Is There Any Brand Name You Won't Use

[Aussie Joe 0]

I will only use Easton gloves and a C21 head for my shafts. Any other gear is open to what ever fits best and works best. Except Mission I have bought two of their products which have fallen apart namely my elbow guards and girdle/padded shorts.

Its a pity about Hespeler. In Aus you used to see allot of state players swearing by Hespeler gloves and stick heads but, times have changed. All they need is a modern design and maybe a No 1 draft pick flogging their stuff and things might change opinion wise.

[Chadd 916]

Its a pity about Hespeler. In Aus you used to see allot of state players swearing by Hespeler gloves and stick heads but, times have changed. All they need is a modern design and maybe a No 1 draft pick flogging their stuff and things might change opinion wise.

If Huffy doesn't sell them I wouldn't count on them paying anyone to use their stuff. The marketing projections I've seen for the entire company couldn't secure that type of endorsement, let alone the hockey expenditures.

Huffy is in the process of ruining a great name with a lot of history in the sport.

[kosydar 0]

Thats the thinking I don't like, the "modern design". I've tried on a hell of a lot of pairs of gloves with modern designs, and the Hespelers with a classic design are still the best I've ever worn. I much prefer a classic, simple looking glove, helmet, skate, whatever than a flashy new one. It just seems like today that people equate looks with performance.

[wristshot19 0]

The only brand I completely stay away from is Easton. I have never liked any of their products. They have never failed to completely disappoint me.

I had problems with Mission a couple years ago, but their equipment is improving. Have M-1 Pro gloves (from the CB order) that I love except the that inner padding is starting to rip in a couple of the fingers.

CCM wood sticks are horrible but some of their other stuff isn't half bad. Their Vector skates have impressed me.

I have a huge problem with some of the newer Bauer products. It seems like they have sacrificed some quality for equipment with a marketing angle. This doesn't suprise me, though, considering that they are now under Nike's watch.

I also stay away from Graf because I don't believe that their skates are worth the money. They may produce great skates but I can't see myself spending that kind of money on old tech equipment. Hopefully the prices on their older models will fall now that their G-Series stuff is hitting the shelves.

I am willing to give any piece of equipment from any brand at least one shot. I have found out too many times that being too biased for or against any brand is not the way to go. If your are too biased, and you don't give all of the brands a shot, then you might miss out on some great equipment. If brands are really a problem with you then just call your LHS owner and have him/her cover up all the logos before you show up to buy new gear.

[kosydar 0]

I also stay away from Graf because I don't believe that their skates are worth the money.  They may produce great skates but I can't see myself spending that kind of money on old tech equipment.

But why change something that works so well? This, unfortunately, is a very popular trend in hockey equipment these days. Things get changed and upgraded, regardless of if it needs it or not. Up until the G series, Graf hadn't gone with the crowd, and thats very respectable. They make an awesome skate that for some people, myself included, is the only skate they can skate in. It just sucks that good "old" stuff is being replaced with worse new stuff. Then again, a lot of good stuff has obviously come out of upgrading equipment too.

[Bo from Boston 0]

I agree with wristshot 19 - Easton is one company I stay away from. The fact that their flimsy sticks are so popular is ridiculous. The overwhelming popularity of them has unfortunately given life to some of their other poor products (especially their skates).

The only thing that they did right was the gloves (and that was like 8 years ago). Those offerings today pale in comparison to Eagle and a few others.

[BGM 0]

I would agree with staying away from CCM. Just seems they are little behind everyone else until the recent Vectors, etc. Don't know much about Hespeler stuff. I like Easton equipment and Bauer skates (Grafs are cut too low for my 6'3" height).

[MDE3 0]

They may produce great skates but I can't see myself spending that kind of money on old tech equipment.

Actually it was only about 3-4 years ago that Grafs were the lightest skates(703's and 704's) on the market....combined with comfort and great durability...how "old tech" can they really be.

Talking a bit with skate designers, it is interesting that in unofficial commentary some will admit that the "best" skates they produce, may not in fact be the "top of the line" skates. This is due to compromises made in materials and padding, needed to get the weight down in the great "skate diet".

Here you have an ideal situation for manufacturers where by creating a demand for "glitz" and the claim of being "the lightest", you have people running out to buy the most expensive equipment so as to have the latest "high tech" stuff, and they are in fact buying into a form of planned obsolescence. These "high tech" skates by their very nature will not be as durable as the more traditional skates.

Players are now purchasing skates which will

A: be out of fashion, in terms of appearance, and possibly "weight" within a year...

B: may not provide optimum comfort or protection...

C: be falling apart far before expectations...necessitating the purchase of another "newtech" wonder....

Who's laughing now?

[BGM 0]

I would agree with the last statement. Long gone are the days of keeping skates for 4-5 years because they are durable. With new technology people will always be looking for the latest, greatest and lightest. But as long as there is a market for it, companies will provide a product like that. You can't blame them for trying to make money.

[wristshot19 0]

I wasn't trying to knock Graf at all on product quality b/c all of their skates seem to be well put together and I have heard nothing but good things about them. My problem with Graf is that they have kept their skate prices the same despite the fact that they have not improved their design in years. You would think that after all this time that their prices would have come down a bit (I am sure there are some production efficiency gains that they have made), but they still keep them way to high for many players to consider them.

It may by a strategy thing on their end though. You know, make your money by selling small quantities at premium prices rather than selling mass quantities at discount prices. The first method probably allows you a little more control over your image by limiting the clientele that can and will purchase your products. It's a lot like BMW sells cars.

