Best and Worst bang for your buck

[Kainth007 0]

Best:

Easton Stealth - closeout $110, awesome durability/performance for me (year and a half).

Bauer 4-roll pro - price(half of other top end gloves), amazing feel, protection, palm

CCM v08 Pants - $60, protection, durability(for me), comfort

Worst:

CCM v10 Tapered composite blade - started peeling after 1 game, cracking after 2, broke during 4th.

[eugene8080 0]

Best:

Easton S15 Skates on sale for 329.98

[mikeh7 1]

Best:

- Easton ST Grip (the orange one) a buddy at an LHS hooked me up when they first came out for $190, had it for 2 seasons as a '#1' and 2 more as a backup, held up extremely well.

- One95 stick, again buddy hooked me up, used it for 6 months (playing in 2 leagues at once). Paid $160 for it.

Worst:

- Bauer 4500 helmet, finally have given up on them after going through 3 in 5 years. Like a lot of you guys, they break in that same place.

- Itech hockey bags, my parents always got them for me when I was younger, and they fell apart retardedly fast.

[dsjunior1388 81]

Worst:

All Tape that shreds on the edge when you are using it....

I have yet to find tape that doesn't do that. I use Howies and just deal with the annoyance because other than that it's the best I can find in the area. Wierd though that the howies white tape is great but the black tape is garbage.

[retroXvertigo 4]

Best: Bauer X:60 skates. Can't say enough good things about them.

Worst: Dolomite Spyne. That thing had the puck feel of a brick tied to a broom handle.

[stuie7 6]

Best: Nike Flexlite 12s $57, Kovalchuk Russia Vapor XX Gloves $37.

Worst: Easton Synergy Elite for like $200 or something.. What a jackass! It broke pretty quickly.

[theelite 1]

Best: Warrior Dolomite Tapered Shaft - $60

Worst: Easton Ultra Carbon Shaft - $40

[Cove 38]

best - Bauer 5000 helmet and Mission matrix shinguards have been my best, since they haven' been replaced yet and it's been a decade at least.

worst - Kobasew ONE90 and retail XXXX sticks. used them once. hated them. Got rid of them.

My Bauer 5000 has been kicking for about 8 years now, only reason I'll be replacing it is because its 8 years old

[CharlesC 0]

Best:

CCM Pro stock pants - $0 They have lasted me 4 years so far, and they were used when I got them. My Jofa stuff ( 7500 shins and 690 helmet) have been great. I've had the helmet 10 years and it's still holding up.

Worst:

CCM Vector 8 stick. In the store it had a nice feel, but on the ice it's the deadest stick I've ever used.

[MattKingDelToro 2]

Best: old Jofa 5500 shins. They're light and comfortable and have held up great over the years. Also, a pair of cheap $5 Reebok shin guard straps to hold those babies in place.

Worst: Easton Stealth S9 gloves. Really expensive and feel was horrible. Palm ripped within 4 months. Last pair of non-pro Easton gloves I ever bought.

[starsfan71 9]

Best: One90 Shin pads for 40 bucks, they are by far the best pair of Shins I have ever had, they did dent at one point from a slash but hell they protected me.

Up there are the harrow 300 shaft blade combo, Inno sticks, and ccm v08 gloves. (Snagged them at 55)

Worst: Synergy SL stick, I was a tiny kid when I broke my first one and broke my second one on one of the first few shots. The only stick that I have broken the shaft on. CCM v08 Shoulder pads, they felt great in the store but they ride up like NO other, it's awful.

[ndlancer95 0]

Best: One90 Shin pads for 40 bucks, they are by far the best pair of Shins I have ever had, they did dent at one point from a slash but hell they protected me.

Up there are the harrow 300 shaft blade combo, Inno sticks, and ccm v08 gloves. (Snagged them at 55)

Worst: Synergy SL stick, I was a tiny kid when I broke my first one and broke my second one on one of the first few shots. The only stick that I have broken the shaft on. CCM v08 Shoulder pads, they felt great in the store but they ride up like NO other, it's awful.

best: Any pro stock stick, or at leas the ones I've had. Never broken one on the shaft, and only 1 out of seven on the blade

Worst: Vapor XXV skates. Took a shot to the ankle and the boot deformed totally

[Jeff 0]

Best bang for my buck has to be the Warrior Franchise gloves (Brian Boyle prostock) I picked up for under $30.00. I wear them probably 90% of the time I play.

Worst: Reebok 10K shinpads. The plastic loop that you thread the straps through broke on both shinpads 3 weeks after the 90 day warranty was up.

$120 for a pair of shins that lasted me three months. Hockeymonkey told me tough luck, and that Reebok would most likely tell me to pound sand as well.

At this point, even if I call Reebok and get them to replace the shins, they were a total bust due to the time I have invested in driving to Hockeymonkey, etc.

[Drewhunz 3]

Worst: Reebok 10K shinpads. The plastic loop that you thread the straps through broke on both shinpads 3 weeks after the 90 day warranty was up.

$120 for a pair of shins that lasted me three months. Hockeymonkey told me tough luck, and that Reebok would most likely tell me to pound sand as well.

At this point, even if I call Reebok and get them to replace the shins, they were a total bust due to the time I have invested in driving to Hockeymonkey, etc.

It's called tape. Pro shins don't have straps for this very reason.

