Wrist Guards for snowboarding?Yay or nay

c montgomery

Hey everyone.

Just looking for some advice on the above. I have ass pads, knee pads and im going to get elbow pads for this year as when i fall hard its usually on these areas.
I have not however planned on getting wrist guards, should i get them and are they any good?

All replies appreciated

Cheers:rolleyes:

ShayK1

I'm not a fan. There is a theory out there that if you have wrist guards on and you have a bad fall, the break will just occur further up the arm.

c montgomery

ShayK1 wrote: »

I'm not a fan. There is a theory out there that if you have wrist guards on and you have a bad fall, the break will just occur further up the arm.

Ya i heard that too, never heard it from anyone who actually broke anything as a result of wearing them tho. Ill have to email mythbusters to get to the bottom of this i think:cool:

Overflow

c montgomery wrote: »

Hey everyone.

Just looking for some advice on the above. I have ass pads, knee pads and im going to get elbow pads for this year as when i fall hard its usually on these areas.
I have not however planned on getting wrist guards, should i get them and are they any good?

All replies appreciated

Cheers:rolleyes:

Thats a lot of protection, seems a bit over the top, are you a beginner?. To me that much gear would seem like it would restrict my movement. I just stick with a helmet and my impact waist coat.

c montgomery

Overflow wrote: »

Thats a lot of protection, seems a bit over the top, are you a beginner?. To me that much gear would seem like it would restrict my movement. I just stick with a helmet and my impact waist coat.

Ive been twice before, not exactly a beginner but not very experenced either. I try and push it a bit so take alot of falls therefore i wanna be as protected as possible.

phili_g

I would always wear them, this year I've bought new gloves with in built wrist protectors (Level Fly Biomex)

Mate of mine always preached that you should wear them, he once decided not to bother on his 7th or 8th trip snowboarding and broke his wrist on a fall on his first day

davmol

Overflow wrote: »

Thats a lot of protection, seems a bit over the top, are you a beginner?. To me that much gear would seem like it would restrict my movement. I just stick with a helmet and my impact waist coat.

Minus the wrist guards i wear everything mentioned and have gotten myself out of sticky situations cos of them.Im fairly experienced and would be in the parks doing freestyle but ive seen so many little falls that have turned into torn ligaments and fractures bones.The armoured pants are great for keeping your butt cheeks unbruised and negate the freeze when sitting down alot when your learning.any protection which doesnt greatly inhibit your skiing/boarding is good to have IMO.

Mountain_Surfer

Just back from a week away in Val Thorens and one of the girls was wearing wrist pads (beginner snowboarder) and still managed to break her wrist in 2 places so I guess thats pretty solid evidence that they arent that much use. Because she was a beginner she wouldnt have been trying anything too adventurous either

Denalihighway

Overflow wrote: »

Thats a lot of protection, seems a bit over the top, are you a beginner?. To me that much gear would seem like it would restrict my movement. I just stick with a helmet and my impact waist coat.

Excuse my ignorance but I'm assuming an impact waist coat is exactly what it says - it protects your back and chest/shoulders or what?

I'm particularly interested in getting protection gear too and like other posters I'm picking through the many and varied viewpoints on the many and varied protections!

Like many I'd like to have enough to minimise aches and pains towards the end of the week but not so much as it restricts me too much. I'm one step up from a beginner (having taught myself in Boston and then snowboarded for the rest of the day).

I would have thought the 'extremities' (knees, elbows etc) would be more paramount for beginners/intermediates?

Then again...I dont know what I'm talking about...

c montgomery

Denalihighway wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance but I'm assuming an impact waist coat is exactly what it says - it protects your back and chest/shoulders or what?

I'm particularly interested in getting protection gear too and like other posters I'm picking through the many and varied viewpoints on the many and varied protections!

Like many I'd like to have enough to minimise aches and pains towards the end of the week but not so much as it restricts me too much. I'm one step up from a beginner (having taught myself in Boston and then snowboarded for the rest of the day).

I would have thought the 'extremities' (knees, elbows etc) would be more paramount for beginners/intermediates?

Then again...I dont know what I'm talking about...

Im at about the same level as you i would say. All in all ive been snowboarding for about 10 days. On my second say i got the ass pads as it was getting so soar that the fear of falling on my ass/hips was preventing me from doing anything adventerous.
As i got better and faster i started taking bigger hits (mostly on my knees and elbows). Five days in i got the knee pads and from then on confidence was sky high as most falls did not hurt at all. Elbows would ache a little at the end of each day alright so this year i have bought elbow pads.
None of this padding reduced my mobility when snowboarding but greatly increased confidence which is what you need if ya wanna progress.

ShayK1

Denalihighway wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance but I'm assuming an impact waist coat is exactly what it says - it protects your back and chest/shoulders or what?

I don't know about Overflow but my body protector has spine, kidney and colarbone protection. The sleeves have elbow and shoulder which I presume Overflows waistcoat doesn't as a waistcoat doesn't have sleeves.

FYI, ,I wear last season's version of this:
http://www.irishsnowboards.com/catalog/images/ds1650_flexforce_men_front.jpg

davmol

ShayK1 wrote: »

I don't know about Overflow but my body protector has spine, kidney and colarbone protection. The sleeves have elbow and shoulder which I presume Overflows waistcoat doesn't as a waistcoat doesn't have sleeves.

FYI, ,I wear last season's version of this:
http://www.irishsnowboards.com/catalog/images/ds1650_flexforce_men_front.jpg

Thats the one i Have ,cant speak highly enough of it.

