A full goalie kit is a different equipment set entirely from player gear — here's what each piece needs and how it's sized.
A goalie needs seven core pieces beyond skates and a goalie stick: a certified mask, leg pads, blocker, catch glove, chest and arm protector, goalie pants, and a jock/jill. Unlike player gear, most goalie equipment is sized by its own measurements — leg pads in inches from knee to floor, masks by head circumference — not by age or shoe size. Because a full kit is expensive and youth players outgrow it quickly, buying used is standard practice for everything except the mask.
Goalie gear is a completely separate equipment set from player gear — a goalie can't simply add pads to a skater's kit. The core pieces are: mask, leg pads, blocker, catch glove, chest and arm protector, goalie pants, and a jock/jill. Most of these also require their own separate sizing charts, not the skater sizing charts used for sticks and skates.
Mask sizing is based on head circumference and cage/cat-eye shape, similar to a player helmet — but it must be certified specifically as goalie protective equipment, not a repurposed player helmet with a cage attached. Fit matters more here than almost any other piece of gear: a mask that shifts on impact loses its protective value exactly when it's needed. It should sit snugly with minimal front-to-back or side-to-side movement when the player shakes their head, with the chin cup snug against the jaw.
Leg pads are sized in inches, measured from the center of the knee to the floor with skates on — not by age or general size category the way skates and sticks are. Pads that are too long push the boot out of alignment and interfere with the butterfly slide; pads that are too short leave a gap above the skate. Because youth players grow quickly, many families size pads on the shorter side of the recommended range rather than buying long, since oversized pads meaningfully hurt mobility and technique at this position.
The blocker and catch glove are typically sold to match a goalie's age/size category (youth, junior, intermediate, senior) rather than a precise measurement. The catch glove should close comfortably around the goalie's hand without excess space in the pocket — too large a pocket makes catching pucks cleanly harder for a young goalie still developing hand-eye coordination.
The chest and arm protector sizes by the goalie's height and chest measurement — it needs to cover from collarbone down past the beltline with the arms fully extended, and should allow a full range of motion for glove and blocker movement. Goalie pants are cut fuller than skater pants to accommodate the butterfly stance and typically overlap with the leg pads and chest protector to eliminate gaps.
Youth and junior goalie gear uses lighter, softer-density foam and smaller proportions built for a lighter body — not just a scaled-down senior set. Moving into senior gear early, even if it technically fits length-wise, usually means heavier, stiffer equipment that slows a young goalie's mobility more than it helps. Because full goalie kits are a significant investment, many families buy used gear for the youth and junior stages and reserve new purchases for when a goalie's size stabilizes.
A goalie needs a certified mask, leg pads, blocker, catch glove, chest and arm protector, goalie pants, a jock/jill, and goalie-specific skates and stick — a fully separate kit from player gear.
Leg pads are measured in inches from the center of the knee to the floor with skates on. For growing players, sizing toward the shorter end of the recommended range preserves mobility better than an oversized pair.
Only if it can be verified for intact certification and impact history — a mask's protective foam can be compromised invisibly, so this is the one piece of goalie gear most families buy new.
Yes, for everything except the mask — leg pads, blocker, catcher, chest protector, and pants are commonly bought used, since youth goalies grow out of a full kit quickly and it's an expensive position to outfit.