Leg pads not rotating back to neutral

[sconnie 1]

Hey guys I've got a question about pad rotation. A little background: I've played hockey most of my life, but I'm fairly new to playing goalie. I started a few months ago and am pretty much just learning as I go, playing approximately once a week. My first set of pads were some CCM EFlex that I got really cheap off sideline swap and I've had no issues with those. However I was given a set of Bauer Reactors that are newer and in much better shape so I've been trying those out. Neither sets of pads have a boot strap, my toe ties on both pads are identical, and they feel like they're strapped about the same on both pads as far as how tight the straps are. But for whatever reason on the Bauer's whenever I stand up after I drop into the butterfly my pads won't rotate back to neutral. Any idea on what would cause this? 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Usually something too tight. Also if you’re using lace toe ties you should probably ditch them for some sort of elastic. 

[sconnie 1]

Ok I'll try loosening everything up. And my first pads had those elastic ones with plastic hooks that clip into your skate laces but they broke almost immediately. So the lack of a boot strap isn't one of my issues? I thought the boot strap helped the pads rotate back around?

[IPv6Freely 2092]

1 hour ago, sconnie said:

Ok I'll try loosening everything up. And my first pads had those elastic ones with plastic hooks that clip into your skate laces but they broke almost immediately. So the lack of a boot strap isn't one of my issues? I thought the boot strap helped the pads rotate back around?

The boot strap is specially designed to make your pads not rotate at all. That’s why anyone who has them wears them so loose they aren’t even doing anything. 

Prolaces are the best option for toe ties.

[psulion22 402]

I don’t know about that. The bootstrap used to be there to keep the pad locked onto the ankle. But now it’s being used behind the ankle to keep the pad from rotating or sliding out too far. I’d suspect that the lack of a boot strap is exactly the reason the pads aren’t coming back to neutral. Elastic ties are definitely the way to go. But the boot strap is still important to providing control to the pad. 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Sure I was talking about in the traditional position that many people still use.

[psulion22 402]

Yes, many people wear them so loose as to seemingly be useless.  But I think they still provide an end point to how far the pad can travel in certain directions, even if that end point is probably further out than it should be. 

I hate using personal anecdotal evidence as a basis for an argument because of the small sample size. However two weeks ago, I was having all sorts of issues with my left pad. It wasn’t rotating correctly, over- or under- rotating without much reason, not returning to neutral, pulling away from the leg. It was the strangest thing. Until I got undressed and realized I hadn’t strapped the boot strap. It’s elastic, so it was just stuck up between the pad and skate. Even though I use the Lundy strap and the strap itself is elastic (so no real tension on it), not having it attached blatantly cause issues with the way the pad moved and performed. 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Interesting.

Mine has an elastic boot strap but it’s still loose and it actually loops right under the skate AND behind the skate. I wonder what would happen if I actually made it tight, or removed it.

Im not really on the ice enough to experiment though so I usually just stick to one way and don’t touch it.

[bunnyman666 445]

I have not worn a boot strap in four years and mine go right back to centre. I wear a Brian’s ZeroG with an elastic system to hold the pads onto my legs, as well as elastic toe ties. I used the Brian’s smart toe, then other styles of shock cord/velcro style toe ties. What Reactor series do you have @sconnie? The later Reactors (pro model was 9000, I think it went 5000, 7000 and 9000) were a bit stiffer than the older Reactors (2000, 4000, 6000); may have nothing to do with your rotation problem.  @psulion22 the boot strap ala Lundquist also raises the pad up, effectively giving you a taller thigh rise without using a taller pad, extremely  useful in the thigh rise restricted NHL. Never tried the Lundy loop, and found boot straps run conventionally to be constricting for me. I could see the boot strap run like Lundy as an area the NHL may crack down on in their quest to increase scoring, all joking about the boot strap save a couple of days back.

[Hills 712]

When I used the normal stock strapping (mediumly tight elastics) on the 1X I need a boot strap to almost act as a pulley system that would rotate the pad. The strap was loose but it would slide under the heel and rotate back correctly.

When I went to a much looser strapping system I didn't need the bootstrap. So it still has it's usage even when loose.