How Much Does it Cost to Outfit a Lacrosse Goalie?
By Coach Damon
Last updated: August 19, 2022
Last week I wrote a post for those thinking about making the switch the goalie.
One of the points is that you’re going to need different gear. Lacrosse goalies in both the women’s and men’s game require different equipment than the field players.
Perhaps you already have a full set of lacrosse goalie gear. This isn’t the post for you.
But if you’re just getting started as a goalie, how much should you expect to spend on all the required and optional gear to defend the cage?
Let’s take a look.
New Vs. Used Goalie Gear
The first decision to make when getting equipped with your lacrosse goalie gear is: new vs. used?
Used is obviously going to be cheaper but perhaps won’t last as long. Depends on the condition of the used item. Used gear will already be broken in but perhaps not to your liking.
One drawback of buying used gear online is that you typically have to pay for shipping. And shipping an awkward item like a full lacrosse goalie stick is not always cheap. So be sure to check the shipping charges.
If you can find used gear in a brick and mortar store then obviously shipping charges do not apply.
New gear will last longer and also typically comes with a warranty so if you break it within the first X days of use the company will replace it for free. Good luck trying that with something you bought off of eBay.
If you buy a new item and it doesn’t fit, its fairly easy these days to send it back and get the right size returned to you.
I don’t think there’s a right or wrong choice for deciding between new and used.
If you’re doubtful that your goalie will continue in the position for years to come perhaps you start with cheaper, used items and then upgrade them piece by piece to new goalie gear once they’ve dedicated themselves to the position.
Where to Find Used Lacrosse Goalie Equipment
If you’re going to go the used goalie gear route, the next logical question is where do I find used lacrosse goalie gear?
This question is especially relevant for those not living in lacrosse hotbeds. I imagine in those hotbed areas it wouldn’t be uncommon to see old lacrosse gear available at a garage sale.
Here are a few places to find used lacrosse goalie gear.
SidelineSwap – Advertised as “where athletes buy and sell gear”, there are a ton of available lacrosse items for sale by owners on this platform. I have used Sideline Swap to buy a few items and I’ve had a good experience with each.
eBay – Next we have eBay. Unlike Sideline Swap, eBay is not optimized to sell strictly sports gear however there are still a lot of used sporting good items in the lacrosse space available for sale.
Brick and Mortar Stores like Play It Again Sports – I’m not sure how widespread this chain is but in the Bay Area we have Play It Again sports which is a buy, sell, trade type of store dedicated to sports. There may exist other chains which offer the same thing but Play It Again Sports is what I’m familiar with.
Craigslist – Once the dominant place to go to buy anything online, you can still find plenty of people selling their used lacrosse gear on Craigslist. The cities where lacrosse is a popular sport will have more available used goalie gear.
Those are the four options that come to mind for finding used lacrosse goalie gear.
Assembling a Used Gear Package from Sideline Swap
Based on what is available on SidelineSwap.com at the time of this writing, let’s see how much it would be to assemble a full goalie package with used gear.
Edit: I wrote this post a while ago and all items on SidelineSwap are gone so I’ve removed the links.
This list of gear isn’t my recommended goalie gear, just cheap items I was able to find that would serve the goalie well.
Of course, by the time you read this post these items might already be gone however this is just to give you an idea of how much it costs for all goalie gear.
Also these prices are what the sellers are requesting. For most of these items you can make them an offer and usually get the item for cheaper.
Helmet – Cascade CPro – $15 + $9.71 shipping
Throat Guard – Bauer Goalie Throat Guard – $30 + $7.91 shipping
I couldn’t find any used Cascade Throat Guards, my preferred throat protector. A new one on Amazon is only $40 plus free shipping. So I’d go with that.
Strung Goalie Head – STX Eclipse – $40 + $8.25 shipping
Shaft – Warrior Krypto Ally – $5 + $8.25 shipping
Chest Protector – STX Agent Chest Protector – $40 + $15.88 shipping
Goalie Gloves – Warrior SuperFreak Goalie Gloves – $30 + $7.73 shipping
Goalie Jock – CCM 500 Goalie Jock – $40 + $8.25 shipping
There weren’t any used goalie jocks available and probably for good measure given where this item spends the majority of it’s time. I was able to find this new goalie jock on SidelineSwap.
Cleats – Nike Cleats – $6 + $11.54 shipping
Mouth Guard – UA ArmourShield Mouth Guard – $8 + $8.25 shipping
That’s the all the required gear (for the men’s game anyways).
Total Cost: $299.77
Again that price could probably be negotiated down with each item. Shipping charges are also to the west coast so I’d assume they’d be cheaper if you lived elsewhere.
Optional Lacrosse Goalie Gear
Goalie Pants – Gear Pro Tech Padding Pants – $25 + $8.25
Couldn’t find any traditional lacrosse goalie pants on Sideline Swap but these football style pads would do the trick.
