5 Best Soccer Shin Guards – Buyer’s Guide

In this article you’ll find a list of the best soccer shin guards you can buy today. We’ve reviewed and listed all the pros and cons of these shin guards for you!

Best Soccer Shin Guards

Finding the best soccer shin guards need not be hard. When a soccer game goes out on the football field and gets unbelievably competitive, you know it’s time then to don your best shin guards and get into the war-zone. These little pieces are some of the essential protective equipment for soccer that players should wear on the field.

A shin guard protects your legs from the kind of impacts that can dislocate or splinter your bones before even you even feel the pain.  And since younger players are more vulnerable to bone injuries, a shin guard is a must for them to wear at practices and matches alike. However, selecting the ideal soccer shin guard could be a hassle and pretty time-consuming. That’s why we’re reviewing some of the top shin guards right now so that you as a player can pick the best soccer shin guards for your needs! Our selection of the best soccer shin guards you can buy is listed below.

1. Adidas – X League LGE Shin Guards

The asymmetrical Adidas X League shin guards offer excellent impact protection while providing you with breathable comfort. They are designed with hard shields to match the leg contours of both men and women, ensuring a natural yet secure fit. This improves flexibility, thereby reducing the chances of leg injuries.

Product Highlights

1. Backed by perforated EVA to reduce weight and increase breathability.
2. 100% K-Resin shield on the soccer shin guards help ensure a natural fit.
3. The compression sleeve holds the shin guard in place.

The Good

The X League LGE Soccer Shin Guards by Adidas are designed to match your legs’ contours to ensure a natural and snug fit during gameplay. Each of them comes with a compression sleeve made using polyester, rubber, and polyurethane to help keep everything in place while you click into top gear. Moreover, they are perforated with EVA backing foam at the back to absorb shock. This protects your legs from injuries caused due to sudden impact on the field.

In addition to impact protection, the shin guards offer breathable comfort, allowing you to enjoy playing soccer for extended durations. We also found them to be lightweight, further enhancing leg flexibility, which is a crucial requirement of the game. In other words, you won’t have to compromise on your pace, and this is something that’s bound to petrify your opponents! But if you’re not satisfied with these shin guards by any chance, Adidas promises assistance in returning or exchanging them.

The Bad

There’s no doubt that this pair of soccer shins is designed to ensure players’ long-lasting comfort. However, it didn’t feel soft enough on the underside. This might chafe your skin, causing it to become a bit sore after prolonged use. So, we’d suggest wearing the shin guards with a pair of soccer shin socks.

2. G-Form – Pro-S Elite Shin Guards

The G-Form Pro-S Elite shin guards are some of the most marvelously designed on the market right now. These shin guards by G-Form are designed to conform to the NOCSAE standards, the soccer shin guards effectively protect your legs from injuries while providing the utmost comfort and flexibility on the field!

Product Highlights

1. These soft and flexible sleeve-style soccer shin guards are constructed with the brand’s patented Reactive Protection Technology (RPT) and conform to NOCSAE standards.
2. Lightweight and breathable material reduced heat and sweat without needing tape or additional sleeve.
3. These are machine-washable that makes them immensely easy to clean.

The Good

The G-Form Pro-S Elite is all about the revolutionary technology for assured comfort along with high degree performance. The Reactive Protection Technology enables the pair of shin guards to harden on high impact without requiring any additional hard, protective barrier shell.

We admire how these remain absolutely comfortable and flexible, even in the most stressful situations. The breathable and lightweight material minimizes discomfort caused by heat and sweat. And we absolutely love the fact that this pair of shin guards could be so easily cleaned by just putting them into the machine!

The Bad

An issue that we noticed about the slip-in shin guards is that, although they remain comfortable during matches, these could chafe the skin a bit upon prolonged wear. It is advisable to wear socks to avoid this issue.

3. Nike – Mercurial Lite Shin Guards

Nike is a leading name when it comes to the development and innovation of sports gear. And the Nike Mercurial Lite shin guards is undoubtedly one of the best soccer shin guards. They are perforated with EVA foam for maximum breathability and comfortable cushioning while protecting your legs from impacts during gameplay.

Product Highlights

1. These soccer shin guards are made with 79% K-resin and 21% EVA foam backing.
2. They are lightweight and durable low-profile shell and sleeve.
3. Left and right specific design to contour to your natural feet shape.

The Good

This soccer shin pair is Nike’s most lightweight and breathable type of shin guard that offers long-lasting comfort during the game. After all, they come with dense foam cushions perforated for breathability and reduction of weight. The foam backing also offers complete protection against injuries caused due to impacts.

What’s more, these soccer guards are designed to contour to the natural shape of your feet. And with the lightweight sleeves made using spandex, polyester, and rubber, they are bound to stay in place even during the harshest tackle. This gives them an edge over their competition.

Moreover, the contoured sleeves reduce heat and sweat, making them suitable and comfortable for prolonged use. You can wash and use them for every soccer game without even worrying about any deterioration in their performance.

The Bad

You won’t be at the risk of injuries after wearing the Nike Mercurial Lite Shin Guards. However, it’s important to note that they are not designed to ensure complete ankle protection. Also, make sure you follow the size chart provided carefully to choose a shin guard pair that fits perfectly. You’ll need to go a size up for larger calf muscles.

4. G-Form – Pro-S Clash Shin Guards

Next, we have the G-Form Pro-S Clash shin guards designed with the brand’s patented technology to meet NOCSAE and CE Standards. These shins are 20% to 40% lighter than other leading competitors, ensuring both comfort and flexibility to the soccer players. This, in turn, helps improve their performance throughout the game.

