Hockey Glove and Pad Sizing

Glove size in inches is the measurement from the tip of your middle finger, up your hand, to the start of your elbow pad. If you measure 14.5", you want a 15" glove.

Fit style

A tighter, tapered glove reduces dead space and feels like a second skin, at some cost to wrist mobility. A traditional four-roll fit is boxier and roomier throughout. This is preference, and usually comes down to what you have worn before.

Checking the fit

With your hand in as if playing, your fingers should reach the ends of the finger slots without pressing into them, and your palm should not spill over the palm material onto the cuff. If you cannot easily pick a stick up off the floor, the glove is too big.

Fitting for growth

Allow no more than an index finger's width between the top of the palm and the edge of the cuff, and make sure the pinky sits at least three quarters of the way into its slot. More room than that and the glove fits sloppily.

Whatever you choose, minimise the gap between cuff and elbow pad. If you prefer a short cuff, a slash guard covers the exposed wrist.

Put your shoulder pads and gloves on and have someone measure the gap between them in inches. The elbow pad has to close that gap at both ends, with no bare forearm showing when your arm is extended.

Your elbow must sit centred in the cup. If the pad slides off the point of the elbow when you flex, it is either too large or strapped too loosely — and a pad that rotates protects nothing.

Measure the circumference of your chest just below the armpits. The critical check is that your shoulders sit directly under the shoulder caps. If they land beside the caps, your collarbones, shoulders and upper arms are unprotected no matter how good the pad is.

Higher levels of play call for more protection, but more protective does not have to mean bulkier — the better designs add coverage while keeping mobility.

Most models adjust at the bicep guard. Set it so it meets your elbow pad without overlapping enough to restrict your arm; on a growing player you can lower it over time.

Decide first whether the pad will sit over your skate tongue or behind it, because that changes the length you want. Then bend your knee to 90 degrees and measure in inches from the centre of your kneecap to the top of your skate boot.

Once strapped on, the pad should be snug and should not twist, rotate or slide. Your kneecap belongs in the centre of the knee cup — if the pad rides up and your knee falls out of that pocket, the size is wrong.

If your current pads fit well, staying at the same size is a reasonable guide. If you have outgrown them, move up one.

Pants are sized by waist, and should sit snug but not tight, with the belt just above your hip bones.

Fitting true to size

The hem should fall between the middle and the top of your kneecap standing straight. In a hockey stance it will ride up to meet the top of your shin guards.

Fitting for growth

Aim for the hem to reach the bottom of the kneecap standing straight, rising to mid-kneecap in a stance. Any longer and it will fight your shin guards. Once a pant no longer reaches the top of the kneecap standing straight, it is too small.

Suspenders are optional but useful when fitting for growth, since they add length without needing a tighter waist. Tall versions add about an inch of length at the same waist size.