Hockey Pads are a necessary piece of equipment for any gear-head when it comes to hockey. The pads protect your legs from getting hurt by pucks (balls) – especially if you’re playing on the rough outdoor ice or hardwood floors at home. In this article, we’ll tell you about the different kinds of hockey pads that are available and how each one is made.
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Traditional Vs. Modern Pads
When choosing hockey leg pads, you have two options: traditional and modern. Traditional pads are made of leather or a similar synthetic material and have a rectangular shape with rounded corners. They are held in place by hook-and-loop fasteners or a slider button and have two padding layers inside. The lower layer is a thicker foam block and the upper layer is a thin sheet of synthetic materials like vinyl or PVC. Traditional pads offer the safest, most traditional wear to the extreme sports enthusiast.
The modern alternative to the traditional leather hockey pad is the textile pad. Made of a variety of synthetic materials like polyester and nylon, textile pads were designed to offer more performance and protection than their leather counterparts. The outer layers are fused together through the use of thermal spraying and are held in place by hook-and-loop fasteners or a slider button. They also have a core layer made of a foam material like polyurethane. Inside the core layer, there is an added barrier against shockwaves to further protect your legs.
Waterproof Vs. Airproof Pads
Just like traditional pads, airproof pads incorporate a foam layer inside to further protect your legs from injury. But instead of using leather or textile materials, airproof pads use a synthetic textile material that is water-repellent. This allows for better air flow around your knees and better flexibility while you’re playing hockey.
Most modern hockey pads are designed to be waterproof in nature. With the growing popularity of surfing and other water sports, it only makes sense that the material inside the hockey pads would have to be able to withstand water immersion. With the right materials and processing, you can make a hockey pad completely waterproof without any signs of wear even after continuous contact with water.
Durability Vs. Price
One of the most important aspects of any piece of equipment is how long it will last. While you’re not obligated to buy the most expensive item just because it’s on the market, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money and have something that will break after just a few uses.
The best way to ensure that you’re buying something that will last is by investing in high quality materials and know-how. If your current set of equipment is more than a decade old and seems to be on its way to becoming dysfunctional, it might be the time to invest in a new pair of hockey pads.
Recoil Vs. Protection
Another important factor to consider when buying hockey pads is how the equipment handles your body’s recoiling movements. When you shoot an ice-hot puck at full speed, it travels in almost a straight line with very little wiggle or oscillation. This makes it more likely to hit you in the legs if it deflects off some protective gear. When this happens, it’s usually only for a brief instant before the puck dissipates into the air. This is why it’s crucial to have adequately strong, stable legs during active play – not just because they look cool.
While we’d like to claim that there’s a definitive answer to what makes a good hockey pad, it’s more likely that it depends on your personal preference and what you’re looking for in a piece of protective gear. The best advice is to try out a few different types and see which one feels the best to you. With modern materials and processing, it’s easy enough to find pads that offer a combination of all the attributes you’re looking for in a hockey pad.