Armadillo is a relatively new company on the market that specialises in impact protection.  Using a lot of fancy new technology Armadillo provide the most advanced lower leg and shin protection yet. Their main product is the Armadillo calf and Achilles protector.

During a typical football season up to 87% of injuries occur to a lower limb and 12% to the calf or lower leg area. This high rate of injuries is mainly due to the speed and intensity of the modern game, but no companies have set out to address the problem. Armadillo finally have. The Armadillo system is designed to protect players from cuts, scratches, bruises, abrasions and even more serious injuries to your calf muscles and Achilles tendon.

Armadillo is a multi-plated protection pad for the lower calf and Achilles tendon. The multi layer design of the pad means the pad is very flexible and moulds easily and comfortably to contours of your leg. The idea is the Armadillo pad is to act like a ‘second skin’ that actively reduces the harmful effects of impacts from other player’s boots and studs. Impact energy is transmitted most efficiently through a single layer structure. So Armadillo have created the multi-plated system to prevent impact effectiveness. There is a built in ‘air pocket’ between each plate that acts as a break point which prevents energy easily transmitting through the structure.

The plates are designed to collide with each other during impact so energy is lost as friction and spread across all directions. As a result the actually impact felt by your leg muscle and skin tissue is massively reduced. The overlapping outer plates are made from a silica micro porous membrane that is extremely tough, resilient and surprisingly light and flexible. The pad is also designed to wick away moisture too.

The inner section of the pad is designed for comfort. It uses a special Trek-Dry material that is soft against the skin and actively passes sweat through the outer shell for faster dispersal, so the player stays dry and comfort is maximised. The inner shell also allows air to pass through to cool the leg and ensure comfort.  The two plates are then bonded together to form one pad that moulds effortlessly to the contours of your leg.

The final product adds the all important layer of protection without the player really noticing they are wearing it. Test results prove that Armadillo ‘plates’ help protect against stud impact and reduce harmful impact energy by more than 30%. This is very high as no protection layer can give a full guarantee of the prevention of injury completely but Armadillo is aimed at reducing the impact of energy to reduce the risk and severity of injury.

Every time you play football you are vulnerable to injuring your calf and Achilles tendon, mainly due to conventional shinpads only protecting the front of your leg. There is now no need to expose your calf muscle, Achilles and all the soft tissue at the back of your leg. Armadillo is super lightweight, flexible and tough, and can significantly reduce the risk of injury, and you will barely even know your wearing them.