EvilPepe
05-09-2009, 06:07 PM
Howdy folks.
I've been using one of Shawn's creations for about 6 months now. Figure it was about time to do a review (plus, it is as slow as a dead snail at work today). I will attach the pic I have at the bottom, and add more as soon as I can take them with a better camera.
Background/Ordering
I was using a Cooper SK2000 for years before I decided I wanted to upgrade it. I didn't feel like I NEEDED more protection, but I certainly wouldn't mind it. My decision came down to having a glass front made for my SK, or buying a Mage. Shawn at Custom Made offered to make a two-piece SK clone (not the one piece helmets you usually see from him) for me at a reasonable price. I took him up on it.
We emailed back and forth a few times, I sent him my measurements and money, and a couple weeks later I had a new helmet (w/ primer on it, ready for paint). He included some extra foam for sizing adjustment as well.
Totally painless process.
10/10
Construction/Weight
The first thing I noticed about the helmet was the weight difference. Yes, it is heavier than an SK, and nobody should expect it otherwise given the plastic construction of the old Cooper. As it is a helmet and not a mask, the solid backpiece (as opposed to a backplate) adds a little weight when compared to a mask.
Quality-wise, this thing is top notch. The edges were all smooth, and the padding is attached to a sturdy plastic harness (as opposed to the cardboard type found in the SKs). Everything about it looked and felt great. Only real knock against it is that the cage mounting holes are very close together, so I had to shave down the clips to get any kind of cage on.
9/10
Fit/Feel
Once I used the helmet in a game, any I might have had about the weight was gone (again, I wasn't expecting a fibreglass helmet to be the same weight as my old plastic SK).
It took some adjusting, but I got the helmet fitting great. Between the measurements I gave Shawn, and the ability to adjust the helmet the same as the SK, I had it fitting super-comfy. The shell is stiffer than what I had been used to, so that contributed to my need for the adjusting it.
I had to put a small square of the sizing foam in one area of the helmet after playing a game with the SM-50 cage I bought for it. One of the bars was directly in front of my eyes, so the sizing foam caused the combo to sit slightly higher on my head, fixing the problem. This was something that had to be done to accommodate the cage, not the fit of the helmet.
8.5/10
Protection
This thing has been a tank so far - nothing but praise here. This is not his "pro" version, either. I've taken probably 3 clappers off the forehead and come out without any pain or ringing. I also took a knee to the head (followed by my head hitting the ice), and come away a lot better off than the knee of the offending forward.
10/10
Other Stuff...
The SM-50
I'm not a huge fan of cat-eyes of any type, so I went with the SM-50 from Sportmask. Well worth the $100. This thing has held up to shots that would have dented one of my GL100s twice over. As mentioned previously, the sight lines were not the greatest in my setup (same result when I tried it on my Cooper), but I doubt that would be a universal experience. Didn't come with a sling or cup so I added a ShockDoc chin cup. Throw in a round-style dangler, and away I went.
The Paint
Had it painted locally by "Jimbo Custom Paint". I wanted something goofy and sort of whimsical - I'm not big fan of masks with wild animals or skulls or what have you on them. I described what I wanted as being something a 3rd grader would draw with some crayons. As I was also thinking about a space theme, I just combined them. I gave him a couple pictures for ideas, and told him to go nuts.
It came out just as I was imagining it for the most part (a picture of a Starman (http://starmen.net/mother2/images/official/clay_starman.png) didn't make the final cut though, for whatever reason). It would be hard to over-emphasize how much this thing "pops" under the lights of the rink. Could one of the "big guys" do a better job with the theme, probably. But I think it came out pretty good, especially for the price. I've also seen him do some seemingly flawless reproductions of various NHL goalie designs.
Anyway, will add more pics as I get them.
http://goalielife.com/picture.php?albumid=35&pictureid=416
I've been using one of Shawn's creations for about 6 months now. Figure it was about time to do a review (plus, it is as slow as a dead snail at work today). I will attach the pic I have at the bottom, and add more as soon as I can take them with a better camera.
Background/Ordering
I was using a Cooper SK2000 for years before I decided I wanted to upgrade it. I didn't feel like I NEEDED more protection, but I certainly wouldn't mind it. My decision came down to having a glass front made for my SK, or buying a Mage. Shawn at Custom Made offered to make a two-piece SK clone (not the one piece helmets you usually see from him) for me at a reasonable price. I took him up on it.
We emailed back and forth a few times, I sent him my measurements and money, and a couple weeks later I had a new helmet (w/ primer on it, ready for paint). He included some extra foam for sizing adjustment as well.
Totally painless process.
10/10
Construction/Weight
The first thing I noticed about the helmet was the weight difference. Yes, it is heavier than an SK, and nobody should expect it otherwise given the plastic construction of the old Cooper. As it is a helmet and not a mask, the solid backpiece (as opposed to a backplate) adds a little weight when compared to a mask.
Quality-wise, this thing is top notch. The edges were all smooth, and the padding is attached to a sturdy plastic harness (as opposed to the cardboard type found in the SKs). Everything about it looked and felt great. Only real knock against it is that the cage mounting holes are very close together, so I had to shave down the clips to get any kind of cage on.
9/10
Fit/Feel
Once I used the helmet in a game, any I might have had about the weight was gone (again, I wasn't expecting a fibreglass helmet to be the same weight as my old plastic SK).
It took some adjusting, but I got the helmet fitting great. Between the measurements I gave Shawn, and the ability to adjust the helmet the same as the SK, I had it fitting super-comfy. The shell is stiffer than what I had been used to, so that contributed to my need for the adjusting it.
I had to put a small square of the sizing foam in one area of the helmet after playing a game with the SM-50 cage I bought for it. One of the bars was directly in front of my eyes, so the sizing foam caused the combo to sit slightly higher on my head, fixing the problem. This was something that had to be done to accommodate the cage, not the fit of the helmet.
8.5/10
Protection
This thing has been a tank so far - nothing but praise here. This is not his "pro" version, either. I've taken probably 3 clappers off the forehead and come out without any pain or ringing. I also took a knee to the head (followed by my head hitting the ice), and come away a lot better off than the knee of the offending forward.
10/10
Other Stuff...
The SM-50
I'm not a huge fan of cat-eyes of any type, so I went with the SM-50 from Sportmask. Well worth the $100. This thing has held up to shots that would have dented one of my GL100s twice over. As mentioned previously, the sight lines were not the greatest in my setup (same result when I tried it on my Cooper), but I doubt that would be a universal experience. Didn't come with a sling or cup so I added a ShockDoc chin cup. Throw in a round-style dangler, and away I went.
The Paint
Had it painted locally by "Jimbo Custom Paint". I wanted something goofy and sort of whimsical - I'm not big fan of masks with wild animals or skulls or what have you on them. I described what I wanted as being something a 3rd grader would draw with some crayons. As I was also thinking about a space theme, I just combined them. I gave him a couple pictures for ideas, and told him to go nuts.
It came out just as I was imagining it for the most part (a picture of a Starman (http://starmen.net/mother2/images/official/clay_starman.png) didn't make the final cut though, for whatever reason). It would be hard to over-emphasize how much this thing "pops" under the lights of the rink. Could one of the "big guys" do a better job with the theme, probably. But I think it came out pretty good, especially for the price. I've also seen him do some seemingly flawless reproductions of various NHL goalie designs.
Anyway, will add more pics as I get them.
http://goalielife.com/picture.php?albumid=35&pictureid=416