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I feel like most modern shinguards have thinned out the inner padding so much lately. I had Super Tacks with the D30 or whatever it's called, it was great if you fell exactly on that spot but as we all know, you don't always fall square on the center of your knee. I took a few falls on the upper portion and bruised my knee pretty well since it's essentially thin padding behind the plastic shell. I have since picked up a pair of 8K pro stock shinguards with the thick liner and wow what a difference. The inner padding makes a huge difference and adds a ton more protection all around your knee while not adding much weight or bulk, no wonder so many pros still wear the old Jofa/RBK pads. Sure the d#0 stuff is great if you take a Shea Weber blast straight to the knee cap but for the most part that stuff just seems like marketing nonsense to me.

I don't get the cream shells... why not tan to match the gloves? Or at least swap the white on the jersey/socks for cream to match the shell? Reminds me of a mis-matched Beer League uniform.

Gloves now a days don't require much break in from what I've seen, most are good to go from the start... long gone are the days of full leather bricks taking months to break in 😂 the struggle was real back in the 90's... I still have flashbacks of breaking in Easton Air GX gloves, those things were torture but oh so rad.

Yes, most accept returns if you have not used/damaged the product. I bought mine from Pure Hockey online and returned it to their store since I was in the area. Just be exstra careful when installing it and testing around the house. Not sure what sort of guarantee anyone has once you've tried it on the ice.

I wear a small V08 (and medium in Bauer's). Cage and helmet size don't really correlate since everyone head and face sizes are different, I typically wear a large Bauer Profile II and Reakt cage, CCM cages never fit right, medium is too short and large too long, damn Goldilocks syndrome 😣

They're designed to fit on all helmets in theory so yea it should fit. I bought one and returned it. I put it on my V08 and it just felt a little too short, like my chin was left exposed a bit (this was my concern since it was a "one size fits all" senior shield and, in my experience, I've always sized up in cages to get a proper fit). I flipped the clips upside down to see if that gave me a little extra length and it I found it wasn't as easy as it is with a cage... the flipped clips gave me a little extra length but they changed the angle (of the dangle?) and the shield didn't even come close to sitting in the J clips (no matter how I adjusted them) and also left 2 slits between the helmet and top of shield that were large enough for a stick blade to easily slide into since now it was angled outwards ever so slightly. So my conclusion was mostly that shields don't fit my head/face correctly so I'll stick with my cage, too bad because it was a nice looking shield.

Might have better luck in the 2019-20 thread:

One thing to try before you go spending money is to try a different lacing style (if you search there is a thread or two that discusses various lacing techniques and pros/cons of each). My old Bauers were so stiff/high that I never felt I got enough fwd lean, but when I undid the top eyelet I too felt sloppy... I found the key was to skip the second from the top eyelet (look at pics of Crosby and his skates, he does the same), this gave me the support I was used to but loosened it just enough to allow more fwd lean, it was a win-win for me. Like I said, it might be worth a try before you go spending money (and even then you might like it and do it in whatever skates you get next).

Just saw this pic on Step's FB page with a different view of Kuch's skates, I don't remember seeing this one posted yet (and most images are blocked at work so sorry if it's old):

2 part question... A.) How far do you travel to play hockey yourself? How far do you live from the nearest rink or rinks? B.) How far do you drive your children to play or learn to play hockey? I know they're similar questions, basically, how far does everyone live from their nearest rink? Growing up in Nassau County on Long Island I was about 10mins away from a rink, I learned to skate and play on that rink, then as I got older I played on a bunch of rinks all between 10-35mins from home. Now I live out on the north eastern end of Long Island and the closest rink is a 45-60 minute drive (depending on traffic, etc). The league I play in plays at all different rinks since hockey rinks are few and far between on Long Island (in total I think we have about a dozen, most of which are in Nassau County which is the western part of the island). Most games I drive an hour plus to play, between 45-70 miles each way depending non the location, all late at night of course since those are the only hours us old folk get. Some drives home I contemplate if the drive is worth it and wonder how crazy I am for doing it, then again I wouldn't trade it for anything. Now that my kids are getting old enough to play I'm faced with that issue as well... they've been doing skating lessons at the closest rink (45min drive each way on Sunday mornings, well 45 mins there and over an hour and half home since all the citiots head to my neighborhood to pick pumpkins and apples and drink wine this time of year). My 9yo daughter seems like she might drop hockey in favor of swimming (yet another hike for us), but my 6yo son is just starting a learn to play program next month and I know he's in it for the long run (they both play roller hockey near home so already have a love for the game). So yea, does it ever get any easier??? Sorry this wasn't much of a question as it was a vent, just wanted to see if I was alone in living so far from a sport that I love.

