When Did You Get Bored With Acquiring New Hockey Gear?

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

I've been playing for 17 years now... I started late in life.  One of the things I loved about the game was the cool gear.  I've bought tons of shit over the years and I know many of you gear whores have done the same.  But now I find myself uninspired...  bored perhaps.... or am I finally just satisfied with that I have? 

Have any of you also gotten stagnant on the gear hunt?  Is it the lack of truly new offerings?  

Thoughts?

[VegasHockey 1280]

Well, since I own a few stores its more difficult for me to "scratch the itch" since part of owning stores requires me to have intimate knowledge of everything we carry and sell. I personally will not sell something without trying it first, which some might think is a bit "over the top" but with so many vendors and options I would prefer to give all of my customers the best bang for their buck. It also allows me to avoid selling them something which might fail prematurely due to poor design or manufacturing. 

That being said, the luster for acquiring new gear and changing gear constantly left me a couple years ago. 

Edited February 2, 2019 by Nicholas G

[IPv6Freely 2092]

For me it was when everything I had was custom and/or pro stock. As a goalie, I don’t think I wear anything at this point you can buy off a shelf. Even my mask is retail but it’s painted. The pants are Crawford pro returns. That’s as retail as my gear gets.

So now I don’t even bother going to the store anymore. 

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

I feel like we're at a point where hockey (and other sports) tech has plateaued (except for maybe the mass availability/marketing of custom skates).  IMHO, the new iterations of gear are mostly minor advancements with a lot of new jargon/graphics.  Hard to get excited about, when underneath the veneer, you're basically getting the same thing from last year.  Not to mention, sometimes minor advancements make me feel like the gear has taken a step back in improvement. (I'll use my typical example...I loved the CCM Ultra Tacks stick, and just wished CCM kept it at that, instead of changing the flex point, characteristics, etc - though I completely understand why they do it in terms of a business model)

I still enjoy perusing gear, but I don't really get excited about buying anymore it in the current offerings, cause I'm happy with what I currently have, and nothing additionally out there on the market is going to make a vast improvement to my play.

With that said, if they made a huge advancement in tech, that would definitely peak my interests again in purchasing new stuff.  I played a bunch when I was younger, and after a 20 year hiatus, started playing again.  I remember how awestruck and excited I was when purchasing new gear, cause it was so vastly differently than my old stuff.  I mean, before I bought all my current gear, I was still skating in Micron Megas, using an Easton aluminum, and wearing pads that used plastic plates (weighted a ton and absorbed sweat like a sponge).

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

I spent years looking for the perfect shoulder pads and finally made up some frankenpads that I love so that settled that.  Shins and elbows are now comfy thanks to a good recommendation from JR.  Like my gloves too but I guess they will blow up eventually....  I guess I'm at the why bother phase.    Kinda sad.

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

2 minutes ago, dkmiller3356 said:

I spent years looking for the perfect shoulder pads and finally made up some frankenpads that I love so that settled that.  Shins and elbows are now comfy thanks to a good recommendation from JR.  Like my gloves too but I guess they will blow up eventually....  I guess I'm at the why bother phase.    Kinda sad.

Just find another area of focus where you can spend money that you really don't need to spend!  Like fine whisky/bourbon!  Or cars!

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

5 minutes ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

Just find another area of focus where you can spend money that you really don't need to spend!  Like fine whisky/bourbon!  Or cars!

Wine......  we haven't met yet.  If we had you'd understand.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

1 hour ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

Just find another area of focus where you can spend money that you really don't need to spend!  Like fine whisky/bourbon!  Or cars!

I just started backpacking. And I thought being a goalie was an expensive hobby...

[ParabolicActivity 48]

Astronomy is super expensive! Hockey has been my cheaper alternative 😄

[puckpilot 312]

For me, getting new gear isn't all that exiting. I'm more exited about finding stuff that matches what I like. Once I find it, I'm exited about having it. I try to keep up with what's coming out because I realized that doing that is much simpler than doing rushed and sometimes panicked research when I need to replace something. It also allows me to spot good deals when I see them. 

[Leif 161]

10 hours ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

Just find another area of focus where you can spend money that you really don't need to spend!  Like fine whisky/bourbon!  Or cars!

I stay away from expensive/performance cars, the depreciation is silly. And the price of new tyres and servicing is enough to give me nightmares. 

I have top end gear and custom skates, for protection and comfort. I recently took a slap shot to the head and felt nothing, not because I’m thick, but due to the helmet design. I can’t see any reason to get new gear. In future my money is going on hockey training at a local sports centre. 

[stick9 890]

I think I got to a point where everything was comfortable and protective so why change. This crap ain't cheap. At some point you say, new elbow pads would be nice, but not $150 nice. These days, I tend to buy out of need rather than want. I did however treat myself to a new helmet (Tacks 710). I just wanted a new one. Nothing overly exciting.

I still have a soft spot for sticks, gloves and skates. If you took the cost out of it. I'd probably have a wall of sticks a half dozen pairs of gloves and a couple pairs of skates.

[Left Wing King 50]

I'm happy with my gear, however I'd love a plethora of sticks and a bag of pucks and test out the said sticks. 

