Retro Helmets

Check out these limited edition “Retro” helmet produced exclusively for Barrington Sports, UK.

retro-helmets

Clean crisp classic looking helmets with no fuss.  The OBO CK helmet offers unrivaled protection at the highest level of the game. Replacing the coveted Union Jack helmet these retro helmets will help you keep your head!

Link to page on Barrington’s website

Info on the CK
Made from Carbon, Kevlar and specially formulated flexible resins; with a gel coat for maximum protection and durability. There are many features that make this helmet a popular choice for goal keepers. The angular shaping provides strength and ball deflection while closed cell polyethylene foam lines the helmet for a soft comfortable fit. It comes with a high carbon steel wire cage which enhances visibility using large eye holes, a fully adjustable five point back plate, and it’s very own carry bag. Available in two sizes – the perfect size can be determined by two measurements (Temple to temple / Top of the head to the chin):

Medium
Width between 135mm and 150mm
Length between 225mm and 235mm

Large
Width larger than 150mm
Length greater than 240mm

Got this helmet? Give us a picture of you in your gear and we will  upload it to this article.

ROBO Fact and Feature Sheets

ROBO Fact and Feature Downloads.

robo

Download the fact and feature sheets below;

robo-hi-control-kickers
ROBO hi control kickers

robo-hi-control-legguards
ROBO hi control legguards

robo-hi-rebound-kickers
ROBO hi rebound kickers

robo-hi-rebound-legguards
ROBO hi rebound legguards

robo-body-armour
ROBO body armour

robo-helmets
ROBO helmet

robo-hotpants
ROBO hotpants

robo-waterproof-mesh-overpants
ROBO waterproof mesh overpants

robo-hi-rebound-rhp
ROBO hi rebound right hand protector, page 1 (5.80 MB)
ROBO hi rebound right hand protector, page 2 (5.82 MB)

Knees Up Review By Alistair McGregor

Alistair McGregor
Alistair McGregor is the current Loughborough Students and Great Britain goalkeeper. As an OBO sponsored player has requested to test out the Knees Up knee protector…here is his review:

“I have been using the knee pads for the past few months now and have been very impressed by them. I got a direct hit off them during a shooting session, obviously at the time the initial impact still hurt, however i was able to continue with the session. Having been hit on the knee before with other knee pads i have suffered a bit of stiffness from the impact. I feel that with the OBO knee pads that the stiffness from the injury was far less and only received a very small mark were the ball hit me. The foam in the knee pads seemed to dispel a lot of the impact of the shot. I fully appreciate that the thickness of the foam is difficult to get right, i feel that this is very close to being an excellent knee pad. The knee pads sit well with the shorts and the open knee area helps to keep them in place. A possible addition could be a plastic/harder thin material inside the knee pad to provide even greater protection.”

Knees Up

” The knee pads do hold the water quite a lot when wet, however overall I have been very impressed with the knee pads and will be using them in the Olympics. I feel that the knee pads give me that little bit of extra confidence when facing some of the hardest hitters of the ball in the world.”

Thanks for all your support,

Ali

Hi-Rebound Kit Report

SP Kit Report by Jimi Lewis of the GB Mens’ Team

SP Kit Report by Jimi Lewis of the GB Mens’ Team

robo legguards

– SP Pads.

The new design of pads is absolutely wicked – it combines the ultimate in protection, movement, comfort, technology and last, but by no means the least, STYLE!! I think this design is a giant leap forward, not just for OBO as a company, but for us GK’s too. Although the original style pads were groundbreaking and revolutionised hockey goalkeeping they needed updating and modernising. I found with the old style pad that shots across my body would tend to skid off the pad when I was full stretch, not anymore they don’t, now the flat edge of the pad not only blocks the ball but also guides it away safely to the side. Whoever thought of making the pads half HR and half HC is an absolute GENIUS!! Shots across the body or to side can be deflected away in a totally controlled manner and yet I still get the power and pace off the inside of the pad for the shot that comes down the middle of the goal, you know the 1 that goes through your legs sometimes and makes you look like an idiot!! The new SP pads have even stopped me getting nutmegged so often thanks to the new straight-lined shape of the inside. I’m naturally bowed legged (only slightly) so this coupled with the in and out design of the originals led to me letting a few shots through my legs and cries of “shut those taxi doors” from my team mates, but thankfully those days are long gone and now those shots go out faster than they came in!! Now that’s what I’d call modernisation!!!!

In brief the pads have more surface area to save shots with, no more shots skidding off the pad when at full stretch, I’d like to say ‘no more’ but I‘ll have to be honest and say ‘less’ shots going between the legs (it still happens occasionally, no more blaming the pads now though), a mixture of HC and HR (genius) and still I get the comfort and range of movement that you only get with OBO pads.

stick-and-glove

– SP Hand Protectors

Although the change to the left hand glove is only to turn it from HC to HR I’ve found that it makes a hell of a difference to how I’m able to clear the ball to safety. Whereas before I either had to play my hand towards the shot to get enough rebound off the glove to direct the ball to a safe area now all I need to do is angle my hand towards where I want the ball to go and glove does the work for me. This makes my job a lot easier as we all know the speeds shots can travel these days (especially with the introduction of composite sticks into our game – whoever thought of that has a lot to answer for!!) which means our reaction time is less so just being able to get your hand to the shot is a hard enough task, let alone then trying to play at it to clear it to safety. So the new left hand glove allows me to concentrate solely on saving the shot safe in the knowledge that the HR design will do the rest for me.

