Well first off if you take the crap out of the player then your in the wrong game! You should never aim to take a player out, its not big and its not clever and doesnt belong in the game. Now onto your question.. personally I couldnt justify Buying the OBO Elbow guards (Sorry OBO a little too expensive!) and I hated the arms that you could buy seperately. I found them too bulky and I found them to restrict my movement. I currently wear the RBK 3K's and they are awesome.. they dont restrict movement.. they are light and somewhat protective. However i am not looking for protection, i am looking for something just to stop astro burns on my elbows. It all depends on what you want? Do you want the arms that attach to the armour which are bulky but very protective or do you want the new elbow guards that are lighter and are customizable to suit your needs but come with the £80 odd price tag.. Its completely personal choice. Good luck with it, keep us up to date with what you choose x

I think Abbo has just said near enough all that needs to be said... If you are looking for protection, then you will want the full arm guards, but personnaly I prefer easier movement so I bought some small ice hockey ones from America. However, if you are confident enough to play with just elbow pads, then get some as you will have quicker movement.

I have the obo elbow guards( lucky enough to get them as a gift). i love them they give me protection and fit like a glove. They don't restrict my movement in fact they seem to have improve my game as i now feel more confident. hope it helps

Come on the 'broke!

well, as Abbo says, it's really more up to you. through the Review Your Kit Competition, I won a pair of Elbow guards, and I have not been disappointed (see my article http://www.obogoalkeeping.com/resources/2009/08/25/review-of-robo-elbow-guards/) i found that according to your stlye of play, removing the top plate hinders your movement in almost no way. if you had sufficient funs, i would definitely recommend the Elbow guards - just so much more options than the regular guards that come with the chest piece.

sorry, the link screwed up... http://www.obogoalkeeping.com/resources/2009/08/25/review-of-robo-elbow-guards/

thanks for all the feed back...i will be thinking about it over x-mas and i will keep u updated in what decision did i make....... the takking the player out is just a plus you know....i go to the ball but most players think i dont play aggressive so they carry on running so that i why.....hehehehe

Hay I'm lucky enough to own both, the full arm guards are really protective (someone stood on my arm and I didn't feel it) but very bulky and restrict movements. They also didn't stay attached at the shoulder particularly well and didn't fit my arms so kept sliding down. My new elbow guards are very protective but also allow for movement, so definally recommend them if you can afford then!!! Maybe ask Santa for them :)

I'd ask your coach if he would be ok for you to play in the elbow guards rather than full arms... while your are under 16 your safety is his responsibility. if I were him i would say no. The elbows are not as protective as they look and you shouldn't take risks with juniors. Sorry to be a kill joy, but you wouldn't want to be banned from using your new kit!

thats a good point you have there floz.....i will check with my coaches next time i see them

I'm not sure how these elbow pads are at protection from the ball, but like I said, the ice hockey elbow pads I use offer near enough no protection to being hit by a ball, they are simply there to offer protection when I slide and go to ground to protect from astro burn.

ok cheers will think about it over x mas

hey i guys i finally decided to get them...and they are great ive gotten a few hits on and i dont even feel anythin...at the start it was difficult to sync in with them and i felt unprotected but now i dont even notice they are there and when it hits there...i dont feel any pain WEll DONE OBO ANOTHER FANTASTIC PRODUCT

I was lucky enough to win these elbow guards in the "review your kit" comp. i've loved them and never feel a thing when the ball hits the pad. thing is it doesn't always. All was going well until about two weeks ago. in a warm up i took a strike to the forearm which hurt like nothing i've ever felt before. then exactly a week later an almost identical shot(way harder) hit the same spot. now i'm left with a massive bruise and what i suspect is some bone damage. i can't say any thin tho cos i've got a semi final tomo. Moral of the story... Be wary of shots in close to the body

I have been playing hockey for just over a year now, and have already got rid off my elbow pads. I'm 17. At the end off last season I suffered a dislocated shoulder, and came back for the last training session of the season. The most senior and experianced keeper at my club suggested I don't wear arm pads to prevent me from diving on my bad side and it worked! Since then I have been playing summer league and haven't worn them, except for one time. Makes diving alot better and personally feels better, but I do get ripped up elbows sometimes. In my view your a bit young, and possibly a little in experianced. I did suffer a very seriouse injury which could off been much worse. But I was lucky. I was wearing arm pads when I dislocated my shoulder, so in my view didn't help the situation.

