Good Pads For Hybrid Style Goalie

[woody31 1]

I was just wondering what type of pad you guys might recommend for a hybrid style goalie thats a little butterfly lenient, i have RBK 8k's right now and they are great when i'm in the butterfly, but when i go to make a lunging save they get tangled up sometimes, any tips will be greatly appreciated

[kvnwos 0]

I believe that Vaughn is a better choice for hybrid style goalies. Possibly Bauer X:60 or Bauer Reflex. Im sure others have opinions as to what is good, but from what i've heard, Rbk is a butterfly type pad only because it doesn't move to your liking. You have to adjust to the pad itself. The Bauer and Vaughn have break points in them, allowing you to adjust them to your liking a little better.

[Law Goalie 147]

You absolutely cannot break in a Reebok pad: they will break your legs in first. It's not that Reeboks don't have breaks - they certainly do - but that they will only move at those breaks, and only as much as the design allows.

If you find RBKs a little unforgiving, my two main suggestions would be to try a Pete Smith/Vaughn Velocity or one of the Reebok (RBK, CCM, whatever) versions of the Heaton 10, like those worn by Ryan Miller, Belfour, Toskala, Turco for a while, etc.

With the Velo design, you're getting a pad that is, in the majority, packed with shredded foam: Vaughn calls this 'Shred-Pak'. This is what makes the pad famous for breaking in the way you want, or infamous for breaking down too quickly, depending on who you ask. Velo pads will effectively shrink over time as the shredded foam settles and the HD plate in the shin sinks down into the ankle-break. If you like them, it's a small price to pay for a supple pad.

I have heard that Vaughn is using a sheet-foam construction similar to (though still softer than) Reebok in several of its newer Velocity pads, specifically the V4 and the 7400. This is, in one way, following the natural evolution of the design - Pete Smith, who originally designed the Velocity, had long since moved to foam sheets - but not wonderful news for guys who like the old-school feel of shred-packed pads.

I would strongly suggest checking out both designs, the V3 7500 (shred) and the V4 (sheet), to see which you like best. If you prefer the V4, go with Smith 6000s - they are a significant upgrade from the V4 in every way, will be custom made to your size and wants, and at a much, much lower price-point ($995).

If, however, you basically want an old-school pad with modern amenities (lighter materials, butterfly features on the medial (inside) edge of the pad, etc.), you can't do much better than a Heaton 10. They haven't been called that for a while, but they're unmistakable: they'll have Reebok branding, but they won't look anything like any Reebok pad you've seen: shin-rolls, knee-rolls, a flexible boot, etc. There are a lot of pads, like the Warrior Messiah, Bauer X60, Koho 700, the Simmons Koho 'clone', on which knee-rolls and shin-rolls are just cosmetic feature stitched over top of a sheet-foam pad; a real Heaton 10 is full of little channels of shredded foam and panels of sheet foam that work together to produce a wondrfully flexible, resilient pad. Typically, they're pro-return only and very hard to find. Recently, however, Goaliemonkey had a bunch of sets made which they called the CCM Vector V10 Pro. While I'm not 100% sure on where they were made, or how well, they are 100% copies of the pro models used by Miller, Belfour, etc. At $879, not a bad deal either.

I also just noticed that Just Hockey in Toronto has a few sets of these pads made by Brian Heaton (RIP) himself: BHG Eyelite 10, $899 CAD.

[woody31 1]

So, the rolls on the Koho 700 arent quiet what i'd want ot look for if i wanted pads like millers or brodeurs from last year. But, for a while know, i've been looking at the messiah pads too, and they looked good for my style of play. But what you are saying is that for the right feel, i would want to look at heaton 10 pads like Pro style Xpulse pad like this http://www.nhlsnipers.com/wp-content/uploa...10/brodeur2.jpg, but are these the same pads? http://www.thehockeyshop.com/Merchant2/mer...de=S_LegPads_Sr

[Oykib 0]

So, the rolls on the Koho 700 arent quiet what i'd want ot look for if i wanted pads like millers or brodeurs from last year. But, for a while know, i've been looking at the messiah pads too, and they looked good for my style of play. But what you are saying is that for the right feel, i would want to look at heaton 10 pads like Pro style Xpulse pad like this http://www.nhlsnipers.com/wp-content/uploa...10/brodeur2.jpg, but are these the same pads? http://www.thehockeyshop.com/Merchant2/mer...de=S_LegPads_Sr

No those are not the same pads. Brodeur is wearing a different pad with X-Pulse graphics, like Toskala and Miller. see these http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-90879101131287_2094_2237676

[woody31 1]

Okay, now I see the difference

[Law Goalie 147]

I'm not saying you should choose one over the other, just trying to explain the differences.

Reeboks basically have no ankle break and zero lateral flexibility, with limited flexibility above and below the knee depending on the breaks. Pretty well any pad will be more forgiving than that.

The Koho 700 is a pad that has had cosmetic shin- and knee-rolls applied to make it look 'old school.' The Goaliemonkey V10 Pro pads based on the Heaton 10 design really are built differently than anything else on the market, save stuff actually made by Brian himself, or pro stuff made for Miller, etc.

The Messiah is the same as the Koho 700: it's a pad built from sheet-foam that has knee-rolls largely for looks.

[vision 0]

I believe that Glenn Miller is going to reintroduce a hybrid focused pad in the near future.

::m

[Law Goalie 147]

That would definitely be a good option.

Any word on Glenn's timeline?

[vision 0]

I believe that it's what he's working on now. Don't quote me on that but I think that is what he told me last I heard from him. He has two "butterfly" pads out now, along with a true vintage line, and that was next on his list.

::m

[kingtut208 0]

Vaughn has some pads that say they are built for the hybrid goalie

[Law Goalie 147]

I think we're all agreed that Vaughn markets certain pads that way, though I would caution that "hybrid goalie" can mean just about anything, ie. it's basically a meaningless term, much like "hybrid pad," which can refer to anything from Brodeur's D&R Quantums to an X-Pulse.

The fact is that Vaughn originally marketed the Velocity as a "pro-fly pad", but its rather significant differences in design (as noted above) with the RBKs, which are and are seen as the dominant "butterfly pad" on the market, they decided to market it as a "hybrid."

[docar15 1]

Looking for "Hybrid" pads I tried:

Eagle Fusion Pro

Eagle Sentry III Pro

Buer Supreme Pro (can't comment, got them in a wrong size)

Bauer Supreme Pro SE2 - *Note: LawGoalie probably knows more about the Supreme's then original manufacturers :-).

Itech RX7

1994 - 1998 Sears Catalogues and duct tape.

Brown 2100 (last year's).

I am keeping a set of Brown 2100 in 36 inch. John had a set with matching gloves for less then a regullar pad rpice in his clearance section. They were not on the web site. I just emailed him and asked what I was looking for.

Warning, these are soft. Most of the rebounds I have stay within arms length. If you want any box-like feel or stiffness, I would look elsewhere. Personal opinion.

Update: about 50+ hours on the ice with my Brown 2100s. They felt incredible when I just got them. Now they feel like I am not wearing anything at all. Having dual five hole ribs rules (probably a foreign concept to all the pure butterfly goalies :-)).