Reebok 11k Chest Guard Review

Reebok 11k Goalie Chest Guard

To me one of the most personal preference items a goalie wears, besides a catcher, is their chest guard. Some goalies like them big and bulky while others like them trimmed down and mobile. Some goalies like to wear their chest guard tucked, while others leave it out. I’ve been using the Reebok 11k chest guard for over 8 weeks now and feel I’m to a point where I can give a good review. Just a little of my chest guard background I’ve been using/testing a Vaughn 8800, Bauer Pro, Warrior Swagger, and John Brown 2300 chest guards over the past 18 months. I do tuck my chest guard in and tie with my pant strings, suspenders overtop of the shoulder floaters. Originally I asked Reebok for the all black Premier 1 Pro (Carey Price), after much discussion with the designers at Reebok I decided to try the 11k unit and I haven’t regretted it since. There is very little difference between my 11k and the all black Premier 1 unit worn by some NHL goalies.

Now onto the pictures and review:

I noticed the Reebok chest guard sizes rather large, so I went with a medium (I’m 5’10” 165lbs). For reference I was in a Large Vaughn 8800, Large Bauer Pro, Large Warrior Swagger, and medium John Brown.



A nice feature that the Reebok has over the other manufactures is the laced in arms. I like the idea of being able to adjust the arm length; although the length was good for me I can see the benefit. Notice the sewn in pad on the upper shoulder, great for those shots that sneak past the shoulder cap.



Here you can see that the pad on the upper shoulder of the arm covers the gap that the shoulder cap and bicep pad do not cover.



The redesigned arm hinges took awhile to break it. I would like to see a hinge on the inside of the elbow floater to allow quicker breaking time. I did notice over time that the solid inside elbow floater pad does offer good coverage in the 6 and 7 hole.



Here is the backside of the catcher arm, notice the extra pad added to just this arm. It’s a great idea because I took one off that exact spot the second time I wore the chest guard. Each arm has 5 strap adjustments from the wrist up. Reebok continued with the use of the JDP plastic elbow caps, I’m not a huge fan of the plastic elbows but they didn’t cause me any discomfort either.



For reference, here is a picture of the blocker side backside arm.






This is a side profile shot showing the anatomical fit that fully wraps the sides. I especially like the wide pad on top that helps cover the upper ribs/arm pit.



One cool feature with the 11k chest guard are the two extra loops on the belly. These loops are meant to work in conjunction with the 11k pants, which have two clips meant to run through the two extra loop holes on the chest guard. Unfortunately, I do not have a set of 11k pants to show pictures but did try a set and really liked how well they worked together with the chest guard.


The back plate and back strapping are something I feel Reebok really needed to improve in the past. With the Premier 1 the neckline sat way too low exposing collarbone and lacked a lot of adjustability. Reebok really addressed the back plate adjustability by adding extra eyelets on the back plate, this allows for true weight distribution over the shoulders….without causing the hunchback affect of previous models.



Picture of the extra eyelets added for a true custom fit.



The shoulder floaters are nice and big without causing mobility issues. I feel like I cover the top of my shoulders better in the 11k over all other chest guards I have used. There is an added piece on the inside of the shoulder floaters, I was worried this was going to cause irritation rubbing on my neck but really it stopped my suspenders from rubbing against my neck…great idea.



The sternum protector is more than enough for most goalies. I ran through a drill at our training facility of 20 minutes of point blank slap shots directly to my chest. Not one shot snuck through padding to leave me with a bruise or stinger.


Overall I believe the Reebok 11k unit is a fantastic mix of a blocking and mobile chest guard. The arms do take some time to break in, so you will need some patience. I do feel that the arms are more protective then the other units I have tested. The unit does size rather large so I would recommend finding a LHS who has the unit instock to try on. I do like the fact they made the extra loops to work with the 11k pants, if you tuck this is a great feature. If you have been hesitant in the past about Reebok chest guards, like I was, this unit will put your mind at ease. I still feel like the back plate and back strapping could use some more tweaking, but it is just as adjustable as the other manufactures chest units….if not more. I would highly recommend those looking for a pro level chest guard to give the 11k a try. Please feel free to ask me any questions.

Jim Martin

I prefer my chest protectors VERY loose, and that's why I go with Reebok. I don't have the 11k yet, but I'm planning on getting it if I don't talk myself into getting an M4 sooner/cheaper.