Punisher
04-10-2009, 09:23 AM
ok, here goes, right before the summer practices of last summer i called Stace and asked him for some new sweatpads.
Stace told me he'd hook me up with some, 3 days later a big envelope landed on my doormat. I have tried them all for about a year now and will give my final conclusions.
Back to the envelope.
In this envelope there were 6 new sweatpads in his new trademark style (the arched models) i was expecting the straight models like most brands have.
two special coolmax kind of pads and a big arched one. also there was a big patch of coolmax fabric for something i was talking to him about, so i could test it.
Along with it all there were enough clips and hardware to redo my mask twice.
so now i had a big box of assorted cookies,...eh .. i mean a variety of sweatpads.
And a note from stace if i could test these.
So here are the test results after a decent time of usage, as well in summer as winter.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9464/padsp.jpg
the classic model.
well it is what it is.
it doesn't always fit right it's straight and you try to put it in a bowl shaped item.
it does the job. the end.
the halfmoon model.
I first really liked the idea, but sadly, since my mask is custom fitted, it tends to lift up my mask a bit. there it sits on a big part of my frontal part of my head and a bit further.
it however is a solid practice pad, since its bigger and can hold more sweat.
it doesn't block any openings in my mask, which is great.
it really follows the inside shape of my mask and in this matter would be a perfect thing,
was it not for my fitting problem.
Also after more use i found it to be rubbing against my hair, now if i were bold or shaved my head or trimmed it it would actually be a great feature, sadly my hair is a length where it is starting to annoy easily.
the coolmax model.
Now there is something excellent.
used them all summer long, the rink really gets hot and this thing kept my head nice and rather cool, i put them close to the ice for a while during dressing and then i would put it in my mask. It really works wonders, it's a cooler spot or at least it gives that feeling.
Further more the only point i would change is the shape and make it the same as the arched models Stace is using these days.
It gave a real difference with the regular models, less heat leading to better focus, because i didn't have to pull back the mask to get some fresh air to my dome that often.
Also the material isn't obnoxious or weird, it isn't sticky, it takes a little less sweat then the other model (regular towel like material) but it makes up for it by being a lot cooler to the head.
Really nice stuff and i really like it. it is going in my bag for summer training pretty soon again.
and finally
The Arched model
This is it, the sweatpad I fell in love with, "but Pun it's just a sweatpad?", is it , is it really?
It is not just that, it's so much more :D
to be serious it is a model of sweatpad that follows the natural shape of my mask, it's bigger then a straight one and it follows not only the shape of your mask but also the shape of your face and more importantly and this is why i like it so much i can velcro it in and leave a 5mm space between the patch and the top of my facehole in the mask, it will follow this line perfect, this means it is so close to my neanthertaler unibrow that it stops all the sweat right above my face. it also means that nowhere a piece of the pad sticks out into the facehole.
I'm a mental case in approach of gear, i can stop pucks in any type of gear but it's details that drive me nuts, like sweatpads not fitting in properly or the break on a glove, fingerstalls that annoy me, stuff like that.
So with this pad i found a pad i can line up with the faceopening, velcro it in and it's always a perfect fit. it's always fitting correctly because its shape.
So it's a detail i don't have to think about or get annoyed with.
In summertraining I often lay the extra on the goal and whne the game is on the other side i quickly switch out the wet one with a new one about halfway practice. it's done with ease because of the fit and lineout. (the guys play for one hour and 30min non stop game, so i drink and wipe away sweat when they are on the other side)
So now we have covered all bases i think, might there be questions, just shoot.
pun.
Stace told me he'd hook me up with some, 3 days later a big envelope landed on my doormat. I have tried them all for about a year now and will give my final conclusions.
Back to the envelope.
In this envelope there were 6 new sweatpads in his new trademark style (the arched models) i was expecting the straight models like most brands have.
two special coolmax kind of pads and a big arched one. also there was a big patch of coolmax fabric for something i was talking to him about, so i could test it.
Along with it all there were enough clips and hardware to redo my mask twice.
so now i had a big box of assorted cookies,...eh .. i mean a variety of sweatpads.
And a note from stace if i could test these.
So here are the test results after a decent time of usage, as well in summer as winter.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9464/padsp.jpg
the classic model.
well it is what it is.
it doesn't always fit right it's straight and you try to put it in a bowl shaped item.
it does the job. the end.
the halfmoon model.
I first really liked the idea, but sadly, since my mask is custom fitted, it tends to lift up my mask a bit. there it sits on a big part of my frontal part of my head and a bit further.
it however is a solid practice pad, since its bigger and can hold more sweat.
it doesn't block any openings in my mask, which is great.
it really follows the inside shape of my mask and in this matter would be a perfect thing,
was it not for my fitting problem.
Also after more use i found it to be rubbing against my hair, now if i were bold or shaved my head or trimmed it it would actually be a great feature, sadly my hair is a length where it is starting to annoy easily.
the coolmax model.
Now there is something excellent.
used them all summer long, the rink really gets hot and this thing kept my head nice and rather cool, i put them close to the ice for a while during dressing and then i would put it in my mask. It really works wonders, it's a cooler spot or at least it gives that feeling.
Further more the only point i would change is the shape and make it the same as the arched models Stace is using these days.
It gave a real difference with the regular models, less heat leading to better focus, because i didn't have to pull back the mask to get some fresh air to my dome that often.
Also the material isn't obnoxious or weird, it isn't sticky, it takes a little less sweat then the other model (regular towel like material) but it makes up for it by being a lot cooler to the head.
Really nice stuff and i really like it. it is going in my bag for summer training pretty soon again.
and finally
The Arched model
This is it, the sweatpad I fell in love with, "but Pun it's just a sweatpad?", is it , is it really?
It is not just that, it's so much more :D
to be serious it is a model of sweatpad that follows the natural shape of my mask, it's bigger then a straight one and it follows not only the shape of your mask but also the shape of your face and more importantly and this is why i like it so much i can velcro it in and leave a 5mm space between the patch and the top of my facehole in the mask, it will follow this line perfect, this means it is so close to my neanthertaler unibrow that it stops all the sweat right above my face. it also means that nowhere a piece of the pad sticks out into the facehole.
I'm a mental case in approach of gear, i can stop pucks in any type of gear but it's details that drive me nuts, like sweatpads not fitting in properly or the break on a glove, fingerstalls that annoy me, stuff like that.
So with this pad i found a pad i can line up with the faceopening, velcro it in and it's always a perfect fit. it's always fitting correctly because its shape.
So it's a detail i don't have to think about or get annoyed with.
In summertraining I often lay the extra on the goal and whne the game is on the other side i quickly switch out the wet one with a new one about halfway practice. it's done with ease because of the fit and lineout. (the guys play for one hour and 30min non stop game, so i drink and wipe away sweat when they are on the other side)
So now we have covered all bases i think, might there be questions, just shoot.
pun.