# Wrist Guard Gloves/ Riding with Wrist Guards



## Guest

So, I have been meaning to start riding with wrist guards but it's too late now. I fractured my wrist in 4 places last week and had to have 2 screws put in. Season over basically. bummer of the year. I live and work on the mountain, so it's pure torture not being able to ride. I am thankful for the 40-some days I got in so far, but it looks like that might be it. If I am extremely careful, I might be able to sneak out for some spring riding if I wear a wrist guard and take it VERY easy (don't tell the dr). 

Anyway, I'm looking for opinions on the gloves with built-in wrist guards. I think Dakine makes some. How much protection do they really offer? Would I be better off wearing something from the Dr., or a more protective piece? Anyone ride with wrist guards? How bad does it suck? Etc. Etc... 

thanks for any and all help. I just want to get back out there asap!!!


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## MunkySpunk

Burton Support Glove/Mitt, Burton Impact Glove. No impressions, just what I know is out there.


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## Guest

thanks... I'll check those out. 

On a side note. I heard a story that riding with wrist guards can lead to broken arms. Anyone else ever heard that?


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## Technine Icon

Yeah Dakine makes the built in ones and they aren't that bad. Sure they aren't as comfortable as regular gloves but it pays off when u fall hard on your wrist. I haven't heard about them leading to broken arms, where'd u hear that from.


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## v-verb

h2o119906 said:


> thanks... I'll check those out.
> 
> On a side note. I heard a story that riding with wrist guards can lead to broken arms. Anyone else ever heard that?



Haven't heard about that. I started boarding during Christmas break this year and have had quite a few entertaining falls. I've been wearing wrist guards over my gloves and without the guards would have smashed my wrists a number of times. Haven't hurt my arms at all

Sorry about your wrists - hope you heal quicker than anticipated.


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## Guest

Hi

I have worn the burton gloves with the built in wrist guards and they seemed to work just fine. I now wear separate wrist guards underneath my gloves. I like it better because you can still choose which gloves you want. As far as inconvenience its not to bad, for the times when it is annoying which is not very often, it makes up for itself when you hit real hard and feel the braces work


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## chino075

I wear these and they make better sense of having at the palm of the hands rather than at the top of the wrist.

Level Gloves: great selection of Level snowboard gloves with BioMex wrist guards.


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## Guest

thanks for all the quick responses. Fu*k I wish I had been more proactive and been wearing them 2 weeks ago! Better late than never I guess. The Burton gloves seem to have gotten pretty bad reviews as far as warmth goes, so I will have to look into the Dakine ones and the ones Chino suggested. Thanks again. Ride safe!


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## Guest

Dude - you are soooo busted! Get back to work! ;-)

Looks like you're typing just fine with your broken wrist and I'm sick of this early morning s**t. Oh yeah ... and this wrist guard thing ... if you're even *thinking* about busting yourself up again this season, you better just think again!!


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## crazykid

I have the Dakine ones that i wear under my gloves, they seem to fit well with almost any glove ive worn.

Ive taken some hard falls on my wrist, and have had broken wrist in the past and no issues. 

My gf is learning this year and its the first thing i made her buy, them and a helment... but she blew her knee out instead getting off the lift... LOL.

I think wrist gaurds are a good idea.


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## Suburban Blend

Here is where you can get some Dakine Wrist Guards:


The over the glove guards are great if you ride with pipe gloves. Otherwise the Nova Glove with Wrist Guard is perfect as a winter glove that's warm.


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## MunkySpunk

Agreed to a certain extent. I hardly see a thousand injured wrists for every head blow on the mountain, but I see your point. 

Weigh the consequences of each type of injury. A wrist injury has the potential to ruin your season, a head injury has the potential to ruin your life. I'd rather take my chances with a wrist impact sans guard than a head impact sans helmet. And unless you've taken a blow to the head without a helmet recently, I'd wager you'd make the same choice as me. :laugh:

And my accident prone wife wears wrist guards (Burton support), in addition to her helmet. I wore wrist guards until I developed the presence of mind to stop throwing my hands out when I fell. :cheeky4:


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## Guest

BonDawg said:


> Dude - you are soooo busted! Get back to work! ;-)
> 
> Looks like you're typing just fine with your broken wrist and I'm sick of this early morning s**t. Oh yeah ... and this wrist guard thing ... if you're even *thinking* about busting yourself up again this season, you better just think again!!


