Best Soccer Shin Guards 2020 | BUYING GUIDE

Sometimes, being a soccer player is like being a soldier, every day you step into the ground, push forward, and either come to learn from your loss or rejoice your victories. Just like a soldier, an athlete also has to gear up appropriately for practice and play. Going into the ground without proper gear can result in terrible injuries, or bottleneck your performance from the fear of being injured. Among other things, Shin Guards are one of the most important, yet overlooked parts of the soccer gear, and as shin can get easily damaged, it’s better to keep your legs secure and rather not lose the chance to play ever again.

In this guide, we will help you find the best possible shin guards that fit perfectly upon your preferences, requirements, and budget capabilities. Finding the best shin guards for soccer is quite the task, it means looking for the right size and shape that varies with the in-ground position of the player. Something that is easy to use, perfectly comfortable, boosts control, and offers excellent maneuverability plus performance.

And if you are wondering about what features might one look for before purchasing a shin guard of your choice, then here are some of them to consider before buying a best soccer shin guard.

• Protection
• Comfort
• Durability
• Machine Washable
• Design
• Material
• Size and Style

LIST OF TOP 10 BEST SOCCER SHIN GUARDS:

 

1. Vizari Malaga Shin Guard 

First off we have the Vizari’s Malaga shin guards. Vizari’s Malaga is the current market’s best budget choice in quality shin guards, with great price value. With a super unique design, Vazari’s Malagas are super lightweight and exceptionally comfortable. It is available in six different colors, with not much difference in design, but the default aesthetic design is enough to cover for it. The interior is covered with foam padding, which makes them super protective against bruises and optimally comfortable. Providing maximum ease in maneuverability and movement with its lightweight, along with its hard PP shell, it is strong enough to endure impact during play and the practice.

The unique design adds furthers ease with the stirrup which helps to keep the guard on comfortably and avoids slippage during the game, which can otherwise be massively irritating, the slip-on feature can make it much easier for the kids to put on and off. The guard is held up strongly by the Velcro strap which goes in the front, so you don’t have to worry about your skin getting irritated either, by the material. 

With its hard plastic shine and feel, the Malagas might give off the wrong opinion at first, but they can be quite durable and provide long-lasting reliability. The Vizari’s Malaga comes in both Adult and Child sizes, the design is friendly to all audiences and a quite good looking one, too.

2. ProForce Shin Guards

Another excellent choice among Shin guards is the ProForce. The ProForce is a unique shin guard with its generic cloth design, which might seem like amateurish but it provides maximum protection and relatively more than any other shin guards in competition. The Proforce features a full-length sleeve making it hold tighter around the shin, providing maximum ease in use with prompt slip on and off, while also avoiding slippage and repetitive need for re-adjustment. Because of the full-length sleeve, it gives all-around protection and the pad keeps shin along with the ankle, perfectly secure.

It might not have a very tactical design, but the sleeve cloth comes with a lot of benefits, not just better protection but also higher durability and reliability, being completely machine washable, it becomes much easier to clean up the gear, while also having no impact on the life of the gear, at all. The sleeve design also helps physically, as it prevents shin splits and pulls more blood into your calves, which in turn boosts performance and minimizes injury impacts. Covering all-around, they can just be slightly suffocating and hot, with no space for air to come through, which is a price to pay for the ultimate protection.

The ProForce cuts back on the fancy side of the design, but it provides adequate and excellent protection, along with added features for ease, comfortability, and reliability. With all this, it comes for a fairly decent price and stands tall competitively.

3. Sportout Adult Youth Kids Soccer Shin Guards

Up next, we have another versatile choice, the Sportout soccer Shin guards, which are available for Adults, youth, and the kids. With its fancy cut, neutral black design, it is a perfect pair that blends easily with the uniform and looks fantastic. The fanciness makes no compromise on protection, as it can easily hold itself against hard regular blows, it provides complete shin protection, with its strong, hard and adequately durable PP plates to the front that does not weigh much, that can protect both the shin and the calf from any intense blows and bruises.

The PP shell is backed by the EVA along with low-profile construction which makes for an adequately lightweight, higher breathability, great fitting for your leg shape without compromising the desired comfort. The Elastic Sleeves features Dri-FIT, making it much easier to fit, while also being perfectly seamless, breathable and comfortable, the Dri-FIT and the chocolate-shaped EVA foam fits the calf and shin contours very well to avoid any slippage and does not restrict movement or maneuverability in the least.

The Sportout Shin guards are perfectly secure, they work best for the adult, who has to deal with intense blows regularly, making them even more secure and perfect for youth and kids, giving a sense of ultimate protections, keeps the confidence up. These shin guards are machine washable, the quality of the material is said to have not been affected by multiple washes, at all, ensuring ease in cleaning and long-lasting reliability. The Sportout shin guards are among our best buys because of it being decently featured at a great budget-friendly price.

