Eagle Fusion Goal Pads

[Netminder32 32]

topic open

[hamstercaster 2]

First off:

Height and Weight: I'm 6'1, 280 pounds

Experience: Started goaltending again last July after a 12-13 year break. All in all, have played nights for most of my childhood/teens/early adulthood. Played college in-house league but mostly a beer league/pick up hockey type of goalie

Caliber: A bit above intermediate. Capable of the most spectacular saves as well as the most horrid let ins ;-)

ATK: 18

Coming off: Itech 8.8

36/12 inch Eagle Fusion Pads, no knee break. 2006 Pro model - Made in Canada

Purchase Price: 500$

Apearance/Craftmanship:

Wether we admit it or not, we choose a set of pads over another for different reasons. Price, brand name, reviews, style of play, customer service and/or appearance. My decision to purchase these pads was a mixture of a few criterias, amongst others, Price, looks and reviews, to a certain extant as there is almost no Eagle Fusion Pad reviews per say but Eagle, specially customer service comes highly recommended. I owned Itech 8.8's before I switched to the Eagle Fusion's. Not the same type of pad at all but I'll get into that later. When I first got the pad I was happy that they looked even better than the pictures I had seen. I was looking to get pads in that color to match my pants and goalie mask.. to some extent at least but more specifically pads with more white, specifcially where it counts. The pads are covered in robocop weave and it looks really good and looks like it is very durable. The pads are also very stiff and I mean stiff. I have put them in thight quarters to get that S shape to close the 5 hole more adequately to no avail. They have spent close to a full week bent in the shape I want them. They come out really nice but within an hour, often much less, they are back to their original shape. So I'll take points out for that.

On to Carftmanship. After first inspection, the pads prooved to be flawless. All the stitches were good, finition was excellent and everything looked well built/sewed in place etc. and these pads are very light, at least compared to my old Itech's

8/10

Features:

The pads come equipped with adjustable knee cradle amongst other things. You can also remove pretty much anything in the leg channel as it's all tied into place making it easy to make any mods you want to it. My set comes with quick release straps except for the two bottom straps who are leather. It also comes with a thigh rise that is also easily removable. Those tie rise are pretty big too. I have played with both the thigh rise in place and have taken them off too and I didn't really see any difference in my abilities to close the five hole although the thigh rise to provide a bit more blocking surface, so I have put them back on. You can also remove the knee stacks quite easily too as they are pretty big but are set in layers so it's easily "modable" too. However, I would have preferred all leather straps but at that price for pro pads, I don't think I can complain much and I'm getting used to the quick release system. I found the landing gear to be pretty hard on the knees though, more over when playing with loose straps. I have since tightened the straps somewhat and the landing gear is much more forgiving now.

8/10

Protection:

These pads offer very good protection IMO. I haven't even come close to feel a shot yet wether in warmups or during a game. The inside knee and calf are very well protected with nice padding covered in robocop fabric and makes the pads slide easily. The outside knee are also somewhat well protected by some padding in the leg channel/Knee craddle that would help minimize damage if I was to get hit there but chances are very very slim to get hit there but you never know. The outside calf is protected better with padding similar to the inside of the knee but thinner and covered in another fabric. All in all, I feel well protected in these pads and I don't think they could do anything really that much better but who knows. Although I've had them for about 2 months now, I can safely assume that the protection is not only better but much more durable than what I had on my Itech's.

9/10

Performance:

Right of the bat, they performed well although it took me about 3 weeks to get used to them. I was using 34's before I bougth them and that in itself took some getting used too. Also, as they are pretty much a box pad being square every were with a square face, they felt a lot more bulkier than I first thought. The fact that they are much stiffer also took some getting used too. The break in process was no fun as my level of play really dropped in the first 2 to 3 weeks. I went from pillow like pads to those stiff monsters and the transition wasn't easy but now I feel I'm back to the level I was out before switching. They are still very very stiff but I guess I'm just used to it by now... and I have just pretty much found the perfect strapping for them too.. before I wore them either too loose or too tight and couldn't find the proper in between. I took some time this week to work on them at home and now they are perfect. They also slide very nicely on the ice, specially on a new sheet of ice and pretty much throughout the whole game but I find they tend to slide not so nicely towards the end of the game as my Itech seemed to fare a bit better. However, these pads rotate like there is no tomorrow. Getting in the Bfly is very easy and getting out of it is good too. They also perform well when doing half Bfly/splits. Rebound control is good as the puck does not go bouncing off of them like a rocket. The puck usually stays fairly close enabling me to cover it or at the very worst pull the puck back in with my stick. All in all, it offers great performance and predictable.

9/10

Conclusion: When I first tried them, my level of play went down somewhat, as to be expected with new pads and wasn't worried. After 2 weeks, I was almost ready to switch back to my old Itech and sell them. On the third week my leve started stabilizing and actually going back up a bit which was encouraging and I'm happy I stuck with them. These pads are very nice looking, well made and perform well provided you give yourself some time to get used to them and get through the break in process. It surely didn't help that they were completly different from my Itech's in term of built, shape and material used. Before I bought them I was starting to become more of a bfly goalie and felt it was time to take the jump and get real bfly specific pads.. and I'm happy I did. I tried to find reviews out there and couldn't find much, if not anything on them but what I found though was that customer service was very good and that Eagle stood behind their product and that was reassuring. Add to that, that the pads were pretty cheap at 500$ on clearance because they are 12 inch pads and are 2 years old and that was just an offer I couldn't pass on. All in all I am very satisfied with the pads and there isn't much I would change to them.. if anything.

Global note: 8.5/10

[hamstercaster 2]

Here's an update on the pads. I didn't really like the quick release nylon strap system so I contacted Eagle to see how much it would cost to buy leather straps and if they were easy to change. Ross Agathos from Eagle Hockey was really quick to respond and gave me a RMA number to send the pads in and they would replace the straps at no charge and he was even ready to fork the bill to ship the pads back to me. I insisted on paying shipping both was and was more than pleased that they would replace the straps, no charge. It took a total of 3 working days for my pads to ship to their shop and back to me so I was really pleased and they did an awesome job at replacing the straps and now the pads IMO feel so much better with leather straps as they are IMO easier to adjust to get the proper fit.