Someone on S2K snagged a locker room close up of the skates, I don't want to steal his photo so here's a link to the post: http://www.sports2k.com/forum/index.php?/topic/5078-2019-2020-pro-stock-sightings/?p=364894

Superfeet Yellow or Carbon are great, I've had the Carbon Pro for the past 4 or so years in 2 skates and love them. CCM has a new line of insoles called Orthomove I believe, they're similar to the SF Yellow but have 2 or 3 different arch height adjustments (basically an attachment to the arch area to raise it various degrees), I've heard the quality is equal to SF but the adjustable arch option might be good for you to find the right fit.

yea, pretty sure the image of him with STX gloves/stick was from training camp, he was also using a Warrior at some point in camp but once the season started he's been in full CCM. From what I can guess you prob. won't see him in CCM marketing since he most likely didn't sign an endorsement deal with them (honestly that additional money would be pocket change to him).

Teammate grabbed a couple nice ones of me last night with my camera, nice to be on that side of the lens sometimes (I'm a league photographer so I shoot between shifts, I try to teach some teammates how to use the camera in hopes to be in photos but usually the results aren't that great, last night I played with another photographer who knew what they were doing 🙂)

Have you tried 31 Thoughts with Elliotte Friedman? He's been putting out episodes already has some great interviews. I do HCN during the season along with 31 Thoughts and, of course, Spittin Chiclets... I'm an hour and 15+ away from work so I get some good windshield time to catch up on podcasts.

I just checked out their website, yikes. Best part was their Mission Statement, looks like something Michael Scott would write.

I had an old pair of leather Sher-Woods that had that happen to the graphics after a cleaning in an early sani-sport type machine.

Good to know, thanks! I've never used a full fishbowl so wasn't sure, I just know with cages they have S, M, L and they all fit very different which makes it tricky.

How is the sizing on this? I normally wear a large Bauer cage (Profile II and Reakt) and CCM cages never fit right (mediums are too small and larges too long). I see this shield is a one size fits all so just curious how they manage to accommodate all different face sizes.

I picked up a brand new old stock 9k girdle on PSH for $70 shipped a few weeks back (they still have XL in stock), it replaced my old 9K that was falling apart. I love the mobility and protection the 9K provides. Also, you can wear any shell on any girdle, you don't need to wear the PP90's on 9K's, anything fits as long as it has a belt 😉

I've seen CCM post about it recently on IG and it honestly caught my eye. I've never been a fan of bubbles but this one intrigues me, wonder how they'd look on a Vector.

I have a couple of V08's and have used the Profile II's for a few years (I prefer the grey or the oreo one, the bright white I didn't care for). The Profile II fits the V08 great but make sure you get the size that fits your face... I wear a large Bauer cage on my small V08, the cage and helmet don't have to be the same size. I went with the Profile because it was the closest shape to the old Jofa I had in the 90s (CCM makes something similar but their sizing is odd, medium is way too small and large way too big). As for the Reakt, I've been trying one for the past month and a half on one of my helmets and I'm still on the fence... I like the weight (which I really didn't think would be noticeable), and the color since it is less distracting, but it's a slightly different/smaller shape than the Profile (I prefer the Profile shape over the Reakt) and the bars spacing is ever so slightly different than the Reakt so it took me a while to get used to t. All in all I think both are great choices and both fit well on V08 helmets.

That video... wow. Investors? Possibly you!

Nothing yet, JR said mid-August so I'm figuring another week or two before they get out to resellers and then the public (me).

If you can find a pair in your size still I'd say snatch them up asap, you won't be sorry! I searched for a pair in my size but couldn't find any (aside from a few on ebay that were advertised at orig. retail price still) so I picked up a pair of 78K's which are extremely similar (one step down from the 80k's, very similar to the 70k). I love the fit and feel, they def remind me more of an older traditional fitting boot which is what I was searching for (I had a pair of Vapors that were too stiff and felt too tall, and a pair of Supreme's before that which also felt too stiff and weren't a great fit for my foot). The Ribcors have great cushioning on the ankle that feel amazing while offering good stability but not being super stiff.