Rib / side protection

[krisdrum 223]

It was bound to happen.  My kid is a 1st year bantam and has survived most of his first year of checking unscathed.  Until this weekend.  Took 2 nasty hits in 2 separate games to almost the same spot on his left ribcage.  First one was painful, but he recovered quickly with some meds and ice.  Second one knocked the wind out of him and took him out for the rest of the game (happened during his first shift).  He is a D man, but tends to like the lighter more mobile gear.  Currently in Jetspeed FT4 Pro shoulders that from the look of them don't have a ton of protection outside of the sternum, spine, shoulders and clavicle.  Should I be looking to upgrade him to something more robust like the Tacks line?  Padded undergarments?  Layer of D3O to beef up protection in spots?  Wrap him in bubble wrap and let him play golf for the rest of his life?  Open to suggestions.  

[xstartxtodayx 340]

Even high end pads don't have a ton of padding on the side/ribs.  Easiest thing might be to get a padded shirt, I think they're for football, but they have padding on the rib area (I used to get them for my son who plays lax goalie, also would get them to cut the pads out to attach elsewhere for different things).  I'd say try the shirt, they're relatively cheap, or find some rib padding for football/lax (I've seen it in Dicks) and attach to the shoulder pads or straps (someone on here once attached padding to the side straps, I can't find the thread though).

[shoot_the_goalie 277]

I have these after I got cross checked to the ribs:

https://www.mcdavidusa.com/collections/hex-padded-tops/products/hex-basketball-tank-3-pad

They're not perfect but they're the closest thing I've used that is also the least obtrusive.  Once the rib bruising went away however, I stopped using it.  So for me, it's not a preventative piece of gear...more to protect an already compromised area.

McDavid also makes this which can be cut to size as needed:

https://www.mcdavidusa.com/products/hex-skin-turf-tape

Edited February 7 by shoot_the_goalie

[shoot_the_goalie 277]

4 hours ago, krisdrum said:

It was bound to happen.  My kid is a 1st year bantam and has survived most of his first year of checking unscathed.  Until this weekend.  Took 2 nasty hits in 2 separate games to almost the same spot on his left ribcage.  First one was painful, but he recovered quickly with some meds and ice.  Second one knocked the wind out of him and took him out for the rest of the game (happened during his first shift).  He is a D man, but tends to like the lighter more mobile gear.  Currently in Jetspeed FT4 Pro shoulders that from the look of them don't have a ton of protection outside of the sternum, spine, shoulders and clavicle.  Should I be looking to upgrade him to something more robust like the Tacks line?  Padded undergarments?  Layer of D3O to beef up protection in spots?  Wrap him in bubble wrap and let him play golf for the rest of his life?  Open to suggestions.  

I use FT4 Pro shoulders too.  The Hex shirt pads sometimes get "caught" on the ft4 pro side panels which can be slightly annoying.

However I’ve also tried the EvoShield shirt with the rigid rib pads which are WAY more protective than the HEX, but also much more obtrusive.

Edited February 7 by shoot_the_goalie

[stick9 881]

I've had the same problem. I found the padded shirts to be a nice solution. There are tons of options out there. I have CCM version, it's a decent piece. If you want to get more robust you could try some Box Lacrosse pads. They're a little beefy/bulky though. Might be better for coverage when recovering as opposed to an every day solution.

[krisdrum 223]

1 hour ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

I use FT4 Pro shoulders too.  The Hex shirt pads sometimes get "caught" on the ft4 pro side panels which can be slightly annoying.

However I’ve also tried the EvoShield shirt with the rigid rib pads which are WAY more protective than the HEX, but also much more obtrusive.

Thanks, that is super helpful.  I'm thinking maybe the cut to size stick on stuff might be the best option.  And glad you mentioned the EvoShield stuff, as I was looking at that as well, he played little league for a hot second years ago and the sternum / chest protector was mandatory for him.  Works great on a non-moving area, but I'd think there is enough movement and flex in the rib area to make that annoying.  

[krisdrum 223]

2 minutes ago, stick9 said:

I've had the same problem. I found the padded shirts to be a nice solution. There are tons of options out there. I have CCM version, it's a decent piece. If you want to get more robust you could try some Box Lacrosse pads. They're a little beefy/bulky though. Might be better for coverage when recovering as opposed to an every day solution.

Thanks.  Yeah, I probably need to figure out a short term solution to help him get back on the ice (we have a few more regular season games and then at least 2 rounds of playoffs to be ready for) and longer term.  

[stick9 881]

Ive found the best solution is usually the easiest. What good is added protection if it's a PIA, uncomfortable or limits mobility. I think that's why I felt the shirt was so effective. It may not be as protective as the other options but it was so easy to use. I just subbed it out for my regular base layer. 

The hockey ones can be a little thin. There are some football specific ones that offer a bit more protection. I never found a long sleeve version so I went with the hockey version.

 

Edited February 8 by stick9

[krisdrum 223]

12 hours ago, stick9 said:

Ive found the best solution is usually the easiest. What good is added protection if it's a PIA, uncomfortable or limits mobility. I think that's why I felt the shirt was so effective. It may not be as protective as the other options but it was so easy to use. I just subbed it out for my regular base layer. 

The hockey ones can be a little thin. There are some football specific ones that offer a bit more protection. I never found a long sleeve version so I went with the hockey version.

 

My kid will need a long sleeve version, since he tends to get a rash / reaction to his pads if they are on bare skin.  I grabbed the cut and stick McDavid stuff someone suggested above.  We'll see how that works as some added cushion to his shoulder pads in strategic areas. If not, the padded shirt will be my next option to present.