Product Highlights

1. The G-Form Pro-S Shin Guard comes with a precise profile and streamlined design, providing impact protection.
2. Shin guards equipped with body-mapped impact-absorbing SmartFlexi pads.
3. This soccer shin guard pair is thinner and lighter than competitors.

The Good

These slip-in shin guards from the G-Form Pro series stand out in terms of performance, flexibility, and comfort. This is because they come with the lowest-profile and soft, impact-absorbing SmartFlexi padding that ensures double the shock attenuation compared to their competition.

The pads are completely flexible during gameplay but immediately harden on impact, dispersing energy. As such, they exceed G-Form’s existing shin guard impact performance. So, you need not bother about leg injuries; instead, you’ll be able to put your entire focus on the game and opponents. In fact, the pair also comes with form-fitting compression sleeves and silicone grippers, ensuring that your pads stay in place while on the field.

You can wear it for extended durations with ease, while the mesh backs and moisture-wicking UPF 50+ fabric prevents sweat build-up. Nonetheless, they are easily washable; all you have to do is take the shin guards off and throw them in the washing machine.

The Bad

We don’t really have any complaints related to the design and performance of these G-Form shin guards. However, you might find it difficult to find a suitable size as the sizing chart provided is way off. Make sure you order a shin guard pair that’s one size larger than what you’d usually wear as they tend to run a bit small.

5. PUMA – Football NXT Pro Flex Shin Guards

The Puma Football NXT Pro Flex shin guards is one of the best soccer shin guards in terms of appearance. You’ll love the color variants, including black and orange/gold accentuated with the cat logo from PUMA. Besides that, the two-piece shin guard doesn’t fail to meet expectations related to comfort and performance.

Product Highlights

1. This shin guard 2-piece set comes with dynamically-shaped guards and elasticated sleeves.
2. They come with EVA foam backing to absorb impact and ensure comfort.
3. The soccer shin guards are made using PP, TPR, EVA, and nylon.

The Good

What caught our attention straight off the bat is the PUMA Wordmark, and cat logo imprinted both on the soccer shin guard and sleeve. Plus, you get to choose any variant based on your color preference. You can opt for the elegant and classy black shin guard or pick a pair featuring the color combination of black and orange/gold.

In addition to the appearance, PUMA has paid close attention to the design and shape of these shin guards. The pair is extremely lightweight and dynamically-shaped, conforming to the natural shape of your legs. This helps ensure the flexibility needed while playing soccer on the field or any other terrain.

The soccer shin guards are also backed by EVA foam to provide optimal comfort and protection against impacts. So, you need not worry about injuries during the game. What’s more, the elasticated compression sock helps ensure a secure and comfortable fit, keeping the shin guards in place even during an intense gaming action.

The Bad

You can definitely rely on the PUMA Football NXT Pro Flex as it is one of the best soccer shin guards out there. But it’s important to follow the care instructions carefully before you throw them in the washing machine. Even after washing, you’ll need to be careful while drying both the shin guards; refrain from drying them on top of a heat source.

Buyer’s Guide – Choose the Best Shin Guards for Soccer

Given the wide range of protective shin guards for shin available out there on the market, it could get pretty challenging to find just the best shin guard for yourself. This is because the features could vary distinctly from one brand to the other, affecting the price levels. That is why we’re attaching a guide to help you find the best shin guards that will suit you the best!

Comfortable material

The level of comfort should be the utmost priority when it comes to a shin guard. While extra padding and foam support could definitely provide all the comfort you need, make sure that the overall structure is lightweight. Not only will this allow you to remain agile and flexible on the field, but it will also reduce discomfort caused by heat and sweat.

Ankle protection

Superior ankle protection in shin guards for youth soccer players is a huge benefit and requisite. This is because the ankle bones in youth soccer players who are younger than 13 years of age are more likely to break under massive impacts than the rest. So, an ankle-sleeve is an excellent feature for shin guards.

Sizes

It is crucial to find just the right shin guard size for yourself; otherwise, your shin guards may weigh you down on the field and compromise your flexibility. We understand that it could be a bit difficult to get the right size of shin guards. Know that the user’s height generally determines the size of the shin guards. Also, make sure that the shin guards have adjustable straps to ensure a secure and comfortable fit for you.

Shield protection

Padding supports and shields of the shin guards make up the actual protective core against all external impacts. You must make sure that the core has enough strength to absorb shocks and blunt forces. Otherwise, it would just beat the purpose of getting a soccer shin guard in the first place.

How do I clean shin guards?

The materials of different items will vary from one brand to another. While some offer machine-washable material, you might have to clean other kinds manually using soaps and water.

Is a NOCSAE an essential determinant?

The US laws require shin guards that are used in matches played by students in middle school or high school to conform to NOCSAE standards. But, it isn’t a mandatory thing for any game played outside of the schools.

Can I wear any type of sleeve with any shin guards?

Although all of us would like that to happen, not all sleeves will sit ideally with every kind of guards for shin. However, versatile sleeves and shin guards are available which could be paired up with other types of soccer shin guard and sleeves.

Should the soccer shin guard size matter all that much?

The size of your soccer shin guards will decide the comfort and flexibility for you on the field. Otherwise, they may come undone during matches or cause you to slip. So you need to get just the perfect fit for your shins.

What is the strongest material for your shin guards?

Carbon fiber is by far the most enduring material for them. These provide high resistance against much higher impacts and are mainly used by professionals on the field.

Conclusion

Quality protective soccer equipment is vital and there are a lot of options out there when it comes to the best shin guards, but it takes a bit of research to know which one will suit you the best. We hope we were able to give you an insight into how soccer shin guards work by reviewing some of the best ones here. Here’s to excellent games and all the success for you with these best soccer shin guards.