Most Unique Hockey Gear Ever Used!

[@mdoneg]

We won a squirt tournament in Providence RI in 1982 as travel team wearing Cooperalls. We were from a small town in Maine and sponsored by Holiday Inn. We were complete underdogs and had no business playing against these big city teams. It was incredible. Loved my Cooperalls!

[@daronwojnowski5126]

I used to use cooperalls when I played roller hockey. I remember most of these innovations while growing up playing hockey in Detroit. Thanks for taking me down memory lane!! Keep up the good work!!!

[@channies_bbg]

now in roller hockey i see what looks like cooperalls (probably inspired from those) which is kinda cool!

[@barwaz10]

In the mid 1970's Koho had an oval or rounded hollow stick that never caught on because it would roll inthe players hand. It came in a black or navy with gold lettering.

[@jordanfedirchuk1558]

I had one handed down to me. Didn’t like it at all

[@yeltsin6817]

I remember that stick. I had a wooden koho. I had a deadly snapshot with that one.

[@dwaynemarling4004]

The XL3, but it was early 80’s. I still have mine (navy with yellow lettering/markings) - I actually liked the feel of it back then.

[@dennish411]

I had one was heavy no flex but I was a kid

[@alittlebitgone]

It also came in off-white.

[@derick-smith]

I'm amazed at how much I learn from your videos. It speaks to my inner child so much! I grew up in the 90s when you still had some real oddities. Petr Klima has always been a favorite of mine because of the wacky helmet and the rad tape job. I think that makes me your exact target audience lol. This is like crack for my soul and I appreciate it so much!

[@sethverzinski7202]

I remember when those Reebok O sticks were the absolute shit. Like peewee/bantam around 2009-2010.

[@jeffreyazzolin189]

Love the video, definitely learned a few new things which was quite interesting :) thanks for the video!

[@thespectrum01]

Wait... is this the same Jeffrey Azzolin from 4:12 of the video? 🤔

[@krystenmontgomery4680]

3:02 are last game for playoffs this kid had the same stick and tape through the hole to keep the hole

[@marrekpanzarino134]

Cool video! Back when I was skating 10 or so years back I was rocking t'Blades on my Rk11 Pumps... played alongside two others with t'Blades, and maybe against only a couple guys with them over the years. Absolutely loved them, they made an incredibly specific noise! Not on the list but a another cool piece of gear another teammate and I had was the Gen 1 Colt stick, not sure if they still exist but they made this stick where the lower half or so was coated in a hyper-strong metal for durability.. lasted 12 months of brutal use and was another distinctive looking piece of kit

[@gayrambo4529]

I had a few Lockjaw shafts. The concept was that you didn't need to heat up the shaft to insert the glued blade and didn't weaken it. I couldn't ever find Lockjaw blades so I ended up using the regular blades. Had that thing forever and it never broke. Ended up using it as a breaker bar for more leverage when working on my car!

[@JoshJosh-z6q]

I owned many louisville lockjaw blades with the tps rubber and they broke all the time at th "lockjaw"

[@GREENneonDRIVER]

I've been using the Blade Tech steel for a few months and haven't noticed a real difference in power from my stride, but have noticed a bit more spring in edge work.

[@awildermode]

Around the same time Louisville came out with Lockjaw system, Bauer released Harpoon system. Both replacement blade systems do not require glue or heat gun to change blade.

[@Schnids1655]

I had a lockjaw. It broke in the shaft so I had to shave about 3 inches off and add a longer plug. The Bauer harpoon blades didn’t stay in real well either so I’d wrap a couple layers of tape on the end and heat it anyway. Good times.

[@goaliemtw6909]

4:13 is the University of Waterloo rink I grew up playing hockey in. Pretty cool!

