I'm just wondering peoples opinions of what the best kind of throat protector is or the pro's and con's of the the plastic one that hangs off the mask vs. the ones that wrap around your neck.

I personally find the "banana shaped" clear one that hangs off the mask extremely distracting. I prefer the "necklace" pad that velcros directly around the neck. Perhaps this doesn't offer quite as much protection, but it doesn't diminish my "abilities" in the net like the big plastic sheath thing does.

I've always worn the clear plastic one. If you attach it correctly, you won't even notice it. One con is that you can take a slapper to it and it can be broken, probably more at the higher levels. My d-man from my team took a full on slapper and broke mine in half in one of our pickup sessions last year. Playing without it after that incident for the rest of the session was a little unnerving. (If anyone knows anything about my team, they pick upper corners a lot and shoot high. We have a few guys who can clock in over 80 MPH on their slapper) So it's either keep playing with 2 pieces dangling off your cage, or attempt to cut or untie it from your cage. I imagine if this happened in a game, it may take awhile to do. You can also buy a 3-pack of these for relatively cheap.

Another potential con is over time, the string may come untied or break at the least opportune moment...

But I don't think I'd ever try one that you wear on your neck. I think I'd get too hot...

I don't care for them but I still wear them. I find them distracting and they block my view for close in scrums. I've also had mine smashed to pieces by a slapshot (JMS, of all places) and I shudder to think what would have happened if I weren't wearing it at the time. Since I have two helmets of different manufacturers - Cooper and Olie - I ALWAYS wear it with my Cooper, which is a lot more open in the net area. The Olie helmet I have (sort of a cheap Itech/RBK goalie helmet) I don't wear a throat protector, but I have an extra heavy throat collar that is specially made that I wear with it (it goes around the neck sort of like a thick turtle neck on a bib). The Olie helmet is lower fitting and covers more of the neck area, though not perfectly. I find the heavier throat collar still gives me the comfort level I need when I wear that helmet.

Wear a dangler, when tied probably you quickly acclimate to the noise, a good quality most likely won't break. I have worn a dangler since peewees and have only had one broken, in a selects game. If you need pictures of a properly tied dangler I am more than willing to take pictures of my mask and send them to you.

I had one broken on a hard wrist shot believe it or not playing in Schwans over the summer. No way I'd play without one. I'll take my health any day of the week over a little bit of distraction to my playing ability. Same reason I'll never wear a half shield or go with no mask when I skate out. I saw one guy get his face cut while wearing a half shield last year at JMS and another guy lose two teeth playing AHA summer league due to an accidental high stick. Not worth the risk.

I like the dangler. The noise doesn't bother me, the way I have it tied prevents it from interfering with my vision, and I've never had one completely broken during a game. Cracked, yes, but fully broken, no.

I used to use a collar-style neck protector, but I found it to be far too hot. I'm nearly overheating out there as it is, so anything I can do to be a bit cooler is a plus in my book.

The collar-style protector does provide a bit more protection from an errant skate or an unexpected shot, so if those things make you squirm, a collar-style throat guard might be right for you.

Danglers and neck guards are a very personal choice. For me I can stand wearing a dangler. Too much noise and can be a maintenance problem when tied up improperly. I have tried and just cant wear it.

the two neck guards I am about to mention are great for us goalies that are "husky" and either have no neck, or a small neck.

As for neck guards everything out there is way too hard and way to hot. The only neck guard that I was able to wear was a maltese gel gps collar. Trust me it isnt a gimmick and it does work.
http://www.maltesehockey.com/
Amber wears one as well when in net.

The other option that is also comfortable is a Farrell goalie shirt. I wear one at the moment and so far it has been great. It is cool and moves with the body. I also dont feel like I am being choked.
http://www.goaliedeals.com/farfbjlsgshrtsr.html
I use the long sleeve version.

So there are plenty of options out there for us goalies that do not like a dangler and are looking for something different.

I wore only a dangler until a month ago when I took a wrist shot from between the circle in warm-ups. It hit me just to the side of my trach on top of the vein/artery. Dropped like a stone but was up in 10 minutes. Weird shot that didn’t look like a riser, followed it up until it was obvious that I was behind it time wise so I ducked a bit to my glove side, that lifted the dangler up and POW. Scared the hell out of me and I was flinching for a few weeks after that. Stopped in the ER for a cat scan to see if the blood vessels were damaged, good to go.

Bought a Maltese GPS collar. I wear both now. The collar was really hot for a couple of ice times but I don’t notice it at all now – you adapt. Wearing both is no problem for me so why not. I was hit in the throat the next ice time I had and no problem – the puck got up and under the dangler on a deflected slapshot – worked fine.

I tried a throat/collar bone protector that you put on like a shirt, but I felt like I was being choked. It sat right on my throat and I hated it. I use a dangling one. It takes a little to get used to it and you need to tie it up right so it doesn't get caught in your pads and prevent you from looking where you want to look, but after taking a slapper to the throat I won't play without some sort of protection.