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News, buying guides and gear reviews. Our scores and verdicts are only published after field testing.

Illustration of a lineman in a three-point stance seen from the side, with helmet, shoulder pads, one gloved hand on the ground and studded cleats Buying guides

Lineman football gear: gloves, cleats and pads

Padded gloves, high-cut cleats, line-cut shoulder pads and the protection worn under the pants: the lineman's kit and the rules that govern it.

 Illustration of football shoulder pads seen from behind on a green disc, with an orange padded roll wrapped around the back of the neck opening Buying guides

The football neck roll, and what it is really for

What a football neck roll actually does, what manufacturers and the medical literature claim, and what the rules demand of anything attached to shoulder pads.

 Illustration of a leg in profile: the match pant stops above the knee, a knee-high sock covers the calf with its top band in orange, and the foot is inside a studded cleat Buying guides

Football sock height: what the rules require and what they leave to you

No rulebook sets a football sock height. What actually decides it: the team uniformity rule, where your pants stop, and the knit inside the cleat.

 Illustration of two football sleeves side by side: a padded arm sleeve with an orange pad at the elbow and a plain compression leg sleeve Buying guides

Football Arm and Leg Sleeves: What They Actually Do

Compression sleeve, padded arm sleeve or leg sleeve: what the manufacturers claim, which one carries a safety standard, and what the uniform rules allow.

 Illustration of a mouthguard, upper arch seen from above, resting on a flag football belt with its two flags Buying guides

Choosing a mouthguard for flag football

Flag football mouthguards: required or only recommended depending on your federation, the colour rule, the 1.25 cm limit and which models work without a tether.

 Illustration of a football helmet in profile next to three cheek pads of increasing thickness set against the inside of a shell, the thickest in orange Buying guides

Football helmet jaw pads and liners: when to replace them

Jaw pads, crown pad, front pad: the checks Riddell, Schutt and Xenith publish, the replacement thicknesses on sale and the rules on factory parts.

 Illustration of a football helmet in profile with its orange facemask lifted off the two bare mounting points on the shell Buying guides

How to change a football facemask

Removing and refitting a football facemask: NOCSAE compatibility, clips, screws and T-nuts, the Xenith tightening order, hardware kits and recertification.

 Diagram of a flag football player seen from the front, one hand raised clearly above the head and two flags on the belt, one on each hip Rules of the game

Flag football positions: who does what in a 5-on-5 team

Flag football positions explained from the IFAF rulebook: snapper, quarterback, receivers, blitzers and rushers, the 7-yard rule and what each player may do.

 Illustration of an American football stand-up tackling dummy tilting on its base next to a hand shield with an orange striking face Buying guides

Football tackling drills: contact levels and the kit behind them

Football tackling drills explained: what the targeting rule forbids, the five USA Football contact levels and the kit that lets players work without a partner.

 Illustration of a white football helmet in profile fitted with an orange soft shell cover over the crown Buying guides

Guardian Cap: what a soft football helmet cover does

Guardian Cap explained: the reductions measured by Virginia Tech, the NFL practice mandate, what NOCSAE says about add-ons and the flag football case.