[@briansguy]

17:00 always hated the "crunchy" blades. That's how they sound when the player glides around the ice. Usually a couple guys with these in my house leagues back in the day (early/mid 2000s)

[@StreetLugeNetwork]

I still have and use the mission 3 finger glove and I love it. You could buy them for either your left or right hand depending on which way you shoot. You put it on the top knob hand since it needs less precision than the bottom hand. The moment I tried the glove, It just felt right

[@Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

I didn’t even know these existed. After messing up my left pinky in a non-hockey injury, I couldn’t wear my left glove like normal. I had to keep the pinky in the same finger slot as my ring finger from that point on. Even now, a good 25 years later.

[@dwaynemarling4004]

I can definitely say that Koho pioneered a shaped hockey stick in the early 1980’s - I personally used (and still have) an OVAL Koho XL3 fibreglass stick as a 15 year old in the 1982-83 season.

[@alittlebitgone]

Yup, I used exclusively oval Koho sticks from 82-92.

[@reallyfastbiker4077]

For sure. I had one of those oval Koho sticks, mine broke. Also had the Reebok pumps and wore both Cooperalls and CCM Propacs (still have a fairly new Cooperall CG1 girdle in the basement). Played my first two years of minor hockey on an outdoor rink with no mask, just some plastic mouthguard strapped over your mouth. I fondly remember Ultra Tacks, Micron Megas, clear Tuck skate blade holders, the Cooper SK2000 helmet (not to be confused with Messier's Winwell), when you could get a Koho Silverfiber, a Titan TMP 2020 or a Sherwood 5030 all at Canadian Tire for under 30 bucks, and finally, getting my teeth knocked out by some guy with a silver Easton Aluminum, that looked just like Gretzky's. Good times 😁

[@KmvS86]

18:22 My mom was head of H&B who owned TPS/Louisville and I had the first lock jaw and rubber sticks in Canada when they were prototypes as a kid lol

[@meat9619]

Underrated channel man, keep it up, I wouldn't be surprised to see this channel blow up

[@hockeyalley1]

Great video glad to see my Trilage stick in your video. Thank you

[@SportAntic]

Thanks again!

[@aemondtargaryen972]

I had those mission gloves. It really helped out when I broke my hand twice and my cast could fit in the gloves so I could still play.

[@channies_bbg]

i feel like in sports they need to make gear that allows someone who is recovering to play

[@Pryde97]

Bladetech steel is incredible... the Sling stick sold slowly, but I don't see it really becoming mainstream. There's still a few left in my shop. Tblades... ugh. With the quick release systems, it's now a really slow system for replacing runners. They are also a pain to install on some boots, especially custom boots. They can't have any pull on the toe or heel from the boot or the runner won't line up. Plus, that crunch sound is awful. Seen a few old guys still using the angled grips... still looks weird. An item that deserves mention is the Gator Armor shoulder pads. They unique to say the least. They are heavy when you pick them up but the weight is balanced well... the rough part is they are hot. They're designed to breath but they don't. They do however protect like nothing else out there until you have a heat stroke.

[@SportAntic]

Great comment! Just looked up Gator Armor shoulder pads, I have seen something similar, Farrell Shoulder Pads, I am guessing one of them are knock-offs of the other.

[@skyborne80]

Wow, Tocchet wearing that jaw protector is the most un-Tocchet thing I can think of! Not surprised he would take it off in games to fight, of all things 🤣

[@heathwilson681]

Great list. I would like to hear your take on the Flare Blades?

[@solid4brewing]

Cool to see Marsblade in the video, they come from my hometown!

[@BMack37]

Funny, you used my pic at 19:04 I still have both the offset blade and the polarfibre Warrior Dolomite shaft. I also was a product tester for the Oggie grip which has a picture later in the video.

[@AdamSmith-kb7kt]

You deserve a lot more credit for all of your work!

[@hibby21]

fun list! i had tried a couple of those sticks. i felt the Colt "unbreakable" hockey stick deserved an honorable mention

[@SportsAnnouncing]

Cool to stumble on this video. The person doing VO designed the logo in my profile!

