CCM Gatekeeper PRO/Vector PRO Goalie Pants

[Netminder32 32]

Reviewer Specs:

Height: 5' 8"

Weight: 200lbs

Experience: 17 years rec and beer league

vs Shooters: rec to semi pro

CCM Gatekeeper Pro (Vector Pro) Goalie Pant:

Fit:

Size Lg 34"-36" waist. Despite the possible bulky appearance these pants are exceptionally comfortable and easy to move in.

9/10

Protection

The protection is outstanding, far and away the "best" feature of these pants. The padding system was very well thought out. They have inner leg "cheaters" to prevent skip through and outer leg "cheaters" to allow you to close off the area along the post and make yourself overly square to the shooter. There are removable foam blocks in the waist area which allow you to "bulk up" the size of the pant and make yourself wider to the shooter. They have a more traditional, slightly rounded, front thigh as opposed to the flat face pants that are popping up all over the marked today and upper thigh flaps which diffuse any impact in the waist area. ...AND... The biggest improvement over other pants, inner leg protection that wraps all the way around to the back of the leg. After getting many inner thigh bruises in my Heatons, V-lites, CCM Pro's and Velocity pants over the years, this was far and away the single most impressive improvement to me. No more inner thigh bruises EVER!

9/10

Weight

The weight of these pants is easily on par with other companies products within the same size/class. Again, the protection system was very well thought out so there isn't a whole lot of unnecessary materials anywhere.

8/10

Durability

This is the area where things go south in a hurry. First off, these are the "pro" version pant and they are "made in China", c'mon really? I know that the big companies are all trying to find ways to save a buck, but this really needs to be limited to their "rec" level products. Nuff said.

The durability is awful! Within two weeks of wearing my new pants the nylon in the crotch area was already ripping out of them. I attributed this to an engineering problem with the hip flaps located on the front of the pant being stitched down the front of the facing. As soon as you would butterfly you would create stress on the pant in this area. I simply took out a stitch ripper and removed the stitch that secures the flaps down. Problem solved. Unfortunately it wasn't all that easy. The cordura/nylon shell of these pants is so thin there is absolutely no help for them in the long run. I'm pretty sure by this point I've put more stitches into the pant shell than the factory. My pants are now just over 1 year old (the first pair was replaced under warranty after only 3 months) and we jokingly refer to them as my "Frankenpants" for all the patches and stitches I've had to put into them. The only saving grace is the fact that the shell is removable and could easily be swapped out every few months. Unfortunately I have yet to find and dealers that carry the replacement shells. So while it was a good idea, it really doesn't make a difference in the long run.

1/10

Intangibles

The pants do have a built in knee wing that offers an extra level of protection for the knee that is a good idea. Unfortunately it does get caught up in the knee wings on most modern pads. I had to cut about 3" of the knee wing off mine. They also come with built in adjustable knee guards which are a nice bonus considering knee pads alone will set you back 1/3 the price of the pants. Not a piece of equipment I use though so just another unnecessary piece of this products puzzle.

5/10

Conclusion

The pants are protective and comfortable! You can't take that away from them. They do their job better than pretty much anything else I've seen or used. So would I recommend buying them? Yes…but only if you are handy with a needle and thread. Otherwise the repair costs alone would outweigh the benefits.

overall (32/50) 6.4/10