GekigangarIII

Nice choice on the music Justin. Pendulum /thumbs up. Very excited to see/try the new product. Love the look of the new skates. Black, understated yet somehow very aggressive looking. Me likey.

Good grief, when are companies going to get off of this whole "integrated wrist protection" kick with gloves? It seems every few years someone else jumps on the old idea that has failed over and over again. People don't want wrist wraps built into their gloves. Shame is the gloves look pretty good otherwise. Would have been nice if they would have given the option to buy high ends without the cuff.

A Big Mic sounds good right about now.

I like it even better than modano/forsberg. It seems to be just a slight bit less curve (more mid than heel) and a slight bit less open faced. Just recently got a fuel ti and absolutely love it.

Yeah that is like stupid fast for customs, especially when you ordered them at the end of a long holiday weekend, you'd have to think they would have had a surplus of orders from before Christmas. Wonder if they got extra production facilities with the warrior buyout? That's a great turn around.

I have a pair of XXX's that are all blacked out as well, the only white on them is the outline of the "XXX". Also, they're all leather, which doesn't really make sense for a xxx but hey, they're pro stock. I really like them, though the pro stock palm seems even more thin than the one that comes on regular xxx's if you can believe that.

2Way, are those boards concrete? The first pic looks like it could have had pretty bad results...

Seeing all of these collection pics makes me really wish I had taken some of my glove collection before the flood killed them. Sadly, it went down to 6-7 pair after the flood wiped out about 20 or so pairs of gloves :(. I think at one time I had well over 30 pair at the same time.

Let's see.. I've owned Mission: Works Icon Matrix Sub-zero (3 and 4 finger) Wicked Lite Warp zero Warp Sub zero Warp 6 Warp 4 Warp 2 Injection 7-1-4 M-1 M-2 Helium (and various pro return versions of most of them) I think the 714 were more intended for inline than ice (with all the ventilation, etc.) and the warps were for both ice and inline. Though I do think the 714 was the crossover glove that really started them down the path to being taken more seriously in the ice dept. And it was designed by our very own Justin... :) Honestly, I don't think any company in the history of hockey has put more innovation and creativity in their gloves. Since going more to the ice side of things, I think the glove lines have suffered a little in the flair and bleeding edge developments because ice folk just aren't willing to try new and experimental things like inline players are, IMO.

Hey, what are you sayin there? That us guys in our 30's stand around?! Because I'll tell you one thing... it's all TRUE! ;) Actually, typically it feels like you're flying so fast in a game but when you see it on video it's like it's in slow motion. Just recently our teammate had his fiancee tape a game of ours (which we didn't know about) and he brought a dvd of it to the game. It looked like we were all skating in syrup! I also realized that in inline my technique seems to be "skate like you have a broomstick down your pantsleg" because I don't think I saw my knees bend once (which is the opposite when I play ice). You look pretty decent for only playing a year! boy, 0-4 with 4 goals for? That's brutal.. that'll get pretty old after a while (and yeah, I've been there).

I wouldn't say you suck! You were in pretty good position for that shot.. but man your D man threaded that pass quite nicely. I've kind of always wondered how the leagues matched up regionally (ie, what someone's C league team is like against someone else's etc.). I will say this, if guys were standing around like they were in those vids in our adult C.. they'd get absolutely slaughtered... of course our leagues are all screwey because we have players that play in national tourneys in Narch, TORHS and CRHL in our c and d league adult leagues

Nice! Someone that still uses the old mission injection gloves, those were great IMO.

This wrist wrap looks promising. I wondered when the wrapII came out, why they just didn't integrate the whole cuff into the wrap rather than tucking the wrap into the cuff (reducing mobility). Looks like they're on the right track. Now if they could just make the rest of the glove look decent... though the synergy 900 (read: air) looks good.

Sorry, I meant the Euro ulta-xtremes.

They would sell like hotcakes in the youth market. Woods that look like synergies? Are you kidding?? Parents and kids would be happy.

Sweetness on both accounts! ;)

What I'm wondering is, do Ribeiro's gloves have some sort of spring mechanism that releases and fires the gloves in the air in the event that someone checks him? Out of curiosity.. did Mission drop their protective line after only one year of being back in the game???

They looked pretty traditional to me... even the infinities look pretty much like a standard eagle with the backrolls split down the middle. The paintjobs look different and the cuff is slightly different, but nothing too outlandish.

I love those Michigan State Eagle's in the bottom left. Michigan State's colors are green and white. You're thinking Michigan U (wolverines) which the gloves aren't either, they're Thrashers gloves. Actually, none of the gloves in that pic are even custom.. the ones in the center are just standard XX and the surrounding gloves are just the eagle pro models.

