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Not too long ago (maybe a couple of months?) Dick's Sporting goods had V08 combos for sale in store and online, wouldn't be a bad deal except it comes with a hideous looking cage. I've also seen them listed on some Canadian retail sites that ship to the US, so yes you can still get them at retail but it might be a little more work.

V08 from my experience is the closest. I wore 4500's back in the day and then switched to V08's which I wear now. I've tried the Resistance 100 which was way too square/round, not very oval, and also have an IMS9 which just doesn't feel quite right, it feels ok at first but I can never get past 10 minutes without it getting uncomfortable.

Such a tragedy and a freak accident. Immediately I was reminded of what happened to Zuccarello a few years back, he got up but couldn't hear and had vision issues on the bench, scary to hear about all of that stuff. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/nov/12/mats-zuccarello-rangers-comeback-brain-injury On the Russian side... you wonder if this had happened in NA if he would have survived, they don't have the best track record when it comes to incidents (see Alexei Cherepanov).

Looks like the mid 90's Supreme 3000 was the all time favorite skate of Daryll Sutter, not a bad choice at all.

Did you try with socks on? Socks will help keep the shin guard flap down and allow the thigh pads to slide more easily. I've never had my thigh pads tight enough that they wouldn't allow the top flap of the shin guards to slide under, they're snug but not constricting in any way. With that said, I've always removed (I had a couple pair that the top flap just velocro'd on) or cut the top flap of my shin guards just because I don't like how it sits and don't feel it adds any real protection. As for the knee cap plastic, when standing straight I've always had my thigh pads kind of just barely resting above the knee cap, that way when I bend in a skating position it sits above the plastic while still providing protection and doesn't protrude from the shell. This also comes down to personal preference since some people like them lower or higher, and that's the great thing about this girdle (and the 9K), they allow for length adjustment on the thigh pads which lets you experiment til you find what you like.

1. Bauer Air 90 (I wanted the Micron's so bad but they stopped making them so I got these, I just remember I loved them at the time). 2. Graf 705's - had these til they literally fell apart on me 3. Bauer Supreme 3000's - circa 95ish, back when top of the line skates were around $300 or less 4. Ribcor 78k - since that's what I'm in now and I really love them, it has been a while (and 3 or 4 pairs of other skates) since I've had a pair feel this good. I don't have a 5 since everything else has been meh at best.

I remember seeing them and I believe your guess is right, I'd say def late 90's/2000. The graphic on the hosel with the arrows and heating logo remind me of my old Z-Bubble which was around 98/99ish (the green one, I got one my first or second year in college and LOVED that thing), I don't remember those graphics on the earlier aluminum shafts. I don't recall what the taper wall actually was though, I kind of think it was a lower end model for some reason where the T-Flex (prob a little before this one) and Z-Bubbles were higher end, but this is 20+ years ago so my memory might not be too accurate.

I'm a step in guy too, just can't get into the wrap styles after wearing step ins since the 90's. There's not a ton of protection on the back of the legs in either the 9K or ST but, honestly, I haven't seen anything that really offers too much so it's on par with most out there imho. The ST def has more tailbone protection, and I feel the hip pads wrap me a little more and add a little more in the rear hip/side but area, also the ST has some awesome spine protection which was non existent on the 9K.

My old 9K had zero elastic on the thigh straps anymore lol. The ST girdle hasn't stretched that I can tell, maybe just loosened a little mobility wise, but if you have larger thighs I'd def go with the large. The waist would be fine for you in a medium but the thigh pads and straps are def sized on the tiny side (I've never been accused of having large legs, I'm closer to the toothpick end of the spectrum, and the medium has the strap just reaching the velcro on the front, if I had thicker legs these would be stretched out just to reach).

Just thought I'd revive this topic since Bauer has come out with a mask made to attach to the cage (their take on the CCM one). My 8yr old son started playing again recently and I just picked up the Bauer for him to try (he'd been wearing a regular mask under the cage and had tried, and not liked, the CCM mask for the cage). First impressions of the Bauer are that it seems 100x nicer than the CCM... more thought out, better made, nicer material, and better fitting. The sizing was a little odd but it works for him... basically they have Jr and Sr but the Jr sizes are only for the tiniest cages they make (my son wears a small Profile II and they said Sr was the size so that's what we went with and it fits well, there seems to be enough room with the straps and give that it would fit most faces/cages). So yea, if anyone is in the market you might want to check these out, I know if/when I'm ready to get back out there I'll probably go with the Bauer option.

According to reddit and sports2k those are just placeholders in the catalog and NOT what they're actually going to look like so don't get too excited lol.

Looking at the 2S pro images on both the Bauer website and HockeyMonkey I see what you mean... on the Bauer site it looks as if the XRD is part of the liner/knee padding, where as the Hockey Monkey image shows it more as a liner with a hole and the XRD behind it. My guess is the XRD is attached to the knee structure and there's a hole in the liner that looks like a donut (just minus the additional padding the old donuts used to have mmmm donuts), the Bauer image has them just so perfectly lined up it looks like it's all solid.

