ROBO – OBO

New robo chest and short sleeve tight fit shirt reviews

NEW ROBO BODY ARMOUR
The Protection of the new body armour is better then the older OBO armour, especially around the abdominal and clavicle area. The shoulder pads are shaped to the fit the shoulder and are far more comfortable and best of all easier to move in. I am of tall stature and feel that the ability to securely tie the armour closer to my body enables me to be more confident in making saves. Overall much better than the older armour in terms of protection and aesthetics.
Fred Whitfield L’boro Students GK
OBO GK

The new body armour offers great flexibility and increased protection to the stomach and chest areas. It has a great fit to the body when the straps are fitted tight and sits in the body better than previous body armour. Shoulder and collar bone protection is excellent and a big improvement from previous versions. Having tried which arm protectors fit best with it, I preferred to stay with the the Robo full arm protectors ( though the OBO elbow guards will also work fine.
Ali McGregor
OBO GK

Now I’m no Pamela Anderson when it comes to cup size, but if I did have ‘plastic fantastics’ to look after I would be confident that this piece of kit would look after my investments nicely. I have been using my new chest protection since August 2011 and have a zero bruise count during that time. The armour wraps around the torso giving excellent protection for the ribs. The wrap around means I can safely dive or drop for smothering saves without exposing myself. And let’s face it, no one wants to expose themselves mid game. The collar is more substantial than previous models without being obtrusive, offering improved protection of the clavicle bone. The shoulder cup seems to sit in the right place and stay there while I move around, unlike some where they seem to be after thought pads stuck on top and making some goalkeepers look like Ming the Merciless. Looks are important, let’s face it, 99.9% of hockey spectators will look at two goalkeepers and assume the one with the best looking kit is probably the better keeper. What makes good looking kit? For me it’s the gear that makes me look and feel more athletic. The first time I wore my new OBO chest protection I turned to the nearest person and asked “Do I look slim in this?” I was joking of course. Mostly. The strapping to secure the chest piece is fairly heavy duty elastic which means it will sit flat across your back and not bunch into a thin uncomfortable ridge. It’s adjustable of course and if correctly set up, will hold the chest pad down and prevent ride-up.
The only concern for me was the length of the front section. I hear this has been addressed in the latest batch to hit the market. So overall this protector gets a thumbs up from me.
Bianca Russell
Goalkeeper
New Zealand Black Sticks

NEW OBO GK TOP
At last a GK Top that actually fits me correctly and is light weight. For too long GK tops have been like wearing a flag made of mesh with no real shape to them.
The new top feels very supportive and i really like the tight fit. The elasticitiy in the top allows for full freedom of movement. Even when wet the top is still very light.
Great work OBO on another fantastic piece of GK kit.
Harry Gibson

Fibreglass Helmet Review

When I started to play with OBO over 15 years ago, I didn’t use the OBO helmet but the icehockey style Cooper helmet. After a few years I tried on the OBO helmet and since then I won’t use another helmet anymore.

What I like about the helmet:

Protection is really good — I’ve been hit quite some times over the years but my head is still on my shoulders.
Perfect fit — this is a major improvement vs the other helmets I’ve used. This helmet fits perfectly well and it feels like you’re not even wearing one
Cool looks — Obviously the least important of the 3, but nice anyway… I have had some custom made helmet which (in my opinion) are very cool

The newest helmet I use now is pretty heavy. I thought this might be irritating, but when you put it on you hardly notice the weight and because of the perfect fit this gives no problems.

One thing I always change when I get a new helmet is the position of the wire cage. I like it better when it is placed a little lower on the helmet than standard — the vision is much better like that. So with help of the nice people at Verbunt (Dutch importer of OBO) I put in some new screws in the helmet.

All in all I’m very pleased with the helmet and I can’t think of a better one in the market.

I’ve added some pics of the custom helmets I’ve used.

Cheers and a happy new year from Amsterdam!

Klaas Veering

Arm Guards or Elbow Guards

Hey guys,

i’m thinking of buying the ROBO body armour and I asked myself a question…and i couldn’t answer it myself so…i thought i would ask for some opinion…

What would you advise…the obo arm guards(that are sold separately)

robo-body-armour

or the new obo elbow guards

robo-elbow-guard

……….i am 14 years old…and i play u16’s club hockey (Pembroke Wanderers) and I am the second choice senior keeper of my school….. The style of play i use is For short corners I tend to log if its a hit and i stay up when its a drag. And the odd 1vs.1 I tend to slide… and take the crap out of the player.

