Is the Itech Envy Goalie Mask better than the Hackva 2608 Carbon?
Written: Mar 09 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent quality, protection and durablity at a bargain price.
Cons: Parts are expensive and hard to find. Cannot touch Hackva's shell warranty
The Bottom Line: If you're torn between the Hackva and Envy, Itech has the price unless Hackva has a better fit.
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Itech Senior Medium Goalie Mask Itech 7 Nc Fit 2 |
They’ve come a long way
Itech used to be a brand that I went a long way to avoid. Like Pro Guard or A&R the name Itech seemed synonymous with mediocrity. Since then, they’ve improved quite a bit in quality. Yeah, some of their stuff is still borderline junk, but they make some very decent goalie equipment. Their facial protection is as good as or perhaps better than Oakley and their goalie helmets . . . well, you’ll just have to read on.
A full line
Itech has the most complete goalie mask line on the market. From entry level to pro masks, Itech has goalies covered. The 1200, selling for about $100, is a decent novice mask. The 961 is the mask of choice for numerous pro players. There are a lot of decent masks between those two levels that will work well for the recreational player.
The NV7 may be the best value on the market right now for a high-level recreational player. Hackva also makes an excellent mask which is quite comparable in price and features to the NV7. In fact Hackva was the maker of the Sher-wood 200 that I previously awarded the best goalie helmet title. These are probably the two best options on the market today in terms of value. So yes, there will be comparisons made.
The components of a good helmet
There are three main components that determine the overall quality of a goalie mask. The shell is the first. The shape and materials of the shell are the goalie’s main line of defense from forgetting their middle name. A good shape minimizes the chance of a puck hitting the helmet square, thus deflecting a portion of the force from a shot. The hardness of the shell adds to the defection ability and can help with durability as well.
The lining is the second line of defense. This allows the helmet to absorb the remainder of the blow, dispersing somewhere other than the goalie’s brain. As a sometimes goalie myself, I can attest that most of us netminders have little to spare in the way of grey matter. Goalie helmets don’t typically utilize EPP anymore as it is too hard and breaks down more quickly from repeated impacts than Vinyl Nitrate. Various densities of padding are important to maximize protection from various shot speeds.
The cage is pretty important too. I had one helmet that was recalled due to poor cage design. So some cages aren’t strong enough. I’ve had a few that bent pretty severely. Most often, the major issues with a cage is vision. I’ve had several helmets on where there was a piece of wire directly in from of my eyes. I’d like to see what’s coming my way and that doesn’t help much.
Now that we have the basics out of the way, let’s see how they apply to the NV7.
Shell
The NV7 features a composite shell with an ABS exterior. Now my first though was, why put plastic on a goalie helmet? The last plastic shelled helmet that I had is the reason for most of memory loss. Uh . . . the last plastic goalie mask helmet that I had is the reason for most of memory loss. Uh . . . one plastic shelled helmet that I had was the reason for . . . wait I covered that . . . didn’t I?
Here’s the deal though. The NV7 has a plastic layer over a full composite shell. The last helmet I was using, a Koho 570, provided excellent protection and is still in decent condition. It was a fiberglass shell with a full center layer of aramid (generic Kevlar). However, the one issue that it did have was some pretty significant chipping on the outer shell. Fiberglass is pretty strong, but all composites tend to chip and even crack over time.
The plastic outer shell on the NV7 actually seems like an excellent idea. I will have to keep you posted on how they are holding up long term. However, in the short run I’d have to say the prognosis is pretty good. Those that I’ve seen on goalie’s heads for a while now aren’t chipping (certainly not from my shot). If you think about it, the plastic shells on player helmets typically last quite a while. ABS is a pretty logical choice for long-term cosmetics of the shell and added durability.
