Going to a cage, what is good?

[Beflar 53]

I'm getting old and I'm looking at going with a cage.  I normally have a visor. 

I have no idea what to look for.    What do I need to know, what should I get? 

[joshy207 15]

I put a cage on after the 2nd puck to my eye.  I went with a titanium cage, super light, it doesn't drag my helmet down at all.  Look at the Bauer Re-Akt or CCM's version (can't remember the model name/#), they are both nice.

[Stewie 721]

13 minutes ago, joshy207 said:

I put a cage on after the 2nd puck to my eye.  I went with a titanium cage, super light, it doesn't drag my helmet down at all.  Look at the Bauer Re-Akt or CCM's version (can't remember the model name/#), they are both nice.

CCMs cage was the fitlite. Don’t think they make a titanium cage anymore though as it was never replaced once discontinued. 😞 I like mine way better than my reakt

[Beflar 53]

On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 4:54 PM, joshy207 said:

I put a cage on after the 2nd puck to my eye.  I went with a titanium cage, super light, it doesn't drag my helmet down at all.  Look at the Bauer Re-Akt or CCM's version (can't remember the model name/#), they are both nice.

Ok I found one online.  $69 US to ship...  wow...

 

Oh they are at sportcheck!

Ordered. done...  thank you

Edited December 7, 2019 by Beflar

[Cosmic 178]

Best advice I ever got was from the forum: Make sure that the inside of the cage is white. I ued a titanium cage, and when I tracked pucks coming to me, I was looking through blocks of wire and felt like I was looking out of a prison. 

With a white cage interior, when I look down to track pucks, then white washes out with the color of the ice, so all I see is puck (and ice), which is obviously what one would think one would want to see. My white steel cage is heavier than the titanium, but it's fine- I will take extra weight any day and the ease of puck tracking. The cage I have also has flattened steel wire in the areas that you look through, so again, just makes it wash out that much better when looking at other players and not noticing steel bars between me and them,

[jpeaslee 30]

I love my Bauer Re-akt titanium cages. 

[BTSyndrome 8]

I painted my Bauer Re-akt white on the inside after having it for a few months, much better to track the puck!

I also painted the outside black, just because I like the look better than the metal. lol

[Oilers97 20]

3 hours ago, Cosmic said:

Best advice I ever got was from the forum: Make sure that the inside of the cage is white. I ued a titanium cage, and when I tracked pucks coming to me, I was looking through blocks of wire and felt like I was looking out of a prison. 

With a white cage interior, when I look down to track pucks, then white washes out with the color of the ice, so all I see is puck (and ice), which is obviously what one would think one would want to see. My white steel cage is heavier than the titanium, but it's fine- I will take extra weight any day and the ease of puck tracking. The cage I have also has flattened steel wire in the areas that you look through, so again, just makes it wash out that much better when looking at other players and not noticing steel bars between me and them,

This ^^^^ I had a grey cage and couldn’t figure out why I missed so many passes. Went to a Bauer profile II i2 (black outside white inside) and I’ve never had an issue again. I barley notice it at all. 

[Beflar 53]

On 11/23/2019 at 7:59 PM, BTSyndrome said:

I painted my Bauer Re-akt white on the inside after having it for a few months, much better to track the puck!

I also painted the outside black, just because I like the look better than the metal. lol

How did you paint it?

[BTSyndrome 8]

1 hour ago, Beflar said:

How did you paint it?

First step was to prep really good, I used ... https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip-1-qt-Liquid-Sandpaper-Cleaner-Deglosser-QWN285/100112667

I used name brand rattle can Paint/primer in one.... two+ even thin coats on the outside first!! 

Once (completely) dry, push the cage down on a soft/high density type foam and spay the white inside w/ multiple coats. (The reason for the foam is if you just let it hang in the air while painting...over spray will get on the outside and make the black look bad. 

I let it cure for a good week and it has held up great for the last year and a half...only noticeable mark on the front was from a skate that clipped my cage.

I just touched it up with a black paint pen, you can't even tell. (reassurance why I wear a cage!!!!)

Scale of 1-10.. maybe a 3 (not hard) just time consuming waiting for all the layers to dry/harden.

[xstartxtodayx 343]

8 hours ago, BTSyndrome said:

First step was to prep really good, I used ... https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip-1-qt-Liquid-Sandpaper-Cleaner-Deglosser-QWN285/100112667

I used name brand rattle can Paint/primer in one.... two+ even thin coats on the outside first!! 

Once (completely) dry, push the cage down on a soft/high density type foam and spay the white inside w/ multiple coats. (The reason for the foam is if you just let it hang in the air while painting...over spray will get on the outside and make the black look bad. 

I let it cure for a good week and it has held up great for the last year and a half...only noticeable mark on the front was from a skate that clipped my cage.

I just touched it up with a black paint pen, you can't even tell. (reassurance why I wear a cage!!!!)

Scale of 1-10.. maybe a 3 (not hard) just time consuming waiting for all the layers to dry/harden.

For a finishing touch to protect and add a super hard layer you might want to look into a clear coat for car wheels (Duplicolor and Krylon make them from what I remember in gloss and matte).  I used to paint car wheels, usually rattle can a set for the winter with snow tires, and that stuff protected from road salt and snow like a champ, could only imagine it would be really great on a cage too.

As for cages I currently have a Reakt on one helmet and a Profile II on the other.  I honestly don't notice a difference in weight once they're strapped on, not one bit.  The one thing I do notice is that I don't like the shape of the Reakt as much, it sits closer to my face and has an odd shape from the side, currently contemplating picking up a second Profile II to replace the Reakt with.

[ItsTJOSHIE 0]

Browse the ads and try to find yourself a good old ccm fm480 in mint condition for 20quids.
It's the widest, fits a wide spectrum of models/brands, it's light, you can set it so it has a bit of lateral slide at the attachment (some people like that) and it comes in black.
The problem with the current ones is that they are pretty ugly.

[caveman27 208]

Bauer Concept 3 Full Shield.

I've been using it for years.

[GoalForFun 176]

The Bauer Re-Akt ones I've found are better for rounder faces since they seem to run on the "smaller" side for me (with me having a smaller facial surface area). But I really like them when I use them.

[Beflar 53]

On ‎11‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 7:07 PM, Cosmic said:

Best advice I ever got was from the forum: Make sure that the inside of the cage is white. I ued a titanium cage, and when I tracked pucks coming to me, I was looking through blocks of wire and felt like I was looking out of a prison. 

With a white cage interior, when I look down to track pucks, then white washes out with the color of the ice, so all I see is puck (and ice), which is obviously what one would think one would want to see. My white steel cage is heavier than the titanium, but it's fine- I will take extra weight any day and the ease of puck tracking. The cage I have also has flattened steel wire in the areas that you look through, so again, just makes it wash out that much better when looking at other players and not noticing steel bars between me and them,

OK so I played one game without paint and one with white on the inside and white is a noticeable improvement.    I barely even notice the cage with the inside painted white. Thanks for the pro tip.

[VegasHockey 1280]

I really wish CCM would bring back their titanium cage...

Guess we will have to wait and see if TRUE makes a lightweight option to match the new helmet.