You spend a lot of money suiting yourself, or your child, up for the game. Helmets, chin straps, pads, cleats…they all help protect you on the field, but unfortunately, together they can all cost an arm and a leg! So to make sure you’re getting the most for your money, it’s incredibly important to find the right gear for your size. Improperly fitting football equipment, no matter how high-end and advanced, isn’t worth the box they put it in if it doesn’t fit you! This is why football shoulder pad sizing is so important.
- Schutt Shoulder Pad
- How To Install Schutt Shoulder Pad Collar Football
- How To Install Schutt Shoulder Pad Collar Pattern
Make Offer - Schutt 7955 Jr Blocker Youth Shoulder Pads With 7985 Neck Collar, Small 90-105lb Schutt Y Flex 80005 Youth Shoulder Pads, Medium, 30-32”, 13-14” C $36.35. How To Install Schutt Shoulder Pad Collar; X Mix Urban 193; 3g Module Driver (em770w)/ Download; Chanting Of Buddha; Mario Vs Donkey Kong Minis March Again Romeo; Intel 865 Motherboard Drivers; Number 1 Rated Pc Games; Download Software Basics Of Rc Model Aircraft Design; Jabiru Engine Serial Numbers; Descargar Ya No Sufro Por Amor Lucia. The Schutt Varsity football shoulder pad collar provides added comfort and protection with a heavy-duty, waterproof nylon covering. It is designed to fit Schutt Hurricane, Tornado and Lightning shoulder pads. The slots on the rear flange align with the holes provided on most Douglas shoulder pads. In order to mount the collor on other types of pads, you may have to drill small holes into the shoulder pad. WARNING: It is essential to follow installation and use instructions.
Let me take a few minutes and run down the best way to measure and fit football shoulder pads, so you know you’re getting the most coverage and performance out of yours. Just follow these simple steps, and you’ll be in good shape:
- Grab a friend or a parent. Measuring yourself can be awkward, and may lead to inaccurate readouts and ill-fitting shoulder pads.
- Measure your chest. Standing up straight, have someone wrap a flexible measuring tape around your upper torso and record the measurements. Think about wearing a tight fitting shirt to get the most accurate, next-to-skin measurements possible.
- Measure your shoulder width. Again, standing up straight, stretch the tape over the contour of your shoulders, between the AC joints (those are the joints between the tops of your shoulders), and record the measurements.
- Weigh yourself. Typically, youth shoulder pads are sized by weight class, so to properly fit youth shoulder pads, it’s important to know your exact weight.
Once you have these numbers written down, you can start shopping for new football shoulder pads. SU has a huge selection of youth and adult shoulder pads for every position, age range, and budget, from the top brands like Schutt, Riddell, Douglas, and Bike…just saying.
When you find the shoulder pads for you, simply consult the size chart found on the product page, and use your shoulder pad measurements to know which size to select.
Now, once you receive them, it’s important to know how to put on football shoulder pads. You should also make sure they fit properly, and deliver the coverage and mobility you need before using them. When you get your pads, make sure to:
- Bring the pads down over your head. Align the shoulder pads carefully, and be sure not to scratch your eyes or nose when putting them on.
- Secure all straps and laces. Each shoulder pad front connector and strap system is different, depending on brand and position, but no matter what the configuration, make sure to properly connect the front and back of your pads. Then tightly buckle all belts and straps to get a snug, comfortable fit against the chest and back.
- Check the fit. Once everything is secure, ensure the shoulder pads fit properly. The padding shouldn’t be pinching your collar, and should sit comfortably on your shoulders. Typically, about 1″ of padding should extend from your shoulders.
- Check coverage in the front and back. The shoulder pads should fully cover your sternum and upper shoulders, as well as your scapula and rhomboid. Confirm this full coverage by extending your hands above your head. Properly fitting and measured shoulder pads should still cover these areas when lifted up.
- Move around and double check the fit. Perform some on-field
actions in the new pads (even if it looks a little weird), to double check comfort, fit, and coverage in game-like situations.
Schutt Shoulder Pad
Follow these steps, and you’ll get the absolute best coverage, performance, and comfort from your shoulder pads, no matter how much you spend on them.
And remember, if you have any further questions or concerns regarding your pads, or any other football gear for that matter, you can always consult Sports Unlimited’s Shoulder Pad Buyer’s Guide, or our huge library of football gear buyer’s guides, that cover every aspect of everything football from football helmets to thigh pads.
