Before you take your new PaddleFlex to the rink, we would like to point out how some of its features can be adjusted and fine-tuned to provide you with optimal fit, comfort and protection.
- The twin hand-cushion inserts serve several functions. You should push them both inside the glove before inserting your hand.
The cushion inserts folded in, in their playing position.
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This will give you a snug, cushy feeling and a remarkably firm and comfortable grip on your stick.
The pads also greatly reduce shocks transmitted from puck impact, both to the back of your hand through the blocker face, and to the inside of your hand through the shaft.
Human beings in general, and goalies in particular, are creatures of habit. The noticeably different feel of our blocker’s palm has given some goalies the initial impression that the glove was “too snug”, too different from their regular blocker. In all but a very small number of cases, that impression was quickly reversed after just a half hour of use, the same goalies then expressing great surprise at how quickly the glove had come to feel “good’n’snug”, and how it was now the loose fit of their old blocker that felt uncomfortably flappy.
When you take the blocker off, the inserts flip out of the palm.
The cushion inserts, flipped out to help evaporate moisture.
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You should now leave them out, as they will allow the sweat to evaporate more rapidly, helping to prolong the life of your glove’s palm. Just push them back inside the glove next time you use your blocker.
- The Velcro® mini-tab located near the pinkie, on the outside edge of the blocker, lets you adjust the tightness of the blocker’s shell. It should be kept in a tight position for normal use, and loosened to allow easy removal and reinsertion of the foam board.
- The molded overlapping finger guards come pre-curved to conform to the shape of an average hand and will feel quite comfortable right off the shelf. You can take that comfort to yet another level by taking five minutes and fine-tuning the guards to your exact hand configuration. Using a regular hand-held hair dryer, warm the guards up for about a minute to make them malleable. Then, wearing work gloves to protect your hands from the heat, bend and shape the guards to make them conform as closely as you can to the shape of your clenched fist. Once the guards cool off, they will retain their new shape permanently. To further adjust or modify the shape, just repeat the process, until you are happy with the results.
- Break-in period. Ordinary blockers have rigid boards that need to be bent, curved or otherwise “broken-in”. With the Martin PaddleFlex blocker, the breaking-in is simple enough: there is none. Our unique articulated board never offers any resistance to manoeuvres such as paddle-down, puck-freezing, balance recovery or stick pick-up. Goaltending is tough enough as it is, we feel you shouldn’t have to worry about your own blocker getting in the way.
- Break-out period. The “break-out” period is more interesting. That’s the time it takes for you to break out of the old habits and limitations that years of rigid blockers have imposed on you.
Some are pretty obvious and easy enough to get rid of. For instance, after years of having had to lean forward, bend your wrist and your back and move your stick away from you in order to achieve good paddle-down, you’ll be quick to realize that whatever your angle or position, you can now stab straight down and instantly get perfect, easy paddle-down contact. This, by the way, will shave several precious fractions of a second off your moves, and will often be the only difference between a goal and a save.
Other bad habits are deeper-seated and will require conscious effort to break out of. I had hurt my wrist so many times that I had stopped using my blocker hand to recover from a sprawl. I would kind of push awkwardly with my elbow instead. Long after I had developed and started using the PaddleFlex, I noticed I was still using my elbow to get up when I lay face-down on the ice. I had to make a point of practicing a drill with the new move that the PaddleFlex allows which is to just plant your blocker fist squarely down like you have nothing on your hand, push hard against the ice and rocket back to your feet. It's much quicker, easier, painless, and much more natural: it just feels great.
So take a look at all the moves you make that involve using your blocker and see how many of those can be made simpler, quicker, safer and more efficient with the PaddleFlex.
Finally, practice close-range paddle-down and wrap-arounds for five or ten minutes. Then put your PaddleFlex away, put your old blocker back on and try the same drills; you will be shocked. For most goalies, there is clearly no going back.
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