PRODUCT – Page 8

‘Tubigrips’

With ‘going Dutch’ and padding down for greater flexibility in save making, the skin is left vulnerable to getting shredded on tough sand based pitches. As has been said goalkeepers are amazing people! Ingeniously, some keepers have come up with the idea of wearing medical tubular bandages; allowing them to protect their skin without losing any mobility at the elbow for those all important reflex glove saves.

What with goalkeepers being amazing people, there are a few tricks used to match the way they play. Given that ‘going Dutch’ when playing on nasty surfaces and sliding around can give you the result of some dodgy turf burns, some keepers have attempted to find a suitable solution. This innovative method makes use of the support bandages used for sports injury rehab, which are readily available in pharmacies, to counter the effects of a dodgy pitch surface.

Whilst some ‘keepers wear elbow guards purely to prevent being ‘skinned’ when diving or sliding out along the pitch, the tubigrip allows the goalkeeper to cover the bare elbow skin without compromising movement; leaving the elbow with full freedom of movement for those dramatic reflex saves.

Where do I get them?

You can easily get tubigrips at pharmaceutical stores or chemist’s (like Boots over here in the UK), and general health shops. If you don’t want the hassle of popping down to the local chemist’s and prefer the Internet sales, as well as being able to get it delivered to your door, then you can shop online! Go onto Google or Ebay and simply search for ‘tubigrip’ or ‘tubular bandage’ from health store websites.

Cutting to size

The tubi-grip is supplied as one long length, which you will need to cut down to size. The grip itself needs to double back over itself to provide an extra layer (for greater coverage, and a thicker barrier, against the pitch) and maintain the elastic springiness that keeps it in place. 15 centimetres is a suitable length of ample coverage for the elbow, so you will want to cut the length to approximately 30 centimetres long for one elbow. Measure out the required length, and then evenly cut across the width to give yourself a new elbow cover. Material scissors work better, but any scissors should do.

Wearing them

When putting it on, the tubigrip easily slips onto the arm. Put the grip on as the full length, covering the elbow, and then fold it back on itself to double-up (with equal length covering before and after the elbow, for extra surface protection for the skin around the elbow). As mentioned, halving it, as suggested by the company information, gives a stronger ‘wrap’ around the arm, as well as providing an extra layer of protection for the skin.

How you play will often dictate how you use them:

A lot of keepers wear just one on their left arm, as they leave the glove arm unprotected for extra movement in directing and controlling the ball on a glove save; covering up the right with an elbow pad.
If you ‘go Dutch’, then you’ll want to cover up the right elbow, to slide on, as you haven’t got an elbow pad on to protect your skin from burns.
If you tend to slide on your left as well (especially when block sliding to the left), or are quite acrobatic and athletic; flinging yourself around to intercept or disrupt plays, then it is a good idea to cover up both elbows to protect them from turf burns.

Putting them over elbow pads

A further optional use for tubigrips is to wear them over elbow pads; this way they act as a barrier between the pitch surface, to protect and prevent the elbow pad from wearing down so easily when sliding. If you wear sleeveless jerseys, then the padding is left uncovered and can get worn out when rubbing with the pitch. I have previously worn elbow guards, which easily get shredded and worn out when sliding around on a sand based pitch.

When sizing the tubigrip to match the elbow pad, you need to take into consideration its size (measuring the pad length, and then doubling that for the needed overlap of the second layer when folding). To match the width, check how flexible the grip is to make sure you can stretch it over the elbow pad.

When wearing the grip over the elbow pad; kit up normally, putting the elbow pad on, and then slide the grip over the elbow pad with the help of your free arm. You can then peel it off and remove it, after the game has ended.

It is also possible to wear tubigrips over the arm pads (to cover pads if you wear a short sleeve smock); you will have to cut the grip longer to cover the arm pad (to reach the sleeve on the jersey).

Looking after them

Remember to wash them afterwards to keep them nice and clean, as well as getting rid of dirt, bacteria and the like! Tubigrips cannot be machine washed because of the materials they are made of, which would get destroyed in the heat of a machine wash (like polyamide).

