Gear needed to play roller

[Utterkaos94 11]

So I have all of the gear needed for ice hockey, plus I have roller hockey skates and paintball pants (which are basically the same as inline pants). What else would I need to play roller? How much protection do you need compared to ice hockey? Also, does getting hit by a roller hockey puck hurt as much as an ice hockey puck?

[gosinger 122]

As you don't specify which surface you'll be playing on, I am simply going to assume you'll play on a multitude of surfaces, some very rough.

First you'll have to switch from hockey pants to roller pants (which in 90% of cases are girdles) with long cover pants (I assume your paintball pants are unpadded?) that cover the girdle and shins, as almost every surface is going to tear up the ice pants & socks.

Next would be a stick, again most surfaces are going to tear the bottom of your ice sticks. The most common choice (around here for rough surfaces, no sports-court or tiles) would be a 2-piece stick, which is a shaft with an ABS (or other durable) blade press-fitted.

Third would be wheels that are a proper match for your surface and weight - too soft and (again) they'll be torn apart, too hard and you'll slip. I've destroyed pretty much every set of wheels that came with skates on the surface I most commonly play at, but had no other use for them...

You can leave your shoulder pads at home or switch them for a padded shirt - but you shouldn't need them in most situations, as it is no-hitting, you won't slide as far as on ice, etc. Also, you'll be less hot :)

In general I "downscale" protection for roller as I don't play on a competitive level, as in mid-level (but still well fitting!) elbows and shins, a girdle with good hip and tailbone protection, and my ice helmet (wouldn't want to downscale there). As for the puck, I'd say it can hurt just as much, but the game is played differently with less full-load-slapshots - YMMV.

[x-axis 44]

This all depends on the type of roller hockey you intend on playing and how much money you want to spend. So I'll assume rec league or shinny since you want to wear paint ball pants. At the very least, I'd get a breathable girdle and roller hockey gloves. Depending on wear you live, roller hockey gets significantly hotter than ice.

[stitchy 1]

+1 on the above. You can probably skip the shoulder pads and probably will want to cut the stick tape away from the bottom of your stick blades.

[fatwabbit 93]

you would want to be as cool as possible. I pretty much use the same equipment for ice and inline, except with a inline hockey girlde instead of the Bauer One90 Girdle that I'm still using. I'm the only guy on my team that uses a padded shirt, everyone else doesnt bother with one, and I cant speak for other teams as I dont see them in the change room.

I also had seperate sticks for inline and ice, but have since narrowed down to one primary stick. No change in the taping pattern as I use to play on sport court.

[gokdog 11]

Even after watching and supporting my son for 3+ years, I was shocked at truly how hot it was, once I laced up the skates again.

with that in mind, any kind of cooling potential would be good, and I would also recommend some form of padded shorts if you fall a lot, has saved my tail bone and few times and the thigh pads are a bonus.

I think lots of guys here in Colorado use padded shirts too, but that is optional, my son has it, but I do not.

Depending on who you are playing with, yes an inline puck still hurts, not nearly as heavy as a ice puck, but still hurts on hard shots.

Cheers and have fun!!!

[mickz 107]

I agree with the others on buying a good girdle.

I only started playing roller two years ago and most of my ice equipment transferred over. I opted for the Mission Core girdle to begin with because it was lightweight and cheap. This girdle was crap and the stitching on the velcro started coming undone after one session. It offered no protection either. After getting continuously bruised up after a few games I went out and bought a Bauer Supreme ONE.8 ice hockey girdle and removed the shell. It is significantly better than the Mission I had before. I'm not sure how the higher end roller-specific girdles will fare as nobody in my area carries them.

[BucksAway 16]

Inline girdle and pant's unless you want to boil from the inside!

I only know kids who wear the padded shirts but that's up to you I guess. I used to not wear elbows also but had to begin wearing them as I started playing in higher competitions.

From someone who has been hit in the face with an inline puck I can tell you it hurts a hell of a lot!! Probably not as much as an ice puck but it will sting if you get hit in the wrong place.

[Justin 1933 134]

I would recommend getting a pair of inline pants (your paint ball pants are very hot and heavy. Plus you can pick up a decent pair of pants for $39-$49 bucks), and a basic girdle to start. You can use the same shins, elbows, helmet, and gloves. I would definitely not buy an ice girdle. Not sure why people recommend that unless you are constantly blocking shots. I personally never wore a girdle until we started making compression style protective jocks (but that's just my two cents).

[specs78 33]

I am not a fan of the padded shirt. I had a reebok 7k one and it turned me into an oven. I actually found that shoulder pads were way cooler. I wear CCM U12's and they let a lot of air flow through/under them, especially with a lightweight jersey. I know most people don't wear shoulder pads in roller, but I have run into the boards, other players, been hit with plenty of sticks and pucks and I play in a low level league. After taking enough bruises I started and have never regretted it. I felt the padded shirt equaled more heat and less protection.

[rjk 13]

Ultimately it boils down to your style of play and how profficient youeskating is.

For a skater who doesn't block a lot of shotsandrarely falls, playing without a girdle is absolutely fine.

I play on icecourt tiles and wear skates, shins, trousers, jock, Jersey, elbows, gloves, helmet. I have a girdle but rarely wear it unless I know I am playing a rough team or my roster is shot on defenders.

For ice I wear a full kit but inline hockey really boils down to thelevel you play at, the likelyhood of contact, and the minimum amount of equipment you feel you are able to play in.