This is a topic that I’ve actually covered recently on the site. Goalkeepers now have the option of wearing normal pants, goalkeeper leggings or padded goalkeeper pants. Of course that’s assuming that they are keen to wear pants. Out of all of the 3 options that I just mentioned there’s an argument to be made that padded goalkeeper pants are the option that gives you the best overall protection. Especially if the pads are in the right place, and you get pants that fit you just right. One of the more common mistakes that goalkeepers or the parents of goalkeepers make is buying pants that are a bit too big. If the pants are too big there’s a good chance that the pads aren’t going to be covering the part of the body that you want them to cover.
Not all goalkeeper pants are going to provide better protection than other options. Some padded goalkeeper pants feature padding that’s kind of there for show. I wouldn’t say that if that’s the case you shouldn’t buy those pants. Just if you do buy those pants don’t expect the padding to do you any favors. I’m going to be operating under the assumption that you want the pads on the pants to actually be useful. What I want to go into first is whether or not wearing padded goalkeeper pants even makes any sense. What are the benefits of these pants. From there, I’ll give you three different options to choose from! Let’s get to it then.
Do Padded Goalkeeper Pants Even Work?
I’ve talked about this on the site a couple of times regarding padded goalkeeper gear in general. Padding for goalkeeper gear is weird in the sense that you think that it doesn’t do much because you can get scrapped up while wearing a padded jersey. Still, you’d rather have those extra pads than not have them. The damage that you would be able to do to yourself if you are not wearing any type of padded clothes could be a bit worse. I would say they work to maybe limit the damage that you can do to yourself. What you don’t want to do is think that you’re going to be perfectly fine just because your pants have pads in them.
Another thing that you want to take into consideration is that the pads have to fit just right to make sure that they are covering the part of your legs or sides that you want them to. If the pants are too loose what’s going to happen is that the pads are going to be covering parts of your body that aren’t where you’re going to be hurt the most. Certain padded goalkeeper pants are also pretty poorly designed. In the sense that they have pads, but they’re just thrown on there without necessarily covering the parts of your body that need the most protection. That’s something that you want to account for before making a purchase.
Do You Have To Wear Shin Guards When Wearing Long Pants?
The short answer here is yes. The fact is most of the goalkeeper pants that you can find out there that feature padding don’t necessarily cover the shin area with the pants. Also, the type of impact that you can expect to receive in the shin area is usually much more severe than the ones that the pads are going to protect you from. So even if you find pants that do have some type of padding in that shin area it’s still going to be a good idea to wear shin guards. This is coming from someone who doesn’t like to wear shin guards ever. What I feel is that in wearing shin guards I feel heavier and therefore slower, and I don’t like that.
Even though you can feel a little lighter without them, you’re essentially forgoing a level of protection that you’re going to wish you had if you’re involved in a rough play. The reason why I say that the pads on goalkeeper pants won’t be able to handle the same level of impact is because these are meant to soften the blow with the ground. Shin guards for the most part though are meant to protect you from direct impact with another person’s leg or shin. That type of impact is usually going to be much more severe than the one that you can have with the ground. Even if you can trick the ref and not play with shin guards thanks to the long pants you’re probably going to want to keep them in your outfit.
Pants or Leggings What Works Best?
This is going to depend on what you like or don’t like in regard to the way that your clothes typically fit. There are people that are never going to be into leggings because of how tight they are. I get the sense that this is something that’s not a problem to the newer generations. A lot of us from the old guard have had to adapt to the new styles. In many ways particularly when it comes to padded goalkeeper pants we have to admit that it makes more sense for the pants to be a bit tighter. Like I said that’s going to make it easier for the pads on the pants to stay where they need to be.
At this point pants have gotten real tight as well because of this. Maybe the only part that’s not as tight is that spot below the knee. That’s actually a good thing because it makes it easier for you to put on socks and shin guards if that’s what you want. Otherwise, with leggings you’d have to put the shin guards over the leggings. That looks kind of weird to be honest. Maybe what you can also do is just put the shin guard below the leggings and keep it in place with some tape. That way you don’t have to wear the high socks. Taking all this into account it could make a bit more sense to wear pants in games when you’re going to need to wear shin guards.
Reusch Alex Goalkeeper Pant
I have to be honest with you here these are pants that are going to give some of us older guys a bit of nostalgia. The design of the glove is completely old school. For years goalkeeper pants have featured the square pads in those very specific areas. These pants though are a little tighter than some of their predecessors. As I’ve been saying this means that the pads are going to stay in the parts of your body that they are meant to protect. The problem might be that you need to make sure that you’re buying pants that are just the right size for you. If you buy pants that fit a little too tight in this model they are going to have a tendency to rip.
This is because these pants are made from different pieces of fabric. We can see clearly that they are stitched together in the inner part of the pant leg. That to be honest can be a bit of an issue. Only if the pants are a bit too tight though. It’s really you stretching that’s going to potentially rip the pants from that area. This is not an issue that could happen because you slid across the ground or whatever it may be. Unless you’re playing in a very rough field. Overall if you buy the right size for you these should be padded goalkeeper pants that you can count on for years to come.
Adidas Tierro Goalkeeper Pants
If you’re looking for style points with your goalkeeper pants then this is the pair that you want to look into. These padded goalkeeper pants look just like the ones featured in the now iconic Adidas tracksuit. It’s not just looks that these pants have going for them. They actually feature a quite large protection area in the thighs. The pads run inwards towards your bottom. That can help provide a little extra help in that part of the body. For whatever reasons padded goalkeeper pants have always neglected to protect a goalkeeper’s bottom. Although you don’t necessarily want to land on your butt it’s actually something that can happen rather frequently. These pants give you a little more help there.
The knee pads on these pants are also pretty good. They are large enough to essentially cover up the entire knee area. That’s always a plus. There are some pants out there that feature extremely small kneed pads to the point where we’re left wondering why they put them in there at all. The elephant in the room with these pants is the price point. They are almost 15 to 20 dollars more expensive than the other options I’m recommending. Why is that? Well, if I’m being honest it’s just because of the brand. I said before these pants look better than the other options out there. Do those looks justify the price difference? That’s really the dilemma, they will for some people, and won’t for others.
Rinat Moya Free Pin
These are not necessarily old school padded goalkeeper pants, but they are a bit looser than some of the current models on the market. That provides an interesting fit, and that’s why I’m adding them to the list. What you get are pants that are a lot wider around the waist area, but they tighten up in the leg part of the pants. This makes them a perfect option for some of the goalkeepers that are not as fit anymore. That’s been some of us at different points. It can feel really uncomfortable to try and force yourself into any outfit that’s meant for someone who is a bit more athletic. I’ve been there with some of my old jerseys and pants. It’s a consistent reminder that you’re not your old self anymore.
It’s interesting though what Rinat are trying to do here. Since they tighten up the pants around the leg area there’s less of a chance of the pant leg lifting up on a particular play. I’ve spoken about this in other articles. With some of the older models that Rinat had since they were not particularly tight around the shin on the back of the legs in their ¾ models it wasn’t uncommon for the pants to lift up and essentially expose your knees. That’s exactly what you were trying to protect. With this model they seem to have solved that problem. At the same time you still get to enjoy more freedom around the waist area. Overall they are not the prettiest pants on the list. They are though a decent option at what we could say is a fair price tag.
