Bauer Supreme TotalOne NXG Shin Guards

[Cosmic 178]

Height - 6'2"

Weight - 215 lbs

Pad size - 16 inch (tucked behind skate tongue)

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 - 10/10

These are very comfortable and hug the leg well, even before strapping in. I wear these for inline without tape, socks, or anything else holding them in place, and they sit really nicely on my leg. When I wear under Reebok Edge Compression hockey socks (when I play ice), these shins completely fuse with my leg, and I forget that I am wearing shins. Only issue with fit is the area at the bottom does not give much of a comprehensive wrap, if you want to tuck the skate tongue behind the shin. It can be done, but you leave yourself pretty vulnerable down there around the lower shin/ankle. Not deducting points, as Bauer offers Nexus for those who want to tuck skate tongue behind shin guard. The stated focus of this shin is anatomical fit, I assume when tucking behind skate tongue, and this pad accomplishes this.

Protection: 8.8/10

This is by no means a beefy shin. The plastic and padding is fine, for pucks coming straight on. I have taken a few ice pucks (hard shots) straight on and did not feel anything. I did, however, take a weak inline shot head on and for some reason felt a knock- no pain, but I felt it. This was odd, after having not felt hard shots from ice pucks. As far as I knew, the shins were being worn properly.

The knee protection (PORON XRD foam donut at knee) and calf wrap (big piece of Vent Armour Foam on outside of each shin) are great. I also like all of the Vent Armour foam flaring off of the knee area. However, the inside of the shin offers very little protection. I instinctively stick out my foot sometimes to block shots (I wear Skate Fenders so I am well protected in my feet) and took 2 inline pucks to the inside of my calf in the same session. Each puck hit the low density foam on the inside of these shin guards, but still stung and left bruises. I would like to see a bit more padding in this region.

Weight - 8.8/10

According to IW, a 14 inch weighs 612 grams. This seems about standard for a high end shin guard. If this shin brought about protection above and beyond the norm, 50 grams under standard weight, then I would give it a 10. However, it does neither. Somehow (according to IW), the Nexus weighs in lighter, even though it is a volume fit and thus seemingly a beefier shin.

Durability - 10/10

After about 8 ice sessions and 8 inline sessions, these are holding up great. I always remove the liner and air dry as soon as I arrive home, and these pads are in turn looking good as new, except for the scuff on the face where I slid on my knee during inline (on a rubber sport court) to try to block a pass on D. No real damage done, just a little scuff. I expect these to last quite a long time. The skate guard pad at the bottom, to add life to the skates. This seems standard on all high end shins.

Intangibles 9/10

Nothing really significant, beyond that which already stated. They look cool, which I do not really care about, but alot of the younger guys at inline comment about how much they love the look (since it is too hot to wear inline pants where we play, so the shin guards are actually exposed during those sessions). Value wise, I think that Nexus 1000 might be a better value ($30 cheaper, 34 grams lighter in the 14 inch model, and beefier; albeit minus the Vent Armour Foam and PORON XRD donut), especially if you tuck the skate tongue behind the shin guard. I have not tried on the Nexus or seen it in person since I got back into hockey; I am just going off my assessment based on reviews and videos I have seen.

Conclusion

Great comfort and fit, seemingly protective enough in the areas that you will need it, standard weight for the type of shin that it is. I am happy with this shin for inline and tucking behind the skate tongue. If tucking over the skate tongue, then one might want to consider a higher volume fit down at the bottom of the shin, as these are made to contour around the lower shin, and seemingly not around the skate.

Overall score - 46.6/50

Edited November 10, 2013 by Cosmic