Cost of goalie equipment

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know about what it costs to purchase a full set of goalie pads + helmet? If you have a kid who plays goalie, at what point did you decide to buy your own vs. using the team's goalie gear? Do club teams generally provide this at the younger ages or do you have to supply your own?

[Anonymous]

You generally supply your own for club, Rec and school generally have some. But once your kid decides to play goalie full time, you should invest in it. Since it is for safety, you don’t want to go cheap. Helmets are approaching $300, $150 for chest protector, $100 or so for shorts/shin guards, $100+ for gloves, and $200 for a high end stick. You can shop around and maybe do a little better and these are top end equipment prices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You generally supply your own for club, Rec and school generally have some. But once your kid decides to play goalie full time, you should invest in it. Since it is for safety, you don’t want to go cheap. Helmets are approaching $300, $150 for chest protector, $100 or so for shorts/shin guards, $100+ for gloves, and $200 for a high end stick. You can shop around and maybe do a little better and these are top end equipment prices.

That's about right for a beginner (except for missing cleats/turf shoes). As they get more experienced, figure on 2 sticks ($300+ each if sourcing head, shaft and stringing separately). We're probably $1200 all-in on goalie crap.

[Anonymous]

The previous posters were pretty dead on. Nothing really to add, just some minor observations from the last few years.

Look around online at sportstop and lacrosse monkey and you can sometimes get last years or older model gloves for a pretty alright savings. Make sure they are goalie gloves and have great thumb protection.
From experience, spend the extra money on the Cascade XRS (unless you can find a brand new S) helmet with the bolted on throat guard. Helmet is not the place to save a few bucks.
Chest protectors are a more personal thing. Try a bunch and pick the one that feels the best but make sure it has the heart armor. We use the Maverick but are considering the new unequal. Just waiting to try one before we commit.

[Anonymous]

One thing to add to the helmet comment from above: do not buy an all black or similar dark color. The goalie is not running so no air flow and chances are they will be on turf and that can run 10 or 15 degrees warmer than the outside temperature and black helmets hold the heat. All black helmets look awesome but can kind of suck on turf and in the direct sun light.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much, all--this is super-helpful.

Does anyone have a sense of how frequently this stuff needs to be replaced? Like for an elementary kid (~ size 12-14) how many times are they likely to outgrow everything before they hit full adult sizing?

[Anonymous]

The helmet has an official shelf life of 10 years but needs a recertification every three years.
Those pads and gloves should last your child until they outgrow them with basic cleaning and proper care.

Heads are a hot issue. We get maybe a year out of an eclipse II but that’s with constant use and year round games at a high level. Take care of it and maybe you’ll extend that to two years if you’re lucky. Don’t leave the stick in the car. Even for short periods in the heat or extreme cold.

[Anonymous]

All this is pretty spot-on. Costs go up a bit as level/age increases. As they get older, 2 sticks are usually needed and the heads/mesh combos can vary and get hi tech as new versions come out almost every year. Proper cleaning/storage helps life (air out goalie equipment after each use, stank builds up if left in the bag). Store sticks properly on a stick rack. Keep balls in the pocket at first to help mold it. Certification changes sometimes every couple years and you want to stay on top of it for safety.

Goalies are a good community and if you find older ones who are into it, they can sometimes help with pointers on equipment, where to buy, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much, all--this is super-helpful.

Does anyone have a sense of how frequently this stuff needs to be replaced? Like for an elementary kid (~ size 12-14) how many times are they likely to outgrow everything before they hit full adult sizing?

Putting aside outgrowth (for mine, it was every couple years from K through 8th and counting). Sticks get replaced roughly every two years (but that means new stick every year with the backup and rotating). Helmets longer, we're replacing one for spring that is 3+ years old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All this is pretty spot-on. Costs go up a bit as level/age increases. As they get older, 2 sticks are usually needed and the heads/mesh combos can vary and get hi tech as new versions come out almost every year. Proper cleaning/storage helps life (air out goalie equipment after each use, stank builds up if left in the bag). Store sticks properly on a stick rack. Keep balls in the pocket at first to help mold it. Certification changes sometimes every couple years and you want to stay on top of it for safety.

