Westside

Had my first game with the FT3 pro over the weekend. Stick did feel great and my shots felt real strong with it. Only issue I ran into throughout the game was my shots going higher than I’m used to. Stick specs are more or less the same to my Vapor sticks so the primary difference is hybrid vs low kick. Do mid kick sticks shoot higher or do I simply need to adjust my technique to get them 2-3” further down?

Can’t Speak to the Kraft boots, but I’m a big fan of matching my ice boots to my roller boots. No need to adjust one way or the other when that’s the case. Also gives you the ability to use whatever chassis/wheel combo you want rather than what the manufacturer forces you to buy

I’d check Michaels or Joann fabrics for some soft/stretchy/durable fabric. For padding, I ordered a 12”x12” sheet of poron off Amazon in the early days of quarantine to add backhand padding to a pair of gloves I had

I use the standard insert on the R1. Had the O1 and wrote a comparison between the two a while back (it might be in this thread). Standing still the O1 required you to stabilize yourself more (I had the center bolt very loose), but in actual use I found them both to be very similar. The R1 chassis doesn't move as much as the O1, but when you're skating around it was difficult to tell the difference between the two. In my comparison I literally had the R1 on one foot and the O1 on the other

Obviously it's all personal preference, but I didn't find much difference between PPTK and PP90 size wise. I'm using the same size girdle and shell (medium). I took these photos a few months back:

If anyone is still watching this topic, I figured I'd post a slight update to this as I've been wearing the new tops for a few months now. The Warroad has some pilling on the fabric as it gets caught pretty easily on any piece of velcro that comes close to it. No holes or anything yet, but this is concerning for long-term durability. The Shock Doctor is just too damn hot for me personally. I can feel the sweat dripping whenever I wear it unless I'm in a super cold rink. I ended up finding another another top on sale for about $30 and decided to buy a new TSLA top for $15. Cut the sleeves off of the SD and sewed them onto the TSLA. Have a bye week this week so no games, but I think this might be the perfect base layer for me. The shirt is lightweight, back is all mesh for breathability, and the shock doctor sleeves are easy to use and hold my pads into place. Seeing as I got the components for the project for cheap, it was worth trying and if it sucks I'm not out much money. Back view; the back panel of the TSLA is one giant piece vs 3 on the Shock Doctor, plus it's mesh and lighter weight for much better breathability. I folded it kind of wonky in this photo, but the sleeves do match. Blew the crotch out of my go-to base layer bottoms recently and replaced them as well. Back panel is almost all vented mesh for solid breathability. Took some gripper sock paint and made designs to help hold my shins in place. Did this to my old pair and it works surprisingly well.

Thanks for the input all. I had a Trigger stick around 2017/2018, but not in a curve I liked. Heard bad things about the Trigger 5, but a lot of good things with the Trigger 6. If I can find one of those at a good price down the road I'll give it a shot. In the meantime, I think I'll try out the FT3 Pro to see what all the hype is about. With the FT5 Pro shown in the CCM catalogue hopefully that'll mean I can find another FT3 Pro for even cheaper, or pick up an FT4 Pro if I like the hybrid kick point.

It’s come the time to replace the last of my Bauer 1X lite sticks that I’ve been using for the last few years. No complaints about them, but obviously they’re pretty much impossible to find now. I was debating about an FT3 Pro or 3X Pro; both I’ve found in my preferred curve/flex and both are essentially the same price. Has anyone used either of these sticks and/or the 1X Lite? Thoughts on FT3 Pro over 3X Pro? Obviously the CCM is all about the hybrid kickpoint, but because it’s a mix of mid and low, I thought the two sticks might still have a similar release.

Confusing as PSH has two PP12 shells listed on their site; one looks like the regular PP10, the other is a girdle shell. So two totally different shells under the same name. I asked a similar question a while back about the difference between PP10 and PP15; there was none. Could simply be CCM updating naming conventions like what they've done with the 9K shells vs PP90 shells.