[@patton303]

I’m an engineer and I was thinking how they should try the Thermablade idea again. Battery tech has come light years beyond 2010. They make powerful 9v lithium polymer batteries that weigh 2g now. And heating the aluminum holder in addition to the stainless steel blade itself would conduct the energy more evenly. Aluminum is a superior heat conductor and needs less energy to create heat.

[@booradley6832]

I have to wonder if you could combine the idea of the spring tech and the heating tech together, so theres only a tiny battery in the device that's charged by the players weight depressing the skate blade each time. it would not be able to keep the blade heated for long but that's kind of the point, it would become active when you're active. Maybe even just go with a straight connection with zero battery backup. Would be some interesting R&D

[@jackruby1123]

Great video as always. Never played hockey in my life but I love your channel because the weird minutia of the evolution of specialized gear is just so interesting and you present the info so well. Maybe you could team up with some other youtubers like the Baseball Bat Bros to do some deep dives into other sports too. I want to hear about the difference between wicker and carbon fiber Sepak Takraw balls or whatever. Anyway keep up the GREAT work. Always look forward to your videos.

[@SportAntic]

I appreciate that!

[@heilvvl]

i remember to have a convex concave bauer stick in the early 2000

[@BillyJack1170]

For sticks there was also the Koho eliptical fibreglass stick back in the 1980s, might have been the first full fibreglass stick. There was also the aluminum stick shaft that Gretzky made popular.

[@UntiltedName]

I wore cooperalls to school one day during my senior year. good stuff, they smelled lovely too right out of the hockey bag

[@coolmanjack1995]

I know it's probably a dull demo but 4:14 is giving me the heebie jeebies watching him push the skate blade with his fingers

[@Fenrirmaster30]

I wanted a Reebok O stick so bad growing up. Luckily my parents never bought me one because I ended up playing goalie and have rarely skated out since

[@Riff944]

Cool video! I would have included the STX Surgeon Hockey stick in the bit with it's unique cross section. The bottom 2 corners of the stick are beveled similar to a lacrosse stick.

[@Sadokist]

T Blades were the greatest possible thing you could put on your skates. They might have looked weird but holy hell they worked well. Insane glide, consistent edge each set (instead of a failed sharpen). SO good.

[@MicrophoneAssassin13]

Ugh thank you. I could not for the life of me remember what they were called. They also sounded *incredible* on ice

[@rickabick1982]

Just to mention, the concave sticks were brought by easton back in the days... I have tested one and it was way before 2000.

[@CarharttCowboy]

I remember the blue Koho oval stick

[@NorthParkProduction0]

My whole family (3 generations now) all use the "better butt end" which is one of the knockoff bent butt ends but to a much less degree and we LOVE them. More than anything we just like how it relaxes your wrist on the upper hand. And we actually just make our own replacements with a band saw and belt sander

[@Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

I wore sweats over my cooperall girdle in 2nd year squirt/1st year peewee. After that, my next team bought matching cooperall shells (short version, Capitals style, blue with a white stripe and red stars down the sides). As for the 3 fingered gloves, after injuring my pinky in a non-hockey related incident, I’ve kept that pinky next to my ring finger inside the glove to this day, over 20 years later. Also, any thoughts on flared skate blades? The concept seems to make sense but ive never tried them myself.

[@mariolongtin8271]

Your thumbnail baited me, I have that reebok stick, worked great until the heel broke haha

[@SportAntic]

Oh no!

[@channies_bbg]

hahaha you'd think the shaft of the stick would break but nope!

[@giampaolofini1535]

I've used both the reebok o-stick (pro stock) and the thermal skate blades. The o-stick really wasn't that great; maybe because I was using a higher flex than I normally used and it was a nhl d-man's big heel curve I couldn't adjust to. Ended up giving it away. The thermal blades did work- you could see the snow melting off right away when you got to the bench. They actually had a very faint on light you could see through the white of the holder. It seemed like it made gliding slightly smoother, especially when the ice was chewed up. But you had to charge them for a few hours beforehand and a very faint added weight. I ended up losing a piece of hardware that kept the blade attached and the company had gone out of business at that point, so there was no way to repair/replace them. Almost, kinda worth the $100, but probably wouldn't have bought them again even if they were available.

