When you're trying to break into a sport like hockey, you become uniquely aware of the up front costs involved. There are obvious purchases that will make your wallet whimper as you dole out hundreds for a single piece of equipment, but then there are hidden costs that you likely didn't even know you needed or had even thought about when you decided you would pour your free time into the game.
My venture began with a few public skates using rentals at a few local rinks. At around $12 a skate, I quickly realized where much of my 'spare' income was going to sink itself. This is one of the few sports you need a special place to play the game in it's natural element. Ice is hard to come by in many places, let alone ice that you're willing to skate on. While yes, you can indeed just play it on the street with a ball, it's a different experience entirely to play out your NHL fantasies on solid sheet of the slippery hard stuff. Should you want to spend a lot of time out on the rink, you're going to rack up a lot of cost quickly. Pick up and Stick time will likely run you $10 or more per session, soaking up $520 a year from your pocket should you only go once a week!
To skate in rentals is an effort in masochism should you try and endure it more than once. Your going to want your own set of skates, and you will pay out your nose to get a good pair that will make your time on the ice a bit more comfortable. You could buy those bargain bin throwaways of course, and your feet will pay. Your feet are your livelihood in nearly all things, so expect to pay upwards of $600 for the top of the line. If you're like me, you want a middle ground of cost/effectiveness where you're getting the most for your buck. Picking out a set of Bauer Vapor X40's, I made sure my wife knew what I wanted when Christmas came around. $350 or so later, I'm skating in comfort.
Sticks run the full gamut of price ranges from the super cheap to the super expensive, and again, you get what you pay for. But for starters, wood sticks are enough to get you going, and there are actually a good amount of options should you do some searching. Expect to drop around $35-50 for a quality wooden stick. Composites are the hotness when it comes to transferring power from your hands to the puck, and that power transfer comes with a price. With some of the most expensive going for nearly $250 a piece and the cheaper side going from $70-100 it's going to be up to you to determine how much your shot is worth to you. Expect to see this n00b sitting toward the lower end of this spectrum for some time to come, unless another gift giving season comes around!
Gloves, Helmets, Shoulders, pants, shins, elbows, jock shorts, and a face mask. Did you consider how much all of this stuff was going to run you when you decided to start playing this game? I don't think I gave it much serious consideration. With all of these things, your running the price tag up anywhere from $25 to $100+ per piece of protective equipment! How much is your personal protection worth to you? How good is your insurance? After working out middle ground equipment using an online shopping cart, I found myself breaking the $400 mark rather quickly. Can I play yet?
Even with all of this out of the way, there are still more expenses to consider! Jerseys, hockey socks, under gear moisture wicking garments, suspenders, mouth piece, tape, and skate sharpening are yet more pieces of the personal hockey expense! Once sorted, you're finally ready to take to the ice fully prepared for a full contact game of hockey.
With any luck, I'll have figured out much of my own hockey budget by the summer. Without it, I'll be slowly gathering equipment bit by bit for the next year and a half! Is the cost worth it? Ask me in a year! I can tell you now though, I'm near certain of my answer already.
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