How to Choose: Protective Skateboard Gloves and Wrist Guards

When you skateboard, cycle, or simply walk down an icy path during winter, the most instinctual thing you do when you wipeout is to stick your hand out to break your fall.

And, as common as not, you do just that. You break your fall by breaking your wrist. Hence, this is why protecting your wrists with a pair of skateboard wrist guards is very important.

#1: What Type of Skateboard Wrist Guards Do You Need?

What you need for skateboarding wrist safety is dictated by the aggressiveness of your skateboarding style and desire to learn new tricks and stunts. Skate wrist guards come in three basic designs, offering you three different choices of skateboard protective gear:

Protective Skateboard Gloves With Wrist Guards This type of protective skate guard helps protect your fingers with short-finger gloves. They also protect your palm, back of hand and wrist with integrated skate wrist guards - all in one package.
Standard Skateboard Wrist Guards These are the most common type of wrist guards. They have splints that curve from your wrist to your palm and back of hand. They provide similar skateboarding safety protection as the skateboard gloves, but without protecting your fingers.
Pure Skateboard Wrist Guards This type of protective wrist guards only offer wrist protection, with short splints and/or battens that support the wrist. These do not help protect your palm or your fingers and are perfect for someone who wants very light wrist and hand protection.

#2: What Type of Skateboard Wrist Guard Splint Material Are You Comfortable With?

Wrist guard splints (sometimes called battens or disks) are the hard pieces on the front and back of the wrist that provide support for the skate wrist guard.

These splints can be made of metal, carbon fiber, plastic, or a hard foam.

Deciding on how much protection you want, versus how much flexibility you want, will determine which material is best for you. Metal is strong, but not very flexible. Plastic is more flexible, but may allow more deflection during an impact. Based on how hard you expect to fall, choose a skate wrist guard that offers you the highest level of skateboard protective gear you can get. Doing aggressive tricks and moves? Go for metal. Not as aggressive and more into finesse, then plastics work great.

#3: Do You Want Removable Splints in Your Skateboard Wrist Guards?

Some skateboard wrist guards allow you to remove the splints and replace them.

After hard use or a big crash, the splints may break, become scratched and rather ugly. If the design allows it, you can purchase replacement splints and get your guards looking good again for only a few bucks!

#4: How Much Do Skateboard Gloves and Wrist Guards Cost?

The good news is that skate wrist guards are relatively inexpensive, even those equipped with protective skate gloves. Expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $50, depending on features, such as wrist guard upper and splint material.