Category: OBO

A collection of product reviews on OBO products – from ROBO to OGO

OBO Hi-Control Legguard’s Review

hi-control-legguards

When I purchased my Hi-Control legguards (in my first ever Obo spending spree), I wasn’t sure what to expect- apart from I had heard great things about them from other keepers. I find the hi-controls easy to run in and move about in but overall I was impressed by them because rebound is very good and the ball ends up being in a perfect place away from the attackers.

In the women’s league that I play in the shots are very powerful so the rebound comes into use/effect. I am only 14 so I have to play junior hockey as well for my school, where the shots have almost no power in them, the ball just falls to the ground (off the legguard) where I can kick it away. At first I wasn’t sure about how to effectively control the ball away but over the last few months I have learn’t to control the ball away from the attacker(s). The legguards fit onto my legs and over my Hi-Rebound kickers perfectly and they don’t twist when I dive or get up from a dive. When I am landing from a dive they protect my knees and other bones well (especially compared to other brands gear. A year ago I dislocated my knee from a high, dive landing in my old kit!!)

To improve the legguards I would make them in a numerous amount of colours and I would make the part where you put your leg, about 5cm shorter because sometimes it (depending on what shorts you wear) is a tight fit to have the legguards and the shorts in the right pace because they overlap. I can’t really think of anything else to improve them because overall they fulfill my needs. I haven’t tried the Hi-rebound legguards but at the moment so I can  not compare but compared to my previous legguards that I have used (such as: TK GX4, Slazenger school goalie kit, and the Grays G200) they are absolutely brilliant.

Alton Womens Goalie

OBO PE Helmet Review

I have chosen to write a review on my PE helmet.

To start off, before purchasing this helmet I used to play in a very mediocre lid, Not going to name names : )

I purchased this helmet at the start of this season and from the moment I took it out of the box I loved it. When I first picked it up I was surprised at the weight of it! sooo light compared to my other lid.

First things first, once opening the box I couldn’t wait to try it on, From box to head was almost a perfect fit without adjusting a thing! I tinkered with the straps a little to get it to the right tightness which took no time at all! This was the first time I’d had a helmet fit perfectly directly from the box without a lot of tinkerage.

Next thing to do was add the stickers, I may be 18 but stickers are always fun to play with whatever your age. OBO provide just the right amount of stickers for the lid and even give you a little template to follow if you don’t have an idea on where to stick them. I spent a while customizing until I was happy with the look, here are a few pictures of it : )

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Once all the tightening and stickering was done I tried the helmet on with my body armour, My previous helmet used to catch on my body armour when lowering my head a little… Not a problem at all with this helmet.. I was soo chuffed as it was soo damn annoying with the previous helmet!

Next thing to note is the vision! Referring to my old helmet first, the vision was unbelievably poor, the bars of the grill were in the totally wrong place and I had to wear the helmet in the un-correct way to be able to get a good line of sight! The new helmet tho.. what an improvement!  No wearing the helmet in a way it isn’t supposed to be worn, no adjusting of the grill.. just a perfect line of vision.. the first time for a few seasons.

Next The comfort of the helmet. The thickness of the foam could be improved (made a little thicker) But apart from that it was the most comfortable helmet I’d tried on. The velcro tabs that hold the sweat band on are a good idea but after a few uses (and a lot of sweat) the velcro lost its stickiness and fell off. Not really an issue to me as I was considering changing it from two squares of velcro to one long strip anyway. Previous helmets have given me really bad headaches as they were too tight in certain places, such as the temple. This is not an issue with the PE helmet, its really comfortable.

Protection.

I have taken many hits to this helmet, a few to the temple and a few to the front of the grill and not felt a thing.. the only thing I would say is be prepared for the ringing in your ears when you get hit as it makes a really loud noise, I think this is due to the materials used. In the previous helmet I was scared to chase down shots where I knew an undercut could be possible as the helmet didn’t fit properly, when I ran out because of the way I had to wear it, it used to slide down and my vision was severely impaired, I used to close my eyes and turn my head when a ball was coming towards me at head height as I was afraid I would get injured. Since I bought this helmet, the eye closing and head turning problem has ceased and I now try an actively charge down shots without worry.

