How Much Does Lacrosse Equipment Cost? Full Gear Budget

A complete beginner boys’ lacrosse setup runs about $300 to $500, covering a stick, helmet, gloves, shoulder and arm pads, cleats, and a mouthguard. Step up to a mid-to-advanced kit, a separate head and shaft, a premium helmet, and better pads, and you are looking at $800 to $1,200 or more. The helmet is the single biggest cost at $150 to $350. Girls’ and women’s field gear is far cheaper because no helmet or body pads are required.

Prices below are typical US ranges from retailers like Lacrosse Monkey and Dick’s Sporting Goods; expect UK and Australian prices to run higher once import and shipping are added.

The full lacrosse gear budget

Here is every piece a boys’/men’s field player needs, with realistic price ranges at the beginner and premium ends. The middle column is where most club players actually buy.

Item	Beginner	Mid-range	Premium
Complete stick (pre-strung)	$40–90	—	—
Head only	—	$50–90	$90–120
Shaft only	—	$40–90	$90–200+
Helmet (NOCSAE)	$150–200	$200–280	$280–350
Gloves	$40–70	$70–130	$130–200
Shoulder pads / liner	$40–70	$70–100	$100–150
Arm pads / guards	$25–50	$50–80	$80–120
Cleats	$40–70	$70–100	$100–150
Mouthguard	$5–15	$15–25	$25–40
Rib pads (optional)	$30–50	$50–70	$70–100
Gear bag	$30–50	$50–80	$80–120
Approx. total	~$300–500	~$650–900	$1,000–1,500+

The single biggest lever is the stick. A pre-strung complete stick keeps a first-year player at the low end, while buying a head and shaft separately, plus stringing, is where costs balloon.

Where the money actually goes

The helmet dominates a lacrosse budget. Even an entry model meeting the NOCSAE standard starts around $150, and premium adjustable helmets from the major makers push past $300. Because it is both the priciest and the most safety-critical item, this is the piece to size carefully rather than buy cheap or oversized.

After the helmet, the stick is the second real decision. New players should almost always start with a complete pre-strung stick for $40 to $90. It plays fine, it is legal, and it saves you from paying for a premium head and shaft before you know your position. Once a player commits, upgrading to a separate head and shaft, then restringing the pocket, is a natural second-season purchase.

Everything else, gloves, shoulder pads, arm pads, and cleats, scales with how often you play. A beginner buying mid-range on those four spends around $200 combined and gets gear that lasts several seasons.

Girls’ and women’s lacrosse costs less

Women’s field lacrosse is a no-contact game, so the equipment list is short: a women’s stick, protective goggles, and a mouthguard, with no helmet or body pads required. That drops a full beginner kit to roughly $120 to $250. The stick itself differs too, with a shallower legal pocket, so a boys’ complete stick is not a substitute. If you are outfitting a daughter, the goggles and stick are the two items to spend on.

How to keep the cost down

Three moves cut a first-year budget without cutting safety. First, buy a complete pre-strung stick instead of separate parts. Second, check whether the club or school loans helmets, which are often available for beginners and remove the biggest single cost. Third, buy gloves, pads, and cleats mid-range rather than premium, since the performance gap is small for a new player and the durability is similar.

What not to skimp on: the helmet and mouthguard. Buy a certified helmet that fits now, and replace any helmet after a cracking impact. A well-fitted helmet is worth more than a premium shaft. Our guide to sizing covers it in detail, and once you own a stick, our rundowns of the best lacrosse mesh and choosing a defensive long pole explain the upgrades worth paying for later.

Goalie gear is a separate budget

Goalies spend more than field players because they add protection built to stop a solid ball at speed. On top of a helmet and gloves, a goalie needs a chest protector, a throat guard, and a specialized goalie stick with a much wider head, and many add padded pants and shin protection. A goalie chest protector alone runs roughly $60 to $180, a goalie stick $60 to $160, and the throat guard attaches to the helmet.

Budget an extra $150 to $400 for a beginner goalie beyond a standard field kit. If your child is trying goaltending, borrow gear for the first season if the club allows it, since goalie-specific pieces are the most position-locked purchases in the sport.

Ongoing costs beyond the gear

Equipment is often not the biggest line in a lacrosse season. Club and travel-team fees, tournament entry, and travel can dwarf the gear budget, running from a few hundred dollars for a rec league to well over a thousand for a competitive club team. Recurring smaller costs add up too: replacement mesh and string when a pocket wears out, fresh mouthguards, new cleats as feet grow, and the occasional cracked helmet that has to be retired.

The gear itself is a durable, multi-season purchase if you buy mid-range and size the helmet to last. Framing the budget as gear plus program fees, rather than gear alone, gives a truer picture of what a season costs.

When to upgrade, and what it costs

Most players make one upgrade cycle after the first season. The typical path is a separate head and shaft to replace the complete stick ($90 to $300 combined), then better gloves and a stiffer helmet as the game speeds up. Defenders add a long pole; goalies buy a specialized stick and extra chest and throat protection, which is a separate budget of its own.

For a realistic plan: spend on a certified helmet and a complete stick first, buy mid-range pads, and put the upgrade money into a real head-and-shaft build once the player knows their position. New players should pair whatever they buy with our lacrosse drills for beginners so the gear gets used well before the next upgrade.

Freshness note: gear prices drift each season with new model releases and retailer sales. Re-check current pricing at Lacrosse Monkey and Dick’s, and confirm helmet certification requirements with USA Lacrosse before buying.