Durability: Ice Pants vs. Girdles

[Cosmic 178]

How is the durability factor for Ice Hockey Pants vs. Girdles?

One would think that girdles would be more durable, since the pants would seem to be the first to rip, thus requiring simply buying a new shell?

However, I keep reading about girdles seeming to just disintegrate or come all unraveled, seemingly faster than the ice pants do.

I am aware of the advantages of the girdle (better mobility, ability to use different shells to be on different teams). I am not too concerned with either of these, as ice pants were always mobile enough for me, and I have never been in a league that requires everyone to have the same color pants.

The biggest thing for me is simply the durability issue, specifically between the CCM CL ice pants and the Bauer Supreme NXG girdle (trying to figure out which one to purchase). The durability of the girdle shell is of minimal concern (I can afford $30 every 1.5 years if the core holds up for 5 years), I am just interested in how the core of the girdle can be expected to hold up, vs. the entirety of the ice pant (if this makes sense). I read in the TotalOne NXG girdle teardown that the TotalOne cores had durability issues, and would prefer not to have this issue. Hoping Bauer stepped up the durability, but they are a corporation, so my faith is riddled with skepticism.

Connected with the durability is the water saturation issue. I am a sweater. How do girdles, and this one in particular, soak up sweat? I have read that the CCM CLs stay dry, which I would think would greatly contribute to longer lasting durability.

[SBRH1 1]

I've have the regular TotalONE girdles at work and they seem kind of flimsy with thin outer materials. I think the girdles are a little bit more flimsy. The pants keep everything together and minimize rubbing and use more durable materials. The girdles just feel like they would fall apart more easily and be much more susceptible to, like you said, disintegrate from sweat and rubbing in the really thin areas. I also like the way regular hockey pants fit compared to the girdle. The girdle is a little too tight.

[SirJW 207]

Tackla Pants are very durable. I just replaced a ten plus year old pair and many others have had theirs forever too. Sure someone might chime in that the new products aren't being made very well overall but my new Tackla's seem better than the old ones.

[althoma1 575]

I switched to a girdle from pants a couple years ago and wouldn't go back, but I do think that a good pair of high end pants will be more durable over time. I haven't had major durability issues with my Warrior Projekt girdle other than a few stiches coming loose - that was repaired for me and I haven't had any problems since. With that said, a girdle does fit closer to your body and is constantly being stretched, mine has some Velcro that can eventually where out and most pants don't (of course new Velcro could be sewn on), but I think my girdle will still last 5 plus years with a little care and maintenance.

I did have some pants that held up quite well and likely would've lasted over 10 years if I hadn't given them away or sold them - my old CCM Supras that I bought used were still in very good condition after I used them for 6 years or so and then gave them to a friend. The Nike Quests 1 pants I had after that were used for around the same amount of time and then were sold in good condition (the fabric was a bit faded and there was a 2 inch cut in one thigh, but they were still very useable).

So I don't think the girdles will last as long as a well made pair of pants, but they should still last several seasons and I prefer the fit and the function of a girdle to pants.

I have no experience with the CL pants, but I have tried on the elbows, shins and shoulder pads. The shoulder pads use a lot of their U foam so I could see how they'd retain very little, if any, water. The shins and elbows don't use nearly as much of the u-foam material as the shoulders - there's plastic and other fabric on both of those that will likely retain a little water (they still use u foam, but it's not the main material like it is on the shoulder pads). If I had to guess I'd say the pants also use a combination of materials - the u foam won't retain water, but the other fabric and material likely would. Hopefully someone who has actually used the pants can comment on that.

[Cosmic 178]

Thanks for the replies everyone, making my decision easy: CCM CL pants all the way. I can tolerate the lack of mobility relative to the girdle, I just want to go easy on the wallet the next couple of years. Besides my wanting to plug the gap on the expenses over the next couple of years, it is also simply an LHS issue, as there simply is not one that carries my sizes anywhere in the country that I live. If I were back in CA, and could just grab the Eagles on clearance from HM this time around, and then some other solid pant in 2 years on clearance, and just keep doing this, then I would likely go girdle. Not a luxury that I have though, which is all well and good; I can make the pant work.

[splitbtw 2]

I think it depends on the level of each. I've had my 9k girdle for almost a year and it looks barely used. The shell takes most of the beating and airing it out properly probably (I'm just guessing here) helps with the lack of it falling apart.

I started with pants but switched to girdles for the flexibility and being able to switch out shell colors as pleased.