Equalizer Brooms and a DIY Idea

So I have a post on new broom technology and that post might be obsolete already as shown by this article and this one.  Apparently the Equalizer has been around for a while now, but I only just recently saw it and I also just heard about it on an episode of The Curling Show where Glenn Howard was a guest.

 
I find it interesting that in the first article, it says that Kevin Martin doesn't need the Equalizer broom because his sweepers are so good already.  That should be in the ad campaign or something.  "With this broom, your team can sweep as well as Kevin Martin's team." 

I saw a tweet recently (I don't remember who) asking if they could just put some aluminum foil on their broom and get the same effect.  My guess is no, though I'm sure that won't stop people from trying.  My guess is you'd get better results with an actual heat reflecting material.  Not sure where one buys it in bulk, but you could take apart something like this Headring and use that as your reflector.  Just a thought. 

Curling Gear - Shot Shoes

My team has a bye this week, so here's another post on curling gear, specifically shoes.  Since the fall of 2008, I have used the Shot shoes from Goldline.  These shoes were picked because they were among the cheapest ($95 plus shipping).  I hadn't really been curling that long yet at the time, but had been told by several curlers that buying shoes is a really good purchase.

I could not agree more.  I remember at the start of that season, Vice and I were practicing and it was my first time wearing my new curling shoes.  After a few slides, I said to him, "I feel like I can make any shot in these shoes."  Now, as described in a few of these posts, I certainly am not a great player, but I could definitely feel the difference in my slide between wearing shoes and using a slider.  And while this is hard to directly attribute to the shoes, by the end of that season, we had a seven game win streak and almost won the second half season for the league.  (Let me just say that there was a LOT of luck involved in that win streak.)

One thing that my shoes don't have is a toe dip on my right shoe (FYI, I'm right handed).  I can see how having the toe dip would reduce the resistance there a little bit.  Additionally, for the Shot shoe, the teflon thickness is only 1/16".  I can't speak to this from experience, but they say you should be able to get more weight in shots with thicker teflon.  So I'm guessing that my next set of shoes will be thicker, but I'm a little worried that, combined with a toe dip, it'll be even harder to dial back my weight when I need to.  But there's probably always adjustments for new shoes.

Recently, Shot Rock Curling Supplies set up shop at the club and I was looking at the Balance Plus shoes, all of which have a dimple in the center of the teflon part of the shoe.  It was explained to me that this forces you to have your foot flat and therefore better balanced.  For me at least, with my tuck slide, I'm not sure that I'll get the full benefit as my slide has me on my toes. 

I didn't try them on, so I guess I don't really know.  It'd be nice if someone (me?) were able to try on a bunch of shoes and write up a comprehensive comparison.  But until then, I can tell you that I like my Shot shoes and I would recommend to pretty much all curlers that they get some curling shoes.