What would be the best for me?

Review of Robo Elbow Guards

After a long August, I have finally had the time to write my review of my Robo elbow guards I won during the Review Your Kit Competition. I will divide the article in four sections:

At first sight
First time using them
Tech specs
Overall impression

So…read away.

At First Sight

When my elbow guards came in the mail, It was wrapped in a printer cartridge box, so, I came to the conclusion that the package was for my mom. On my way to the basement, I realized that it had been sent from New Zealand and thought “Isn’t that strange? I didn’t know they made printer cartridges in New Zealand. I then saw it was addressed to me and instantly connected the dots. I grabbed the closest knife and cut off the tape. As soon as the box opened I was extatic. Wrapped in their mesh bag gleaming white, I have never had a better July 30th.

If you ever thought that the elbow guards looked, well, thin, than I can tell you you thought wrong! I had that thought upon seeing the photos during the Beta testing era, but not any more! The elbow guards are possibly the solidest Upper body product ever created by OBO (aside from helmets of course) As they seem to be made of steel compared to my Cloud body armour. The Velcro straps looked solid and the design looked very fitting.

First Time

I received the parcel the day before my Nationals tournament so I did not get to try them in practice before hand. The first time I used them, They felt somewhat itchy but comfortable never the less. I decided to use them without the forearm cover to make the more breathable. Therefore, the velcro strap that ties the plasticky section with the mesh section was left exposed to the inside of the joint.This proved to be rather uncomfortable while I was sitting on the bench during the first half but not so much of a nuisance while I was playing. Trying them on with the forearm cover, this problem did not occur.

Inner joint pinch

The middle strap pinches when flexing for a long time

I didn’t know the full strength of the velcro straps and at first, it appeared to be glued on! I didn’t have this problem with my body armour so I thought that something might have been wrong. I later found out that you just have to pull really, really hard to rip it off. Kudos to Obo for designing it this way or else it would probably fall off in wet weather (Unless I got an Obrella ;))

The inner padding was comfortable but very breathable and I found my sweat to stick to my arm a lot. They’re now somewhat smelly – and I have no plans to wash them – but nevertheless quite comfortable and move with the body giving great protection and movement at the same. I always thought giving great protection and movement was a challenge to most hockey goalkeepers and the previous chest pad I had used (ice hockey) was clearly meant to be bigger and thicker than increased mobility. Obo seems to have two and two together with the elbow guard and the mix of protection and mobility is superb.

Teck Specs

When I first broke down the elbow guards into their separate pieces, I found one word: confusing. It seemed as if there were infinite possibilities on how to customize the elbow guards. I turns out there were about eight (both arms). The elbow guard is comprised of three pieces:

The core

The inner pad

The outer pad

These three segment provide many different combos on each arm to optimize the protection you want. There are several different types of foam incorporated into the design with a possible hint of plastic. The two I will point out are the two black pads on the outside and the other that covers those important blood vessels on the underside of your wrist.

The first is the perfect material that allows you to log, slide, and dive with ease while “Going Dutch” and offers optimal protection to your elbow while logging on a corner.

Possibly the greatest part about the elbow guards 🙂

The latter, gives the ultimate protection flow between your HPs and the elbow guards so as not to get injured if the ball goes beneath your HP.

Overall impression

Another fine product Obo! I believe you guys have surmounted the challenge combining both protection and mobility. I am very pleased with my elbow guards and always enjoy keeping while wearing them. They have given me confidence where I was doubtful of my protection and allow to play a much better game. Perhaps a suggestion for v2 of the guards is to make the strap around the joint more of a slip on like the Nike Bauer ice hockey guard. Thanks for my prize. This shit really works!

KanuckKeeper

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.

ROBO Bodi Arma Review

Hi Amazing Guys and Girls

I’m going to keep this short and sweet, just like me 🙂

I’m the proud owner of Obo ROBO Bodi Arma, well let’s just say when the parcel arrived I was like a small child at Christmas, and was soon bouncing about in my new toy.

Why do I think it’s so great???

1) When I’m wearing it I don’t look like a midget sumo wrestler!!! ( that’s because it’s super slim lined).

