Beer League Protection: x100 or Supreme One.8 or CCM CL

[l3randonf 0]

6'1

185 Pounds

I-League / D-League / Beer League

Looking for Shoulders / Pants / Elbows / Shins. Any price is acceptable. I want to be as light and mobile as possible but want to be protected as I like to dive to block shots and get in shooting lanes. I usually play center or right wing.

I know that the CCM CL is the lightest but it seems that the Supreme One.8 line would give me the best of both worlds. I am worried about the CCM CL because there is no belly guard and I have read some people's accounts about how the shoulders and elbows are short. I feel like I am going to be exposed in several areas.

I like the new Bauer Vapor x100 line but since it isn't out yet, all we really have to go off of are pictures. It seems that the x100 might be the best option but I guess I will have to wait and see when the product comes out. Apparently the x100 is going for the CL market but with more protection?

Any insight is appreciated.

[mickz 107]

Don't count on the stiffness of the boot to protect you. I blocked a shot wearing a pair of Supreme Total Ones and my ankle swelled up. I was on crutches for a week but still limped around after that. You're better off adding some sort of shot blocker to your skates.

[l3randonf 0]

Don't count on the stiffness of the boot to protect you. I blocked a shot wearing a pair of Supreme Total Ones and my ankle swelled up. I was on crutches for a week but still limped around after that. You're better off adding some sort of shot blocker to your skates.

I will certainly look into that. For now, I am wanting to replace all of my protective equipment because they are very old and heavy and bulky. I got them used on craigslist several years ago haha.

[Zjack38 46]

Can you specify what piece of equipment your talking about? Lol

[mickz 107]

I will certainly look into that. For now, I am wanting to replace all of my protective equipment because they are very old and heavy and bulky. I got them used on craigslist several years ago haha.

My bad, I don't know why but I overlooked your second paragraph and thought you were looking for skates.

[l3randonf 0]

Can you specify what piece of equipment your talking about? Lol

Shoulders / Pants / Elbows / Shins

[mc88 160]

What you need to do is go to a local hockey shop and try on what best fits you. Form, Function, and Fit (the 3 F's) should be more important than looks/appearance!

Here's what I use (I prefer lightest/smallest padding for mobility with some overall protection):

5'8 - 175lbs - Left Wing

Typically, you'll find 3 types of shin guard types: Anatomical, Tapered, and Volume. The x100 is tapered, so it'll be narrow and curve to a leg shape; if your leg is beefy, you don't want tapered. Anatomical is fairly straight down from the knee cap. Volume is similar to anatomical, but will offer widest possible fit.

From my experience, I've worn a size 13" and 14" shins. While the 14" offered the best protection it didn't offer me the best fit and mobility. And while the 13" offered a better fit, it didn't offer complete protection (space between boot and shin guard). I went with Bauer APX 13's because they allowed me to be quicker: Very light, less chance of my pants catching the knee cap padding, and they're super tight against my shins. Ultimately, they allowed me to put my shins behind the tongue.

Pants/girdles and shoulders will vary more in the fit (loose vs close to body), mobility (light vs heavy duty), and protection (complete padding vs minimal padding). In terms of shoulders, I wear a small CCM CLs (wore a medium in CCM U+ and found them to be a bit big, but offered great overall protection), and while I have no problems in the protected areas... like you stated, there isn't much belly protection. That's why I'm looking into buying Warrior Hustler pants (comes with 6 pack padding). Currently, I wear a medium Reebok 9k Girdle with a shell. Unfortunately, the girdle (tight to body, with great protection and relatively light) doesn't fit my vertical height very well (the leg padding is too large for my height).

For elbows, you'll mainly see the same type from brand to brand. Again, tapered, anatomical, volume. The biggest difference I've noticed is overall forearm length. Some offer extended forearm padding for short gloves. Others offer standard size padding with the idea of larger gloves to cover the void. For me, I went with some pro stock Reebok 7Ks. In retail size, I'm a medium. In pro stock size, I'm a small. These elbows offer a volume fit, while offering fairly long forearm padding. Since i wear a 13W glove, there is some space (not a whole lot) between glove and elbow pad, but again, mobility over protection.

The above is just my opinion and preference. This is why I suggest visiting a LHS to see what feels best to your body and fits best to your goals.

[Stewie 721]

Ill go over what I have, and why i have it, and why i like it/dont like it.

