CCM Crazy Light Elbow Pads

[Cosmic 178]

Height - 6'2"

Weight - 215 lbs

Pad size - Large

Forearm (at widest point)- 12.75 inches

Bicep (at biggest) - 14.25 inches

Length of arm from inner elbow to inner wrist- 11.5 inches

Level of play:Beer Leaguer

Location: Indonesia (and thus distance to nearest LHS that stocks my size, where I can try things on, is about 10,000 miles +. Special thanks to all the guys here who helped me sort out the details of proper sizes to buy, as most of my gear has been dialed in pretty nicely. As described in various posts of mine, I am overseas, far from an LHS, and thus I have to rely on reviews and sizing estimates to order my gear prior to having it shipped out here. And once I have it, shipping back creates an expense that is prohibitory.

Fit - 3/10

According to the CCM sizing chart posted at IW, size Large (biggest size manufactured in this item) is to fit 5'9+. This has not been my experience. I think that a more accurate sizing chart would read: 6'0-, as in "Think twice about trying these on if you are over 6'0, or at least try on in the store. I list my measurements above for reference. The elbow and forearm straps are just too tight, and uncomfortable. The bicep strap gives me plenty of room. Granted, I have large forearms and small biceps.

Also, the length of these pads is short. I wear 15 inch Vapor APXs, and can fit an entire Shock Doctor Wrist guard between the elbow and the glove, without anything bumping onto anything else. This is not due to short cuffs on the APX's, but rather, short forearms on the CCM CLs.

Protection: For beer league, 9/10; for full body, 6/10

There is very little slash protection, as the forearms not only do not come down very fat, but they also do not give much of a comprehensive wrap. This is fine in beer league, where the hooking and slashing is pretty much non existent, but I would not feel protected at all wearing these in a chippy league/ game. Sure, I have seen pics of pros wearing these, but I suspect they have been modified from retail to give more coverage. These are good for protecting the elbows from falls, I will give credit in this regard.

Weight - 10/10

In addition to being crazy short, and crazy non comprehensive wrapping, these are indeed crazy light. In defense of the product, I did know going in that they were short (and thus ordered the Shock Doctor wrist guards to bridge gap between elbows and gloves), and did not give the best slash protection. I opted for lightness and moisture repellant materials, and I got what I ordered. So, 10/10 here.

Durability - 3/10

After about 8 ice sessions and 8 inline sessions, the elbow strap is coming undone. In reading some reviews on HockeyMonkey regarding the CCM Crazy Strong (which seems to use same mechanism and material where I had my problems), this seems like a rather common problem. I detail my experience on a thread on MSH (with pic) here:

http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php/topic/64699-how-to-repair-ccm-cl-elbow-pad-material-that-is-falling-apart/

Kudos to CCM/ Reebok for sending replacment pads. They say they fixed the shredding neoprene issue with the latest batch.

Intangibles

I love the concept of the U Foam. As a guy who sweats alot and seems to have a ridiculously heavy bag even though I try to buy all the lightest gear, I appreciate CCM's dedication to this concept, technology and material.

Conclusion

If you're 6'0 and under, sweat alot and play in beer league, then these pads will rock it, assuming that you do not strain the elbow strap and they hold up for you. However, if you are a bigger guy, and/or playing in full contact/ chippy conditions, I would advise against using these.

Overall score - Not really fair to tally up, because of all of the "asterisks" in this case- the damage incurred on the pads, sizing and fit issues, and the different variables considered in who these pads would be appropriate for (beer league vs. full contact). For a smaller guy in beer league, these are perfect (say a 9.5/10), for a bigger guy in full body, these would seem just inappropriate (4.5/10). So, in this case, one score does not really do the product justice. And I do look forward to CCM/ Reebok's future offerings in this line, or whatever elbow they release that furthers the U+ Foam technology, as this is IMO the best material on the market right now in terms of protection/ lightness/ comfort/ moisture repellant properties. (Honorable mention: Vent Armour Foam)

Edited January 30, 2014 by Cosmic

[fatwabbit 93]

Going to use a similar format to what my buddy Cosmic has used. Here's my review of the CCM CL Elbow pads (have got the shoulder pads as well, and I might add a review later on

Height - 6'

Weight - 185 lbs

Pad size - Large

Forearm (at widest point)- 11 inches

Bicep (at biggest) - 14 inches

Length of arm from inncer elbow to inner wrist- 12 inches

Level of play: Inline A League, Ice B/C League. Have been playing inline hockey for almost 18 years at various levels including National Tournys, and did the transition to ice early this year.

Inline is a decent level, but there are some ultra-commando type teams that hack/slash their way to winning the glorious plastic trophy. Ice wise, the guys I play with are mainly just starting out and most have little or no experience, however there are some A level players who play down a level and they can throw/take a few hits.

Location: Brisbane, Australia.

