I was back out on the hurling pitch last night and since I am going to commit to the sport it's quite obvious that my equipment isn't up to scratch.
There was no point in putting any money into the sport until I knew that i would be sticking with it for a while. It's not that you even need too much for the game but a hurley and helmet is the minimum.
The hurley to hit the ball and the helmet to keep your face in one piece form all of the hurleys flying around the place. Even at that I don't want to be putting huge money into a past time that I won't be playing that often.
Looking online for options and it will cost a bit to get kitted out.
Hurling Helmet. €99
A new helmet would set me back 100 quid and it's the most important piece of safety equipment in the game. I do have a battered old one from a charity shop I got for 10 euro a few years back but it's an antique more than a useful piece of equipment.
So I went onto the Irish second hand site and was lucky enough to find one in the nearby town for just €70 with tags still on it.
A lucky find as there are very few on the site and the town is just 15 minutes away. Even better I offered the seller €50 for it since it's a haggling site and you can't just pay what they ask.
So for half the price I'm getting a brand new helmet that I can pick up in the morning when I'm going in to do the
weekly shopping. Not too bad.
Hurleys. 2 for €100 +
You can get them from €40 upwards depending on quality and extra's but about €50 seems to be the median price form looking online.
I do want two of them as you can break one while playing the game and need to have a spare ready to go. I don't need top quality ones as I will struggle to hit them anyway so anything decent will do.
Again it was time to browse the second hand site and see if there was anything going.
I managed to make another lucky find with a seller just 20 minutes the other way who had a selection for sale.
He offered my three hurleys for €90 but I said no thanks. Too expensive but I would take them for €60 if he wanted instead. It was a more reasonable price and I have three of them lined up for €65 when I get a chance to pick them up during the week.
Still in very good condition and a good mornings work saving over €100 for some pretty much new equipment that i can pick up myself in the nearby area.
It's always worth shopping around when you are buying and finding some smart choices.
