Question for those of you that wear collars

[retroXvertigo 4]

Do you wear a dangler as well, or just the collar?

Been thinking about grabbing a Maltese.

Thanks

[Axxion89 32]

I personally do not wear a Dangler with collar because they shatter easily which gets expensive and can cut you. In addition, they are noisy and for me at least, impede my ability to rotate my head fully left and right as the dangler would get cough up in my CA or jersey.

If you use one now and add a collar, it will not interfere with it in anyway however, in case that is why you asked.

[retroXvertigo 4]

I have a dangler now. It gets a little irritating at times between the noise and it sometimes snagging the C/A.

Disclaimer: I'm a d-man turned brand new goalie and I'm still learning EVERYTHING. Including equipment.

[Thepandamancan 0]

I wear both. I've had shots squeak through the dangler and hit me in the neck. Thankfully they were weak wristers, but if they were blasts...who knows.

You should probably wear both anyway (unless you have a very good C/A with proper neck/collarbone protection). The dangler is really there to protect you from shots. Yes, they will break but that's the point...it'll break the plastic and not your throat. The collar is there mostly so a skate can't cut you should it hit your neck. If you get hit in the neck with a puck wearing a collar, you'll still feel it...but it will protect you from the full blow.

[Phantom 19]

I took a slapshot to the throat about two years ago. Shattered my dangler, and impacted nearly full force on the Maltese. Needless to say, if I didn't have that Maltese on, it would not have ended well. I still wear both the dangler and the Maltese, because I still like the extra protection. Yes, a broken dangler absolutely can cut you (mine would have). The Maltese is there for any pucks, sticks, or skates that sneak through. I absolutely WILL NOT get on the ice without my Maltese.

[jcp2 2]

I also wear both dangler and Maltese. I had a shot sneak under the dangler and hit the collar as well. The dangler hasn't really been noisy for me as I have the laces on the inside, cushioning the contact between dangler and mask.

[Law Goalie 147]

The solution JCP mentioned does alleviate some of the annoyance of a dangler, but, for my part, I feel the disruption of downward vision and the risk of a cut or puncture from a broken dangler are more likely to create a dangerous situation than to prevent one.

Some people cannot deal with collars tight to their necks: some, for example, were strangled by umbilical cords as infants. For anyone who doesn't like a tight collar, the dangler is a great piece of protection. Similarly, some people are very sensitive about exposing their necks, and for them, adding a dangler gives peace of mind that a collar can't. Personally, anything that limits or interferes with my ability to turn my head - and danglers definitely do that, if only by adding lagged weight at the chin - or disrupts my vision is an unbearable annoyance. Having heard tell and experienced personally how much impact and cit protection Maltese's collars can handle, and how comfortable they are, I'm completely comfortable with that alone.

[EvilPepe 24]

While danglers are obviously going to bother some more than others, I will say that the problems many people have can be fixed simply by changing the way they tie the thing on.

If you tie the front on by making one big loop (so that it goes around the chin of the mask, and both ends come together in a knot on the outside of the dangler hole) instead of attaching it directly to the cage, you can prevent it from flopping all over the place - because the loop goes around the actual chin of the mask, you can prevent the dangler from moving into your field of vision. It takes some trial and error to figure out how much slack you need, and depending on the combination of what C/A and what mask you are using it may still be a problem, but it is usually a better option than any other method I've seen.

Personally, I use a dangler and a Maltese combo. Then again, until 3 years ago I was still wearing an SK2000 with the GL-100 cage...

[retroXvertigo 4]

Funny I recently started this thread. Played the other night. Did an aggressive Turco-ish slide out and poke check on a buddy of mine, ended up with a stick wedges in the neck of my C/A and quite an interesting looking bruise.

Ordered a Maltese today.

[Law Goalie 147]

Awesome: good decision, retro.

And next time, aim your *shins* at his stick when you do the Hasek/Turco/Johnny Bower sliding poke -- not your neck! (My last mask had a gorgeous, Cheevers-esque scar from doing it wrong, heh.)

[retroXvertigo 4]

Haha. Lesson learned, interesting bruise gained.

[retroXvertigo 4]

And it was waiting for me when I got home. Man, that's fast!

[Law Goalie 147]

Phil rules.

Incidentally, I got speared in the throat tonight. Game was a little more intense than usual; guy came hard to the net down the middle in a 3v2, D lifted his stick just as the puck came across, and as I reached to deflect the pass the stick went right into my neck at full speed. I was driven into the back of the net on the toe of his blade. Apart from a little pressure on that spot, I didn't feel a thing: no pain, no mark, and the only residual feeling is a slight sense of having been pushed a little, as if I'd been giving some little niece or nephew a piggyback ride and they'd accidentally hung unto my throat for a moment. I'm always very careful to protect myself, but I was caught up in the play and this happened faster than I could react.

I now trust my Maltese even more.

[greyraven8 9]

wear a dangler with an old collar (not Maltese). All 3 are Jofa helmets - mask on one is a Cooper GL-100, one has jofa dangler, one has a lacrosse dangler.

[retroXvertigo 4]

Wore the Maltese twice over the weekend and ditched the dangler. The Maltese is super comfy. Don't even notice I'm wearing it and I usually don't like stuff around my neck at all.

[Law Goalie 147]

That is the truly amazing thing about Malteses: they're like neck guards you don't feel, except significantly more protective against both impacts and cuts than any fabric/foam/plastic construction.