Parents

Parents,

Purchasing equipment for your child to safely play roller hockey can sometimes be a little frustrating, overwhelming, and costly. We have assembled some information to help make this process easier for you and maybe not so expensive.

Your very FIRST stop when purchasing roller hockey equipment for your child should be the Bear Creek Roller Rink. Norm, the hockey guy and rink owner, has many items in stock including wheels, bearings, skates, and helmets. I especially like the Helium 150 skates and Bauer helmets he has for sale, as well as his Mission hockey sticks. Good stuff at a good price and you can try them on right there with his assistance; you will not find a better price elsewhere.

The Willowbrook Aerodrome (281-847-5283, 281-84-SKATE) located at FM1960 and 249 has a good supply of hockey gear. It is easy to see the Aerodrome from the road but very hard to get to, though worth the effort.

Sometimes using websites is helpful, however, you do not get to try on the gear before you make the purchase as you would with Norm at the rink. Below are some websites used by Cy-Fair Hockey parents and many others. Look for the specials or clearance items. Maybe get together with friends to order enough gear to get free shipping.

www.hockeymonkey.com
www.epuck.com
www.hockeygiant.com
www.hockeyx.com
www.hockeygear.com
www.hockeyone.com
www.inlinesports.com
www.1800faceoff.com

When purchasing a stick buy one that is comfortable for your kid. It should be all wood, no plastic blades where the ball hits. Most sticks will need to be cut down to fit your kid.

It is important to have a pair of quality inline hockey skates, not aggressive skates, not trick skates, not skates with a brake on the back, but a pair of Mission, Bauer, or CCM skates that are designed for hockey. Skates should have wheels designed for indoor surfaces. Therefore, the wheels should be soft with a rating of 78 or less, do not confuse this rating with the size in millimeters. Bearings come in different speed ratings. Bearings with a speed rating of 5 or higher are desirable. Bearing rates only come in odd numbers.

Mission, Bauer, CCM, Sherwood, Easton, and Jofa all make good hockey gear. If you buy equipment made from one of these companies you will be getting a good product. Keep in mind you get what you pay for. I like to save money but I never buy the cheapest product. I like to go up one or two models from the cheapest.

If you have any equipment questions please contact me, David Epplin, at 713-854-6667or email cyfairhockey@gmail.com

Check the required Equipment page too!