Leaderboard

I don't remember this having ever been posted in here. Here's a video of the 3D scanning process:

@tedpenguins Vaughn really is not an innovator. V6 just got into the 'teens with V6, and the "carbon" on the V7 is just that- a "carbon" print on plastic. It's silly. Their evolution is slow and steady. Whilst a decent offering overall, just not innovative in the least. But Vaughn has stayed relevant because they make good stuff. Bauer has become a joke in my opinion (one that is not shared by a lot of people), and a friend in the know has told me that they have all but abandoned the foam that was supposed to be revolutionary due to warranty problems (permanent dents). But with the construction of the pad, they are not at all user-serviceable and start to look weird after awhile. Yes, they are light, no argument there. The skin of the pad would allow graphics that were impossible with traditional construction, and for some reason has not exploited that attribute (?). If you want an expensive pad that is disposable, buy the new Supreme series. IPv6Freely pretty well has said what I would have said, except I have experience with Warrior products, gloves, then pads and chesty in particular. Warrior is a good place to go for pads. I hate their gloves, but love their pads and chesty. I have the G1 Ritual pads and love them. My rebounds go far. I was playing no fewer than two times per week right up until the 1st of September from the end of April, so they have had enough time to break in and break down a bit. The table top boot has somewhat settled to the shape of the toe cap on my cowling, but not enough to affect rotation. The size of the pad has not adjusted from the foam settling, and my rebounds fly away from me. You will have to pull your binding cord a bit tighter because of the way they are constructed carefully and with even tension. Pete Smith WAS the man who pushed Vaughn out of the '80s, and his innovations continue. If you weren't on a budget, I would send you to Factory Mad; but if you could scrape together around 600 bones, you could get a GREAT set of pads that will last you a long while. You will tire of them before they become mush. I have never played with a Brian's pad, but the construction looks to be of high quality. Blindfolded, I couldn't feel the difference between a low senior Brian's and some pro level offerings from other mass-produced brands. I may scrape together 500 bones to try a set of NetZeros. Custom is the way to go, but watching sales and scraping together some funds could net you some nice gear.

Vaughn are by far at the bottom of the list as far as innovation. Vaughn is extremely traditional in almost every way. If you want innovation, stick to Warrior and Brian's. I would personally avoid the Bauer but that's mostly because I think their Supreme series is... really low quality. I hated the cheap feeling to them, even on the pro-level stuff. Heck, I had a friend of mine who knows nothing about goalie pads look at the 1S and ask me if they were "the cheap brand" because of the horrible feel of them and the ridiculous glued on logos. They're quite light for sure, but not enough for me to look past the other issues. FYI Reebok doesn't do hockey anymore so you're just looking at CCM (unless you're buying models from a couple years ago). You mentioned not buying pro-level or even top of the line Sr level pads so that basically eliminates Passau as well. You can get a full set of Passau for the same price as just the pro-level leg pads of all the other companies, thanks to the Canadian dollar. As far as quality/price at the low end, you just won't beat Brian's. Period. Their lowest tier (Netzero) is going to be better quality than almost every other companies mid-level stuff. They also have all the innovation going for them. Smart straps are incredible and I'd recommend them to anyone. I have the entry-level Brian's from a couple years ago (S-Series) and could not be happier with them for a lower-tier pad. Personally, I'm in the stiff pad fan club. I'd much rather kick out a rebound and have the time to get set than to have the puck hit me and die in front of me, which is just begging for a bang-in rebound, in my opinion. On top of all that, the previous model Warrior (G2) were really nice, and very innovative. If you're interested in innovative companies (and from your description, it seems like you are) that would immediately eliminate Vaughn and CCM, and push Brian's and Warrior to the front. My personal recommendation for you is Brian's. Either the Netzero series, or the old Subzero 2 SR level pads.

As much as I enjoy my Reebok x24's I think it might be time for an upgrade or to at least try something else. My team has a decent group of defensemen but our forwards are absolutely horrible. We don't get the opportunity to play for a tshirt or a championship for that matter, so upgrading the team isn't in our nature. We're all just there to enjoy the game and have some fun. As much as I do enjoy just playing, the competitive part of me doesn't want to lose. I like having a stiffer pad because I can get a bit more on my rebound kicks to potentially get them deep into a corner or even out of the zone if I see a big hole. The Reebok's don't seem to have as much power as I would want for my rebound control. I also tossed around the idea of getting a softer pad so that I could keep the puck closer to me. I would of course have to slightly change my play so that I have a "cover first" mentality. What would you guys recommend based off of my playing style? I'm a college student so I'll probably be stuck getting bottom of the line gear. I was looking closely at the Bauer S150's just because of how light they're supposed to be and the rebound control they're supposed to have. (Plus they would match my jerseys extremely well with the Rangers colorway ). From reading GGSU posts I've found that CCM/Reebok are one of the biggest names but for whatever reason they haven't been doing as many gear enhancements. It seems like Bauer, Warrior, and Vaughn are the leaders with upgrades. Vaughn's and Warrior's are definitely out of my budget so it seems like the Bauer's are my best option but I'm open to ideas.