Cage Options

[Chris Gent 7]

On the same note, a few weeks ago I was playing in a little lower league than normal (on a team with my wife) and I showed up without my helmet. One of my regular teammates, who is her team's coordinator, had a spare helmet / half-shield combo. Not wanting to skip the game, I wore his extra helmet and shield rather than my normal RBK 6K and Bauer 7500 cage combo (not ideal, but about the best cage I can find for that helmet other than the twice as expensive 11K one). I was high-sticked so hard the helmet popped off, and it was only because I had really bent my knees to turn a corner on him that it wasn't more costly than a bruise, because had I been standing up even an inch more, the angle at which he hit me would not have knocked off the helmet / shield, but would have slipped under it and wrecked my nose or eyes badly. As it was, the half-shield was pretty much toast. The guy got tossed and got a match for swinging his stick so hard, but losing an eyeball in a rec hockey game would never have equaled that up. Long story a little shorter, I’ll be a cage guy again pretty much for anything other than coaching. It’s just not worth it to be macho.

[tdunleavy 0]

I should also mention that I followed some advice on here and installed some velcro in the front of my helmet and cut a piece of a head band to stick to it take care of sweat. Works great.

[strosedefence34 179]

i know there was talk of this in a earlier in this post or another cage post, but the FM 580 is up on hockey monkey http://www.hockeymonkey.com/ccm-hockey-facecage-fm580.html

[jbatafuco 6]

Looks exactly the same as the 480 to me other than the straps

[strosedefence34 179]

i think it looks a little wider and more rectangular then oval.

[tmw1582 6]

I ordered a white 580 and I have a black 480 at home. When I get the white one I'll compare the two and let you guys know if they are the same or not.

That being said the cage has not shipped yet and I have not really had good luck with Hockey Monkey lately. Many times they show things in stock that are not available so it may be a while before I have it in hand.

[Doctor Hook 0]

I ordered a white 580 and I have a black 480 at home. When I get the white one I'll compare the two and let you guys know if they are the same or not.

That being said the cage has not shipped yet and I have not really had good luck with Hockey Monkey lately. Many times they show things in stock that are not available so it may be a while before I have it in hand.

I stopped ordering from HM years ago when I ordered head-to-toe new gear and eagerly anticipated its arrival. A week goes by, I call them to ask what's up. Turns out the package was ready to be shipped, but...they just never physically mailed it.

I'm all IceWarehouse and Tron for online ordering now.

[rocknrolltakeover 0]

I stopped ordering from HM years ago when I ordered head-to-toe new gear and eagerly anticipated its arrival. A week goes by, I call them to ask what's up. Turns out the package was ready to be shipped, but...they just never physically mailed it.

I'm all IceWarehouse and Tron for online ordering now.

I agree. HM is the worst.

On topic, I'm eager to try out the Re-Akt cage in the next few months.

[strosedefence34 179]

I stopped ordering from HM years ago when I ordered head-to-toe new gear and eagerly anticipated its arrival. A week goes by, I call them to ask what's up. Turns out the package was ready to be shipped, but...they just never physically mailed it. I'm all IceWarehouse and Tron for online ordering now.

i ordered my new helmet from them because they had the 480 in stock at the time and I was waiting for it to ship only to find out they take 2 days to ship everything out. Now its icewarehouse for me too. Free shipping on orders over $50 is good enough for me.

[wrangler 157]

I seem to recall HM having "handling" fees, too. Also, I had an order accepted online, then cancelled a week later after I inquired several times regarding shipping. At that point they told me that they were out of stock when my order was accepted. Online I go to IW first.

[tmw1582 6]

I think it's pretty safe to say that when ordering from HM they do not have real time inventory. So if you can't find it anywhere else and HM's website shows they have it, they don't. They just let you think they do until about a week later when your order is cancelled. They really burnt me when i ordered my team's jerseys from them and after a week they finally told me they were out of stock.

