Holiday Deals!

Just letting everyone know that there have been insane deals on hockey equipment for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  I recommend icewarehouse.com for the best deals.  They have 20% off for IW members.  And you can easily become a member by purchasing a water bottle or t-shirt.  Otherwise dickssportinggoods.com has 25% off any one item today only.  Great if you're looking to buy a high-end stick.

Style Design Tape

Thanks to the great deals icewarehouse.com ran for Black Friday, I picked up a few items. Mostly it was just some extra pucks, a wood stick for outdoor roller, and some tape. Tape is one thing you really tend to blow through since it gets scuffed up regularly.

I always am a bit stylin' with my two-tone tape jobs, but this time I went all out and bought some kick-ass new tape they had in stock. That's right, skull & bones! True, it's not quite as stylin' as the guy who shows up to the rink in Coach loafers, but it's the best I've got going for me.

Now in order to keep the design obvious, putting this tape on requires a slightly special method when putting it on the stick. Rather than just wrapping around, which is actually what I did for the first part, you need to individually tape on strips. You can see I applied a strip from the top of the blade while aligning the design, and wrapped it around the bottom. Very important that you wrap around the bottom, since that's what is touching the ground and will get the most wear.



As you can see this leaves a lot of excess. But similar to taping the rounded end of the blade, you simply cut it with a scissor. Here's the sweet finished product when all is said and done.



Now there's only one thing left. That's to show up with this flask to the rink with my water instead...

Skate Collection

Skates are the most important piece of equipment you wear. They effect everything to do with your ability to play. Because of this it's very important to spend time and think about which skates to use. My skate collection is pretty comprehensive, and not quite ridiculous. At least once you consider I play on 3 different types of surfaces. Thanks to upgrades, most of them are fairly new. Here's a run down of the current skates I use. I'll spare you from reading about my old terrible skates. That's for another post on what happens when you DON'T spend time thinking about what you strap on your feet.

Outdoor Skates

These are the Bauer Vapor XVR Lite's. I bought them off of inlinewarehouse.com about 2 years ago mostly because they were on sale. They're no longer made, so you would have to get a newer model. Not that you would want these anyway, as I mostly got them because I was still new to playing and wanted to get things on a budget.

The bearings they came with were ABEC 7 and the wheels were Hyper Razors, which are multisurface 78A hardness wheels. Once I joined the indoor roller league at Hot Skates earlier this year, I swapped out the bearings for ABEC 9s. I highly suggest this for any roller hockey player. You don't want to be left in the dust because of your bearings when in a league.

Right now the wheels are Rink Rat Hot Shot XXXs, which are soft wheels for indoors. This is strictly because I had used the skates indoors earlier this year for my roller league. Once I bought a new pair of skates specifically for the indoor league, the Vapor XVRs became my outdoor only skates, but I didn't care if the wheels wore down so I kept them in there. The downside is I can really feel these wheels sliding. It might be because they are so soft. Once I wear them down a bit more, I'll change out the middle 2 wheels with my old Hyper Razors for a more balanced hardness.

Indoor Skates

As mentioned above, I previously was using my Bauer Vapors for both indoors and outdoors. Once I got sick of switching the wheels every week, I decided on purchasing a new pair specifically for the indoor league. After a long study of what was out on the market, I purchased Mission Solder SEs for a few reasons.

Originally I was thinking of purchasing another Bauer Vapor skate since I'm a real big fan of their design, both lightweight and aggressive stance. But Mission was recently purchases by Bauer, confusing since Bauer is also in-turn owned by Nike. Back on topic though, this model of Mission skates were the first ones made using similar molds to that of Bauer. Even the sizing is the same, whereas previously Mission skates using a different sizing model. Because of the similarity, I was willing to switch over.

The Soldier SEs are right in the middle of Mission's skate line. Even at the mid-tier though, they still come with ABEC 9 bearings and Rink Rat Hot Shot XXX wheels. These were the same specs of what I had in my Bauer's, so it would be an easy transition.

