How to Buy Ski & Snowboard Protection Gear

What are you ski and snowboard protection options? For most skiers and boarders the basics of protection are impact shorts with wrist guards a close second for boarders... Wrist guards are essential kit for beginner snowboarders.

Impact Shorts:

If you've ever bruised your tail bone or corked your hip or thigh on a rail then some basic impact shorts are a great idea. Generally they will fit under your existing ski or snowboard pants and will provide impact protection for your tail bone, hips and thighs.

Just remember that if your pants are already fairly tight around the waist and hips it may be difficult to fit impact shorts underneath and you may need to get some new pants to fit. You can go off you pant size as the best guide to getting the right size, they don't need to be really tight and can be a little loose but need to stay in place when you fall.

Snowboarders' Wrist Guards

Wrist guards a fairly essential if you're a beginner boarder as you're likely to hit the deck quite a bit early on. Wrist guards will help prevent sprained or broken wrists but -- be warned -- they are not total protection... No guarantees!

You should size wrist guards them off your glove size. But you'll need to fit them under the cuff of your gloves. So if your gloves are already fairly tight around the wrist, you may need to change them or go for a glove with built in wrist guards.

When buying a glove to go over wrist guards a gauntlet style glove is the best.

Knee Pads

Another good protection item for beginners is a pair of knee pads. Most learner riders will either fall mostly backward landing on their wrists( get wrist guards) or mostly forward landing on their knees. If you're a forward faller, a pair of knee pads can make a huge difference.

More Protection Options

For more serious protection a back protector or impact waistcoat or vest will help protect against back impact. These bits of kit will also protect against injury from the dreaded "scorpion", where your back is over flexed backward and your feet try and touch the back of your head.

These should be sized like you would a thermal. You don't want them loose like your jacket; you want them snug fitting,so they work properly and fit under you gear.