change pants or insert extra protection

[samfisher 0]

Hi,

2 Months ago, I got checked from behind and felt pretty hard on the ice. You know, feet up in the air and landing complete horizontal on the ice.
Result: lower back and especially the tail-bone started to hurt a lot and I was out for 3 weeks.

Still today I can tell where I landed on the ice. The bruises are gone but still very sensitive.

My pants are Bauer Nexus 600 and if I have to believe the 'rich guys' way to cheap to play beerleague hockey.
(Our rich guys are the ones that wear Pro gear like APX2 and buy new skates every 3 months)

They told me that my pants have not enough protection and I should buy more high end gear.
Total one (girdle), APX2, ... (Bauer and RBK is what's sold here. Bauer is what our team buys)

For now I am using a Snowboard crash pant, borrowed from a friend. It helps a lot but it makes my hockeypants feeling less maneuverable.
So now I'm a bit stuck in what to do.

Keep my pants like they are and try not to fall on my back or go for new pants, with added protection. Or buy me a crash pant.

Any advice or experience?

thanks

[SlaterC42 51]

I think it comes down to personal opinion. I've seen guys put on elbow and shoulder pads I wouldn't play volleyball in, but they work fine for them. Everyone feels comfortable with different gear. Personally, I'll spend a little more for the added protection of higher level gear, but a lot of it comes down to fit. Go check out your LHS, try on as many pairs as you can, and see what protects you the best.

[chippa13 1844]

The 600s should have enough protection for beer league. Every now and then, no matter what you're wearing, you are going to fall right or get hit in just the right spot and it will hurt. However, if you really think you need the upgrade, look into close-outs and you can get 2 year old top of the line for the price of current 2nd/3rd tier product.

[flyers10 57]

Consider an under garment like Bauer padded jock or football version that has tailbone and hip padding.

[Davetronz 109]

Occasionally the padding will shift, especially the padding for the glutes, creating a gap between it and the tailbone piece.

You can try sewing in some elastic straps to hold the 3 pieces closer together, but not completely immobile.

[Chadd 916]

The undergarment route will be cheaper and work as well as anything else. I really like the G-form shorts that I tested, but they are more expensive than new pants.

[JAG 20]

I was in a similar situation recently. All of my gear was purchased about 15 years ago when I was playing high school hockey. I hadn't played in a LONG time... so when I got back into it, I just used all that old gear - which I soon found out was falling apart. My hockey pants, specifically, were very inadequate for competitive play. I like to spend my time in front of the net... and defensemen don't like that. I was getting cross checked in the lower back A LOT. My pants were offering ZERO protection. I recently upgraded to a much better pant that has far more padding in all the right places.

I decided to spend a little more and get better quality (with better protection), and I don't regret it. This gear should last a long while, and I feel more confident on the ice knowing I'm more protected.

As a few people have said already, go try stuff on at your local shop. Even if you buy it online in the end, this will give you a great idea of what's out there, and the differences between brands. You'll make a much better buying decision. Also, No piece of equipment will cover you 100% in all situations. You're still gonna catch that puck in the perfectly wrong place every now and again. But for the majority of the time, you'll be good to go.

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

I agree that the 600s should enough and that a padded undergarment will help provide any further padding you wish at a reasonable cost. You also need to remember that the of fall is probably pretty rare. You shouldn't go out and buy all new gear for something that almost never happens (unless it's truly dangerous).

[stick9 881]

Had this happen to my recently. I collided with a teammate, came down hard on my hip. i was sore and landed on the same hip again a few weeks later. I was thinking about have extra padding added to my pants (Reebok 9k) but opted to go the padded under garment route. There were plenty of options and the prices were very reasonable. I'd start there and work your way up.

[samfisher 0]

A lot of things to consider, thanks.
It's my chiropractor that advised me to look for a bit more protection in the lowerback and tailbone area.
A nasty discus hernia between L4 and L5, with a numb leg (from time to time) could get worst if I don't take a little more care for that area.

And indeed, the check from behind is not something that happens every game. Crashlanding on the butt, yep, a lot... especially when trying to master backwards crossovers.

I'm gonna take a look at the local hockeyshop and try some stuff on. I notice that a decent padded underpant is quite expensive, so maybe a new Hockey pant is not a bad choice.
Hopefully they've got some in discount.

[ouroboros 4]

I can relate to this for sure. I've been using Nexus 800 pants and while most of the protection is more than adequate, I feel they also leave something to be desired in the tailbone padding. After taking a similar spill (feet swept and landed flat on my backside) I started looking at options for more padding. I already had a pair of crash pants, but I agree that they limit movement and add too much bulk under hockey pants, and I also couldn't bring myself to buy another pair of padded undergarments that cost almost as much as new pants. I also looked at the Nexus 1000 and APX2 pants recently and the tailbone padding is better, but I'm not sure that it's a big enough improvement to justify the price for that alone. On the other hand, if you can find a pair of Reebok 20k or similar pants and they fit you well, they have a much more substantial tailbone guard.

Eventually I'm going to get new pants (since I should probably be in the next size up anyway), but in the meantime I fashioned some extra padding out of a piece of 1/4" thick foam. I cut it to cover the tailbone piece and overlap the hip pads since I always seem to find the gap between the two. 1/4" more may not sound like much, but I've taken a couple hard falls on the back of my hip since then and it made a big difference. If you can find the materials easily and cheap enough it may be worth trying. The foam I used is 2lb density Volara. It's a brand of cross-linked polyethylene foam similar to what's already used in the pants, though not quite as durable, and a 36 x 60" sheet cost me about $15 shipped. Zotefoam plastazote seems to be the preferred brand and may be easier for you to get. EVA might also work, but it isn't as flexible and doesn't recover as fast, look for large exercise mats for this.

As far as how much protection is enough, adding on to what others have said, pay for as much protection as you think is necessary to keep playing. If you get hurt and can't pay the bills, you probably won't be playing much hockey!