Bauer Vapor X:60 Girdle

[silver571 2]

Bauer Vapor X:60 Adaptable Core Pad

Size: XL

Reviewer Info:

Level of play: Beer League now

Frequency of play: 3-5 times per week

Size: 6'3, 240lbs

Fit: Excellent fit. This girdle fits like a traditional girdle, snug to the body. If you are looking for a loose fitting pant, look elsewhere. The belt across the waist and straps over the thighs offer an excellent custom fit for the end user. This girdle is also extremely comfortable.

10/10

Protection: This pad offers exceptional protection along the thigh, hip, and tailbone area. Pad offers good kidney protection; kidney pad is segmented to increase mobility, but can allow for a small lapse in protection given a stick check in the right spot.

9.5/10

Weight: Light weight for the amount of protection it offers, which contributes to how comfortable this pant is.

9/10

Durability: So far so good. Been used for about 3-4 months and has held up great, no fraying or breakdown in any areas.

10/10

Intangibles: Many of the areas are segmented and ventilated which further produces a comfortable fit without sacrificing too much in the means of protection.

Conclusion: Great pant! Well built, and offers great protection without feeling like a tank. Offers great mobility.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

[Davetronz 109]

Reviewer Details:

28 years old / 5’11 / 210lbs

Location: Calgary, AB

Playing Level: Men's div A/B and rec league hockey (former minor league rep team player)

I picked up a Bauer X60 Adaptable Core Pad (ACP) "girdle" last season, and I've given it a fairly good run within the last 4-5 months.

Fit:

The X60 ACP doesn't just fit close to the body, it literally hugs your body. I wear a size 36" pant, and I found that an XL was the best size for me.

The adjustable spine protection gives a bit of room to customize how close or tight the spine protector fits against your body.

I tend to fit best into a +1 length hockey pant, and due to this I found that the X60 ACP ran slightly short. It wasn't in the "concern" range, but I would have preferred the legs/thigh pads to be a bit longer.

If you're looking for a tight-fitting alternative to traditional pants and you're not an overly tall or large player this is the solution for you. I found that I had to size down shells when wearing them with this ACP. Size XL ACP, size L shell.

8/10

Protection:

The ACP has awesome thigh padding and really protects the hips, kidneys and spine. Unfortunately, I noted a few drawbacks in regards to the protection:

- The thigh pads don't wrap around thicker legs enough. I have decent sized quads, and I was constantly taking pucks just inside of the leg where the padding didn't quite reach.

- There is little to no protection on the back of the leg. I like at least a little bit of padding here.

- The tailbone padding is sufficient, nothing over the top, but the area between the hips and tailbone is fairly unprotected. There's a thin layer of padding, but it doesn't do much to absorb the impact from a fall.

The protection is sufficient for rec/shinny, but I never really felt 100% secure wearing these at higher levels of competition. If you're a player who lands backside first or between your side and tailbone frequently you might want to consider pants with better padding in this area.

8/10

Weight:

This ACP is definitely light when compared to its overall level of protection.

It takes up hardly any space in the hockey bag.

9.5/10

Durability:

I noted a few durability issues while I was wearing the ACP consistently for 3-4 months of play.

First, the thigh pads are adjustable at the lowest part with a piece of spandex-like material and Velcro that secures around your leg.

Due to having larger quads I ended up having some exposed scratchy Velcro across the front of the ACP that was getting stuck to the graphic on my shell. I placed a piece of opposing Velcro over this area on both legs to solve the problem.

The spandex-like material that made up the fastening system also caught on the scratchy Velcro underneath and began to run/deteriorate within a matter of weeks. This material also stretched out over time, and I found myself tightening the straps more and more as each month went by.

I felt that Bauer could have designed this area of the ACP a bit better in regards to durability.

6/10

Intangibles:

The inside of the ACP is red. This red coloring was "bleeding" over my base layer quite badly with sweat. I was wearing a white UA shirt for one ice time and a teammate thought I had received a cut on my back during the game because of the amount of red that had transferred onto my white shirt. Mainly cosmetic, but I'm not sure why the dye would "bleed" so much.

I wear suspenders with all hockey pants, otherwise I find that I'm pulling up my pants all game. The X60 ACP comes with nylon loops on the hips and back of the ACP, but they do not have bachelor buttons. When I went to add bachelor buttons onto the loops I found that the loops at the hips were way too far to the side of each hip to work with suspenders. I ended up sewing on a couple of new loops closer to the front of the ACP. From there I had no problems with attaching suspenders after the modification.

Conclusion:

This is a decent piece of equipment, but as noted, I have some extended durability and protection issues. It meets the needs of the average rec league hockey player who is looking for a low profile, close fitting pant with decent thigh, hip and spine protection.

Overall Rating:

7.5/10