Player 82ET 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2022 My daughter currently has the Bauer x 12” shin pads. She gets bruises from playing with them. She has only been playing for a year so the LHS recommended them. She said they are a little bit too big on her and not protective enough after she has ungraded her skates. I am looking to buy her new shin pads. Should I change brands or size? She is 5’2. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gosinger 122 Report post Posted October 25, 2022 Every piece of equipment is only protective if it fits well. It is rather hard to determine sizing from a description only, so I'd recommend consulting some video resources and applying the information from those to get a starting point, and then work from there. I'd suggest these videos: "How to Size a Hockey Shin Guard" (shows some common sizing cues) and "How to Select a Hockey Shin Guard", and then taking your daugther with her skates to a hockey store and try on some pads, have her take a few bumps to the floor to see how they feel, if they rotate, and so on. She has to feel comfortable and confident with/in them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
birky 24 Report post Posted October 25, 2022 This is probably not a brand issue, but a sizing issue. Even though the Bauer X series is a recreational/beginner type line of gear, your daughter shouldn't be getting bruises. If possible, I would take her to a store and try on some different options and see what fits best. But be prepared for sticker shock. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
noupf 42 Report post Posted October 25, 2022 19 minutes ago, birky said: This is probably not a brand issue, but a sizing issue. Even though the Bauer X series is a recreational/beginner type line of gear, your daughter shouldn't be getting bruises. If possible, I would take her to a store and try on some different options and see what fits best. But be prepared for sticker shock. Could be a combination of the two. I can tell you from many years ago, with entry level shin guards i used as an adult, if I went down certain ways, the padding and such was so thin and sparse in certain areas, I would easily get some bumps and bruises. Went with higher end gear and noticed a big difference. Obviously fitment means a lot too, but if the shin guards are cheap / low end, they could fit like crap as well as lead to bumps and bruises from the low grade padding and materials. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xstartxtodayx 343 Report post Posted October 25, 2022 Agree with everything that has been said so far but also wanted to add to make sure you're not relying on just the straps on the shin guards to hold them in place, many times they can shift and therefore not protect as well as they should. There's a reason so many players use tape on their shins (and why so many of the pro shin guards don't have straps at all), once you find a pair that fits her well make sure to get some tape to go over the socks to keep them in place (I prefer clear as it has a little stretch/give to it but cloth tape works too). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trackweapon 3 Report post Posted October 25, 2022 My girls are the same height as yours, one wears 13” Easton Stealth CX’s and the other wears 12” CCM FT1’s They both play high school and block a lot of shots every game and haven’t had any issues with bruising. Everyone is different but sizing seems fine to me based on my girls, but I would definitely go up in quality. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
