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Best Catchers Forearm Protection Gear
Carlos was a high school catcher with a huge, bluish black bruise on his right forearm. It stood out like a sore thumb and was noticeable to the entire team.
Two days earlier he had been playing behind the plate in an important conference game.
His pitcher - one of the hardest throwers in the area - threw one in the dirt that Carlos instinctively blocked, as he’d practiced a million times before.
The ball took a hard, sharp left hop off the dirt and slammed into Carlos's unprotected forearm.
He felt pain immediately and his right forearm throbbed for the rest of the game.
For many days after the game he wore a discolored reminder on his arm of that play.
Why Do Catchers Need to Protect Their Forearms?
Carlos's story is a familiar one for catchers. Playing behind the dish can be grueling with all types of opportunities to get hurt during practice or a game.
This is why catchers have the most protective gear of anyone on the diamond - by a long shot.
Despite the helmet, chest protector and leg guards, parts of a catcher's body are still unprotected and exposed to the ball or a bat.
The forearm is one of these exposed areas.
To clarify, when we refer to the forearm we are talking about the inner forearm - meaning, the area that runs above the wrist to the bend in your arm.
See the picture below for the general area we are referring to.
As a catcher, an errant ball or bat could strike the forearm and cause pain, or even worse - break a bone.
Fortunately, there are products commonly referred to as catchers forearm guards that can help protect this vulnerable area.
This is what our article closely examines.
We looked at different forearm guards and then landed on our top three choices for baseball and fastpitch softball catchers.
Top Catchers Forearm Protection Products
After researching what's available, we determined that our pick for the best catchers arm guard is the Under Armour Gameday Pro.
All the choices that we review include:
- Under Armour Gameday Pro Padded Forearm Sleeves (Top Overall Pick)
- Sedroc Padded Arm Sleeves (Top Budget Pick)
- EvoShield Protective Wrist Guard (Best Alternate Option)
Read on to learn much more information about each product!
Top Overall Pick: Under Armour Gameday Pro Padded Forearm Sleeves
The product we think is the best softball or baseball forearm guard for catchers is the Under Armour Gamedway Pro Padded Forearm Sleeves.
These are high quality, lightweight padded sleeves that come two to a pack.
They really serve two helpful purposes: protection and compression. Regarding protection, these sleeves contain HEX pads which is a strong foam based padding cut in a honeycombed pattern.
This type of pattern helps evenly distribute impact across a wide area, and it helps keep the skin under the padding better ventilated. As you can see in the pictures, the pads cover a wide area above the wrist to near the base of the elbow.
These sleeves also compress the arm, so it works to keep steady but comfortable pressure over the arm which helps limit any pain or swelling you might have.
Under Armour did not make these catchers protective inner forearm sleeves for a specific sport, though many football players do use them.
For use by baseball or softball catchers, you simply need to invert the pads - meaning, turn them so that the padding portion rests above the inner forearm.
This catchers forearm guard is sold in six sizes, which are as follows: extra small (7 - 8 inches); small (8 - 9.5 inches); medium (9.5 - 11 inches); large (11 - 12 inches); extra large (12 - 14 inches); and XXL (15 - 17 inches).
You can find your size by measuring the circumference of your forearm at its widest point, which is generally slightly below the bend in your arm.
Pros
Under Armour is a great brand that's widely recognized
These guards have a good design and they look great on the arm
The foam pads cover a large area of the forearm
They compress the arm while still feeling comfortable
They come two in a pack
Cons
They tend to run a bit small. You may want to consider ordering one size larger than what you measure.
Top Budget Pick: Sedroc Padded Forearm Sleeves
For those most interested in a cheap option for a catchers arm guard solution, our top pick is the Sedroc Padded Forearm Sleeves.
These lightweight forearm guards have pads in the sleeve that run from the bend in the arm to the wrist. The pads are not super thick, but they cover a wide portion of the forearm, which is nice.
Like the Under Armour version above, the Sedroc guards also serve as compression sleeves.
They come in black and are sold as a pair.
Sizes are available as child medium (8 in), child large (9 in), small (10 in), medium (11 in), large (12 in), and extra large (13 in).
The length for the Sedroc sleeves is measured in inches, so to find the right size for you simply measure from your elbow down to your wrist.
Pros
They are extremely affordable
The padding covers a broad area of the arm
The sleeve compresses the arm
They are sold two to a pack
Cons
The padding could be slightly thicker
Tends to run on the smaller side
Best Alternate Option: EvoShield Protective Wrist Guard
For catchers that do not want to wear a separate inner forearm sleeve but are still interested in armoring up the inside of their arms, we have a suggestion. What we’d recommend is that you consider using a Protective Wrist Guard from EvoShield.
To state what may be obvious based on the picture above, these guards do not protect the entirety of your forearm. However, they do an excellent job of protecting the wrist and part of the lower forearm, and they are very popular with catchers (especially at the pro level).
We wrote a very detailed overview of this product if you’re interested in learning more. Simply click this link to read it.
Thanks for Reading!
We hope this article on catchers forearm guards was helpful to you.
If we can answer any questions about catchers forearm protection - or really anything catching related - then please contact us.
You can do so by clicking here or by emailing scott (at) catchershome (dot) com.
Thanks for stopping by Catchers Home.
Scott Perry
Scott Perry is the owner and lead author at Catchers Home. He's a former baseball player, a current coach, a husband and a Dad. He remains as passionate about baseball today as he was as a kid.