What Equipment do you need to start playing hockey?
Hockey can be a large investment to begin playing. You are probably wondering what you actually need to begin playing ice hockey.
The equipment you need in order to begin playing ice hockey is a Helmet and visor, gloves, ice skates, hockey stick, shin pads, hockey pants, shoulder pads, elbow pads, cup, and carrying bag. Other things that are not considered equipment but are also necessary to play the game of hockey are a hockey jersey, hockey socks, a jock, a mouth guard, stick tape and sock tape.
We will discuss some of the equipment, how much you can expect to spend and some of my recommendations from personal experience.
How much is a full set of hockey equipment?
My first set of hockey equipment cost me around $450. For my first set of equipment, I waited for good deals and slowly pieced it together. I also got bottom-of-the-line stuff. I went as cheap as you could go. Middle-of-the-line equipment will about double your cost and top-of-the-line equipment can triple or quadruple your cost depending on how nice you go.
| Helmet & Cage Combo | $65.00 |
| Gloves | $34.98 |
| Hockey Skates | $60.00 |
| Shin Pads | $24.98 |
| Hockey Stick | $74.98 |
| Hockey Pants | $49.99 |
| Shoulder Pads | $39.98 |
| Elbow Pads | $19.98 |
| Cup & Jock | $20.00 |
| Equipment Bag | $50.00 |
| Jersey & Socks | $16.00 |
| Mouth Guard | $8.99 |
| Tapes | $10.00 |
| Total | $474.88 |
Best Hockey Helmet To Start Playing
I still have the first helmet That I bought. I’m not gonna lie, that thing is gross. It sticks, its uncomfortable, and I’m not sure it does such a great job protecting me. I’ve been playing for 8 years and according to the Hockey Equipment Certification Council (Hecc) you should replace your helmet every 6.5 years.
For more on when to replace your gear check out our article: How Often Do You Buy New Hockey Equipment
If you are just starting to play hockey there is a good chance that people aren’t very good. That means they can’t shoot the puck very hard but that also means people probably aren’t good at skating or stopping.
For that reason, I would probably recommend getting a decent helmet. The Bauer 5100 Helmet is around $90 and has a ton of good reviews. It’s lightweight and has a decent amount of padding, and lots of people say it has a nice snug fit. A few people in the reviews section say that they took a fall and fell straight back onto their head and they are still breathing! So you know it works!
Best Hockey Visor To Start Playing
You can always go cheap and get a cage. Plenty of people play with the cage face. Airflow is good and you don’t have to worry about anything getting fogged up. I would not recommend getting a visor without any mouth protection. When I see guys skating out in beer league with only a visor I think they are crazy. We are all half drunk and don’t know how to shoot a puck. I’ve had a good buddy get a visor, wear it to one practice and split his lip open.
I’ve also had the Bauer visor/cage combo. Lots of people complain about their fogging up. However, I never had a problem with that. I always coated mine with a thin layer of dish soap. And that seemed to help. What I did have a problem with was the brackets that attached the visor to my helmet. They were made of the same material as the visor and i took a p[uck to the head and they cracked.
My absolute favorite visor is the Ronin visor that you can get off of hockey ninja. It never fogs, has great visibility, and is super durable.
Best Hockey Gloves To Start Playing
Top-of-the-line hockey gloves can run you around $200. These gloves have the perfect combination of protection, comfort, and freedom. Some of the cheaper gloves lack a bit of freedom and comfort but I have never had a problem with the protection part.
The best gloves on the market as of writing this are the CCM Super Tacks AS1’s and the Warrior Covert QRE 10’s.
My first pair of gloves was $35 and they were the Warrior Burn Sr. Hockey Gloves. They had plenty of padding but they were chunky, heavy and had a cheap feeling palm.
With hockey gloves, I’ve found that the palms are usually the thing that gets worn out and causes you to have to buy new gloves. Your hockey still will usually end up wearing a hole straight into your palm. I would suggest going middle of the line, something like the CCM Tacks 4R glove. They are a little bit over $100 but they have a reinforced palm that should last longer than cheaper gloves.
