Modern Goalie Helmet V's The Cage

[Muttley 0]

Just wanted to start up a discussion on the pros and cons of the new style Rhino mask vs. the old style helmet and cage.

Anyone have an opinion on this?

I thought that the new style helmets look like they don’t offer so much peripheral vision as the old style cage. Having said that the new style goalie helmets look much tougher, they certainly seem to weigh much more than the old style helmet and cage.

Obviously the new style masks are visually more exciting but are there any other issues?

Any suggestions on the best cages to wear, and where to buy them, would be appreciated.

I am interested for our goalie who plays in the 3rd division of English Senior Ice hockey, not sure how that compares to American/Canadian hockey he certainly won’t be facing any ultra high powered shots, somewhere in the region of 70mph-80mph I would say.

I noticed a Austrian goalie wearing what looked like a hybrid cage, a cage that seemed to wrap over the top of the helmet and extend around the sides further than the standard players cage, has anyone else seen these? On a recent visit to Slovakia I also noticed that a lot of the goalies there went for the old style cage over the new style helmets.

[McDougalfaschnitzer 32]

The main issue with the old style helmet and cage is that they weren't designed with puck stopping in mind. If you get hit on the helmet, all the energy from the impact goes straight where the puck hits, which can cause concussions, or break skin. Newer masks are made to disperse energy from puck impacts.

As for weight, high level masks are very light while at the same time very protective, so I don't think weight is any issue. I don't have a scale handy but I would say some masks are lighter than cage combos.

I never noticed any difference in peripheral vision, but I think that is something that is an individual case.

Now, if your goalie wants to have a newer mask that is more like the older helmet/cage combo, then you might want to check out the Mage by Sportmask.

[w1zard 0]

i used to use the old style of mask, but had to switch cause the cat eye cage was illegal in my high school league. the new style mask definitely offers more protection, without a doubt. however, i feel like my vision was less restricted in the old style, to some affect. all in all i think the added protection outweighs the extra vision (if there really is any, could just be me). i have thought of buying one of the new cascade player helmets and making a combo mask out of them, as they much more protective than some of the older helmets. anyone else ever thought about/tried the cascades in net?

[Gummer12 134]

Now, if your goalie wants to have a newer mask that is more like the older helmet/cage combo, then you might want to check out the Mage by Sportmask.

Or if you have a huge bank, try the Warwick combo that Hasuck used recently.