Continued quality work by a member here… 🙄

Can’t speak to the Tuuk issue, but coming from Bauer to CCM, I was blown away by how much more difficult the CCM holder is to put steel on. I literally have to put the skate on the ground and press down with all my body weight before the crank knob will allow me to tighten the steel. Unscrews and pops out no problem

While I personally seem to gravitate toward 3 piece, the elbow pads that have stayed in place the best on me were the Warrior DX pads (the LX is the successor). The sleeve and straps on those pads were unbelievable! Way too much protection for my beer league and they were about an inch too long and would interfere with my gloves, but they were as close to the perfect pad for me as I've found. The LX seemed like a downgrade in materials and build quality compared to the DX. I tried the STX RX3 since they also had a sleeve, but they would float and not stay perfectly in place so I was not a fan. For the past month or so I've been using tops with reversible sleeves that fold over the elbow pads, thereby keeping them in place. This is the best solution I've found personally.

Might want to check SLS. With my first pair of TF9s I sold both of those things since I use superfeet and mounted Marsblade to the boots

I literally made one of these in the early days of Covid lockdowns out of some spare lumber. Super easy to do

It’s a specific colorway, so yeah just the pro stock version

There’s a pair of 13’s I’d love to get my hands on, but it’s a pricey mistake if they wind up being too small

Did you go with 13’s when you normally wear 14’s? Every time I’ve sized down in a glove based on other’s recommendation, the fingers are always too short. Was looking at picking up a pair of these as well

Where is your tongue positioned? The further down the less volume you’ll have. You can gain more volume by moving it higher or using a thinner tongue. I have one pair with the retail TF9 tongue and move it slightly lower. Another pair has the old custom felt tongue and I move it higher.

Thanks. Yeah, unfortunately they won't ship to the states

Can you please tell me where you're able to find FT3 team sticks for $80 CAD and do they ship to the states? Cheapest I can find them for is $140 USD

Awe man, I used to love H2O back in the day. Good memories

Had two games this weekend and swapped super feet carbons with super feet comfort. No issues with rubbing or blisters. So…. Maybe the carbons push your arch up a bit higher than the comforts? Either way, I’m hopeful swapping insoles was the simple fix I was after

I know Thom had a handful of sizes available a few weeks ago. Might be worth reaching out to him to see if he still has any A7 left. https://sidelineswap.com/gear/hockey/inline-roller/chassis/3191271-new-sprung-a6-in-line-roller-chassis-frame-6593

The CCMs look nice, but I can’t seem to find them anywhere. If I ever stumble upon an UA outlet I’ll stop in and see if they have any hockey tops/bottoms