On the protection issue, 6 games before the end of the season at a training session a ball was undercut from 6-8 foot away from me and hit me square on the left side of my face ( where the grill attaches to the helmet ) I did fall to the ground as the shot took me by surprise and I did feel the shot thru the helmet. Saying this if I hadn’t of been wearing the helmet I would have a very mashed face, the helmet did a brilliant job of protecting me and where the ball made contact with my cheek/grill it left a nasty dent but I am going to say that’s what the helmet is designed to do? it kind of reminded me of crumple zones in a car.

All in all OBO have done a great job in designing this helmet and I would totally recommend it to any player (whatever your level) and personally would buy another one tommorow!

ROBO Elbowguards Review

Here is a couple of stills and a couple of vids that are a bit tongue in cheek.


My comments are as follows…

1. Great adjustability and wearability c/o the amount and placement of the velcro strips.

2. very minor impediment to full movement.

3. Courtesy of my immense bodyweight I regularly end up with burstitis (deep haematoma around the joint) on my right elbow c/o heavy/poor landings on my elbow when diving….I know it is a technique problem but I have not been practising enough to address the poor technique. These elbow guards have negated the problem so far this season.

4. Inner elbow protection when logging is far far superior to anything I have come across before. I dont wear or buy/sell crap and I wear as well as sell these. I cant give any higher recommendation than that. I know what Mrs Animal is getting for Christmas.

ANIMAL

Camo Hi Control Gear

Here is a cheeky shot of Animal showcasing the Hi Control Camo range.

animal camo

(Please note you do not require a beard of this nature to wear this kit, although it is a nice touch!)

This kit is currently only available in Australia, and it has been well received here. What are your thoughts on the kit?

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You can get the Camo Hi Control gear including a free Camo smock as shown above from Hockey World, Australia website link here.

Ps: Good to see you have an Adult helmet now Animal!

The Worlds Smallest Keeper Uses OGO Custom Kit

Here is a nice little OBO story for you;

An OBO dad bought the smallest OBO kit possible (OBO OGO XXS) for his Son age 7. However at this age the  legguards were still too big.

At OBO HQ we got a request from dad for some foam and a few tips on how he could make smaller legguards for his son.

Check out the outcome of the custom kit below:

ogo xss

Custom XXXS legguard / OGO XXS legguad

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Custom XXXS right / OGO XXS Left

custom xxxs ogoCustom XXXS OGO

xxxs custom ogo2Custom XXXS OGO Kicker Tongue Grove

Here are dad’s comments:

“I did it! I created the smallest OGO legguards in the world, a 95%
copy of the original. Have a look on the pics I promised you (the original
is the bigger one on the right side, OGO-XXS size, also the kickers…).
The foam you sent me is fantastic. Bonding was no problem, I found a
fantastic glue. But shaping was a challenge…
My son is happy to have this equipment ready now!”

Dad
OBO Unlicensed Develop Department, GERMANY

Here are a few shots of the kit in action.

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custom ogo kit xxxs
The Worlds Smallest Keeper

xxxs ogo custom kit

ogo custom xxxs

ogo custom kit xxxs

Our goalie started his hockey career age 4 (2006) and plays for TSV Riederich, a small village near Stuttgart.His favourite movie is the DVD from the German Hockey Team while the WCC 2006, Honamas.

obo xxxs keeper ogo

Quite possibly the worlds happiest keeper – good work Dad!

OBO Elbow Guard Product Tour

Our ROBO Elbow guard is in the final stages of our βeta testing programme and we are just making the final tweaks before we launch the product. This product will in your local OBO supplier soon.

robo-elbow-guard

Here is a quick video displaying how the elbow guard is reversible so you can adjust the product to suit your style of play…. Some keepers prefer to have more protection on their forearm and others on their biceps.

