At the NHL Draft in Columbus, Reebok was showing off their new RBK EDGE system of player equipment. I got some photos to share with you all. This is going to be a pretty photo heavy post, so get ready. All photos are clickable to make bigger. And please, do not post these photos elsewhere without a little credit. Thanks.
Meet Joe RBK (That’s what I’m calling him, your everyplayer. How you doing Joe?
Let’s start with the pants…
Notice the white tabs at the bottom of the pants? Those are Velcro straps for tightening the leg of the pants around the thigh.
The tab you see here at hip lever is more like a flap. It has male and female Velcro, like a flap or the covers of a book (I’m searching for a good description) to close around the top of the pants leg. This is so you can adjust the length of the pants to suit your body. With the double Velcro, it looks pretty secure, and it was difficult enough to open. I believe it will do a good job of holding the pants legs into place, but under playing conditions, with sweat and other moisture, will it hold up. The doubled up nature of the Velcro is a good idea though. I wonder how much adjustment you would get with that tab/flap. An inch or two?
Obviously, the pants will need some sort of shell to go over it, or that ventilated plastic cup in the front is going to draw a lot of attention. I did not give the cup a good check out, I figure you can do that once these things come out if you are that interested.
The socks are held in place with another Velcro tab, built into the pants. If you look inside the pants leg, you can see the little blue line. That’s the top of the socks. That means they are freaking long. Like mid thigh long. So my question is this. Are there going to have to be different lengths of socks for each players height? The socks are not the knit material of today, but more of a stretchy material found on the undershirts you find today.
Speaking of undershirts…
This was one of the cooler parts for me. I like the design here, although, I must admit, after looking at it again, I wonder how this shirt with all it’s padding is going to work with older shoulder pads. Still, I like the concept here. I think referees, who don’t wear shoulder pads, would really like these. Perhaps they should strike a deal with RBK.
So, what does it all look like on a player? Glad you asked.
Hey, your socks are slipping a bit there, big guy.
Overall, not bad. The equipment looks like it is going to be more fun than the old pants designs, and I want one of those undershirts bad. But you can see how the whole thing is treated like a system. It looks like the tucking the jersey into the pants thing was a myth, or RBK would have done it to their models. And with that fully dressed model, it doesn’t look like he has elbow pads on. Remember how the players at the All Star Game looked? Like Robocop. Time will tell, but at least this is a start.
Hey look, new jerseys.
Well, what do you think?
11 responses to “RBK EDGE System ON Display”
Fantastic stuff Tape. The only thing that ever bothered me with the old unis was that sometimes the pants would ride up on players and dominate the entire uniform. (Rob Blake used to always look like he was only wearing 3/4 of a jersey). I think this new Reebok system really solves that problem.
I do sympathize with my larger friends who may not have wanted, or like, a tighter fitting uniform though. BTW My wife got one of the women’s fit Sakic All-star jerseys, and she really likes the way the woman one fits, so that’s a plus too.
I’ve been doing extra crunches in anticipation of the newer jerseys.
I have a LOOOOONG way to go
RBK = weak, weak, weak.
Changes are being made when none are needed.
So far, the only player comments are not too positive, and I’m also certain that the NHL will try to keep the NHLPA’s griping down to a minimum to try to save face. But the “slimmed-up” jerseys changes are UGLY, no question about it.
Last comment: has ANYONE ever heard a player say “ya know, if my jersey was a bit tighter I could perform better. Oh, make it ugly too – thanks.”
nice…
i’d love to know how homers going to fit all his extra back protection under that jersey though
King, most Players actually like the new jersey’s from the comments I’ve heard (and whether they were told to keep it positive or not is up for debate.)
All the changes were for performance based. I was initially skeptical of this new fangled cool-fit technology that is permiating through the sports landscape, but after buying a shirt and playing soccer in it… It really does wic away the sweat.
And the jersey’s aren’t that much uglier than the old ones. I mean they are a little tighter fitting, but they can be cool looking (like the new Bruins Digs)
I think the players have a legitimite complaint when they say the new equipment make it much easier for opponents to target previous injuries.
I’ve also heard the new uniforms have proven to move more moisture away from the players bodies. Where does it go? I’m concerned gravity might pull this moisture down towards the players’ feet because it can’t all evaporate away.
This is exactly what I expected to find out after reading the title . Thanks for informative article
Where can i gete the socks? Are they the same stuff as national team socks(Adidas i think).
You can get them from Greatskate, a hockey equipment store in Buffalo NY. (www.greatskate.com)
You can only order them in the U.S. (that sux, cause i’m from Canada)
They are made up of 4-way stretch fabric, i think, and you can get home and away for each team. However, they are all backordered until June, store and website.
Great report and all looks good, loving the jerseys my club ordered and the socks are sweet.
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