By Brandon Porter.Brandon is a product specialist at Sports Unlimited. |
The first review in this series is the Schutt AiR Flex Umpire Chest Protector.I received this protector almost two months ago and have been field testing it since that time.
Appearance
The Schutt AiR Flex Chest Protector is very cool looking.It is 17” wide and 13” measured from the neck opening to the bottom of the CP. The plates are the same design and appearance as those used by Schutt in its football pads.The color is lighter and the silver rivets are bright and not subdued.The shiny rivets and possibly the color of the Schutt CP itself could bleed through an open hole mesh shirt.
While the chest plates hug your body in a very sleek and low-profile design (the padding and plates measure a mere 1' in thickness), the shoulder caps are taller than any other hard shell chest protector I have tested.This gives you a more pronounced “line backer” look while behind the dish.Maybe that appearance is a good thing when dealing with rat coaches?
Comfort
This is the most comfortable hard shell chest protector I have tried.It is worth mentioning that I have not tried the Douglas, which I understand is very comfortable.It’s weight is well distributed and hangs from your shoulders, so it feels lighter than it is.The plates have more curve than most hard shell CPs and the quilted padding conforms to your body and “gives” when you move.There are no slippage issues outside of a rare adjustment.The harness is comfortable and keeps this CP in place.For more information on the harness, see slo8140’s review on Umpire-Empire.
The AiR Flex is based on Schutt's popular AiR Flex Shoulder Pads introduced to football in 2008, and uses a cushion technology called Brock Beads in its AiR Flex padding. Brock Beads are polyurethane foam beads that were first used in the medical field for wheel chair cushions and mattresses. When the Brock Foam is impacted, each bead moves the adjacent beads laterally and diffuses the impact again and again and again over the beads. Brock Bead technology is also used in hockey and lacrosse pads.
The Brock Foam is permeable so airflow actively circulates around the beads accelerating evaporation and keeping the body cooler. In order to enhance air circulation and aid in moisture evaporation, Schutt has placed 10 mm ventilation holes on the plastic plates and covered the Brock Foam with a polyester mesh.The 10 mm holes are an increase from the earlier Schutt AiR Flex design using 5 mm holes.
The AiR Flex kept me comfortable during late August games in the Midwest heat and humidity.It is hard to measure such things without a thermometer, but I believe I am cooler in the AiR Flex than while wearing other hard shell chest protectors.
Protection
The plates for the Schutt AiR Flex Chest protector are different than those used on the Schutt CP I tested earlier in the year. Schutt explained that the plates on the CP I previously tested were photography grade, which I thought was a bunch of hooey, but these redesigned plates are considerably more substantial and made from a more rigid plastic. The hard plastic plates measure 3mm, and the large chest plate is 12.25' long and 6.5' wide. There is also less padding around the shoulders for a more comfortable and closer fit. The plates have been re-positioned. The chest plate has been moved up closer to the neck, reducing clavicle exposure. A shoulder cap has been added to prevent gap exposure. Lateral plates have been moved closer to the chest plate.
I would like to report that the AiR Flex has superior protection.The Brock Bead technology is very impressive.The football-type plates are time tested.However, while testing this protector at a high school baseball game, I took a foul ball to the right shoulder.The pitcher was throwing no more than 75 mph.The impact was not painfully sharp, but created discomfort and was more painful than similar impacts I have experienced with the Wilson West Vest Platinum.The day after the impact, my shoulder is sore.I am not interested in being a human guinea pig to test this CP against college pitchers throwing 90+.
One design issue that may have contributed to this impact is the shoulder plate and the chest plate are two separate pieces.This is actually surprising as Schutt football shoulder pads use a one piece shoulder and chest plate.The impact of the ball on this shoulder plate jammed the plate into the padding and caused the discomfort.This also calls into question ball impacts on this plate around in the clavicle.
Pricing
The Schutt AiR Flex Chest Protector is available from the following on-line retailers:
Hit Run Score for $128
How To Install Schutt Shoulder Pad Collar Football
Onlinesports.com for 121.95
How To Install Schutt Shoulder Pad Collar Pattern
Fair or Foul?
The AiR Flex Chest Protector has a lot of promise on paper.However, plate placement for a umpire chest protector is extremely important and is the difference between feeling like Superman or merely Clark Kent.The AiR Flex plates appear sufficient; however the shoulder configuration must be redesigned.
In its current design, I can only recommend this protector for use in games where the pitching velocity is no more than 70 mph.
***UPDATE***
The Schutt weighs 2.13 lbs.