S1 Shin Guards

The hardened shin guard is pretty straightforward;  it’s a piece of lightweight, slightly-flexible plastic over a high density foam. Under tests we found the pad did its job of stifling the force of direct impact well. 

The first thing you need to look for when considering shin pads is protection, but all to often we see players wearing the smallest pads they can buy. The thought process is a tiny shinpad means less weight and less restriction, but you don’t need to compromise. We’ve been on the look out for a pair of ‘shinnies’ that we feel do the job rather well, a pair that protect without being restrictive; in short – a pair that just plain work!

The ultimate ‘gimmick-free’ shinpad, or rather shinpad, ankle and achilles protection pad.

The black strapping is wrapped around your leg and fastened with two straps using possibly the strongest velcro on the planet! Once on, the shin pad then sticks to the front of the strapping, again using the ultra strong velcro.

Thanks to the mesh strapping system, it is easy to clean the S1.

It’s really convenient to be able to pop the mesh that’s in contact with your legs into the wash with your socks, and have them come out clean and smelling fresh before your next game. This goes for the ankle pads too, which have been washed several times.

One piece of advice, place the strapping and pads into the material bag they came packaged in before you wash them, otherwise that velcro attaches to everything you’ve got in the washing machine.

In terms of hygiene, S1 really push home the prevention of problems such as shin pad eczema, rashes and abrasion, caused by traditional shin pads. As the S1 shin pad has no direct contact with the leg, only the strapping, sweat passes straight through and does not get trapped between the shin pad and the skin, leaving the skin free to sweat and breathe naturally.

They are light, don’t move even without tape and are easy to wash. It doesn’t sound like much but these factors push the S1 pads to the top of my ‘must haves’ list.