Ray has also recently purchased these skates too the previous season. His opinion of them being a pretty good skate and a great deal was enough to convince me. If you want a more detailed review, you can also check out this video from inlinewarehouse.com.

Oh one other big reason I got these too. These skates had just gone on sale! At the time the newest model of Mission skates, the Axiom line, were just announced. The price for these skates dropped by $30, so I figured it was worth getting.

Ice Skates

Being the fan of the Bauer Vapors I already owned for roller, I figured I would get the same for ice. I had read that Bauer Vapors were the most popular skate in the NHL. After seeing that I knew what I was going to buy when I upgraded my skates for ice hockey.

I ended up getting the Bauer Vapor X:30s. These are also mid-tier skates, ranging about $180 currently. Ice skates tend to be a little more expensive than inline skates. I'm not exactly sure why, but I suspect it's because they have to be a bit more stiff. For an in-depth look, you can check out the video from icewarehouse.com.

The Vapors are a great line. They're ultra lightweight, so you'll get that quick jump when in a foot race. They also have a very aggressive stance which you can slightly notice. These skates are made to be worn when you're in the forward leaning position, the typical stance to balance yourself when skating.

All Bauer skates come with Tuuk blade holders since they make them. These are also extremely popular holders, although I can't find an article on their popularity. You'll notice many players in the NHL switching out their skate holders with these all the time. The main reason they're popular is because they have a higher rocker number. In laymen's terms, the blade is more curved. This allows for quicker and sharper turns, which are very important in hockey.

Conclusions

If there's anything you should take away from this is that you really need to spend time and consider what skate to get. I highly suggest reading reviews online and even trying different types on at the store. It's ok to get a starter skate when you're first joining, but don't be surprised when a few months later you decide to check out something else. Also be sure to have a skate for each surface you play on in regards to roller. It's just too annoying to constantly be switching back and forth.

Taping a Stick

Putting tape on your stick is one of the fundamentals of the game. It's not actually required, and the amount varies from player to player, but I highly suggest it. Tape allows people a better feel of the puck when on their stick. At the very least it will protect the blade of the stick from wear.

Certain players do very simple tape jobs, just wrapping the middle portion of the blade. Look at old pictures of hockey from the 60's and 50's, and you'll rarely see the entire blade taped. These days though, a mummified version of a hockey stick is very popular through out the game. That means all parts of the blade are taped, even the rounded edges. This is how I tape up my sticks, and I'll show you how to do the same.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, you'll need a few things. As you can see here, I have a few items: a hockey stick (duh), tape, a magazine (any paper will do), and finally scissors.



Let's start off with the stick I cut recently. You'll notice that since this is a composite stick, it's actually hollow on the inside. I like to put a little piece of tape on the top to cover this up. It just help create some grip if I hold the top, and also so nothing gets inside.



Now that's done, let begin taping up the butt end of the stick. The tape on this will will provide better grip for our top hand. We'll also put a knob at the end to make it easier to know where the stick ends, and make it harder to slip through the glove. Many players choose to just wrap tape around the butt end to make the knob, but there's a better way which uses less tape, and therefore less money.

Simply take some pages out of the magazine, fold them up to a width you like. Place one end of the folded paper on the stick and tape it there, then wrap the remaining paper around the stick so it's nice and tight, then tape the other end to the stick so it's completely wrapping it. That makes a nice knob, and uses little tape.

Once that's done, you can start applying tape to the top part of the stick and move downwards. You're moving down in a swirl or spiral pattern, similar to a candy cane, except overlappying on each twist for full coverage. Try to have each layer cover about half-way over the previous layer. The finished product will looks like this (bear in mind I use a very very thin knob on my stick).



Next is the blade of the stick. As I mentioned a big benefit of tape is to protect it from wear. The part of the blade which has the most wear is the bottom. In order to provide really good protection while saving on tape, I like to cut a strip of tape which is just long enough to cover the bottom. This will provide an extra layer of tape specifically for this section.



Once that's done, let's begin with the rest of the blade. I always start off from the heel section, just about where it begins to curve. Like you did with the butt end, use a spiral pattern with each layer overlapping the previous layer.