It is best to wash them by hand, as instructed by the details on the pack they come in. Fill a bucket with cold or luke warm water and washing powder (or the hand wash option on your washing machine, if you have it), and then soak and scrub them clean. Leave them out to dry to get rid of the sweat; you can use air freshener (like “Fabreeze”) for the smell!

Picture of the Old Loughtonians’ keeper (second photo, in TK kit) comes from Richard “the hockey nut”‘s website www.thehockeynut.co.uk

Chest pads

The foam chest pad offers the goalkeeper basic protection to their upper body, whilst providing them with flexible options as to how they ‘pad up’. Unlike full body armour, chest pads do not have shoulder protection or arm pads attached, allowing the keeper to choose protective options to suit their style, such as wearing elbow pads alongside the body pad instead of full arms.

There are a lot of goalkeepers, who play with a basic chest or body pad, allowing them the freedom of movement to make reactive saves on the play, with the extended ability to circulate their shoulder joints and move freely without stiff arm pads limiting extension of the arms. Generally made out of foam type materials, but increasingly using harder plastic padding for higher levels of play, they feature a basic plate to cover the body, with straps around your back and arms to secure it in place.

If the chest pad does not cover your ribs or abdomen properly, especially if there is a gap between it and your shorts (which can leave you vulnerable when exposed on plays where the play is tight and the shooter has the time to ‘wind up’ on their shot, like a close in, raised shot from about 5 feet away, with potential bruising or being ‘winded’ on the shot), then you may want to look for better padding.

Consider your options when purchasing – don’t just go for a chest pad because you like its price; the cheaper they are, the less foam there is. The cost reflects the thickness of the foam and you want something with a suitable degree of protection to look after your important internal organs and prevent broken ribs. At low levels, for youngsters who will not face hard shots to these scary areas, and beginners who may not decide to play the position long, these are great, but don’t put yourself in pointless danger.

Common manufacturers include all the main companies, like Monarch, Mercian, and Grays in the UK, along with Mazon (Australia), and Brabo (the Netherlands), providing general foam padding chest pads for lower level games. Mercian’s old T-pro plate design (which is now outdated as the manufacturing machine broke) offers a hard plastic sheet for shot stopping, with added abdominal guards for extra protection to the stomach area.

TK produces a far more protective international version, based on segmented plastic square inserts covering the body, which ‘block’ the ball, absorbing the impact of the ball, by ‘spreading’ out the force of the shot. The thick plastic means there is more behind it, compared to thin foam.

Obo’s chest pad design (which comes separately to the arm pads) uses high density foam for maximum protection in order to absorb the impact of the shot; more vulnerable areas have dual density foam. Its design incorporates 38 individual inserts, which means that there is no ‘bunching’ (that would otherwise compromise flexible movement) when moving, or lying down against a shot.

Pros

Affordable prices
Cushions the direct shot, if the ball is missed by the gloves
Size and shape means they do not interfere with padded shorts, so no movement problems
Increased arm movement, as they are free from disruption by integrated arm pads or wraparound shoulder padding
Lighter, meaning reduced weight for the goalkeeper, enabling them to be quicker around the D

Cons

Often no coverage of the shoulders (shoulder caps normally combined with and worn underneath for extra protection)
Ribs can sometimes lack coverage, putting the wearer in danger
Foam thickness varies and can often be fairly thin, so it is important to match that to your level of play when purchasing – against hard shots, the goalkeeper could end up with bruised ribs or bruising to the stomach otherwise

Hockey OBO Apparel

Have there ever been – or thought about producing OBO clothing apparel? Jumpers, Jackets etc? I for one would love to have them (proud to be a keeper and proud of my sport) and show off/advertise it 🙂

Jumpers would go down well, same with t-shirts to wear under the chest guard etc…

Any one else think this is a great idea??

Cheers!

Difference Between CK , and FG helmets

Hi all I’m in need of a new helmet soon and I’m looking at either getting another CK or an FG , the CK I got now has served me pretty awesomly , but now I see there is the fiberglass one too now , whats the major differences between the two ? besides one is CK and the other is FG ( the stuff they made from)

Robo Body Armour Modifications

Next came the most painful and bloody part of the modification, yes ladies I can sew 😉 I’m domesticated.