[clarkiestooth 235]

16 hours ago, dkmiller3356 said:

I've been playing for 17 years now... I started late in life.  One of the things I loved about the game was the cool gear.  I've bought tons of shit over the years and I know many of you gear whores have done the same.  But now I find myself uninspired...  bored perhaps.... or am I finally just satisfied with that I have? 

Have any of you also gotten stagnant on the gear hunt?  Is it the lack of truly new offerings?  

Thoughts?

 

Stuff is just stuff. It's up to you to find joy in the game. Perhaps you're becoming all millennial, and it's now all about the experiences. Do you find happiness in scoring a goal, making a nice sauce pass, or drilling the goaltender in the nuts with a clapper? (sorry, IPv6Freely)

[BenBreeg 493]

I just got back into playing this past year so I am getting back into the gear side a bit just because my stuff is old and kind of nasty.  I still like browsing gear but not like when i was a kid where i always knew where the Great Skate, Ocean, and Kemps catalogs were in my house 24/7.  Now it seems like a gear race with manufacturers constantly releasing new models with probably very minimal benefits.  That actually gets boring to me compared when a new skate model was kind of a big deal.

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

4 hours ago, stick9 said:

I think I got to a point where everything was comfortable and protective so why change. This crap ain't cheap. At some point you say, new elbow pads would be nice, but not $150 nice. These days, I tend to buy out of need rather than want. I did however treat myself to a new helmet (Tacks 710). I just wanted a new one. Nothing overly exciting.

I still have a soft spot for sticks, gloves and skates. If you took the cost out of it. I'd probably have a wall of sticks a half dozen pairs of gloves and a couple pairs of skates.

Same here...   I am comfortable and wasting that money to replace what working seems like a waste.  When I see something innovative - like when I bought my Warrior Alpha gloves - that was fun.

3 hours ago, clarkiestooth said:

 

Stuff is just stuff. It's up to you to find joy in the game. Perhaps you're becoming all millennial, and it's now all about the experiences. Do you find happiness in scoring a goal, making a nice sauce pass, or drilling the goaltender in the nuts with a clapper? (sorry, IPv6Freely)

I agree.  I've got plenty of joy for the game though at my talent level goals and sauce passes are few and far between!

[JunkyardAthletic 505]

23 hours ago, dkmiller3356 said:

I've been playing for 17 years now... I started late in life.  One of the things I loved about the game was the cool gear.  I've bought tons of shit over the years and I know many of you gear whores have done the same.  But now I find myself uninspired...  bored perhaps.... or am I finally just satisfied with that I have? 

Have any of you also gotten stagnant on the gear hunt?  Is it the lack of truly new offerings?  

Thoughts?

New soakers ALWAYS make you happy!  😁

[VegasHockey 1280]

3 hours ago, JunkyardAthletic said:

New soakers ALWAYS make you happy!  😁

I haven't used soakers in years. lol

[asgoodasdead 74]

i'm the opposite. i used my high school gear for a good 10 years before buying anything new. then the past few years ive seemed to replace everything i owned a few times over and own multiple pairs of gloves where i used to always just own one pair

[clarkiestooth 235]

10 hours ago, Nicholas G said:

I haven't used soakers in years. lol

 

Aren't those things for figure skates?

[bunnyman666 445]

The only thing in new gear that excites me is if it can still be made the old way. I am still excited over my Eagle goat skin player gloves, and I have had them for YEARS. NOS “pro fit” CCM HT2 helmets excite me, though I use a Kustom Composites player helmet. 

 Goalie gear can excite me, but only if I do some sort of customisation. I just got a pair of Vaughn pads that require no strapping change for me to use them; the plus 2” thigh rise will need to be corrected. Guess what I will be addressing whilst out for my surgery?

Lastly, vintage gear and restoring it REALLY excites me. The vintage gear I have collected is not pressed into service again, but making it suitable to be used makes me excited. There is something about the old stuff that stirs the imagination for me. 

[Cavs019 708]

Exciting: Finding Eagle/Warrior/MIA/TPS gloves from the mid to late 2000s, or heel curve sticks that aren’t made anymore.

Not exciting: The latest iteration of a P92 stick with a new paint job and gimmick taper. 

 

Edited February 4, 2019 by Cavs019

[nutters 218]

Probably this past Summer. Lost a lot of weight a few years ago, so I had to get gear quick that could actually stay on me. Since then I have bought gear that fits and I actually like, so I haven't really cared to buy new stuff. A few weeks ago I needed to pick up new elbow pads (problem with have a size medium forearm and small sized biceps) and I didn't even stay long to browse.

Now I only getting excited to look at things I need the least which are sticks and gloves haha.

[BruinDust 42]

I invested a pile of cash last year upgrading my gear from essentially the stuff I used in minor hockey going back 20 years ago. Even the couple of pieces that were a bit newer (and I use that term loosely) I replaced.

After considering and giving up on changes out my ancient Koho elbows, I'm satisfied now with my set-up and don't plan to buy any new stuff for a long time. 

If I find a pair of pro stock gloves that really sing to me I might consider it (a CCM 4 roll 2, black with Pittard digital palms for example). I'm hoping my two pairs of 4 rolls I have now will keep me going awhile (Love the 4 roll 2s).

Sticks will come and go. I've started a small pro stock collection so when I come across something I really like I'll consider it. 

[kyleo29 58]

Searching for old tackla or 9k girdles is fun. Everything else I'm over.