The Best Hockey Shin Guards for 2025 (with reviews)

Hockey is a high-contact sport that involves flying pucks, sticks and body checking, so having the right equipment is important for performance and safety. A hockey player's shins, knees and calves can be especially vulnerable. This is why it's so important to get the right shin guards for your level of play. As you read on, we'll break down how to choose the most protective shin guards available and list some of the best ice hockey shin guards produced by major brands.

To see more options, check out our full selection of ice hockey shin guards.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• List of the Best Ice Hockey Shin Guards
• How to Pick to Correct Hockey Shin Guards
• Steps on How to Measure for Hockey Shin Guards
• Factors to Consider When Selecting Hockey Shin Guards
• Best Hockey Shin Guards by Category

List of the Best Ice Hockey Shin Guards

1. CCM Tacks XF Pro Hockey Shin Guards

2. CCM jetspeed FT8 Pro Hockey Shin Guards

3. Bauer Supreme Mach Hockey Shin Guards

4. Bauer Vapor Hyperlite Hockey Shin Guards

5. Warrior Alpha Pro Hockey Shin Guards

How to Select and Wear Hockey Shin Guards

Shin guards protect the front of hockey players’ legs from the top of the knee to just above the ankle. You should always select a shin guard that’s sized to cover this area. You should also consider a style of hockey shin guard that's appropriate for your age, skill level, position and personal style of play. We'll cover these factors later, but regardless of which shin guard you are thinking about purchasing, it's vital that you wear them properly for best protection. Wearing shin guards can be broken down into three easy steps.

1. Identify your right and left shin guard and place on the appropriate leg with the knee centered in the inner pocket of the knee cap
2. Secure the calf and knee straps tight enough to hold shin guards in place
3. Cover with your hockey socks and wrap the lower leg with hockey sock tape for added security

Steps to Measure for Hockey Shin Guards

Wearing the wrong size hockey shin guard can hamper performance and increase the chance of serious injury. Oversized shin guards will be bulky and restrict movement, while shin guards that are too small will leave open gaps in protection from pucks and sticks. It's fairly easy to measure hockey shin guards for optimal fit - simply follow the steps below and use our shin guard sizing chart to find the correct shin guard size. 

1. Wear and lace your hockey skates as if you're ready to hit the ice
2. Sit on a chair that allows you to bend your knee at a 90-degree angle with your skate blades on the floor
3. Measure the distance between the center of your knee and the top of the skate boot
4. Round this measurement to the nearest inch and refer to our size guide chart to find the appropriate size

Factors to Consider When Selecting Hockey Shin Guards

After you've determined the right size, it's time to look at a few other things before you purchase your shin guards. Below we'll discuss the best ice hockey shin guard style for your position, skill level and fit.

Hockey players who play different positions on the ice have different needs from their equipment. Defensemen will want more shin guard protection since they're often in harm's way when blocking shots. Smaller, more agile forwards may want a lighter, slimmer shin guard. There may even be considerations based on the way you play your position. For example, a forward always grinding in the corners might want more coverage against opposing players’ sticks. By contrast, a forward who prefers to keep to the open ice might not be as concerned with greater coverage.

You should also consider your skill level and the amount of time you spend on the ice. Beginners or casual drop-in players may not need the advanced ice hockey shin guards designed for elite players, and intermediate players may be searching for something that falls in between beginner hockey shin pads and professional grade shin guards.

• Beginner or Low Impact: Recreational hockey players and beginners will most likely do just fine with a standard style shin guard. These are usually a classic fit made from hard plastics with a basic foam liner that offers protection for low-impact hockey games.
• Experienced to Competitive: Experienced players may want a little more protection than basic hockey shin guards provide. But they might not necessarily want to blow their equipment budget on elite hockey shin guards.  Experienced players will typically want to look for a shin guard with a calf protector and firmly locking shin guard straps.
• Intermediate to Advanced: Elite players not only need the best protection, they'll also want shin guards that won't hinder performance. These shin guards are made from lightweight materials, conform to the lower leg better and can be much more comfortable than shin guards designed for the average hockey player.