Now when you come to the rounded end of the blade, you'll notice you have some extra tape stick out. As you get to this section, simply pinch the excess tape coming off the blade flat. This will allow you to cut it off once fully wrapped. Here's a look at the blade completely taped up with the excess tape pinched.



All you have to do is take your scissors and cut around the edges to get rid of that excess tape.



The blade is complete...almost. You're all set if you want to be just a regular player, but I prefer a little style and flash. I always put a two tone setup of tape on my sticks. This is the same way Youngblood taped up his stick in the movie with the same name. It helps you see where on the stick you have the puck, but really is just all flash and show. Also allows you to match colors of your team. My favorite team is the Rangers, so here it is in Rangers red and blue.



There we go, we're all done and stylin'. Some guys like to tape up an area for their lower hand, but I'm not one of those people. Be prepared to have to unwrap this when the tape eventually rips from game use. That process is less finesse, and more brutal ripping. For now though, let's get outside and take some shots!

Cutting a Stick

Stick length is personal preference depending on the player. Some guys like their sticks excessively long, whereas other perfer the tiniest little twig they can find. The old adage is defenseman want long sticks for reach, and forwards want short sticks to control the puck better. These days the general consensus for stick length is as high as between your nose and your eyes when in shoes, and between your chin and mouth when in skates. But like I said, it's personal preference.

I prefer my stick to be at the top of my eyes when in shoes. I highly suggest you try different lengths of sticks to figure out what you like. It took me about 2 years to really find out the length I like. I have quite the collection of wood sticks, as you might have guessed.

Unless you're a pro player getting customized sticks, or that guy who happens to buy a stick with the perfect length, you're probably going to need to cut down the length of the stick you buy at the store. Even manufacturers make different stick lengths depending on the model. Cutting a stick if very simple though, but there are a few things to consider.


First, here you can see a brand new Easton Stealth S19 stick I bought. I'll post up a review later (it's sweet). It's a composite stick, but cutting a wood one is done using the same process.


Here's a side-by-side look at the new S19 with an existing S3 that I have cut down to size. Notice the S3 is about my eye level as I attempt to stand up straight, just the place I like it.


Now an interesting thing about the S19 is that it lists the flex rating depending on where you cut it. I bought a stick with an 85 flex, specifically because I knew I was going to cut it. When you cut a stick shorter it increases the flex rating, as a short stick is more stiff. You can see that it's going to be just under 85 flex once I match the length of the S3.

If you're not familiar with composite sticks, then you probably have no idea what the hell I'm even talking about in regards to flex. The flex rating is determined by how much force is required to bend the stick. The higher the flex rating, the more force you need since it's stiffer. Pretty simple too, right?


To actually cut it, I head on down to the dungeon, aka the basement. Here's where not everyone will probably be able to cut their own stick. Obviously you need something to cut your stick. I don't have a power saw, and do it really old school with a hand saw. This is an intense process and you need something to hold it down tightly, so I put it into a vice grip and cinch it down. Once that's done, it's time to get to work!


Here's a final photo with the butt end of the stick cut off. Now the stick is all set and at a perfect length! All that's left is to go out and shoot some pucks.

Bag Stench

Hockey players stink. Seriously, they do. Think about it, you're wearing all that padding every game and sweating profusely in it. The smell can sometimes be unbearable. The only way I can describe it is like that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry's car smells like BO. Don't be surprised when you walk into a locker room or rink and get a whiff of that.

It's one thing to be that kids team who walks off the rink and smells awful. I mean, what can those kids do? They rely on their parents to know their equipment needs to be cleaned. Of course they're going to smell like a homeless person. The worst though has to be when you're on the rink, and as soon as you skate nearby a grown man, you can smell him coming. You definitely don't want to be that guy.

Now you're just in luck, as over the years I have found some easy to follow tips on keeping bag stink down.

First, after every game when I come home I throw things like my jersey, undershirt, jock, socks, roller pants and any other clothing piece into the hamper for a wash. Those are the things soaking up most of my sweat, and they're going to definitely need a full wash.


