# Wrist/hand protection. Level Switch?



## kriegs13 (Nov 28, 2016)

Hi everyone! 

I hurt my hand again on my first trip out this week and have decided that I'm tired of it and going for wrist/hand protection. While i have fractured my wrist 3 different times doing other activities, this injury was actually to my palm basically on the underside of my middle finger knuckle. After reading all over I have narrowed it down to the Demon wrist guards or Level gloves with Biomex leaning towards the biomex as I wouldn't need to get new gloves as well. Here is where my questions come in:

-It doesn't look like the protection goes up as high on the palm as where the injury is and I haven't found anywhere to try a pair on. Can anyone who has them chime in and let me know if there is any palm protection from basic falls that it provides? Or should I be thinking more about the Demon flex meters for that?

-I really really prefer the profile and style of the Level "Switch" which is geared towards free skiing and looks to have even less up the hand protection. Anyone use these for snowboarding or is it just not enough coverage?

Any other thoughts or things I haven't considered are more than welcome. Thank you!


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

nothing out there will stop you from jamming your fingers. Or even frome hurting your wrists if you fall wrong or hard enough. 

1st,.. Teach yourself to stop putting your palms out when you fall. Fists is what you want. 2nd. Google or search here for proper falling technique. 


That said,.. I have the biomex gloves. They are reasonabely comfortable and provide decent protection. I got them after several sprained wrists. Since getting them,.. I haven't had a fall that would cause another. (...or can't remember one! I'm old!) :laugh: So I can't say for certain what level of protection you'll get. 

Either way... Best bet is to learn not to fall,.. Or how to fall safely. :grin:


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## kriegs13 (Nov 28, 2016)

chomps1211 said:


> nothing out there will stop you from jamming your fingers. Or even frome hurting your wrists if you fall wrong or hard enough.
> 
> 1st,.. Teach yourself to stop putting your palms out when you fall. Fists is what you want. 2nd. Google or search here for proper falling technique.
> 
> ...



Ah sorry, I should have mentioned that I do know how to fall properly and don't generally fall that often when riding groomers and not trying anything crazy/new. In this case, I hit a black on my last run (go figure) and due to the guns blowing full blast I was not aware of the moguls at the base and went flying. Reaction was too slow and i had the fun kind of fall.

This isn't even a jammed finger, its more of a hard impact on the palm. Which Level gloves do you use? in a perfect world, the "Switch" gloves would be sufficient but I'm not sure if the sacrifice of real estate for the ski poles would make them ineffective for riding. 

Either way, thank you for your input!


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## corneilli (Nov 26, 2012)

I don't know either of the two you suggested but maybe I can help you a little with my experience with the RED Wrist Guards.

First off, I never broke anything in my life except for pulverising the cartilage in my knee. Reason I'm saying this is because I'm not sure if the wrist guards protect me or if I just have really strong bones. I made a few nasty falls on my wrists while wearing them and never broke them. Although I heard wrist protectors only move the fracture to your front arm as that fracture would be 'cleaner' than a wrist fracture, again I'm not sure on this maybe someone with more knowledge can correct me.

For the comfort of the wrist guards, you can wear them under your gloves. Although I have to admit they start hurting a little bit between your thumb and index finger after 3 hours of solid boarding. But take them off at lunch for half an hour and you're good to go for the rest of the day.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

Mine are 6 y/o Level Fly's I believe. -edit- I have the mittens btw. Never could stay warm with gloves. Biomex is the same regardless. 

Sounds like you had an unusual fall. The palm protection is decent. It covers the area most likely to be impacted. Like I said tho... No such thing as perfect protection. As for comfort... I tried other wrist protectors out. But they started to bug me right away. The biomex is designed as part of the glove and is far more comfortable than separate protectors you wear with whatever gloves ya got. 

Speaking only for myself... They're worth the money. Also,.. If you keep them dry between outings they are durable as hell. Im just now replacing my forst pair cuz they have small wear patches in the palm coating. Took 5 years to wear thru. (....still usable, just not as watertight. !)


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

kriegs13 said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> I hurt my hand again on my first trip out this week and have decided that I'm tired of it and going for wrist/hand protection. While i have fractured my wrist 3 different times doing other activities, this injury was actually to my palm basically on the underside of my middle finger knuckle. After reading all over I have narrowed it down to the Demon wrist guards or Level gloves with Biomex leaning towards the biomex as I wouldn't need to get new gloves as well. Here is where my questions come in:
> 
> ...




level-super-pipe-pro.html almost 4 seasons deep, love th4m. You do look a bit like The Hulk  but they armor your hands.


