Protective Equipment
Shop hockey pants, girdles and shells from Bauer, CCM, Warrior and more – lower body protection for seniors, juniors and youth.
Buying Guide
How to Size
Measure your waist circumference. Hockey pants should sit at the waist and cover the hips and thighs. The bottom of the pants should overlap the top of your shin guards by a few centimetres.
Pants vs Girdle
Traditional pants have built-in protection and are worn alone. Girdles are worn with a shell and offer a more athletic, low-profile fit – popular at higher levels for better mobility.
Protection Coverage
Look for pants that protect the hips, tailbone, thighs and kidneys. Higher-end models use lightweight foam and harder inserts for better protection without added bulk.
Mobility
A good pair of pants should allow a full skating stride without restriction. Look for stretch panels in the thigh and hip areas – especially important for defensemen and agile forwards.
Pants should sit at the natural waist and feel secure without a belt. The hip and tailbone padding should be centered, and the bottom of the pants should overlap slightly with the top of the shin guards to avoid any gap in coverage.
Traditional pants are a self-contained protective garment worn on their own. A girdle is a compression-style pad worn under a shell pant – offering a more streamlined fit and better freedom of movement, at the cost of a slightly longer setup.
Most hockey pants have an integrated belt or velcro closure. If the pants feel loose during play, a hockey belt or suspenders can help keep them in place and prevent them from slipping down during a stride.
Yes – there should be a slight overlap between the bottom of the pants and the top of the shin guards to avoid an exposed gap on the thigh. If there is a significant gap, consider sizing up or trying a different model with longer thigh coverage.