4. Elemart Youth Soccer Shin Guard

Another decent choice is the Elemart Youth soccer shin guard. The three-dimensional ergonomic shaping design of the Elemart Shin guards is considered adequately protective, with its expansive cover that secures the shin, along with heavy and deeper padding for further protection to keep even the most vulnerable parts like patella, perfectly safe in the game. The Elemart shin guards are slightly taller than the regular size, the thick EVA lining provides maximum protective support and comfort with its moderate softness and high permeability, avoiding any discomfort or irritation to the skin.

To further enhance the comfortability, the guards are backed by soft and durable cushion lining, making it a perfect choice for a youth player, giving them maximum breathability and comfort in the protective gear is important, otherwise, it would be a hassle to make them put the gear on. The ergonomic design helps a lot in this regard, as it makes the shin guard easier to slip on and off, and the perfect fit ensures precise positioning and avoids any slippage during the game, at all.

The Elemart youth soccer shin guards are one of the best choices for youth soccer players, between the age of 5-12. It is always preferable for a youth soccer player to consider buying the shin guards are designed exclusively for them, to avoid any discomfort or fitting issues. The Elemart shin guards provide maximum security, even to the most vulnerable parts while also giving the best comfortability possible for the youth soccer players. It comes in two different colors, black and blue, perfect for both boys and girls.

5. Franklin Sports Superlight Soccer Shin Guards 

Next in line, we have the Franklin Sports Superlight soccer shin guards, as the name suggests, the Franklin sports shin guards are super light-weight with a distinctive chrome-accented design. The light-weight does not compromise on the protection, as it provides adequate security support to the youngest of players. Backed by the high-density foam which protects against hard blows and intense impacts. The shield on the guard is also high-density abrasion resistant to ensures protection and durability.

The Franklin sports soccer shin guards are a perfect fit, designed symmetrically and anatomically to expansively cover the calf and the shin. The double adjustable self-stick straps make sure that the guards are adjusted seamlessly in a firm and secure fit. These shin guards also provide enhanced breathability with the new high-density foam which increases energy absorption. It comes in peewee, youth, and adult sizing, making it a suitable choice for a wider audience. The straps also make the wearing of the shin guards much easier and direct, without taking your shoes off.

The Franklin sport shin guards only come in white and black, eliminating the variety of color range, but the design suits almost everyone, as they can easily blend in with any uniform and look decent. The plastic of the front shell is not highly resistant and might suffer from scratches after a while, other than that, it’s all perfect.

 6. G-Form Youth Pro-S Compact Shin Guard 

Another great choice in our list is the G-Form Youth Pro-S Compact Shin Guard. These low-profile fit shin guards are perfect for youth players. The G-form youth Pro-S provides maximum protection against intense blows and limits the impact. It has a patented RPT padding that is completely soft and flexible to maintain the comfort and hardens on impact giving impressive protection and comfortability side-by-side. The youth Pro-s Compact offers a wider protection zone that the adult version. The lightweight and protective construction, with a flexible sleeve that hardens on impact, is a huge revolutionary change that ensures easier movement and maneuverability in gear.

The G-form protection offers superior polymer technology to revolutionize impact shield and vibration dampening for competition, the protection is provided by the yellow or black (depending on the color you choose) padding on the front, which features the rate-dependent technology that stiffens on impact to dissipate energy and limit the impact. These shin guards are one of the most preferable exclusive choices for the youth soccer players, with low-profile and light-weight, it provides exceptional protection to the shin and the calf. The G-form youth Pro-S shin guards are certified to meet the NOCSAE and CE standards. The ultra-comfortable and durable sleeve offers moisture control for maximum breathability and UPF 50+ protection. 

These Shin guards are machine washable, which elongates their life and ensures durability, so they can be used for a long period of time. These shin guards are quite easy to wear, just like any other regular shin guard, it features a non-slid sleeve, so it fits perfectly and avoids slippage during the game.

7. NIKE MERCURIAL LITE Shin Guards 

Next line, we have the well-known and reputable, NIKE’s Mercurial LITE Shin Guards. The 25$ package comes with a pair of shin guards and a pair of sleeves, it is slightly over-priced than the other selections in this guide, let’s see if it gives value to the price.

The Nike mercurial lite comes in a variety of different designs and color schemes, the LITE version is one of the most basic shin guards in the mercurial line-up. It is shielded by a protective outer shell that covers an oddly cut EVA foam inner layer with a lot of holes. These holes are cut out to reduce the overall weight, to enhance movement, maneuverability, and performance, and to provide maximum breathability. In other designs, the holes are not present, instead, it’s a full covered shell with mercurial design in neo colors. The included sleeves in the package help keep the guards in position.

The shell is rigid and stiff, both of the shells comes shaped for the left and right leg, having a curved design to provide expansive cover to the shin and the calf, for enhanced protection. The mercurial lite shin guards are as protective as shin guards get, with a minimal and adequately light-weight. The interior is composed of cut-out foam that is extremely comfortable and limits the impact of the blow, making it a perfect choice for youth players. 

The quality of the material is high-density and has long-lasting reliability, the pad is thick and comfortable, the curved design ensures that it fits perfectly, avoiding the guard to slip-off during the game. These Shin guards are decently featured and useful, but definitely over-priced compared to the others in the list.

