For a gear newb- help with roller blades, goalie pads

[Keebler]

It's been 6 years since I played roller hockey and I miss it dearly. It was the last sport I competed in (besides cross-country and track) and I wanna get involved again, hopefully good enough to make CMU's A-team on the roller hockey squad.

So, my plan for the summer is to spend every day after work learning how to skate again. I don't know if I'm gonna end up being a winger or goalie, but I'm gonna get gear for both positions so I can train to be ready for both.

Here are my questions.

-I know nothing about roller blades, only that I am gonna want indoor wheels and that I should look for blades that are 2 sizes less than my shoe size (14). It's basically the one thing on my birthday list and I don't want my parents to spend anymore than $200 on blades. Looking through the inventory of Dick's, Modell's, and Sports Authority, it looks like they have the same stuff. I came across these blades, which looked pretty nice (http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...ductId=2141446). These Mission ones also look pretty good (http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...ductId=2081810).

My main question is this: what would you guys recommend? Put a lot of money into blades, buy some crappy ones for cheap? What brand would you recommend? And do all of these pairs come with indoor wheels or outdoor?


-Secondly, I wanna get some goalie pads. It looks like the selection for roller hockey pads (as opposed to ice hockey) is very limited. I didn't like any of the roller pads they have so I'm looking at getting this set of ice pads (http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...ductId=2261297).

What would you suggest? Are ice pads a lot heavier than roller ones? Are they stiffer and harder to maneuver in? Is breaking the ice ones in gonna be assloads harder than breaking in the roller ones?


Any help you guys can give me would be much appreciated.

[McDougalfaschnitzer]

Have you looked at any other retailers beside dicks?

[knitscarf]

Got the Links to work, had to get rid of the ) at the end of em. So I'll just give you my opinion. Skates usually run a size to 1.5 smaller... might not want to go a full 2 sizes that might squeeze your feet. You'll definetly want to check these in the store and try some on for a good feel. Any Missions are going to be pretty good skates. Just make sure you get ABEC5 or higher bearings on the skates, want to get a good roll. And as for wheels don't buy a skate with anything higher than 76a, which is the hardness of it (74a is even better).


As for goalie pads the tours arent that bad. I went to Dick's website and It seems like all they have are Tours and a pair of Vectors. Rollers pads like Tours are going to be somewhat lighter but not by that much. Tours are surpisingly good pads for the price. They can be used in an A League if need be. But the Vectors are very nice pads for the price. It doesn't take long for either to break-in. If you have a desk or bench you just put them under there and they will get a nice flex to them. Make sure you check around some goalie sites (ie: www.goaliemonkey.com, www.hockeygiant.com) and use there sizing chart to see what size pad would be right for you if you cant check pad sizes in store. You might want even to looking from purchasing from one of those stores as hockeygiant has goalie and player equipment. You might find a better deal on skates and pads. Cause Dicks and other national large retailers don't carry the best equipment for the price.

[Keebler]

Originally Posted by McDougalfaschnitzer

Have you looked at any other retailers beside dicks?

I don't know any other retailers besides Dick's, Modell's, and Sports Authority (and a local store in Jersey called Effinger's). I know there's a billion websites you can order from, but preferably, I'd like to get stuff in-store so I can try it on and see how it fits. That's not to say I won't get it without trying it on, but I'd like to do that if possible.


As for sizing, I looked around at guides to buying goalie equipment and did a little measuring. I'm apparently a 32 for pads.

[McDougalfaschnitzer]

How tall are you?

[Joe Canada]

Aside from the fact that I'm not really tall, I still try to keep my pads as short as possible. I can see why Martin Brodeur sees it as a benefit, but I guess it depends on the style you play, too.

[Keebler]

Originally Posted by McDougalfaschnitzer

How tall are you?

6'2"

I read that the pad size is typically the distance from the bottom of your foot to halfway up your thigh. If I have a tape measure, how should I measure my leg? Straight up from the floor, or against the front of my leg (bending the tape to conform to my leg)?

As for my style, I've been primarily a butterfly in the past, but I might try and cut down on my flopping.


Also, when I'm looking at roller blades, how can I find out more information about the wheels included (indoor/outdoor, hardness, etc)?

[McDougalfaschnitzer]

If you're 6'2", 32 will be way too small. I'm around 5'11" and I wear a 34. So you should try to get a 35 or 36.

[Keebler]

How much of my thigh should the pads cover and how much should the pants/girdle cover?

[McDougalfaschnitzer]

If you want to play more of a butterfly style, you want the pad to be a little higher on the thigh, so that when you go down, the tops of the pads will be closer together (the reason why a lot of goalies get extra rise on their pads).