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## dave785 (Jan 21, 2016)

kriegs13 said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> I hurt my hand again on my first trip out this week and have decided that I'm tired of it and going for wrist/hand protection. While i have fractured my wrist 3 different times doing other activities, this injury was actually to my palm basically on the underside of my middle finger knuckle. After reading all over I have narrowed it down to the Demon wrist guards or Level gloves with Biomex leaning towards the biomex as I wouldn't need to get new gloves as well. Here is where my questions come in:
> 
> ...


The ski stuff doesn't have the biomex AFAIK.

The biomex protection goes up and covers the bottom portion of your palm. basically the whole thumb muscle thingy, but it doesn't cover the area on the flip side of your knuckles.

I have a hard time imagining how you'd hurt your palm though. you'd have to either jam your fingers or do something similar in order to hit your palm.


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

The palm has Kevlar on it and the back hard rubber over the knuckles.


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

I wear the Level gloves (half pipe or something) for about 3 years now and it saved me few times where i have to put my hand down for whatever i'm doing and hit something, ie suddenly boards slips out from under you and instinctively put your hand down on uneven surface and have your hand hit a small rock. It may be a bit pricey but it is worth it.


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## SnowDragon (Apr 23, 2012)

I've used the Flex Meters for years.
Unquestionably the best protection out there for hand/wrist.
You can get them in the double-sided version if you want serious protection for both sides of your hand/wrist. Single-sided is available for those who don't want the impact protection on the palm side.
They are available as just the guards (which allow you to use your own gloves over them) or built in to gloves, so you have a choice as to how you want to go.

They can feel very "armour" like though, FYI. You will definitely know you are wearing serious protection on your hands, but you get used to it after a while.


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## kriegs13 (Nov 28, 2016)

dave785 said:


> The ski stuff doesn't have the biomex AFAIK.
> 
> The biomex protection goes up and covers the bottom portion of your palm. basically the whole thumb muscle thingy, but it doesn't cover the area on the flip side of your knuckles.
> 
> I have a hard time imagining how you'd hurt your palm though. you'd have to either jam your fingers or do something similar in order to hit your palm.


They have a newer glove called the "Switch" its designed for freestyle skiing with a protector that doesn't go up the palm as far so that a pole can be held. I mainly like them because they have the profile of pipe gloves which I tend to prefer as I run hot. But I don't know how protective they would actually be. Mainly trying to see if any boarders have tried them out.

And the palm injury this time was definitely a weird one. When I do happen to fall, I usually have no issue with falling properly but I had a perfect storm of snow guns blowing hard and surprise moguls and just didn't react in time to this situation. Now I'm just kinda moving with the mindset that I might as well protect it all if I'm shelling out the cash.



GreyDragon said:


> I've used the Flex Meters for years.
> Unquestionably the best protection out there for hand/wrist.
> You can get them in the double-sided version if you want serious protection for both sides of your hand/wrist. Single-sided is available for those who don't want the impact protection on the palm side.
> They are available as just the guards (which allow you to use your own gloves over them) or built in to gloves, so you have a choice as to how you want to go.
> ...


Thank you for the input on this. Since yesterday I think I may be leaning back towards the double sided flex meter with the slide block removed. If my hands are going to look like a cartoon, I might as well get the most out of it. As for an over glove, I've heard the gloves/mitts they have aren't all that great. Best suggestion Ive seen is the dakine Titan mitt which my brother has and they're nice but I kind of worry about them being TOO warm.


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## SnowDragon (Apr 23, 2012)

kriegs13 said:


> They have a newer glove called the "Switch" its designed for freestyle skiing with a protector that doesn't go up the palm as far so that a pole can be held. I mainly like them because they have the profile of pipe gloves which I tend to prefer as I run hot. But I don't know how protective they would actually be. Mainly trying to see if any boarders have tried them out.
> 
> And the palm injury this time was definitely a weird one. When I do happen to fall, I usually have no issue with falling properly but I had a perfect storm of snow guns blowing hard and surprise moguls and just didn't react in time to this situation. Now I'm just kinda moving with the mindset that I might as well protect it all if I'm shelling out the cash.
> 
> ...


Yah, don't buy their over gloves/mittens. Weak.
And yes, I wear Dakine gloves or mittens (depending on how cold it is on the mountain) over the guards.
I found ones with gore tex at a good price.


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