Before you cringe at the idea of wearing a girdle, keep in mind that we’re not talking about those thick looking torture devices you may have seen hanging on your grandmother’s clothes line. Football girdles are a whole different ball game and can be of a huge benefit for athletes who play contact sports like football.
Some players balk at the idea of wearing a football girdle. They may feel it’s too restrictive to add another layer of clothing under their football shorts or pants.
Thanks to advancing technologies, football girdles now feature some excellent materials that are breathable, making them more comfortable, and they are not restrictive so you still get the full range of movement. The best football girdles will protect all of your vital parts and you’ll be barely notice you’re wearing one. But you will appreciate how practical they are when you’re in the middle of a rough and tumble game of football.
The Best Football Girdle
1CHAMPRO Adult Tri-Flex Integrated 5 Pad Football Girdle
Protect your hips, groin and thigh areas with this CHAMPRO Adult Tri-Flex Integrated 5 Pad Girdle. This football girdle sits higher up the waist to stabilize and protect your hips during contact sports and the TRI-FLEX cushioning system also includes ventilation hip pads to minimize overheating. The girdle is made from a polyester and spandex blend featuring DRI-Gear moisture management fabric to wick away sweat and keep you cooler and drier. It also comes with a cup pocket for that little bit of extra protection where it’s needed the most. You can combine it with one of the best football shoulder pads from our list.
TRI-FLEX cushioning system & ventilation hip pads
Ventilated this pad system includes hard plastic shock plates.
Made from Polyester/Spandex DRI-GEAR moisture management fabric
Feature cup pocket
- BrandCHAMPRO
- Weight 7 Ounces
Padded protection where it is most needed
Fabric wicks moisture for dry comfort
High waist offers great stability in hips
Pads are a little on the thin side
2Shock Doctor Shockskin Lax Relaxed Fit Impact Short
The Shock Doctor Shockskin Lax Relaxed Fit Impact Shorts are like a suit of protective armor for your hip region. You’ll really appreciate the impact protection you get in critical areas with the X-fit brief cup retention system which keeps that cup securely in place. It fits anatomically without compression giving you complete freedom of movement and the flatlock construction features chafe-free seams.
Stay cool and protected during the rigors of your favorite sport. The fabric wicks moisture away from the skin so you stay dry and comfortable even during those periods of intensive activity.
SHOCKSKIN integrated fabric and vented foam pads
X-Fit brief cup retention system
Relaxed fit for maximum freedom of movement
Impact protection in critical area
Constructed with flatlock, chafe-free seams
Ultra carbon flex cup with advanced multi-stage protection
- BrandShock Doctor
- ModelLAX-COLSIZ
- Weight1 Pound
Ideal anatomical fit without compression
Fabric wicks moisture away from the skin
Move and contour with body for ultimate comfort and protection
Tailbone area could use more padding
3FPGU7 Champro Man Up 7 Pad Girdle Football Pant CH
Football can be a rough game and you need all the protection you can get before engaging in a scrimmage. This Champro 7 pad football girdle gives you those extra pads to bear the brunt of any impact or clashes and the hard plastic shock plates add a little more protection. This football girdle sits high on the waist for excellent stability for the entire hip, groin and waist areas and the Dr-Gear fabric helps you perform your best without accumulating sweat in those high heat areas. If you like sports, check out our guide to the best knee pads.
TRI-FLEX cushion system
TRI-FLEX ventilated hip pads rise above the waist
Contoured, ventilated thigh pad system
Hard plastic shock plates
High-compression, Polyester/Spandex DRI-GEAR fabric
Cup pocket
- Brand Blackout Tees
Polyester/Spandex DRI-GEAR moisture management fabric wicks sweat away from skin
Hard plastic shock plates absorb impact
Breathable materials for extra comfort
Cup not included
4Under Armour Men’s 6-Pad Football Girdle
Stay cool during competition thanks to the HeatGear fabric in this Under Armour Men’s 6-Pad Football Girdle. The stretch mesh panels give you freedom of movement with a 4-way stretch construction allowing better movement in any directions and great ventilation even during hot and heavy tackles.
This football girdle acts like a second skin and the Anti-odor technology prevents the growth of odor-causing microbes keeping you fresh even if you wear the girdle all day. The material also dries really quickly and wicks moisture away from the skin. That means that even if you need to wear this girdle every day, you can clean it and dry it overnight with ease.
HeatGear fabric, with all the benefits of UA Compression,
Stretch-mesh panels deliver strategic ventilation
4-way stretch construction moves better in every direction
Material wicks sweat & dries really fast
- BrandUnder Armour
- Model1246477
- Weight1 Pound
Comfortable enough to be worn all day
Breathes like a second skin
Anti-odor technology prevents the growth of odor-causing microbes
Pads not included
5Nike Pro HyperStrong Hardplate Men’s Graphic Football Shorts
Keep your center of balance and alignment during the game with this Pro HyperStrong football girdle from Nike. It features reinforced padding in targeted areas and the compression fabric gives you a fit like a second skin. The flat seam design diminished irritation and chafing so you’ll barely notice you’re wearing this girdle, but you will appreciate the comfort, support and stability it offers.
Let the game get tough and heated while you stay cool thanks to the moisture wicking fabric which directs moisture away from your skin promoting faster evaporation and the mesh panels promote breathability so you can stay cool from the start of the game, until the final whistle. Don’t forget to also check our guide to the best football helmets.