It is a vicious cycle that we have gotten ourselves in to with paying premium dollars for more hype and flash but less quality (I did it with Vapor XXs). It's fine to use new technology to make product better but some companies tend to change things just for the initial WOW factor. Once the WOW factor wears off and people find out your product is crap, they will dump you like a bad prom date and go back to the traditional stuff.

Unfortunately, due to my experimentation with Bauer Vapor XXs, I am stuck with BNH skates (Nike V-12s that are, for the most part, a very good skate) for at least one more year when I would definitely like to give another company's product a try.

[Bo from Boston 0]

I used to wear Graf's when I played in high school in the 80's. After 3 pair's heals rotting out on me I went back to Daoust and then to CCM. I have looked at their skates and they have certainly increased the quality but the boots are to heavy and I don't see them as comfy as people think (they are definitely not as comfy as the 5001's I used to own and love).

The other thing that they do that irritates me is that the have like 7 or 8 models, all over $400 that try to lead people to believe that they are all built with different things in mind. Every other description (if memory serves me) starts with "designed for the elite player looking for top performance".

I have seen all the boots and there is no real differences other than cosmetics except for the cyberflex boot (another gimmick).

[Eazy_b97 1]

They are all built for different foot types.

[hip check 0]

It is so difficult now to cut through all the crap marketing lingo and hype just to get down to what is actually being said. Everyone has their own term for the very same thing, and it is getting more confusing every time a new/copycat product is released.

All this hype either makes us jaded, or attracts us to the product. Some just react differently. Sites and forums like this are good because it provides so many different viewpoints and experiences with the gear that we can become smarter consumers.

Keep up the good work, and be smart when you are buying stuff. Don't just get new because it is 'cooler' this week.

[djinferno 2]

mission has let me down with the ice products.. rollers are great..

[Justin 1933 134]

mission has let me down with the ice products.. rollers are great..

Just curious,

When was the last time you tried a Mission Ice skate?

You have every right to not like our old skates. They had issues, but if you check out posts about the new skates you will see we are a completely new ice skate supplier...

[bulletproof_funk 0]

Thats the thinking I don't like, the "modern design".  I've tried on a hell of a lot of pairs of gloves with modern designs, and the Hespelers with a classic design are still the best I've ever worn.  I much prefer a classic, simple looking glove, helmet, skate, whatever than a flashy new one.  It just seems like today that people equate looks with performance.

I'm not one for flash either, I go with what works best for me. The classic fit might work for some people, but not for everyone. That's why I like how more companies are trying new things to improve the fit and function of their products to give consumers more choices.

[hockechamp14 0]

You have every right to not like our old skates. They had issues, but if you check out posts about the new skates you will see we are a completely new ice skate supplier...

The problem in the market is that players can't try the same brand every year if they let them down. Only a fool would have a pair of skates suck and break on him, then walk back in next year asking for the "new" model.

I tried on mission skates before I got my new V-12's, and they defenately were not the right skate for me! The skate was super bad for my foot and built for a completely different foot type.

As for who I don't like? Easton, all thier hype and garbage on thier sticks. Who else? Up until recently, I wouldn't touch anything franklin. The same people who made that street hockey stick? No thank you...

For me, I use mostly bauer stuff now, and I'm hoping to cut down on it, because I'm liking bauer less as time goes on. (8000 helmet, problems with my vapor XX skate holder, problems getting injured with thier pants, they stopped making the supreme 5000 gloves.)

I'm still neutral on CCM, TPS, and Mission. I remember back when I was younger, even then I wouldn't touch any of the new nike stuff (must have gotten that from my dad!)

Anyhow, sorry to bump an ancient topic, but it really comes to mind when we have all this new gear coming out.

[MNdgame 0]

So you dont use Easton equipment because there is always 'hype' around their sticks?

[jimmy 194]

I am about to boycott easton for overcharging and poor customer service from what i have experienced

dittos on Easton. Worse quality equipment, but sticks, shafts, blades are the worse.

[jimmy 194]

I really like the Hespeler gloves, they remind me of Eagles and still have some of the design of Eagles intergrated into their new gloves and most of the shafts are Inno made, they may not be exact but they are pretty close.

I hate CCM gloves they jsut look ugly and when I slip them on it isnt anything special.

No one here will say Eagle although I dont see anything that sets them really far apart from other gloves although they are really flashy and look so nice.

You've got to try on the new Pro tack glove.. Quite a comfort improvement. I put a VapXX on left and Pro on the right and the Pro was more comfortable. Looks to be very durable too.

[CardinalHcky19 0]

i will not use hespeler at all and i dot really like CCM that much either. my favortie is bauer, most of my stuff is bauer

[Bauer_freAK 0]

Easton

my Hockeyshop at my rink loves easton and sells just easton-stuff..

I hate him and easton, because the answer of every question, EASTON IS THE BEST/ IS BETTER...! So on..He looked very jealous (?!), when I was there with my XX's gloves and my XN10...

[Sven 1]

lemme guess.

you're a bau... CCM fanatic ?

[hockechamp14 0]

So you dont use Easton equipment because there is always 'hype' around their sticks?

No, I don't use easton equiptment because it's not good. It's frustrating though seeing people talk about how awesome the stealth or whatever the stick of the week is, while there are plenty of other sticks that do the same thing. Thier other equiptment isn't anything special either, and I'm not the customer who's going to be straight lied to. It's the same crap with thier baseball stuff.

[Sven 1]

there is no brand i dislike.

i like easton stuff cause i can get it pretty cheap :lol: