I bought a pair of Pro-Designed wrist guards a couple weeks ago to replace my ripped up Triple-8 Hired Hands. I found the product via SoCal Skate Shop, where I get some of my skate decks and supplies (lots of good old school stuff, and an OG skater who runs the place).
I’ve decided to use heavy duty guards because I broke my wrist about a month and a half ago on a very minor fall, and I can’t afford to get laid up like that again. Not only is it a pain in the arse, but it put unfair burdens on my wife and kids when I couldn’t help out with my normal household duties.
Here are my thoughts after giving them a shot (probably 8 rides on them so far): Thumbs up.
They fit over my MTB gloves, which I like--the terry cloth on my gloves helps me since I get sweaty.
They have an adjustable strap where the guard goes between your forefinger and thumb. I've had trouble with non-adjustable ones like this before (they tend to bind or otherwise be uncomfortable), so this is a welcome change.
The splint is pretty stiff, and is spoon-shaped where it goes over your palm--this supposedly spreads out the shock from impact better. It's helped me on a couple occasions already.
They seem significantly cooler to me than the Hired Hands, which are leather. My gloves tend to come off pretty wet with sweat, but they apparently wick it away better, so it's less noticeable. At any rate, my hands feel less sweaty than they did with my prior guards.
If you're not worried about wrist injuries, I guess you probably don't care about these. But if you're in the market for something with more support than is offered by KH gloves, these are worth a shot. If anyone has used the S-One wrist guard, which also looks really nice, I'd like to hear about that one, too.
I did like them, but mine were old (purchased probably 6 or more years ago after a recommendation by Kris Holm at a Cal Muni weekend), they were torn, and man were they smelly. They’re mostly leather, so not good candidates for tossing in the washer–and really hot to wear (we have 100+F summer days regularly here!). Plus, even the biggest size they make wasn’t big enough for me to wear other gloves under, and the Hired Hands are fingerless. I’d develop blisters on my fingertips from hopping when I had to wear the Hired Hands. But I will say that if you’re really worried about wrist injuries, the Hired Hands practically immobilize your wrist altogether. I like very much how safe my wrists felt in the Hired Hands, but feel very nearly the same level of protection with the Pro-Designed.
I was also tempted by the goatskin ones John Long recommended a while back, but thought they’d be too hot for my tastes.
Comment on the review of the Pro-designed wrist guards - They don’t look like they offer much protection for the knuckles or fingers, which are what I tend to injure. I have some old Rollerblade wrist guards that go down past the knuckles to at least help that area. But, they need replacing and I can’t find anything similar now. Any thoughts on the best wrist guards that are long enough to protect that area?
I bought a pair after hearing about them on a thread.
Great protection I HIGHLY recommend them. Buy direct from the owner of the company. They are pricey but worth in
I wear a pair of Mechanix brand gloves under the Pro Design wrist guards. They protect my fingers and knuckles from scrapes, but not from injuries like hyperextension.
There’s a glove/guard combo that John Long (Vivalargo on the forums) recommended a while ago by Mountain Goat (I think). Okay, did a quick google search, and here they are. They might be what you’re after. I live in a hot climate, and they look like they’d be little ovens to me. But it looks like mountain boarders and kite boarders like them a lot. May be worth a shot. Or give John a PM and see if he ended up buying/liking them.