I like some others have stopped using arm guards and found that I can move my arms a lot faster to make saves, also I haven't been hit on the arms since not using them, so I see no point in the unneede protection.

I play in the second biggest class that's posible for juniors in the Netherlands also I play now 1 season with this obo robo body armour and I give it A 4 out of 5 because the body protector is verry good but with the arm protectors I can't bent my elbow not that good as I wearing elbowprotecting soow for next seasing I go for elbowprotecting and I commend it also to other goallies because it's mutch chiller goal keeping! That is what I think!!! Best regards Thomas

Mhcb ain't that good, B1 is playing 1st class, which Keane there are 5 classes above that (sub-top, top, district, inter-district of IDC en landelijk) Sloof je niet zo uit, mensen hebben je toch wel door

actually only 4levels, it goes (1ste, sub-top, Top, IDC,landelijk) but you made your point, it must be very funny for goal keepers from other nations to see us dutch failing at our english my view on the artical on the other hand is that i found the protection offerd by the elbow gaurd lacking majorly, there is littel protection and the manouverablity of the elbowgaurd is not much better in the arm gaurd. the only reason to get the elbow gaurds because they are cheeper, or becuase theyfit more easily with the TK 1.0 golves. The arm gaurds give the protection, and leave your arms relivtily movable. The other option is to play without and on a sand base field that is not an option while on a water based pitch this is a good option for confident keepers not afraid of taking a knok on the arm. its a question of what your personal view is towards armgaurds

hermie, dit is geen uitsloverij ze speelden anderhalf seizoen geleden 1e klasse en we zijn dit seizoen 2e geworden in de topklasse!! dus ik weet niet wanneer jij voor het laasts op de mhcb site hebt gekeken dan moet je dit mischien maar eens doen? mvg Thomas

Hey, I can't decide between these two either.... can anyone list whats pro about each? I heard the elbow guards protect, too, so i wanted to go for them but also see many goalies, playing with arm guards.... about the arm guards people say that they loosen when you dive.... so what can u tell about each of them? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Z_HfWZIxc this video showed me, that national goalies still play with armguards. So if anyone can help me, making my decision clearer then please leave a comment, thanks for your attention Hauke, goalie from Hanover, Germany

@ThomasmhcbJB1 2nd in Top-klasse? Damn, I suddenly feel like I should have respect for you :P I play at Victoria H2 (while i'm 17 years old) and have played for Victoria A1, Rotterdam B1 (National champion?! :D) and was selected for the south-Holland district team. So, feels good to brag right? :P Just act normal, why do you want to impress people you don't know?

poeple get lives

Hauke its really hard to choose it just depends on what kind of protection you want elbow protection pros:smaller, lighter, cheeper, fits with TK gloves as well as OBO cons: less protection, leaves upper arm unprotected, slids around and leaves arm less manouverable than with arm gaurd due to its poistioning on the arm Arm gaurds pros: stronger, more protection, more manouverable cons: expensive, dont fit will with left hand TK gloves, personally I think if you have your arm gaurd tight, it should not be sliding around even on sand based pitches hope this helps you Hauke

Quite ironic this debate, when astro first came in a lot of keepers purchased hockey style elbow guards made by cooper (now bauer or nike). Later on people started getting hockey keeper style full arm protectors. Eventually field hockey makers started making similar armour. Now it has gone full circle with people opting for having little or no arm protection. My view is that every keeper has to assess their style of play and wear the armour that they feel comfortable and confident in. If you are worried about lifted balls (or any shot for that matter) hurting you then kit up. If not kit down - this is especially true of training. Remember, in training you are more likely to get injured by a shot as people hit the ball harder and more often get shots off than in a game. Most essential though, try before you buy. Go to a shop and put the kit on, see how it feels. Otherwise you could buy kit that looks good on the net but does zilch on the pitch.