[TBLfan 25]

Best: One90 Shin pads for 40 bucks, they are by far the best pair of Shins I have ever had, they did dent at one point from a slash but hell they protected me.

Up there are the harrow 300 shaft blade combo, Inno sticks, and ccm v08 gloves. (Snagged them at 55)

Had major protection issues with the one90s but I couldn't find anything I liked more. It hurt every time I went down or took a shot off the kneecap. Finally was able to get some Pro Lightspeed shins, the only shins that are even close to being as comfortable.

Actually, revising my original post.

Best: My Bauer 5000 pro stock TBL pants, I paid $25 for them. I did some mods to them and they look like they've been beat into the ground but they are by far the most comfortable pants I've ever used. I will repair these and use them until there's no material left to repair them anymore.

Worse: Sticking with items I haven't used. The Shockdoctor shins and my Oakley half shield. Used the half shield twice, can't get used to it. Shins, 0 times.

[Jarick 5]

Well if we're going to get into our best steals, it would be when I got two Synergy II shafts and two Synergy II blades brand new all for $100. Sold the blades and one shaft and kept the other with $30 in my pocket.

Also for the worst gear I've used, the Shock Doctor compression shorts. The most uncomfortable, hot, heavy, restricting things I've ever worn, and the cup was useless.

[iron Ghost 0]

Best

Stick: Synergy ST (durability), Warrior Dolomite (performance)

Skates : One 95 (durability), bauer 7000 (feel/break in time), Z air comp (durability), 8k (durability), vapor xxx (feel/performance/break in/durability)

shaft: Synthesis, L-2, Ultralite/griplite

Worst

Skates: Vector U series (lack of support) and the 10.0 (broken in 6 months). S500 (lack of support), Synergy 1300 (broken toe)

STick: Original Vector 120 for performance, it was actually pretty good on durability. Synergy SL and stealth (great performance, terrible durability), Louisville sticks

[hehatemefrisbee 0]

I have yet to find tape that doesn't do that. I use Howies and just deal with the annoyance because other than that it's the best I can find in the area. Wierd though that the howies white tape is great but the black tape is garbage.

interesting that you think compostick is garbage. I have heard nothing but good things since we made the switch from howies.

[starsfan71 9]

Had major protection issues with the one90s but I couldn't find anything I liked more. It hurt every time I went down or took a shot off the kneecap. Finally was able to get some Pro Lightspeed shins, the only shins that are even close to being as comfortable.

Actually, revising my original post.

Best: My Bauer 5000 pro stock TBL pants, I paid $25 for them. I did some mods to them and they look like they've been beat into the ground but they are by far the most comfortable pants I've ever used. I will repair these and use them until there's no material left to repair them anymore.

Worse: Sticking with items I haven't used. The Shockdoctor shins and my Oakley half shield. Used the half shield twice, can't get used to it. Shins, 0 times.

Yea Blocking shots can be a pain the ass with them, luckily the knee caps on mine haven't cracked. I know they are probably unsafe but I just can't shake the suckers.

[bostonjuniorblackhawks 1]

I had one70 shins and had no problem with blocking shots. Wearing broken down skates and blocking shots was awful

[jds 20]

Ooouf, good call, this is SUCH a pet peeve for me. Makes me wish I can find some of that really narrow tape the pros use.

THe narrow tape is just a regular roll of tape that is started by tearing the piece lengthwise at the desired width once you start unrolling it. It will stay that same narrow width for the entire roll.

[duch 0]

did they protect you?

That they did, but the durability didn't impress me. Never ever happened to me before.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

Best :

- Superfeet greys, they made all my skates feel so much better.

- Inno 1100 with Inno Fedorov blade, the thing shot well and is still alive (although I gave it away to a friend) 5 years later.

- Pro-stock TPS Adrenaline Control, that thing fired rockets from the day I got it and last about 2-1/2 years before the blade cracked. I bought another Pro-stock TPS Adrenaline (non-control) with the same curve and flex but it was not nearly the same.

- Pro-stock Bauer Team Canada 4-rolls. Felt great and the glove is still holding up great after at least 2-years.

Worst:

- Shock Doctor ozone hockey bag (can't remember the actual model name). Timer knob kept falling off. Too difficult to stack things in, too heavy and big to use as a real bag (especially with all the framing inside), and the worst part was that it won't stay long enough to dry the bag, so if you forgot to turn it on for a second cycle you had a wetter, stinkier bag than if I had just dumped my gear onto the floor

- One90 skates - just never worked for me

[Jarick 5]

Compostick is way too soft for my liking...it seems to suck up moisture and has no grit to it. The old Andover tape had a great grit, but was too thin and had QC problems. I'm just sticking to Renfrew for now, very thick and good rough texture to it, plus it's cheap enough.

[dayroc 0]

Best:

- Graf Custom footbeds, Were originally $100 but got them for a bit cheaper due to me knowing the guys there and they making me wait for a while. Makes my skates feel more solid with everything molded to my feet.

- One 95 stick, this stick just does not break. It's like a tank and has lasted me for 1/5 seasons now.

- Easton 1500cc Skates, bought them new at the time and costed $400 (on discount). My first "high" end pair, and they have held up well (played in 3.5 seasons, about 3-4 games a week buy practices).

worst:

Buying tape from Costco, friggin stuff sucked.

- easton s17 wheeled hockey bag, this bag is heavy, and using the wheels seems more of a hassle to me than anything.