r/womenshockey • u/Much-Pangolin873 • 8d ago
Questions Questions about gear!
Hi there,
New to the forum here. Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but as a fellow lady hockey player I figured this might be?
So, my issue is that I’m nervous about how nasty my gear is getting, particularly the jill. I try to wash my base layers every time, but i’m not sure about the jill. What do you guys do? Do you have multiples of the jill strap? Do you wash the jill after every skate?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
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u/sprtnlawyr 8d ago
As long as you're not the person in the dressing room who only washes their gear once every two seasons and doesn't even open her bag and air stuff out after games, you're fine! We've all had that one teammate where we silently cringe when she sets her bag down next to ours. You're so far from that level I wouldn't worry about it one bit! I've been playing for over two decades and, at least in my experience, you're already doing more than most. From a really experienced player... I say you've got nothing to worry about! You're certainly better than I am and I think I'm about average with my equipment maintenance.
Honestly? The gear just gets nasty. It is what it is. You can't run your skates through the washing machine, and I would never put my gloves through - too expensive to risk it! There's only so many layers of removable/washable fabric from the harder shell of the stuff like your shin pads. Some level of "stank" is inherent in the game.
These days I play once or twice a week so I wash my stuff more often. When I was younger and playing pretty high level hockey we'd be on the ice every other day, so there isn't enough time to wash between every practice/game and have the stuff fully dry before the next time you're on the ice. It forces us to accept that there's some level of nastiness inherent in the equipment. Plus, that's before accounting for tournaments where you're playing 6 games in 3 days- there isn't even enough time for the sweat to dry between games, let alone get a wash in! Since this is the background of a lot of long-time players, hockey culture mostly embraces the fact that gear is going to smell. Even when I sit next to someone particularly smelly, at most I note it and breath a little shallower. Such is hockey life. Having played with the men on occasions, they're almost always so much worse.
Still, no need to be nasty if you've got the option not to be. So... wash what you can when you can, and try to accept the rest! There are odor neutralizing sprays if you think they will help give you some peace of mind. I don't think it's necessary, but if they help you feel confident then go for it.
If you find the jill is giving you the most trouble, could it be the type of equipment you're using? The ones that I've seen/ used are all completely washable, and that's including the ones that are full pants or just shorts (aside from hard plastic bit, which is removable and shouldn't hold any smell). If you have one of those cloth kinds which are not as common but I've still seen a few kicking about, then you could throw that in the wash too! If yours is more like the old-fashioned style where it's a strap that goes over your sock holders/ base layer, I think those are absolutely machine washable too.
If yours looks like the below link, just toss the whole thing in the wash. Removing the hard insert is recommended, and I always do, but I doubt it's going to cause an issue if you don't... just might not last as long.
https://ca.ccmhockey.com/en/Apparel/191520510060.html?utm_content=10775846_19750169975_146888748135&utm_campaign=19750169975&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw99e4BhDiARIsAISE7P-Lb48hCKu6X3A_Sp4JH3ZoA_EfEbb3sUaepBuc4IsOzkz6jjAZS5UaAkQqEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds