask. I was looking at the Youth NME3 but his head is slightly to big for it had the Backplate streched out about 1/2 an inch past the back of the mask. I looked at the junior bauer but they were too large for his head. After researching the Vaughn 7500 Junior mask fits his head circumfrence perfectly and will have room to grow. Found a used one on ebay so took the leap, but when we tried it on, his face is too narrow and has a gaps around the face I was thinking of adding additional padding around the face to make it thicker and to close the gaps.

Thoughts on this idea? worth a try or put mask away until he gets a bit bigger...

Thank you in advance

Just stay with a player mask with a cage, and a neck guard until he is big enough to fit into a better real goalie mask.

Low end goalie masks are dangerous because they lack adequate padding and the shell isn't rigid enough. While he is playing against young kids that can't shoot very hard, the risk of being run into or fallen on is very high. Without the shell being rigid enough, it will flex and collapse on his head, and can cause a serious injury and/or concussion. Player helmets are much safer at that level than cheap goalie masks because the danger is from collisions not pucks, and player helmets are meant to protect against that.

And definitely DO NOT get a mask that is too big and try to shim it to fit. If it's off a little, like an 1/8", in some small areas, you can fill those. But if the entire shell is too big and leaves gaps, it doesn't fit correctly and will not protect him adequately. Masks that are too big will rotate and lift upon impact. Obviously that ins't good. Custom goalie masks DO NOT use a base shell and then foam fill to fit. That's ridiculous. Most high end masks require the user to make a face mold and send it to the mask maker. Even the Bauers the pros use are molded specifically for them, even though Bauer sells a "pro" model in different sizes. The majority of the masks Pro's are using aren't made by Bauer, they just have a Bauer logo painted on them. They aren't the same mask as the retail "pro", the 961, which sells for $1000.

[bunnyman666 445]

@psulion22-

Some "customised", not full custom, foam to fit. Do I agree with the concept? No.

A small gap here or there? Sure. But I know I would rather have a kid in a helmet and cage, not a plastic cage. So we are in agreement.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

I agree there too... A helmet, cage, and a dangler beats a plastic goalie mask.