Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Other Gear => Topic started by: ItsJustCricket on January 04, 2013, 03:08:09 PM
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Hi guys,
As many of you will be aware, Stretton Fox are new to the market, and are producing some very exciting protective gear that is all handmade in England. The technology involved stems from a military background, and has been adapted from their typical use to protect against domestic violence, stabbing, shooting etc. to protection against the (almost) as deadly leather cricket ball! Needless to say, they are virtually indestructible! :)
Much has been made about the quality of their thigh pads, but very little has been said so far about their other protective equipment, which in my opinion, is no less impressive.
George very kindly sent me a sample chest guard today, so not being able to contain my excitement upon receiving it, I wanted to write a brief review. Here are some photos and comments:
(http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o538/ItsJustCricket/001-3_zps340f0fe9.jpg)
(http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o538/ItsJustCricket/003-2_zps86e06c41.jpg)
(http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o538/ItsJustCricket/004-2_zps8358d175.jpg)
(http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o538/ItsJustCricket/002-2_zpsbe8bcc6b.jpg)
A very interesting, unique feature about these chest guards is, much like the thigh pads, they are malleable, and can be bent into position for optimum comfort and fit. It is admittedly a little tricky to bend them to begin with - I wasn't able to do much until George explained that, like stretching muscles, you need to hold them in their stretched position for a few seconds to have any real effect. Then it became pretty easy. The results are quite impressive I think. Firstly bent slightly outwards:
(http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o538/ItsJustCricket/011-1_zps17f12ab5.jpg)
And now bent slightly inwards and more compact:
(http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o538/ItsJustCricket/013-1_zps1185b6b7.jpg)
Another important feature is how thin and light they are. The chest guard is a normal Mens size, so I weighed it and compared it with an Aero P1 Chest Guard (Medium size). As you can see, the Stretton Fox came out a bit lighter...
(http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o538/ItsJustCricket/007-1_zps12c9199f.jpg)
(http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o538/ItsJustCricket/008-1_zpsa83123e4.jpg)
I also put the guard on and bashed it with a mallet - as hard as I could - and couldn't feel a thing! :)
We will shoot a video review of this chest guard next week, and will go into a bit more detail in that, so check out our YouTube channel if you want to see more! For now, I will leave by saying once again a big thank you and congratulations to George for producing something of this quality. I'm delighted to say that there is certainly going to be more Stretton Fox ingenuity to come here at IJC...
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Massive thanks to Paul for the post, really pleased you like the guards and chuffed to bits to see someone also doing the Mallet test !
Looking at the pics one thing that comes to mind is the way the spacer fabric on the inside looks like its gathering and making ripples. Just to confirm this is intentional as when being worn guards will always move a bit so to have a loose back avoids any rubbing or discomfort ;) always thinking !
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My 3 year old tried on one of the chest guards and thought the mallet test was hilarious - he couldn't understand why it hurt when he hit me in my unprotected chest, but not him through his new body armour... (!)
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The technology involved stems from a military background, and has been adapted from their typical use to protect against domestic violence, stabbing, shooting etc. to protection against the (almost) as deadly leather cricket ball! Needless to say, they are virtually indestructible! :)
Hands up all those that think these will need to be mandatory with every new bat purchase ;)
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How short would the ball have to be to hit you in the chest Paul?!
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Hands up all those that think these will need to be mandatory with every new bat purchase ;)
Need a like button!
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A little bird told me the stretton fox comes out slightly better than remfry on a mallet test.
That's impressive great review
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How short would the ball have to be to hit you in the chest Paul?!
It's the beamers that get me, Tom! And at my level we get a fair few of those, trust me!
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can these be ordered yet?
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can these be ordered yet?
The one I have is not for sale (I'm actually keeping it for myself!) But if you speak to George, he'll be able to make some for you, Ian, if he doesn't already have some suitable sizes in stock for you...
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how much are these ?
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I went up to get one of these chest guards this week as I have had surgery on my chest and I have to say the service was outstanding! George did everything possible to get the best fit and protect the area which I need protecting, which sits outside of a stadard chest guard. The protction is amazing and once home I tried the mallet test and I couldn't feel a thing.
I had been using an areo chest guard, but the one I got from here is MILES ahead! Before it was ovbious that I was wearing a chest guard which led to all teams thinking I was scared of the short stuff, but with this one I can bareley see it under a shirt, with a jumper over the top I think it will be completly hidden. The straps are so simple, but so effective. When trying it on I wondered why other pads don't have these straps (which are detachable) as it allows you to get the fit perfect everytime, if you want it under shirts for match days or over the top of nets etc and with the new bags there for it, nothing will get lost! I now fell 100% confident that if I should get hit, I won't get hurt and the doc won't get a call on a saturday afternoon!
I would highly recommend any player getting the thigh pads as these are also fantastic too.
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how much are these ?
