Goalie Pant Buying Guide: Picking the Best Pant

Goalie pants tend to be the only piece of equipment that might run larger in size. They should be snug in the body but still allow room for knee pads/thigh guards, goalie jock and chest protector if the goalie tucks. Pants should be worn with goalie skates, pads and knee pads to make sure that they function well with the pads.

Goalie pants have more differences than most might guess. Goalie pants come in different shapes to cover more net and to function with pads differently. Some pants have a tapered fit and lower waist which would allow the goalie to keep the pants very tight to the body, but not allow any room for the chest to tuck into the pants. Another style is the wider topped pants with a taller waist to allow for plenty of room to tuck a chest protector into. Pants also have wider or thinner legs to allow for different sized knee pads. Keep in mind that different fits and widths of pants will work with certain strapping on pads. The wider fit the goalies pants are, the bigger they might need to go in pads to deal with the larger volume of the leg. As where goalie’s in thinner legged pants can get away with a tighter fitting pad and strapping setup.

Goalie pants are offered in different levels of protection and are made of certain materials to hold up for different uses. Pro pants are designed be used 4-7 times per week, senior pants to be used 2-5 times a week and lower senior pants are to be used 1-3 times a week. Of course, the quality of shots a goaltender faces will determine the correct level of protection, but other factors can be considered to keep new gear last longer. Some goaltenders wear knee pads and exposed Velcro might begin to wear out the inner thighs on the pants. Also, corrosion on suspender buttons happens frequently and if goaltenders dry out their gear and do not let the sweat set into the equipment, these pieces can last even longer.

Customizing goalie pants is generally not heavily worked with at the retail level, but among pro and college goalies, custom pants are used a lot. Some modifications would include extra padding added in certain places, custom lengths, waist heights, attached or detached spine plates and colors. Some goalies prefer to use internal belts which allows the goalie to keep the pants tight on the body without using suspenders, or sacrificing surface area coverage. These belts are illegal in all pro leagues and major junior leagues due to the ability to gain extra blocking surface.