Simmons Goalie Gear

[beardedgoalie 0]

So I'm trying to find an affordable set of goalie gear. I found a set advertized on craingslist, but I want to know the quality of the gear.

The set contains:

Simmons Air 991 Leg pads, glove an blocker

Simmons chest guard (can't read the model)

an extra Vaugn Vision glove

an Itech mask

A Bauer Composite stick

Bauer Knee/ Thigh guards

KOHO 560 Titanium goal skates

and a wheeled bag

The seller wants $575 for all of this. It seems like a great value to me, as all the gear shows very little wear. I would aprecciate any advice.

[Gummer12 134]

What model Itech mask?

[beardedgoalie 0]

Couldn't tell you, it doesn't have it in the ad.

[Gummer12 134]

The rest of the gear looks adequate for beginner, just beware of the Widowmaker Itechs, (1200 and I believe 1400 models). Wouldn't wear those playing roller hockey. Even so, you can always turn around and ebay it and invest in a Hackva or something. Not too sure about the skates though either, but if they fit.. nothing wrong with them for starting out, and then slowly upgrading what you need to.

[Phantom 19]

Model of the mask is very important; as already said, if it's a lower end mask, it's worth spending money on a new one (Hackva or Fusion are both affordable and offer great protection). Personally I always think it's worth dropping some good money on a solid, new mask because after all, it's your head. Don't skimp there. As for the rest of it, Simmons makes great quality gear, but if the gear is old and beat up, then you may find the protection lacking, especially on the chest protector. Those only have so many shots in them before they start to break down. Inspect the gear if the ad is local to you. If they honestly don't show much wear, then you're good to go.

[Justin Liedloff 13]

I'll throw my $0.02 in here. All of that stuff is decent gear for a beer league tender, and not just to "start out." HOWEVER, it is all very old.

The Koho 560 skate was an upper middle tier skate close to 10 years ago.

The Simmons Air 991 is similarly old. Most Simmons stuff is decent build quality, but has been know to suffer from durability issues. I would put them on part with upper middle tier product from the big names.

Simmons chest/arm pieces are pretty decent, and as long as it's in good shape, you should be ok. One concern with the C/A will be age, as the foam blocks tend to break down over time.

The Vaughn Vision glove could be decent, depending on the model number. Vaughn has used the "vision" moniker on products ranging from pro all the way to entry level youth. A model number would be good to tell where this particular model falls. The model number will also give an idea as to age.

The composite stick, as long as it's structurally sound, could also be decent. Much like Vaughn with the vision line, Bauer had multiple levels of composite goal sticks at the market. If memory serves correctly, they were the first to introduce a sub $100 composite goal stick at retail. From what I remember, these sub $100 sticks had some durability issues.

The knee pads and bag should be fine, as long as the condition is OK.

Which brings us to the mask. As has been said before, Itech has several lines of "widowmaker" masks. This term was given to the lines because the masks are nothing more than molded plastic with a cheap cage attached. I wouldn't use one for anything other than street hockey. Is there a chance you can provide a picture of the mask? We might be able to tell what it is by looking at it.

[beardedgoalie 0]

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/spo/3522245136.html

There's the link to the ad.

[Law Goalie 147]

Others have covered the major points, so I'll just say conclusively what they all hinted at: it's not a good deal. The condition of the gear appears good -- that is, not heavily worn -- but it's been seriously overvalued, and is unlikely to hold even a fraction of that value if you decide to sell or upgrade.

That set is also missing pants and a goalie jock, so it's not even a complete set.

That Itech mask appears to be one of the low-end plastic ones: not as bad as the 1200, but pretty much a salad bowl.

The desire to dabble in goaltending should meet with nothing but encouragement, but I have to say, the often associated desire to buy a 'full set' in a one-off deal is irrationally common. Buying a set someone else has used seems to afford new goalies the illusion that they'll be able to use it too; if a previous goalie made this set work for him or her, it's easy to assume it'll work for someone else. This creates false senses of security/protection and of performance, and leads to a lot of impulse purchases of used and even new gear that doesn't work and isn't up to snuff.

The only way I'd suggest buying a full set is if you can try it several times first, which would require that your relationship with the seller is extremely friendly; this would also give you time to research each piece thoroughly.

If your budget is around $600, that can't buy you even a fraction of a full retail set of new gear, but it can get you a very decent used rack if you piece it together. Piecing it together does come with the added burden of checking out each piece before you buys, which takes time and interest, but yields the best results.

[hb4167 6]

Others have covered the major points, so I'll just say conclusively what they all hinted at: it's not a good deal. The condition of the gear appears good -- that is, not heavily worn -- but it's been seriously overvalued, and is unlikely to hold even a fraction of that value if you decide to sell or upgrade.

That set is also missing pants and a goalie jock, so it's not even a complete set.

That Itech mask appears to be one of the low-end plastic ones: not as bad as the 1200, but pretty much a salad bowl.

The desire to dabble in goaltending should meet with nothing but encouragement, but I have to say, the often associated desire to buy a 'full set' in a one-off deal is irrationally common. Buying a set someone else has used seems to afford new goalies the illusion that they'll be able to use it too; if a previous goalie made this set work for him or her, it's easy to assume it'll work for someone else. This creates false senses of security/protection and of performance, and leads to a lot of impulse purchases of used and even new gear that doesn't work and isn't up to snuff.

The only way I'd suggest buying a full set is if you can try it several times first, which would require that your relationship with the seller is extremely friendly; this would also give you time to research each piece thoroughly.

If your budget is around $600, that can't buy you even a fraction of a full retail set of new gear, but it can get you a very decent used rack if you piece it together. Piecing it together does come with the added burden of checking out each piece before you buys, which takes time and interest, but yields the best results.

I hate to throw a simple +1 around with nothing to add, but Law couldn't be more right. I agree 100% with everything he has to say. Buyers be wary, it's tough to be patient, but you dont want to get hosed.