Most protective shins in the last 1-2 years?

[z1ggy 81]

Just got a new set of 1s shins and I feel it's a big downgrade from my old One80s. One80's are falling apart but built like tanks... can take almost any clapper with minimal to no pain, while the 1s I've taken a few wristers and felt like my shin got hit by a sledge hammer. 

I've heard the 2s pro are better but I haven't really been on the Bauer band wagon in a while. 

[Leif 161]

Curious, I've taken slap shots to my 1S shin pads and felt nothing. They have expanded polystyrene and Curv composite so they should absorb shock. Which part took the hit? Maybe there is a weaker area. 

[Cavs019 708]

CCM Tacks/Reebok (and their Jofa ancestors) are the only game in town as far as shin pads are concerned. 
 

There’s a good reason most of the NHL uses some version of this shell. Fit and protection are unmatched IMO. I’ve also never had a pair of Bauer shin pads that didn’t crack at the top of the kneecap. 

Edited February 4, 2020 by Cavs019

[mtn 20]

2 hours ago, Cavs019 said:

CCM Tacks/Reebok (and their Jofa ancestors) are the only game in town as far as shin pads are concerned. 
 

There’s a good reason most of the NHL uses some version of this shell. Fit and protection are unmatched IMO. I’ve also never had a pair of Bauer shin pads that didn’t crack at the top of the kneecap. 

I don't disagree with this, but my 2 Jofas that I had also had that kneecap crack.

[Davideo 99]

I'll second CCM Tacks.

[VegasHockey 1280]

The 2S Pro shins have decent protection but are not nearly as protective as the Super Tacks AS1 shins.

If I was wearing my AS1 shins I am pretty sure I would not have had this much bruising from taking a shot off the front of my shin. It's crazy how the bruise wraps around the entire calf and such when the impact from the puck was directly into the front of the shinpad itself. 

 

[Oilers97 20]

I’ve always liked the Reebok and CCM tacks shins. Not a huge fan of the liner in the super tacks but maybe they improved it on the AS1

[Jbear 113]

Nexus 2n...up there with the AS1's.

[darkhors 88]

I'd jump on the CCM/Jofa bus. I had the old Jofa 5088's and upgraded to the 7092 Tacks and couldn't be happier. I've taken clappers, wrist shots, sticks to the back of the leg, etc and have never gotten a bruise. They're tanks and they have an awesome calf wrap.

[xstartxtodayx 343]

I'm currently in pro stock Jofa 5090's and LOVE them, they're so much more comfortable and protective than my older pads.  The biggest difference for me is the liner... the Jofa has the old school thick padded liner that actually cushions, especially around the knee.  Previously I had Super Tacks (the gen before AS1) and they were really disappointing... the liners were basically useless, super thin with very little padding, and the fancy D30 inserts were only relevant if you fell/got hit directly on that spot (the knee had a tiny area right dead center, so if you got tripped up and the main impact was on the upper portion of the knee cap the D30 did nothing, nor did the liner... ask me how I know), also I found the protection towards the edges of the plastic rather minimal so if you took a shot from a slight angle and it didn't hit the plastic head on you'd really feel it, this was surprising since older lower end shin guards I'd never feel these impacts with. So from my experience, look for an older set of pro stock shins with the thicker foam padding, something like Jofa 5090's or RBK 8K pro's, many models similar to those will offer far more protection than the modern models.

[start_today 770]

I thought a lot of recent discussion in other knee pad threads was people didn’t like the Tacks because they had fairly poor padding in the knee area. 

[stick9 890]

52 minutes ago, start_today said:

I thought a lot of recent discussion in other knee pad threads was people didn’t like the Tacks because they had fairly poor padding in the knee area. 

Yep that's been my take. The D3O in the knee cap is great but it's not a large enough piece. Shot hitting outside of the D3O area will be felt. The rest of the pad though is incredible.

[Hills 712]

1 hour ago, stick9 said:

Yep that's been my take. The D3O in the knee cap is great but it's not a large enough piece. Shot hitting outside of the D3O area will be felt. The rest of the pad though is incredible.

Basically CCM thinned out the knee donut to show off the D3O and make their shins worse. They have slowly made that donut thicker but it still isn't good enough. Not to mention the D3O there is hard and not actually nice to land on. The rest of the pad like everyone is saying is REALLY good.

[Jbear 113]

Anyone else using Nexus 2N's...not the tanks that the RBK's were but they're pretty close and significantly more comfortable...I think. 

[z1ggy 81]

Are there any pro stock reebok/jofa out there that's unused though? I seem to not take too much damage to my knee area but if I did it did like I wouldnt be getting the best protection in certain circumstances with tacks. 

[start_today 770]

If you like the Tacks, the solution might be to add extra padding to the knees.

I added padding to the knees in my shins. (QLT 290s which I like well enough, but seem like shoddy construction and have been slowly and continuously failing at all the seems). 

Theres a thread where SkateworksPNW shows off his work where he sewed additional padding into shins and it looks really nice and professional. I cut up foam padding and used looped over packing tape to a fix it right behind the removable liner. I don’t notice it at all when dressing or playing, but it’s much more comfortable when I fall.