Don’t know if I should mention say what I’m about to say on this site or not, but here goes anyway – I’ve always been a big fan of the TK right hand glove, I’ve always thought it’s design to be almost perfect, it’s only downfalls are you can’t get any movement with your wrist or hand and also when you put your hand to the floor the stick points up to the sky. Not the greatest angle for your stick to be when you’re trying to keep out a 100mph PC strike!!

So it’s with great pleasure that I can tell you that the new OBO SP right hand glove has neither of these design faults and has helped me to save shots that I couldn’t with the old style glove. I like to try to use my stick as an extension of my arm (i.e. keep it at the same angle as my forearm so when I reach for a save with my stick it’s like trying to save with my right hand but only about 18 inches longer. This I feel improves my hand eye co-ordination and reflexes) which means with the new SP glove I now have a big flat surface area to save the ball with and as I don’t where any arm/elbow protection the glove now covers most of my forearm, which is a godsend because it means no more big black and blue bruises up my arm!! The stick angle is very good too and I have no problems getting my stick down to low hits or flicks at PC’s or when smothering 1v1. If you’re a die-hard fan of the old style glove and you’re thinking of changing to the new SP then theirs is only 1 slightly negative factor that I can comment on – hand/wrist movement. Although the SP isn’t in the (here’s that word again) ‘TK’ league of non-movement it is more restrictive than the old style OBO right hand, but given a bit of time/practise (or a swish or 2 of a Stanley Knife) then this problem will soon become no more and leave to enjoy the confidence and ability to save a whole manner of shots with you’re new goalkeeping accessory!

In brief – the right hand gives more surface area to save shots with, more confidence and protection to make those saves, (forgot to mention this – it’s much lighter for quicker hands), but offers a little less movement than the old style.

The left hand gives much more rebound so you can concentrate on getting your hand to the shot and not worry so much about trying to control it to clear or clearing it 1st time.

Enjoy your keeping,

Kisses Jimi Lewis X

Suggestions For Using The Hi-Rebound RHP On The Ground by Roland Löwe

The robo SP right hand protector has been designed for an upright style of play however it can still be used successfully for ground defence. Roland Löwe outlines techniques for effectively using the new hand protector on the ground.

There are two major positions for using the SP RHP on the ground:

1. Long forehand slide or penalty corner defence:
– as the glove contacts the ground the glove is able to rotate to the most suitable position for play on the ground.
– the longer you stretch your arm the more the glove rotates right into the final position as seen in the picture.
– inside the glove your hand rotates left into the opposite direction to keep the stick in the right position.
– if you stand up again the glove and stick rotate back into the normal position.

Long forehand slide

2. Sliding backhand tackle:
– for the sliding backhand tackle you use the the sliding part of you glove.
– the glove stays in the normal position.
– rotate the stick to the left to get into the backhand postion.
– press the top of the stick on the ground so that you do not lose contact.
– this kind of tackle allows you to play the ball with your stick or glove.

Sliding backhand tackle

Product Review by George Pinner

George Pinner is a sponsored OBO player. In this review he provides his feedback on the Hi Rebound gear and his painted helmet.

George Pinner is a sponsored OBO player. In this review he provides his feedback on the Hi Rebound gear and his painted helmet.

Hi Rebound Kickers

robo kickers

OBO are the first and only company that make kickers that fit my size 12 feet properly. All other companies just increase their kickers length ways rather than the whole dimensions like Obo. Therefore the Obo kickers offer better protection and fit me better too. The Kickers are also a lot more hard wearing, my previous kickers were made by gluing foam together and so after only 3 training sessions they were starting to come apart. The rebound of my new Hi Rebound kickers is much more consistent than I have ever experienced, the rebound on my previous kickers used to vary from day today and was never as strong. Another great plus point about the Kickers is the straps. It’s the first time I have ever been able to do my kickers up really tight and have them stay like that for a whole game! I am also delighted at the way the Obo kickers sit flat to the ground, my previous Mercian kickers had about a inch gap between the kicker and the ground so it was very painful if I got a ball near the end of the kicker. The new softer tongues also caused no problems to my shins. I just taped them down over night and they were fine the next day.

