By Washed Up Goalie on April 3, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

Product Review: Vaughn Legacy T 4000 Catch Glove

Back with another gear review of a piece I’ve had a chance to really break in and try out. I first got the Vaughn Legacy T 4000 catch glove in March of 2000 after my first season of DIII JV hockey. I remember the timing because me and my teammates were sitting around the TV watching Minnesota Boy’s High School Hockey Tournament while I open and closed my glove to break it in. Almost 20 years later it’s perfectly broken in.

This glove is huge. When I say huge, I mean almost 13-inches across. There is no way Kay Whitmore would approve this glove for use in the NHL today. Despite its size, it doesn’t feel that big on the hand. I might just be saying that because I’ve been wearing it for so long though. I remember one of my coaches saying, “That glove needs training wheels it’s so big.” when it came in.

Other specs for this glove include a two piece cuff, and a Double T allowing for not only a deep pocket, but greater vision of the puck as you watch it into your glove. Having used a Double T for so long, I’m not sure I’ll ever go back to a single. The lacing on the glove is standard. While I like the look of the skate lace, I don’t like the decreased visibility through it.

One of my favorite parts of this glove is the cheater. Not only does it cover that area from the cuff to the pocket, but it is angled slightly forward. My previous glove, a Vaughn Legacy T 2000 had a cheater, but it wasn’t angled, and I felt like some pucks would hit it, but end up rolling or flipping over it. With the angled cheater on the 4000 that rarely happens.

A post purchase modification I made was bending the finger tips of the glove inward. I did this in part on purpose, and on accident. I noticed the curve starting to form because of the way I rested my glove on my thigh/pads when play was at the other end of the ice. I eventually noticed this curved fingertip helped me seal off the glove when I closed it – keeping the puck inside.

An often overlooked feature of this glove is the wrist strap. Sure it’s like other wrist straps, but Vaughn designed it so that the strap could be tightened from the outside of the glove – with your blocker still on. Every time I try on a glove at the store, this is the first thing I look for, and I haven’t seen any other gloves of late with this option.