Facial protection?

[Ti-girl 0]

I play with a full cage, but then again have you ever seen a girl that doesn't?

[tokes 0]

I like my HS22 pro wave, good protection but comfortable and doesn't really fog at all. The first little bit of playing was very nerve wracking, but you get over it. I would not go back to a full cage unless I started playing in a hardcore contact league again.

[Miike 1]

Full cage, only because its required.

[DarkStar50 679]

Bauer FM 8000 full cage. I got hit in the mouth by the puck going 2 mph a long time ago. That was fast enough to kill the tooth. Since then I've taken countless sticks to the wire and never had a problem with vision.

[ChrisGP 0]

Recently made the move from full cage to a half face Itech Pro Wave visor...and so far I'm really liking it! Hopefully I'll still feel the same way when I get hit in the jaw by a puck!

[BK 0]

I play full cage everywhere. I played helmet only until my good friend got hit in the jaw.. total damage for him taking his cage off:

1 chipped tooth

1 tooth that protruded through his cheek

2 broken clean out at the roots

shattered jaw and fractured cheekbone.

I learn from others mistakes.. I wear a full cage now in dropin.

I dont think it hinders my game at all, plus its required in college.

[Neal 41]

I wear a HS22 wave in my beer league games. I wore a full cage for a while, but I felt restricted when I came into contact with someone, like I had to keep my head away from them to keep from clunking them with the cage. Of course I've got about 25 stitches in the mouth since that decision...

[sc37 0]

Nvr seen anyone wear a half cage.

[#44wannabe 4]

I play with a full cage, but then again have you ever seen a girl that doesn't?

I have, that canadian chick that plays pro in europe, name escapes me.

Anyways for league i have to a full cage, but for rec i wear half visor or nothing. Starting to wear the visor more because ill have to wear it my entire career in england if i play in a league.

[steve66 45]

Oakley 2.0

Never seen a half cage, but i've seen one guy wear a regular cage, but had cut a hole in front of his eyes, so it essentially became just a jaw protector

[shnuggs 0]

I have, that canadian chick that plays pro in europe, name escapes me.

Hayley Wickenheiser

[ash_96 0]

Just wondering... what are the main reasons people would use a half cage? i would have thought people who didnt want the chin cup would just use a visor?

I played against a guy using a half cage and one of those carbon fibre looking sherwood helmets.... looked nasty.

[Ti-girl 0]

I have, that canadian chick that plays pro in europe, name escapes me.

Hayley Wickenheiser

Yeah but now Wickenheiser is back wearing the full cage.

[j8Zt8r 0]

I tried the cage and it just drives me nuts. If it didn't curl under and have the chin strap I do not think it would bother me.

[steve66 45]

Just wondering... what are the main reasons people would use a half cage? i would have thought people who didnt want the chin cup would just use a visor?

I played against a guy using a half cage and one of those carbon fibre looking sherwood helmets.... looked nasty.

low maintainence

[Miserable 6]

Nvr seen anyone wear a half cage.

A guy I play with wears one. We play at an old rink were visors really get fogged up so he switched to the half cage and stuck with it.

I also play with someone who cut off the bottom 1/4 of a cage right above the chin strap. They said they could see the puck better.

I wear a full cage. Thought about not wearing one but every time I do I get popped in the cage s decide against it. It's not worth a puck or stick in the grill.

[hyprlte 0]

i use the itech hlc half visor.. and love it

[jason37 2]

FM480 - Chrome

[devilsrule711 0]

can you buy a half cage or do you have to make it yourself?

[steve66 45]

can you buy a half cage or do you have to make it yourself?

http://hockeygiant.com/itch910cg.html

[gavin 0]

Woah I guess protectionless guys on this board are at a premium. I'll step up and say that I don't wear any facial proction anymore and while I've been cut twice in the face before (high stick when I was only 6, headbutted with a full cage on, cut my eye when I was 14), I have had no problems with anything hitting my face ever since.

I don't claim to be superman, and very probably after writing this I will go and get my face crumpled in (knock on wood) but I (1) play defence and I'm not afraid to catch/bat away with glove a puck, even on a slapshot AND (2) watch what's going on when I'm on the bench. The puck has a few more feet to go to get to your nozzle, so it shouldn't take you by surprise there.

Now I know accidents do happen, and a lot of people play a lot of hockey and no doubt someone on this board has had bad experiences (just by sheer volume of hockey played), so I'm not insulting your reflexes if you've been hit bad. But I just will take my chances trying to defend my own grin, if it gives me a chance to play better AND show off my perly whites whilst doing so.

[santiclaws 0]

Just switched from a visor to a helmet, after taking a few light smacks to the kisser by guys who don't know how to control their sticks. Took it as a sign that I should switch before I take a real good whack. I prefer the visor, but a visor vs. a significant chance of thousands of dollars in surgery, not to mention not playing hockey for months...

The part that bothered me the most about the full cage was not the vision but the chin cup pressing up against my chin, so I modified it - I have the cage kind of hanging a little loose, but the cage will still be stopped from slamming into my chin by the helmet brackets. Plus, I cut down the chincup thickness. Result - nothing pressing against my chin, but I still have 95% of the protection of a regular cage.

[Slapshot 0]

I used to wear a Visor, but I got tired of the scratches, marks, heat and fogging issues.

Now I switched to an Itech i2 (white inside/black outside) full cage and really like it. Anytime you switch from a visor to a cage, even one that is as easy to see through as the i2, there is a small adjustment period. But, it's well worth it.

Great protection, visibility and looks.

IMO, the guys still wearing half cages or visors are nuts! Every year someone gets their tooth knocked out or ends up with stitches in my beer league and they were all pure accidents!

Just my two cents.

Cheers.

[Baconator 0]

I swtiched from an iTech HX50 half visor that I really liked to a bauer full cage that I hate after getting a puck in the jaw. I've had it now for a few months and I still hate it, although I'm slowly adjusting. I just find my peripheral vision was so much better with the visor, but perhaps I just need an excuse for my lack of ability :lol: .

[technophile 0]

(1) play defence and I'm not afraid to catch/bat away with glove a puck, even on a slapshot AND (2) watch what's going on when I'm on the bench. The puck has a few more feet to go to get to your nozzle, so it shouldn't take you by surprise there.

It's not pucks I'm really worried about; usually you can see those coming and defend yourself or turn away.

What worries me are the ones you see on TV, where there are two to three guys grinding in the corner, someone goes to lift a stick and misses, and nails someone else in the face, usually around the eye, from behind. There's no real way to protect yourself from that aside from a cage.

I mean, if guys who have been playing hockey their whole lives, smart players like Yzerman and MacInnis, can get caught by a bad stick, I'm sure as heck not going to take any chances.

Also, the guys who end up getting shoved into the boards and catch their head/face on the ledge on the way down are a good argument for shields. At that point you've lost your balance and you're already in trouble; having to worry about your face is not helping anything.