PLAY
1× Parametric Puck 3D printed
About $1 TPU casing and PETG sliders, plus a core. Allow 2 hours for the TPU casing + 30 minutes for the PETG sliders; slice to confirm. Snap the puck together by hand in a few seconds.
2 GLOVES · 2 STICKS · 1 PUCKThe $55 UWH kit.
Build your shopping list ↓About $55 assumes you already have a 3D printer, PETG and TPU. The $23 puck includes an $11 core, $11 shipping and $1 of printing materials. Swimming gear and optional protection are extra.
The two-player kit.
$55Example: $54.14 including lead-core shipping + 7% estimated tax
3D print the puck and 2 sticks. A simple set for playing in a pool, using the swimming gear you already have.
2× Norbat Sticks 3D printed
Budget about 4.5 print hours each, or 9 hours for two.
2× Impact Gloves
These gloves are a quick way to get in the water for beginner underwater hockey. They may not stand up to the bashing of standard club play; for that, consider a silicone or 3D-printed UWH glove. This particular model has not been tested for UWH protection.
Optional: print a mouthguard too—67 g TPU per guard, about $1.34 of filament. Explore the mouthguard files ↗
No printer? Pay for the prints.
Budget about $100 delivered for two sticks ($30 each) and puck parts ($30 for the casing and sliders), plus $10 delivery. Add the core and gloves separately. These are planning estimates—not supplier quotes. If that total doesn’t fit, try a library, maker or another route. Compare owning a printer in our cost calculator ↗.
Upload the PETG parts to Slant 3D ↗. Its current material list does not include TPU, so ask a local maker or TPU-capable service for the flexible casing. Craftcloud compares print-service quotes ↗. Confirm price and material before ordering.
Try your library or makerspace.
Ask about file submission, training or reservations, maximum print time, fees and the queue. Many supply their own filament and won’t accept yours. Confirm PETG and TPU support: a PLA-only printer can make a trial stick, but not the flexible casing.
For example, Austin offers eligible residents one free print a month. Salt Lake County charges 6¢/g, supplies PLA only, and queues submitted files. Ask staff to slice your files, confirm the full cost and completion time, then arrange pickup.
Buy professional gear.
Specialist suppliers make excellent equipment at fair prices for small-scale production. It can still be a big first purchase. Here are two example setups: one puck, two gloves, and two sticks.
Hydro ↗
Including estimated shipping + 7% taxShipping estimate: NZ$90
Solid Rocket pair ↗: NZ$55
Two T2 Gloves ↗: NZ$180
Hydro puck ↗: NZ$65
Hydro puck unavailable. Check their website to see if this has changed ↗. This total budgets for the Hydro puck. Alternative: CanAm Uni2 puck · $80 ↗. Choose it in the shopping list below.
CanAm ↗
$267.50Including estimated shipping + 7% taxShipping estimate: $0
Two Shorty sticks ↗: $50
Two UWX X1 Gloves ↗: $120
Uni2 Puck ↗: $80
Hydro’s NZ$90 overseas shipping is a budgeting allowance, not a quote. CanAm shipping assumes eligible standard shipping; exclusions apply. We budget $50 for two Shorty sticks as requested, although the listing currently describes a $25 pair—confirm checkout. Prices and stock checked October 31, 2026.
Build your shopping list.
Approximate conversion.
Estimated tax: 7%. Product links retain the seller’s currency and checkout price.
Protect your ears.
Wear headgear with protective ear guards. An underwater kick or collision can rupture an eardrum—it happened to me. Get instruction and appropriate supervision, and never practise breath-holding alone.
One puck. Three approaches.
Photo: Cairns Crays.
Tuna-Can Puck
$12+
Get creative with a tuna can. Use Air Venturi zinc-plated steel BBs and fill the gaps with cement or a suitable epoxy. Dirt or other dense scraps can replace the epoxy or cement. If a dirt-filled puck breaks, it can leave a nasty mess on the pool floor—don’t try that in a public pool. Pack it firmly, fully duct-tape the can and every edge, and test that it sinks and slides without leaking filling. Let cement or epoxy cure fully. These BBs are zinc-plated steel, not stainless steel.
The $12 estimate assumes a reused tuna can, tape, and filler already on hand. A BB pack alone doesn’t guarantee the right weight. Inspect the finished enclosure and pool surface before use.
Design: Play UWH.
Parametric Puck
$23+
Core, shipping & printed materials
TPU casing, PETG sliders, and your chosen core. The Grainger option is 1045 carbon steel. The RotoMetals lead core is about $11 plus $11 shipping and $1 printing materials. Snap assembly takes a few seconds by hand.
Ready-made gear
Buy a CanAm Puck
$80+
A proven competition puck used in tournaments for years. It’s the only competition-grade option among these three; many other puck designs exist. CanAm is an accessible supplier for US players. Be ready for a longer shipping wait—check availability and delivery before ordering.
Shop CanAm Uni2 ↗The Amazon kit.