[@Graezar]

I really can not understand what "visual obstruction" people are talking about with cages, u really just get used to wearing a cage after a few times on the ice.

[@leevipennanen5262]

This video was so good

[@deathsicon]

i've been a goalie since shortly after i started playing in 07, since i dont use my skating gear much i still have an easton stealth s17 that tapers down to an oval near the blade of the stick, i love it but my brother hated his, he learned to love it when it broke and he flipped it over putting the oval at his back hand with a replacement blade in the other end, i also still use tblades, not because i wanted the gimmicks or anything, but i needed skates and my brother had some with a problem in the Tuuk holders he was going to replace, made enough sense to save some money and just go with the tblades, since i dont skate them too often i've only replaced the edges once since i got them in 2010, whats not mentioned in this video is that skating on them is LOUD, your not sneaking up on anybody with them

[@Lud__2]

I used to use a sling until it got caught in the Zamboni door and the rest is history

[@abrodeur]

You kind of missed how clap skates works in speed skating. All they do is allow the blade stay in contact with ice for a longer time by allowing the heal of the skate to be detached from blade. The spring is only used to bring the blade back after the push is completed. This different from what it seam like the hockey skate dose which I'd load energy well you step down on blade and then release later.

[@warnniklz]

I had the Mission 3 gloves... still miss them today

[@gregg5167]

Sick video man, keep it up!

[@xGSFxGoat]

I remember when aluminum and magnesium alloy stick shafts were a big thing briefly

[@Boyso5407]

Ya I remember when those Easton aluminum sticks first came out. I hate them cause they never felt solid. Every time I’d tap the stick on the ice it gave off a weird broken sound and a strange vibration in your hand. They looked cool but I never liked to use them.

[@storm_filter]

good video. loved it

[@noydb-1]

I still have the 3 finger gloves, won them in a raffle at a tournament. Yes you look like a cartoon character, but I liked the feel you got with them. Also have the XL7 helmet. the shape is too circular so it fits front to back, but is too wide . Was too wide and hard to put a shield on it to use as a ref helmet.

[@bpastorb]

The bladetech sounds cool on paper but those minor changes in blade radius/profile sound like it would be weird to get used to. I remember buying a pair of those reebok pump skates and could never get used to them because of the different profile, I would catch edges that I never caught on my standard radius that i was used to. Of course I only realized the issue in hindsight many years later. With bladetech the radius would be changing every time its loaded/unloaded.. I see it's getting lots of positive review but just doesn't sound like something I could ever get comfortable using

[@dancarrol4558]

Loved this journey through the past.

[@noydb-1]

Should have mentioned the Lange skates. Plastic boot with a hinge like a ski boot. I actually still use a pair for refereeing. They just fit me better than traditional boots.

[@channies_bbg]

going vintage! i like it!

[@noydb-1]

@@channies_bbg Yep, and I wear a Stan Mikita helmet with them.

[@noahpetherbridge5127]

I saw a kid with a Bauer sling at stick & puck the other day, it’s honestly why I clicked on this video 😂

[@channies_bbg]

oh wow! i saw someone with that too!

[@bjornbergen8900]

Ha! T blades Used them for years, because where I live we have the worst skate sharpening, never knew how your blades were going to work, These took that away, They work great,

[@briankoski2532]

Gerald Gibbons is way-cool. He's got an awesome idea for that grip handle as needed. Thanks. That's a bunch of cool hockey upgrade stuff to help improve performance...

