The purpose of this Football Protective Pads Buyers Guide is to give you the information you need to ensure making the best decision possible when purchasing football pads.
Our intention is, for you the football equipment buyer, to answer questions you may have regarding what is some of the most important pieces of football equipment you will buy.
If we've missed something, left your question unanswered or made it to confusing please feel free to call us, our knowledgeable Customer Service staff will be happy to assist you. If we don't know the answer we will do everything we can to get it for you.
Today's football shoulder pads have evolved into high tech pads made to optimize protection for the powerful fast hitting game played by bigger, quicker, stronger faster players than at any time in the history of the game. Important aspects when looking at purchasing a pair ofshoulder pads are the position the wearer plays, properly sizing the pads, other available features such as hookups and breathability all play a role in deciding the right set of shoulder pads.
Other than shoulder pads (discussed in a separate buyers guide)Football Shoulder Pads Buyers Guide
today's player needs to protect himself with a variety of padding designed to provide protection to other areas of the body.
Collar Pads and Neck Rolls attach to the back of the shoulder pads to provide additional
protection to the collarbone. Collar pads and neck rolls generally come in 1.5in to 2.5in
thickness in a round or flat contour. In addition to these pads you can purchase separately a
back plate for additional protection to the back area and a sternum plate for extra protection
to the sternum. All of these pads are typically one size fits all vinyl covered pads available
in both youth and adult sizes. Generally manufacturer's make these pads specifically to fit
their shoulder pads.
There are essentially three different styles of rib protectors. First, there is the Flac
Jacket style which encircles the rib area, generally will have an adjustable Velcro closure in
the front and adjustable shoulder straps. The second, is a vest style rib protector which looks
just like a vest, is usually made of Spandex or some similar material and has pads placed in
the appropriate places. The vest style comes in youth and adult sizes and is generally sized.
The third style is a compression body shirt which may have full length sleeves, short sleeves or
be sleeveless. The compression body shirt has pads located in the appropriate place and are
generally sized.
Forearm pads come in adult, junior and youth sizes and are made of a variety of materials and
types of padding. Often you will find combinations of forearm pads and hand pads as a single
unit. Sometimes you can find forearm pads, hand pads and elbow pads as a single unit. As the
buyer you need to determine what it is you need, there are a host of choices once you decide
what you want or need. You can buy forearm pads only and you can buy elbow pads only. Typically
hand pads are sold as part of a forearm pad unit.
A variety of pads are offered to protect the hands and arms of players, usually offensive and defensive linemen
who use their hands and arms to block and tackle. These pads can provide crucial protection from your fingertips to just
past your elbows. Forearm pads and hand pads are available in a variety of makes and models and may be purchased
as a one piece unit or separately. As with most products there are some basics or generalizations that pretty
much hold true regardless of the manufacturer.
Most of these pads use a thick neoprene padding or closed cell foam padding and may or may not be lined with
some sort of moisture control fabric. Typically forearm pads conform to the forearm, are flexible and stretch
with the arm for maximum protection and comfort, while hand pads are designed to leave the palm and fingers
unencumbered and may provide some sort of wrist protection. Forearm pads / hand pads generally come in adult or youth
one size fits all sizes. Occasionally, you can find a measured / sized forearm pad. You can also find a forearm pad
made specifically for running backs and receivers which has a dual purpose, help grip the ball while providing some
level of protection. Generally all of these are washable style pads.
The chart below is intended to provide an approximation of the size you need it is a guide only and is not exact.
Typically Elbow Pads are contoured, have a behind the elbow cutout, and may have an outer knit material (provides less
protection) or neoprene (for greater protection). Generally most, if not all elbow pads will have some type of foam
padding and may or may not have a moisture control lining.
The chart below is a guide only and is not exact. For an approximation of the correct size measure the forearm of the wearer 2 inches below the elbow joint.
Football Girdles are available in a rather bewildering array of styles, models and materials. In this section we will
attempt to demystify this important part of the complete football "uniform".