Of course, this begs the question, “Am I going to get my bell rung in the NV7 because of the shell?” It’s a pretty good question too. To answer this question I took an extensive poll of goalies. All three of them said they had fewer cartoon birds circling their heads and less bell ringing than in any other helmet they owned before. In fact all of them claimed not to have any ill effects when taking a biscuit to the noggin. All three declined to let me strike them repeatedly with a ball peen hammer in the head with and without their mask. I told them it was for the sake of science, but they didn’t seem to care.
Bottom line, the shell on the NV7 is hard enough with the full composite core to deflect the energy of pretty much any recreational shooters power. The ABS on the outside seems to be flexible enough to keep the helmet from chipping. This gives the NV7 long lasting good looks along with quality safety in this area.
How does it compare to the Hacka’s shell? It comes down to cosmetics versus safety. The Hackva features a composite shell with both Kevlar and Carbon Fiber. However, the outer portion of the Hackva is fiberglass. The shape of both masks is good, so I’d call it a wash in shape. The Hackva does have a little bit harder shell though. The composite/glass shell means the exterior is a little harder, minimizing the time that the puck is going to be in contact with the helmet. Simple physics states that the transference of energy will be slightly lower from the Hackva’s harder shell. However, the fiberglass is going to be slightly more prone to chipping on the Hackva. So on the shell Hackva wins for safety, but Itech’s Envy wins for durability. Even so, Hackva does offer a lifetime warranty on their helmet shell. But that doesn’t likely extend to your uber-cool $500 paint job.
Liner
This is where the Envy stands out among it’s peers. While Vinyl Nitrate has become the standard in a quality goalie helmet, Itech managed to stuff four layers of it into this helmet. More importantly while the best helmets feature two different densities, Itech gives the goalie’s head four progressive densities of padding.
Let’s put this into perspective. Let’s say for a moment that you padded a helmet with sea sponge. That would work great for a puck traveling about five miles per hour, maybe ten. But on a higher speed shot, the sponge would compress all the way to the shell of the helmet. It would only delay the impact momentarily before the shell struck you in the head.
On the other side of the equation you could pad the helmet with Vulcanized rubber. (That’s what a hockey puck is made out of). Of course this would keep the helmet shell from hitting your head. On a hard shot it would disperse the force more evenly along the goalie’s head. But even on lighter shots, it isn’t going to offer much in the way of concussion protection.
Of course these are extremes and would never actually helmet padding, but hopefully they give you an idea of why different densities of padding are important. Softer layers closer to the head assist with the comfortable fit of the helmet and absorb the impact from less powerful shots. Denser layers help to absorb more impact by decelerating the shell of the helmet and spreading the force of the blow along a larger area.
Itech’s quadruple density lining allows four levels of progressive deceleration. This means that the transition of energy from the shot to the goalie’s head is reduced more smoothly and more completely than it would be in a helmet with only one or two layers of padding. It is a big part of why goalie’s in this helmet are still sane enough to realize that someone hitting them in the head with a ball peen hammer is a bad idea.
The Hackva does feature a dual density lining. This gives Itech a decided advantage in the area of liner. However, with Hackva’s slightly better shell, the safety issue pretty much becomes a wash at this point. The NV7 is better at absorbing and dispersing an impact while the Hackva is better at dispersing it. The end result is a pretty similar level of protection.
Cage
Itech has an edge here as well. The NV7 comes in either a certified cage or a cats-eye. The cerified cages feature elliptical wire, not unlike the player’s cages on the Nike/Bauer 8500 helmet. Elliptical wire is one of those, why did it take so long for them to think of that? deals.
Essentially using elliptical wire, rather than round accomplishes a couple of bonuses for the player. The most obvious is that it improves vision out of the helmet. The narrower portion of the wire is horizontal to the goalie’s view lines. This moves some of the distracting wire out of the way. Of course even the narrowest piece of wire can still obstruct the goalie’s view if it’s in the wrong place.
Itech did a decent job with the sight lines on the Envy. I had at least one helmet where one version of the cage or the other put a wire directly in front of my eyes. My NXI Phantom actually was worse with the cats-eye and I ended up switching back to the standard since I couldn’t see. One Heaton that I used briefly had a horizontal wire almost directly in front of my eyes.