Helmet: Mission Carbster - a bit heavier than some, but way more comfortable. Visor: Oakley half aviator - no fogging and clear vision shoulder pads: Nike V-10 super light, comfortable and excellent mobility elbow pads: Easton Z-air (2001) - super mobile and light and don't slip thanks to the silicone liner Pants: Easton air 2004, light and protective. Was using M-1s but ripped them to shreds after about a year of use Gloves: Mission M-1/Mission helium/Easton air (2002)/TPS response plus Shins: Easton Z-air 2001 - very comfortable and broken in, also playing with Jofa 9090s every now and again Skates: Mission Purefly Pro-stock with Pitch holders: awesome comfort (pro clarino liner)

Product: 14" Bauer Vapor XX gloves Background: 6'1" 198lbs Forward/Defense Fit- The fit of the glove is more of a snug fit. Actually it's more "secure" than snug. Compared with the Vapor XV and the old Nike Quest models, the XX is definitely more "loose" than the aforementioned gloves. The XX does an excellent job of cutting the "slop" or "play" in most gloves while still giving excellent freedom of movement. There is no feeling of having gloves 'around' your hands, it's more a feeling of having the gloves be part of your hands. They've definitely done some biomechanical research when creating the design of these gloves. They flow with every movement of your hands and wrist. There is no break-in with these gloves. They feel great on the first use, and they will only get better with sweat. The index finger is triple jointed, which gives excellent range of motion and the fingers are angled so that your hand can close and open very naturally when stickhandling. For me personally all of the segments on the fingers met perfectly with my knuckles, this provides excellent mobility and a no real feeling of being 'disconnected' from my stick. The cuff is adjustable (which I have not attempted to adjust as it is fine where it is) which is a nice feature. The cuff allows for unrestricted movement in all directions. It is wide, yet still enclosed and protective of the wrist. Outstanding. Protection- These gloves are absolute tanks as far as protection is concerned. Easily as protective as the 5000 or any glove on the market for that matter. What is so stunning about the gloves, is the combined freedom of movement and natural feel while still being so protective. Two traits that are typically mutually exclusive when it comes to gloves. You usually have to sacrifice one for the other, not the case here. The gloves are covered with dual density foams, multi-layered in most spots. Typical "soft" areas are all well covered (pinky, index finger, low side of the cuff, etc.). Plastic inserts the forehand which are probably redundant (with all the dual-density foam being enough) give extra protection against sharp impacts. I have been hacked/slashed several times, typically I don't realize it until I get on the bench and see someone's tape marks on the gloves. Weight- Not the absolute lightest glove in the world, though by NO means are they heavy in the least. They are consistent with the weight of other top tier gloves on the market (M-1, Eagles, name a great glove). The great thing about them is that they are balanced very well. Something most people don't think about. They are balanced between the forward section of the glove and the cuff making them seem even lighter. Some gloves have issues with the cuff being heavy (which tends to make the gloves feel heavy) or the forward section being heavy (making them feel like they'll fall off). No such problems with these, they are perfectly balanced. Durabillity- The material of the glove is also very wear resistant. Mine are about 3 months old with heavy usage (at least 4 times a week) and they still look new (granted I have the all black model). But the material is not worn, scuffed or torn. The outer materials are of very high quality. The textured materials take wear very well as well. My main concern was the palm of the gloves which are very different from any other glove. It is a neoprene 'like' material labeled "stretch-palm". Though I would say it more closely resembles a nike dri-fit or under armour material. I initially thought it would wear very poorly, but in contrast it is one of the most durable palms I have seen since goatskin. These gloves have been used quite often and there is absolutely NO visible wear on the stretch-palm material at all. It looks absolutely brand new. Maybe I am just not hard on palms but I'm pretty shocked at it's durability. Intangibles- The looks of the gloves are less than conventional, to say the least. Some will not get past the look of the glove alone. I am rather taken by the looks of them. While they are certainly flashier than my typical taste, the option of the all black model subdues alot of the flash and you're left with a very modest looking glove, albeit still very different looking. Some people may have issue with the stretch-palm as well. While it did take some getting used to for me, I have really grown to like it very much. Initially, they feel "slippery", but it is deceiving. The slippery part you feel is actually the *interior* of the palm, not the outside. The feeling goes away with a few uses, I believe the stretch palm breaks-in on the inside and feels more natural with use. It is a different experience than most nash palms but I have grown accustomed to it. Actually most regular palms feel a little 'dead' to me. The stretch-palm combined with the Dri-fit interior of the glove keeps them *very* cool indeed. One of the best features if you ask me. Overall- Combine the coolness, protection and range of motion of this glove with any other on the market, it will not lose. I feel Bauer has really come out with a winner in this glove. Obviously alot of R&D (and quality assurance) has been poured into this product. The only detractors I can see with the glove is the cost (it's a flaghip product and has a price to match) and perhaps some people won't accept the stretch-palm. But I said that about tapered shafts, supple-fit skates, nylon gloves and many other innovations that people eventually came around to accept with actual use. Many people may opt to go for the XV at it's significantly lower pricepoint. It does share many of the features of the XX, I find the fit to be similar to the XX with the exception that the XV is significantly tighter fitting. Also, it uses different materials (less dual density and no PE inserts) as well as mostly silk screened graphics substituted for the mult-layered stitched materials of the XX. The standard nash palm of the XV will probably win some over, but I've grown to really like the XX palm. This glove is a real winner and I look forward to the gloves that will eventually compete with it. Overall Rating- 9.5/10