Lacrosse Goalie Shin Guards

One of the lesser talked about pieces of equipment in lacrosse are goalie shin guards. However, shin guards are vitally important to the safety of lacrosse goalies. While shin guards are not always required, they can be extremely useful. There is a lot to learn about the different types of shin guards.

What are lacrosse goalie shin guards used for?

Many times, it can be extremely difficult to avoid taking a lacrosse shot straight to the shin. The shin is one of the most exposed and fragile areas of the human body as it is mostly bone. Goalie shin guards are a hard piece of plastic with padding that covers the goalie’s shins and absorbs the impact of a shot. These shin guards resemble ones worn in other sports such as baseball, hockey, or soccer. 

Goalie shin guards are optional but are still commonly used across different leagues. While they do offer protection to the shin, some types of shin guards may restrict movement or decrease a goalie’s range of motion. Nonetheless, different types of shin guards offer different levels of protection and mobility. Additionally, lacrosse goalies can use shin guards made for other sports as well. 

Things To Consider

When looking for goalie shin guards, you'll want to consider the following:

• Are shin guards required for goalie in your league?
• What style of shin guards do you want?
• How much do you want to spend on shin guards?

Types

The different types of goalie shin guards include lacrosse specific shin guards, baseball style shin guards, and soccer style shin guards.

Lacrosse Specific Shin Guards

Lacrosse specific shin guards can sometimes look similar to soccer shin guards but are much longer. They can be used in field hockey as well and offer good protection with solid mobility. These shin guards can come in a few different varieties, some offering more protection with less mobility and vice versa.

Baseball Style Shin Guards

Baseball style shin guards are the same one’s used by catchers in baseball. These shin guards are meant to protect against extremely hard baseballs from hitting the catcher’s knees, shins, or ankles. These will offer the most protection while also having the least mobility.

Soccer Style Shin Guards

Soccer style shin guards are the same as the ones worn by all soccer players. These are the lightest type of shin guard but also usually the least protective. Some soccer shin guards will have protection around the ankles while others will only cover the shin area.

Materials

The most common materials found in lacrosse goalie shin guards are fiberglass, foam rubber, and polyurethane.

• Fiberglass: Fiberglass is a type of plastic that has been reinforced with glass fibers. This material is lightweight and strong, offering solid protection without sacrificing mobility.
• Foam Rubber: Foam rubber is slightly softer and lighter than traditional rubber. It is very lightweight, yet alone it does not have the same protection and hardness as other materials.
• Polyurethane: Polyurethane is the strongest of the three materials, but also the heaviest. This material will offer almost complete protection.

Brands

The most popular brands that produce lacrosse goalie shin guards are Brine, Harrow, and STX.

• Brine: Brine produces sports equipment for a few different sports, mainly focusing on lacrosse. They make lacrosse specific shin guards as well as some soccer shin guards.
• Harrow: Harrow produces equipment for a wide variety of different sports. They make a few different types of shin guards that can be used for multiple sports.
• STX: STX makes high quality equipment for lacrosse, field hockey, and ice hockey. They sell a few models of shin guards for different skill levels.

Considerations

When considering which shin guards to buy, always consider the durability, cost, and sizes.

Durability

Most lacrosse goalie shin guards will last a long time. Their design makes them resistant to breaking even while taking a number of hard shots. As long as they are taken care of properly, most shin guards will last at least a few seasons. Shin guards made of purely foam rubber may not last as long as the padding can wear out more easily.

Cost

Goalie shin guards can have a wide variety of costs. Most lacrosse specific shin guards and soccer shin guards can be found for $10-$50. These shin guards can have less protection and can use cheaper materials. Most baseball shin guards will cost anywhere from $80 to $100, as they offer the most protection.

Sizes

Most shin guards will come in a few different sizes ranging from small to large. Each size will fit a wide variety of different shins. In general, soccer shin guards are the smallest, baseball shin guards are the largest, and lacrosse specific shin guards fall between.

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