At the elbows, I have CCM fit05. I am in the market to replace these, my problem with any "high end" pad is usually bulk, So I have been mostly looking at the U12 to replace these, but may also give the CL a chance, depending on how bulky i find them.

At shoulders I have fit05 as well. I love CCM profile on the shoulder caps. I am looking to replace these as well, and it wil likely come down to the RBZ shoulders, APX2 shoulders which I was really impressed with at summerjam, and lower end nexus shoulders. I liked the fit of the CL shoulders but wasnt a big fan of the sternum protector.

At knees, I had fit 05 there as well, but decided that was an important spot to upgrade as I block a lot of shots there, and they are in horrible shape compaired to my other gear pieces. I recently went with the AX2 by warrior, And so far, I love them. the CL were decent, but didnt fit well with my pants for some reason, which are also CL. I also am not super impressed with how long the foam part buffering the knee cap lasted in my fit05 and heard negetive stories on the CL as well. The guy I sold them to seems to love them however. Another issue with me in the sizing department Is that I am right on the edge of 14 and 15 in the CL shins, the 14s dont wrap well enough around my calf, and the 15s are too far down for my tongue flopping needs. The ax2 offers me a 15 with comfortable fit, and great protection.

pants I am in the CL. I love the pants, only downside being the fit around the waist. I will probably be opting for another pair of pants when I go back on the market, maybe a level of the nexus. Protection, performance wise, they are awesome.

[l3randonf 0]

Thanks for the insights, I appreciate it.

My nearest hockey store is 30 minutes away and it has very, very limited selection. Basically, it sucks and they botched my skate sharpening last time out. I live in the Dallas, TX area. They did just open a Hockey Giant store but it is at least an hour away. I might make the journey.

[navy21 4]

Just upgraded my elbows, currently shopping for shoulders. 5'11" 190.

Went with the CCM CL elbows in a L. Nice pads, probably not the most protective out there, but serviceable for men's league. Forearm slash guard is a very dense foam that will probably mold to the shape of your arm with time. The biggest difference I find between these and most other pads is the fit/stability. The elbow cup is a neoprene/rubber combo and combined with the anchor strap, these things do not slide at all. They are fairly stiff at first but seem to be breaking in after about 5+ hours of ice time. The forearm might be a tad shorter than other elbows. I tried the Bauer total ones/APX in L and warrior AX2s and decided on the CCM.

Regarding shoulders, I am really just looking for low profile caps and spine protection. If I was creative I'd probably try and assemble my own pair, but I'm too lazy for that.

[Cosmic 178]

I wear CCM CL shoulders, elbows and pants for beer league. I do not believe in skimping on protection for beer league. I wear the armor to protect me from pucks, as much as from (spineless*) players. I have been hit now 3 times by guys coming in at full speed from behind. One guy sort of semi apologized after, and we are allright now (a few months later and no more obnoxiousness to speak of); and the other guy (who ran me two plays in a row from behind) is just a douchebag, which was confirmed by a guy who I know who knows him. (The only dialogue we shared after the play lead us to the penalty box- I would have rather not have lead with words, but the guy was standing in front of our goalie after he ran me from behind, so I was not able to tackle him then proceed to mount for ground and pound, as was my first instinct.) Anyway, all 3 hits dropped me, as I did not expect the hits nor see the guys coming, but the CL shouldies absorbed all impact and I neither hurt nor felt a bruise.

The shoulders are not long, standing up, but when you get into an aggressive skating stance, I am pretty sure that the pad reaches about to my pants. I attached a belly guard from a TotalOne pad with some velcro, to cover up what I thought to be an excessive gap. The gap was covered, but then the guard was bumping my pants, which was annoying, so I took off the guard and just wear the pads as they were designed to be worn.

I agree about the elbows lacking length, but what can ya do? They are light, protective and stay in place, so I just live with it.

* I say spineless because there is this certain mentality that I find disgusting, of guys who sign up for beer league, and then try to be bullies, knowing the refs do NOT want to have to take the game over. If you wanna hit and run people, then there is a league for that, it's called full body contact league.

[ntwusc 62]

For pants, I've found that CCM CL's are at least as protective as much heavier top end pants like Reebok 11K's. Between falls and blocking shots, I've never found myself wanting more protection. They're on sale now, so grab some while they're still available.