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Solstice
10-12-2006, 08:56 PM
Goalie Mesh Explained

Mesh; its essential to any goaltender's arsenal. Whether its soft mesh, hard mesh, 12D mesh..it can be confusing to pick out the right mesh for you and your experience level. This guide will explain the different types of mesh, along with the "pro's" and "con's" of each.


http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/9585/tradgswhitebbu8.th.jpg (http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tradgswhitebbu8.jpg)

Traditional 17D Soft Mesh

Jimalax Says: One of the original goalie mesh, Traditional Soft Goalie Mesh offers a variety of benefits. It is the easiest of the goalie mesh to break in, and offers the best catching ability right out of the bag. It shares its downfall with Traditional Soft Attack/Defense Mesh in that it will not offer peak performance in wet or cold weather. Traditional Soft Goalie is a great mesh for beginner goalies.

Pro's: Virtually no break-in time, great catching.
Con's: Inconsistent, bags out in wet or cold weather.

Skill Level: J.H.S. - [Early] High School

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1064/tradgwhitebsu7.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tradgwhitebsu7.jpg)

Traditional 17D Hard Mesh

Jimalax Says: One of the original goalie mesh, Traditional Hard Goalie has become the goalie mesh of choice for most players. It is fairly easy to break in yet it will hold its pocket well in wet or cold weather. Traditional Hard Goalie mesh is also durable enough to thwart off bagging out for an extended period of playing time. Overall an excellent all around mesh, Traditional Hard Goalie Mesh can be used by players of any ability.

Pro's: Easy to break in, long-lasting pocket, great throwing ability.
Con's: Less hold than other mesh types.

Skill Level: J.H.S. - High School - College - Pro

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/8299/tradg20whitebnu7.th.jpg (http://img133.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tradg20whitebnu7.jpg)

Traditional 20D Hard Mesh

Jimalax Says: One of the original goalie mesh, Traditional Hard Goalie has become the goalie mesh of choice for most players. It is fairly easy to break in yet it will hold its pocket well in wet or cold weather. Traditional Hard Goalie mesh is also durable enough to thwart off bagging out for an extended period of playing time. Overall an excellent all around mesh, Traditional Hard Goalie Mesh can be used by players of any ability. Please note that 20 Diamond has three more diamonds than regular Traditional Hard Goalie mesh and therefore supplies a slightly deeper pocket.

Pro's: Same as 17D, provides a little deeper pocket.
Con's: Same as 17D

Skill Level: J.H.S. - High School - College - Pro

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/1188/14dwhitebyp3.th.jpg (http://img133.imageshack.us/my.php?image=14dwhitebyp3.jpg)

14D Hard Mesh

Jimalax Says: The goalie equivalent of 7 Diamond Attack/Defense mesh, 14 Diamond Goalie mesh mirrors 7 Diamond's strengths and weaknesses. 14 Diamond offers the smallest diamonds of any diamond goalie mesh. 14 Diamond is a harder mesh to break in, but it will hold its pocket extremely well in wet and cold weather. On account of its small diamond size, 14 Diamond does not offer exceptional hold, but it does offer excellent passing ability. 14 Diamond mesh is a great mesh for players of advanced skill level.

Pro's: Better hold, great passing ability, good pocket durability.
Con's: Still not an exceptional amt. of hold, harder to break-in.

Skill Level: [Late] High School - College - Pro

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4427/12dwhitebgt4.th.jpg (http://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=12dwhitebgt4.jpg)

12D Hard Mesh

Jimalax Says: The goalie equivalent of 6 Diamond Attack/Defense Mesh, 12 Diamond Goalie mesh mirrors 6 Diamond's strengths and weaknesses. 12 Diamond offers the perfect balance between hold and passing ability. Its pocket is only moderately difficult to break in, and it will hold its pocket well through wet and cold weather. 12 Diamond is well suited for players of all ability levels.

Pro's: Great hold, Great passing. Good Pocket Durability.
Con's: Little difficulty in break the pocket it.

Skill Level: J.H.S. - High School - College - Pro

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/8999/10dwhitebvy8.th.jpg (http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=10dwhitebvy8.jpg)

10D Hard Mesh

Jimalax Says: The goalie equivalent of 5 Diamond Attack/Defense mesh, 10 Diamond Goalie mesh mirrors 5 Diamond's strengths and weaknesses. 10 Diamond offers the largest diamonds of any diamond goalie mesh. 10 Diamond Goalie mesh also offers exceptional hold, and is generally the easiest of the coated goalie mesh to break in. 10 Diamond is fairly durable, and holds its pocket well in wet and cold weather. Great for players of beginner to intermediate skill level.

Pro's: Exceptional hold, great rebound control, decent passing ability.
Con's: Passing ability is reduced, decent pocket durability.

Skill Level: Junior High - High School


After reading this guide, your mesh questions should hopefully have been answered. Feel free to PM me about any other specific questions you still have.

ash72
10-12-2006, 09:17 PM
thanks this really helped me

AttackMan17
10-12-2006, 10:18 PM
Pretty good mini review sort of thing? But, I would like to argue that soft mesh is seen in NCAA and pro play A good bit of time. (I'm sure people would tell me that noone smart uses soft mesh...But, I've seen it in higher play many times.)

Solstice
10-12-2006, 10:40 PM
I agree, many Pro's use unusual and uncommon meshes. I just didn't want people arguing that "soft mesh sucks! no one uses it! especially not Pro's!" So I put down what skill level it most commonly benfits.

washjeff
10-13-2006, 12:26 AM
only thing i would change is that 14d open sidewalls has great hold because of the great channel it makes. 12d channels well too. not a bad post to have for new goalies looking at mesh, i like it.

gfkeeper28
10-13-2006, 07:17 AM
And there's plenty of college players who use 10 diamond too. I don't really think mesh has much to do with skill level.

PuLsE_SpEeD
10-13-2006, 09:46 AM
And there's plenty of college players who use 10 diamond too. I don't really think mesh has much to do with skill level.

i concur, mesh is all about preference

Solstice
10-13-2006, 04:10 PM
Yes, it is about preference. But these are the reccomended skill levels that most players use a certain mesh at. Some of these meshes would be compareable to giving a brand new player a box-pinched Evo to learn with. There are always players who love to use a certain mesh, and it doesnt mean that they have to fit in with the reccomended skill levels.

blonyxpony
06-04-2007, 07:47 PM
Ya, now that ive read this, i think im gonna stick with my hard mesh. thanks!

goaliedownunder
06-04-2007, 09:37 PM
what? no leathers?

perfect hold, exellent pocket depth, total control. just needs tweaking every now and then.

nobody use this over there? :OMG:

NALC24
06-05-2007, 08:53 AM
this is good well done, needs to be stickied i think