All this equipment necessary?

[vapor11]

Took a wrister off the shin last weekend at the outdoors..felt that one..kept playing tho

Had pickup the next night so I put a bandaid over it..didn't think about removing it with my hairy legs..not sure what stung more the shot or removing the bandaid

 

[izzy3]

Please don't tell me you have a mirrored visor.

lol would it bother you?

 

[octopi]

Anyone ever blocked a shot on the quads without hockey pants? I blocked a weak wristy on bare shins and it wasn't bad. No bruising or anything. Some beginner kid didn't really have good lifting control.

No, but I used to play goalie with just regular hockey equipment+ a baseball umpire protector and pads straight out of 1970(bought at the thrift store). Of course I also had a catcher and blocker.

I constantly had bruises on my arms and sometimes my thighs too. The one thing I'm really glad I had was the old school kid's hard collar neck protector. Even though it was made for 10 year olds, I could wear it with the velcro just touching instead of overlapping like an actual child would.A puck hit me right on it and bounced off. One day I somehow lost it and had to buy a soft one. I'd stopped playing goalie by then though.

Took a wrister off the shin last weekend at the outdoors..felt that one..kept playing tho

Had pickup the next night so I put a bandaid over it..didn't think about removing it with my hairy legs..not sure what stung more the shot or removing the bandaid

Oh man, I got that same injury one day when I wasn't wearing shin gurds playing regular hockey(and I didn't have any leg hair to protect me). I was cleaning it up and noticed a bulge. Figuring some large piece of lint had stuck in it, I tried to get it out, and started removing what appeared to be a vein. I shoved that back in....

 

[cptjeff]

Took a wrister off the shin last weekend at the outdoors..felt that one..kept playing tho

http://i47.tinypic.com/3f0oh.jpg[/IMG

Had pickup the next night so I put a bandaid over it..didn't think about removing it with my hairy legs..not sure what stung more the shot or removing the bandaid[/QUOTE]

This is why I made the investment in top end shinpads. I took one moderately hard slapshot off my old, cheap shins in a pickup once, and decided that I wasn't doing that any more. Got myself a nice pair of top end eastons, and haven't looked back. I've taken hard shots and certainly felt them, but I have not had them bruise or cut anything.

As for OP, the equipment is there for a reason. If you don't wear it, you will get yourself hurt. Going without shins is all well and good until you take a shot or somebody whacks you with a stick. Going without elbows is fine until you fall and get bone chips in what's actually a fairly sensitive joint. My dad did that, he had to have surgery. Even though he's only playing in a low C league these days, he learned his lesson and wears decent elbow pads. You can go without shoulders, but as a small, fast guy who goes into corners and doesn't shy away from contact along the boards, you won't catch me not wearing 'em.

 

[Ozz]

I wish I could find a picture of the giant black, blue, purple, and yellow leg I had from stopping a slapper above the shinpad. It looked about 10x worse than it felt, though it did sting like a sum*****.

 

[shoeshine boy]

I'd encourage you to wear the pants for shinny if for no other reason to protect against cuts. you never know when some guy near you might lose an edge, take you out with him and possibly cut you with his blades. if something like the femoral artery gets cut you'll be dead in seconds. safety first.

aaaaand Zach Redmond helps me prove my point.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=416503

fortunately he had qualified medical personnel on scene.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

 

[Jarick]

Shutting this one down.

Moral of the story: wear equipment when you play hockey.