Recommend some equipment

[trtaylor 3]

I'm an older guy (50+) and getting back into hockey after a long time away from the sport. I'll be starting again by taking advantage of the local rink's adult hockey clinic. From there, will skate in some of the public open hockey sessions.

I'm starting to shop for my protective gear and am looking for some recommendations. Do you think it is possible to get gloves, shin guards, pants, elbow pads, shoulder pads and a helmet/face mask on a budget of $250-$300? If that is expecting too much, I'd probably first break the budget on a helmet, followed by gloves.

I don't need the latest & greatest, but I do like to get good value. For shoulder pads, I am looking at Sherwood 5030's. I've seen reference to them here in ModSquad and they would seem to meet my criteria.

Any other suggestions for:

shin guards

pants

elbow pads

shoulder pads

helmet

gloves

Thanks.

Tim

[Chadd 916]

Head in to your local shop and start trying stuff on. You're in a good location and have a number of decent shops within 60 minutes or so.

[Jarick 5]

Here's my recommendations:

1. Do not skimp on a helmet, get something that fits properly (doesn't squeeze or wobble), get a full cage, and get it put together and adjusted properly. That might run $75-100 right there, but it's the most important piece of gear.

2. Try to get black colored helmet/gloves/pants. Most teams use black equipment.

3. I'd buy new everything except pants...those don't touch the skin directly most of the time, and they wash easily. I've seen $150 pants for $30 at used sports stores.

4. Try everything on and only buy what fits and moves comfortably with you.

5. Don't go too crazy with your first set of gear (aside from the helmet)...odds are you'll want to try something else if you get hooked on playing again.

[Chadd 916]

  Jarick said:

5. Don't go too crazy with your first set of gear (aside from the helmet)...odds are you'll want to try something else if you get hooked on playing again.

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Most guys will completely replace all of their gear within 18 months of starting back up again.

[number21 3]

Of the items you listed I would say spend more on:

#1 Helmet

#2 Pants with lots of upper padding (if you think you'll be falling a bit)

#3 Elbows (same falling thing)

#4 Middle of the road shins, if you're good you can probably go cheap but there is a difference (in my experience).

#5 Shoulders/Gloves - Get whats comfortable and/or breathable.

Find a good shop, maybe see if you can talk to the manager about a package deal for all your protective. It's worth a shot.

[B19Kress 0]

  Chadd said:

  Jarick said:

5. Don't go too crazy with your first set of gear (aside from the helmet)...odds are you'll want to try something else if you get hooked on playing again.

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Most guys will completely replace all of their gear two to three times within 18 months of starting back up again.

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if they hang around here

oh and I'd try to find stuff thats about to get replaced(or already has) by a new model

[GimpIndustries 1]

  Jarick said:

Here's my recommendations:

1. Do not skimp on a helmet, get something that fits properly (doesn't squeeze or wobble), get a full cage, and get it put together and adjusted properly. That might run $75-100 right there, but it's the most important piece of gear.

Read more  

I think this is a VERY important point, you can't do much without your brain functioning. Hitting your head will always hurt, help prevent damage to your head with a good lid.

[Chadd 916]

  GimpIndustries said:

  Jarick said:

Here's my recommendations:

1. Do not skimp on a helmet, get something that fits properly (doesn't squeeze or wobble), get a full cage, and get it put together and adjusted properly. That might run $75-100 right there, but it's the most important piece of gear.

Read more  

I think this is a VERY important point, you can't do much without your brain functioning. Hitting your head will always hurt, help prevent damage to your head with a good lid.

Read more  

You can get a V08 for less than $60, unless you want the cage as well.

[Scoobersti 0]

  Chadd said:

  Jarick said:

5. Don't go too crazy with your first set of gear (aside from the helmet)...odds are you'll want to try something else if you get hooked on playing again.

Read more  

Most guys will completely replace all of their gear within 18 months of starting back up again.

Read more  

This was 100% true for me. I didn't play for about 6 years and when I first got back into it I used all of my old gear (except elbow pads since I lost my elbow pads). I ended up with replacing everything within a year or so.

[duch 0]

I would not skimp on a helmet or pants as previously posted. You can probably go a little lower end on elbow pads, shin guards and gloves because I take it you won't be playing any contact or semi-contact hockey. I would definitely recommend a face or eye shield, or at the very least a cage for your helmet. Also as previously posted go about middle of the line for helmet and pants and you could probably go slightly lower for the rest of the stuff. Here are some examples from the three major equipment players for those items.

Reebok/Jofa Bauer Easton

shin pads 4 or 6K's Supreme 50's or 30's S-7's or S-4's

elbow pads 4 or 6K's Supreme 50's or 30's S-7's or S-5's

pants 5 or 6K's Supreme 70's or Vapor XX's Stealth S-7's or S-5's

helmet 6K 5500 or 4500 S-7 or S-9

gloves 4 or 5K's Vapor V or X Stealth 3 or 5's

You may also take a look at some traditional Sherwood equipment for your elbow/shin pads and the Sherwood Pro Glove which are substantially lower in price but still offer decent protection. The gloves in particular are less than half the cost of a lot of the major equipment manufacturers pro level gloves and offer above average protection and value. Hope this helps you.

[HattrickSwayze 3]

Especially if you buy cheap gear. The first time a puck hits you on an unprotected area of your shin, or your elbow pad slips out of the way when you take a tumble, you'll be looking for something new. Take your time and try on everything, don't just look at what the salesman wants you to. When I first started hockey, I bought all of my gear for around $300. Every single piece of it had been replaced within probably 6-8 months for various reasons. Fit, protection, and wear mostly.

If you think you'll be taking lots of tumbles, it's worth the extra money to get a little more protection. Your elbows, tailbone, and hips will thank you later on. There's also some good deals to be had online right now, albeit without the luxury of trying something on and knowing whether it fits right.

[trtaylor 3]

Thanks! This was the info I was looking for. Have a good LHS nearby (where I bought my skates) and will support them as much as I can. What is a good on-line retailer to use for the items I don't end up getting from the LHS? I've Googled a few, but didn't know if some were preferred over others.

[cptjeff 0]

Hockeymonkey is pretty much the standard. You also might want to look at the good deal thread pinned to the top of this forum.

[trtaylor 3]

  cptjeff said:

Hockeymonkey is pretty much the standard. You also might want to look at the good deal thread pinned to the top of this forum.

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Thanks

[legiahockey 3]

you can save alot if you check hockeygiant.com's clearence and weekly specials section. sometimes theres some real good deals there...and ofcourse ebay...

[dsjunior1388 81]

  trtaylor said:

  cptjeff said:

Hockeymonkey is pretty much the standard. You also might want to look at the good deal thread pinned to the top of this forum.

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Thanks

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You didn't mention skates, are you set there? After a good helmet, a solid pair of skates will take you farther along than pretty much anything else.

[trtaylor 3]

  dsjunior1388 said:

You didn't mention skates, are you set there? After a good helmet, a solid pair of skates will take you farther along than pretty much anything else.

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Yes. CCM Vector 05