Right Guys and Gals,
There is a massive debate over the Hi-Control vs Hi-Rebound and being an owner of the HR and having tried out a friends HC I think that I can enlighten people as to which kit is best for them. I will start by giving a rough diagram of the rebound levels so you can picture it in your head, I will then say which game style each of the kits suit.
| CLOUD | ||||||||||||||| |
| HI CONTROL | ||||||||||||||||| |
| HI REBOUND | |||||||||||||||||||| |
As you can see the difference is not that big. Also the HC has more rebound than the Cloud so it certainly isn’t lacking.
Hi-Control
HC suits a agressive player who kicks with conviction and also likes to log at short corners. The pads are narrow allowing ease of movement when going down or getting up. Essentially the design of the kickers is identical to the HR-only the foam density being different. The hand protectors are different from the HR ones, the left HC is identical in design to the HR except in cosmetic appearance, the right is the traditional tube style for logging.
Hi-Rebound
The HR kit is suited to the more modern player who stays upright for as long as possible and likes to use a passive deflecting type of kicking. The pads are wider than the HC giving a bigger area against attackers, they have stiff wings to delfect the more slowly to be cleared with the feet afterwards. Again, the kickers are the same design as the HC but with more rebound. The hand protectors are a different design to the HC. The left HP is very similar to the HC, the rebound is obviously higher for a more deflecting style of play. The right HP holds the stick at a different angle to the HC for a more upright style of play, it also has a much bigger surface area for reaction saves. The different angle takes some getting use to but works great for me.
Wear
The HC will last longer than the HR especially on sand pitches. However, most of the games is now being played on water-based pitches, here the wear difference is much reduced. even if you do play on a sand pitch do not get the HC purely because of its longevity, get the kit that is right for you. Also, duct tape on the bottom of the kickers will increase their life greatly.
A.T
Pretty good description!!
Great description, thanks!
Was wondering if you had any info on the differences between Cloud and Robo shorts? Not sure which ones to get…..Cheers
To reduce wear you can duck-tape the bottom of the kickers, this will wear instead of the kicker itself. Replace the tape whenever necessary and you will significantly increase the life of your kickers.
But don’t forget the degradation of the protection of both kickers. Because of the more open structure of the HR foam the protection on these will reduce more rapidly than with the HC’s This is more important for lifetime than the wear.
@winsgk24:
Have a look at the reviews below:
http://www.obogoalkeeping.com/resources/2009/05/20/review-of-cloud-hotpants/
http://www.obogoalkeeping.com/resources/2009/06/03/obo-robo-hot-pants/
Also have a look at http://www.fieldhockeyforum.com and use the search to find topics on shorts. All the information you need is in there.
@winsgk24 The main difference between the two I think is the level of protection. I am fully OBOed out apart from shorts/girdle ( I have a Brabo girdle which is very good and waaaaaay cheaper than the OBO girdle).I have been told that the Brabo girdle is just as good as the Robo one but can’t be sure. Whichever one you get be sure to get some overshorts to because the lycra will get destroyed without them. Hope this helps
AT
I have had cloud and robo shorts, and the difference is mostly: you are more able to move in the robo due to the foam being in smaller pieces so the shorts can more in different ways with ease. also better density foam which protects you more when being hit.
AS Above
I’ve used both HR and HC kickers over the past couple of seasons on both water and sand pitches. If money was no object I’d go for the HR 9 times out of 10 for the simple reason that you can do so much more with the HR kickers. The rebound is, obviously, greater which significantly reduces the number of secondary shots you have to face. For me this a massive plus as a significant number of goals do come from rebounds or less than perfect clearances. You can also get more power into your kicks so can throw aerials and make aggressive passes to your own players if required. Provided you employ the right technique, the ball really does the work for you particularly if you’re playing against players who put a bit of pace on their shots.
There are downsides though. I went through a pair of HR in 3/4 of a season when playing in the English Hockey League and training twice a week. By the time I’d realised the kickers were shot my toes weren’t in the best shape either. Not a problem if you can afford to buy two pairs of kickers a year but a consideration that most people have to take into account. HR can be a bit unforgiving if you’re kicking technique isn’t great. If you lean back when kicking or your balance isn’t right that shot that comes in on the deck will catapult out at chest height. Umpires tend not to like that kind of thing! Not a problem if you consider yourself to be technically proficient but if you’re younger/less experienced/play a bit lower down it is worth thinking about because the issue is not as significant with HC kickers.
I’m going to stick with HC kickers, but I have HR leg guards right now and am looking at maybe switching to HC. I tend to play a more aggressive style, prefer to prevent the shot from ever being taken rather than wait and react to a shot. Was thinking the HC would be better suited to letting me move around more and that.
Not sure it makes a difference, but my team mainly plays on field turf as opposed to water based.