East Coast Dyes (ECD) is a company that has built a reputation for creating some of the best lacrosse head and mesh products on the market with revolutionary designs in mesh fibers and head plastics that have changed the game over the years.
So this summer when they released the ECD Impact goalie head to the market the lacrosse goalie community was ecstatic!
Along with the Impact goalie head, ECD also released its brand-new Impact Mesh in both semi-hard and semi-soft options.
This is the first new mesh we’ve really seen from any of the major lacrosse brands in a long time.
The impact mesh comes in a variety of options. You can choose from semi-hard or semi-soft mesh and the mesh colors come in white, black (semi-soft only), and striker mesh (semi-soft only).
To help us with this review of the Impact goalie mesh we’ve recruited two amazing goalies in Syracuse legend, Team Canada Goalie, and Head of Youth Development with Goaliesmith Drake Porter and Canadian University Lacrosse National Champion with the Brock Badgers and owner of Stand Tall Goaltending Simon Bellamy.
Drake as well as the rest of the Goaliesmith crew, especially co-founder of Goaliesmith Mike Gvozden helped collaborate with ECD to help build the Impact goalie head and mesh. Mike was really involved in the initial development and design of the head.
To review the Impact goalie mesh we’ll look at its main performance features, its durability, how to string up an Impact head, and also the cost of the mesh.
ECD Impact Head: Product Features and Durability
The mesh was the part of the ECD Impact project that Drake was most involved in.
When he first went into ECD, Drake told them that he wasn’t a huge fan of their previous mesh products. The ECD team was excited to hear the honest feedback on their product and were looking at ways they could change their mesh with the Impact line.
The focus was wanting to have a mesh that holds up and is durable. This is especially the case with a goalie’s head when you’re facing shots constantly at 90 mph that are pounding in the pocket how does it hold up two weeks later?
This was Drake’s biggest issue with the mesh products he used in college. It might throw well at first, but two weeks later it would be ripping, or it would completely bag out.
So, a major priority was whether is it usable out of the box and how does it work over time?
The mesh is very lightweight mainly due to the fibers used by ECD to help reduce the weight in your pocket.
ECD also redesigned the diamond shape of the mesh to make them smaller to help provide you with a mesh that gives you more accurate outlets, increased rebound control, and improved string-ability.
The Impact mesh is also very durable. The lightweight and strong fibers used throughout; provide durability you can rely on and will last over time and if different types of weather. I really liked how the mesh held up in the rain and didn’t totally bag out once it got wet.
Simon’s thoughts: “Right off the bat the mesh came out of the package stringable. There’s some mesh that you have to go to war with before you put it into the head because the mesh is unable to stretch to fit the face shape. I felt that the mesh was pretty malleable, and I was able to almost get it to the pocket and channel that I wanted out of the box.”
“The rebound control is really good with this mesh and it doesn’t get tangled up in the mesh. The Impact mesh also does a really great job of holding the shape of the channel, unlike other meshes, it is almost like memory foam in how it holds its channel and pocket so well.”
I hit up Lars the SidewallJedi – who strings goalie heads for the pros – to get this thoughts on the new ECD Impact mesh:
Really good. Stretches more than Grizzly 1 and less than Grizzly 2.
ECD Impact Mesh Pocket Stringing
One important element of a goalie head design is to make sure the stringers can be put in a delicious pocket.
This head like any product from ECD is built for stringers. It has tons of sidewall holes that provide you with a ton of variety in how you can string your head. The Impact was engineered to allow you to string the perfect pocket and if you’re not a stringer they also have a cool feature we’ll touch on later in this blog.
Simon: “When you grab any new head you expect it to be a bit of a Rubik’s cube when you’re stringing – you don’t really know how it’s going to shape the pocket of the channel. It’s got the same sidewall holes and top string set up as the Eclipse II – the top string holes run clean into the top string holes like an Eclipse II there’s not a lot of gap between the two.”
As Lax Goalie Rat intern and stick stringer David Miedema points out, the ECD Impact head tapers in towards the bottom and that allows stringers to put in tasty channels into this head. It’s easier to string than the Eclipse 2, Nemi, and Mark 2G for that reason –
As mentioned previously, the Impact mesh comes in a variety of options. You can choose from semi-hard or semi-soft mesh and the mesh colors come in white, black (semi-soft only), and striker mesh (semi-soft only).
You can purchase the ECD Impact goalie head both strung and unstrung on LacrosseMonkey.
For just the mesh you will be looking at a cost of $39.99 and if you would like to purchase an ECD mesh kit (mesh and strings included) the price jumps to $52.99.
A cheaper option would be the Disciple goalie mesh from The Mesh Dynasty comes in at $25.00. This mesh has all of the qualities you’d want in goalie mesh at a cheaper cost than the big brand names.
Difference Between Semi-Hard and Semi-Soft Mesh
A lot of goalies (and Goalie Moms/Dads) ask what me: what is the difference between semi-hard and semi-soft mesh?
When I was growing up semi-hard was all had. Now nearly every company producing goalie mesh also has a semi-soft option.
So what is the difference? Let’s let Mr. Wanderful answer that one:
Video Review of the ECD Impact Goalie Head and Mesh
Here is a video that Evan, Drake, and Simon talking about the East Coast Dyes Impact goalie head and mesh.
Huge thanks to Drake Porter and Simon Bellamy for helping out with this head review!
Conclusion
We’d recommend the Impact head and mesh to any level of goalie, particularly goalie at the high school and college level that is looking for a sturdier head to use.
The head offers a lot of important features that we look for in a goalie head. Its lightweight design allows you to move effortlessly while in the cage. While its reinforced scoop helps give you that added stiffness you need to prevent shots from hitting the top of the plastic and going in.
The newly designed Impact mesh as well as the number of sidewall holes on the head allow you to create a limitless amount of stringing combinations that you’ll be able to throw with and control rebounds with.
Drake’s recommendation: “I would recommend this to any goalie who would like to try it, in particular, a higher-level high-school goalie before you get stuck in the way of whatever you’re using. This is especially when you get into those higher levels where having that extra bit of stiffness in the head is really important.”
Simon: “In the early stages use the mesh bags out a lot, and quite quickly. But once it is fully broken in and you make adjustments to the sidewall pattern this mesh holds its shape like none other. The channel is durable and even months later the rebound control remains close to how it was when the mesh was fresh. The mesh keeps its texture over a long period of time as well for a consistent feel regardless of wear and tear.”
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