Equipment: Ball hockey goaltending equipment recommendations

[The Assclown]

Hi all,

Decided to sign up for a summer ball hockey league for the first time. I’ve played ice hockey for the majority of my life and I’m excited to see what ball hockey is all about.

I’m a goalie and understand that there are some specialized pads with things like slider plates that allow for efficient slides but beyond that I don’t know much. The league requires goalies to wear full equipment.

I’d love to get some goalie pads/equipment recommendations.

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[SaintMorose]

How much do you know about the surfaces your league plays on?

Ball hockey can be tough to recommend on as certain surfaces will chew through materials, others might be soft but won't slide at all. I use pad sleeves for indoor as I like the added Lauer.

I'd also mention that Ball hockey for me and a number of other goalies is significantly harder on the joints so space your games out differently than you would for ice hockey for better recovery and have something to help cushion your knees under the pad.

 

[The Assclown]

How much do you know about the surfaces your league plays on?

Ball hockey can be tough to recommend on as certain surfaces will chew through materials, others might be soft but won't slide at all. I use pad sleeves for indoor as I like the added Lauer.

I'd also mention that Ball hockey for me and a number of other goalies is significantly harder on the joints so space your games out differently than you would for ice hockey for better recovery and have something to help cushion your knees under the pad.

Thank you! And the surfaces will be on arena cement, the smooth surface below ice. I’ve been on those surfaces in the past and they’re quite smooth but I’d imagine they wouldn’t be forgiving on equipment. I had a pair of old pads that I used back in the day but they’re heavy and wouldn’t slide well.

I’ve been looking into Passau pads but I’d have to drop significant money on them.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

The one equipment thing that I did that helped the most was to buy the cheapest pair of sneakers that i could find. I think I paid maybe 20$ for a pair at wal mart.

The rubber on the inside of each foot wore out very quickly so when i kicked out my leg or dropped down i didn't feel much resistance from my shoes dragging on the cement.

 

[TMLegend]

I'd recommend sliding plates on your pads, a good pair of shoes that are grippy so you can actually push off somewhat in butterfly.

Not sure if you're league will allow it but I'd recommend using skater pants instead of goalie pants if they do. They're significantly lighter and agility is a must in ball hockey.

 

[Brodeur]

Depending on how you like your strapping, I've used a bunch of Nike Shox for ball hockey goaltending. I like having a little bit of tension with the bootstrap going through the shoe without having it go under since it can get undone / get chewed up and break over time. I usually remove the toe strap. Unfortunately a lot of new pads have removed the bootstrap.

I never did add slide plates but my buddy did recently.

I've preferred Vaughn pads over the years since they're less stiff than other brands. Sometimes with a ball, I can't get a feel for the rebound but that might be personal preference.

 

[expy]

Comfortable shoes.
Low-end ice hockey pads with sliders if the surface needs it

 

[Brodeur]

MX-1 Goalie Shoes (Black/Red)

Hagan Hockey is a new brand of hockey equipment designed for top level athletes.

haganhockey.com

Spotted these a few weeks back. Debated picking up a pair but saw a review on another site which said the shoes felt rather cheap.

In the past few years, most of the manufacturers have been simplifying the strapping system and also added an optional knee to calf strap (instead of knee to knee).

My Vaughn V5 leg pads have been my main pads and Vaughn didn't add the extra velcro until the V6. Out of curiosity, I found that Target sells a velcro set (2" x 4") for like $4. Slapped that on my V5 pads and will give it a test run this weekend. Maybe more of a placebo but it seemed like my pads were under rotating more than normal this past season. For personal preference I took the thigh guard off of my pads, but that leaves me susceptible to taking a shot of the knee if the pad doesn't rotate correctly.

 

[Sky04]

Grab a pair of indoor court or basketball shoes, the grip will help significantly - don't use running shoes. The sliding pads are nice but not necessary at all, since it's your first time you can just try a couple games using your ice equipment, some of my friends ended up swapping to cheaper gear because you don't need as much protection for ball hockey and it's lighter to make it easier to move around.

 

[Kevinsane]

Kenesky makes custom ball hockey pads. They’re probably a lot lighter than ice pads.

 

[sdf]

Balls hockey

 

[AceKing21]

Balls hockey

I see what you did there! I've played in ball hockey leagues that are light years beyond any recreational ice hockey leagues in terms of talent. 99% of the ice hockey players my age are trying to hold onto something that was never there.