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Buying guides

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

Illustration of a bent arm and a bent leg, each wearing a protective sleeve with an orange honeycomb pad over the elbow and the knee Buying guides

Football knee and elbow pads: what the rules require

Knee pads are mandatory and must sit under the pants, elbow pads are optional. What the IFAF rulebook demands, the padding thicknesses and the sizing.

 Illustration of a padded football girdle seen from the front, with the hip and thigh pads highlighted in orange Buying guides

How to Choose a Football Girdle

Football girdles explained: what the rules require, 5-pad versus 7-pad, sewn-in pads or pockets, shorts or full-length, and how to measure for the right size.

 Illustration of an orange football back plate on a green disc, its curved shell pierced with height-adjustment holes and held by two straps that run up to the rear belts of the shoulder pads, drawn as a dashed line Buying guides

What is a football backplate and do you need one

A football backplate explained: what the plate covers, how it straps to your shoulder pads, the height adjustment, the sizes on offer and the jersey rule.

 Illustration of a flag football player in full kit on a green disc: jersey tucked into pocketless shorts, a belt with one orange flag on each hip, moulded studs and a ball under the arm Buying guides

What do you need to play flag football

The full flag football kit list: flag belt, ball size, jersey, shorts, shoes and mouthguard, straight from the official IFAF 5-on-5 rulebook.

 Illustration of three American footballs side by side, from the smallest youth size to the full official size, above an orange arrow Buying guides

What size football by age: pee wee, junior, youth, official

Pee wee, junior, youth or official: football sizes by age, the exact dimensions the IFAF rulebooks set for each one, and the balls sold in Europe.

 Illustration of a boil-and-bite football mouthguard seen from above, with the tooth channel and its detachable helmet strap Buying guides

How to choose the best football mouthguard

Football mouthguards: what the IFAF rules demand, boil-and-bite or custom-made, playing with braces, which certifications exist and how to look after yours.

 Illustration of the pieces of a full American football kit: helmet, shoulder pads, padded girdle and cleat Buying guides

Football gear list: what a full kit really costs

The rulebook lists nine compulsory pieces. Here is the price of each one at European retailers, the total for a new kit and where the money really goes.

 Illustration of a football helmet seen head-on, with a translucent visor clipped behind the facemask bars Buying guides

Are tinted football visors legal? Rules, tints and fitting

Tinted or clear visor: what IFAF, BAFA, the FFFA and the AFVD allow, how a visor clips onto a facemask, and which models are actually sold in Europe.

 Illustration of a football helmet seen head-on, with an orange chin cup and its four straps snapped to the shell Buying guides

How to fit a football chin strap

Chin strap fitting explained: what the IFAF rules require, hard cup or soft cup, CAM·LOC and Fusion compatibility, step-by-step adjustment and European prices.

 Illustration of a torso seen from the front, rib cage visible, with a rib protector strapped over the lower ribs and linked to the shoulder pads Buying guides

Do football players wear rib pads?

Rib pads are not on the IFAF list of mandatory equipment. The three families of torso protection, what shoulder pads already cover, and how to choose.