[@ianj454]

I remember one of my friends having a triangular stick for a spare back in the day

[@sammyweed4771]

Nice video on the sticks. Ppl need to realize everyone has a great shot now with these sticks. I’ve played Hockey now since the 70,s and players like Ovi and McDavid wouldn’t have these great one timers or quick releases with the older sticks and this a fact. Huge difference in sticks I’ve used both. Skates also… it doesn’t matter what sport, equipment makes a difference… every time I here ohhh if MDavid or Ovi would of played when Gretzky played he have 100 goals a season. And I’m like No way. Different Era are different Eras for a reason. I hear the goalies stood up all the time. Go look at todays high lites of all the scores this past week. 90 % are top shelf . Goalies are getting beat cause there going down all the time now. And theses fancy sticks make it where you can flick the puck up higher quicker and faster and easier. Them are Facts. I love the game of Hockey. Been blessed to be able to play for 50 yrs… thanks again for the video hope it helps ppl understand the game and equipment of this great sport

[@mramisuzuki6962]

I agree I thought the timing for devolving goalie gear was a perfect time move back to wood or set the composite sticks back to wood stick perimeters like baseball did. I guess not they want players scoring 120+ points again to sell the league and offense in the regular season and defense in the playoffs is how basketball sells itself and is why the 70s and 90s were considered the best era for the game.

[@KDill29]

The O Stick....that's what she said

[@Lud__2]

I own marsblades and the sling and the are both worth buying they’re both great

[@derekknight9789]

The VIC goalie stick around 1986 with the curved handle where you hold the stick secure with the blocker while facing shots was really bizarre. Better to have a straight stick handle.

[@wu_dee]

I remember an aluminum Easton tapered stick from the 90s being pretty popular

[@kyleessex6301]

So unfortunately this is a common misconception of the clap skates. The spring is for recoil, not for push out. The increase in efficiency is the increased contact time of the blade to the ice by way of the ability to detach at the heel. The spring is to hasten the recoil of the blade back to center for the next stride. (Former hockey goalie and elite level speedskater). So the technology while both being springs, are for two completely different purposes.

[@jeanjacques9365]

which is fairly easy to notice when just looking at it... the amount of movement from the blade is so small that gains would be unnoticeable anyways and the added complexity seem to just be a liability in hockey where the blade could break etc.

[@BB-ej5ji]

In your opinion what was the first one piece stick? I say the Bauer Triflex. It came out around 2002

[@burrheadjr]

I don't know what the first was, but I know Easton Synergy had a one piece in 2001.

[@The67wheelman]

Forgot the plastic skate boots of the 70s. Lange and Micron Skates…..never were feet more protected or more blistered 😂

[@ajjingunia]

I had the m11 it looked european as hell 😂

[@jugglerj0e]

In Buffalo NY, we called the Lafontaine mask with extension the "RoboCop" 🤣

[@ChubwagonMonsters]

I love my rib core stick and hockey pants are still relevant in to roller hockey scene.

[@The67wheelman]

The Gipgrip guy should have put the patent money into production and just started the patent application to put patent pending on the product. That’s what I found out with my Nock-Tuner device. Then I’d have given boxes to try to the junior A teams who would be more open to new ideas… just a thought. Great idea though.

[@PeikvonEssen-s9u]

My first hockey coach had the oddest scates I´ve ever seen. Instade of blades there were tinytiny sharp metal wheals. They made a very distingt clicking and clanging sound while scating around, and made it possible to stop in unic ways. Not sure how you would sharpen them, If it was even possibe. It's the only pair of them I've ever seen.

[@channies_bbg]

that's actually a cool way to make an ice skate and a roller skate at the same time!

[@itsa-itsagames]

you better not have baited me with that thumbnail... and you didnt ! i didnt know datsyuk had that stick

[@tomcatt1507]

i wore cooperalls playing peewee and novice level hockey in the late 80s. swithched to socks in bantam, when we were allowed to check (hit). i loved it full contact is what hockey is about.

[@Shoesforaday]

4:06 went from 😂 to 😐 real fast

[@Big_Friendly]

I really liked my Reebok 8.0.8 o-stick. Best hockey stick I used.

[@trenchcoatkendo]

Funny story about the Reebok o stick, when they just came out and were hot new $400 thing, battled a forward off the puck in the corner and he didn’t like it, so he decided to spear me with his fancy stick. Thing broke on impact and I laughed about it for weeks.

