Question about proper protection for a goalie

In my opinion, YES. Lexan has 1 reason why I will never use it for goaltending. Ringers to the mask. They are almost unbearable if you take a good slapper to the face. I took a slapshot that caught my chin, knocked out two of my fillings causing me to get a root canal. End of answer

Seeing as I have an infamous "made from Lexan" mask, I'll have to go with no, they're not good for goaltending. And thinking about what you said about bullet-proof glass being made from it, when I think of Lexan and bullet-proof glass I think of the high-speed photography of a bullet impacting at 2600 FPS and the Lexan not giving one bit, simply losing a chip to the bullet. That said, when something 1"x3" comes at my head at 80-90 m.p.h. I'd really like something that's got a bit of give to it such as a composite fiber of some sorts.

Really the lexan throat protectors are only good for a couple shots before they break. If you're trying to go cheap you are better off buying a used fiberglass mask. Stay away from the lexan.

What Lumpy said, and I have the concussion counts to prove it.

Its not about saving money. For me, I purchased my 2500 with intentions to play inline. After purchasing, on clearance, I decided to aim for ice instead. Cannot return it, but it is certified for ice...So i'm left with either: Using it to play ice until I can afford a better mask or just selling it before I use it and waiting to play until I have saved enough.

But, to someone new to owning gear and playing regularly...its frustrating to see something listed/sold/tagged as being certified to protect you and hearing nothing but "dont do it you'll die" doom and gloom about it.

I have no intentions of wanting to use my profile 2500 for the long haul on ice, I think I would have had I played inline only with a ball or floor puck. But for ice I WANT something better, but i'm torn between those who say use it for now and those who say no way.

This is not about me wanting to save a couple hundred bucks. This is more about why are they allowed to cert something that practically everyone thinks is a death trap? Are the manufacturers/stores trying to sell profitable garbage or are the masses of lexan haters not standing on solid ground?

Regardless of what the answer is, I plan/want something more protective for ice...as I too dont mind having more then I need when it comes to head/face protection.

If you actually watch a goalie mask go through it's CSA approval testing...you would never ever worry about getting hit in the melon. Trust me...the CSA takes their jobs very serious and would never allow a mask to go through that wasn't safe....just for a companies profit margin. The pending law suits would be huge.

This is an interesting thread, I am an Engineer and know the properties of Lexan fairly well, that being said I've never used a Lexan mask. Simply put Lexan is a stronger material than fiberglass and ABS. CSA testing would reveal this and in doing so would earn its CSA cert. The thing here is the shock dissapation properties of a weave or fiber material being far supeior to a Lexan being a solid mass. Obviously this makes a huge difference and results in those massive "ringers" that rfalls86 mentioned.

I have actualy never even thought about wearing a Lexan mask but it makes sense that given there bad energy dissapation be a ****ty choice for a mask even though they would easily outperfrom many other materials and be CSA accepted......

I don't know a ton about head protection, but on other sites, I was instructed to check out a carbon shelled helmet. That's why I ended up buying an Eddy mask. From my experience with head trauma from my bro, and from working as a paramedic, I've noticed that you don't want a material that won't give. Lexan apparently, from the info you guys are saying doesn't absorb shock, which in my mind would say that Lexan is NOT a good material for a helmet.

Speaking of motorcycle helmets, the ones that you listed in the $200-$400 range, made of Lexan, I bet are the same type of helmets that the riders use when I've arrived on scene on an MVA involving a motorcycle, and you get there, take off the unresponsive guys helmet, and his brains just spill out like a cracked egg shell. Sure, the helmet didn't break, which is a plus, but I wish I could say the same for the cyclists' head.