For 2010 Brine has released a slough of new pads, and we will be reviewing two their pro signature gloves and arm guards; Mikey Powell’s Shakedown and Chazz Woodson’s Thriller. Both of these gloves are top tier gloves with plenty of potential. And as we know potential comes with a price tag. The Thriller comes in at  $119 13″ glove and $74 for large arm guards. While the  Shakedown is at $186 for 13″ glove and $94 for large arm guards.  Here is a break down of some of the pros and cons of these pads.

SHAKEDOWN

Shakedown

The Shakedown glove has the best overall protection to lightness ratio I have seen on any of the 2010 gloves. With that being said though there is a serious lack of flexibility especially in the thumb. The material used for the glove is called elephant skin which appears to be highly durable, but it is what contributes to the gloves stiffness. This may improve with wear but these are not game ready out of the bag. Brine has added an adjustable floating cuff. The lack of velcro doesn’t really allow for any adjustments so I would say it is removable rather than adjustable, and seeing as a lot of players remove the cuff it seems appropriate.

The arm guards have some extremely fine features. My favorite part of these arm guards is the use of neoprene (wet suit material) which give the arm guards almost zero slip. The tight fit is not too snug nor ridged. The only negative I can think of by using this material is that it may get a bit toasty if you play with them in the summer. The triple density foam and large plastic elbow cap used  in  the construction gives these pads ample protection. With a simple clean design, protection, and flexibility with no slippage these arm guards are definitely worth the ducats.

THRILLER

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The first thing I noticed when wearing the Thriller glove was how well I could feel my stick. The palms are soft and Brine has done a great job finding the best places to fit mesh in instead of leather. These palms have a superior touch to the Shakedown but have less reinforced areas to prevent ripping. The trend for all of Brine’s gloves appears to be flexibility, and the Thriller delivers. Much like the King 2 the Thriller takes a step back on protection but offers the player enough flexibility to perform an entire song in sign language, conduct an open heart surgery, or write your name in calligraphy. Plus they have Jordan like styling to give you circa 1989 flavor while balling.

The arm guards for Mr. Woodson’s line  also come in a throw back design, but rather than Michael Jordan you get Latoya Jackson. The gold and black is flashy but doesn’t  match anything including the glove line, which is a bit strange. The plus side is that the pad is extremely comfortable and super breathable. Be sure that you get sized up when buying these though. I  always wear a large arm guard but had to wear mediums with this line.

THE END GAME

It is safe to say that you will be getting a great pad when buying any one of Brine’s new pro lines. However, nothing is created equally and that includes these pads. Thus in this showdown there are winners. If I were going to drop some cash on a new glove it would have to be the Thriller. With enough protection to get you by and amazing flexibility these glove offer up many a great feature with a decent price tag. But when throwing down for a pair of arm guards I would have to buy the Shakedown. A snug fit with almost no gap in the pads for defenders to find spots to exploit, while remaining comfy and mobile the Shakedown is hands down the winner.

The good word is here! And that word is the Gospel by Brine. What makes the word so good? Well with these new pesky 2o10 head regulations ball retention has dropped, and if you are an offensive player looking to hold onto to that ball then the Gospel might be the answer.

Much like last years Asset the Gospel’s selling point is the stringing options. Triangle shaped holes and an angled sidewall allows the pocket to be strung on the inside of the stick creating the best “pocket pinch” I have seen to date. My first go on stringing this guy up got me a pocket that held the ball so well that it was illegal, but after some adjustments I was able to get fix it without giving up too much hold. With the stringing options you are pretty much able to by pass the new NCAA rule changes without breaking any of the new rules.

This head, unlike other Mikey Powell signature heads, is stiff and seemingly durable. Although I believe that Brine had attackmen in mind when developing the Gospel it is stiff enough for the roughest of poke checks. So it seems like this will be a versatile head that any position will be able to use. Like many of the other head lines from Brine the Gospel comes in several colors; white, silver, and headstrong green. So you can add a little flash to your game.

Highlights

• Mid-strung suspension sidewall (creates a deeper legal pocket)
• Reverse sidewall channel stringing (allows for increased accuracy in shooting/passing)
• Tight face and flared scoop increase handling and makes ground balls effortless
• 2010 legal for play at all levels

EDIT 11-3-09

Fall is here in the Northwest. Leaves are on the ground, clouds loom and sprinkle from time to time, and college lacrosse scrimmages are in full swing. With this fall comes some very hard decisions by college lacrosse players across our great nation. What head to use for the 2010 season? With new rule changes coming in the spring every single college player from D1 NCAA to D2 MCLA will have to string up a new spoon and get used to change. So lets dig in and take a look at one of this years most promising college only legal heads.

I have been toting around my stick with me this fall to my classes and trying to get some wall ball in between, appropriately the head I have been using is the Professor. The past two season I have been a staunch STX Proton Power user, and I stand by the statement that it is the best head ever made (Xcaliber and the original Blade are tied at a close second). So why did I decide to skip over the Super Power (college legal Proton Power)? Because, the allure of a new head was just too much for this gear junkie. The lines of the head are very similar to the Super Power, the biggest difference being that the ball stop doesn’t stick up in the same funny way that the Power series does, which has always bugged me aesthetically. The head measures 6 inches at the top which makes it more narrow than that of a NFHS legal head. Playing both attack and midfield I was looking for a head that would be versatile and durable, flexible yet ridged, and above all have the proper holes to string up a bag (a legal bag).

The first thing I noticed when I got this stick was its ability to pinch and pop (plunger) on a face-off. The flexibility of the stick allowed me to plunge and redirect quickly on a face, but  was not really stiff enough to block the clamp or punch. So if you have fast hands then this is a decent face-off head, but how would it fair on defense and attack?

When it came time  to string the Professor I handed it off to a friend and teammate Jake Ostrow. He worked the bottom half of the stringing on the inside of the head giving it a mesh pinch and bypassing the new rule changes. The hole patterns allowed Mr. Ostrow to string up a nice low pocket with about a 6 out of 10 on the whip scale. After taking this stick to a tourney down in California I am sold on its ability to hold the ball through rough checks, and give a little punishment on the defensive end of the field.  (After returning to practice from the tourney I must report that my Professor broke at Friday’s practice…. I believe the fracture was caused by taking face offs. The sidewall on the bottom side of the stick snapped right next to the last stringing hole. If you are familiar with the breaking point on the original Razor it is the same spot.)

So I am loving the Professor but what would I change? I think there no reason this head is not a little stiffer. After some faces and a couple good checks on D the head began to warp (I was able to bend it back) and I could see this only getting more permanent after a few more games. Luckily I was only filling in for our face-off guy. Other than that I am pretty much 100% happy with my Professor. It is a solid addition to the STX family and should stick around so long as the rule change does…