Battram Fury Leg Pads

[Chadd 916]

Opened by request

[srv2miker 0]

Battram Fury Leg Pad review

2010 Model

Reviewer height: 6'3"

Reviewer weight: 220lbs

Weekly usage: Once per week

Skill level faced: Mixed men's drop-in.

Previous Pads Used: Brian's Beast, RBK 8K, Pro Stock Vaughn V2,

Intro

Regular posters on the goalie forum might be familiar with my situation, but I'll provide a brief recap here. I was extremely unsatisfied with the performance of my RBK 8k pads, which led me to experimenting with the Vaughn V2s. I loved the V2s to death, and had they been a little closer to my ideal size I might've kept them. With the V2s in mind, I started looking at my options and I noticed that numerous users raved about their Battram pads. The consensus seemed to be that the pads weren't on the cutting edge of technology, but that their build quality was absolutely second to none.

What I was looking for was pretty simple: V2 feel and performance, with maximum durability (as these will be my last pads for a long while).

Ordering Process

Ordering through Battram was pretty painless. Lots of emails were passed back and forth, and we had a couple of short conversations on the phone, but most of my research was conducted on GSBB and MSH. What I learned there helped me determine what I wanted. In the end, I ordered a stock Fury pad, with a few minor mods:

- NHL-legal

- elastic calf lock (my pro-stock Vaughns had this and I loved it)

- 1 external break at the knee in the outer roll, but internal breaks at and above the knee. This was to give the pad a little more stiffness in the thigh rise.

Graphics were pretty simple, just a variation on their stock Ravage graphic. A proof of the art was sent within two days of sending in my order, and construction of the pad was started shortly after sending my approval. From my initial order submission to delivery of the pads took about three weeks.

Appearance/Finish

Upon opening the box I was happy to see that the pads looked exactly as I had hoped. Colours were right on, and the mod to the breaks was done to perfection. I would prefer lace to be used in the sliding toe bridge, but I knew they preferred to use cord; in hindsight, I should've insisted on lace, as I prefer it to the cord. The landing gear was significantly larger than on my Vaughns, but I imagine that's by design - you need the larger landing area to create a little "wiggle room" for sizing. Since there was no traditional "fitting" process I was on pins and needles that the pads wouldn't fit right, but I was very pleased to find out that my knee hit dead center in the landing gear. The build quality was just as good as promised, not a stitch out of place, and everything had professional-level fit and finish.

One small detail that was forgotten was the calf lock. Thankfully Battram just uses a length of elastic and velcro that slides under the floating leg channel, so Scott simply sent the straps in the mail a few days later. In the big scheme of things it was very minor inconvenience, but worth bringing up here.

Performance

My first time on the ice with these was filled the usual pitfalls of new gear - straps needed adjusting etc. The knee pads came off immediately, but then that didn't surprise me as I've never liked integrated knee pad systems. The pads were extremely stiff out of the box, which I took as a good sign for long-term durability. Break-in took quite a few weeks until I had the shape and boot-flexibility I wanted. They definitely aren't an "out of the box" ready pad - they need some time and attention to get them to break in properly.

One thing that really surprised my was how boxy they played - they felt somewhere between my 8Ks than my V2s. I think it has to do with their construction, which utilizes more sheet foam and less shredded foam than Vaughn. It wasn't the feel I expected, but I've really grown to like it. It combines the things I liked about my 8Ks (boxy feel, good rotation, solid bfly foundation) with what I loved about my V2s (quicker recovery to stance, more flexbile in scambles, easier to move in, more responsive to reaction saves). I wouldn't say Fury pads are substitutes for V2s, but they are a great interpretation that works really well with my playing style. Some people claim the Fury is simply a rip-off of the Vaughn design, but trust me when I say that they play differently.

They are a modders dream, thanks to all the different strapping positions and the adjustability of the landing gear. Already I removed a few of the straps to lower the weight of the pad, something that was impossible on my RBKs.

Rebounds don't kick out as far as my RBKs; the pad plays softer and more Vaughn like. If you like rebounds to drop nearby for smothers, you'll like the performance of the Fury. Bfly slides are extremely easy to initiate and execute, although I don't think I slide as far as I did in my RBKs. Bfly is solid and rotation is good, with only a little "v" at the thighrise. Landing gear comes together nicely to seal the five hole, and sliding toe bridge does a good job letting inflexible louts like me extend into a decent bfly.

Protection

Zero problems here - these pads offer close to pro-level protection. Internals are high quality, and included knees pads are nearly bulletproof.

Durability

It's a little hard to judge the durability after 4 months, especially since I bought the pads to last 6-8 years. But so far they've held up extremely well. If they didn''t have puck marks on them you'd think they were brand new. After 4 months my RBKs were showing fraying on the interior calf guard, the velcro on the knee block was falling off, and the stitching on the knee block had burst. With the Battrams, there isn't a single defect to be found. So far I'm really impressed.

Final Thoughts

Ordering online was definitely nerve racking, and there were a couple of times I considered buying a set of retail pads instead. In the end, I'm really glad I trusted Scott and the feedback I read. The pads have worked out awesome, and I never would've been able to mod a retail pad like I was able to with the Battrams. They really are my pad, built to my specs and desires, and that's hard to put a price on. I would recommend Battram to anyone looking at new pads, and they have a number of models to choose from if the Fury doesn't sound like your cup of tea.

Final Grade: 8.5/10