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| Elbow Pads and Wrist Guards
These pieces of equipment are often overlooked by sliders, but can be very important, especially for new sliders-in-training. |
| Elbow Pads
Elbow pads will be your least damaged piece of padding as you should rarely contact the ground with them. That Said, they are vitally important to training and I recommend them on performance nights for purely safety concerns. Plastic Capped Elbow Pads like the ones from Pro-Tec are great, but softer ones can be used under costumes as well. Many Sliders refuse or forget to wear elbow pads. They take a risk of serious injury.
When purchasing elbow pads you will want to consider three things: Hard or Soft caps, Straps or Sleeve, and Over or Under costume use. I typically recommend hard capped elbow pads for the impact resistance they offer. A soft pad can do the job, but at the speeds that sliders can achieve and the pavement we slide on hard caps offer superior protection. The difficulty with hard pads is that they can be problematic to wear under a costume. But whether you choose hard or soft caps doesn't matter if the pads don't stay put. Straps by themselves can be uncomfortable on a long night, but a sleeve by itself doesn't always stay in place. I prefer and recommend an elbow pad that combines a sleeve design for comfort and straps for stability. The Protec Street pad that we offer combines all these features.
Some sliders hate to wear elbow pads during a performance. They say that they get in the way or don't go with the costume. I simply point out again that the choice and the risk is yours. A pad is cheaper than an injury.
If you are starting out or practicing extensively, please wear elbow pads. There is no good reason to ignore safety when learning and practicing. |  |
|  | Wrist Guards
I recommend that all beginner sliders start out using wrist guards and that new pavement surfaces be tested wearing wrist guards. When you are unfamiliar with sliding and new surfaces, there is an increased chance to face plant. This happens when your knee pads get stuck and your momentum carries your body forward. There are two ways to protect your face in this situation you put down your hands or you roll. Putting down ones hands is the most natural method of keeping your face from contacting the pavement in a fall and if you have enough momentum you can break your wrists. That’s why rollerbladers use wrist guards. That’s why I start out training on wrist guards.
I use a standard Pro-Tec wrist guard that has been modified with a steel plate over the plastic insert. The plastic provides the necessary impact resistance and the steel allows for greater longevity and easier sliding.
If you wish to look for your own wrist guards be sure to look for solid construction, solid fit, and exposed plastic at the curve of the wrist.
If you do not put washers on your slider gloves, you can combine them with wristguards to practice fingertip sliding with less risk of injury. When you are comfortable with your skills add washers to your gloves and keep the wrist guards as a backup or testing tool. |
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