I have also taken a few photos to demonstrate how the guard will work with full or half protection with Hi Control and Hi Rebound RHP’s. To view the presentation click below.

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Keep an eye out in our βeta testing section to get more views on this and other new OBO products.

Here is a link to NicfromSweeden’s review

Knees Up Knee Protector

OBO and myself (along with other keepers) have been working together to produce a knee protector that would protect the exposed top part of the knee joint. The goal for this project was to make a light weight, protective piece of equipment that didn’t hinder a keepers mobility or effect performance by being bulky and cumbersome. The knee protector had to fit in and work with a keepers leg and thigh protection and help to prevent injury to the delicate ligaments and bones found in the top of the knee joint.

I’ve been testing a prototype since Mid-March with very encouraging results. We’re at the stage where we feel we’re almost ready to take the product to market, save for a few minor tweaks here and there. I’m now at the point where I’m allowed to release images of the prototype and I would appreciate it if you could take the time to give some feedback and impressions on the design and if you would consider using it (or why you wouldn’t).

The 2016 balklänningar This is one of our best collections yet and we are very proud of this years formal dress collection!

The basic design of the knee protector is a soft foam part that wraps around the knee cap itself with a HD foam part which wraps around the thigh, snuggly covering and protecting upper part of the knee and knee ligaments. Velcro straps are used to hold the unit in place.

A view of the knee protector on the knee. As you can see, the unit sits close to the body so not to interfere with the leg guard or shorts.

Image of the knee protector with the HD Foam on the “inside” of the leg.

A view from above.

The knee protector whilst wearing SPs and Hot Pants. As you can see, the knee protector fits in the leg channel easily and under the bottom of my hot pants. Note: I like to wear my gear TIGHT and I had no problems with the knee protector making the leg guards or hot pants feel uncomfortable.

If anyone has any questions at all, please feel free to ask and I will answer them as quickly and as thoroughly as I can.

Thanks,

Zip

Check out GB Goalkeeper Ali McGregor’s review

Review of OBO ROBO elbow protectors and OBO Senior Knee protectors

Review of OBO ROBO elbow protectors and OBO Senior Knee protectors

by Niclas Franzén Swedish national goalkeeper and goalkeeper for Partille Sport Club

Please excuse my grammatical and spelling errors
This review consist of three parts “First impression”, “Review after testing” and “Pictures”

First impression

Elbow pads
At first look I was a bit confused with its “weird” design and at first try I thought they were the bulkiest pads I had ever tried BUT then I started to take a closer look at the elbow pads and noticed what I would like to call GENIOUS design! First I started by just adjusting the straps a bit and this made it fit nicer then I removed the “elbowpit”/forearm/bicep protection and I was in love basically all the bulk was gone and they fitted better with my SP gloves especially the right one and when I tried to remove the ground/inner protection the pad became even better!

I’m wearing them around the house for the moment to get used to the feeling (I have not used elbow protection for a long time so it’s a bit odd for me at first) without having a go with them in goal yet I really think OBO have designed a product that able to catch a really really wide audience. When using all protection it’s like a full arm guard and when removing the first pad it becomes a protective elbow protector and when taking the last part away it becomes a super flexible elbow protector (of course I understand that protection will not be as good but for me who is used to not having anything at all its still much better than nothing. I feel that the elbow bone is well protected and so is the forearm I think it will be great for PCs when going down because the most brittle parts of the arm is protected it’s just like I want it

The only slight downside with the pad is that I don’t think some of the elastics is tight enough when removing all the extra protection but it’s a easy fix with the good old sewing machine and maybe it says more about the size of my biceps than the product itself 😉

Kneepads
as for the kneepads they don’t hinder the movement to bad actually and after wearing them for a while they started to get the shape of my leg however I can’t get used to the straps at the back of my knee because of the straps but it might not be a issue when wearing long socks also I have yet to see how they fit with my girdle.

