New Bauer Cowlings

[Law Goalie 147]

Spotted on Facebook:

While the most obvious aspect is the dramatic reduction in the amount of plastic used in the cowling, and the exposed areas that result, this probably isn't the most significant change.

The height of the cowling (ie. from the sole to the ice) appears to have been increased even more than previously speculated. This looks like between 1/2" and a full 1" of additional height, which would put it on par with or even a little taller than a Tuuk LS2.

Combined with the cut-away of the inside (or medial) corner of the cowling at the forefoot, where it bulges out), this will seriously lower the the angle-of-attack (so to speak) of the blade to the ice, especially in moving to, from and within the butterfly.

This is a much bigger change than some may suspect, and it may require some not insignificant technical adjustments. For one, the skate-blade's inside edge is going to be engaged with the ice for much, much longer during the transition to the butterfly. Given that generations of goalies have learned to use that moment of slip-out when the cowling hits the ice, it may not be an easy transition to a skate that almost never allows the cowling to hit the ice. Some of this will be addressed by newer pads like the Reebok Revoke that have Jenpro-covered boot-protectors on the medial edge of the pad (which also covers the protection issues created by the reduced cowling). That said, these skates will definitely change your game.

There's also the fact that lifting the goalie that much higher off the ice raises the centre of gravity, making balance more challenging. Now, I'm sure most strong skaters will easily adjust - it would feel just like wearing player skates with a really long profile - but it will add instability in every situation. Whether or not this will be a beneficial instability (the most maneuverable aircraft are rife with these) or a detrimental one, I can't say. Presumably Bauers testers either found it a wash or an improvement, but it's something to bear in mind.

The other issue is a bit more technical. Every goalie coach I've ever studied has argued that having the blades at a low angle to the ice - eg. in a very wide stance, or in a backside recovery or butterfly skating movement with the backside foot widely separated from the frontside knee - dramatically decreases agility, quickness and above all, power. A simple movement-screen can illustrate this. Kneel on the floor, lift your right knee to put your right foot on the floor alongside your left knee, then jump up and to your left. Now try it with your right foot, say, 18" out to the right: you'll be slower to move, and you won't move as far up or to the left. The same is true when you raise the driving foot: stick a book under your right foot, positioned as in the first screen, and stand straight up - it won't be as powerful as without the book.

In practise, none of this may pose a problem. Being able to get a little blade on the ice at a low angle is better than none, and lifting the knee half an inch to an inch higher relative to the hip is nothing for an NHL or other professional goalie. I'm 100% certain that the actual benefits greatly outweigh the possible problems; Bauer wouldn't have designed, tested and released the skate if they didn't.

[Gwyren 0]

Wow. Those LOOK excessively tall. Also, they look excessively holey. Something, visually, does not seem quite right about them.

If I am understanding what you are saying correctly and what I have read elsewhere these should provide the same benefit as using X-Blades on an existing cowling, correct?

[Law Goalie 147]

Yes, but significantly more so (since the Bauers are taller) and with a significant reduction in weight, as opposed to a significant increase in weight when using X-Blades in an RBK cowling. Steel weighs a fair bit, and because it's right on the extreme of the limb, it feels like more. The Bauer blades are also thinner, so they're quite a lot lighter than X-Blades.

The point of the 'holes' is twofold: to drop cowling weight a little bit more (plastic doesn't weigh much, but it weighs something), but primarily, so that the profile of the skate at certain points (chiefly the inside of the forefoot) is as small as possible, so that the cowling doesn't come into contact with the ice until the angle of the blade is extremely low.

The reason these skates seem 'weird' or 'not quite right' is because they're such a significant departure from the tradition of goalie skates. I think it's an absolutely brilliant design, but it could come with a steep learning curve.

[Oykib 0]

I don't know if I like how the heal is higher then the toe.

[Law Goalie 147]

Good eye... I was so fixated on the shape and scale I didn't notice the pitch.

I'm not sure if it's a massive difference, or if it just looks like a very forward pitch because of the shape of the cowling, but it certainly appears more forward than any other cowling I've seen.

[McDougalfaschnitzer 32]

I have been thinking about a goalie skate with increased height for some time now, with the way goaltending has changed. I guess I was on to something haha.

If you think about it, a taller skate with a goalie playing in a classic style would be no good since you would be able to put the puck under the pads while the goalie was standing. However, with the modern style being a more wider stance leading into a butterfly, the added height makes a bit more sense, especially when in the butterfly since it seems like it would require less effort and leg lift to get your blades on the ice to push into a slide.

