Something doesn't feel quite right

[DangerIsGo 0]

So I played last night with my new skates (Reebok 6Ks) and the demo set of 0Gs, and I felt as if something didn't sit quite right.

For one, my skates felt as if they didn't have enough of an edge. When I would stand, it felt as if they could just give out from under me and I would be doing the splits :P. I would have to tilt my skates inward to stand without having that feeling. When I got the skates, I got the standard goalie cut. I'm not sure how well that works. With my supreme 1000s, I never had this issue. Granted, with these skates, I could slide horizontally much better than my supreme 1000s, but at the expense of standing stability. Even just standing there perfectly straight up, it felt I could go in any direction (up, down, left, right) without much force and I didn't like that feeling. Do I need a different cut? Is this how its supposed to be and my feet just have to get used to it? I'm not entirely sure.

Secondly, I got the 0Gs demo set. They are a 35" +1 so they are a tad big for me. I was getting used to the sliding but its going t take more than once a week play (as I mentioned to Law in another post, he stated that its going from snow shoes to skis when comparing my brians altramaxs air pacs to pads now-a-days). The blocker I had no issues with (except for that flap that covers the index finger that was added since it prevents water from reaching my mouth from the squirt bottle) and the catch I wasn't that much of a fan of. For one, the strap that is directly over the fingers (the topmost strap), the plastic loop which is located directly over my left index finger digs in my finger and hurts. Along with that, every time I made a glove save, the glove slide up a bit, no matter how tight I made the straps (again, I couldnt tighten the finger strap much since it hurt)

http://goaliepro.com/fi/uutiset/2008/zerog/PA200075.jpg

The topmost plastic strap loop which nothing is going through it in that pic (not the one on the hand cover).

As far as the pads go, light they were. Turned well they did. I did find that the shin landing pad didnt make contact with the ice which I was curious about. I put the on the off centered hole but that didn't make much of a difference.

Overall, it was definitely a shock to me as new pads, gloves and skates made me suck badly. Plus it didn't help that the pads were too big. I had a better experience with Smiths and I liked his gloves better so I think I may go his route.

Any external input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[McDougalfaschnitzer 32]

Did you check to see if the steel on the skates was straight? If so, I'd say adjust the sharpening to get more bite.

As for the rest of the equipment, you are the boss, and no one can really tell you what will feel the best to you, so being able to try on stuff and see what feels good will be the ultimate factor. If you enjoyed the Smith stuff, by all means go for it :)

[Phantom 19]

I've been a happy Smith customer for years, so in my biased opinion you can never go wrong with his gear. The plus is, with it being custom, you get to talk to him in person and give him a little insight into your game, which may help him tailor the equipment better to you. I still don't know exactly what you meant by this:

I did find that the shin landing pad didnt make contact with the ice which I was curious about. I put the on the off centered hole but that didn't make much of a difference.

Do you mean pad rotation? If the front face of the pad is perpendicular to the ice, not on it, then it is rotating properly for the butterfly. Landing on the front face of the pad is not desirable with a true butterfly pad, as it decreases blocking surface area along the ice. If I interpreted that wrong, please feel free to correct me.

Judging by your description of the skates, it sounds as if you need a different cut for more bite. I don't know what "standard goalie cut" means anymore. So many goalies are going with 5/8" or sharper (I skate on 1/2" ), that it's hard to tell. But I suspect that the average skate sharpener probably still will do a goal skate at closer to 1" under the assumption that's still the norm. You will have to play with the cut to get the one that gives you the right balance of lateral movement and grip on the ice. I went as sharp as 3/8" once, and while I loved the bite it offered for aggressive play, I could not move well enough laterally with such a sharp cut. I backed off to 1/2" several years ago, and have been happy. The ice surface itself will have an impact - ie. soft ice will increase the blade's ability to grip.