Goalies are a good community and if you find older ones who are into it, they can sometimes help with pointers on equipment, where to buy, etc.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but why would they need 2 sticks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this is pretty spot-on. Costs go up a bit as level/age increases. As they get older, 2 sticks are usually needed and the heads/mesh combos can vary and get hi tech as new versions come out almost every year. Proper cleaning/storage helps life (air out goalie equipment after each use, stank builds up if left in the bag). Store sticks properly on a stick rack. Keep balls in the pocket at first to help mold it. Certification changes sometimes every couple years and you want to stay on top of it for safety.

Goalies are a good community and if you find older ones who are into it, they can sometimes help with pointers on equipment, where to buy, etc.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but why would they need 2 sticks?

You mean why would they need only two sticks? Ask a FOGO parent. If a stick breaks mid game need to have a back up. Also may have a practice stick and a game stick

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this is pretty spot-on. Costs go up a bit as level/age increases. As they get older, 2 sticks are usually needed and the heads/mesh combos can vary and get hi tech as new versions come out almost every year. Proper cleaning/storage helps life (air out goalie equipment after each use, stank builds up if left in the bag). Store sticks properly on a stick rack. Keep balls in the pocket at first to help mold it. Certification changes sometimes every couple years and you want to stay on top of it for safety.

Goalies are a good community and if you find older ones who are into it, they can sometimes help with pointers on equipment, where to buy, etc.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but why would they need 2 sticks?

You mean why would they need only two sticks? Ask a FOGO parent. If a stick breaks mid game need to have a back up. Also may have a practice stick and a game stick

Haha, my kids are young so we've never seen a goalie stick break. Didn't even realize that was a thing .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this is pretty spot-on. Costs go up a bit as level/age increases. As they get older, 2 sticks are usually needed and the heads/mesh combos can vary and get hi tech as new versions come out almost every year. Proper cleaning/storage helps life (air out goalie equipment after each use, stank builds up if left in the bag). Store sticks properly on a stick rack. Keep balls in the pocket at first to help mold it. Certification changes sometimes every couple years and you want to stay on top of it for safety.

Goalies are a good community and if you find older ones who are into it, they can sometimes help with pointers on equipment, where to buy, etc.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but why would they need 2 sticks?

You mean why would they need only two sticks? Ask a FOGO parent. If a stick breaks mid game need to have a back up. Also may have a practice stick and a game stick

Haha, my kids are young so we've never seen a goalie stick break. Didn't even realize that was a thing .

Sticks don’t break regularly however the strings do. Stringing a goalie head requires a PhD in quantum physics, YouTube doesn’t help unless you have 20 hours to kill and don’t mind watching the same video over and over and over ……

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much, all--this is super-helpful.

Does anyone have a sense of how frequently this stuff needs to be replaced? Like for an elementary kid (~ size 12-14) how many times are they likely to outgrow everything before they hit full adult sizing?

Putting aside outgrowth (for mine, it was every couple years from K through 8th and counting). Sticks get replaced roughly every two years (but that means new stick every year with the backup and rotating). Helmets longer, we're replacing one for spring that is 3+ years old.

This. Especially when in middle and high school. Harder shots and even weather and wear start to break down the mesh. Sticks can break or crack, often where the head is screwed on. As noted, they can be restrung or fixed but it is an art. Usually get a new one each year or so at that level and keep previous years as a backup. Younger kids may be able to get longer use.

[Anonymous]

We usually replace stringing a couple of times over the life of a stick. My daughter has broken one stick on a low shot from slamming the head to the turf and has worn out others (head can get soft and misshape). Between restringing, we take it to LaxU in Vienna for tweaking.