I'm not sure when my attitudes towards base layers shifted since growing up I would play in boxers and that was it. As an adult, I'm not a fan of the feel of elastic/velcro/etc and have been wearing base layers top and bottom for years now. It was a bit of trial and error to find what worked for me and recently I've gone through that process again. Figured I'd make a post about it in case it helps anyone else. My go-to base layers for the last 5 or 6 years have been made by a company called TSLA (not the cars) on Amazon. I forget who suggested them, but at the time you could buy ventilated tops and bottoms for $25 total. Insane price and they've held up amazingly well! They're not made for hockey so they don't have any rubberized bits to help keep pads in place, but they do breathe well, wick moisture, and are the best bang for your buck. I run hot so ventilation is important to me. The top has vents along the length of the arms and across the entire back. The overall material is on the thinner side, which I appreciate, and then there's the lighter mesh material for ventilation. It's a compression top, but doesn't make you feel like you're in a sausage casing. I think the version that I wear have been discontinued, but this this new version is very similar and under $20. No frills with pads on. They keep velcro and all that off your bare skin and help soak up sweat. Basic, but they work Trying something new, but not wanting to break the bank, I gave Adidas hockey base layer a shot. Price-wise it's under $40 and they use the 3-stripes along the arms to help keep pads in place. This is another compression top which is more form fitting than the TSLA, but could also be due to how worn my old tops are. The entire back is mesh for nice breathability. As my first experience with rubberized elbows, I felt like there should be more stripes or they should have been relocated. Based on the shirt I have, the stripes wrap more on the top of the elbow vs the bottom and don't do much to help keep the pads in place. Getting them to the underside of my elbow causes the sleeve to contort in an unnatural and uncomfortable way. For the price, it's not a bad solution, but I feel it leaves something to be desired. For me, the stripes didn't really help keep the pads in place Next up is a version from Shock Doctor. I've used other items of theirs in the past and am typically impressed by the feel and function of what they offer. The Core Hockey Shirt they offer not only has rubberized texture on the elbow, but the sleeve also folds over itself to further lock pads into place. At less than $60 the price is starting to creep up, but not terribly so. You may sense a theme, but this is another compression top. The overall material is the thickest I've tried so far and definitely helps keep you 'compressed'. I sized up and still felt it was a bit tight, but am hopeful it'll loosen up with more wear. The only ventilation panels are on the armpits. Seeing how thick the material is, I would have really appreciated the back panel to have mesh; especially given how it's constructed (multiple panels instead of a single piece of fabric). On the other hand, it's useful at extremely cold rinks like the one I played at yesterday. The rubberized elbow pieces contour your elbow much better than Adidas' version and the sleeve that slides over the pad does so very easily and holds the pad on exactly as you would expect. When the sleeve is folded over your bare forearm is exposed which I guess kind of helps you cool down a bit. The sleeve folded over the forearm part of my elbow pads Last up is a bit of a splurge and that's the TILO Pro Paddlock from Warroad. They also offer rubberized textured patches on the elbow as well as a sleeve that folds over itself similar to the Shock Doctor. Their claim to fame, however, is the cut resistant forearm sleeves. Before I go any further, let me get the elephant out of the room. This top costs $140! Even with the 40% discounts they were running over the holidays, it was still $80. That's a lot of coin for a top seeing as I've previously been happy with something that cost under $20. But now that price is out of the way, let's get into the shirt itself. TILO stands for 'tight and loose' meaning their arms are tight and the body is loose. That's generally not what I look for in a top so I ordered my regular size and a size smaller hoping to get the body a bit more conforming. Unfortunately, the cut resistant sleeves become too tight when sizing down and feel like they're cutting off circulation. Regular size body isn't terribly baggy which is a plus, but it's not as form fitting as I'd like. That said, the entire top is made of a lightweight mesh material. By far my favorite material as it breathes extremely well. The elbows have the most rubberized material compared to any of the other tops I've tried. The folding sleeves are a bit tight/finicky to get on with one hand. You basically have to fold over one side, press it against your chest to hold it in place over your pad, and then fold over the other side. Nowhere near as easy as the Shock Doctor even with the handy loops. However, once they're in place, the elbow pad doesn't move at all. I have to imagine they'll loosen up the more I wear it, but if you wear bulky elbow pads, it'd be a PITA to put on. I've never had my forearms cut, nor seen it happen to anyone in person, but I know it can happen so I suppose the cut resistant sleeve is just another preventative measure. The sleeve fits obviously snug and warm, but the fact the rest of the shirt breathes crazy well doesn't make this too big of a deal. With the sleeve folded over you can see the cut protection sleeve underneath So that's that guys. Options from $20-140 with a variety of different features. I don't feel any of them are perfect, but the Shock Doctor and Warroad are easily my new favorites. I don't see myself using any other tops going forward. If Shock Doctor created a thinner/more breathable top it would be the perfect base layer for what I'm after. I feel their sleeves grip the pads well enough to keep them in place and the fold-over portion is easy to use. I could take or leave the cut resistant sleeve on Warroad so that's not a major selling point for me. If they sold the top for about half the price and offered a slightly more compression version, it would be much closer to what I like to wear as I'm a huge fan of the mesh material. Time will tell if the fold over sleeve will open up and become easier to use. I don't plan on trying out anymore tops as my wallet has had enough with these, but if there's a brand I've missed that would check all my boxes, maybe I'll try it out too.