2) Those occasional blows to the chest dont’t feel like bullets and take my breath away; rendering me useless and the goal open to those goal hungry forwards.

3) I can move and jump around without it getting stuck on my shorts, (making it hard to get up fast from a slide), riding up (not covering tender parts) and twisting, which my previous body armour did (not sure about the make and model it was one I lent off my club).

4) It looks good with or without a a smock, also lets me have more choice on the smock front (well we all know how us girls love clothes). No need for super baggy or boring, I can becomne an individual with awesome designs :).

What’s not so great???

I have a real problem with the shoulder pads, they seem to rub and dig into my skin, especially if I’m not wearing a long sleeved top. They seem to over lap the main body of the Arma. I’ve tried to bend and mould them to no joy :(.

I think the main reason for this is that I’m a girl, which means I have those things men don’t have but love lol. This seems to push the Arma up and out causing gapping around the area (see pictures) meaning that the shoulders don’t sit in the right place.

But hay I think I can get over this small niggle.

Maybe Obo could think about making a Bodi Arma just for us girls????

Enjoy 🙂

Side View of Bodi Arma View from shoulder Gap between chest and Bodi Arma Better view of the gap

Obo Robo Hot-Pants Review

Yes yet another review from me!

This time however I’m going to review my Obo Robo Hotpants!!!

2007_obo_robo_hotpants_2001

Before I got these pants I was using my clubs (So ice hockey brand that I can’t remember)

And will if I may they were RUBISH! (Compared to the hot pants)

They were heavy, loose around the thighs, the system for tightening the waist loosed and even when it was tight enough to stay up, it hurt!

They only offered protection to your thighs leaving your hips and parts of your groin that the cup doesn’t cover open.

This though is a thing of the past with my Hot-Pants!

They first few things I noticed when I took them out of the box was the same nifty buckle on the belt as is on the leg guards and robo kickers meaning no more loosing!!!!And plenty of padding between you and the belt (One problem solved instantly!)

77767064-100x100-0-0_2blackplasticsidereleasebuckles50mmwebbing

I also noticed the Velcro straps for the thighs meaning you could tighten them eliminating the annoyance of them flapping about and getting caught as you run out to cream somebody.(Yet another problem solved)

leg-straps

And the big cup like pads for your hips meaning lots of protection from shots and less pain when sliding and diving.( all four of my major problem with my old pants solved)

pants-hips

On further examining I found that the inner leg which is often hit was also covered!

There is a gap for your cup, making them more comfortable.

cup-hole

They offer Brilliant protection and I must emphasise BRILLIANT!!

And I have proof.

One day in training one of the coaches (David Hobbes 120+ Ireland International. Still playing)

He was warming me up. We had done the pushing, flicking, slapping and were about to move on to hits. I had just kicked the last of the balls over to him and was waiting for it to begin. I had just said Okay Go!

When one of the bungle out field players calls me to pass them a ball,

As is natural I looked over to see who it was and WHACK!!!

I get a full force strike from the man himself straight into the thigh!

As I was off balance I fell back onto the ground much to the amusement of the other goalie and some of the outfielders.

When I had come back to my senses I noticed it DIDN’T hurt one bit!( thinking back to it now I was lucky I didn’t have my old ones as the ball would have probably gone through my leg! haha

And so ends my story.

I’ve been hit in the leg a few times with no pain whatsoever but this one sticks in my head.

All in all Robo hot pants are Amazing and if you’re willing to spend a bit extra.

Do as I have never had a single flaw.

Please leave a comment!

Thanks

James

Review on OBO Robo Elbow Guards

This is my review on the new OBO Robo Elbow Guards. Hope you enjoy it.

robo-elbow-guard-300x1991

Hey guys, iv been part of the beta testing programme for the new OBO Robo Elbow Guards, a very recent addition to the OBO range so here it goes. So far iv played about 5 games and had roughly 10 trainings with the Elbow guards and I have to say I love them.

They have a number of features that only OBO could think of, for example their amazing adjustability. The Elbow Guard has a flexible top pad to protect the upper part of the arm and inner elbow and bicep area. This pad is also fully removable to either provide greater protection or mobility according to personal tastes. I myself wear the right elbow guard with the top pad and the left without as I prefer greater mobility with my left and more protection on my right (shown below).

dscn0286 — Left elbow guard. As you can see I have removed the top plate.

dscn02851 — Right elbow guard. The top plate is present.