[DangerIsGo 0]

I just looked at my skates again and its a completely flat blade. I don't think its supposed to be like that. I'm guessing thats why I don't have any bite :P

Phantom, No, not rotation. The calf wing doesnt fully make contact with the ice (as the landing gear does). I didn't know if that was normal or not. I thought it was all (landing gear and calf wing) supposed to make contact with the ice to have more surface area coverage in the five hole.

That's an excellent description. I'm not sure what he gave me. When I go back to return the demo set, I will ask him (if he's there) what cut he gave me. Maybe he would be able to recut them to 1/2". With my supreme 1000s, I use the Skate Mate on them (since they rusted a LOT) and I'm pretty sure that it was giving it a ~1/2" cut. Lateral movement with it was sufficiently good so I think that's what it was.

I do enjoy looking forward to dealing with Pete from all the good things I have heard from people across this and many forums.

[Phantom 19]

Yep, it definitely seems he gave you something like a 1" cut on that blade. I'm sure back in the day that was a standard cut for goalies, but not anymore! :D

Ah, ok, gotcha RE: the calf wing. I've noticed some of the newer pro-spec pads have eliminated the thicker calf wings. My older Smith 2000s are well padded in the wing and as a result, make full contact with the ice and my leg is well supported. I haven't seen the 0G's in person, so I can't really speak to their set up or performance. Is the gap between the ice and calf wing minimal, or really noticeable?

Pete's fabulous. He'll get it right, and if for some reason you're not happy with something, he'll fix it. Now's probably a good time to look into it, as his wait time is only six weeks at the moment. During the busy part of the year, I've seen it as high as 12 weeks. I'm working in my new Smith 5000 catcher I got for Christmas, and am expecting the matching blocker to be done in a couple of weeks. Great gear.

[DangerIsGo 0]

Ill go back and hopefully get a recut :).

Ill notice that sometimes when I go down, itll make contact while other times, it will not. It's minimal, but I figured it would make more contact with the ice for the five hole.

Once I return the brians ( I had to pay full price for them to demo them but will get a full refund once I return them), I will start to place the order for the Smiths. It's funny how the coloring scheme I chose a few months ago, he has listed on his In Stock page (although they are a 36"+1 yet I'm a 32" +1). Hope he has complimenting gloves.

[Law Goalie 147]

Find out what "the standard goalie cut" actually is. Depending on the sharpener (even within the same shop) it can be anything from 1/2" ROH to a flat-cut. Sounds like they barely gave you en edge - might have been 2" ROH. Generally, as a goalie, you'll spend 90% of your time on your inside edge, but you shouldn't feel like you're going to go flying if you stand up straight. Start with an ROH that's maybe 1/8" or 1/16" higher than your usual cut on player skates, or just go with 1/2" and dial it in from there.

It sounds like the glove just doesn't fit well, but play around with the strapping.

If the calf-wing (what you called the "shin landing pad") isn't making contact with the ice in the butterfly, you've got the calf-straps way, way too tight.

I suspect Smith will be the way to go for you, especially because he can make his gloves to match your hand-size.

[jimmy 194]

Have the skates sharpened again. It is likely the first sharpening was not done correctly, enough passes to establish a hollow. The RBK steel is very hard and takes a long time to sharpen, 4 times as long as player steel.

[DangerIsGo 0]

I had no issues with the Smith gear (except for the knee pads which is fixable).

I tried playing around with the strapping but I couldn't get the strap loop to not dig in without sacrificing tightness.

I'm going to go back this week before I play again and get the skates recut. I think my 1000s were 1/2" or at least very close to it so I think, as you said, Ill start there and work my way up.

As far as the calf-wing goes, I have the straps tight down there because when they were looser, it felt as if the pad was too loose on my leg. When I would go into a butterfly, sometimes I wouldn't land on the landing gear, but further back from the back face of the pad, almost on the ice. So I tightened them up.

[Law Goalie 147]

Try just doing the upper calf-strap a little more tightly - that's the one that will help to keep your knee in place. Leave the others relatively loose.