What To Look For
Look for the best hockey pants that give you the padding and the mobility you need. You will find two basic types of hockey pants -- classic hockey pants and hockey girdles with shells. Classic hockey pants give you a loose fit through your legs and rear but plenty of padding on your legs for protection. Hockey girdles fit snugly around your stomach, behind and legs, and then require a shell over the top for the padding and protection. The choice between pants and girdles is completely up to the individual player's taste.
Common Pitfalls
Hockey pants must fit properly to protect you from sticks and pucks. Your pants should go up to your lower back and abdomen to help protect you from kidney shots, and they should never go below your knees but should instead just come to the tops of your shin guards. Ill-fitting pants open you to injury.
Where To Buy
You won't find the best hockey pants at general sporting goods stores, so pass those by. If you don't know the proper size and fit for you, find a local hockey shop where you can try on multiple pairs of hockey pants and determine what really works for you. After you know your size and preferred style, you can shop from online hockey specialty sites such as Perani's Hockey World, 24/7 Hockey or Total Hockey.
Cost
The price of hockey pants will vary with their size, particularly youth versus senior, as well as their features. At Perani's Hockey World in 2010, youth pants start around $50 and senior hockey pants top out near $250. 24/7 Hockey has hockey girdles from around $30 to about $130.
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