Another feature of the elbow guard I have recently discovered is that you can adjust the amount of padding that you have on the arm. It basically allows you to change how thick the padding is so that you can adjust how much protection you have and how heavy the elbow guard is. This is an exceptional new idea and I am very impressed with the concept.

As with all OBO products I have found that the elbow guards do not restrict movement and are extremely comfortable. They fit easily around your arm and unlike other arm guards do not move during the game. I have found that I have complete movement in my arm and the normal movement of the elbow joint is not compromised by any of the padding. Needless to say it does its job extremely well and has saved my arm a number of times in the few times I have used it.

In conclusion and from my experiences I believe the OBO Robo Elbow Guard is an awesome product. It provides excellent protection, is very comfortable and unconstricting, is very adjustable and looks pretty good as well. even though I have worn them only a few times I am already in love.

Ben Smith.

Review of ROBO Hotpants

After I had worn the CLOUD hotpants for a while I found I wanted a bit more protection so I upgraded to the ROBO hotpants.

When I took them out of the bag they immediately felt a lot more solid then the Cloud. Made from all Lycra, good pockets for the padding and good thick padding. Because the padding is thicker and the shorts have small panels in the thigh area just above the main panels movement is not as unhindered as the Cloud. It took about 5 minutes to get used to them, so nothing really worth mentioning.

The fit is even better than the Cloud thanks to the Lycra. It follows your body and stretches with movements so the shorts stay in the right place no matter how weird the moves you make. With the ROBO overpants over them the fit is even better.

The open crotch design makes for a good interaction with the abdo-guard and enough ventilation. Also the lack of padding on the hips makes the pants less hot than some other brands that do have extra padding on the hips. You will get hot and sweaty, but it’s not a real problem.

During the first use, they felt a bit more bulky than the cloud, which is not strange with the thicker padding, but thanks to the Lycra movement is great. There was no breaking in time needed at all.

Just as I did when I got the CLOUD hotpants, I intentionally let a few shots hit the pants to test them and the thick padding did the job excellently. I felt the ball hit the shorts like you feel a ball hit a legguard, no pain or anything.

With the ROBO there isn’t a lot of padding on the side/hip area, just one pad on the hip bone, so when diving the landing can be quite hard. Also during sliding this can be somewhat of a miss. The pads did stay in the right place during the sliding and diving, so that’s a good thing. I currently use a football (soccer) goalie’s padded compression short as a baselayer and this does the job in cushioning the impact of a dive or slide.

I’ve had this one for a couple of years now and there is hardly any wear or tear. I have had to repair the seams around the pockets and the lock-stitching around the edges reasonably often, but as it’s a stretchy fabric there is not much you can do about that.

The outside Lycra around the hip padding shows signs of a hole forming due to sliding. When this wears through it will be a lot harder to repair than the Cloud is, but I doubt you will need to repair it. It will probably not cause a tear because Lycra doesn’t tear easily and by the time it does become a problem all the stretch will be gone from the pants so they will need to be replaced anyway.

I wash the pants every 2 or 3 months which is easy enough to do. Just take out the padding and put the shell in the machine. You can clean the padding with a mild soap and some lukewarm water. (Or just put it in the machine with the pants as I always do, but it’s not the “official” way to do it 😉 ) After everything has dried take your time to put back the padding because it can be a bit of a struggle. Which is a good thing because it means the padding will stay where it’s supposed to.

The above mentioned loss of stretch is the only downside of the use of Lycra. It will loose it’s stretch in time causing a lesser fit. Another point is the hip flexor muscle protection panel. This is a bit thin and has 2 separate hard foam panels on top of it. It makes movement very easy and this way you can take the panel out of the pants, but it also causes fatigue in the softer foam causing it to break. Luckily mine hasn’t broken yet, but I know a couple of other goalies where it has.

Overall I am very happy I bought the ROBO hotpants and when the time comes that it needs to be replaced I will not hesitate and buy another ROBO. I know there are cheaper girdles on the market that offer the same level of protection, but the fit, comfort and ventilation of the ROBO is superior to it’s competitors.

Review: Robo Bodi Arma

This is my review of the Robo Body Armour which i have found to be among the best in the world.

