Goalieboard

I'm a 43 y.o. rookie goalie after playing defenseman my whole life and I'm loving it.

After a few false starts with buying used pads on eBay I finally came across some Vaughn V3 pro returns. The pro was my size and they seemed like a good choice and would likely fit well.

Now that I've played in them a little while I think the thigh rise might be too big. 38" is the size stitched into the side of the pads. Considering how much trouble I've had right-sizing pads and the fact that there isn't exactly a goalie store on every street corner in Fairfax, VA, I could use all the input I can get on sizing.

I'm 5'-11-1/2", 195lbs.; and here are the dimensions:

Leg dimensions:

Foot: From front of ankle bend to toe, 7"
Ankle to knee: Taken on inside of leg from center of ankle bone to center of knee cap, 16"
Thigh rise: Taken on front of leg at center of knee cap to bottom of pant, 4-1/2". I'm not sure how high the right thigh rise is for me.

V3 dimensions (on OUTSIDE/FRONT of pad):

Foot: From toe to stitch at ankle bend on front of pad, 7-1/2"
Ankle to knee: From stitch at ankle bend to center of third roll, 16-3/4"
Thigh rise: From center line of middle knee roll to top of pad, 13"

What's throwing me is that I've got 4-1/2" from center of knee cap to bottom of pant, and then 13" from center of middle knee roll to top of pad. Seems like a ~8-1/2" overlap over my pants, is that right? Check out the avatar.

Obviously I could use any input you guys could offer. Other than feel can anyone offer a rule of thumb type approach or an average or any kind of guideline?

THANKS in advance!

Can you re-do the measurements this way?

Ankle break to lower edge of knee rolls (the "shin" section)

bottom to top (or top to bottom) of the knee rolls

Top of knee roll to top of pad. (the thigh rise)

If they fit in the shins and the knee lock/straps are in the right place, then it may just be a thigh rise issue, not a "fit" issue. Shortening the thigh rise isn't a giant project, shortening the actual fit of the pad is.

Jman,

I'm in the area (down at Quantico) and have some 36 inch pads you could try for size. I'm 6 foot 3 and find 36 inch pads are good for me (though I wouldn't mind a bit more thigh rise). Based on your height, I would say 38s are a bit much. PM if you want my phone number and we can try to link up.

Botts

Hey thanks guys!

One note on all of this is that by chance I found a pad pro, one Glenn Miller, who has built pads for 30+ years and knows everyone in the biz. He can cut these down for me if I can figure out how much of a thigh rise I want.


bc30: Here are the revised dimensions:

1) Ankle break to lower edge of knee rolls (the "shin" section) = 13-1/4"

2) Bottom to top (or top to bottom) of the knee rolls = 7-1/2"

3) Top of knee roll to top of pad. (the thigh rise) = 9-1/2"

So, nominally they are 30.25" minus the bottom-most boot/toe section. With that, at 7-1/2", I'm at 37-3/4".

botts: Thanks a MILLION for the offer. I travel a lot but I'll reach out to you. Sounds like if I take the thigh rise down 2-4" these things might be just about right.

Thanks again guys, REALLY appreciate it!

Definitely sounds like the thigh rise is too much - I expected a measurement around 8" for the knee section, and the shin doesn't seem long for a pad that measures out to 38". Assuming the knee wing is in the right place for you, I'd suggest removing about two inches off the thigh rise. That would bring you to around 36" which should be more manageable for your height.

Glenn will do a super job - you'll swear they were factory original after he's finished. He's one of the best in the industry.

Thanks bc30, AGAIN! Glenn said I'm a little big in the shin dimension but only by ~1/2" which he said is no big deal. Do you agree? Regardless, that dimension can't be changed anyway so I'm going to have to live with it.

With that, and if I can hook up with botts, I'll talk to Glenn about chopping them down ~2".

As it is, one weird thing I experience is that even with that massive thigh rise it's hard for me to close the 5 hole in the butterfly. I squeeze like crazy and they won't come together. I think five things are going on:

1. Strength - I'm a rookie haven't strengthened the squeeze enough yet.

2. Gear conflict - When I remove the base layer/player cup and only wear the goalie cup I get the 5 hole much closer to closed.

3. Gear conflict - My pants are pro returns too and have some serious padding on the inner thigh. Both sides of the inner thigh protection completely touch when I try to close the 5 hole, but it doesn't close as the thigh boards still aren't able to touch. I can't go any further as a result.

4. Too few straps - My pads only have one thigh strap at the top. That is, one ankle strap, three calf straps, and then only one thigh strap. Another goalie (NCAA apparently) I ran into once told me that it's the first time he's ever seen that config and chalked it up to them being pro-returns, and if I had a second higher strap installed it would pull the top/outer edge of the thigh board back while in the butterfly and would help close the 5 hole even more. As it is the thigh board leans forward past vertical towards the shooter when I'm in the butterfly and no squeezing will pull that back.

5. Technique - I'm not flaring my feet out far enough. Tried and tried to, but still isn't enough.

Here's a snap of the outside. You can see the black quick-snap buckle at the knee wing, and above that is another reinforcement tab with nothing stitched to it:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak- ... 7670_n.jpg

And here's a snap of the inside where you can plainly see the strap coming off the knee wing, and again no higher strap:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak- ... 6991_n.jpg


Do you think adding a strap here would help?

Thanks in advance for any comments!

Remove some of the padding from the thigh in your pants. Most pants out there now are way over kill in that department.

As above - but ask Glenn to add a top strap.

What you have now is not a particularly "unusual" strap arrangement, but usually only those with wide flare butterflies can get away with it, because there is nothing to pull the tops of the pads into the space between your knees.

I would also ask to have the thigh rise thinned, since he will be in there anyway.

Excellent fellas, thank you!

Hey bc30, by "thinning" do you mean the thickness of the thigh board, not just the height reduction?

Sort of - there is usually extra stuffing behind the foam sheets that does little more that take up space.

I'm not sure if Vaughn puts shred foam behind the foam or dacron.

IMHO, there does not need to be any fill above where your knee sits.

Interesting, ok I'll keep that in mind. Thanks again.

just to clarify what I was trying to say