Shoulder pads and broad shoulders

[tpedersen3118 58]

I suffered a mild AC tear in my shoulder a couple weeks ago in my weekend league. As such I've decided to go back to wearing shoulder pads indefinitely. I went looking and tried damn near every pad at my LHS. Ended up buying some Nexus 4000 pads cuz they were cheap! I hate them. The caps are huge, I can't move, they are going back. So, I bought some S19 Pro Stock pads from HG for dirt cheap. Got them today and I still feel like the caps are big, however, mobility it great! 

As a guy with broad shoulders are all pads going to fit "bulky" or am I looking at the wrong brands. I haven't wore shoulders since high school (sweet Flak shoulder pads!)

 

.... I read some threads on here saying Warrior might be a little lower profile, but I haven't tried those yet.

[SCATMAN 33]

I suffer from the same problem my friend. I generally wear XL/XXL shirts with a 44" chest. Try your best not to get suckered in by the "low profile" advertising, seems everyone's is doing it.. Warrior shoulders are definitely not low profile.

 

Can you get the shoulder caps repositioned by a repair shop so that they sit a little lower on the shoulder? I've found that the reason most shoulders don't fit me is because the shoulders are sitting too high (because I'm too wide). I've cut them off and re-sewn them on and had an instant better fit because they are actually sitting on my shoulders.

 

You could check out the Bauer Supreme NXG and MX3 shoulder pads, they are still a bit expensive, but the shoulder caps are adjustable so you can make them fit your wide frame much easier. I haven't had the chance to check out the APX2 myself but they are apparently a great set of pads too.

 

Myself, I've had success with custom sher-wood/bauer and CCM CL's fitting my frame.

 

 

 

[Bbd94 26]

1 hour ago, tpedersen3118 said:

I suffered a mild AC tear in my shoulder a couple weeks ago in my weekend league. As such I've decided to go back to wearing shoulder pads indefinitely. I went looking and tried damn near every pad at my LHS. Ended up buying some Nexus 4000 pads cuz they were cheap! I hate them. The caps are huge, I can't move, they are going back. So, I bought some S19 Pro Stock pads from HG for dirt cheap. Got them today and I still feel like the caps are big, however, mobility it great! 

As a guy with broad shoulders are all pads going to fit "bulky" or am I looking at the wrong brands. I haven't wore shoulders since high school (sweet Flak shoulder pads!)

 

.... I read some threads on here saying Warrior might be a little lower profile, but I haven't tried those yet.

Broad shoulders would generally be a tapered fit. If you had a tear in your shoulder I'm not sure you should be worrying about the size of the shoulder caps, but not going to tell you what to do. I've heard the APX2 are relatively "slim" for a high end pad and they're on clearance now. Easton's are pretty low profile too because of the shape. 

[tpedersen3118 58]

9 minutes ago, Bbd94 said:

Broad shoulders would generally be a tapered fit. If you had a tear in your shoulder I'm not sure you should be worrying about the size of the shoulder caps, but not going to tell you what to do. I've heard the APX2 are relatively "slim" for a high end pad and they're on clearance now. Easton's are pretty low profile too because of the shape. 

Easton Stealth s19 pro stocks are what I just bought, I should clarify that the bulk issue is more so that the pad is sitting on the top of my shoulder rather than wrapping it. These pads at XL and fit well otherwise. I think Scatman's suggestion of moving the caps out further may be the solution here.

i certainly don't want to re-injure my shoulder, it sucks right now and I'm convinced that had I been wearing something when I hit the boards I wouldn't be in this spot

[vinprun71 61]

I too have broad shoulders and an overall very broad upper body. Much like SCATMAN, I have a 44 chest. I wear large Vapor APX shoulders. The caps on these are definitely bulky. While I understand the tapered fit, they are still big and annoying. I've grown accustomed to them and appreciate the protection, but I wouldn't call the top end of the Vapor line slim - especially for those like us that already have a lot going on in the upper body region. If you go toward older style shoulders, like Sherwood for example, you'll get a slimmer profile, but you're going to sacrifice protection. In your case where you just had an injury, that wouldn't be a risk I'd be willing to take.

[jdvn 8]

17 hours ago, tpedersen3118 said:

I suffered a mild AC tear in my shoulder a couple weeks ago in my weekend league. As such I've decided to go back to wearing shoulder pads indefinitely. I went looking and tried damn near every pad at my LHS. Ended up buying some Nexus 4000 pads cuz they were cheap! I hate them. The caps are huge, I can't move, they are going back. So, I bought some S19 Pro Stock pads from HG for dirt cheap. Got them today and I still feel like the caps are big, however, mobility it great! 

As a guy with broad shoulders are all pads going to fit "bulky" or am I looking at the wrong brands. I haven't wore shoulders since high school (sweet Flak shoulder pads!)

 

.... I read some threads on here saying Warrior might be a little lower profile, but I haven't tried those yet.