Best Hockey Skates To Start Playing
Again, when I first started I went bottom of the barrel. I got the absolute cheapest skates I could I got the Bauer Supreme one20. They were $60. They were heavy, They didn’t provide much support, and they broke down fairly quickly. But I did learn how to skate on them. You could probably argue that learning to skate with cheaper skates can make you a better skater.
My next pair of skates were a middle tier CCM Ribcor skates. They were an upgrade for sure. Providing more ankle support and they were much much lighter. However, I had an issue with rust. All of the eyelets rusted on my skates. I went through laces like crazy because of that. The rivets on the bottom also ended up rusting and eventually cracking the bottom of the boot.
The skates I currently skate with are the CCM vibes. THey were about $400, but they are by far the nicest skates I have ever had.
Best Hockey StickTo Start Playing
The best stick to get when you are starting to play hockey is any stick that is NOT made out of wood. Wooden sticks don’t let you get any flex on them, which is what gives you your shot power, and they are super heavy.
Most modern sticks are made of fiber (either fiberglass or carbon fiber) and plastic ( epoxy). The combination of the two materials makes a durable but flexible material. The first stick I got was from hockey monkey, I just did the mystery pack. It was $74.98 for one stick which was usually a much higher cost but I did not get to pick it. But I also didn’t know what I liked at the time so it was perfect.
It ended up being a Sherwood Rekker. I’ve since gone through a few sticks and it still remains one of my favorites.
One thing to note about handedness for hockey sticks. Your top hand does all of the work. So if you are right-handed for most things you MAY be left-handed in hockey. The best way to tell is to go to your local rink and just pick up a few different sticks and try them in different handednesses.
Thats a word right? Handednesses.
Best Hockey Shin PadsTo Start Playing
I would suggest spending a little bit extra than I did and getting something middle of the line. Anything in the warrior Alpha series seems really nice. I still have my original shin pads. They are the Easton Stealth 55S shin guards. They were the cheapest ones I could get and I’m not entirely sure that they even make them anymore. They have lasted me longer than expected for being so cheap. My sweat is really starting to deteriorate the foam padding around the knee and my skates are starting to eat away at the bottom. The biggest knock I have against them is that they don’t have an extra strap that goes around the front to keep them nice and secure. I use extra sock tape just to keep them in place.
I have taken a puck off the knee before and had a pretty gnarly bruise which made me almost pull the trigger on some new shin guards but I still have not.
Best Hockey PantsTo Start Playing
Hockey pants are built to protect you from pucks and falls. My first hockey pants were the Easton stealth brand. Again, the cheapest of the cheap. They were around $50. They did fine until I started falling on my ass. I found that cheaper hockey pants have no butt protection. I fell on the same spot over and over again until I had such a bruised ass that I was in excruciating pain just putting my shoes on.
I have now upgraded to middle-tier Bauer Vapor pants which cost me around $120.
My butt has thanked me.
If you are getting cheap hockey pants I would recommend getting some sort of cusionl to add. They have p[added compression shorts that you can buy to put under your pants. I have never used them before but I have heard from guys that do, that padded compression shorts slightly constritct your movement. But thats better than a severely bruised ass!
Best Hockey Shoulder PadsTo Start Playing
I skate with people who don’t even wear shoulder pads. I think they are out of their mind, but also if I had to pick a piece of gear that I accidentally forgot to pack, it would be my shoulder pads. Out of everything, I think I can say I’ve been hit in the chest with the puck a very minimal amount of times. And most beer leagues are non checking.
For the longest time, I had a pait of bauer Nexus shoulder pads that were around $40 and I would probably still have them but I had a team mate that was getting rid of a decent pair of shoulder and elbow pads for dirt cheap because they were too big for him.
The biggest knock on my cheaper shoulder pads was that the elastic would wear out on them and make the velcro straps really loose.