WTF?! 

what are you doing on the knuckle dragger forum?


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## Swiftmac

I have been wearing a pair of gloves(forget the name) with wrist guards in them. I wont snowboard without them since I broke my wrist a few years ago and just knowing that they are there in case lets me ride harder than I would be able to without them. I guess its more a piece of mind thing for me. However they do work pretty well and are not that uncomfortable.


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## Guest

h2o119906 said:


> WTF?!
> 
> what are you doing on the knuckle dragger forum?


After all these weeks, you haven't figured out that I am all-knowing and all-seeing?


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## Guest

BonDawg said:


> After all these weeks, you haven't figured out that I am all-knowing and all-seeing?


I am officially mind fu*ked for the day! thanks. haha. wow.


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## $ickZ06

I wear dakine wrist guards underneath my gloves. I started wearing them after I watched my friend break his wrist last year.


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## Guest

h2o119906 said:


> I am officially mind fu*ked for the day! thanks. haha. wow.


Mission Accomplished!


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## Guest

I wear wrist guards also, they're more than worth it. I know a few people who decided they were too good for wrist guards, wiped out and broke their wrists. Bye-bye season pass.

Good luck healing!


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## Guest

I second Chino's recommendation of the Level's. I have the women's version "Level Butterfly" - the men's is "Level Fly" I believe. In addition to providing wrist protection they are seriously the warmest gloves ever. They have a steam hole on the back and even still my hands are verging on hot on even the coldest days. Fortunately the liner comes out for drying each night.

I fully sympathize with you. My friend came out with me the other day and unfortunately for her, dismissed my dire warnings about helmets and wristguards. She was in a lesson and when I went to catch up with her I had to track her down at Ski Patrol. Two full days in two separate hospitals later she also has several pins in her wrist and is out of commission. The tragic part is she actually listened to me enough to bring her rollerblading wristguards up but chose not to wear them.

Mel


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## levous

In preparation for my wife's first snowboarding experience, we spared no expense in outfitting both of us with the latest safety gear available. We purchased Demon d30 butt pads, new helmets and the Dakine wrist guard gloves. We hired a personal instructor for 10 hours over two days. Obviously, this was incredibly expensive but my hope was for many family boarding trips in our future. Unfortunately, on the second day, my wife fractured her radius near the wrist. She'll require surgery to repair it and will be in a cast for 6-8 weeks. It will heal but it sucks. 

The question is: Would her wrist have broken without the gloves? Did the gloves help at all? I'm not sure but I don't think so. She got going too fast and fell on her back-side, putting her hands behind her to break the fall, breaking her arm instead. The salesperson at our local ski shop told us he has heard that wrist braces move the force up the arm and cause the break to occur further up the arm. My wife's fracture is inside the area where the gloves provide reinforcement. It does not appear to be a flex over the end of the brace. Perhaps the impact was just too great for her bones and it was gonna break somewhere, regardless of the gear. Is it better to break the larger bones or the smaller, more intricate bones of the wrist? I am not an orthopedist so I can't comment on that. It is a typical wrist injury but hers is particularly bad. It splintered and will require a plate to repair. The prognosis is good for a full recovery but the loss of income will be lasting. She doesn't plan to board again, ever. She is no sissy, its just impractical to risk our livelihood so that she can slip fast on snow. She'll enjoy spa days should we take such trips but until my daughter is old enough, it's likely going to be boys vacation from now on.

I am posting here in hopes to share the wisdom that she and I earned the hard way. *Stop when you are tired*! If its your first time, board the first day with an instructor. Then take no more than 1 or 2 short runs on day 2. Then try again, after resting, on day 3. I advised her to take the second day off but who listens to their spouse? She's definitely a type-A personality and suggesting she not continue to work hard is heresy. I would now insist but its too late for that. She even *felt it after lunch that day, she hit a brick wall and wanted a nap*. Oh how I wish we could turn back the clock and listen to that inner voice. So *will you please listen to your inner voice*? *If you don't feel like riding, if its more work than fun, go get a massage or hit the hot tub. Have a drink and enjoy yourself, off the slopes. *

