Lacrosse Gear Guide: Cleats, Bags & Accessories (2026)

Lacrosse Gear, By Category

Cleats: Lacrosse, Soccer, or Football?

This is the single most common mistake I see on a first day of practice. A kid shows up in the cleats he already owns from another sport, and depending on which sport that was, he either gets away with it or gets sent to the sideline.

Here is the short version. Football cleats have a stud at the very front of the toe. That toe spike is what gets them banned in a lot of lacrosse and soccer programs, because it digs in on contact and it is a known ankle and knee risk when players are cutting into each other. If your only cleats are football cleats, assume you need new ones and check with your coach before you spend money.

Soccer cleats are the opposite. They are legal almost everywhere, they are lighter, and plenty of midfielders prefer them because there is less shoe to drag around. What you give up is ankle support and upper durability. Lacrosse involves more lateral cutting and more stick contact on the foot than soccer does, so a soccer cleat wears out faster in lacrosse than it does in its own sport.

Lacrosse specific cleats sit in the middle. They are built with a reinforced upper for stick checks and usually offer a mid or high cut option for ankle support.

Cleat type	Legal for lacrosse?	Best for
Lacrosse	Yes	Anyone who wants ankle support and an upper that survives stick checks
Soccer	Yes in most leagues	Midfielders who want the lightest possible shoe and are fine replacing them sooner
Football	Often no, because of the toe stud	Nothing. Check with your coach before wearing these to a practice

High top, mid, or low?

Cut height is a real decision, not a style one. Defensemen and anyone with a history of rolled ankles should be in a mid or high top. Attackmen and midfielders who live on quick changes of direction usually go low or mid, because a high top adds weight and slightly restricts the ankle. If you have never rolled an ankle and you play the middle of the field, low top is fine.

Two cleats worth starting with

Full breakdown by position, surface, and foot shape is in the best lacrosse cleats guide.

Bags: Backpack or Equipment Bag?

The thing nobody tells you before your first practice is that a normal school backpack does not work. A full length shaft will not fit inside one, so you end up carrying your stick in one hand, your helmet in the other, and your pads shoved into a bag that was not built for them. That lasts about one week before you buy a real bag.

There are two shapes to choose between.

A lacrosse backpack has dedicated stick sleeves or straps on the outside, a separate vented compartment for cleats, and a main section sized for a helmet and pads. You wear it, so both hands stay free. This is the right pick for the large majority of players, and it is what most high school kids carry.

An equipment bag or duffel is bigger, carried by hand or over one shoulder, and makes sense in two situations: you are a goalie carrying a chest protector and oversized pads, or you play club and travel lacrosse where you are living out of the bag for a two or three day tournament weekend.

Two bags worth starting with

More options across every budget are in the best lacrosse bags guide.

Balls: How Many You Need, and Which Ones

Balls are the cheapest gear you will buy and the easiest to under buy. If you are serious about wall ball, a single six pack is not enough, because you will lose some, and the ones you keep get slick and dead over a season.

Two things actually matter when you are choosing.

Certification. Game balls need to meet the standard your league plays under. Look for NOCSAE, NCAA and NFHS approval, or SEI certification on the listing. Practice balls do not have to be certified, which is why bulk practice packs are cheaper, and that is fine for wall ball and drills. Just do not show up to a game with practice balls.

Age of the ball. Lacrosse balls degrade. They start out slightly slick from the factory, break in, and then go greasy and hard as the rubber ages. A ball that has lived in a wet bag for a season is not the same ball you bought. Rotating a few new ones in every year is worth it.

Two ball packs worth starting with

Color rules by league, plus practice versus game balls, are covered in the best lacrosse balls guide. If you are buying balls for solo work, pair them with a rebounder from the rebounder guide.

Accessories Worth Buying, and What to Skip

Once the big pieces are handled, there is a long tail of small gear. Most of it is optional. A few pieces genuinely change how the season goes.

• Stick tape or waxWorth it. Cheap, improves grip on the shaft, and protects the handle from nicks. First accessory I would buy.
• A rebounderWorth it if you will actually use it. Nothing else on this list improves a player faster than solo reps. See the rebounder guide.
• A second shaftWorth it once you play club. Shafts break at the worst possible time, usually mid tournament. Not needed in a first season.
• Rib padsSituational. Genuinely useful for attackmen taking repeated body checks. Skippable for most midfielders and defensemen.
• A shooting target for the goalSkip early on. Learn to catch and throw against a wall before you spend money on placing shots.

Where This Sits in the Rest of Your Kit

Cleats, a bag, and balls are not the first things you buy. Protective gear and a stick come first, because they are what makes you eligible to step on the field at all. If you are starting from nothing and want the full required list, including the mandatory protective pieces and roughly what a complete setup costs, start with the checklist rather than this page.

• The Complete Lacrosse Gear ChecklistEvery required and optional piece, broken down by age and level, with a cost breakdown by tier. Read this first if you are buying a full setup.
• Lacrosse Sticks GuideComplete sticks, shafts, and picks by player type.
• Lacrosse Heads GuideHow to choose a head, broken down by position.
• Lacrosse Helmets GuideCertification, fit, and helmet rankings.
• Lacrosse Pads and Protection GuideGloves, arm pads, shoulder pads, and goalie gear.

Common Questions

Can I just wear my soccer cleats?

In most leagues, yes. They are legal, they are lighter, and a lot of midfielders prefer them. Expect them to wear out faster than a lacrosse cleat would, because lacrosse puts stick contact and lateral cutting on a shoe that was not designed for either.

Do I really need a lacrosse specific bag?

You need something that carries a stick. That is the whole requirement. A regular backpack cannot do it, which is why almost everyone ends up with a lacrosse bag after the first week whether they planned to buy one or not.

How many balls should I own?

Six is the realistic minimum for solo wall ball. A dozen or more if you are sharing with siblings, running drills with a rebounder, or you know you will lose some in the woods behind the field.

Are cheap practice balls fine?

For wall ball and drills, yes. For games, no. Game balls need to meet your league’s certification standard, so check the listing for NOCSAE, NCAA and NFHS approval, or SEI certification before buying anything you intend to use in a game.

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