Again back to the topic at hand though. They did actually ship the 580 out and I should have it next week to compare to the 480.

[wrangler 157]

The most annoying part was the one email and the person on the telephone, giving me shipping dates.

I'm still happy with the Itech titanium.

[willharris7 4]

The 580 and 480 are just about the same cage. I had picked one up a week ago from my LHS. The shape of the cage is just about identical. The main differences, albeit minor, are the chin cup and the side straps. the chin cup has a different liner, think Bauer HydraMax liner (the liner in almost all of the Bauer protective equipment). Also, the side straps are made of a leather like material instead of the cloth straps that shredded.

[x-axis 44]

Just picked up a medium white 580 cage today. I love it but was wondering if they run small. I have a medium M11 with a medium itech cage and it was perfect but the 580 feels really small and doesn't even touch my j clips. Is a large a lot bigger?

[tmw1582 6]

I received my FM 580 yesterday and it is the same as the 480 with some strap and chip cup upgrades as some others have mentioned. X-axis as far as I know they do not run small. The medium fits my Easton S9 medium just fine. I've always thought the M11 seemed a little taller and wider than some more low profile helmets. Maybe that is why the cage does not reach the J clips. Below is a picture of the two cages. The 580 is white and the 480 is black.

[hrvd214 0]

I received my FM 580 yesterday and it is the same as the 480 with some strap and chip cup upgrades as some others have mentioned. X-axis as far as I know they do not run small. The medium fits my Easton S9 medium just fine. I've always thought the M11 seemed a little taller and wider than some more low profile helmets. Maybe that is why the cage does not reach the J clips. Below is a picture of the two cages. The 580 is white and the 480 is black.

The white bars look thicker? Are they really or is it just an illusion?

[strosedefence34 179]

thanks for the pictures tmw1582

[jc450hockey 0]

I received my FM 580 yesterday and it is the same as the 480 with some strap and chip cup upgrades as some others have mentioned. X-axis as far as I know they do not run small. The medium fits my Easton S9 medium just fine. I've always thought the M11 seemed a little taller and wider than some more low profile helmets. Maybe that is why the cage does not reach the J clips. Below is a picture of the two cages. The 580 is white and the 480 is black.

I have the S9 and i'm trying to figure what cage to get with it, can you send a picture of what it looks like with the cage on it

[Ron 0]

I've been using the old school Itech Ti cage with an Easton s17 for the past 8 months, its been nothing short of spectacular. Really notice the decreased weight vs. my old steel cage. I recently got a new Reakt cage, so the Itech Ti cage may be for sale or just go into storage as an antique ;)

[tmw1582 6]

I have the S9 and i'm trying to figure what cage to get with it, can you send a picture of what it looks like with the cage on it

Here you go, although I now have a E400, but it is basically an upgraded S9 and has the same look. Also I ended up getting a ReAkt cage b/c it was so much lighter and the site lines were better.

[thawu 5]

I used an Oakley visor for the last 4-5 seasons and has a couple of close calls. I eventually switched to a Bauer 7500 cage this year and surprisingly didn't take me long to adjust to it. The first game I've ever used a cage and I pretty much got used to it right away.

I have a buddy on my team that had a Recon II but I think he mentioned that it would fog up and the mask was very heavy. That's why I only considered a cage for full-face protection. He ended up replacing the Recon with a full face mask from Avision. I think HM carries it, not sure where else. But he told me that it never fogs up and he doesn't have any issues at all with it.

[jc450hockey 0]

Here you go, although I now have a E400, but it is basically an upgraded S9 and has the same look. Also I ended up getting a ReAkt cage b/c it was so much lighter and the site lines were better.

Thank You! The Re-akt cage is just a little too pricey but ill see what i can do. I am more concerned about spending the money on a good helmet.

[tmw1582 6]

Yeah I can understand that. It is very pricey for a cage. Just don't pick up another cage and then pick up the ReAkt as the difference will make you said that you are not getting the ReAkt.