Second, I failed to show her what someone showed me. I showed my son when he started and reinforced when he wanted to hit the jumps on our last day. *Clip into your board, place your hands out in front of you. sit. Don't let your arms do ANYTHING. Just sit. Then stand up. Do it again. Sit. Do that 10 times. Convince yourself that you can transition from standing to on your backside without pain.* Make sure you get comfortable with that experience. You will spend alot of time on your trunk while you are learning. That's ok! You won't break your tailbone if you aren't doing something crazy. It also helps to learn to roll. Learn how to create a rounded surface with your body. The best training for this is Akita karate [1]. If there is an Akita dojo in your area, take the introductory class. The first week of Akita is literally just falling, safely, continuously. Its amazing how hard you can fall on a hard surface and just roll with it. Its a life skill you'll always carry and one you may be very grateful you took the time to learn one day. When I tried Akita, I thought, "this is stupid and boring," and I stopped going after three days. Little did I know how much I actually learned. Highly recommended :thumbsup:

I will testify that the butt pads are nice. They aren't the most comfortable things in the world but you forget they are there and your jacket will cover the lumpy rump. Its so nice to have zero pain after several fast falls over the vacation (..but I did not put my hands down). In other words, I think padded shorts will do more to save your wrists than braced gloves. 

Finally, don't try to use your forearms or your elbows to skillfully distribute the impact over your arms. That's crazy talk! There is no way you can predict the surface of the hill at speed. Just learn use your momentum to deflect the impact and change it from blunt trauma to rolling and tumbling. 

To recap:
- Don't board if you are tired
- Learn to fall 
- Practice falling/sitting without putting your hands down
- Avoid sore peaches with padded shorts


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## BigmountainVMD

As to the broken arm comments... based on how you fall, some wrist guards will transfer the energy to your arm and if it is strong enough, it will break.

It's the same as helmets. They will help and often will save, but slam your helmeted head in to a tree at 50 mph and it will not do shit, except save you from a laceration or two. Drop a cliff on to your wrist and your wrist may survive... but your arm will absorb the impact and break.


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## wrathfuldeity

vibes to the wife,
The priority ought to be on learning how to fall. I think it is a fail that learning how to fall is not more emphasized. And there are different types of falls and recovery for different kinds of situations.


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## corneilli

I use some protection from RED under my glove, I'm pretty sure it already saved my wrists a couple of times


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## m0rph3us

corneilli said:


> I use some protection from RED under my glove, I'm pretty sure it already saved my wrists a couple of times


Yeah, I have the RED wristguards too and wear them under my gloves. They seem to fit fine under gloves and they also seem to offer a lot more protection than the Dakine gloves with built-in wristguards. They've definitely saved me from at least one broken wrist.


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## scottb7

I have used these for 4 years and like them lots. 

Triple Eight Undercover Snow Wrist Guards

My wife and son wear this one and i think it is good too..

http://www.xsportsprotective.com/triple-eight-wristsavers-2.html


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## Donutz

I think that a wrist is easier to break than a forearm, so if the wrist guard transfers enough energy to break an arm, your wrist would have been toast anyway.

As BigMountain and others have pointed out, protective equipment isn't always enough, but it's hard to think of a case where it makes things _worse_.


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## StrattonRider

h2o119906 said:


> So, I have been meaning to start riding with wrist guards but it's too late now. I fractured my wrist in 4 places last week and had to have 2 screws put in. Season over basically. bummer of the year. I live and work on the mountain, so it's pure torture not being able to ride. I am thankful for the 40-some days I got in so far, but it looks like that might be it. If I am extremely careful, I might be able to sneak out for some spring riding if I wear a wrist guard and take it VERY easy (don't tell the dr).
> 
> Anyway, I'm looking for opinions on the gloves with built-in wrist guards. I think Dakine makes some. How much protection do they really offer? Would I be better off wearing something from the Dr., or a more protective piece? Anyone ride with wrist guards? How bad does it suck? Etc. Etc...
> 
> thanks for any and all help. I just want to get back out there asap!!!


i have the dakine wristguard gloves and i hate them. It "restricts" your wrist from moving down but nothing stops it from moving going up like when you put your hands out to catch yourself.


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## grafta

I think that now levous has told his story and successfully necro'd this thread, he won't even be back.

Oh well, plenty of discussion left in this well flogged horse :thumbsup:


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## m0rph3us

StrattonRider said:


> i have the dakine wristguard gloves and i hate them. It "restricts" your wrist from moving down but nothing stops it from moving going up like when you put your hands out to catch yourself.


