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LAS/412 Gear Review: Reebok 10K Arm Protection

Reebok has been raising the bar lately.  The 10K gloves they sent over for us to check out really blew me away with their fitted leather palms, rapid break in time and protective prowess.  So, I had high expectations for their arm pads they recently shipped over, and for the most part, they succeeded once again.

We were able to try out two different protective padding systems: the elbow guards and the arm pads.

Reebok 10K Elbow Guards

The “elbow guard” name is a bit of a misnomer as the guards actually cover your forearms and upper arms quite well in addition to providing the highest grade elbow protection available.  Just look at the pictures!  I took one or two SERIOUS wind up chops from a longpole with these bad boys and never felt a thing.  If you’re at all worried about your arms (especially if you’re an attackman that likes to go to the cage no matter who is covering you), these are the pads for you.

The adjustable neon yellow straps allowed me to get the guards on nice and tight, and they didn’t slip around as much as many other large elbow guards.  Some attackmen like to cover their entire forearm with their arm pads and when you do that, the elbow is still very protected and the pads can be adjusted to fit snugly without sliding down too far or interfering with the gloves.

The elbow guards will require a bit more break-in time than your standard foam arm pad, but they really did loosen up as I played in them – which is impressive considering the protection level.  The only drawback to the padding was that the top portion of the elbow guard could have extended further up the upper arm and due to the curved nature of the pad, the padding presses against the triceps a bit at the top.

If you’re wearing shoulder pads with upper arms pads, then you should be more than okay, and since most attackmen who wear these will also go for a substantial shoulder pad, it is less of an issue. Also, if you don’t have skinny little chicken arms like me, you’ll be fine. If you plan on taking a lot of abuse this season, these pads are worth considering and I can guarantee they’ll stand up to the pressure. Your elbows and arms will be bruise free all season. The question is, will the rest of you?

The elbow guards retail for around $90 and this puts Reebok towards the lower end of the price spectrum for top-level arm protection where prices usually range from $80-$120+.  The pad cannot be customized as far as I can tell, but the neon lettering and silver, white and black colorways will work for almost any school’s chromatic theme. Overall the Reebok 10K Elbow Guard gets an 7.5 out of 10.

Reebok 10K Arm Pads

The new arm pads from Reebok are fantastic. I used them to play middie and I used them at attack. If I had been playing defense, I still would have worn them. They were extremely comfortable and immediately flexible. The pads are thin and the arm pad is made up of a number of smaller pads sewn together under the cover, which allows for easy and free movement. I put the pads on fresh out of the box and had no problems shooting or passing. In fact, I forgot I even had them on.

The pads offer a hard cap on the elbow with foam making up the rest of the body. They don’t slip at all – the straps at both the top and bottom of the pads keep them in place securely. The pads are longer on the forearm, which is a big step up over a lot of other arm pads, which are just glorified football elbow pads. These were specifically designed for lacrosse and function at a very high level. A couple of other players tried them on and their reactions were all the same: where can I get some?!?!

The 10Ks are a HUGE improvement over the 9K pads. They are less bulky, provide better protection where you need it and are as flexible and comfortable as possible. They also look better. They say you have to pay for quality and these bad boys are no exception. They retail for $75 and the normal range for similar padding is $45-80, so they are on the higher end of that spectrum… but hey, they are also really good. For that the Reebok 10K Arm Pad gets a solid 7.5 out of 10 (Reebok is cleaning up right now! The 10K gloves were 8.5.  Nothing below a 7 is impressive!).  If it cost $60 and could be customized, we might have had our first nine!