Best Lacrosse Gear

Lacrosse Equipment

Lacrosse balls are either orange or white in color. They are between 7.75 and 8 inches in circumference, and between 5 and 5.25 ounces in weight. The "crosse" or netted stick is between 40 inches to 72 inches in length. The "crosse" head is made of wood, plastic, laminated wood, or a material permitted by the International Lacrosse Federation (ILF). The shaft of the crosse is made of aluminum, wood or an ILF-approved material.

Players wear protective gloves, appropriate shoes or boots, and a helmet outfitted with a facemask and a chinstrap for safety. The rules do not allow the fingers to be cut out of a player's gloves; in fact, fingers must be enclosed within, and should be a part of the glove. A player is not allowed to play with his fingers outside the glove. The goalkeeper wears a throat guard and a chest protector. Also, there is a box to protect the groin area. Should a player lose any of his equipment during the game, play is immediately suspended.

It is imperative for each lacrosse player to wear a jersey that has a block number centered on the front as well as the back. The front of the jersey should have a number that is 8 inches high, and the back number should be 10 inches in height. Nonetheless, the numbers on the front and back of the player's jersey should be the same. Duplicate numbers are not allowed on the same team.

The visiting team generally gets a choice of their jersey color; the home team should wear jerseys of a contrasting color.

Lacrosse Stick

Traditionally, the Native American Iroquois tribe played lacrosse with a wooden stick, with a woven net at one end. The lacrosse ball was either made from the knot of a tree, or deerskin.

The wooden sticks were artfully hand-carved from hickory. The stick's length measured about 48 inches. The modern sticks are made from plastic and other materials approved by the ILF (International Lacrosse Federation). Yet there are players who still prefer traditional equipment. Iroquois artisans like Alf Jacques make traditional wooden sticks for those players.

Alf Jacques vigilantly harvests hickory trees by selecting the trees with the fewest knots. Such trees produce the best sticks. When Alf Jacques harvests a hickory tree, he unfailingly plants a new one in its place. This is in respect to conservation and the "Great Circle of Life." Jacques hand-carves the lacrosse sticks himself.

The curved end of the conventional lacrosse stick has webbed netting, which is woven in such a way that it creates a pocket. This webbing facilitates the catching, throwing and carrying of the ball. Originally, this webbing was prepared from slippery elm bark. The trick was to boil the bark until it became soft. The consequent soft bark fibers were contorted to form the lacing for the webbing. Apart from the slippery elm bark, sinew was also used to make the webbing. Today, the webbing - even if it is a traditional stick -- is usually made from leather and nylon.

The webbing is a significant part of the stick because players are not allowed to use hands or feet when touching the ball. Consequently, the webbing should be tight enough for the purpose of throwing the ball, yet loose enough to facilitate catching and carrying the ball.

Lacrosse Gloves

Lacrosse Gloves (or lax gloves) are important to the game of lacrosse because they provide the protection players need when playing lacrosse. Higher priced gloves tend to be more comfortable, flexible, and lightweight than the lower priced gloves. Lower priced gloves usually don't last as long and tend to fade faster. Some gloves have better ventilation systems than others to prevent the lacrosse stick from turning into a bar of soap. Either way, purchasing the right lacrosse glove is important because you will either fall in love with it or not.

When it comes to flexibility, there is nothing a player distastes more than a glove that doesn't give him the dexterity and handling his hand needs. This used to be very irritating for players in the 70's when gloves were molded and didn't incorporate the technologies they do today. Lacrosse gloves have been revolutionized multiple times over the past 30 years with advances in material and design.

When deciding to purchase a glove, there are three popular brands you should consider: STX, Brine, and Warrior. There are however some other brands that are creeping onto the lacrosse scene such as Shock Doctor, deBeer, Shamrock, Harrow, Gait, and Ridell. These manufacturers construct the lacrosse gloves with certain qualifications in mind: strong padding for the fingers, hand, and wrist. The strong padding is meant for protection from stick checks and physical contact. The palm of the glove is made of leather or a substrate for comfort and handling the lacrosse stick. Other gloves are made from spandex, foam, or carbon fiber. Most of the time, manufacturers will incorporate some new material that they brand to add pizzazz to their gloves. Some of the best lacrosse gloves are made by STX and Brine. Notably Brine Supercross lacrosse gloves have seen a rise in popularity over the year and many players are hooked.

There are efficient tools for determining your glove size so that the glove caters to the ergonomics of your hand. Since there isn't a standard for glove sizes, the sizes usually come in small, medium, and large. But the manufacturers strive to have gloves sized for players of all ages. The sizes range from 9 inches all the way to 16 inches. Remember when purchasing a glove to think about the size of your elbow pads because if the elbow pads are too big and the gloves are too big, playing lacrosse can be cumbersome. Also keep in mind that manufacturers construct the gloves a little large in order that the padding covers all areas of the hand and wrist.