Hey everyone this is obviously my first post on the resources (most of you probably know the username/name from FHF)

I didn’t want to write this review as part of the competition as I kind of see it as more of a rant than a review, but hey enough talk time to stop boring you people.

Right well it all started one training session when I coped a rather nasty shot on my right shoulder, the body armour did it’s job of protecting me from serious harm. However I started feeling more and more uneasy with shots in the shoulder region to the point of flincting when a ball went there.

Fearing that I had lost a lot of confidence I decided to try other brands of equipment in shops to see what felt better and a bit more solid around the shoulders. I was amazed to find that nothing on the market at the time had solid shoulder protection. I found my old ice hockey style protector (mercian shoulder caps) and thought “hey I wonder how they would work together.” Safe to say having both on was silly.

I then decided modification was the key, I then chopped off both shoulders of the Robo armour and carefully removed the shoulder caps off the mercian shoulder caps. I then removed the hard protective foam across the top of the remaining parts of the BA, making the BA look like a vest haha.

Next came the most painful and bloody part of the modification, yes ladies I can sew and I did sew the mercian shoulder caps on to the BA. Looking rather messy I made some covers for the shoulders which I later removed cos they was PANTS!

The last thing I did was resew the arm attachement velcro or whatever it is to the shoulders to allow the arms to be attached again.

Finally my mod was done, I felt like a tank but as fast as a shit off a shovel. It also gave me a massive confidence boost not only in my goalkeeping but in life as it gave me the drive to get properly creative again, which really helped my job too (web design.)

I hope I entertained you for a small amount of time, or if I bored you sorry, but you could have clicked off!

🙂

I hope that the new generation of OBO Robo Armour can be reinforced up in the shoulder department.

Anyway take care and happy keeping!

Girdles

The alternative upper leg coverage available to goalkeepers, rather than wearing padded shorts, are girdles. Rather than having main padding to the front of the short, the padding is spread right around the leg and hips, conforming to the body shape as the layering develops. High density foam is used throughout, giving you suitable protection.

A lot of field hockey companies, getting in on the act of selling goalkeeper gear, now produce girdles specific to the position; often cloning old versions and adding new sections. Unlike shorts, girdles give extra protection to the upper thigh area, conforming to leg pads to allow most possible movement, making them great for reflex orientated goalkeepers who prefer to dive around acrobatically, and aggressive goalkeepers who need to charge down a player in challenging the ball.

There are a few girdles on the market, as produced by Gryphon and Grays.

There are also older ice hockey versions that are available and work the same, such as Bauer’s. Girdles used to be, and still are, used by ice hockey players, with girdles worn as padded shorts, because of the design for fuller movement with protection in mind. Girdles are also produced for inline hockey (the type of ice hockey played on an indoor court), which can be worn for upper leg protection.

Pros

More protection to upper thigh
Specifically suited to modern goalkeeper’s needs
Extra movement, with padding moulding to body shape
Layered padding provides padding to vulnerable areas

Cons

Inner thigh area is missing or the protection is reduced (allowing for greater movement) – vulnerable to shots there

Review of Hi-Control RHP

hmmm so i got this Little piece of kit back in 2006 , and honestly it was not my 1st choice, i wanted the hi control robo RHP, but my current glove( yes those good old leather ones) didnt work at all and my local supplier was out of the robo hi-control ones, so i ordered the hi-rebound.(SP then)

robo-hi-rebound-rhp
At 1st after a few practices with it i really did not enjoy using it , i am a keeper who likes to slide and am rather agressive. the glove made slide takling with the stick hard and logging.
That all changed after a went onto the obo site and wached some video’s or was it looked at some pictures( it was a while ago) and they explained how you need to change the style of play for this little beauty, i also found out that the inner pieace right by your hand can come out.
After removing the innner pieace and trying this new technique i was blown away…
the glove works just as well on the ground as the hi-control, but it also has the hi-rebound characteristic.
its also alot larger and on a few occasions has helped me make some awesome top right drag saves.
The glove may be large but its not a replacement for the LHP as you dont have as much controlle and you feel a hard hit ball through it alot more than the left, having said that it comes in handy (no pun intended) for those quick reflex saves.
ITs a very durable glove too iv had it for 3 yrs of constant battering and only now has the top opening started to tear. easily fixed with some glue though .

