Who here actually plays hockey?

[UNH GH]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

Growing up I had glasses and cage from 3rd Grade until 8th. No big deal. I had a Croakie to keep them flush, and a sweatband to keep them from fogging up.

[HockeyBum]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

Anyone have experience playing with glasses/sport goggles under a helmet? I'm not interested in contacts right now, but playing without some form of vision correction isn't going to be a reality much longer. Are there helmets that work well with glasses/goggles? Are there affordable goggles that will work with a helmet?

Just out of curiosity, why the aversion to contact lenses? I've been wearing contacts when I play hockey since I was 12 years old (I wore glasses under my helmet for 3 years before I couldn't stand it anymore and switched over). I still remember how uncomfortable the glasses were under my helmet.

[bueller]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

Just out of curiosity, why the aversion to contact lenses? I've been wearing contacts when I play hockey since I was 12 years old (I wore glasses under my helmet for 3 years before I couldn't stand it anymore and switched over). I still remember how uncomfortable the glasses were under my helmet.

Just seems like a hassle to deal with contacts for just a couple hours a week.

Thanks for the help everyone. I have an old pair of glasses in the same prescription I'm wearing that will probably be sacrificed to the hockey gods.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I have a full cage, wear wire-rimmed glasses. I play 2+ times per week for the past 5 years. I've not had a single concern with regards to them breaking.

Well, maybe a need a better fitting helmet, I dunno. I'll describe my experience and let you be the judge.

The one time I forgot the contacts and wore my wire rims won't be repeated. At the end of the session, I had a major red "dent" in the bridge of my nose at the point of contact with the wire. If I had taken any sort of contact to the helmet, it almost certainly would have cut me, and probably deeply... Again, once was enough to convince me never to do it again.

Risk of breakage? You're probably correct on that point. All those eyeglass frames I broke as a kid were pre-face shield. And for a number of the breaks, soccer was to blame; not hockey. So on that angle, some sloppy posting on my part. If your glasses go behind the cage in perfect condition, they should emerge the same way at the end of the night.

But why even take the chance? If the answer is that you've never worn contacts and don't intend to, I disagree with your decision but certainly respect it. Your call, obviously. But for those who own both contacts and glasses, I can't imagine why anyone would choose the glasses for hockey.

[unofan]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

Anyone have experience playing with glasses/sport goggles under a helmet? I'm not interested in contacts right now, but playing without some form of vision correction isn't going to be a reality much longer. Are there helmets that work well with glasses/goggles? Are there affordable goggles that will work with a helmet?

As someone who has needed corrective lenses since the 3rd or 4th grade - get contacts for sports.

Glasses work, but contacts are way better. No fogging issues, no breaking issues, cover your entire line of sight (so you cans ee things clearly out of your periphery), and aren't all that expensive. I have weekly disposables which I stretch out to lasting a month or two per pair by not sleeping in them and cleaning them regularly. If you only wear them for sports and not every day, you could probably make one box per eye (6 pairs) last a couple years. Only time I ever have issues is during allergy season.

Also, just signed up for a beer league in Des Moines. Hope it's as fun as the one I played in in Omaha for the last 5 years. And I hope I'm not too rusty after taking almost a year off while moving/finding a job/etc.

[St. Clown]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

But why even take the chance? If the answer is that you've never worn contacts and don't intend to, I disagree with your decision but certainly respect it. Your call, obviously. But for those who own both contacts and glasses, I can't imagine why anyone would choose the glasses for hockey.

I tried contacts, but my vision wasn't as good in them (doctor told me to expect that, given my prescription). Given that, and it took me almost an hour to put them in each day that week, I decided they just weren't for me.

As to the fogging, within 5 to 10 seconds of skating, the fog's gone. So long as the play's not right in front of the bench, I'm all right with that.

[unofan]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I tried contacts, but my vision wasn't as good in them (doctor told me to expect that, given my prescription). Given that, and it took me almost an hour to put them in each day that week, I decided they just weren't for me.

Just curious, but how long ago was this?

If it takes me longer than a minute to get my contacts in, it's because I haven't fully woken up and I'm being clumsy or I put one in backwards on the first attempt. I can't imagine taking an hour to get them in, even when I first started wearing them (probably took 5 minutes tops back then - though it took me a lot longer to realize that when one felt loose it was in backwards...). Were they the old "hard" lenses or something?

[St. Clown]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

Just curious, but how long ago was this?

If it takes me longer than a minute to get my contacts in, it's because I haven't fully woken up and I'm being clumsy or I put one in backwards on the first attempt. I can't imagine taking an hour to get them in, even when I first started wearing them (probably took 5 minutes tops back then - though it took me a lot longer to realize that when one felt loose it was in backwards...). Were they the old "hard" lenses or something?