Best Hockey Elbow PadsTo Start Playing
For beer league hockey I have found that even the cheapest apir of elbow pads will suffice as long as thy fit you well. My first pair of elbow pads was the Easton Stealth 55S series again. They were $20 and they did the job for learning to play. I fell on my elbows a few times and I felt just fine with them.
I do now have an upgraded pair and the biggest difference I have noticed is that they have extra padding around the forearm. They are a little more stable there for the accidental shot that you take off of the arm. It’s enevitable that you will catch a rouge shot or a hard core slash from somebody who thinks they are trying out for the pros here. More expensive elbow pads will help you out there but if you are on a budget I think taking a pair of cheap elbow pads is just fine.
Best CupTo Start Playing Hockey
You gotta protect the jewels! I did not skimp on my cup!
Honestly, most cups nowadays will do the job. I would just worry about comfort and fit. None of them are comfortable but some can be more comfortable than others. The one I use is this Shock Doctor Titan Flex Cup.
Its comfortable and has vent holes and it sits just right.
I have never tried the “soft” cup types like this one from shock doctor. It sounds comfortable…but do I trust that?? I’m not sure. I’ll let one of you guys try it first and let me know after you have taken a puck or stick to the nuts and let me know.
Probably the most popular jock short to hold your cup is the yellow bauer mesh shorts with the velcro to hold your socks.
Best Hockey BagTo Start Playing
The best hockey bag is honestly any bag that will hold your gear. For the longest time I used a bag that my buddy gave me. It was just a large bag on wheels that was used to carry a different kind of equipment.
I’ve heard people say that if your bag has wheels that means you don’t…well that’s true in my case but that doesn’t mean it has to be true in yours :’D
Most bags are usually around $60-$100 give or take $5-$10 either way depending on sales at the time. Now I have a warrior hockey bag (no wheels this time :P) that I paid $60. It is a fine bag, it fits all of my gear and has a separate pocket for my skates and a separate one that I put my jersey, socks and bottle in. My zippers are corroding over though which hasn’t caused a problem yet but I can see that it will in the future as it gets worse.
Best Mouth Guard To Start Playing Hockey
The best mouthguards are ones that have been custom-built to your mouth. There are companies that will actually send you a mold that you can use at home to give them an imprint of your mouth and they will actually build a custom-fit mouthguard just for your mouth.
They can be a bit pricey. I found a brand that will do it for $70.
For a pretty standard mouthguard, you can expect to spend around $20 and most of those will be just fine for beer league hockey. Most of them will also mold to your mouth in some extent. It just might not be as comfortable as one that is custom fit for your mouth.
Extra gear needed to start playing hockey
Extra equipment that you should consider buying to start playing hockey is; a jersey, hockey socks, clear sock tape, and cloth stick tape.
For your first jersey I would choose either Black or White. Those two colors are perfect for dropping in to pick up games or practrices.
You can show off your flair with your socks, get whatever color or material you want. Who cares if they don’t natch your jersey. The cotton stitch ones are cheaper but will get hole-y quicker. I also seem to notice that they usually don’t have velcro straps on them which attach to your jock shorts and help hold themselves up. You can either sew some velcro on, use a shit ton of tape every game like I do, or get the more expensive socks with velcro strap and still use a good amount of tape.
This brings me to my next item, tape!
Order a bunch of sock tape. You will go through it and there is always that guy in the locker room that “forgets” his tape every week. You can get a 10 pack for around $25 online or buy it from your local rink for a lot more than that.
Stick tape is essential too. Let your personality shine with that one too if you feel like it. Bright green, Pink, Rainbow. No judgment here!
Equipment Needed To Play Ice Hockey
In order to start playing hockey you need a helmet and visor, gloves,ice skates, hockey stick, shin pads,hockey pants, shoulder pads, elbow pads, cup, and carrying bag.You should also purchase a mouthguard, a jersey, hockey socks, and tape.
All of these things cost me around $475. I got entry-level equipment that served me just fine while I learned to play the game of hockey. This stuff lasted me on average around 5 years. I still have a few pieces of my first gear set but have also upgraded quiet a few pieces as I found good deals or got injured along the way.
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