£60
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I went up to get one of these chest guards this week as I have had surgery on my chest and I have to say the service was outstanding! George did everything possible to get the best fit and protect the area which I need protecting, which sits outside of a stadard chest guard. The protction is amazing and once home I tried the mallet test and I couldn't feel a thing.
I had been using an areo chest guard, but the one I got from here is MILES ahead! Before it was ovbious that I was wearing a chest guard which led to all teams thinking I was scared of the short stuff, but with this one I can bareley see it under a shirt, with a jumper over the top I think it will be completly hidden. The straps are so simple, but so effective. When trying it on I wondered why other pads don't have these straps (which are detachable) as it allows you to get the fit perfect everytime, if you want it under shirts for match days or over the top of nets etc and with the new bags there for it, nothing will get lost! I now fell 100% confident that if I should get hit, I won't get hurt and the doc won't get a call on a saturday afternoon!
I would highly recommend any player getting the thigh pads as these are also fantastic too.
Thanks for sharing that - very interesting and good to know for my own reference too! The chest guard I've been using is really bulky and stands out a mile. I always felt a little silly wearing it; but I agree, with this, nobody will notice you're wearing one. Useful to know all the other stuff you've mentioned too, cheers.
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They are serious bits of kit! I've been places and had custom bats made which was a good experience, but the level of customer service here was outstanding. George listended to the requirements of what I needed and then took this onboard and created something which is 100% right for what I need.
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A little bird told me the stretton fox comes out slightly better than remfry on a mallet test.
That's impressive great review
The Remfry comparison seems to come up an awful lot, George - what are the main differences between your guards and theirs? Not having used or stocked any Remfry kit before - or even seen them in the flesh - I am a little in the dark here...
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i need to get myself one of these !
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A little bird told me the stretton fox comes out slightly better than remfry on a mallet test.
That's impressive great review
Hopefully ill get my set shortly from George so can try and few more hammer blows but there was def a difference when we tested both in the office during the meeting we had just after Xmas from initial trials.
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The Remfry comparison seems to come up an awful lot, George - what are the main differences between your guards and theirs? Not having used or stocked any Remfry kit before - or even seen them in the flesh - I am a little in the dark here...
I have huge respect for Remfry as hes been making guards for ages and must admit am chuffed to bits to be talked about in the same category :) so firstly a massive thanks to you guys for liking my product !!
For actual reviews I think it would be best for others to see what they think if they have experienced both and post on the forum, I don't want to try and duck out but wouldn't want to be seen overly promoting myself for obvious reasons !
But heres my thoughts... )
To start from a aesthetic pov they are very different with the choice of a leather or technical finish. What I love about both brands is they are simple and clean, no go faster stripes and just focus on the product and what it actually does without reference to "uber-tech-thingies" that actually don't add anything to the performance of a guard.
Remfry guards all have a slightly softer finish with a very high density foam (I think between 15-20mm) for its primary barrier, whilst I have a combination of various materials which are fused together (8mm max excluding guard skin), it's like different ways of achieving the same objective. My focus was always to have a malleable finish that really grips the user as i used to get so fed up of pads "jumping" out of place when running or just playing shots.
The finish used in Stretton Fox guards also makes them super light, plus gripping the body so much avoids any feeling of having to carry excess baggage so the batter can just concentrate on hitting the ball and not about where their thigh pad is!
The outer skin of the Remfry guards I have seen are leather with a towelling inner whilst Stretton Fox pads have an entire top surface in loop velcro, so removable straps can be placed anywhere rather than only in one place. You can take them off completely and have under a baselayer or adjust to wear over a tracksuit, so you always get a good fit. The spacer fabric on Stretton Fox guards means they are machine washable.
From a longevity pov, any cricketer knows that towelling tends to get quite nasty after a few seasons unless it can be washed at a good temperature. When I was a kid I used to freeze my thigh pads (much to the disgust of my family!) to kill the bacteria before then washing them but the leather would go hard and need treatment and towelling would pile and fall apart going quite thin.
Stretton Fox guards will get more comfortable season after season. I can be confident with this as when making tweaks to guards at Warwickshire Bears most of them didn't want me to touch the actual guards as they had all moulded exactly how they wanted and were getting more comfortable as time went on, kind of like a pair of nice leather shoes !
I met up with a friend of Remfry who coaches at Worcestershire CCC and showed me a brand new set last July at an event in Essex. We did the mallet test to compare and the expression of shock on onlookers faces when hitting my guards did show there was quite a difference in the sort of punishment they guards can take.
Haha maybe one way to find out will be to have a good old fashioned Harry Hill "Fight !" and get a store to do an Oww-Ometer reading with all the different guards !
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Here's the video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xka0tf_9ySg
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Paul your a star ! love the review will have to get more kit over to you :)
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Paul your a star ! love the review will have to get more kit over to you :)
Haha I loved the part where he tried to hurt himself and ended up crying out in exhaustion haha!
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it is all about the mallet test! quality hammering.
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nice review Paul, who called? ;)