8. G-Form Pro-S Elite Shin Guards

 

Another nice addition from the G-Form shin guards line-p is the Pro-S Elite. With cutting edge technology providing revolutionary protection with the flexible and soft sleeve-style guard, the G-Form Pro-S Elite comes highly recommended. The G-Form’s SmartFlex pads that remain soft until struck with a blow, which gets them to harden up and limit the blow, providing maximum protection and comfortability without any compromise. Braced with XRD Technology, the Pro-S Elite shin guards are extremely thin and lightweight, boosting movement, maneuverability, and performance.

These shin guards are super light-weight, and the lightest among the G-form’s available line-up, that it sometimes arises a worry of not having adequate protection, but the certified NOCSAE and CE standards speak well for it. With the G-form technology, the molecules bind together on impact, making the pad stiff. As such, it can absorb and redistribute the impact energy and protect against intense blows. With the all-around sleeve-style design, it fits perfectly and does not distract performance with any slippage problems during the game. These sleeve-style shin guards are manufactured with supreme breathable and high-density material, which keeps heat and sweat on your lower leg to a bare minimum.

These shin guards are easy to slip on, like regular socks, and can be washed in the machine, which always welcome, as it makes the gear easier to be cleaned up.

9. NIKE Adult Charge 2.0 Soccer Shin Guard

Having one of the longest range of sports gears, it is only fair to give another spot the NIKE for their Adult Charge 2.0 Soccer Shin Guards. These shin guards provide unparalleled comfort and coverage with its low-profile construction. The shell is constructed of the durable polypropylene and the molded EVA foam provides maximum durability and supreme protection against intense impact. The contoured design is a unique presentation from the NIKE, it fits perfectly all-around the lower leg, they are supposed to fit so well that you might not even feel that you are wearing them, which is a prime point for a comfortable and a flexible shin guard that offers exceptional movement and performance.

The contoured shape comes with a pull-on design, which makes it a lot easier for players to wear in a perfectly natural fit. Exclusively for adults, the anatomically correct design ensures comfort and fit along with maximum protection backed by the supreme quality material. The low-profile design reduces distraction and makes them seamless. The pull-on stirrup design is supported by the zipper closure to keep the guard in place.

The Nike Adult Charge 2.0 shin guards are available in a variety of eye-catching colors, which further enhances the fancy designed look. The NIKE’s shin guards usually come with a higher price tag than the competitors but this one definitely provides value for the given price.

10. Puma Power Plate Guards

Last but not least is the mighty, Puma Power Plater guards. The Puma power plate guard is one of the cheapest shin guards in this line-up. The PUMA sports firm stands tall against its competitors like Adidas and NIKE, by providing a breathable, well-padded, low-profile, lightweight guard with an affordable price tag.

This extremely budget-friendly, power plate gives adequate and required protection with a highly protective hard front plate. Backed by a no-stitch foam back padding, which further supports the overall protection while keeping the weight at the lowest, so they are decently light in weight. The 95% Polypropylene and 5% Thermoplastic gum, injection-molded EVA backing offers exceptional comfort and durable cushioning. The curved contour design of the PUMA power plate guards allows for a better fit, with expansive protective coverage, while also keeping the movement and maneuverability at maximum.

The front shield is decorated with ventilation through perforated die-cut vents to give space for maximum airflow and circulation, providing top-notch breathability in comfort against its high-costing competitors. The PUMA power plate guards offer supreme impact protection and flexibility through its perfect-fit design, which also boosts performance along with the ease of use. The package comes with sleeves to hold up the guard in its place, and to avoid slippage during the game. 

Conclusion:

Competing is fun and is the place you become familiar with the most as far as improving your game. You presently get the opportunity to try all the methods. Notwithstanding, you should just fight with the best possible defensive rigging to forestall superfluous wounds. The correct shin protectors will go far in upgrading your exhibition and satisfaction while limiting fighting wounds. Call it soccer or football, without protective gear you will never excel on the ground. You will either damage your shin and calf or restrict your capabilities from showing due to the fear of injuries. In our guide, all of the given shin guards are preferable over each other, it all comes down on your budget and requirements. The Vizari Malaga gives excellent value for the price, and it is heavily featured, but if the budget restricts you further, the PUMA Power Plate will always have your back, a budget-friendly, protective, and comfortable shin guard by reputable top-notch manufacturers is not something to miss.

When searching for another pair of soccer shin protectors it’s a smart thought to think about your situation on the field and your style of play. In case you’re a safeguard who will do a ton of halting and blocking, you need something with more insurance. In case you’re a deft assailant searching for the greatest bit of leeway in speed, you’ll need the lightest and most minimal profile monitor accessible.

Against all these, if the price does not restrict you at all, it might be favorable to go for one of the NIKE’s shin guards listed above, the Adult charge 2.0 is a perfect-fit and fulfills all other requirements, but it is exclusively for the adults, and if you are looking against it, then the mercurial LITE might be the one to go for. Also, this goes for experienced warriors and all out noobs the same. Train hard, train safe.

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