Different styles of hockey shin guards may fit differently, even if they’re the same size. Choosing a fit that isn't tailored to your style of play can hurt your performance, increase injury risk and reduce comfort. Hockey shin guards come in three styles that all have advantages and disadvantages depending on your specific style of play.

• Traditional: A traditional fit hockey shin guard offers the most protection, but can be heavier and bulkier than other styles. Defensemen, beginners, youth and power forwards typically choose a traditional fit for the added protection over other styles.
• Contoured: Contoured hockey shin guards have the lowest profile and provide the closest fit. Quick forwards that don't expect to block shots or take sticks to the legs will often choose these for their lightweight and comfortable feel.
• Tapered: Shin guards with a tapered fit combine features from both traditional and contoured guards. The knee and upper half offer expanded protection while slimming down in the lower portions for improved mobility over traditional hockey shin guards.

Best Hockey Shin Guards by Category

Choosing the right shin guard doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Whether you need shin guards on a budget or you’re looking for the best junior shin guards for a youth player, we’ve got you covered.

Sherwood Code Encrypt 2 Shin Guards: The Sherwood Code Encrypt 2's are our best budget shin guards because of their anatomical construction and molded protective caps that offer comfort at a great price point. Lightweight construction promotes airflow in key areas via formed foam parts with exposed foam and perforated base materials with a mesh cover.

Bauer Supreme Mach Hockey Shin Guards: The Bauer Supreme Mach hockey shin guards are designed to provide the lightest elite level protection. These guards feature Bauer's CURV Composite material in the calf guard for lightweight protection, an ErgoDynamic Lab knee cap for best fit, and boasts a removable comfort liner with molded air channel and skate zone.

CCM Tacks XF Pro Hockey Shin Guards: The XF Pro features ADAPTFIT+ straps, a length adjustable dual calf strap wraps any calf size comfortably and is paired with a Hyper X lock strap that keep the pad in place and snug for the whole game. A removable ADPTFIT liner includes a removable bottom liner to customize the fit no matter if the skate tongue is worn in or out.

Warrior Alpha Pro Hockey Shin Guards: New perforated, lightweight molded slash and calf guards and compression molded EVA IMPAX foam added in key impact zones for added coverage and protection. Versatile strap system now with Fantom Stretch that secures the leg into the engineered channel that provides a comfortable fit and protects against impacts.

Warrior Alpha LX Pro Hockey Shin Guards: Warrior focused on using lightweight materials without sacrificing protection when they designed the Warrior Alpha LX Pro shin guard. With new perforated lightweight molded slash guards, lightweightmolded EVA IMPAX foams and Warriors WarTech FNC Strike liner, the Alpha LX Pro has incredible comfort and protective engineering while remaining one of the lightest ice hockey shin guards on the market in 2023.

Bauer X Youth Hockey Shin Guards: Bauer's X Youth shin guards feature an ErgoDynamic lab knee cap for a deep fit and a full coverage calf with PE inserts. An injected shin cap with textured details and MD foam knee wing provide great protection for little legs. 

CCM Jetspeed FT8 pro Junior Hockey Shin Guard: An AER-TEC thermoregulation system with multiple ventilation ports in the shin cap and liner offer maximum airflow; while a FLOFOAM knee donut offers pro-level protection. A shot block reinforcement liner offers additional protection in vulnerable areas when blocking shots. it also features a pro-level shin cap with an optimized anatomical geometry is lined with compress molded exposed Zotefoam and PE plastic in an anti-collapse X-Frame design paired with multiple ventilation ports for maximum breathability.

CCM Jetspeed FT8 Pro Senior Shin Guard: Features an anatomical JDP kneecap construction disperses impact force away from the knee cap, and a fully removable comfort knee pad with a premium sublimated lining offers increased comfort. Also, a  floating compress-molded HD foam design offers lightweight, pro-level protection for maximum impact calf guards and added abrasion resistance at the bottom.

Now that we've covered all the factors that go into choosing the best ice hockey shin guards, you're ready to begin shopping. HockeyMonkey has you covered with all the best senior, junior and youth ice hockey shin guards on the market, so be sure to check out our full selection of ice hockey shin guards today.