butterfly pad to hybrid pad

Why is he making the switch?

He has never been a true butterfly style goalie. He tends to be more standup and relies on reflexes and agility. Most goalie camp instructors here tend to strictly teach the butterfly and a few years ago told him to get a flat faced(butterfly style) pad. He has now outgrown them and is going to try the RX 8's. Is there that much of a difference between the 2 styles? Will there be a big adjustment in the new ones?

I think it would be a bigger adjustment if he wasn't so young. I think he'll be fine. These RX8s look like more of a butterfly pad with knee rolls to me.

The RX8's will function just fine for him. He will need to work on the strapping to his likes as there is no one configuration designated for a goalie that plays one style. It sounds like he is more of a reactionary goalie than one that uses a single save selection and prays that the puck will hit him.

::m

Originally Posted by Vision

uses a single save selection and prays that the puck will hit him.

sounds like me.

Originally Posted by Vision

The RX8's will function just fine for him. He will need to work on the strapping to his likes as there is no one configuration designated for a goalie that plays one style. It sounds like he is more of a reactionary goalie than one that uses a single save selection and prays that the puck will hit him.

::m

What he said.

Once your son dials the strapping in, he may find that he likes the RX8's better as they're quite a bit more flexible than the One80's which will allow them to move with his leg more than the One80's did (oftentimes, this is a preference of hybrid goalies). The corners of the pad are all still squared off (just like the One80's), so as far as blocking surface goes he probably won't notice any difference. Rebounds from both pads should be fairly similar as both pads use HD foams (not softer, shredded foams) which tend to kick rebounds farther away.

Not completely on target, but my son, who is only 10, tried on the RX6's and the One60's. At one point he had one of each on and was sliding a bit on PlanetGoalie's artificial ice. I asked which he liked better, and he basically shrugged. Said they felt the same. The RX's have a better curve to start off.
The RX8's and One80's may be slightly more different since they're a significant step up, so maybe the One80's are a lot stiffer than the RX8's, but I think the knee stack and leg channels are very similar.

I don't know much about the RX8, but I'm assuming they are similar to the RX4s, which I can say the blocker is awesome.*
I don't really know the difference between butterfly and hybrid pads, but if he's a hybrid, use hybrid pads. lol