A box with two sticks, two gloves, and a puck. Delivered. Easy to buy. Could someone make it work?
Use printed sticks and a snap-fit puck, then skip glove assembly with bulk impact gloves. Start with small orders at $10 per playing-hand glove. The optional bulk model assumes $3 per set of 2 gloves and a $300 purchase of 100 sets, if suitable hands and sizes can be sourced. That Alibaba allowance is unverified—not a quote or confirmed supply of these branded gloves.
Shopify Basic · $39 per month
The model includes US$39/month for Shopify Basic, paid monthly, plus 2.9% + $0.30 per standard US online card payment through Shopify Payments. Hosting and SSL are included; domains, paid apps and international-card fees are extra. Shopify pricing ↗
You could avoid the Shopify subscription by building your own website with AI and connecting a payment provider. I built this whole website with AI. You still need hosting, a domain, checkout and maintenance, and payment-processing fees still apply. This calculator uses Shopify’s costs for the website option.
Customer interest Illustrative price signal—not measured customer demand.
ONGOING MONTHLY PROFIT
FIRST MONTH · AFTER PRINTER PURCHASE
Where each sale goes.
STARTUP COSTS
Start with a small batch.
Start small: stock 10 kits, then print and buy materials as orders arrive. Opening inventory is working capital; its cost is already included per kit when sold, so it is not deducted twice from profit.
The website option includes Shopify Basic · $39/month, plus processing fees.
Keep assembly nearly zero. Puck assembly takes a few seconds and isn’t charged here. The target stick should print without 3D-printed supports. Printer-operation expense is optional; packing time, customer service, returns, failed prints, tooling, insurance, and income tax are not included. This is a starting operating model, not guaranteed take-home profit.
Package the weight properly. Budget $3 for a strong 12 × 5 × 3½-inch corrugated box and cushioning, with a packed shipping weight of 5 lb. A small 3D-printed exoskeleton or cradle could restrain the puck so it doesn’t bang around or punch out of the box; its filament and print time would be additional. Treat that as an allowance and validate the packed product with shipping/drop tests. For self-shipping, $10 per order is a planning allowance. With FBA, Amazon handles customer delivery, but charges you a fulfillment fee; sending stock to Amazon and storage cost extra. The model replaces self-shipping with FBA allowances, rather than counting both.
A better core changes the product. Roughly 2½ inches in diameter × 1 inch thick in stainless steel is a promising target for a smaller, lighter puck—not a tested specification. Its calculated core mass is roughly 0.64 kg before the casing. It should be easier for children to handle than a 3-inch lead core, but needs testing. The current snap-fit design does not seal lead away from water. I’d develop a stainless version before selling to consumers, with sliders fastened directly to the core for a more consistent flick. A 3D-printed exterior can still work well.
Could the sticks be cast? Casting could improve finish and reduce machine time, but adds mould-making and hands-on production. It deserves a separate cost model.
Volume helps freight, not a negative margin. The bulk lead allowance needs a real freight quote; postage won’t necessarily stay flat for hundreds of heavy cores. The model shows both the profit hurdle and printer hours, so a print farm can assess capacity.
Amazon US fees checked October 31, 2026 ↗ · Choose self-shipping or FBA above. FBA allowances are for a large-standard-size, non-apparel US package; exact fees vary with price, season, measured size/weight and inventory. Check Amazon’s Revenue Calculator ↗. Independent payment fee reference ↗. Customer sales tax is passed through, not seller profit. Shopify Basic is included when the website option is selected. Advertising, domains, paid apps, international card surcharges and other overhead are extra.
Make it real. We’ll help people find it.
We’re motivated to make an affordable kit happen and would love to talk about whether your idea is feasible. We may share work that fits Play UWH, but we review what we post—we won’t publish everything or create free marketing content for you. Bring quality photos, videos and a product story you’ve made; if it’s a good fit, let’s help people find it.
Talk About the Kit ↗It’s a bad business idea.But it builds the sport.
I don’t expect great margins or a great return on the money and work involved. I see this as a service to the sport. My impression is that many people selling underwater hockey gear aren’t getting rich—they do it because they love the game. An affordable kit is another way to help the sport grow.
In ten years, a twelve-year-old discovering hockey in a backyard pool could be a twenty-two-year-old starting a club. An affordable kit people can buy today could help create more players, coaches, and community leaders tomorrow.
Help make the next version better.
01 / THE STICKPrint it. Play it.
An excellent stick designed for everyday 3D printers, with great handling and no 3D-printed supports. Help make a beginner’s first stick a great one.
02 / THE PUCKA better flick.
A stainless steel core with sliders fastened to the core for reliable flicking. A 3D-printed exterior can still work beautifully around it.
Please keep improvements open and derivative files free. Charging for printing, materials, and assembly is different—physical work deserves to be paid for.
COMMUNITY NOTES
What would make your first kit better?
Share your build, a better material, a supplier, or an idea for making the kit easier to start. Your name, country, and comment will be public. No account needed.
More free files.
More possibilities.
Browse the community library ↗