Bauer Quality

[Slapshot 0]

Hockey equipment used to be made in CANADA. Now most of the stuff is made in China.

No one gives a sh*t about quality anymore, its all about making money. Sad.

As one who's company makes its products in Asia -- and who is based out of Sweden, rather than Canada, anyway -- I don't believe the production quaility is necessarily bad.

As a matter of fact, most people on the board know that I think some of our products are outstanding, whereas others still need improvement. But that's our design issues, not Asian production quality. The Asian factories will make to the specifications of the "manufacturer," which is why you can see two sticks from the same factory look completely alike but perform differently.

I mentioned in an earlier thread that a top selling stick was known to have increased the fibreglass content to try to lower costs. As a result, they started suffering high breakage rates.

Again, the manufacturer designs the product and the factory will produce to that design/spec.

Jason

Asian manufacturing seems to be dependent on "Quality Control" measures versus specs or desgin issues with a product. Sure if the product is designed poorly it doesn't matter who makes it, it will still be a poor product.

Lets face it, Japan has a reputation of producing high quality goods where I can't say the same for the rest of the countries in Asia. Whether you are buying Japanese electronics, cars, musical equipment, industrial equipment, etc...you are getting a higher quality of product (on average) then the same product built in other asian countries. It is not to say that the rest of the Asian countries don't produce quality items, but there seems to be a higher incidence of quality concerns with them and I believe it comes down to a "quality control" issue more then a manufacturers design.

[Jim A 4]

I think a lot of companies don't mind the "quality control" as the issue compared to changing their specs...when the ish hits the fan on products...

that being said..despite working for the largest hockey retailer..i didn't see 5% of the issues some of you did...maybe they just don't like you guys :D

[DarkStar50 679]

Any piece of equipment no matter how much you pay for it, no matter where it is manufactured will fall apart if it isn't properly maintained by the player. Even a Mercedes will die if you don't get regular tune-ups, etc. In my pro shop, I see lots of skates when sharpening that are just totally abused by peewee, bantam, midget, jr, and mens league players. If guys would take the time to empty the bag of their gear, pull out the footbeds in the skates, and actually hang the gear up to dry and ventilate, it would all last longer and not break down from the destruction of the salt in your sweat.

Believe it or not, the equipment is made better today than it was 10 years ago, and better 10 years ago than it was made 20 years ago. I have been buying equipment at wholesale since 1980. The research design and development is there among the big players in the industry. The incredible investment in time and money is made long before any skate is "rushed to the consumer." It doesn't happen that way when a company's reputation and business is on the line everyday. There are some skate manufacturerers who really should save their money and stop trying. but everyone wants a piece of the pie so they will keep on trying. If you buy product from that kind of company, then you get what you pay for. You are also investing in a company's reputation and heritage as a skate maker when you purchase. It should be obvious who has been around a long, long time. These guys won't be perfect 100% of the time but they are closer to 100% than the competition is. Also, take the time to look at the product(skates, gloves, etc.) when you purchase them. Make sure the blades are straight, the stitching is tight on the gloves. You have no one to blame but yourself if you don't.

As said earlier, when skates, sticks, gloves, or anything is made lighter, it is done for performance, not durability. Today's player at the elite level wants the lightest product he can find. He understands he is sacrificing durability and long life for performance. Everytime a customer in the shop moans about a high price OPS, we tell them you are buying performance, not durabilty. You don't buy a Porsche to drive around town. You buy it to drive fast. A OPS is a Porsche, the VW's are over there with the wood and fibreglass sticks.

[Cavs019 710]

Agreed, only product I've really had die on me is a stick, which is expected. I also take extreme care of my stuff.

[Chadd 916]

As said earlier, when skates, sticks, gloves, or anything is made lighter, it is done for performance, not durability. Today's player at the elite level wants the lightest product he can find. He understands he is sacrificing durability and long life for performance. Everytime a customer in the shop moans about a high price OPS, we tell them you are buying performance, not durabilty. You don't buy a Porsche to drive around town. You buy it to drive fast. A OPS is a Porsche, the VW's are over there with the wood and fibreglass sticks.

Pros may understand that but parents and kids don't seem to grasp the trade-off. The thing I find funny is kids don't mind breaking 6 Stealth or 5 XXX in a month but heaven forbid some other stick breaks, even after 6 months.

[Jason Harris 31]

If guys would take the time to empty the bag of their gear, pull out the footbeds in the skates, and actually hang the gear up to dry and ventilate, it would all last longer and not break down from the destruction of the salt in your sweat.

DarkStar,

You probably missed our earlier thread but, as a retailer, you should look into Funk Free. It's a deodorizer that breaks down salt. Enough so that goalies have stated their glove is easier to open/close.

Jason