Blindsave review #2, protection vest and jersey ft. Pascal Meier (SUI). (English)

Now that I have been using Blindsave gear for a while it is high time for another review. This time we will be taking a closer look at the goalie jersey and the famous protection vest with rebound control!

I use the Red/Grey gear as shown above by Blindsave founder Andis Blinds. Visually I am very pleased with this gear! The red details on the left arm and leg accompanied by the white shoulder creates a unique color pattern which I really like. I was reluctant at first and found the design a little confusing, but it did not take long for me to start loving it. Like I said, it is unique and there is no other gear that looks this way, which is why it took me a second to get used to it. Thanks to this unique design you will stand out, even if you use the Red/Grey gear which is the most mellow of color combinations amongst the Blindsave gear. Not only will you stand out, you look professional. 

You can also get this gear in Green&Blue, Orange&Blue, Yellow&Blue, Blue&Pink and Pink&Black (ladies edition).

Check out the colors here! http://www.blindsave.com/category/goalie-jersey-pants

Jersey

The jersey is made of a soft and slightly thicker fabric material which is comfortable to wear. The fabric gives high quality feeling and has no plastic or mass produced feel to it, instead it feels rather carefully hand made. The thickness of the jersey offers can get a little hot but at the same time it offers extra protection against hard shots and if you ask me, whether it's warm or not is irrelevant. We are goalies and that is a position where you will get warm, regardless of what you wear. I used to play with Unihoc Feather which is a very thin gear but I still got very warm so hotness really isn't a factor to care about. If you ask me, comfort and protection comes in first hand.


All goalies (almost) are different and we all need different amounts of protection to feel safe and as a goalie there are many advantages to having sufficient protection when playing. When I played "land hockey" in the streets as a kid and was put in the net with nothing but a glove and a stick it wasn't much fun to play since the insufficient gear made me feel unsafe and scared. However, when we managed to find me a helmet and some old hockey pads basically I started making saves.

Your confidence goes up if you feel well safe and well protected when playing which will result in more saves!

The very good looking Yellow/Blue gear!

Protection vest
This as you know is a very important part of our gear. I believe that most of us at some point have taken enough shots to the stomach that we eventually think "come on defenders, block the next one!" or "hope they miss the next shot!".
If you have felt like this at some point, I think it's high time for you to look in to a vest that offers more protection. Different gear suits us goalies differently because like I said, we are all different. My first vest consisted of a very light material that fell apart before my first season was over so my vest actually didn't cover anything below my navel... my mother then cut up an old foam mat and fitted it in my vest to replace the old material. This was at the start of my career, when I had just reached moped-driving age!

Today, I play using Blindsaves protection vest and let me put it this way - I never again have to play with an old foam mat!

Long sleeve protection vest with rebound control.

I am using the long sleeve version of the vest. The pads in the vest consist of a light and flexible material that somehow reminds me of tempur. This material provides amazing protection against hard shots and just as the name suggests, it hardly gives any rebounds. The entire vest weighs only half a kilo and is very resistant to both heat and cold, folding or squashing. You can ball the vest up and put it at the bottom of your bag and when you take it out, it will be unaffected.

Apart from the protection on the stomach and chest there are cleverly placed pads on all the places that you want extra protection. I really like the pads placed high up on your chest that protects your collarbone as well as the one right below your throat, they knew what they were doing when the put those there.

At least I made the save!

This picture is from B.BS (before Blindsave) and this is something I am very unlikely to experience again thanks to the higher placed pads on my new vest. Those of you who have taken a hard shot to the throat or collarbone know that it can hurt and this detail on the vest protects those areas. Combine the vest with their mask that has a low "lip" and your throat will be well protected! 

Short-sleeved version of the vest.

On the long sleeved vest there are also built in pads for your elbows which is really clever. You won't have to use specific elbow protectors when using the long sleeved version, however if you chose the short-sleeved vest, Blindsave have made really nice elbow protectors as well.