Second, I spray down all the equipment with a some anti-bacterial Febreeze. It's important that it's anti-bacterial, as bacteria is what actually causes the smell. That also means smelly equipment can even be dangerous since it's a sign it's full of bacteria, which can cause infection if rubbed against an open cut on your skin.

Third, I keep my bag open with the equipment facing up to air out. You need to let everything dry. Preferably do this in a breezy and dry place. Usually I just keep it on the floor in my room located underneath the ceiling fan. Good enough.

Fourth, do wash you pads occassionally. I try to wash all my pads at least once before each season. It's as simple as putting everything in your bathtub with some woolite overnight to soak, or what I do, throw them into the wash. If this equipment is tough enough to stand up against hitting boards, it probably can take the agitation of a normal wash cycle. One caveat to this though, I haven't washed my gloves since those actually are a bit vulnerable to wear.

And that's it. Four simple tips which should keep you from smelling. Finally you'll be able to invite people to your games, and not be embarrassed about how you smelled, and rather just on how terrible you played. Everyone at the rink will thank you for it.

My Sweet Goal Setup

As you'll notice from the current background of this swank new blog, I have a pretty sweet hockey goal setup in the ol' backyard. A less blurry version is shown on the left (click to enlarge). It's a pretty simple setup.

I never really thought about buying a goal before since I could easily go down to the roller park and shoot there, or even just go to a handball court and tape a goal to the wall and shoot on that. Which, by the way, is interesting just to see reactions from the other park goers to me taking loud slappers in a park. You feel like a circus act since everyone is amazed that someone actually plays hockey, or even annoyed that I'm taking up park space. But over the summer I really felt that I had stepped up my game enough to not be a defensive liability, and it was time to finally improve my shot since it was pretty weak and off-balance.

The goal is an E-Z Goal with backstop. I bought this for two primary reasons: the fact that it folds up so I can move it to my garage or car, and it was dirt cheap as far as goals go. Also it's quite a conversation starter when people look out the kitchen window. Even with the backstop, total price came to $150. That is an unbelievable deal, since most metal goals cost well over $200. I bought it from Hockey Shot, but I know there are other places with even cheaper shipping. It's full regulation size, although the metal isn't as thick as a pro level goal. Regardless though, it takes a pretty heavy shot at close distance to even dent this sucker. I've found this to be an excellect buy, and really simple to fold for transport or storage.

The only downside would be putting it together. That took about 6 hours total by myself. I bought this at the end of August, and was therefore outside with the mosquitos since I live by a bay. Whatever though, having it setup was worth being grimey. The diagram was pretty intuitive, perhaps not IKEA-level, but I made sense of it. The only suggestion I would have it connect the top crossbar last. Originally I had mine too tight, and I couldn't get the top shelf connected correctly. Also you'll definitely need a rubber mallet for this. For a full on review, you can go to How To Hockey.

The second item would be the shooting pad. I don't really have a smooth surface in the backyard, and needed something proper to rocket pucks off of. I bought the HockeyShot Extreme Passing Kit since it was pretty damn big and rolled up. The price tag is a bit hefty though, $140 total. A really nice feature is the bungie cord at one end, allowing you to practice passes and, my favorite, one-timers.

There are a few downsides though. It's really friggin' huge, and a chore to tie-up yourself, although still do-able. Additionally you need to let it lie flat for awhile so it flattens itself out (not an issue if you become lazy like me and leave it out all the time). And if you have it on an uneven surface, it can develop bumps where passes will cause the puck to bounce and roll. Bear in mind those are issues you'll find with most any shooting pad, and not specifically this one. Either way, when you have it setup, it makes for a great surface to shoot from.

Both items can be easily stored and moved. With the garage being jam packed with other crap, and it being autumn with grass to move, I have of course decided that reason enough to be lazy and leave out in the backyard. I'm not too worried about someone running off with it. Everything is positioned perfectly and it can't be seen from front, and also it's huge enough that I doubt anyone would be running off with a regulation sized goal. So if you are in the area, feel free to drop by and take a few shots. I like to imagine random passers-by taking shots on it while I'm not there.