Recommendation on wrist guards
 

Ok, though I'm an intermediate rider, I occasionally take some nasty falls. I never got around to learning how to fall properly with my fists clenched and onto my forearm.

I've been wearing the Burton R.E.D. impact wrist guards. They are comfortable, but they don't seem to have any sort of protection running underneath the palm.

I tried the Pro-tec IPS wrist guards which do have protection over the back of the hand and over the palm. This seems to offer more protection, but my main complain is the plastic protection that goes over the palm keeps slipping out of it's pocket. If it slips far enough out, then the protection is compromised, so I returned it to REI.

Recently, I took some hard falls that accumulated and caused me to severely strain my right wrist. Now I'm wondering if I should have stuck with the Pro-tec IPS wrist guards since they seem to offer more protection.

Anyway have a suggestion on some other wrist guards that will offer better protection than the Burton R.E.D. impact wrist guards? Or is it inevitable that I'll end up having some sort of injury no matter which wrist guards I end up with?

Thx,
Tan

I rock Level Superpipes for non-backcountry riding.

Second season and I wish the thumb had leather cap but still holding up alright I guess - no duck tape yet

I have the SPPro but they come apart after 2 seasons (about 50 days) . The plastic spikes are all gone and I closed the holes with glue (looks like crap). The Kevlar is tough...but the water goes trough it, and it should be lower on the fingers where you actually hold the board. They are not really warm, but they do protect you a lot. I will use the inserts in a different glove-shell next season, unless they improved the design drastically.

I thought the spikes were metal? Mine are all there, maybe I don't use the gloves as much...

You are right, GTX XCR whatever, my gloves do get soaked in our PNW rain. Never froze in them, but I do run hot.

I was also thinking that at some point I'll be using the plastic guards in another shell :thumbsup:

It's plastic....some broke and I took the others out (i never liked those spikes). the G-tex holds...but the tip of the fingers and the top, where the rubber meets other fabric, let water in.
They're good if it's a cold crisp day...but if it starts warming up or it's wet snow...not good. I do feel I can plow trough branches with them thou..they are hella tough.

Flexmeters are the best wristguards I've ever used. The gloves are crap, but the standalone single splint wristguard + a high quality glove is my preferred setup. The flexmeters themselves are a bit bulky, so you're pretty likely to have to size up on the glove, but they're very comfortable to wear and provide excellent progressive protection, so they absorb a lot of impact before transferring it anywhere.

I have a pair of level superpipes as well, and they're a really nice glove, but the wrist protection just isn't as good.

Do you have Flexmeters with neoprene on palm side: Flexmeter Single Wrist Guards

Or with flexible plastic: Flexmeter All Season Wrist Guards

Funny that you mentioned Flexmeters. After posting the thread, I ran across some pics of wrist guards. The Flexmeters got my attention and I started looking more into them. The one I am leaning towards is the Flexmeters double-splint. I'm sure the single-splint version probably offers better protection than the Burton R.E.D. impact wrist guards I currently have, but now I'm a bit paranoid about protection and thought the double-splint version may be better for me.

The next concern I have is sizing. On one website, it gave sizing recommendations based on the circumference of your palm, which would set me at a size large. But then I went on the Alps Gear website where the measurement was based on the distance from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger, which would set me at a size medium.

Another concern I have is whether or not I would need to buy a new set of gloves. My current medium Dakine Rover gauntlet gloves are large enough to allow me to use the Pro-tec IPS or Buton R.E.D. wrist guards. The Flexmeters seem a bit more robust & thick, so do I need to purchase a new set of large Dakine Rover gloves?

Thx,
Tan

I have both. The all season ones with the double splint are a bit overkill for snow, in my opinion, although if you're looking for overkill, these are the guards to get. They're much more rigid, come pretty close to immobilizing your wrist altogether, and are quite bulky. They are, however, much better if you intend on using them without gloves at all, the hard plastic plate on the bottom side is extremely rigid, and is great for striking pavement or rails without damaging anything.

The single splint wristguards are much easier to fit under a glove, and allow for a greater range of motion so they don't interfere with ratcheting down bindings or anything.


If you wear a medium glove, I find it pretty unlikely that you'd need a large in the flexmeters.

The biggest challenge with glove sizing is getting your upper palm section through the wrist of the glove, so if your gloves have any sort of adjustable wrist (velcro, draw cord, etc...) you'll probably be fine. Otherwise if it's already pretty tight in the wrist, you'll most likely have to size up in your gloves, especially if you're looking to get the double splint wristguard.

Thanks for review! Irahi, when you remove that small triangular shaped thing of the All Season ones, is there still some hard material to protect the palm or just neoprene, or something else? I understand, that All Season are more bulky, but I'm not sure, if Single ones will give enought protection, if I will fall on the ice or rail/box really bad. What do you think about it?