Review after testing

Elbowpads
First of all I want to say FINALLY a elbow protector that’s designed for fieldhockey instead of a ice hockey elbow protector sold as a fieldhockey one.
After testing the elbow pads for one and a half month I feel I can give the pads a fair review after breaking them in properly. I like these elbow pads a lot and I they are certainly the best I have ever tried I like the idea that it’s possible to remove/add protection to make them fit the needs of the user. One might like to have full protection for training but just wants to wear the “shell” for games, personally I’m extremely sensitive when it comes to bulk and for over two years I have played “dutch” and I can honestly say that these elbow pads are the only reason I have even considered moving back to joint protection. With all protection they act like a small version of the full arm guards (a pair of full arms that fits the sp RHP much better than the actual full arms) with just the inner protection added you get added protection against the ground and also against balls that hits the elbow bone. Lastly with just the “shell” you get a good hard shell with some soft damping on the inside which is the way I use them I feel it gives me the best mix of protection and flexibility the full lower arm is protection and the elbow bone which are the pars of the arm I feel the need to protect. I lent the elbow protectors to another goalkeeper in my club who normally are using full arm protection and he was impressed by the flexibility and he still felt just as confident as when he use his full arm protection so I really do believe they fit all goalkeepers from the ones who loves playing “dutch” to the ones who swears by their full arm protection it might also be a good way if you want to go down from full arm protection to more flexible protection as you can remove the extra protection when you feel confident to do so.
I would say no matter how you use them the protection is still great both against the ground and against balls the hard plastic panels combined with the soft inner makes a perfect combination.

Kneepads
When I was testing these knee protectors I never got hit so I can’t comment on the protection but I was actually surprised how flexible the kneepads were after breaking them in, I would say that they don’t hinder my movement a bit and they fitted well both with my old OBO girdle as well as the newer model so that was not really a problem. They also managed to stay in place fairly well but could move a little after making several saves in a row but it was an easy fix as soon as the ball left the circle. Personally I have had a hard time adjusting to the feel of having something around my joint and even if it does not hinder me it’s a mental block to me so personally I’m not a huge fan of these. However I would have loved these as a junior when I got hit more on my knees and I could see why goalies who slide a lot would like these but these are really for everyone because we all get forced to do some more or less “ugly saves” from time to time (I have even heard a rumor the these kneepads were the reason Ali McGregor could play on after getting hit on the knee during the Olympics). I also lent the knee pads to the same keeper in my club who got to try the elbow pads and as I write he still have not given them back to me he just loves them (mental note I have to buy a pair for him when he has his birthday so I can keep mine for myself).
I think some goalkeepers will absolutely love them and some would hate them me myself is somewhere between these two camps I can’t say I love them but I can’t say I hate them either because after all it’s a good product who are going to give many keepers out there a little more confidence to know that even if they give the little extra during the match they will know for sure that they will be able to go to work Monday morning because let’s face it most of us got work on the side of hockey.

Pictures and explanation

Picture these are the parts of the elbow protector
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Elbow protector with all parts

Elbow protector on arm with SP right hand protector

Elbow protector with just the “shell” no added protection

Elbow protector without any extra protection on arm with SP right hand protector

I hope people will find this review helpful and that it has given you a better idea of these great new OBO products.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

//NicfromSweden

OBO Face Off

Check out these limited edition custom Face Off paint jobs produced exclusively for Verbunt Hockey, Netherlands.

obo-transparant

The range of graphics are sure to give you attackers a scare on shortcorner plays. To get one of the exclusive Face Off designs click here to go to the Verbunt pages.

About the Face Off
The OBO FaceOff has been developed specifically for the short corner phase of Field Hockey and is not intended for full game usage. It is designed to reduce cuts, abrasions and bruising of defenders.

Wide and comfortable elastic strapping…easy to pop on and off. Rigid yet light polyethylene shell…unbreakable. Total shell weight is 150 grams. Anatomically shaped eye sockets designed to maximise vision while still providing excellent protection. Medium density polyethylene foam inner provides comfortand aids protection of key areas…forehead, check bones, temples and chin. High density polyethylene foam goggles reduce frontal and side impacts over key areas…the bridge of the nose, eye sockets and cheek bones.