Don1

As for wrist guards there's two different distinct types. Short guards that come from just behind the knuckles to just past where a watch would be and long guards that go almost halfway up your forearm.

From what I've read online the short guards can transfer the impact force to sinlge point on your forearm, where the guard stops, and can break the arm instead.

As for the long guard it transfers the force over a wider area, thus spreading the impact and avoiding any break, in theory.

From this I'd say its long guards, nothing, then short ones. That's just my interpretation, so please, do your own research and make your own decisions before holding me liable!!!!

Incidentally, I wear none and fall on elbows first, which takes a bit of practice.

Denalihighway

ShayK1 wrote: »

I don't know about Overflow but my body protector has spine, kidney and colarbone protection. The sleeves have elbow and shoulder which I presume Overflows waistcoat doesn't as a waistcoat doesn't have sleeves.

FYI, ,I wear last season's version of this:
http://www.irishsnowboards.com/catalog/images/ds1650_flexforce_men_front.jpg

nice one - some good deals there, I'd been on the website before but hadn't noticed the prices for some reason.

I'm assuming if you wear a top like that there's no need for other clothing underneath your hard-shell jacket or whatever? seems a good option.

Apart from it stinking up the hotel room towards the end of the week

ShayK1

Denalihighway wrote: »

nice one - some good deals there, I'd been on the website before but hadn't noticed the prices for some reason.

I'm assuming if you wear a top like that there's no need for other clothing underneath your hard-shell jacket or whatever? seems a good option.

Apart from it stinking up the hotel room towards the end of the week

I stick a base layer under it but that's a personal choice.

dario28

ShayK1 wrote: »

I'm not a fan. There is a theory out there that if you have wrist guards on and you have a bad fall, the break will just occur further up the arm.

Potentially that might happen, but you have fractures and sprains which could be avoided... if you read this I dont see why anyone wouldnt wear wrist guards they cost anout 20 euros

http://www.ski-injury.com/specific-sports/snowboard-injuries

Had them since day 1 and never plan to not use them

FruitLover

I've been boarding the best part of a decade and I always wear gloves with wrist guards built in and usually a tailbone protector (particularly if I know I'll be hitting the park).

Mountain_Surfer wrote: »

one of the girls was wearing wrist pads (beginner snowboarder) and still managed to break her wrist in 2 places so I guess thats pretty solid evidence that they arent that much use

You seem to be missing the fact that wrist guards can only protect in one direction (falling flat on the palm, the most common and natural way to fall on the hands). Evidently this girl either landed hard, or landed on the sides of her wrists.

c montgomery

So i came back from a weeks snowboarding in Livigno last saturday. Had a great time all week and no real falls to speak of, until the last day that is.

After a week of good boarding i felt invincible and on my last run of the holiday on a steep red slope which has turned a bit icey as the sun had not shined on the slope for about 2 hours i decided to go flat out.
I have never gone as fast on a snowboard and was loving the speed and exhileration and then.............i dont know why i fell but i did, and boy did i fall hard.
I ride goofy and as i was turning back left the board went from me and i went up the air. Doing a 180 in the air my ass landed first, my head was then slingshotted and that was next to hit the snow with my eyes looking back up the slope.
If not for my helmet i would have been unconsious i feel. I lay there for over a minute before i could summon the energy to move. When i did i realised my wrist must have taken some of the impact as i could not put pressure on it to get up.
The ass pad saved my ass and the helmet saved my head but there was nothing there to protect my wrist. I did not break it but for the next few days it was very soar and if it had not been my last day at the resort i would not have been able to hit the slopes for a few days.
Im off to livigno again in 2 weeks and i have just bought wrist pads and will never snowboard withouit them again. I would advise everyone to get them and learn from my mistake, i only wished i had listened to someone before i went.

I dont know

Can anyone recommend a good pair of wrist guards? or are they all much the same?
I broke my wrist a few months ago (its not fully healed yet) and i'm heading snowboarding on 29th jan, so i think i should definitely get myself a pair

olaola

dario28 wrote: »

Potentially that might happen, but you have fractures and sprains which could be avoided... if you read this I dont see why anyone wouldnt wear wrist guards they cost anout 20 euros

http://www.ski-injury.com/specific-sports/snowboard-injuries

Had them since day 1 and never plan to not use them

The injury caused by using wrist guards is a broken collar bone.

JoeSexton

Wrist guards are great, especially for beginners or people getting into freestyle stuff. Don't mind all this nonsense about them causing you to break your arm either, total rubbish.
Anything that makes you more comfortable/safer on the mountain is good IMO.

Burkatron

ShayK1 wrote: »

I don't know about Overflow but my body protector has spine, kidney and colarbone protection. The sleeves have elbow and shoulder which I presume Overflows waistcoat doesn't as a waistcoat doesn't have sleeves.

FYI, ,I wear last season's version of this:
http://www.irishsnowboards.com/catalog/images/ds1650_flexforce_men_front.jpg

Just got this From Santa along with the ass pads!! Im off to throw myself down a hill!!

edmund_f

This is the wrist guard i wear
http://www.wrist-guard.com/snowboard-protection-products.html
I did have the shorter style one, took a fall and was badly bruised just where the shorter wrist guard ended. These are a bit cumbersome, but have taken some bad falls on them and from my experience work well..

derv

i'm looking to buy a set of knee pads myself, and possibly a pair of impact shorts.

where's the best (cheapest) place to buy?

how much would i need to spend on a decent pair of kneepads?
i don't wanna get crap ones that'll be slipping off etc and i'll end up leaving them in my rucksack.

what ones do you guys/girls use? and are they good?

cheers