Hi Rebound Legguards

robo legguards

The main thing I love about the Hi Rebound legguards are the wings. Being a goalkeeper that in the past has suffered the ill fate of collapsible wings I love the way the wings stop the ball when logging for shorts. I am also a big fan of the tongue system, which means the pads don’t twist. My previous legguards used a strap to join the legguards and kickers but it still lead to a bit of twisting, which was annoying, as I had to keep twisting them back after every slide. The other great thing about them is on my old pads I regularly got balls stuck between pad and kicker, the new Hi Rebound’s don’t let this happen, the ball pings back out to safety instead! I also like the new shape of the pads, they are a more rectangular shape which I am a fan of. It did take a while to get used to sliding in them but they now work extremely well. The smooth surface they have means they slide very easily, unlike my old pads, which had designs on the front that meant sliding wasn’t very good. The new shape Hi Rebound’s also mean I can slide much easier and can slide in the new L shape position much easier and get to my feet quicker. The legguards also fit me a lot better than other companies do. They come up above my knee, which is great, as before I had to wear kneepads but the Hi Rebound’s mean I don’t! They are also a lot harder wearing, the foam doesn’t get chunks taken out of it really easily like my Mercian stuff did. The new two-type foam is also great as I get great control when sliding out and logging, but get good quality and constant rebound when I make a Legguard save! The softer foam where your calf sits is also great as this was something in the past I had preferred on other brands kit, but obo have obviously seen this and added it to their new pads.

Hi Rebound Left hand Protector

left-hand-protector

I love it, what more can I say! It covers my lower arm which me previous gloves never did, this is great as I wear elbow pads so this means I only have a tiny gap between my glove and elbow pad. I also love the powerful rebound its fantastic for clearing those lifted shots. I also find I have much greater movement than I did with my old glove which is a really important factor.

The thing I love most about the new Hi Rebound range is that it does everything I want it to do as a goalie. I want my kickers to give me large amounts of rebound so I can clear shots really fast, the new Hi Rebound kickers do this. I want legguards to offer a really big surface area yet still be able to move freely, I also want high rebound but at other times great control, yet again the new Hi Rebound’s do this. The left hand glove also gives me great rebound so I can save shots as quick as they come at me!

CK custom helmet

helmet

I love my helmet, its about one year old now but is still as good as new. I previously used the bauer helmets and the slazenger one, neither can even compare. The obo fits my head really well, it covers my whole head offering great protection but is still just as light as my old one. I have had a 90 mph ball in the visor and it just pinged right off it. No headache no nothing! Having undergone rigorous shots to all parts of it, it hasn’t weakened in any way; it’s a great helmet. The graphics are also great on the custom painted helmets, as we all know looking great is important!

Threading Your Robo/Cloud/Yahoo/OGO Legguards

The first thing you should do is nothing! Don’t even remove the old straps, because you can use them as a threader instead of having to make one yourself.

If you’ve already removed the old straps then you’ll need to follow the steps outlined below.

The first thing you should do is nothing! Don’t even remove the old straps, because you can use them as a threader instead of having to make one yourself.

If you’ve already removed the old straps then you’ll need to follow the steps outlined below.

Otherwise, remove the male component of the clip from one end of the strap and cut the buckle off the other, without removing the straps from the legguards. Then all you need to do is staple your new straps onto the old ones and pull them through. Have a look at steps 6-8 below. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

legguard01

Here’s what you need: a legguard of course, your new set of straps and a device to help you get those straps through those channels. Note that both male and female components of the clip are at one end of the strap.

legguard02

This is what we use at the OBO factory…. a threader! It’s a piece of flexible plastic, flexible enough to easily pass through the curved shape of the channel, but not so flexible that it snaps on you when you are half way through the process. We’ve sewn a piece of black nylon webbing onto the plastic. We’ve then sewn a piece of terracotta fabric to the black webbing. The legguard strap is then placed between the two ends of the terracotta fabric as shown by the red arrow. This helps the strap travel relatively easily through the channel.

The reason we use a plastic threader is because we need to thread hundreds of legguards. To thread a single legguard Jon O’Haire reckons a piece of 1″ cardboard with a pointy end will do the trick.

legguard03

Thread the plastic into the channel on the ‘wing’ side of the legguard. (This is a left legguard. The top of the legguard is to the left of the picture)

legguard04

Thread the plastic all the way through the channel until the tip of the threader appears at the channel exit as shown by the red arrow. You may need to assist the threader through the exit with a finger.

legguard05

Pull the threader almost all the way through the channel. Leave enough of the black webbing and terracotta fabric showing outside the channel so that you can attach the legguard strap to the threader.

legguard06

Staple the legguard strap between the two ends of the terracotta fabric of the threader (check out image 2 above to refresh your memory of what we mean if you need to). Use two staples if you’re not convinced it will hold but you should only need one. The insert in the image above shows how the legguard strap is folded over on itself and sewn at one end. We staple the legguard strap into the threader with the folded end down so that the OBO logo on the clip faces outwards. (Okay…. a fairly
minor point I know, but it’s a little detail we always remember.)

legguard07

Pull the rest of the threader, with legguard strap attached, gently through the channel. If you go too fast the strap will probably come off the threader part way through the channel. You can just see the end of the strap exiting the channel in the image above.

legguard08

All that remains is to attach the male component of the clip to the other end of the strap. That’s it, real easy, especially after you’ve done several hundred like we have at the OBO factory!