After reading quite a fair amount of information on the elbow pads, I was contemplating getting a pair of CS Elbow pads or the CL Elbow pads. I've always been a little more reserved when it can to contact sports, and usually went with the most protective set of gear I could afford. However, in the last year or so, I've been more attentive to my weight as I have bad knees and wear knee braces to protect them, and was thinking that I might consider tryign to get the lightest setup as possible. I also wanted something that didnt soak up so much sweat... I perspire heavily... so much so that even at 6am when the temp outside is almost 10deg C, I can still work up a sweat just putting my gear on. I thought that with the U foam and the claim to 'not absorb moisture' would be a good point.

In the event that the CL did not offer enough protection, I could always swtich back to the Warrior Projekts that I had been using for almost a year, or the Jofa pro elbows that I've been hoarding for some time. I eventually went ahead with the CL, thinking that since I had more protective backups I could try something new....and I'm glad I did

Ordered the gear from hockeymonkey and also got some CL shoulder pads and as many tacki-macs that I could get to ensure that I fully utilised the exorbitant shipping to me in Australia. The LHS does not have a good range of gear, mainly very low or entry level gear, and the 'good' LHS located in Melbourne tends to only stock Bauer, Easton and Warrior. When the box arrived I thought they must have missed out something, as the box was extremely light. The elbows delivered were the 'midnight' edition, even though I ordered the normal ones... but there was no difference except for the colorway. I would have prefered to have the red accents like the shoulder pads I ordered (fav color red) but its a small thing that I could overlook.

Weight - 10/10

Right out of the box, the first thing I picked up were the elbow pads. These were extremely lightweight, by far THE lightest elbow pads I've ever had. I put them on the scale and both elbow pads together were lighter than one side of the ultra-protective Jofa pads I had. Very nice, and when I put them on, I could tell that you'll barely notice that they are there. I agree with Cosmic that they are a little shorter, but I normally wear shock doctor slash guards and a longer cuff glove so no problems with the elbow pads there.

Fit - 8/10

Comfort wise, the CL were nice and snug, but not as comfortable as my warrior projekt elbows. Granted that I've been using the projekts for almost a year, but possibly the projekts just had a little more foam to add to the comfort factor. The strapping system is very similar to the projekts, and gives a solid fit over my bare elbows. I normally wear a base layer (no neoprene or antislip) under my gear, and with the base layer on the elbows were a snug fit, no movement at all even though my base layer didnt have those antislip stripes (or whatever you call them). I went with a size Large, the same sizing as all the other elbow pads I've gotten and these felt the same. I think they would open up a touch once I had them broken in, and should get more comfortable.

I had both elbow pads and gloves on, and did a little puck handling in the garage. There was no restriction of movement and I was able to puck handle pretty comfortably. One point I need to add was that I did feel a little pinching in the left elbow pad, but after taking them out you could tell that the corner of the forearm guard on the left was pushed in a little more... possibly during shipment. After pushing the forearm guard out a little and readjusting, it seemed to be fine again.

I did try them on with my Shock Doctor Slash Guards, and there was no obtruction from the elbows. Compared to my jofas/projekts, where I had to have the slash guards under the elbow pad forearm guard.

I would think that the comfort of the elbow pads would get better as they start breaking in, but initial impressions would give it a 8/10

Protection: 8/10

The foam in the forearm guard seems to be very thin compared to all the other elbow pads I've used in the past, however it does provide decent to good protection from slashes. I tried hacking myself on the forearm a couple of times, and there is no pain whatsoever. For the level that I'm playing, I think these will work very well, and falling on them does protect your elbows. I would still consider wearing them with my slash guards, as I've had a nasty experience in the past with a puck hitting my wrist and I've been hit a few times during chippy games. The forearm guard does wrap around my arm nicely though, as compared to some others like the Nexus 1000 which I tried on and felt it just didnt form up nicely.

Durability - 8/10

After playing about a dozen times, the elbow straps are still in excellent condition. No fraying of stitching, and the elbow pads seems to be broken in a little better.

Other observations

One session after doing drills for almost an hour, I took off my gear and realised that the elbow pads were wet to the touch, but remained extremely light weight. I wouldnt say that it was completely dry, but the materials were only superficially damp with sweat. The weight felt almost the same as when it was dry. I also had my CL shoulder pads on, and after playing with it for almost an hour, it was still lighter than my buddy's non-used Easton shoulder pads (he didnt wear it as we were 'just doing drills'). I would say that the U foam has done its work well.

I take my gear out of the bag and onto a drying rack straight after I reach home, and in less than an hour both my CL shoulder pads and the elbows were completely dry. I think this is a great feature especially if you are playing travel hockey... no one I know likes to put on wet gear...

Conclusion

Even though these cost me more than I would normally pay, I think it was a worthwhile investment. I've never really liked using CCM, have been mainly a Bauer, Mission and Warrior person for a long time, but my first proper purchase of CCM has me thinking whether I should extend my sights to what they have to offer. In terms of skates I'll have limited choices due to my bigger instep, but I think I might consider giving other brands a shot when it comes to gear. If I'm ever in the US again, Ill sure to stop by a PROPER LHS and get fitted for gear.