Goalieboard

Today is ST day
Although the website isnt finished yet (but very soon it will be),
I officially TODAY gave Stace the green light for release of the actual product!

Yes, I am proud that my design and development over all these years is being released once again - and this time with many new refinements and improvements.

Although I dont actually make or sell the mask, it is still my original product, my designs, ideas, innovations, implementations, that I have transferred over to someone else - my child if you will - and doing that takes a lot of trust and confidence in the caretaker. In one sense it feels like I am still handcrafting it, since over the past 13-14 months, Stace and I have been sending prototypes back and forth - each time me driving him to the brink with extremely high demands and requirements (you will have to trust me on this one – I am not your average easy going person to deal with when it comes to my mask.)

But Stace perservered and I must say, I am surprised that instead of giving up several times with the very difficult challenges, he plugged away, determined to get it right (and me happy with the results). Kudos to the man.

I am more than aware that Stace (seemingly) doesnt have the diplomacy skills like most of us (what he has is a unique form of humour one just needs to get used to) - BUT for me, the important thing was >who had the technological know-how<, >the proper understanding of the product<, >and the rare ability/dicipline to produce nothing less than a reference standard> - to my EXACT specifications. If he or (or anyone for that matter) was unable to live up to any one of these three criteria, this mask wouldnt be available today. I would have been fine with that too and I believe Stace waited for almost 2 years before I agreed to let him have a go at it.

But now its happened and he has done Da Montsta proud.

Not surprisingly there is already a waiting time as many pro goalies have already ordered long ago and are first in line. Our own brother Robert Roth will be the first to get one once the pros are complete The really cool thing about Robert is the special setup he will have in his mask - specifically tailored for his special needs and his (all too often) bad experience with suffering concussions.

Any questions can for the most part be answered on the site which is updated daily. Otherwise, please direct all questions to Stacey himself. I'm just an innocent bystander...

http://www.staytrix.com

Very cool, Mont. Good luck to you both!

What Mod did Roth get?

Congrats Mont!

Your mask does look awesome.

That's a very high compliment from someone who dislikes ALL masks.

Congrats to Mont and Stace for such a beautiful looking mask. Time to check the site out.

Sweet lid, Monts!

Congrats!



Stace has done a great job on it!

Stace isn't difficult. He's Dutch.

Congrats to both Montster and Stace! I cannot wait to get my hands on one.

Can I convince the fiance that I need a third mask????

Probably not.

Congrats guys, it is one sweet looking lid!!!

Kudos - I didn't order any kudos - you eat them.

Mr Stacey.

Do I really have to make Roth's mask.

Stace, care to elaborate on how labour intensive/time consuming making the StayTrix is? Would you like to share with the brothers just how much work is involved in making this mask and how you almost had "second thoughts" once you got immersed into it - learning quickly how complicated the project is/has been?

Like I say on the website - "designing and making the best mask I liked, making more than ONE, I hated!"

No but he'd appreciate it if you did as his mask is a little long in the tooth.



The answer of what mods I am getting, well to be honest I don't know. Mr. Stacey has spent the better part of the last 2 months, between pulling his hair out due to Mont's little tweaks here and there, studying the mechanisms of concussions and such things as woodpeckers(I'm not kidding...) and so on. So Stacey, Mr. Stacey to you and I, is working on a special foam set up in the mask to attempt to eliminate or at least greatly reduce the root causes of concussions.

Having gotten to know Mr. Stacey over the last 8 or so months of this process I have to say I have the utmost confidence in Mr. Stacey's ability to provide me with the best possible protection. In short he uses simply the best materials available as any quality engineer or artist would do to create the level of protection a person of special(think Jerry's kids special) needs like me requires.

Well you need to have a whole new set of swear words to start with. I figured it would be similar to making any full aramid mask - didn't realise how more time consuming it would turn out to be. To me it's worth the extra time and effort to make such a beautiful mask. Now that I've got the production down pat it's a real pleasure to make but that doesn't shorten the production times any. To make a mask at that level takes a lot of concentration (sweat and worry) to get it right. There were specifications I haven't encountered before (otherwise it would be copying) so I had to learn as I went along and make jigs/dies etc and think out pattern cutting models whilst laminating the unit.
Mr Sherar - I can tell you you had some names you haven't heard of. To say I had stress is an understatement - you try making something for someone with your demands and see how it feels. As you say I refused to give up on the challenge and what you see is the result of some very long days. Being an ALL aramid mask it is easier to clean up the five o'clock shadow than a mixture of aramid and glass. You try to get the weight down to under 900 gms without loosing any structural integrity - that took me hours to figure out - make the dies - check that everything fitted properly and then wait until the resin had dried to see the finished weight. I can estimate a total weight from a known lay-up pattern but I need a lab scales to get the REAL weight.
Knowing what is involved up front wouldn't have deterred me any but I feel with satisfaction what Mont went thru way back when this mask was first made and understand why it is as it is (me being an ex NHL goalie).
Let's face it - if it was that easy OTHERS would have copied it long ago.
Mont - damn you for a great mask and damn you for what you put me thru to get it as you want it but it was worth it - look at the result (and feel the result on your head).
All production masks will be made with less stress but still the same amount of concentration and it is a mask I'm proud to make.
It's going to take about three years before I get the new fiber for the ST-6 but be sure I will be the first to use it in masks.
If you have any questions I'll be at Burger King as I haven't eaten a decent (?) meal in weeks thanks to Mr Sherar. You owe me big Mont for all your demands and the stress you caused.

Stace.

Did the Eagle visit???

I really did - honest. Woodpeckers don't get concussion - ask them.

Stace.

You want me to talk to her???? I know where she lives.

FD/CB/Stace whatever.

I want one, nay, I need one. Must save up my cash.