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First thoughts:
Pro-Merc Bounce Shirt: I was never one for the padded undershirts. They always felt weird to me. Either really hot, difficult to move in, pointless (no real padding) or a combination thereof. As soon as I slipped on the Sly Pro-Merc Bounce shirt, I noticed it was different. I've worn padded shirts from Proto, Empire, and Dye. The problem I had with them is that the front padding is all one pad. The Sly shirt is different. There is the main chest pad and a smaller pad centered over the belly button (at least on me). This allows freer movement.
Pro-Merc Front Player Elbow Pads: I ordered the L/XL size (I ordered this size for all three items). I don't know if Sly makes Large and Extra Large sizes separately, because my gear all says 'XL', where ANSGear.com had the Large/XL size together. This is only an issue with the elbow pads for me though. Up until the elbow, the XL fits perfect. At the elbow, it seems a little big. Maybe that's just Sly telling me I need to be lifting more weights (which is true). Maybe that's just how it's supposed to be. Sly's design of putting multiple, smaller pads instead of one solid pad again allow for freer movement. My Eclipse and Empire pads always fought me when I would turn my wrist, they just didn't feel right. The Sly's have no problem. The padding is shaped to twist with your wrist as you move. I also like the Velcro strap at the top to keep them in place (combined with the thumb hole/half glove, these don't seem like they'll move too much).
Pro-Merc Knee Bounce Pad: This is the one that covers both your knee and your shin (since I wear a kilt, I wanted my legs covered). The padding placement seems a little odd. At the knee, most of the padding seems focused on the inside of the knee. I may try to switch them later and see if they can be worn on the opposite leg (yes, I do have them on right
). I really like the dual Velcro bands, one above and one below the knee. My Empire pads (from 07 or 08) only had a small Velcro piece to tighten, and relied on a sticky gel band to hold it in place. That didn't usually work, and felt pretty awesome pulling down on my hair legs. The Sly's are superior here. The Velcro "Power Bands" are on the outside of the pad (both for the Elbow and Knee pads). These pads are also shaped to allow free and easier movement (which is Sly's main goal). They fit quite snugly (again, wearing the Large/XL size), where my Empire pads never did.Based on first reactions, and experience with other companies pads, the Sly pads seem like a great investment ($49.95 per unit on ANSGear.com. The price is comparable to most other 2011 pads, even some of the 2010 pads still in stock. They also look really good. The run a Black and Grey color scheme which will match just about anyone's gear (if you are like me and your pads will be visible). I won't really recommend them until I play a few games and see the quality (which appears very good. Nice, tight stitching all around).
But so far, I can definitely say I recommend them.