 

I had the same injury two seasons ago wearing CCM U+ CL shoulder pads. I don't think there's a pad in the world that would have prevented the injury, in my case at least.

 

As for shoulders I have a broad set for my frame and found that the caps would never generally sit right on my shoulders. I tried Sherwood 5550 caps sewn on to a Warrior HD Pro chest piece and love 'em. 

 

 

[Bbd94 26]

16 hours ago, tpedersen3118 said:

Easton Stealth s19 pro stocks are what I just bought, I should clarify that the bulk issue is more so that the pad is sitting on the top of my shoulder rather than wrapping it. These pads at XL and fit well otherwise. I think Scatman's suggestion of moving the caps out further may be the solution here.

i certainly don't want to re-injure my shoulder, it sucks right now and I'm convinced that had I been wearing something when I hit the boards I wouldn't be in this spot

 

I'm referring to the newer Easton shoulder pads such as the Mako and the last two generation Stealth series. It's a new cap that has like a "ball joint" shape to it that wraps from the front of your shoulder all the way to the back. 

 

I think that's going to be the best wrap that you find? The shoulder cap is meant to sit right on top of your shoulder joint and have some wrap to it, but I've found most pads don't have a TON of wrap. 

[Solo_man11 9]

3 hours ago, Bbd94 said:

 

I'm referring to the newer Easton shoulder pads such as the Mako and the last two generation Stealth series. It's a new cap that has like a "ball joint" shape to it that wraps from the front of your shoulder all the way to the back. 

 

I think that's going to be the best wrap that you find? The shoulder cap is meant to sit right on top of your shoulder joint and have some wrap to it, but I've found most pads don't have a TON of wrap. 

I agree with bbd94 and would say that the stealth series would be something you try. I have stocky shoulders as well and was recommended something in a tapered fit.

 

The salesperson did get me to try on the s19 because I told him that I wanted something really mobile but the the stealth series was more mobile and wrapped better in my opinion. Sometimes players wonder if I am wearing shoulder pads because they wrap so well. I wear the Stealth 9.0 shoulder pads and I also like the fact it isn't too bulky around the chest letting me breathe while still protecting the sternum.

 

i think bbd94 has experience with this because I think you might like the fit in the Stealth series.

[Bbd94 26]

1 hour ago, Solo_man11 said:

I agree with bbd94 and would say that the stealth series would be something you try. I have stocky shoulders as well and was recommended something in a tapered fit.

 

The salesperson did get me to try on the s19 because I told him that I wanted something really mobile but the the stealth series was more mobile and wrapped better in my opinion. Sometimes players wonder if I am wearing shoulder pads because they wrap so well. I wear the Stealth 9.0 shoulder pads and I also like the fact it isn't too bulky around the chest letting me breathe while still protecting the sternum.

 

i think bbd94 has experience with this because I think you might like the fit in the Stealth series.

Just to clarify here the "S" in S19 stands for Stealth, but yeah I'm referring to the last couple generations that have a pretty good wrap. RS2 has a nice wrap as well the as the CX. A lot of people liked the Makos if you can find them on eBay or PIAS. 

[tpedersen3118 58]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all of the recommendations. I'm going to go check out the 9.0's tomorrow (I see HG has them on sale right now) and compare them to the S19's I just bought from them. 

[mc88 160]

I'm a big fan of franken pads, so if the above don't fit then I highly suggest finding a pair of shoulder caps you like and having them modified to fit whatever chest piece you like. 

I also suffer from an AC injury and nothing retail fit me until I made some franken pads. I absolutely love them! If you have a little time and patience, you could do it yourself or I might be able to help you out.

 

Small CCM Crazy Light shoulder pads with medium U+ 08 shoulder caps and a removable extended spine protector!



At the time, I wore a Supreme girdle and the spine protection is a bit... lacking. So this extended piece covered the gap in between the shoulder pads and girdle:

 

Ive since switched to a MX3 girdle, so the spine protector was no longer needed.

[vinprun71 61]

To everyone's point, if nothing is satisfactory, make it work for you. You may find items that fit well but not perfect. Play with them so they meet your needs if all else fails.

[tpedersen3118 58]

So after trying a couple more pairs today including the Eastons, Warrior, and CCM, I've decided to go the frankenpad route. I really like the S19 chest piece for its mobility but the NHL spec caps are a problem. As I was looking at the Nexus 4000's I bought I realized that the caps actually sit a little better on my shoulder than the S19 caps, I think the reason is there is just less padding in them. Going to check out some PIAS in the area to see what they have for donor caps.

[tpedersen3118 58]

FYI.. I found a set that fit the bill, Vapor X100's. Everything is perfect... mobility, weight, shoulder width and cap size. If you are wide up top I would strongly recommend them. I tried Nexus 4000's, S19 pro stocks, and Stealth C9.0's. I liked the 9.0's but the caps were plastic with a glued in softer foam on top which was pulling away from the plastic, they went back.

[vinprun71 61]

Glad you found something that works.