[Gswift 31]

This is why I love my Easton Pro 10 shoulder pads, they have adjustable rib pads, maybe try to make something to mimic it?

you can see the design at the 1:56 mark....

[Leif 160]

When doing skating practice in quiet public sessions, I always wear body armour. Xion is some of the best on the market, albeit not cheap, and they are based in Holland so not ideal for North Americans. Their armour is essentially a lightweight piece of clothing, such as a shirt, with pockets containing D3O padding. You can remove the ones you don’t need, I remove the side pads from the shorts, I only need the coccyx pad. I find they do not get anywhere near as sweaty as other products I have tried (Demon shorts). It works incredibly well. On one occasion I fell on my unpadded coccyx, and I could not walk, or do anything with my legs for most of the next day, and it took a week to recover fully. After buying padded shorts, I just get up and carry on after a fall. 

D3O pads can be bought on eBay, and sewn into a shirt easily enough. The Xion website will give you ideas on the sort of thing you could make. There are other products with a similar property. However, ordinary foam pads are not as effective i.e. you need more thickness. I believe CCM use D3O in some of their protective equipment. Xion say not to wash it, but it seems to survive a cold wash with non bio detergent. 

Edited February 11 by Leif

[218hockey 49]

On 2/7/2024 at 7:18 AM, krisdrum said:

  Open to suggestions.  

Avoid those hits.

[krisdrum 223]

29 minutes ago, 218hockey said:

Avoid those hits.

1st one was unavoidable, it was after the whistle and he would have had no reason to be braced or ready to avoid.  Refs completely missed it as they were dealing with a penalty that was the reason for the whistle.  Second one was less dirty, but borderline.  High elbow for sure, puck was long gone as well.  Kid should have pulled up, but he had a 5-6 stride head of steam up and I guess didn't feel like it.  My son could have avoided/reduced the impact of that one, by moving towards the boards (he had a foot or so separation, which is what killed him, as he fell awkwardly against the boards and ice).  Hard lesson to learn, but yes - head on a swivel, situational awareness, expect the unexpected.   

Luckily just 1 game this weekend and he played well and didn't seem to shy away from contact.  Proud of him for that, as I'm sure he was a bit gun shy after those two hits.  

Edited February 12 by krisdrum

[218hockey 49]

Okay. I don't see too much physical play Minnesota district, Bantam play. Many of the refs will not let you finish a check as the rule is you're supposed to be making a play for the puck. The play at A and AA level is more of a skating, playmaking style anyway.

My son rarely gets checked but I do recall a crosscheck he took right between the back pads and top of the breezers that kept him out of our game vs Warroad. That sucked. I found him one of the discontinued padded Bauer shirts. He likes it.

[krisdrum 223]

6 hours ago, 218hockey said:

Okay. I don't see too much physical play Minnesota district, Bantam play. Many of the refs will not let you finish a check as the rule is you're supposed to be making a play for the puck. The play at A and AA level is more of a skating, playmaking style anyway.

My son rarely gets checked but I do recall a crosscheck he took right between the back pads and top of the breezers that kept him out of our game vs Warroad. That sucked. I found him one of the discontinued padded Bauer shirts. He likes it.

We don't see a ton of "finishing checks" either, except for a few bruisers here and there.  Most of the time if it is more than a heartbeat after, it gets called.  This was an elite tournament with 2 good sized teams from Canada.  Both plays were against the Canadian teams and in most cases they were finishing their checks any time they could.  The tournament was US-based, so - to your point - USAH rule is "separate the puck from the man" and they seem to be trying to take the "finish the check" mindset out of the game.  The refs let it slide in just about every case I saw (they weren't calling a lot of stuff and when they did, were very inconsistent).  Unfortunately it was my kid who was naïve, didn't brace, wrong place wrong time, whatever and got two nasty shots on him.  Like I said above, I think some valuable lessons learned come out of this beyond anything we might do from an equipment perspective.  We used to have one of the old Bauer padded shirts.  Will have to see if I can find him one.  I remember them being very well thought out and executed.   

[krisdrum 223]

On 2/11/2024 at 5:01 AM, Leif said:

When doing skating practice in quiet public sessions, I always wear body armour. Xion is some of the best on the market, albeit not cheap, and they are based in Holland so not ideal for North Americans. Their armour is essentially a lightweight piece of clothing, such as a shirt, with pockets containing D3O padding. You can remove the ones you don’t need, I remove the side pads from the shorts, I only need the coccyx pad. I find they do not get anywhere near as sweaty as other products I have tried (Demon shorts). It works incredibly well. On one occasion I fell on my unpadded coccyx, and I could not walk, or do anything with my legs for most of the next day, and it took a week to recover fully. After buying padded shorts, I just get up and carry on after a fall. 

D3O pads can be bought on eBay, and sewn into a shirt easily enough. The Xion website will give you ideas on the sort of thing you could make. There are other products with a similar property. However, ordinary foam pads are not as effective i.e. you need more thickness. I believe CCM use D3O in some of their protective equipment. Xion say not to wash it, but it seems to survive a cold wash with non bio detergent. 

Thanks.  Not cheap is an understatement.  Luckily out of the question budget wise and very few of their offerings provide protection where I would want it for his injury.  If it really came down to it, I'd buy some d3o sheets and figure out a way to place them to bolster the protection of his current gear.  

[YesLanges 127]

It might not be suitable for full-time use, but a couple of times, I've had teammates coming back from broken or badly bruised ribs. I gave them some thigh inserts salvaged from old pants that they held in place with compression shirts. Those contoured thigh pads actually conform perfectly to your ribs and don't get in the way of anything. They're also much more protective than any padded shirt. 

Edited February 16 by YesLanges