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It is deplorable that there is no category for kneepads!Sep 28 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Higher price does not translate to higher quality. Pay a little more for a good ball and get a good net system, but save on the shoes and pads.
I've never bought a volleyball in my life, but our high school coach claims she pays nearly $40.00 for our game balls. These balls are of the cloth variety, which are preferred over the hard vinyl type by most of our players, including my daughter who is a four year veteran of the sport. She's been playing varsity volleyball since the seventh grade at our K-12 high school. I've also never purchased a volleyball net, save for the one that came in our backyard game kit that included plastic horseshoes, plastic badmitton rackets, a volleyball net with plastic poles and plastic net tape, and a hideous "volleyball" that was oddly plastic. The whole kit was $19.99 at Wal-Mart, and I got exactly what I paid for. I have never bought volleyball shoes, although last year our coach wanted the team to have matching shoes that ran about a hundred dollars a pair from a catalog by Reebok or Nike or some big name shoe company. Luckily for my wallet, most of the parents and players objected, and the coaches allowed the girls to buy them as an option. We opted not to, and my daughter wore her New Balance shoes that we got on sale for $30.00. I can honestly say I saw no difference in the traction, speed, or "air time" between the girls with the $100.00 shoes and the girls with the "cheap" shoes. What I have bought for my daughter's volleyball seasons are kneepads. Lots of them. I've bought flat round one; thick, quilted round ones; flat rectangular ones; and quilted square ones. I've bought expensive ones and cheap ones. Mizuno ones; Aasic ones; Nike ones; generic ones. In the end , the Aasic round "quilted" kneepads have proved to be the best buy. They consist, like most kneepads, of the round pad and an elasticized "sock" that holds the pad in place over the kneecap. None of the other varieties have lasted an entire season. The "sock" portion , which one slides up over the leg until the pad is position squarely over the knee, inevitably tears and unravels, much the same way pantyhose do after tugging them on and off a few times. Not so with the Aasics. They have stood the test of tug time and again. Another favorable aspect of the Aasic is the thick, hard, "quilted" pad that provides plenty of protection for those defensive dives, yet allows the player to slide without experiencing adverse friction . Finally, the Aasic kneepad has just the right amount of elasticity. Some brands are so tight that they cut off circulation at the top and bottom of the "sock", while others bunch up uncomfortably at the back of the knee. The Aasic kneepads are reasonably priced at around $16.00. Some brands run as high as $30.00. I buy them up in the off season, when I can get them for $12.00 a pair. The only con to these pads is that they are so thick that washing and drying them is nearly impossible unless there is a four or five day gap between games, so we have to have several pair. If they don't get washed they stink something terrible...sort of like old shoes that are worn without socks.  |
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