Integrated HyperStrong technology
Reinforced padding on targeted areas
Compression fabric provides an ideal fit
Moisture wicking technology
Flat seam design diminishes irritation
- BrandNike
- Weight2 Pounds
Responsive to your natural stride
Moisture wicking technology accelerates evaporation
Mesh panels improve breathability
Does not have cup pocket
6McDavid MD7414 Rival INTG Football Girdle
Keep your hips, thighs and tailbone protected with this McDavid MD7414 Rival INTG padded football girdle. This girdle is light weight, breathable and durable with tough, high density foam padding … exactly what you want in men’s football pants. The anatomically contoured hard shell thigh guards offer protection in the high impact regions of your body to minimize the shock and the mesh fabric allows your skin to breathe so the girdle won’t cling and impede your natural movement.
This is an excellent football girdle for those looking for something simple and affordable.
Light, breathable and durable
Tough high-density foam padding
Includes cup pocket
Anatomically contoured hard-shell thigh guards
- BrandMcDavid
Excellent quality and affordable
Machine washable
Cup sold separately
7Adidas Techfit Ironskin 5 Mens Padded Football Girdle
When it comes to strength and protection, this Techfit Ironskin men’s football girdle from adidas is about as tough as they come. The textured padding offers high impact protection in all the right places and will keep on absorbing impact, hit after hit. The material feature breathable and ventilated climacool technology that helps keep you cool and dry and the polyester spandex allows for complete freedom of movement.
Comfortable and stylish, this is the first piece of equipment you should be reaching for when it’s time to gear up. Our handy guide to the best elbow pads features more great products like this.
Polyester-Spandex
Ventilated climacool technology
Techfit helps stabilize and focus your muscles
Poron XRD Pad System absorbs impact, hit after hit
Plush elastic waistband
- Brandadidas
- Weight15.8 Ounces
Strong padding where you need it most
Ventilated climacool keeps you cool and dry
Accentuates your muscles’ energy for long-term endurance
May feel a little restrictive
8Wilson Adult GST 5-Pad Football Girdle
When you want compression football pants combine with the protective qualities of a football girdle, this Wilson Adult GST 5-Pad Football Girdle is the perfect combination of the two. The single density foam absorbs impact and the pads are bonded to the fabric in the hip, thigh and tailbone areas where they are most needed. Add to that, the pads are anatomically designed to provide a perfect and comfortable fit as well as protecting and the moisture wicking materials keep you dry throughout the entire game.
Single density foam absorbs impact
Pads bonded to fabric – Hip, thigh and tailbone protection
Compression fit
Moisture wicking material
- BrandWilson
- Weight1 pound
Anatomically designed pad shapes provide optimal fit and protection
Absorbs impact without adding extra bulk
Pads a little thin
Football Girdle Buying Guide
How We Chose Our Selection Of Football Girdles
Reviews – Football, and contact sports in general, can be incredibly rough and injuries occur with alarming frequency. Athletes need as much protection as possible and choosing the right protective gear such as football girdles can be a harrowing game of trial and error. That’s why we looked at customers’ reviews when putting together our selection. These reviews eliminate the need for testing dozens of products because the customers have already done that for us. Of course, there may be a few factors to consider, but most of them have to do with personal preferences and needs.
When checking the reviews, we checked the positive ones and the negative ones to see what a particular football girdle may be lacking. Overall though, as long as the customer experience proved to be a positive one, we were confident about adding the football girdle to our selection.
Brand – Any manufacturer can make a football girdle, but not all of them can make a good one. We looked at brands that specialize in sporting goods and from those, we selected brands that have a good reputation for producing protective sporting gear for contact sports enthusiasts. This is particularly important for football players regardless of the code being played. The brands featured in our selection of football girdles should perform well regardless of whether the player is involved in American football, soccer, rugby or even Australian Rules football. All of these games can be pretty intense and you want to purchase protective gear from a brand that understands the needs of the athletes.
Price – It’s easy to be put off by the prices of some football girdles but it’s also important to consider the technology and research that goes into making this all important piece of protective gear. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose the most expensive football girdle so we’ve tried to include prices that will appeal to every pocket. A good quality football girdle can be found for a reasonably cheap price, just as easily as those available in mid-range and high end prices. Look for the features you want in the price you can afford.
Features To Look For In Football Girdles
Amount Of Padded Panels – The amount of padded panels in football girdles often isn’t as important as where the padded panels are situated. The main areas to cover are the hips, thighs and groin. You can very adequately protect these areas with 5 padded panels.
However, if you like to play really rough football, you will definitely benefit from having additional panels so that you are not only protecting your hips, thighs and groin, but also your knees and your tailbone.
Some football girdles do not have padding in the groin region but instead, have a cup pocket where the safety cup can be inserted. Consider the style of player you are and choose the amount of padded panels you feel will offer you adequate protection.
Length – Like most items of protective apparel, football girdles comes in a range of length. However, the most common lengths are mid-thigh, just above the knee and just covering the knee. You need to consider how your outer gear will fit over the football girdle.
Fit – The absolute last thing you want with a football girdle is a poor fit. Depending on the style, you want it to fit snugly over your hips and over your thighs. It should fit like a second skin, without being tight. If it’s too tight it will drastically restrict your ability to move freely. If your girdle is too loose, it will be annoyingly distracting and you won’t be able to keep the pads securely over the area they are supposed to be protecting.
Football girdles are definitely beneficial as they keep all the pads secured where they are supposed to be. If you were to try and place the pads in your gear separately you would probably end up spending the game constantly adjusting your pads. The other benefit of a football girdle is that it offers stability in the hips and groin which are areas that are often prone to strained muscles and other related injuries.
Get yours today and play safely.
