Thread: Best Shoulder Pads

What are the best shoulder pads at a reasonable price?

I play for an American football team in Norway and I want to buy shoulder pads from the United States of America.

Information:
I'm a little over 6 feet tall (184 cm)
I weight around 165 pounds (74 kg)
I play the skill positions (Mostly defensive back and wide receiver, but also a little half back)
The shipping over to Europe costs a lot so I would like to keep the price under $80.

Do you guys recommend any good pads for me?

I looked at these Rawlings Adult Combat Football Shoulder Pad for $59.99.
Do anybody know if they are any good?

I also want to know if it is a considerable difference in quality between the large brands like Wilson, Riddell, Team Sports America, Schutt, Diamond, Rawlings etc.

Any help is nice!

It's tough to get the size right without actually wearing them.

If you can get someone to measure your shoulders(on the back) and decide on a size by that measurement.


And there's no big difference between the big brands, there are some smaller ones like Williams which are very specialized and high quality, but that's not really necessary. Riddell is worn on-field by players, but who knows what they would choose given a choice. And the ones worn by NFL players are probably custom fitted.

As a DB/WR you won't need big bulky pads, but nothing as light as a QB set. So you could go with basically anything in between and be alright, I'd probably go on the lighter side.

Make sure that that you don't get varsity pads and get the full adult pads. I used both Rawlings and Wilson when I played and felt more comfortable using the Wilson pads - that was playing DE/OLB so they would be be more bulkier than you would need.

Have you also tried to source these in Europe at all? As the money you would save on shipping could then be put towards getting better pads.
Just a thought

Thank you for the help, guys!

I will try to find some good sites in Europe, but I don't expect to get very lucky with it.

By the way, I just looked into the customs and I found out that I don't have to pay anything if the item costs less than 35 U.S. dollars.

Anyone knows if I can order some good pads at less than $35?

Definitely not from the manufacturer, but you could probably get some second-hand ones for under 35. Getting them shipped to you might be an issue though.

HEY wrote:

Thank you for the help, guys!

I will try to find some good sites in Europe, but I don't expect to get very lucky with it.

By the way, I just looked into the customs and I found out that I don't have to pay anything if the item costs less than 35 U.S. dollars.

Anyone knows if I can order some good pads at less than $35?

try looking for sites in european countries where the game is strong at the amateur level - such as Austria, Germany, Finland, UK - that might at least give the chance of finding more than one supplier

AngloVike wrote:

HEY wrote:

Thank you for the help, guys!

I will try to find some good sites in Europe, but I don't expect to get very lucky with it.

By the way, I just looked into the customs and I found out that I don't have to pay anything if the item costs less than 35 U.S. dollars.

Anyone knows if I can order some good pads at less than $35?

try looking for sites in european countries where the game is strong at the amateur level - such as Austria, Germany, Finland, UK - that might at least give the chance of finding more than one supplier

and forgot to include the Netherlands - before I get the PPO members there upset :laugh:

Hey
I've had a quick look about and found the following links if they are of any help at all.

http://www.americansportsuk.co.uk/index.shtml UK site
http://www.americanfootballuk.com/ UK site

http://www.afe-shop.de/contact/index-me.html German site

Obviously others exist but I haven't found them but they might point you in other areas to look.

Schutt.

All of our players wear them. They are the most comfortable and allow for the greatest protection and flexibility.

http://www.schuttsports.com/aspx/Sport/ProductListing.aspx?sp=3&id=92

Don't be cheap.