Yeah, I remember trying them on and thinking the design was pretty screwed for exactly that reason. If you put your hands out to catch yourself and your wrist flexes up (99% of falls!!) they offer absolutely no protection.


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## KIRKRIDER

h2o119906 said:


> So, I have been meaning to start riding with wrist guards but it's too late now. I fractured my wrist in 4 places last week and had to have 2 screws put in. Season over basically. bummer of the year. I live and work on the mountain, so it's pure torture not being able to ride. I am thankful for the 40-some days I got in so far, but it looks like that might be it. If I am extremely careful, I might be able to sneak out for some spring riding if I wear a wrist guard and take it VERY easy (don't tell the dr).
> 
> Anyway, I'm looking for opinions on the gloves with built-in wrist guards. I think Dakine makes some. How much protection do they really offer? Would I be better off wearing something from the Dr., or a more protective piece? Anyone ride with wrist guards? How bad does it suck? Etc. Etc...
> 
> thanks for any and all help. I just want to get back out there asap!!!


Level SuperPipe Pro, protective gloves. Not the warmest...but really protective.

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/general-equipment-reviews/33022-gloves-level-super-pipe-pro.html


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## aiidoneus

crazykid said:


> I have the Dakine ones that i wear under my gloves, they seem to fit well with almost any glove ive worn.
> 
> Ive taken some hard falls on my wrist, and have had broken wrist in the past and no issues.
> 
> My gf is learning this year and its the first thing i made her buy, them and a helment... but she blew her knee out instead getting off the lift... LOL.
> 
> I think wrist gaurds are a good idea.


I wear the Dakine ones as well. They fit well, have top and bottom support. Easily fit under my burton gloves.


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## grafta

It's easy to snap the wrist back by wrenching on the fingers end in Level gloves.

I'm over it. Learn to fall not on wrists :thumbsup:


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## phiho420

I've been debating on the flexmeter wrist guards, but man they are pricey!


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## KIRKRIDER

grafta said:


> It's easy to snap the wrist back by wrenching on the fingers end in Level gloves.
> 
> I'm over it. Learn to fall not on wrists :thumbsup:


I don't fall on them anymore either...but the protection on the palm ( Kevlar) and rubber on the back is pretty cool to have in the woods or icy runs.


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## grafta

KIRKRIDER said:


> I don't fall on them anymore either...but the protection on the palm ( Kevlar) and rubber on the back is pretty cool to have in the woods or icy runs.


I'm on the verge of taking the wrist protective parts out of mine. I probably won't, but they'd be more comfortable without them.

Wore pipe gloves for the last couple days and it's great


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## KIRKRIDER

grafta said:


> I'm on the verge of taking the wrist protective parts out of mine. I probably won't, but they'd be more comfortable without them.
> 
> Wore pipe gloves for the last couple days and it's great


I'm positive that the first time I don't wear them, or my ass pad, i will need both...lol. Hm Need to ride....Maybe some fresh here at the end of the week...or it will be A-Frame G tests  I'll set +21 + 18 and just cut Cs in the groomers. But I want pow!


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## grafta

KIRKRIDER said:


> I'm positive that the first time I don't wear them, or my ass pad, i will need both...lol. Hm Need to ride....Maybe some fresh here at the end of the week...or it will be A-Frame G tests  I'll set +21 + 18 and just cut Cs in the groomers. But I want pow!


Haha, yehman. I had to swallow some wrist pain fear when not wearing them, but it was good. Especially riding hard pack. Actually, I thought about my hands less not wearing big gloves. :dunno:

Hell yes for new snow, looking good here for last bit of the week. FINALLY


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## aistis

i was looking at Flexmeter Wrist Guards PLUS and Gloves - package - Alps Gear and level biomex Level Biomex Snowboard Gloves with Wrist Guards - YouTube any ideas which ones better?


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## qc89sc

*flexmeter?*

yes what about the flexmeter?

Flexmeters and Other Snowboard Products to Purchase | Snowboard Secrets

Been snowboarding for 15 years now and fell in a closed piste where there was almost no snow... Many knows this story so a broken wrist im on a plaster for 4-6weeks and stopped from working for 3months... But would like to snowboard(the easy way) while being off work after the plaster is removed (maybe not the best idea but hey im sure you all understand)


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## aistis

This is the best option Flexmeters and Other Snowboard Products to Purchase | Snowboard Secrets


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## qc89sc

*thanks*

thanks thats what i was thinking ill be going this way.


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