Has anyone heard of D3o and uses for hockey?

[Ultimus 0]

I have been following these for a while, they've come a long way and now have a deal with Puma on a "football". I'd love to see them come into hockey stuff, they used to mainly have motorcycle gear.

The idea behind it is its soft and move-able but when hit with force it contracts and becomes stiff and absorbs the blow.

Here is the product page http://www.d3o.com/products.php?section=4

The mountain biking gear looks like it could be used for hockey, likely inline though...

Has anyone had any experiences with them?

They don't actually make the products they just work with existing companies to make products better.

Thoughts?

[Chadd 916]

Justin told us that it doesn't offer any improvement over existing padding used in hockey gear and that was a couple years ago. I also know there was a company experimenting with it for limited hockey uses but they also gave up trying to make it work.

[Ultimus 0]

Not even in the flex areas where the hard plastic areas have gaps? I mean this stuff has to be more protective than a stiff foam padding or whatever might be protecting you.

I guess you would really have to see it and work with to even know how good it is. But if experts are saying it doesn't then I guess you can't argue with it.

Did Justin have first hand experience with it?

Thanks for the fast reply.

[Chadd 916]

Did Justin have first hand experience with it?

Yes

I wasn't impressed when I saw the one comapny at the trade show a couple years ago. The putty they were using was really heavy.

[Ultimus 0]

So lightweight and breathable isn't exactly true...

oh well... seems pretty innovative, just not practical for hockey.

Thanks for the answers.

[burrn 0]

i saw the material on tv a while ago too

on first thought i felt they would make good protection for skates...but heavy is not good news.

[quasi 0]

Zoombang makes a similar product designed for hockey use.

[Chadd 916]

Zoombang makes a similar product designed for hockey use.

That stuff is used for supplemental padding, not as a replacement. WSI also makes some good supplemental padding products.

[Hermans 9]

That stuff is used for supplemental padding, not as a replacement. WSI also makes some good supplemental padding products.

I'm thinking skate tongues and around the knees for players and goalies and maybe the gaps in the C/A for goalies are places you could use this.

[Optimus_Prime11 0]

They use D3O in lacrosse equipment. The new (well, last years new) model called K18 II used it in their gloves, arm guards, and shoulder pads. It could be practical for hockey if your really put thought into it.

[Chadd 916]

They use D3O in lacrosse equipment. The new (well, last years new) model called K18 II used it in their gloves, arm guards, and shoulder pads. It could be practical for hockey if your really put thought into it.

We've had equipment designers tell us that there is no benefit to using d3o over existing materials for hockey.

[Optimus_Prime11 0]

We've had equipment designers tell us that there is no benefit to using d3o over existing materials for hockey.

I never said there was benefits to D30 tech. I was just saying that they use it for lacrosse and it could probably be used for hockey too if desired.

[Chadd 916]

I never said there was benefits to D30 tech. I was just saying that they use it for lacrosse and it could probably be used for hockey too if desired.

And what I'm telling you is they had a desire to use it and it wasn't better than the existing materials. Using it just to use it makes no sense.

[Optimus_Prime11 0]

And what I'm telling you is they had a desire to use it and it wasn't better than the existing materials. Using it just to use it makes no sense.

I really don't know much about the tech. but per say, they do use it. What would the intended benefits be? Would the companies just use it as a gimmic to attract more users?

[Chadd 916]

I really don't know much about the tech. but per say, they do use it. What would the intended benefits be? Would the companies just use it as a gimmic to attract more users?

If you don't know about the tech, you really shouldn't be telling people what it could be used for. It's heavier and doesn't provide more protection than the foams and inserts used for player protective gear.