Hockey pants are mainly created to safeguard the three areas at high risk of injury such as shots, falls, slashes, and hits on your bottom body – hips and kidneys, forehead thighs, and tailbones. However, in other places, some bags may have additional padding.
Hockey pants are generally made up of different parts, such as the shell, the pads, exterior material, and others. Since the shell is a crucial item when we play hockey, we’ve compiled for you a list of the 5 best ice hockey pant shells, so let’s take a closer look.
Bauer Supreme Ice Pant Shells
Bauer supreme ice pants shell is a really simple shell on the outside of the supreme ninety-five girdle. But you can really put it on anything else since they’re really durable materials throughout the entire shell. It is made of stretchable materials in the crotch region and in the legs.
In the back, It has some really thin mesh which creat great ventilation, offering you a little more breathability in the pant. And we can not skip the most outstanding feature of this pant, which is the elastic waistband.
So this helps not only can you clip down the belt but it does a great job just cinching up right away and then to get it tight as you want you got a lace-up front.
Taking a look at the Bauer Supreme Shell on top of the 195 adaptable core pad. As you can see the shell comes down a little bit further than the girdle, which gives you a little bit range for motion. And this is where the shin guard is going to stop right above the kneecap.
Nike Bauer Vapor Ice Pant Shells
Next up we’re gonna be checking out the Nike Bauer vapor Ice shell. It’s got really durable nylon throughout most of the pad and the legs. And throughout the top region, it has some stretch materials that separate those for a great range of motion and a little bit of ventilation as well.
Then you can notice the stretchy materials in the crotch which helps increase the comforts and flexibility of skaters. On the back of the pant, it is coated with a thin mesh, providing great ventilation.
Moreover, as far as securing the pant to your girdle, it has an elastic waistband on the back so it’ll fit pretty snug without any further adjustment. But to get it right and the way you want it, you have a lace up front and then a clip belt.
Now we are checking out the Nike Bauer vapor shell on top of the vapor 40 adaptable core pad and these are a matching set so you can see the shell goes a little bit past the girdle itself, giving you a little range of motion. And like I said before the flexible materials here keep that great range of motion that you’ll find in the adaptable core pad.
Read more: [Review] Top 10 Best Youth Hockey Pants on the market today
CCM Super Tacks Pant Shells
As far as the shell is concerned it’s based off the top line super tax pants. So we’re gonna give some comments on the full 840 denier nylon construction which is the most durable nylon, pro for expect in fact.
And then you are going to get a nice padded beltline on the beltline, a 3D two-toned synthetic leather and a CCM logo down on the lower thigh, you’re gonna get a more traditional 3D embroidered logo.
Through the sides, we are gonna have a ventilated mesh that provides you a good airflow. You’re gonna have a traditional one-inch buckle and then you’re gonna have a nice little set of velcro. This is typically what I would use to take the pant or the girdle on and off.
On the back you’re gonna have some more stretch material and it’s also gonna be well-ventilated again, giving skaters that good airflow. Then you’re gonna have a nice stretch crotch gusset that runs all the way into the back, offering good mobility.
Down through the insides of the legs, these are gonna have zippers that do hide into a little pocket and a little bit more stretch of material there too.
Warrior Senior Syko Hockey Pant Shells
Now we are going to taking a quick look at the Warrior Syko ice hockey pants. This is Warrior’s lightest ice pant shell and it fits exactly like the concept and the project.
So taking a closer look at the kidney protection, they do the same low profile kidney protection and then they backed it with a bolded plastic insert and some single density foams. This detail helps you get some good protection up here but it’s really going to open up the waist area, giving you the maximum range of motion.
And then running down the 6 pack protection, they do a padded belt loop which helps protect the waistline and Warrior add this is with a thin density foam to give you some protection to the abdomen.
Now running to the closures, it has one nylon belt so all you have to do is pull it and cinches it tight really simple and easy. For the shell, they do a 420 denier nylon so it’s gonna be really lightweight and give you some good durability. They also made some mesh nylon to help the airflow come through and help keep you cool.
For the hip protection, they added a molded plastic insert and put some single density foam so it does maintain that lightweight field but gives you some good protection.
Keep running down into the thigh pads, you will see a nice thick plastic insert with dual-density foam to help keep that thigh protected and this is two-piece thigh protection so it cuts off here. Then there’s a single section here to really increase the mobility in the legs. On the inside, there’s a zipper to help open up the leg if you do want that extra room.
Taking a look inside the pants you can notice that they did there VTech micro-mesh liner which is great moisture-wicking, soft and comfortable materials. It fits exactly like the concept and the project pant.
It’s gonna fit you tighten the legs and then come up towards the waist and bow out giving you that great mobility like the bottom for the earth. They do have the hip flex so you do get that great mobility and within terms of weight, this is a lot lighter than the concept or project. So you do get that lightweight good protection.
Read more: Top 5 Best Hockey Pants in 2020
Bauer Supreme 2S Pro Ice Hockey Pant Shells
Finally, on the list, we have the Bauer Supreme 2s pro ice hockey pant. You might notice that the supreme line has taken over the nexus traditional style fit which is the volume within the hips and the legs. But the 2s pro is going to maintain that anatomical fit with a traditional style pant. So you’re gonna have a nice close to the body responsive fit and feel.
Taking a look at the 2s pro 820 denier nylon exterior, tons of durability throughout the front pant. We’ve got really nice chrome Bauer logos on the beltline and the lower thigh and stretch gussets that extend up to the top so as to add some mobility.
And this pant has a nice clean closure system, an internal belt which gives you the great feeling around the hips with an adjustable of nylon clip buckle and a hook and loop closure system. This helps skaters to dress very easily and quickly.
Right behind the beltline, we’ve got that one-inch extension fit so go ahead drop the pants down an inch, which is perfect for taller skin or your players out there or if you grew quickly in-between seasons.
And getting into protection, we’ve got anatomically shaped kidney protection up top so high-density foam with that anatomically shaped molded plastic.
Read more: Best hockey stick brands today
For the hips, there is no plastic, but we’ve got high-density foam instead with the aim of reducing the weight. But it’s still going to offer you that elite level protection, giving out those big hip checks which is removable as well.
And down for the lower thigh, it has removable protection as well, which is perfect for those teams that want to have custom embroidery.
Also, we’ve got ribbed molded plastic one with high-density foam which has great protection down low and it is a two-piece design with high-density foam that wraps on the back of the leg. If you put on the pants after your skates or you want more volume in the leg, go ahead and utilize the zipper leg openings with that velcro closure.
On its backside, we can see curved composite up in that spine, which is one of Bauer’s elite level materials coming from their skates, help reduce the weight but still very protective. The manufacturer really did a good job of managing low mass, high-velocity impacts like cross-checks or blocked shots surrounding high-density foam with an injected plastic insert.
As we head down to the rear panels, it’s tons of breathability to keep you a lot cooler during the game but it doesn’t sacrifice mobility since it’s built with this two-way stretch material.
And as we head into the tailbone segment its soft comfortable foam with plastic insert reinforcement and Poron XRD right in the middle which assists skaters when they take that big spill on the ice, this feature will do a great job of absorbing that high energy impact.
Moreover, the 2’s pro is lined with Bauer’s thermal core liner so it excels at managing sweat moisture and odor but still very soft and comfortable. And as I mentioned earlier, the 2’s pro is the only pet in the supreme line that offers that anatomical fit for a nice snug fit and feel.
