Its that time again to spend money on new goalie equipment and was wondering what you guys think about these companies gear? I havn't had expeirence with either company.
Vaughn vs RBK
- Thread starter Puckstop40
- Start date
It depends on what kind of pad you had last and whether you liked the way it played. RBK pads have much more open leg channels, whereas Vaughn's tend to be more closed. If you play a more hybrid style you would probably want to go with the more flexible Vaughn's; If you play a pure butterfly style, RBK might be a good fit.
In the end it's completely up to how you like the pads. Your best bet is to find and borrow a pair and see if you like them. I recently purchased some new Vaughn's after wearing Sherwood for the last few years.
In the end it's completely up to how you like the pads. Your best bet is to find and borrow a pair and see if you like them. I recently purchased some new Vaughn's after wearing Sherwood for the last few years.
Hanson95
Registered User
sabresEH
Registered User
Giroux tha Damaja
Registered User
It depends. If you want that smooth faced, hard pad that kicks rebounds out away and rotates in the butterfly, but dont want a super stiff pad, the RBK is still a good pad. They make the premier series, 8k, and 6k pads with no breaks for the knee, which is a stiff stiff pad, and great for guys with wide butterflies; one break at the knee (they call it the Giguere break) which is more flexible and allows the thigh rise on the pad to bend in more to close the five hole for guys with narrower butterflies, and also makes skating in them a bit easier; and the Turco break, which has a break in the pad above and below the knee, with the same advantages of the Giguere break, only more so.
Supposedly the regular premier series pads rotates the best, where as the Giguere and Turco breaks are still pretty good, but not at smooth rotating around your leg.
I also hear that Vaughn's knee landings are more comfortable, and that people have less issue with the toe of the pad dragging on the ice/floor when they're skating in a crouch.
I don't get the amount of hate for Reebok when Vaughn does the exact same thing. Only Vaughn's Pro stock equipment are made in Canada; just like Reebok. The rest of the stuff, like their 7400s, are made overseas and are probably the same quality as the 7k/9k Reeboks. Vaughn is just as much 'for the cool kids' as Reebok is.
I recently bought new pads, RBK Premier IIs w/ Turco Break. My old pads were Vaughn V2s and there are pros and cons to both pad. I looked at the 7500s, the 7700s, as well as the new Premier IIIs. Reeboks are probably the lightest pad of the three, but definitely the stiffest. My suggestion is go to the store with your pants, jock, and skates and spend a few hours. Don't rush into buying a pad. Rotate trying on different pads/sizes and don't be afraid to try on the same pad more than once.
A lot of places are trying to clear out their stock of Premier II, 8K and 6K pads right now so you can get a pair for around half the regular price. Premier IIs aren't that much different than Premier IIIs, but the new 7Ks and 9Ks seem to be better quality than the 6Ks and 8Ks. Please note that if you play in a league that enforces NHL standards on equipment, the Premier II series are not legal anymore due to the new calf regulations.
I recently bought new pads, RBK Premier IIs w/ Turco Break. My old pads were Vaughn V2s and there are pros and cons to both pad. I looked at the 7500s, the 7700s, as well as the new Premier IIIs. Reeboks are probably the lightest pad of the three, but definitely the stiffest. My suggestion is go to the store with your pants, jock, and skates and spend a few hours. Don't rush into buying a pad. Rotate trying on different pads/sizes and don't be afraid to try on the same pad more than once.
A lot of places are trying to clear out their stock of Premier II, 8K and 6K pads right now so you can get a pair for around half the regular price. Premier IIs aren't that much different than Premier IIIs, but the new 7Ks and 9Ks seem to be better quality than the 6Ks and 8Ks. Please note that if you play in a league that enforces NHL standards on equipment, the Premier II series are not legal anymore due to the new calf regulations.
PeterSidorkiewicz
HFWF Tourney Undisputed Champion
I know people usually hate when others do this, but I can throw something out there that is neither Vaughn or RBK? I recently went from Itech's (Ive owned a lot of pads, Itech, Koho, TPS, Heaton, etc) to Smith's.
Smith's are by far in my own opinion, the best pads ive ever owned, and Pete Smith is a great guy to work with. You can pretty much talk to him about anything, he makes the pad you want it, has been in the business for years (used to work for Vaughn) and has really nice competitive prices too. I can honestly say I don't see myself in another pad, when im done with these (which wont be for a long time) im pretty sure ill be going back to Pete for a new pair. Ill throw up pics if anyone is interested in taking a look.
Smith's are by far in my own opinion, the best pads ive ever owned, and Pete Smith is a great guy to work with. You can pretty much talk to him about anything, he makes the pad you want it, has been in the business for years (used to work for Vaughn) and has really nice competitive prices too. I can honestly say I don't see myself in another pad, when im done with these (which wont be for a long time) im pretty sure ill be going back to Pete for a new pair. Ill throw up pics if anyone is interested in taking a look.
Giroux tha Damaja
Registered User
Sounds like a good idea. Time for a new thread - Goalies - Post your pads!, or we could make it for skaters too...
Everybody's got their personal preferences, so what works for one guy might not be up your alley.
I recently switched from RBK to Vaughn for ice and have had mixed results. I'm a beer leaguer so I got the senior Velocity 7400 as opposed to the pro level 7500s. Took a full season to break the 7400s in but I'm still having some issues with my knee landing/staying in the knee stacks. In retrospect, I feel like I maybe should have gone with the RBK 8k but sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.
I have another buddy who's been pimping his Smiths as well.
I recently switched from RBK to Vaughn for ice and have had mixed results. I'm a beer leaguer so I got the senior Velocity 7400 as opposed to the pro level 7500s. Took a full season to break the 7400s in but I'm still having some issues with my knee landing/staying in the knee stacks. In retrospect, I feel like I maybe should have gone with the RBK 8k but sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.
I have another buddy who's been pimping his Smiths as well.
Giroux tha Damaja
Registered User
How o you like the 7400 gloves?
The fit of the 7400 gloves I tried on was really, really nice. I didn't like the shape of the pocket that much, but it felt so good on your hand, like there was an individual little stall for each finger. It just felt...precise, like you had total control over the gloves with out it being too tight. The gloves i ended up getting matched the pads and I really like everything about them a lot, but the feel on your hand isn't quite up to the level of the Vaughns I tried on.
I like this idea. A goalie thread. I havnt seen any yet, but this would be a good idea. Ive been wearing Itech X pads with CCM blocker and glove and I didn't care for this setup. I'm pretty flexible, not acrobatic like Fleury, but pretty flexible so if there are pads that favor this kind of style.
Giroux tha Damaja
Registered User
What aren't they doing well enough, or what are they doing that bothers you. What is it about the performance of this set of gear that you feel could be better?
They were too stiff for me. I don't usually play the butterfly style, but if I do go down for the shot I had a hard time flexing to cover more of the net. Its good gear, dont get me wrong but I wanted to know peoples opinions on vaughn and reebok.
The 7400 glove is still a work in progress since it's my first NHL legal glove. For the first few games, I wasn't able to catch anything clean. Although I think that's also a byproduct of breaking in any new glove.
The 7500 glove felt a lot better to me when I was trying stuff on, but I couldn't justify the extra $200 as a beer leaguer. But since life likes to mock me, the week after I used my 7400 glove for the first time, I stumbled on a 7500 glove (same color scheme) at Play it Again Sports that looked like it had been used < 5 times and it was listed cheaper than the 7400.
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