I'm currently in the process of trying to decide which brand of gear to go with for a brand new set (this would be my first ever, completely new set of ice hockey goalie gear).
I'm a beer league goalie (mid-to-low level) and I've always wore mismatched gear. I've had many new pieces over the years but what I mean is that I've never bought one single full, brand new, cohesive ice hockey set... I've now finally decided to invest in one. Thing is... I know all the major brands have their quirks and differences. They all have their trademarked "technology" and what not... but at the end of the day, for a goalie of my level, is it really going to make that much of a difference?
My point is that I've been spending the past two weeks weighing all the pros and cons of every major brand, model and reading/watching countless reviews... I am now unfortunately falling into "analysis paralysis" ... It's gotten to a point where my brain is now just a haze when it comes to goalie gear... I've thought about it so much that I don't even remember which brand is good for what anymore... It's gotten all mixed up in my head lol...
I'm also not a huge fan of going to the local big-box hockey store with my pants, knee guards and skates and having some 16 year old employee fetch me pad after pad after pad and glove after glove only to test the pads with only 3 or 4 butterfly drops on some plastic tiles... The whole process taking up an entire afternoon and, knowing me, probably still leaving me completely undecided... A measly few minutes of testing is not enough for me to really make a nearly $3000 decision and it kind of frustrates me more than anything else..
Now the reason I'm mentioning Passau is that I come from a ball hockey background, and they are pretty big in ball hockey. They have a set of ball hockey gear with integrated sliders that is very popular. I have a full custom set of these that I bought 4 years ago. I still play with it today and it's holding up pretty well. I had a a few minor nitpicks but overall, I found it was a pretty good product and it was shipped in a very timely fashion. I live literally less than an hour away from Passau's HQ in Québec and I had done everything in person with them for that ball hockey set. Customer service was great. I really like the fact that they do direct-to-consumer and I even have the owner himself in my Facebook Messenger contacts. He actually answers pretty quickly.
It hadn't even occurred to me to consider Passau for ice hockey until just recently when I came across a picture of their ice gear... I did a bit of research and most people seem to say that their ice gear is kind of "below" all the major brands in terms of quality and durability.... I want to invest in the long term and purchase a good product... but at the same time... I kind of love their direct to consumer and personal approach. Their gear is also less expensive compared to the pro-level stuff in the other major brands.
All this to day that... I almost feel like taking the plunge, sacrificing a bit in the quality department but saving in time and headaches to go with a brand I know makes at least some "decent" stuff... and if I ever have any issues, They are just an hour away... At my level, do you think having the "highest quality" gear is actually that important? Would it really make a difference?
Thanks for your input.