In generall its an awesome piece of kit, it takes some getting used too ,but once you know how to handel it it works really well and i more than happy with it.

Review Your Kit Competition Winners

review-your-kit-competition

The Review your kit Competition has now closed, but we and other people around the world really value your reviews of kit; so keep sharing, contributing and enjoying. See this link to view all the competition reviews.

We requested creativity in how the content was displayed along with some straight talking on what you really think of OBO products.

After much discussion we would now like to announce the 5 winning articles;

Review: Robo Bodi Arma by CormacDC

OBO comment; Favorite quote – “It glistened like nose hair after a sneeze.”

Review of CLOUD Hotpants by Folmer

OBO comment; Good real review with good constructive criticism. Maybe we need to develop the Cloud hotpants.

Review of Robo Hi Control RHP by Kanuckkeeper

OBO comment; liked the use of video.

OBO Cloud Leg-guards Review In A Short Story by danni

OBO comment; good creative story.

OGO Kickers Review by Ozzie

OBO comment; pleased that someone thinks OGO is misunderstood.

If your review was selected as a winning review we will be in touch via e-mail.

Thanks,

The OBO Team

Stripper shorts

With recent strides in technology and production, hockey kit producers have been able to design a pair of shorts that best suits the goalkeeper’s needs; using strips of strong foam around the leg (with thick padding at the hip and body area to cover when sliding or going down to block), providing a hybrid of quality protection with the flexibility needed for explosive movements in jumping or diving, as well as helping leg movements for kicking, given the active nature of the position.

The ‘stripper’ short design has pieces of foam that wrap around the keeper’s leg to fix to the individual’s leg width (for best fit), with a velcro strapping system to hold them in place, leaving gaps around the groin/thigh to allow for the groin guard to fit within the shape without interference (as shorts can often become tighter as they stretch to fit the jock; limiting your chance to move), which maximises the movement possible for forward and sideward drives. There is thinner and flexible padding inside to cover the inner thigh and groin as well.

Obo’s Hot Pants design is the pioneer of this unique design, matching the keeper’s playing needs for enhanced movement as well as strong protection. The TK GX 1 padded short, is actually a stripper short, with the leg padding attaching together separately. Gryphon have also produced something similar, as have Monarch, along with Mercian’s international shorts.

strip_short

Pros

High level of protection for the top levels of play
Work well with the keeper’s ‘box’ to help stop possible interference when moving
Great speed of movement provided, without the cost of shot stopping safety
Easier to take off and put on when padding up due to the strapping design of linking the parts together – you can ‘tie them’ on when standing, rather than having to pull on the shorts!

Cons

Only problem is the cost!

Padded shorts

Padded shorts are the basic type of lower body protection; hard foam padding or strong plastic are sewn into the shorts. Unlike girdles, the shorts do not cover the whole of the upper legs, but do give considerable protection to the lower area above the pad.

What with the game and technology constantly evolving, field hockey companies are now producing padded shorts, taking the model and design of ice hockey shorts (their equipment predating ours), and adapting it to suit the game. The shorts mainly have two large ‘blocks’ of strong plastic, with padding around the joins.

There is greater movement as the shorts are baggier and roomy for more active leg movements, such as when shuffling across, or launching off for an aerial save. There is thin and flexible padding to the inner leg, making movement considerably less restricted, making them very suitable to fast and active goalkeepers.

They also have padding to specific areas like the sides and upper leg areas, making use of square sheets of shatter proof, moulded plastics. The main manufacturers, TK, have a basic model graded for different levels of play, whilst Grays have their own make, with a more circular mould to the lower leg. The Cloud shorts are probably the closest thing to a specifically padded short that are made by Obo.

Pros

Pads cover the upper leg area well
Strong level of protection to go down against shots in a logging position
Suitable prices

Cons

Padding not layered strongly in outside areas (i.e. hips)
Restricted movement
Only padding to the legs – lack of protection to the inner areas (possible painful shots)