I use bauer One75 elbow guards. Moved down to these from Cloud full arms. Like the extra flexibility and they stay in place better. main reason I opted for them was to reduce heat. Its just too hot here for full arms

Thanks for your summary tcgoe. I ordered the elbow protectors because i heard that they dont move around and fit the arm better than the arm guards. A goalie friend got the armguards and is quiet unhappy due to low movability and not staying in position. So I'm really surprised that u tell me that now. Well thanks for your help, I will hopefully receive them this week and will see if they stay in position at my style of playing with short sleeve trikot. :)

all the gear offers the same sort of stuff, fit wise and protection wise but it depends on the player, i preffer full arms or nothing, and found the elbow gaurds not that great, but i'm just one guy. i wish you goodluck with the gear i'm sure it will work great

Thanks for encouraging me. I found all my confidence by reading this Blog. Started like two years ago i just passed all my keepers in my club at my age, playing for at least six years. So will hopefully get my armguards this week. I will let you know, how they work for me. Maybe I want to do the modification on my new Hi-Rebound RHP. Is that recommendable? Would like to see some links where the "playing style" with Hi-Rebound RHP is explained. Thanks :)

I made the modifications to my RHP and its a huge improvement. gives you a lot more wrist movement and allows you to direct saves off to the side rather than rebounding back into the D which happens with the standard glove. If I hadn't made the changes I probably would have changed RHP by now.

Ok so it doesn't affect the stability? I wanted to get that glove before and I got the high control with which i broke my wrist. So im scared to knife my new RHP cuz maybe it will give me the possibility to have my wrist unprotected when using it wrong....

i would definetly recommend the arms, i dont know what everyones saying about them being restrictive! mine are great, lightweight and strong, tho i would recommend if u get them to cut your keeper top at the elbows to stop them catching occasionaly. i admit i could only be bothered reading the first few comments after i saw how many there were but sliding through players is a big part of the game and definetly is a part of the game Abbo so not sure where you're coming from there. but when you do slide through them theres never any worry about the ball or stick smashing off your arms, you are completely protected. as i said, go for the full arms!

I wear these, http://www.barringtonsports.com/products/puma_elbow_pads_2008/7718/view Puma Elbow Pads. Stops any burns. I've got nearly 3 seasons use out of them and they are still going strong, bargain at £8. Looking tiny bit chewed now, and that was through elbow guards of my body armour for at least a season (below)! better chewed pads then chewed elbows; http://www.barringtonsports.com/products/2/style/slazenger_phantom_elite_hockey_goalkeeping_body_armour_2010/12319/view In fact the right elbow pad on my right tore out during a game and I've left it out, I find the elbow pad and a little fabric left over on the body armour works just fine. Almost 'Dutch' style..lol ok guess not. But regardless of elbow pad, I would always wear these. They don't slip, unlike other brands of kit that can still burn. In fact if I were to go Dutch I would still invest in these if your playing on sand. I think you would have to be mad not to wear anything on your elbows. Water you can get away with maybe but not sand. Burn baby burn!

im 14 and play with reebok 3ks and i love them, have never been hit on the arm and these are good for diving. PERSONALLY I THINK THAT THE PLAYER SHOULD MAKE THE DESICION NOT THE COACH

Seeing as this conversation seems to still be ongoing, I'll add my 2 cents. As a 29 year old goalkeepeer, I play against a huge number of state rep players, and the odd player that's done some time in one of the national teams. The balls get hit HARD. I see a number of the other goalkeepers in my division swapping to either elbow guards or nothing on their arms at all, and I genuinely can't understand why! On the one hand, i can guarunee you'll get your glove to the ball faster without arm guards on. This will in turn reduce the chance you'll get hit on the arm. HOWEVER, if you make one mistake, and that ball hits your arm... I mean, you'd get better visibility without a helmet as well, but it's there for a reason... Long story short: If you're playing with players that hit hard, it's not worth the gamble. Sure you'll get more save with the arm guards off, but let's see how well you save with a broken forearm! Weighing the pros and cons will be up to each keeper, but if you're in a league with hitters hard enough to break a bone (especially on an area like the forearm with no fleshy protection), I don't think it's a gamble worth taking. As such, underage keepers should have the right to suggest what they want to do, but their guardian and or coach should get the final say!

depends on the team most times i dont wear any i like to be non restricted