2012 Warrior Hockey Goal Catalogue

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php?/files/file/132-2012-warrior-hockey-goal-catalogue/

[Law Goalie 147]

It's been the talk of the goalie community, but Warrior's hiring of Pete Smith as their goal designer is nothing less than a complete game-changer. There's a reason the first two pages of content are devoted to his biography. This is the guy who was at the cutting edge of foam pad design with Vic, built the Velocity for Vaughn and kicked off the butterfly pad revolution, then went out on his own and ended up completely changing the way pads were built with his bindingless 6000-series: the basis for the Warrior Ritual pads. If you play goal in the third millennium, you pay homage to Smith. All Hail indeed!

Pads -- I can't say enough. The bindingless design along the medial gusset, the surface pads slide along in the butterfly, is sheer genius: it eliminates almost every classic high-friction and thus high-wear area on goalie pads. What always looks ragged on every pair of pads you've seen?-- the inside edge of the boot, right where the pad pivots as the goalie butterflies. Reebok has had something similar with their (now) unique rounded gusset, but Smith has given Warrior the first square-gusseted pad with a completely flat profile that doesn't expose seams to the ice. This pad slides like a greased cat, and will outlast anything on the market. The 'Knee Leveler' is Smith's implementation of what Michel Lefebvre started figuring out on last year's pro-issue Reebok pads, that you could add a 1" 'bump' to the back of the knee-block, filling the gap between it and the ice while still staying within the NHL specs. Result: a nearly 20% longer landing area in the butterfly, and a more stable ride in the butterfly. The thigh-rise is, bar none, the thinnest you can get: it's actually a hair thinner than the vertical roll! What's really amazing about this, apart from the mobility gains, even with a +4 thigh, is that the way the internal foams are hinged means the pad will flex they way you want without flapping like a barn door in the wind. The post-wedge extension from the lateral gusset is another Smith invention, perfectly filling the gap between the calf and the post in the VH position, aka the split-knee or 'post-leg up' -- it's totally legal and horrifyingly effective. And, finally, the sliding toe-bridge: the best method of attaching skate to pad yet offered, and which Pete originally invented. By eliminating most of the synthetic leather from the construction, the Ritual pads have a toe connection that won't break down, and that is more responsive than anything else out there.

Gloves -- The Ritual Pro is a slight material refinement of the Fortress trapper, but I want to focus on the Ritual SE glove. Look closely: this thing is the best T5500 clone I've ever seen, right down to the triple-tee (though I personally would order the single), and they've added a bindingless cuff. The angles of the thumb and the break, the shape of the lacing, the stitching in the palm, the backhand, the cuff and strapping -- this *is* a 5500, the most notoriously popular catching glove ever made, built with updated materials. Very, very smart move by Warrior.

Blockers -- Ritual Pro is bindingless, Ritual SE has a binding around the board, but the differences don't end there. The hand position is different: the SE puts your hand closer to the ice for paddle-down play, while the Ritual Pro has the palm placed higher up the board (which for some reason Warrior has called "lower") allowing for an extra bit of reach for those killer 14-16" blocker-side post-and-in shots. The palm is the same brilliantly segmented one from last year, but there's also a custom option for a "MicroNash" palm that Warrior's been testing -- a thinner yet more durable material that breathes so well mesh gussets are rendered redundant.

C/A -- The Swagger design from Passau keeps on rolling.

Pants - The Messiah and Swagger are back, as flexible as ever.

Sticks - Warrior continues to offer a terrific range of stick options, adding the Ritual and Wave for 2012. The focus is on vibration dampening: the Wave adds a gel block inside the shaft above the paddle, right at the balance point of the stick, to give the feel of a foam-core stick while keeping the weight out of the paddle, while the Ritual uses an internal polymer sleeve between the shaft and paddle.

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Thank you!