No, they weren't hard lenses, the doctor told me that a couple years prior to my trial would have required hard lenses. That was about 6 or 7 years ago. I was also told that it would take me a while to put in my contacts at first because A) I'm a guy, not used to putting things near my eyes - flinch reflex. And B) I was 26, trying them for the first time, which compounds part A. I just got frustrated and gave up after about a week of effort, decided it wasn't worth it.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

If it takes me longer than a minute to get my contacts in, it's because I haven't fully woken up and I'm being clumsy or I put one in backwards on the first attempt. I can't imagine taking an hour to get them in, even when I first started wearing them (probably took 5 minutes tops back then - though it took me a lot longer to realize that when one felt loose it was in backwards...)

My experience exactly. That doesn't make St. Clown's experience any less valid, of course.

On the vision issue, I definitely see better with contacts. For peripheral vision, my soft lenses have a small but noticeable advantage.

In terms of fog, even a few seconds bothers me. I use a fog cloth on the clear portion of my combo shield every time before I play, without exception. Beads of sweat can also annoy. Sometimes I use a soft cloth on the bench between shifts to wipe away the sweat. In short, keeping the shield clean is problem enough. Adding a second layer to the issue by wearing glasses would be a huge step in the wrong direction for me.

All that said, each player should do what works best them. It's good to realize there are two sides to this issue; that was eye-opening for me...

[St. Clown]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

Bending over to get something off the floor hurts. A lot. Stupid Zamboni driver.


Super Rink must have a new Zamboni driver. We had a very abbreviated warmup for our game tonight because the Zamboni took perhaps 20 minutes to clear the ice last night. I hurt my back right along the line of muscles used for twisting the torso during a shot last night. I finished out the game, but when I got home it was all I could do to simply take my equipment out of my bag and hang them for drying.

[St. Clown]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I broke a stick yesterday on the back side of the shaft when shooting a one-timer (scored, BTW). Has anyone ever had that happen to them before? The break didn't go clean through the shaft and I didn't even realize I had broke the stick until a later point in the game. The stick sounded wrong when I took that shot, but I couldn't find anything on the blade or near the heel, so I didn't know what to make of it.

[MavHockey14]

I broke a stick yesterday on the back side of the shaft when shooting a one-timer (scored, BTW). Has anyone ever had that happen to them before? The break didn't go clean through the shaft and I didn't even realize I had broke the stick until a later point in the game. The stick sounded wrong when I took that shot, but I couldn't find anything on the blade or near the heel, so I didn't know what to make of it.

It happens about three times a year on our team. I'm surprised the shaft didn't break all the way through. Sometimes they have, sometimes they haven't.

Nice job burying it!

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I broke a stick yesterday on the back side of the shaft when shooting a one-timer (scored, BTW). Has anyone ever had that happen to them before? The break didn't go clean through the shaft and I didn't even realize I had broke the stick until a later point in the game. The stick sounded wrong when I took that shot, but I couldn't find anything on the blade or near the heel, so I didn't know what to make of it.

Just from the sounds of it, I feel like it was probably broken before you shot it and you just didn't know it yet. I had something similar happen to me where I had two players collide just staggered off each other with my stick in between them. It broke the stick but I didn't realize it until I had a nice fat one-timer from the point later in the shift and the stick exploded. If your shot broke the stick it's obviously going to break on the front side of the flex point. So my bet is it was already broken on the back side of the shaft, you shot with it and it held up but it felt/sounded wrong, then found the break later on in the game.

[unh_hockey]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

pourous inclusions and micro cracks probably result in gradual material failure to the point where it broke finally one a shot. I am sure this is a common failure mode in the NHL where shots are harder and more common. These things are mass produced, so one can't expect them to really be perfect. actually, they make more moeny the less perfect they are, so why change it?

I still haven't broken a stick, but I don't wind up for one timers in pick up leagues. actually I don't like slap shots at all, but I play forward and don't need to score goals with them.

[unofan]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

pourous inclusions and micro cracks probably result in gradual material failure to the point where it broke finally one a shot. I am sure this is a common failure mode in the NHL where shots are harder and more common. These things are mass produced, so one can't expect them to really be perfect. actually, they make more moeny the less perfect they are, so why change it?

I still haven't broken a stick, but I don't wind up for one timers in pick up leagues. actually I don't like slap shots at all, but I play forward and don't need to score goals with them.

I break about one a year through general wear and tear, though since the league I'm currently in doesn't allow any slap shots (defined as the stick coming above the waist on the backswing), they may last longer. Not that I ever took that many slap shots to begin with, but I normally would get off a couple one-timers a season when the puck found its way to my wheelhouse.