This x1000 lower level is full of wanna be tough guys who think Beer League is full contact and that there are scouts watching, it's the worst, I would never play in a lower level without adequate protection. As you go up and play with more experienced and skilled players it's not as much of an issue... I'd still wear adequate pads since A) I'm old (as much as I hate to admit it) and B) I've already had one shoulder surgery and neither shoulder is really 100%, not worth the risk for me For lower profile pads, there have been some good suggestions but also check out the STX stuff, they have some lower profile ones in the Surgeon line which are reasonably priced, as well as CCM RBZ/Quicklite/Jetspeed line, they're pretty light and low profile but also protective.

This, an also I think it's partly an illusion with how he's pulling his chin back and down, sort of pushing the bubble outwards. I bought that bubble once and it's definitely not big lol, the larger size fits like a medium CCM cage which is generally smaller than the Bauer medium cage, I had to return mine because it was just way too small (I wear a medium Bauer cage normally and am between a medium and large CCM cage). As for the gold... I love it, it's gaudy and obnoxious just like Las Vegas, it wouldn't work for any other team.

I remember those early Eastons, the gold with green writing and the silver (and one kid I knew even had the chrome Gretzky one)... they looked awesome but were so stiff and would hurt my hands when shooting from the shock of the shaft (and forget about getting any flex out of them being I was in maybe 10th grade when they came out). I loved the look and the style points of the Eastons but my old Vic 4050's had some awesome flex and worked so much better for me (honestly my favorite wooden stick ever).

Just picked up a couple of CCM masks for my kid's helmets for roller hockey since we just started back up the other week. My daughter wears glasses and was having fog issues with a regular mask so I'm hoping this will help her out, so far it seems to sit nicely on her face and appears that it will allow air out the sides towards the back better as to not fog the glasses as much. My son's cage doesn't play well with the mask... he has a CCM FM40 mask with the attached chin cup (like the old Jofa style, non floating) and the mask doesn't wrap around it well... my solution was to just order a new cage for him that has a floating chin cup so now I'm waiting on that. I bought one for myself too so whenever I can get back on the ice I'll be all set.

That's the one. The ear loops are much more comfortable than most masks and don't irritate the ears as much (I've worn mine for hours at a time on a few occasions), but as Dave mentioned, it's a thicker puffier mask so that would affect how it fits under a chin cup (I've seen others say it's like wearing a padded bra on their face 🤣).

Love the comparison Dave. Question... the CCM mask, wouldn't it be just as easy, and maybe a better fit to the face, to just wear a regular mask underneath the cage? I know they make some that breathe really well now while still passing the candle test (I have a couple of the UnderArmour ones that I've worn to photograph weddings that I find are amazing with how breathable they are and how they keep my face cooler than others I've tried, and this is wearing them for 6-8hrs with minimal mask breaks). Again, thanks for the comparison, really really hope to see you and the rest of the guys out on the ice in the near future (so I can get photos of us learning how to skate again 🤣).

I believe the Trigger 2 and older models had some blade durability issues where they had a tendency to split at the toe (I had a couple Trigger 2's and had one start to split from normal use but this was after a season or so). The Trigger 3D seems to have a much better blade (construction wise), I have a couple of those and haven't had any issues like I did with the older model after quite a while (knock on wood). I have no experience with the Jetspeed but it's on my list of sticks I'd like to try.

And I thought it was just my OCD needing to check the tightness before each skate.

My first thought was Innovative (or was it "Inno" at first?). I remember in the mid 90's that was so far ahead of anything else out there, the rounded shaft was so comfortable and it looked awesome (I remember a black shaft with blue/white graphics and a light sandpaper texture). They were def smaller than most companies and you hardly saw them anywhere.

That whole Techniflex line was so far ahead of its time. The elbows and shoulder pads were awesome. I had a few 3pc elbowpads over the past 10 years (V08, RBZ, jetspeed) but none were as good as those techniflex ones. As for the helmet... I must have gotten my first one just after they changed to Bauer, I remember the guy at the store (Syosset Sports, the Islanders old supplier) explaining the difference between the 2 models he had and the one I went with (the 4500 I'm guessing) had thinner VN foam and a thin piece of a denser black foam closer to the shell. I remember him saying "the shells are the same and the overall thickness of padding is the same but this one the pros think looks smaller on their heads since there's not as much of the thick foam", I was sold and that may have been the first time I learned what the mirror test was 🤣

I've never noticed any of the adjustment tabs/straps while wearing the girdle. As for sizing, it runs small in the waist and thigh wrap/width so you might want to size up if you're between sizes... I'm 5'9" 170lbs with a 32/33 waist and wear a medium in every other girdle with no issues, the Super Tacks girdle is the snuggest I've ever had and the velcro straps just make it around my thighs which are on the skinnier side (my 9K girdle straps are maxed out and are barely snug in comparison), length wise there are no issues as it has a ton of adjustability to shorten or lengthen.

You're right Staal does still use it, I always thought his looked a little goofy but now seeing it on Grabner I think it's just the helmet that looks goofy because it looks a lot better on the V08.

As someone above mentioned, try on the Ribcor line, the 80k or even the 78k, they're designed to give a little bit more flex than most of today's skates and also have some great padding inside that conforms to a wide variety of feet. Might as well at least try them out while you're at the shop.