Hockey equipment, part the first

My place of employment provides a taxable benefit known as the "Wellness Benefit". They use this to encourage movement or outside fulfillment - anything to get one away from the tv and computer screen. As a result, I've been using my wellness benefit to subsidize my hockey equipment purchases. Since a new calendar year is fast approaching, I began to consider what new equipment I may need. Quickly I zeroed in on my gloves.

The gloves I have are fine, but they have two issues. The first is that I have worn through the palm and thumb on both, in a little less than 2 years. The second is that they are 14" gloves (size XL), were I do not have the biggest hands... With this in mind, I went to Perani's Hockey World to see what I could find as a possible replacement.

I was hoping that someone there could help me find the appropriate size for my hands and they did. Turns out to be 13". The next thing was to find out what they thought was a glove that would be durable and not wear out in a year. Before I went, I did some research to see what was considered a durable glove.

One suggestion was that Eagle made a good glove, so I asked about it first. The guy helping me said they had some problems with the durability of the palm, but they had a super warranty. People would bring the glove in with the receipt and would get a new pair in 2 or 3 days. The guarantee didn't have any date or time stipulated and he had seen someone come back a year and half later and got a new pair, no questions asked. The guy helping me liked them okay as they have a straight fit and were comfortable. Pretty classic looking design, but they seemed pretty good. I think they wanted ~$150 for them, so that's quite an investment. If they continue to stand behind them though, it may be worth it.

The next pair the store guy suggested was a pair of Easton's, with a fancy wrist protector. I believe it was a Synergy 900 series glove. The store guy recommended it for its palm and the fact that it is extremely comfortable. I couldn't disagree with that - really comfortable and lots of movement. It's also on sale for the next bit, ~$80. It has a detached cuff with a velcro strap that protects the wrist while letting the padding on the back of the hand stand out.

Tried on a Warrior Kingpin glove - very comfy, but the palm feels too soft. Feels like a chamois and it's > $150. No dice. Store guy didn't like it either - thought the palm was too soft too.

The store guy started talking about a comfortable fit and said that he liked a straight fit. I asked him what he meant and he pulled out an RBK glove for me to try on. It forced my wrist to bend as I put it in, which would be fine if you held your stick in a particular way. I thought it sucked, so we moved on.

As something a little different, he pulled out a Bauer (okay, Nike Bauer) Supreme 90 glove. This was an example of a glove that he did like, but didn't force your hand or wrist. These gloves are all mesh backed and very tight fitting. They called it "anatomical", but it means the it is fits very close. I didn't find this bad standing there - they were comfortable and moved well. I was just concerned about the protection it would give, because it felt more like thick winter gloves than a hockey glove. I'm sure that it would be pretty good, but I think that would be a distant third for me. This is their current top-end glove, so I think it was ~$150.

After deciding that I'll come back on Jan 2 to do the deed, I asked if they had the Sherwood Momentum stick in a Coffey curve. They did - in fact is was on sale! $70, which is exactly the price that I would want to pay for a one-piece composite. The wood stick I like is about $35, so this is about double that cost, so it is definitely worth a try.

So far, I think the Easton's are top, followed by the Eagles and the Bauer Supreme 90s. The last two are about twice as expensive as the Easton's, so it definitely has the edge in comfort and affordability. I'll be picking up one of those and a new stick next week! Adapting to the new stuff will make things interesting in the next little while.