16 week wait for Smith pads

[the travler 0]

for a pair of SP4000

thats crazy!!

are they worth the wait?

[sc37 0]

Yes

[the travler 0]

how about vortek pads?

[Netminder32 32]

That wait time is not uncommon at this time of year. Most manufacturers are operating at full capacity by the start of hockey season and all "pro" pads on all levels are normally custom spec jobs.

Best time to order pads if you don't like the long wait is the end of hockey season. Gives you all summer to break 'em in and you get the latest model. (normally introduced at the start of the new year).

Are they worth the wait? Only you can answer that question...

[The Webster 0]

they ae definalty worth the wait,

the main reason being is that were smith is a small company they only have 5 guys in they work place.

[Netminder32 32]

how about vortek pads?

Never actually tried them so I can only comment on what I've heard.

The quality is top notch however the pads don't rotate well. You will run into the same problem with lead time at Vortech I'm sure. There's a pretty long waiting list of people with gear on order there as well... That having been said. Ward and Patch Sports aka The Goalie Crease is stocking Vortek now.

The only way you are going to get something quick this time of year is to buy retail, pro return or used. Stuff that's already sitting around somewhere.

[vision 0]

Pete is a small operation and "hockey season" is unlikely to have a huge impact on his production schedule. The number of people ordering however is. He builds good pads and, for that reason, he has plenty of people ordering which is going to create the waiting time. In some ways, you can take the waiting period as a compliment to the gear that he makes.

As for vortek, there are no rotation issues with the pads, at least for me. Some people have had to experiment with how they wear them but that is the case for any new pad. On the vortek site you can find the retailers that are stocking them, 3 at present I do believe. I'm not sure what the wait currently is but they have a slightly larger and new, production facility which should have an effect on that.

For the record, I have both smith and vortek pads (SP2000 & VK5 - and older models from both) which I have extensive ice time in.

::m

[the travler 0]

the wait wont kill me as im in no hurry.

i was reccomended Vortek pads by one of the trainers from our local ECHL team. in my search for new gear i discovered Smith pads. i have seen a lot more opinions and positive reinforcement for Smith pads. but there just hasnt been a lot opinions expressed on the Vortek pads.

Ive worn Vaughn gear for as long as i can remember. it seems though, that all the goalies that play here are wearing Vaughn, KOHO, and TPS. not much variation to choose from in the South East.

Mark at vortek is sending me a pair of pads to check out, which is a really nice gesture.

[Aggie 9]

For Vortek equipment, I was quoted 6-8 weeks.

[goalieboy29 0]

If you can wait, get Smith's. Pete was the originator of the Velocity desgin among MANY other innovations. All his gear is hand crafted by him directly from your measurements. Smith craftsmanship is unrivalled.

[vision 0]

The velo was an evolution of work that pete did, not that that diminishes it. He has a number of innovative touches, some that have been copied and others that have not. His craftsmanship is rivaled, just not by many.

::m

[chaz 0]

how about vortek pads?

Never actually tried them so I can only comment on what I've heard.

The quality is top notch however the pads don't rotate well. You will run into the same problem with lead time at Vortech I'm sure. There's a pretty long waiting list of people with gear on order there as well... That having been said. Ward and Patch Sports aka The Goalie Crease is stocking Vortek now.

The only way you are going to get something quick this time of year is to buy retail, pro return or used. Stuff that's already sitting around somewhere.

As a Vortek user, i don't mean to argue, but i have never had rotation problems with these pads, didn't have a long wait time, and they are amazing. I strongly suggest considering these pads. They are great, especially in all sport gold :lol:

[TBLfan 25]

for some reason I prefer battram over smith, it's probably because I dislike timmy thomas soo much :P

[vision 0]

If you prefer copying over innovation, wonderful.

::m

[TBLfan 25]

meh, i've just never been impressed by smith.

[vision 0]

Interesting, I've never been impressed by battram. It's all a personal thing.

::m

[TBLfan 25]

just like everything else... but I think we can all agree that Simmons SUCKS :P

[cook22 0]

The varsity goalie at my school has the 993 simmons and i think that they are sweet, just my oppinion though...

[sc37 0]

Yeah agreed there TBL. They might be sweet, but copies of other brands. The 993 are just a Rbk knockoff. I wonder if we'd get in trouble for saying Simmons like other goalie boards...

[TBLfan 25]

lol, or do you mean *******? You know what's funny? I've NEVER heard anyone recommend going to GEW for any useful information, it's more of a punishment tactic then a place for information.

And I don't think that Scott Battram can really be blamed for coping other pads. He worked for a certain company and he left. He decided to make his own company specializing in custom. So the beginning product resembles the one that Scott used to work for but the end result is something different, and on top of that Scott does amazing work. But that's just my opinion and I'd like to make it clear that I don't have anything against Smith.

[vision 0]

What company did Scott work for previously? As long as I can recall he's been on his own.

Pete used to work for vaughn and before that simmons, but that is all fairly recent history. He's worked for others including himself before that.

Scott does a good job with custom graphics but graphics don't stop pucks.

::m

[sc37 0]

Yeah you gotta love his Simpson's graphic.

[TBLfan 25]

^^ I forget off the top of my head, but actually I thought it was vaughn or eagle... maybe I'm thinking of pete. *shrug*

Oh hell yeah, that and the batman one! Love em or hate em he does go all out making people's dream pads come true.