The fabric that holds the vest together is very elastic and thin which gives an agile feel to it and there are holes under the arms to further reduce movement restrictions as well as provide some much needed ventilation for your armpits. 

I have tested the rebound control of the vest many times and I have now managed to capture it on camera. You no longer have to take my word for it, have a look for yourself! Here is a video of me taking shots from a Swedish Super League player.

At first, the vest can feel a little clunky and/or stiff but the material in the vest softens with heat so when you start playing with it, it loosens up. Any stiffness you might feel will be completely removed when you get warm and you don't notice the vest at all while playing until you take a shot the stomach and realize how little you felt it.

These two gear pieces give me the, in my opinion most important effect - they make me feel well protected. Since my move to Göteborg I have had several opportunities to take shots from SSL-players and I can now comfortably say that the vest effectively dampens the hits from hard shots.

There is actually another thing to this vest. It looks good.

"Why does it matter how a vest looks?"

As I wrote earlier, your confidence is increased by feeling safe when going in the net but it has also been proven that you get a confidence boost by feeling confident with what you wear and this applies to the floorball court as well. If you can get changed with your team and proudly walk around with only the inner layer on only to then put on an even more good looking outer layer you will consciously or subconsciously get a boost in confidence. A confidence which you will take with you to the practice or game!


I think this is enough rambling from me. It is time to make room for a good friend who guards the net in the Swiss national team and will give us his thoughts on the vest - #30 Pascal Meier!

"Damn this is good."

Our conversation starts with me expressing my satisfaction with the vest and Meier agrees.

- "Andis hit me up last year and asked if I wanted to try out their vest, but since I am a guy who doesn't like to change his gear mid-season I said yes to his offer but said I probably won't wear it until after the season. I got the vest in November, tried it out at a practice and immediately thought "damn, this is good!." I played the rest of the season and the entire world championship with it and never changed back to my old vest and I never will. When I showed the vest to the second goalie in my Swiss team, Grasshopper Club Zürich, he said he wanted one as well!"

I have heard people say that they prefer a thinner vest to better feel where the ball hits and thus be able to read where the rebound is going to go. Even if it hurts more, many prefer that because of the short rebound a thin vest gives.

-" I know exactly what they mean." says Meier. "I wanted to feel where the ball hit before too because I then knew where the rebound would go, even if it could occasionally hurt more. But since I started using Blindsaves vest I noticed how I got the same rebound effect but without any pain. Because of the rebound control in the vest the ball never goes far and I can always be prepared for a short rebound and at the same time feel well protected. That is the best thing about the vest - you feel big in it and the rebound dies!"

"The short sleeve was a little too long."

Which version of the vest do you use?

- "I use the short sleeved vest. I like having my arms free so I actually cut the arms of the vest even shorter, I do this with my jerseys as well to get as little movement restrictions as possible. Instead of the long sleeved versions built-in elbow protectors I am using external protectors of the brand "Rehband. To me, it doesen't matter at all how I look, the most important thing is that I am comfortable in my gear. Anything other that that is just a bonus!"

Andis himself points out that the vest can be stiff and kind of big at first. Is this something you have noticed?

- "No, I don't notice that at all. At first I thought it was a little big but I only think that is a good thing, if you feel big you will become bigger automatically. Once you start using the vest you will notice that it is in fact very agile. It was the same thing with my iPhone 6 when it was new, I thought it was too big but after only a little while you won't think about the size and just be happy with the phone instead!"

#proudtobeagoalie

That is all for now. A big thanks to all you readers, thanks to Pascal for taking the time and thanks to Andis for making this gear.

I will be making more reviews of Blindsave gear in the future. If you have any questions about the gear or about goaltending? Holler at me through e-mail: pontusboman@malvaktsfokus.se or in the comments here on the blog!

Watch Andis demonstrate his vest here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I22alECTws
Also have a look at Blindsaves website and social media through the links below!

www.blindsave.com
www.facebook.com/blindsave
www.instagram.com/blindsave

Peace!