After almost two months of testing, it is time to lift the lid on our thoughts about these fantastic Storelli products that every serious goalkeeper should consider getting. Storelli Sports have definitely created something that I would not have considered necessary before I reviewed it, but now I would never enter into a competitive match without wearing their gear.
Storelli sent us the Bodyshield 3/4 shirt and the extremely new GK 3/4 Pants for testing and I loved these products right out of the box. Despite a few harsh comments in the “Just Arrived” post, I put these products through some serious testing between the sticks. The end result was very pleasing, especially considering that most of the pitches that I play on are typically on the harder, less-grassy side of things.
The shirt basically ensured that I experienced very little pain when landing after a dive. Padding on every hot-zone of your upper body (shoulder, elbow, sternum, and some of the rib-cage) makes sure that no matter how you land, and no matter what you land on, it will not deter you from diving in the future. I wish this was not true, but there have been days and games spent without the 3/4 shirt where a painful dive has resulted in me spending the rest of the game being a little “gun-shy” and not feeling as prone to dive as in previous games. However, with the 3/4 shirt, there was never even a second thought given to putting my body on the line or laying out when the situation called for it.
The one complaint with the top is that it can get very hot. It has been easier to use as the months have started to creep towards fall and away from summer, but the July and August uses were sweltering. There were several practices where I had peeled off the top after a half-hour because the heat was nearly unbearable (and there is rarely full-contact or a necessity to dive during most drills), but I would slip it back on as soon as a scrimmage or short-sided game broke out. Despite the overheating issue, the durability on the top is top-notch and it is still completely in-tact despite being put through hell.
The 3/4 Pant is basically a pair of slider shorts on steroids with a nice pair of knee-pads attached. When wearing the shirt with the pants, you feel invincible. If you find that it is typical to finish games with strawberries (or, whatever you call “slide burns” in your area) up and down your legs or bruises in any of the previously mentioned zones, then both of these products should be immediate purchases for you. The 3/4 Pant did have some slight durability issues in the knee area after two months of use and some of the 5mm Poron XRD polyurethane pad started to leak out. The pants are still totally usable, but this knee pad will certainly not make it through the full-season for me.
Both products are great and I would add them immediately to any gear-bag if you are a legitimate keeper. Despite my 3/4 pant having a slight “foam-leak,” the durability is quite impressive considering the pitches that I have used the products on. Believe me, once you wear the shirt or the pants, you will never use anything else again.
Go check out and ‘like’ the Storelli Sports Facebook page and go check out their website. Let us know if you have had any dealings with any of their products and if you agree with my findings. Big thanks to Storelli for sending us these products and for producing a top-notch goalkeeping accessory.
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Have you also tried them on turf/3g? How do they fare there?
Would you say that they should/could improve the quality of the material around the knee for next release?
I should specify: with “them” I mean the pants
I have used the Storelli GK 3/4 shirt and Storelli GK shorts a few times on turf and it’s impossible to get any turf burns. I have the Storelli Shirt and Shorts for sale on Ebay. My user id is les6562. I also did buy the Storelli XRB-1 Matchday gloves and used them a fair bit. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/181049821558?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Hi All,
I work in product development at Storelli and can’t agree more with this review. The product performs incredibly well, both in terms of comfort and protection. We did see that players who play often on turf can cause turf burns to damage the knee pad. To solve that issue, future releases of the pants will include tougher material to cover the knee padding, just as you suggested!
That said, as the review mentions, even with a slight tear the pants continue to be 100% functional, and in addition, Storelli will take back any defective product, no questions asked. We work day and night to protect players on the pitch- if you are unsatisfied, hit us up and we will take care of you, refunding you or replace the product.
Cheers,
-Jing
Jing Liang,
Yes, I agree with everything your saying. With the Storelli Bodyshield GK 3/4 shirt I did find it to get very hot after about a half of use. I remember having a practice last July and after half hour of shooting drills I had to take it off because I was too hot. With both the Storelli BodyShield GK Shorts and BodyShield sliders I found my legs did get a little hot in them. However, I can honestly say that I never ever did received any turf burns. For me, durability was never an issue and I play all my games on 3G artificial grass.
In regards to the Storelli XRB-1 Matchday gloves after a few games I found them to lose a lot of their grip stickiness. Durability and comfortabliltiy were never never and issue but just the grip.