[z1ggy 81]

13 minutes ago, start_today said:

If you like the Tacks, the solution might be to add extra padding to the knees.

I added padding to the knees in my shins. (QLT 290s which I like well enough, but seem like shoddy construction and have been slowly and continuously failing at all the seems). 

Theres a thread where SkateworksPNW shows off his work where he sewed additional padding into shins and it looks really nice and professional. I cut up foam padding and used looped over packing tape to a fix it right behind the removable liner. I don’t notice it at all when dressing or playing, but it’s much more comfortable when I fall.

Yeah I actually almost bought the newest Tacks over the fall but I was like ehhhh I'll hold on to the One80s  a little while longer but now the are seriously coming apart all over the place. I got the 1s' on SLS for a steal and they were brand new so I figured why not. Took a few shots off them and that was enough to stop using and go back to ol trusty One80s and hope they stay together while I'm looking for something else. 

@SkateWorksPNW can you show me your work and how you might have sewed in more pads? Not that I fall very often but I'd rather not destroy my knee if I did. 

[Oilers97 20]

I’m looking at fixing my tacks liner as well. Where do you find something that work well to pad the area? Like what kind of foam. I wish they made 13” pro stock pads. They don’t seem to exist. I just want a cushiony liner as compared to the awful one in the tacks. 

[z1ggy 81]

What are your thoughts on the nexus stuff? I saw one person above mention them. 

[start_today 770]

Here’s the thread where he sews in padding: 

 

I don’t know the names of different foams. I cut up a pair of padded shorts that people use for snowboarding and mountain biking. A quick goog tells me it might be EVA foam. It’s just soft foam padding that’s like 1/4 inch thick. 

If you have access to a Goodwill or Play It Again Sports, they might have something used that you can butcher and harvest. 

Mine is not sexy looking, but it does the job. Last week, I dove to try to clear away a bad rebound (fail, goal against), and landed directly on my knee that historically gives me trouble. It didn’t bother me at all, and I didn’t even think about it, until this thread made me look back on if this padding is helping. 

I wonder if d30 padding is light and fancy and SCIENCE, but ultimately not as good as just old fashioned soft foam. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

4 hours ago, start_today said:

Here’s the thread where he sews in padding: 

 

I don’t know the names of different foams. I cut up a pair of padded shorts that people use for snowboarding and mountain biking. A quick goog tells me it might be EVA foam. It’s just soft foam padding that’s like 1/4 inch thick. 

If you have access to a Goodwill or Play It Again Sports, they might have something used that you can butcher and harvest. 

Mine is not sexy looking, but it does the job. Last week, I dove to try to clear away a bad rebound (fail, goal against), and landed directly on my knee that historically gives me trouble. It didn’t bother me at all, and I didn’t even think about it, until this thread made me look back on if this padding is helping. 

I wonder if d30 padding is light and fancy and SCIENCE, but ultimately not as good as just old fashioned soft foam. 

D3O is actually very dense and heavy which is why it's used very sparingly in protective gear in mainly the critical areas. 

How thick are you wanting to go with this foam? There are Volara 2LB and 4LB materials which are both rated to be nonirritant for primary skin irritation. 

Volara: https://www.thefoamfactory.com/closedcellfoam/volara-foam.html

There are also other softer Closed Cell foam types including 2LB Cross-Linked Polyethylene, Neoprene High Quality, and Minicel T200, T300. 

Closed Cell Foam: https://www.thefoamfactory.com/closedcellfoam/closedcellfoam.html

12 hours ago, z1ggy said:

What are your thoughts on the nexus stuff? I saw one person above mention them. 

They are nice, a little wide though and not as form-fitting which I prefer.

[z1ggy 81]

13 hours ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

D3O is actually very dense and heavy which is why it's used very sparingly in protective gear in mainly the critical areas. 

How thick are you wanting to go with this foam? There are Volara 2LB and 4LB materials which are both rated to be nonirritant for primary skin irritation. 

Volara: https://www.thefoamfactory.com/closedcellfoam/volara-foam.html

There are also other softer Closed Cell foam types including 2LB Cross-Linked Polyethylene, Neoprene High Quality, and Minicel T200, T300. 

Closed Cell Foam: https://www.thefoamfactory.com/closedcellfoam/closedcellfoam.html

They are nice, a little wide though and not as form-fitting which I prefer.

I've got decently wide calves lower legs (just kind of skinny ankles) so Nexus coukd work. I usually see a pair of two of nexus on sideline but I have yet to see any As1 shins.. Decent price difference between the two. 

[the iceman 132]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but does anyone know how the Jetspeed shins hold up for protection? Thanks.

[z1ggy 81]

22 minutes ago, the iceman said:

Sorry to hijack the thread, but does anyone know how the Jetspeed shins hold up for protection? Thanks.

It's okay. I'm not sure mysekf but when I tried them on in store they didn't feel protective, if that's a thing. Like the internal padding was pretty minimal it seemed. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

1 hour ago, the iceman said:

Sorry to hijack the thread, but does anyone know how the Jetspeed shins hold up for protection? Thanks.

If you dont block a lot of shots they are fine. They are very light and great for forwards. They also dont soak up and water so they stay light through gameplay.