Redoing the Straps on Koho 580 Pads

[TheWay 0]

Hello all.

It was about this time last year that I started aquiring my goaltending equipment and chronicling how I made it work in this thread. (http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php?/topic/57624-help-the-newbie/)

Over the winter I hit the outdoor rink a half dozen times and had one indoor session, a charity students vs teachers hockey game.

This summer I have to do some maintenance on the Koho 580 pads.

The strapping system on the pads has two leather straps across the knee and three down the calf. The bootstraps are both brand new. Currently, the bottom calf strap and top knee strap of one pad is gone and the bottom knee and top calf straps on the other pad are toasted.

So I'm going to re-strap them. I have the tools to do this and have easy access to all sorts of materials, what I lack is expertise in what works well.

The Brian's Smartstrap thread got me thinking, "what is the best strapping method?" If you could create one from scratch, what would it be.

A couple of notes for this, I like to butterfly and appreciate systems that are easy to put on, as I play outdoors and am often changing in a snowbank.

I'm a teacher, so come July I will have plenty of time to take on this project. I have connections in an industrial fabric shop, so materials aren't an issue.

Pictures will follow, but ideas would be much appreciated.

[Law Goalie 147]

<p>Glad to hear it's going well!</p>

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<p>The minimum effective strapping I've even see was Jerret Rooney's (aka Lord of The Cage): one knee, one calf, no boot, and a sliding toe-bridge.  Both leg straps were angled downward: the knee-strap from the middle of the knee-block (medial) to the top of the calf (lateral gusset), the single calf-strap from the top of the calf (medial) to the ankle (lateral).</p>

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<p>What the TPS 'Lundqvist' Y-strap and the Brian's Smartstrap both accomplish a two-into-one strapping: two calf-straps running from the medial protection to a single connection point on the lateral gusset.  Here's a home-made version done by Dorian (aka c0nquistadorian):</p>

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<p>Outside view (triangular 'Tri-Glide' piece hidden by strap):</p>

<p><img alt="" src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f218/c0nquistad0rian/Itech%2078%20XWings/100_0425.jpg" /></p>

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<p>Inside view (showing Tri-Glide):</p>

<p><img alt="" src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f218/c0nquistad0rian/Itech%2078%20XWings/100_0426.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 600px; " /></p>

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<p>And here's a slightly longer shot, showing how it would hold the leg:</p>

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<p><img alt="" src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f218/c0nquistad0rian/Itech%2078%20XWings/100_0435.jpg" /></p>

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<p>The one limitation of the Tri-Glide (as shown above) is that its angles dictate the angles (and thus the placement) of your calf-straps: the straps must create a corresponding triangle from the tri-glide to the calf-wing.  For this reason, I much prefer using D-rings, since you can attach the straps to the most effective points of the calf-wing (top corner and bottom corner) and loop them through the D-ring at whatever angles you like.</p>

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<p>As to the boot-strap, there are some people who claim you need both, some who say a boot-strap is pointless with a proper connection to the toe of the pad, and some who say toe connections are evil and a boot-strap is all you need.  This is largely personal preference, though most reasonable people will admit that a toe connection give you greater control over the pad than without one, at a moderately increased risk of injury (depending on the method and manner).</p>

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<div>Materials are largely personal preference: some people are willing to accept the weight of leather straps with riveted metal buckles for the comfort and durability; some prefer lighter webbing with quick-release (aka side-release) nylon or plastic buckles.  I strongly prefer the quickness of being able to snap in and out of my pads on the ice for coaching purposes, and the weight difference is noticeable.  For reference, changing a Koho 580 (6 leather straps) to quick-release saves about 1/2lbs per pad - even more if you reduce the number of straps - so it's not insignificant.</div>

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<div>Rather than sewing straps directly into the gussets and/or medial protection (knee-/calf-wings) of the pad, which requires moderate surgery to move or replace anything, I strongly prefer to sew slotted tabs (preferably heavy strap-leather) into the pad.  You can either sew these into the rear face of the pad (as on Smith SP6000 pads, and Warrior Ritual boots *only*) or into the gussets, as on Reebok PS2 pads.  The straps run through these, with a loop sewn in the end of the strap for a Slik-clip, which acts as a bar behind the tab.  There are several advantages to this method over sewing a loop into the pad and clipping the Slik-clip into that: namely that the tab is wider and heavier material, and effectively hides and protects the Slik-clip from incidental contact.</div>

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<div>Sorry if that's a bit scattered; I'll follow up later.</div>

[TheWay 0]

Law, your post didn't work technically, but I got all of the relevant information.

I was thinking this morning about the angled knee strap as my one pad has been put on that way a number of times(because I'm missing a high knee strap and a low knee buckle). I fell that it works well.

For the D-Ring tabs, those will be no problem, a great idea actually. I likely will use some heavy grade 1" nylon webbing I have lying around to tie those into the pads(and possibly for the straps themselves.). I'm thinking of mounting them into the gusset as the back of the pads seem to be weaker compared to the many layers of cordura and jenpro in the gussets.

A Two strap system is definitely tempting for me, what do you all think about using a webbing strap with a piece of vinyl reinforcement and heavy grade velcro looped though a slide as the actual attachment for the strap.

[Law Goalie 147]

OK, what the hell happened there... lol.

Definitely angle the knee-strap down to the top of the calf. There is absolutely no reason not to do it, and several huge benefits, as you've noticed.

I think you may well find that a two-strap setup works perfectly.

The only reason you'd want a strap above the knee is to bend in the top of the thigh-rise in the butterfly; if your pads are sufficiently flexible and your butterfly moderately narrow, it's great. If you're going to do this, you want it to be attached to the very top of the pad (almost at the top corners) so your thigh can pull it back most effectively. I'd strongly suggest making this top strap removable (velcro, or Slik-clips, or whatever) so that you can try both in-game. I was very pleasantly surprised at my movement when I ditched the top strap with a pair of relatively rigid pads (Warrior Messiahs), but I can't do without it on my rebuilt PS2s (which have a very flexible thigh).

The advantage of Velcro over quick-release buckles (QR) is that it can't be broken by an impact; the disadvantage are that it's a bit slower and more fiddly to put on and take off, the hook side can tear up textiles pretty badly, it breaks down over time, and as it breaks down it becomes prone to decoupling. Using heavy-grade Velcro (as opposed to Fabricland-grade generic hook-and-loop) will help. Frankly, I just prefer the buckles. Check out thewebsource.ca -- they have an awesome selection, including the 2-into-1 Tri-Lockster buckles (though I much prefer the D-ring solution above). I doubt you'll need the vinyl reinforcement if you do decide to go with velcro and webbing; that should be plenty strong without it.

Sewing the tabs into the gussets rather than the back of the pad is both easier and stronger, but you will probably end up with a bit of 'play' in the tab unless you use extremely rigid leather.

If you do go to two straps (knee + two-into-one thigh), you'll definitely need to play around with your toe setup. Ditching the boot-strap saves a ton of time getting dressed and undressed, but it does leave things rather loose down there.

Frankly, I don't think you'd have any difficulty throwing together a sliding toe-bridge. All you need is a strip of heavy plastic (say, 1/8" HDPE at least) with a small channel down the middle, a couple of plastic discs (any shape will do, really), a standard 3mm cord toe-tie or skate lace to run through them and the channel, and a strip of Jenpro, vinyl or leather sewn into the top of the plastic strip to sew or bolt onto the toe of the pad. With a sliding toe-bridge, you can definitely do without the boot-strap.