Category: PRODUCT

Ice hockey player’s elbow pads are becoming a popular replacement to those produced for hockey, for elbow protection when ‘padding down’ for extra movement. With more and more goalkeepers wanting to ‘pad down’ to increase their mobility and flexibility for save making, without losing the important protection of the elbow, and hockey designs not always considered ‘up to scratch’, they are an easy and usable alternative to those produced by hockey companies. Ice hockey elbow pads are now currently worn by a number of international goalkeepers, as well as domestic top level national league ‘keepers.

In Great Britain, for example, James Fair (England and GB international, who plays for Cannock) wears Jofa elbow pads, as did Simon Mason (Guildford, and well renowned ex-GB keeper). George Pinner (England and Beeston) wears Easton Synergy pads, whilst Lee Ible (Brooklands MU) wears Sherwood pads, and Welsh international George Harris (East Grinstead) wears Reebok elbow pads: all of these goalkeepers play in the England Hockey National Premier League. Ireland’s current number 1 and Pembroke Wanderers ‘keeper David Harte wears ‘Mission’ pads, whilst other Irish keepers wear similar styles. In Scotland, Kris Kane of Western Wildcats (who played in the Euro Hockey league’s KO16 round-up) also wears the Reebok elbow pads.

Ice hockey elbow pads are not just popular in Europe, and are gaining use all over the globe. Kyle Pontifex (New Zealand’s no 1 keeper) wears them, as do American international goalkeepers, like Kevin Segeren who played in the recent U21s Junior World Cup.

These elbow pads go over the elbow joint, fixed in place by a velcro strapping system; providing coverage of the bone and surrounding muscle. They are made of strong plastics, giving more than ample protection against hard shots you may face, like close-in low cut chip shots around the hips and body, or a well executed deflection, where you are likely to have your gloves and arms low, near to the body to block; leaving the elbow open to such shots.

With the game of ice hockey involving hard fore-checking (body hits) and rough play; the design matching the needs of facing shots when the player blocks shots with their body and taking hits, these elbow pads often come with extra coverage of the forearms; covering the vulnerable bones of the lower arm between the elbow and wrist (which can easily fracture by being hit by a hard shot). The forearms are often left exposed, which are vulnerable when going down against a strike, or charging down a player, with the arms lowered to provide extra coverage on low shots when playing percentages: the extra padding on the pads helps reduce these risks.

The Reebok 5k elbow pads are extremely popular with a lot of higher level goalkeepers in domestic leagues, including national conference, as well as internationally, with the beefy design being suited to taking the damage from hard and fast strikes, without causing further damage, or limiting manoeuvrability for saves.

Ultimately, elbow pads worn by the outfield players (forwards and defenders) of ice hockey increase the protection to the arm and elbow area, for field hockey goalkeepers who dislike the discomfort and bunching of full arm padding, but have concerns about the general protection provided by elbow pads, without compromising flexibility.

Advantages

• Greater level of protection against shots/knocks, compared to the basic thin foam hockey elbow pads produced

• Will cover forearm and elbow for increased coverage of the arm

• Hard shell protects against direct blows to the elbow, limiting the chance of breaks

• Fairly cheap second hand (can be more pricey if bought new)

Disadvantages

• Harder to find – specialised stores for ice hockey equipment, or online shops

• Tight elbow strapping can reduce full arm movement at the elbow joints for full range of movement 

There are a lot of goalkeepers, who play with a basic chest or body pad, allowing them the freedom of movement to make reactive saves on the play, with the extended ability to circulate their shoulder joints and move freely without stiff arm pads limiting extension of the arms. Generally made out of foam type materials, but increasingly using harder plastic padding for higher levels of play, they feature a basic plate to cover the body, with straps around your back and arms to secure it in place.

If the chest pad does not cover your ribs or abdomen properly, especially if there is a gap between it and your shorts (which can leave you vulnerable when exposed on plays where the play is tight and the shooter has the time to ‘wind up’ on their shot, like a close in, raised shot from about 5 feet away, with potential bruising or being ‘winded’ on the shot), then you may want to look for better padding.

Consider your options when purchasing – don’t just go for a chest pad because you like its price; the cheaper they are, the less foam there is. The cost reflects the thickness of the foam and you want something with a suitable degree of protection to look after your important internal organs and prevent broken ribs. At low levels, for youngsters who will not face hard shots to these scary areas, and beginners who may not decide to play the position long, these are great, but don’t put yourself in pointless danger.

Common manufacturers include all the main companies, like Monarch, Mercian, and Grays in the UK, along with Mazon (Australia), and Brabo (the Netherlands), providing general foam padding chest pads for lower level games. Mercian’s old T-pro plate design (which is now outdated as the manufacturing machine broke) offers a hard plastic sheet for shot stopping, with added abdominal guards for extra protection to the stomach area.

TK produces a far more protective international version, based on segmented plastic square inserts covering the body, which ‘block’ the ball, absorbing the impact of the ball, by ‘spreading’ out the force of the shot. The thick plastic means there is more behind it, compared to thin foam.

Obo’s chest pad design (which comes separately to the arm pads) uses high density foam for maximum protection in order to absorb the impact of the shot; more vulnerable areas have dual density foam. Its design incorporates 38 individual inserts, which means that there is no ‘bunching’ (that would otherwise compromise flexible movement) when moving, or lying down against a shot.

Pros

• Affordable prices

• Cushions the direct shot, if the ball is missed by the gloves

• Size and shape means they do not interfere with padded shorts, so no movement problems

• Increased arm movement, as they are free from disruption by integrated arm pads or wraparound shoulder padding

• Lighter, meaning reduced weight for the goalkeeper, enabling them to be quicker around the D

Cons

• Often no coverage of the shoulders (shoulder caps normally combined with and worn underneath for extra protection)

• Ribs can sometimes lack coverage, putting the wearer in danger

• Foam thickness varies and can often be fairly thin, so it is important to match that to your level of play when purchasing – against hard shots, the goalkeeper could end up with bruised ribs or bruising to the stomach otherwise