Earlier this season I took ownership of my first set of obo body armour. I have to be honest it was the best money I’ve ever spent. Made from 38 individual pieces of foam (many of which are dual density) this piece of kit is in my opinion among the best in the world. It’s as light as a feather, offers protection similar to that of a nuclear bunker and is as thin as the plot in a Stephen Segal movie.

i own the old model.

I own the old model. i believe the new model is largely the same.

(OBO comment; Largely the same but some key improvements – larger protection area for the sternum, refined shoulder protection and new fabric.)

Up until this I had either used some school supplied chest pad and separate arm pads or some low-to-mid range body armour, most of which were pretty poor. I settled on a set of Slazenger Phantom Body Armour which in its defence (even if I will be banned forever for saying this) has served me fantastically for the past three years. However, next season I’ll be moving up a division with my club as well as taking the first team place for my school (here’s hoping anyway) so the Slazenger gear really won’t cut the mustard. Don’t get me wrong, the protection is top notch but it’s bulky…. Really bulky!!! I was also considering “Going Dutch” but since the Slazenger gear came with stitched-on arms it was impossible.

So the Slazenger gear had to go. But what to replace it with? Well I toyed with some lower brand gear but I couldn’t find anything to fit as well as the Slazenger stuff (last time mention it I promise). This meant that any time I dived the pads would shift and I’d be left as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from standing on a nail or something.

So I decided to go for a top of the range Robo Body Armour (http://www.obo.co.nz/#Products/ROBO/Body%20Armour) and I’ve never looked back. Straight out of the box I was immediately impressed by the quality. It glistened like nose hair after a sneeze. The mesh felt strong and durable and each contour in the dual density foam felt deliberate and perfectly formed. It fit beautifully too, not like the other brands with a million different straps to secure each pad. In fact there are only 5 straps in total yet they can be adjusted to give a perfect fit. The fact that most of these straps are elastic also has a dramatic effect on the flexibility.

If anybody is considering loosing the weight of the arm pads I wholeheartedly recommend the Robo chest guard. Not only are you loosing the weight of the arm pads but the chest pad its self weighs less than any other I have found. The dual density is tough as nails offering protection in all the right places like the vital organs. With or without the removable inner soft pad it offers protection which is more than adequate all the way up to (and including) international level. The slim fit also allows you to move and react naturally without having to compensate for the pads.

It lasts forever too. Despite the wear and tear of playing on a sand based pitch the signs of this on the chest pad are minimal. Just some minor fraying edges on some of the mesh which I’ve repaired using material from an old smock (actually that’s a tip worth remembering). Such little wear after spending nearly a whole year sliding around on a sand filled pitch leads me to believe that if proper care is taken these pads could last forever.

I have been told that I play with a slightly unusual style just doing whatever feels natural to get the ball away quickly. Since I’ve been using the Robo chest pad I’ve had the option of controlling the ball on my chest at my disposal. Several times this season I’ve been in the situation where the ball has been flicked across the D and my only options were to take it on my chest or deflect it straight into the path of an oncoming forward. In the past I would have just gone with the latter and hope for the best but with this new gear I can take the ball on my chest and have it drop perfectly to clear with my kicker. Without compromising protection the thin design lets you feel the ball on your chest meaning you don’t end up with that numb feeling that comes with the spongier gear. And it no longer hurts the way your tongue hurts when you accidentally staple it to the wall. While this has only happened a hand full of times this year that’s still five or six scoring opportunities that they’ve prevented this season.

Now I know that style isn’t meant to be important to a goalie but let’s face it, all keepers like to look unique. With most of the bulkier chest guards I used to find myself limited to the single tone smocks that most manufacturers offer. While I know that OBO offer a fairly decent selection of colours but if I’m just buying the best one I can find then surely hundreds of other keepers will do the same. With the slim line nature of the ROBO chest guard, however, I have found that I can wear almost any regular t-shirt I can find over my pads. This truly offers a unique selection of styles to choose from.

When it comes to chest pads there’s a huge variety to choose from. I believe that I have sampled a decent cross section of these (including being sponsored by gryphon for a time but that never felt right for me) and can proudly say that I would recommend the Robo Body Armour or Chest Guard to any keeper who wants to perform at their personal best.

The design is simple, like my brother Phill but unlike Phill this design works. It is usable by all and from what I have heard from my fellow keepers there have been no complaints.

If you have any questions feel free to leave comments and I’ll get back to next time I’m online.

Cheers,

Cormac