The Envy has neither of these problems. It offers pretty good vision from the front. Vision to the sides and down is average for a goalie mask. Some new designs such as the Sportmask Mage offer a much larger opening for superior peripheral vision. But among the more traditional style goalie masks, the Envy neither shines for an exceptional peripheral view nor glares for a lack of vision.
The second benefit to elliptical cage wire is strength. I’ve had most of my cages bent up pretty badly after using them for a while. I think most goalies who look at their mask cage are going to find some out of the ordinary warps. If a cage bend badly enough it should probably be replaced. Bending the wire back is going to significantly weaken the wire there. That’s just asking for a poke in the eye. The elliptical wire is thickest in the direction that a puck would normally strike it.
The extra strength means that you’re going to be able to happily take more pucks to the face without having to replace your cage. That’s a good thing, because a replacement mask for the NV7 is about as rare as both goalies having a shutout in the same night. I’d recommend making sure you get the style of cage you want if you buy an NV7. You aren’t going to have an easy time finding a replacement for it. When you do, it’s going to cost you a pretty penny too. I spent a long time looking for replacement wire for the Envy only to discover that they were about $90. Might I say, “OWCH!”
So how does the NV7 stack up to the Hackva as far as the cage goes? I’d have to give the advantage to the Itech here. The Hackva’s peripheral and sightlines through the cage are pretty similar. However, the Hackva uses standard round wire so the overall obstruction is a little higher. It’s also more likely that you’re going to get some dings in the wire on the Hackva.
Sizing
The Envy comes in three sizes which Itech enigmatically calls Fit 1, Fit 2 and Fit 3. Fit 1 is similar to the previous Itech Junior size helmets. Fit 2 is similar to their senior sized helmets. As far as I can tell, Fit 3 is meant to protect goalies with a head the size of a watermelon. I haven’t had a customer yet who had a noggin big enough for a Fit 3. (My apologies if you have a Fit 3 and thought your head was normal sized before reading this).
Swag
Itech tosses in a sweatband and a helmet bag with the Envy. It used to come with a puppy, but Itech found that many people who play goalie and were interested in the helmet didn’t actually want a puppy. Go figure. The sweatband and bag seemed a logical substitute for the puppy.
Parting thoughts
I’d rather take a 90 mile per hour slapper right in the eye hole while wearing the Itech. It clearly has a stronger and better cage and more ability to absorb a blow. But I’d rather have that same shot skip off the chin of the Hackva. The Hackva is going to defelect a blow much more efficiently than the Itech.
Of course as a goalie you really don’t have much choice. Even if you ask opposing players to attempt you hit you square in the grill, they aren’t likely to comply. Last I checked they were interested in getting the puck behind you. So what’s the indecisive goalie to do in order to solve this headwear dilemma?
I’d actually rank these two helmets almost dead equal for masks with certified cages. Hackva does have a junior size and three adult sizes, so they might fit you a little better than the NV7 which is important enough to be a swing factor. In the cats-eye cage, the Envy uses round wire making both helmets equal in that respect, perhaps giving a slight overall edge to the Hackva.
But the major edge that the Itech has is price. The Itech NV7 is about $80 cheaper than the Hackva 2608 Carbon. That’s a pretty big chunk of change on the price of a $300 helmet. If you can get Hackva to toss a puppy in on the deal it’s back to a dead heat.
© 2008 Scott Noble – All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.
You might also enjoy my book on hockey, Hockey for Weekend Warriors. Click here to read the reviews.
A few of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Fitting Goalie Gear
Goaltending 101: So you think you want to be a goalie, eh?
CCM GF6 Pro Goal Mask
Franklin Skull Goalie Mask
Itech 4100 Goal Mask
Itech 8000 Goal Mask
Koho 570 Goal Mask
Sher-wood GH200 Goal Mask
Recommended:
Yes
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