STX Shield 500 Goalie Gloves Review
Hello to all you lax goalie rats! Today we’re taking a look at one of STX’s premier goalie gloves – the STX Shield 500.
I got these gloves about a month ago and have now had a bit of time playing around with them via wall ball, taking shots, and playing in a summer tournament with the Shield 500’s protecting my hands.
My experience was generally positive through everything, and some areas exceeded expectations above and beyond.
To consider an in-depth review for goalie gloves, there are a few areas we are going to dive into. We’ll take a look at the quality, fit, flexibility, protection, and more!
STX Shield 500 Protection
Protection in goalie gloves is the most important element of the glove. So a huge part of the review is how are our hands and especially our thumb protected.
On the outside of the gloves, there doesn’t appear to have much padding at first glance. But don’t let the sleek design fool you. The impact from shots I took to the hand using the STX Shield 500 was practically entirely absorbed by glove.
The STX Shield 500 are light weight and don’t have as much bulky padding as other gloves but I felt the protection to the hands was still sufficient.
It was a bit shocking due to how loose the gloves felt compared to other goalie gloves that can be rather stiff and not allow for much hand movement.
However, with the goalie position ever evolving, its good to see lax companies such as STX making strides to make goalie gloves as loose and comfortable as possible to enhance us goalie’s ability to make saves.
Next let’s discuss the most important piece of protection in a goalie glove – the precious thumb.
One of the most common injuries for lacrosse goalies is breaking their thumb, so sturdy thumb protection is crucial.
The thumb of the STX Shield 500 offers a unique protection design, with a plastic piece on the exterior that also allows the thumb to be flexible.
This is great for goalies who like to wrap their fingers around the base of the head, or the top of the shaft.
Flexibility
Personally, I believe the ideal fit for a goalie glove would be for it to have the same flexibility and feel of a normal lacrosse glove.
That’s exactly what the STX Shield 500’s feel like.
They are by far the most flexible and most comfortable goalie gloves I’ve used in my lacrosse playing career.
I will say when I first strapped on these gloves I was concerned by the initial inability for the thumbs to bend well. But after a few wall ball sessions they were broken in just fine.
The flexibility of the glove boils down to the material used and the weight of padding used. Its well-balanced and allows for the best fitting goalie glove on the market, in my opinion.
Quality
The quality of the STX Shield 500 goalie gloves is exceptional.
Everything from the stitching to the “STX” logo, it all stays nice. Granted, I’ve only had these gloves for about a month but you just see and feel the quality that went into the production of these beauties. I can tell the STX Shield 500’s are built to last.
What I personally like about how they’re made is even after several sessions and game time with the gloves, they still fit just as if they were brand new.
Other gloves tend to “sag”, meaning the padding and material hand down from excessive use, sweat, water, and other factors.
However, these gloves do not seem to be effected by this nearly as much as most goalie gloves, giving them a rather unique edge over other choices.
Fit
Okay, the big question, how do they feel around the stick?
Well, the grip on the padding is firm, and will allow for great control when driving your stick to the shot as I teach in the basics of making save.
The issue with some goalie gloves is they have a tendency to be too stiff, not allowing a comfortable grip around the shaft and/or base of the head. The stiffness of some gloves also impedes a goalie’s ability to be fluid and quick to the ball.
The STX Shield 500’s however, allow for excellent mobility when moving.
Compared to other goalie gloves that I’ve tried, such as the Maverik Rome NXT goalie gloves or the Maverik M3’s, the Shield 500’s run a tad smaller. But for me, I feel it’s a positive rather than a negative.
Why? Well, I always felt that 12-inch gloves were just a bit too tight and that 13-inch gloves ran too long. Maybe that’s a personal problem, but the Shield 500’s seem to fit perfect.
I would suggest ordering your normal size glove and I think you’re going to like the fit. At least I do.
They also handle shots great as well, and the grip allows your hands to stay where they were placed when you set up for the shot.
As I took shot after shot on the field and rep after rep on the wall, the STX Shield 500’s never slipped as I’ve had happen with some gloves.
Lastly, clearing with these gloves is as smooth as ever.
