A major component of hockey gear for a goalie is obviously the chest shield, whether it’s ice hockey or field hockey. Puck Drawn Hockey realizes that it’s not always fun to search for the best heads, but you need to be comfortable in the playing. We’ve done all the research for you, therefore. Check out this article below and see if you can decide which one is the best chest protector for your expectation.
Tour Aironic Pro 800 Chest Protector
Firstly, we’re going to take a quick look at the Tour Aironic Pro 800 Goalie Chest Protector. Taking a look at the protection on the front of this one, you’re gonna see it’s really going to give you a lot of protection.
This chest protector is specifically designed for those pro-level roller goalies or the intermediate to advanced level ice hockey goalies. As you can see in the chest blocks, the manufacturer used a nice dense foam that is going to be using some plastic inserts.
The foam they’re using in there is called a Zoet foam and that foam is extremely dense but still gonna be really lightweight and very protective.
Going into the shoulders, you will notice that they have this shoulder wing that actually has a flex point in it so it’s going to contour to the body a little bit nicer and you’re not going to be restricting the movement.
Also, they have additional sternum protection which is kind of a dangerous spot to take a shot sometimes, so they’ve really bulked it up with the protection there. And the product comes with a little bit of additional protection as it goes down a little bit farther which has some plastic inserts in there.
Now examining the neck, you’re gonna see they have a nice contouring neckpiece on there and this detail gives you some protection to the neck and throat area. This is such a nice feature that you’re not gonna have to buy an additional throat protector or something like that since you already get protected right there.
Read more: Ice hockey positions for beginners – Where should you play?
Next, when we check the shoulders, we found out that they actually have two shoulder caps on this one. The first one aims to protect mainly the upper part of the shoulder and the other one’s going to protect the more the front part of the shoulder.
Moreover, it is coated with a nice dense foam in there which is a pretty thick layer with some plastic inserts as well on both layers of it, so you’re gonna get really good protection there.
And then going into the arm, you’re gonna get that plastic as well as foam protection but right here in the elbow, it’s going to be reinforced with additional layers. Thus, it flexes pretty well right there so you’re not gonna get a whole lot of restricted movement.
The protection on the backside has a one-piece back panel with the additional layer of plastic in there, right along with that spinal channel so you’re gonna get some really good protection there.
And then going into the fit on this one, it’s not surprising that they have actually two elastic straps going around to the front side, which will wrap around the body really nicely to give you a nice fit there.
Then it’s the elbow part, there’s a plastic elbow cap in there with some foam protection as well so you’re going to get a nice protection and a nice protective fit right there in the elbow.
Also, if we look further, there are the elastic straps going around right at the bicep area and at the elbow which is a little bit lower on the elbow still so users will get a nice fit right there on the arm that’s going to wrap protection around there really well.
Tour Aironic 490 Goalie Chest Protector
Next on the list, we have the Tour Aironic 490 Goalie Chest Protector. The first thing we should mention is the protection on the front side. They’re mainly using foam protection those chest blocks and try flex system which enhances the mobility with the chest protector here.
And then going up into the shoulders and into the little shoulder wing, it has a plastic shell in there with some foam as well so you can get a little bit better protection up there at the shoulders.
And also that poly plastic material, as well as the foam, is going to be used in the arm as well with more protection on the arms. Besides, the elbow has a little bit of a plastic shell on there to protect your elbow in case you happen to fall on it or something like that.
In particular, this chest protector can be designed for mainly the street level goalies which are those entry-level goalies. For roller hockey really, this product is not recommended especially in ice hockey but it’s still perfect for the street hockey goalies such as ball hockey or something like that.
The backside of the chest protector features a pretty simple design with very little foam on the outer parts. But right down the center at the spine, there are some plastic inserts in there so you can get some really good protection along the spine if you happen to take a shot to the backside.
Also on the back here, the piece is attached with a buckle system that’s going to go up to the front side and wrap around there. It is made of elastic material which is adjustable so users can get a little bit more of a customized fit right there.
Plus, the elbow and the wrist part also have customization options which benefit users a lot when they want to adjust to their wish.
Read more: How to clean hockey gloves without ruining palms?
Tour Aironic 590 Goalie Chest Protector
Another good chest protector that you should probably add to your wish list is the Tour Aironic 590 Goalie Chest Protector. now taking a look at the protection on the front side of this one you’re going to see they’re using pretty much plastic inserts throughout on the front side so you’re going to get a pretty high level of protection on this one.
This chest protector is designed for mainly the inline goalies and entry-level ice hockey. Checking the chest blocks, you’re going to see the plastic and foam design in there so you definitely get good protection there. And as you can see, those chest blocks are segmented into smaller squares so it’s really going to contour to the body really well.
Then noticing the throat here, you will see that this contouring throat design is going to give you a little bit of extra protection right there so you might not need one of those throat protectors with this chest protector.
About the shoulder and the elbow part, they have the plastic inserts with foam protection. Also at the wrist, you’re going to notice that adjustment feature there so you’re going to be able to cinch it down right at the wrist.
On to the side of it, there’s an extension of the protection so you’re going to get a little bit of rib protection with this chest protector as well. In the sternum, they used an additional piece that’s going to go right over the chest blocks that are throughout the chest protector which is coated another foam and plastic layer on there so you can get really good protection.
Read more: Hockey skate profiling 101
Now taking a look at the protection on the backside, there is a one-piece design made of a plastic insert as well as some foam protection so it helps ensure the protection right there in the spine channel.
Going into the adjustments on here, this is going to be a plastic buckle feature with a buckle capable of wrapping around to the front side. This piece used an elastic material there so it’s going to be able to move alongside you.
Talking about the elbow again, there’s a nice plastic elbow cup in there which is a really good protection elbow if you happen to fall onto it. Also, it owns several adjustment features on the elbow and the one right over the wrist so you’re going to get really good adjustment features right there in the arm.
Epilogue
Hopefully, you have enjoyed our review of some of the best hockey chest protectors . Searching for a chest protector isn’t as easy as purchasing new skates, but protecting yourself is critical. Puck Drawn Hockey hopes that our guide helped you discover a chest protector that suits your size and style well. See you in the next articles!