[@kenculver1821]

FWIW, the tovi blade has the holes in it more b/c it's a solid piece of carbon fiber, and if it didn't have the holes it'd be way too heavy. That said, it's a tank of a stick, and without a foam core, it doesn't fade.

[@TheodoreHuber-Malyi]

History of goalie pads, and odd goalie pads

[@dsch1znit]

I used o-sticks for a couple years. I loved them.

[@Jimpkin]

I started playing hockey last year my team gave me a stick and it was the 0 stick, it was beat up (chip missing from the blade) and a high af flex but it was good

[@AgentSmith21]

Ahh yes. The O stick. Always wanted one

[@Giblitzky]

Last guy must be a big Count Dooku fan lol

[@sergeant_salty]

I had a Reebok 3.0.3 stick as a kid because the extra 5 holes were very expensive for some reason. Had it for half a season before it snapped right where the holes were. Great stick, but not worth the lack of structural integrity

[@alfie110]

Some guys in my beer league use the half cage, personally i think it looks pretty cool, protection not so much lol

[@yogibearstie]

Actually the technology in the 70s Titan sticks was impressive. The blade was fiberglass with a wood vainer, and on the bottom off the blade was a fiberglass instead of wood, so you could drag the stick on the ice and not wear it out. It was my first ice hockey stick and lasted until I outgrew it. Probably why I always played with a short stick, because that Titan put my in a hunch.

[@JayZed-tl5bc]

Yeah, those Gretzky/Bossy Titans were great sticks. I had a few of them. The drawback was that you couldn’t curve them without risking burning that wood vaneer. Blades with the traditional fiberglass covering were much easier to modify the curve with flame heat.

[@mjc8709]

I remember a buddy bought an o stick for our minor hockey league and broke it the first game.

[@danb215]

anyone remember the ovalution stick? I remember getting one as a kid that thing was garbage. I think that was the name of it. It was a round shaft.

[@jamiealite]

I have one of those o sticks that have the holes in it. Weird stick to play with. I also,have the nexus stick and I hate it

[@TeamOT]

Imo Marsblade is a much better implementation of Blade Tech's (Pavel Barber has a great video about them). Their roller skates are also widely used for offseason training in the NHL.

[@coachnate5747]

The sound T blades sounded like teeth breaking

[@dfrederking]

Imagine McDavid with spring-loaded skates. Wow.😮

[@channies_bbg]

i could honestly see him with those but i feel like hes already fast without them but i'd love to see him with those

[@moody9442]

i want to know the story of brezers and socks. guessing that in the 1890s it was something similar was the easiest way and the look just stuck around

[@yogibearstie]

How about a hockey mitten? Never needed the finger separation a glove provided. Should be cheaper to make.

[@DMorg88]

I remember buying t-blades when I was 15 haha so wild I loved them, I am 35 now and would still prefer them but I only skate with my nephews now really. Much love brother great video

[@SlugCult718]

The trilage stick felt to me more like a golf club than a hockey stick. And playing with it for long periods was uncomfortable.

[@antonywoodward8997]

ive got a set off 3 finger gloves!

[@derickgenesse1000]

me too and love them ! i made repair them so many time for dont have to change globe !

[@markfitzurka9995]

well done. Great production the audio is perfect and the video looks good. I’m new to the channel so I’m going to give you a like comment and watch a couple more before you get me as a subscriber. If the other videos are as good as this one you got a completely random subscriber. Stumbled across your channel looking for a explanation on the nhl net size and shape of them over the years. I didn’t find a definitive answer, but found a lot of Great content. Do you have a video explaining the different shapes on NHL goals? I see in old NHL videos the net had a 2 half moon shape and now its like a D shape. If you have covered it are you going to? The evolution of the NHL goal. Just a curious fan.

[@drakeroby]

i had those reebok pumps, what a time

[@shredhead4604]

I think hockey sticks should be wood at least the blade if anything. Just like MLB uses wood bats.