You could wear hockey pants but a) they are huge b) you might get odd looks from other skaters and c) the lower end ones offer surprisingly little protection in the rear as they are really designed to provide forward protection from pucks. I fell while wearing entry level hockey shorts during a hockey game, and suffered sever coccyx pain. If you want protection, I'm afraid you have to go to high end such as the Bauer 1s that I now wear for hockey training. A mere £150. And they are huge. For public skating I wear padded shorts intended for snow boarding and film stunts. You want some with a foam that is based round a non Newtonian fluid as it is much more shock absorbent than normal foam. D30 is the original brand, POC is the same idea, G-Form is another but not so protective. Demon d30 padded shorts are good value, I have a pair. I currently use Xion padded boxer shorts, expensive but very high quality. The coccyx padding is first rate, the hip padding less so. I have had days off work after falling without padding, but no injuries at all since buying the Xion shorts. Xion do have other shorts with more hip padding and perhaps when my boxers wear out I'll upgrade, but the build quality is excellent so they will last. If hip padding is essential, then the Demon are much cheaper, but not so well made and rather garish. However, these things are made to be worn under loose trousers. No-one knows I am covered in body armour when public skating. I really do recommend Xion, but I understand they are spendy, and others are cheaper. I do not recommend ForceField body armour, too hard, I end up with bruises from the hard inserts in the knee protectors. And as I've said, avoid shorts with basic foam, it really does not work unless very thick.