The football girdle fits under the outer jersey and goes around the players waist, it might be a "short" 3 pocket
(reaching just above mid-thigh) or it might be "long" 5-6 pocket (just above the knee). Generally the girdle will have
a waist made of some type of elastic and be anywhere from 1 inch to 3 inches wide, some models will have a drawstring
in addition to the elastic a few models will have a drawstring only at the waist, occasionally you will find a girdle
with a 1 to 3 inch "rise" in the back designed to help keep the girdle stationary.
There are three basic models of football girdles, a six pocket, five pocket and a three pocket. The six pocket is
designed to hold 2 hip pads, 2 thigh pads, 1 spine pad and a pocket for a cup. The five pocket girdle is essentially
the same as the six pocket but excludes a cup pocket. The three pocket is designed to hold 2 hip pads and a tail pad.
Some girdles come with pads already either sewn in or ready for the consumer to place in their appropriate pocket
excepting the six pocket which generally comes without a cup. Some girdles come with hip and tail pads only and some
girdles come without any pads, just the pockets to put the pads in. We will discuss the pads which can be purchased
separately in the next section.
There are as many material combinations used to make football girdles as there are girdles themselves. Some of the
common materials include: polyester/spandex combination, nylon/spandex combination, 100% polyester, 100% nylon and
spandex/nylon combination in a variety of percentages of each material in the combinations. Generally these materials
will have moisture wicking properties and some degree of compression.
In the fast paced high impact violent game of football there are no guarantees a player can stay injury free. In fact
it almost seems the guarantee could be that he won't remain injury free for the duration of his career. However, hip,
knee, thigh & tail bone pads can help to avoid or at least reduce injury to the parts of the body these pads are
designed to protect.
The pads by virtue of their distinctive name are self explanatory regarding the body part they are intended to protect.
Most of these pads are made of foam, generally closed cell foam which is better than open cell because it is able to
absorb energy, read hit or tackled, that open cell foam cannot and if the closed cell foam has had the cross-linking
process applied so much the better as cross-linking provides a degree of toughness, flexibility and resiliency not
available otherwise. The foam is typically covered by nylon, vinyl dipped or some other type of material. Also used is
a molded fiber product covered with vinyl coated foam or cross-linked polyethylene foam. Some pads have a plastic base
encased in foam. Typically most of these pads are .25 inch to .50 inch thick although most manufacturer's do not note
the thickness in their advertising.
Hip and Tailbone pads are most commonly sold in a set of three, a pair of Hip Pads and a Tailbone Pad or may be part of
a set of seven which would include the aforementioned as well as a pair of Thigh Pads and a pair of Knee Pads. The
pads may be slotted to fit football pants designed to accomodate them, or snap-in to fit football pants designed for
them or they maybe without slots or snaps for use with the girdle. The term "high rise" used with hip pads refers to
the fact that a portion of the hip pad extends above the pant line and provides some additional protection. As we
mentioned earlier the girdle is designed to accomodate Hip Pads, Thigh Pads and a Tailbone Pad. Football Pants are
designed to accomodate Knee Pads and may have pockets for Thigh Pads and snaps or belts for slotted or snap in pads.
Different positions require different types of gloves. Lineman should look for gloves that are heavily padded on the
top (back) of the hand and provide wrist support. Receivers, running backs, linebackers and defensive backs should
purchase flexible, soft gloves that have some tackiness (stickiness) to them, an important feature whether the
tackiness is part of the material or where the grip is applied as a post production process.
Many football gloves, regardless of manufacturer or position, have a liner (often thermal) for warmth and usually some degree of
tackiness in the fingers / palm area of the glove. Many lineman's gloves are designed to prevent a player from
hyper-extending his fingers, usually will have extra heavy palm and backhand padding for hitting protection and may
have an oversized wrist wrap for added wrist strength and protection. Many football gloves are machine washable and
dryable and maintain their non-slip properties even in wet weather.
It is very important which ever brand of football gloves you purchase they are both NFHS and NCAA approved gloves and
if intended for actual NCAA play they meet the NCAA gray glove requirements which specifies only certain shades of
gray can be used on the field.
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