Arm Guards – Warrior Arm Guards – $10 + $11.27 shipping
Shin Guards – STX Contour Shin Guards – $10 + $8.25 shipping
Total Cost: $72.77 for the additional protective items.
Grand Total for all this used gear: $372.54
Assembling a New Goalie Gear Package
Now let’s check the price of a similar package of lacrosse goalie gear items except this time we’ll choose from top of the line items.
For new lacrosse goalie gear your best bet is using either LacrosseMonkey.com or Amazon.com.
Helmet – Cascade S – $300
Throat Guard – Cascade TPC2 Clear Throat Guard – $40
Complete Stick – Under Armour Headline – $110
Chest Protector – Warrior Nemesis Pro – $160
Cleats – Nike Huarache 5 Cleats – $80
Goalie Jock – Warrior Toolbox Nutt Hut – $60
Mouth Guard – ShockDoctor Ultra – $26
So there is the brand new, elite package if you will.
Total Cost: $776
Optional Lacrosse Goalie Gear
Lacrosse Goalie Pants – Warrior Burn Goalie Pants – $60
Shin Guards – STX Contour – $25
Arm Guards – STX Cell 4 Arm Pads – $80
Additional Head Protection – Lexi Shield – $29.95 + $4.49 shipping
Total Cost of additional protective items: $199.44
Grand total for new elite gear package: $975.44
Conclusion
How much does it cost to outfit a new lacrosse goalie is fairly common question for those interested in joining the elite ranks of this position.
There are some other things that belong in your lacrosse goalie bag and of course there is the price of the bag itself but this post should give you a good idea of how much the basics costs.
Like a lot of things in life, there’s a huge price range as you can go super cheap with old used gear or go super premium with new top-of-line equipment.
If you’re buying purely used gear, I’d expect to pay around $300 for the basics and then another $65 for the optional gear some of which is actually required for youth/female lacrosse goalies.
If you’re buying unused recently released items you can expect to spend $700 for all the basics and then another $200 for the optional goalie gear.
Or you can just borrow everything from your goalie friends for a total of price of nothing!
Until next time! Coach Damon
Any other questions about costs to outfit a lacrosse goalie? Leave me a comment down below.
If you’re going to just try it out for a season, used is definitely the way to go! We have Play It Again here in Maryland and I got all the gear for my son there, but at the time, the helmet was new, due to changing regulations. The beauty of places like this is that they allow an opportunity for kids of lesser means to participate in an incredible sport. Every time I buy new to replace, I bring the old back to the shop for them to pass on to another kid. Thanks for the great article, because costs can be a bit touchy for some families to talk about.
Thanks for the comment Andy. The more kids who can get their hands on affordable or free lacrosse gear the better this sport will be.
Here in NY, when my son started playing goalie, I was able to pick up some quality pre-owned equipment on Craigslist. When I knew that this is the position he wanted, I invested in some newer/better equipment. I then put the other equipment back on CL and tried to pay it forward(sell cheaply) or gave it to some friends who kids wanted to try goalie. Win-Win all around.
Thanks Sammy! I forgot about Craigslist, haven’t used it in awhile but you’re right lacrosse goalie items do pop up on there. Gonna add.
I used the stx contour shin pads they are good and got me a shutout but the fall down a lot
Shutout? Nice work Brynn! Never had one of those in my career.
Just commenting to say that you writing about Sideline Swap got me to get the app and i bought a brand new pair of Under Armour high top cleats for literally $12! It was the biggest relief after I left my old ones in Florida on my move THREE STATES AWAY.
But yeah just saying that SidelineSwap is really good and thanks for including it in this article!
That’s awesome. I’ve spent more money on Sideline Swap than I care to admit 😀 Thanks for the comment Fabiola.
As a second of my children goes into playing goal full time (never mind my 8 y/o who has declared she will be a goalie also), we are trying to get gear as cheap as possible in anyway possible. We have used Craigslist, but also in the DC area we are using FaceBook marketplace to find some good gear, especially sticks and bags. Also, there are some amazing deals in the off-season where discontinued gear at Dick’s Sporting Goods is 50-75% off as well as Pure Hockey taking 50% off much of its gear. This has given us the chance to pick-up things like a new pair of gloves, a lighter shaft to try out, or to refill the ball bag. Last, we network through teammates who have older siblings. Sometimes they have gear or know someone who has outgrown there stuff–this is how we got our goal and bounceback, the college son was no longer using it and they wanted someone who would use it. Great article. Thanks!
Nice work John! A family of goalies can get rather expensive haha. Thanks for sharing those other places to pickup lax goalie gear on the cheap.
With the normal gear and cost taken away, the goalie gear costs 481 dollars if it is new