sportchek for sure.... sign up for the
"team assist program" which is absolutely free... took like <2weeks to deliver to my house... u get stacks of coupons.... %20 off any item! is the best coupon of them alll... rest is like apparel/footwear etc %25... still good tho.
refer to this
https://team.sportchek.ca/pages/form.jsp
for me i have really low end gear... shoulders,pants,shin guards, gloves skates...stick
$30 vic shoulder pads
$30 on sale warrior bentley
$30 vic guards
$69.99 +%20 discount S11 gloves... (just like the feel of it
even tho i get massive blisters)
$120 rbk 4k on sale
$<50 low end(heavy) >80(medium-light) >150(light) sticks
imo if u have a good stamina and vision of the ice... go for low end just to save lots of money..
but if ure scared of getting hit from the puck go for high or mid level gear at cost
if u cant afford practicing skating everyday on ice...
try rollerblading outside even people may say it will mess up ur habit but doesnt hurt to try.... cuz i made a transition from inline to ice and it was fine for me... + a great way to save money and workin on conditioning.