Every outlet pass I threw felt consistent and again, the hand placement never budged.
Maneuvering the stick itself was easy as well, and with the grip thick enough to hold wherever your hands were placed, I always felt secure when I had the ball in my possession.
Design
The overall design of these gloves is wonderful. The coloring and design pops out nicely and is vivid.
Deion Sanders classic quote – “When you look good, you play good” – well I think that applies to the STX Sheild 500s.
STX did a great job of making it simplistic, but also popping out areas of detail that make them stand out from other gloves.
Normally goalie gloves won’t have as much detail embedded into the gloves themselves as STX has done here with the Shield 500’s.
The thumb design is unique as well and is in my opinion, how every goalie thumb protector should act.
The plastic protection piece does not bend all too well, however the thumb itself is able to move with ease. This allows for a stiff protection, but still gives the goalie flexibility inside the glove, which is a great design an to me, and something many other gloves don’t offer.
Price
In terms of the price of these gloves, they are a bit on the higher end.
On LacrosseMonkey.com you can get a pair of STX Shield 500’s for $160.
While they’re not the highest priced goalie gloves on the market, they’re certainly up there. Despite the higher-end price, I can’t stress enough just how good these gloves actually are.
They’ve held up tremendously and sometimes with lacrosse goalie equipment, you get what you pay for and more.
I’d say the quality even matches up better than most gloves, despite that $160 price tag.
I could see them being a lot more expensive than what they really are, but luckily for us goalies balling on a budget, they aren’t.
Where to Buy the STX Shield 500 Goalie Gloves
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my online vendor of choice is LacrosseMonkey.com. I’ve made all my recent lacrosse gear purchases through them and have had nothing but great experiences.
Checkout the STX Shield 500 on LacrosseMonkey.com.
They also have a price guarantee where if you find a better deal in North America – they’ll beat it!
Conclusion
Overall, I don’t think it gets much better for goalies than the STX Shield 500 goalie gloves.
I really searched for some negative element or some criticism that I could include this review but it just wasn’t there.
In terms of how the gloves fit and feels, its right on where it should be. The balance seems to be nearly flawless.
The only real issue I found when using these gloves was the initial inability for the thumbs to bend well, but warmed up after a few wall ball sessions. Therefore, I don’t really see that as a downside to the overall product, rather just breaking them in.
Besides that, these gloves are ready to go and feel immediately conformed to your hand. They seem to run a tad smaller than most gloves overall, but I believe it’s better. Some gloves can have some inconsistency when dealing with how it fits , but the Shield 500’s fit the same, nice and compact, all the way through.
So, would I recommend these gloves to buy for your upcoming season? Absolutely.
I’d recommend these to any player of any level, and I truly believe you’ll feel the difference STX has put into these goalie gloves.
Until next time! Coach Damon
Anything I missed in this STX Shield 500 goalie gloves review? Let me know in the comments down below.
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Coach, based on your review of these gloves, I bought a pair for my son. He just loves them and says that they are the best gloves that has ever worked with. He looks forward to putting them to the ultimate test when his ADVNC 2020 National team (CA) competes in MD in Nov.
Thank you!
Awesome thanks for the comment Mike! Glad he likes these goalie gloves! Good luck in MD in Nov. Keep me posted on how it goes.
Hey Coach Damon! I concluded you most likely do not have experience with the STX Lacrosse Women’s Sultra Goalie Gloves but, just looking at them, do you think they would be the right gloves?
Hi Alivia – You’re right. Never used those the STX Sultas. Tough to say just looking at them. I know a lot of girls who do use those gloves and like them. Thumb protection might be on teh lighter size. Nice thing is they do come in small sizes for smaller women’s hands.
I’m looking into getting a new pair of gloves and was wondering how the Stx thumb protection compares to the maverick protection. I’ve used maverik gloves for the past 2 years and haven’t had any issues other than getting hit ok the inside sometimes.
I would say pretty comparable. They’re different systems but both offer good protection IMO. You’re always going to find a goalie who has a story about getting hurt with either glove but these 2 offer the best thumb protection out of whats available if you ask me.