Top 10 Most Popular Pieces of Hockey Equipment

It may come as no surprise that the high end hockey equipment that is the most popular with the National Hockey League players is also the most popular with the general public.

This is precisely why the equipment manufacturers pay lofty figures in the form of endorsement deals to elite NHL players in order to wear and promote the newest equipment.

Here is a breakdown of the 10 most popular pieces of hockey equipment on the market today.

1.) Bauer One95 Hockey Skates - Bauer has long been a popular choice with professional hockey players and the company continues be on the leading edge of hockey equipment technology.

2.) Bauer Vapor XXXX Stick - Along with their incredible skate technology, Bauer continues to improve on their development of composite stick technology as well.

3.) CCM U+ Skates - The CCM U+ skates entered the market on a relatively quiet note.  There was not as much hype as is typically seen with a product launch by Nike Bauer or Easton, but these skates are quietly becoming very popular with professional players and are certainly worth consideration if you are in the market for a new pair of blades this season.

4.) Easton Stealth S17 Stick - The Easton lineup of sticks has been favored by many elite hockey players since they began producing Aluminum sticks a couple of decades ago.  The Easton brand name has been synonymous with leading edge composite technology and the S17 Ellipse stick is no different.

5.) Bauer Vapor XXX Lite Stick - Even with the advent of the Vapor XXXX, the Vapor XXX Lite has retained it’s popularity with pro players.  This stick was the first in a lineup of composite sticks to weigh in at less than 420 grams, the lightest stick ever produced by Nike Bauer.

6.) RBK 9K-O Stick - This is the stick that has created the most “buzz” and hype over the last couple of years with arguments stemming as to the actual effectiveness of the holes in the bottom of the shaft which RBK claims reduce wind drag during slap shots.  Pavel Datsyuk has used this stick with great effectiveness and several other pros have endorsed the technology as well.  Scientists, on the other hand, argue that the physics of the claim has little if any merit.  Test it out and see for yourself.

7.) Easton Stealth S17 Helmet - Easton partnered up with a great cycling helmet company in GIRO that has assisted them in developing one of the most form-fitting and lightweight helmets on the market, all without sacrificing protection.  One of the unique features of the helmet is that is allows for adjustment of the size without requiring any tools.  We  first saw this feature back in the 1980’s with the Cooper XL7 - luckily the Stealth S17 isn’t nearly as ugly as the old Cooper!

8.) Vaughn Velocity 3 Goal Pads - Vaughn is the premiere manufacturer of goal equipment and the Velocity line-up of pads continues to improve each year.  The Velocity 3 was first seen worn by Miikka Kiprusoff and have been a favorite of many Vaughn supporters ever since.

9.) RBK 9K Pump Skates - The popularity of these skates is most influenced by their use by Sidney Crosby and the development of a much better “pump” system than we saw when CCM introduced their ultra-heavy version of the Pump skate back in the 1990’s.

10.) RBK Edge Jersey - While this jersey lacked some functionality that made it less than desirable by players, the marketing brass at the NHL’s head office made these new jerseys fan friendly and  rolled them out with tremendous suspense and excitement.