[Law Goalie 147]

That's absolutely the reason for it: increasing the height and trimming the cowling dramatically lowers the lowest possible angle at which the blade can engage the ice, which means you can get the blade back on the ice from the butterfly way faster. It also means, however, that the blades *stays* engaged with the ice longer when moving to the butterfly. This means you can hold a wider stance, sure, but it also means that you've got a much, much smaller window in which the skate-blade is *not* on the ice for executing all your save-movements and butterfly skating (ie. with the frontside or lead skate off the ice).

I always thought this was a great idea too. After I had my Graf 709s profiled out to 65/130 (close to 30'), I wore them under full goalie gear and ran through some skating drills. Even taking into account the differences in blade-length (maybe 1.5" total), the difference in height was much more prominent very much a mixed blessing. From the butterfly, getting the edge to the ice for a little lateral push was vastly easier - far easier than even with OverDrive blades. I noticed difficulties - as I said, this is a question of adjustment - in transitioning from stance to butterfly, feeling like the inside edges would slow the movement by catching on the way down, and similar issues with the lead skate in transitioning to a butterfly slide.

I think there's definitely a sweet-spot here, both in terms of skate design (which I imagine Bauer has hit on the nose) and in terms of technique, both as a personal adjustment and as a general style. Being able to get an edge with your backside leg this close to the ice means that the paddle of the stick would cover the hole, making the goalie an almost perfect 11" wall along the ice (up to a maximum of 2x38=76") with a degree of lateral mobility not seen previously. On the other hand, I think that's a more significant adjustment than most would realise.

[Oykib 0]

Good eye... I was so fixated on the shape and scale I didn't notice the pitch.

I'm not sure if it's a massive difference, or if it just looks like a very forward pitch because of the shape of the cowling, but it certainly appears more forward than any other cowling I've seen.

Looks like you would be wearing high heals. I like the pressure divided out across my foot and I don't know if my feet would like the weight being pushed down on the arch like that.

[Law Goalie 147]

Alright, so I have it on very good authority that what we're seeing is the product of an optical illusion - created partly by a very radical change in visual design and mainly by the fisheye-effect on a really tiny phone-camera. I was sort of hinting at this all along, because I frankly wasn't sure.

The pitch is exactly the same as prior Bauer goalie skates - it just *looks* like the arch of the supports is pushing up under the arch of the boot. The cowling is in fact a tiny bit higher (like a small fraction of an inch) but not even close to the height of an LS2. It's the geometry of the lens conspiring with the shape of the supports in the middle of the skate, and the fact that the skate appears 'toe-heavy' because of how the cowling cuts away around the boot.

Basically, I think I grossly overestimated the scope of the changes because of some funny angles, and grossly overspeculated on them because of a slow day. :)

My guess is that the ultimate effect of this design will be relatively subtle. Everything will seem great when you're skating from the stance - the "Wow" moment will come when you dig your edge in about ten-degrees off the ice instead of the old forty-degrees.

The interesting thing is that this will really demand a pad with a Jenpro-covered boot-protector, since a great deal of pressure and friction is going to be applied at that point. Reebok has been weirdly resistant to this: it's still not on the Revokes. My guess is that Bauer's next pad will have a very prominent and well-designed boot protector.

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

[Law Goalie 147]

I'm dead to rights on that one. lol

I may also have been having flashback to that wonderful madman who had the blades cut off his cowlings and sanded the bottoms flat, then had a pair of t'blades bolted on. For once, it wasn't Johnny McLeod...

[Gummer12 134]

Please tell me you have pictures

[Law Goalie 147]

Courtesy of Franco, including a few comparison pictures with his old Graf cowlings to show how the angle changes:

He was much more enthusiastic about the increased height than I was, although I'm much more used to player skates now. I'll have to try it again some time; that's the beauty of using T-nuts.

The third pic is a really good illustration of how different the profile of a goalie's blade is from a player's.

[jcp2 2]

The steel looks like a backwards Graf blade.

[t1tan 19]

That was my initial thought as well

[Oykib 0]

Courtesy of Franco, including a few comparison pictures with his old Graf cowlings to show how the angle changes:

He was much more enthusiastic about the increased height than I was, although I'm much more used to player skates now. I'll have to try it again some time; that's the beauty of using T-nuts.

The third pic is a really good illustration of how different the profile of a goalie's blade is from a player's.

Naughty Naughty someone is using cheaters :)

[srv2miker 0]

Funny, I was just thinking the other day how I would love to find skates like that - I think I could really use the extra height.

[Law Goalie 147]

Naughty Naughty someone is using cheaters :)

Just look for the guy in the 36+6 Zero-G's... he ain't hard to spot! :lol: