The most impressive piece of Dainese protective gear that we carry is the Dainese Evolution jacket, which offers professional-level upper body protection for mountain biking freeride and downhill, snowboarding, or skiing. Made from elasticated mesh fabric, the Evolution features composite, molded shoulder, elbow, and chest pads in polypropylene with a fixed ergonomic Shield Air 7 back protector. The elbow and shoulder pads sit on top of soft, perforated polyester padding. To top it off, the Dainese Evolution is one of the best-looking pieces of upper body armor we’ve seen. Plus, it kind of makes you look like a superhero, and that’s always a good thing.
A few days ago, we linked to an article from The Mayo Clinic about the decrease in skiing and snowboard injuries due to the rising use of ski helmets and snowboard helmets. It’s great to see skiers and snowboarders taking their safety seriously and protecting themselves from serious injury. Then we saw another sobering article from The Mayo Clinic on the drastic rise in snowmobiling injuries. As snowmobiles have gotten lighter and faster over the past 15 years, the number of snowmobiling-related injuries has tripled. Nearly half of these injuries occur in males aged 15-24. The article notes that while head injuries are most frequently seen, “orthopedic, chest and abdominal injuries are common, and many riders have multiple injuries.” On the same day, we received a new shipment of EVS SV1 Race snowmobiling vests and EVS SV1 Trail snowmobiling vests. Both of these protective vests are designed to go over your jacket or hoodie, giving you immediate protection from debris and other obstacles. Plus a brightly colored or reflective exterior snowmobiling vest can be a lifesaver if you get lost or have mechanical problems. As Sergeant Esterhaus used to say on Hill Street Blues: Let’s be careful out there.
Nice article posted by The Mayo Clinic regarding ski helmet and snowboard helmet use, and a corresponding decrease in head injuries. Check out the original article here, and then shop our great selection of snowboard helmets and ski helmets.
Reduce your chance of a serious head injury – get yourself a new snowboard helmet, delivered fast and free!
Falling on your back can be frightening. We aren’t turtles or armadillos with a nice bony shell for protection. Depending on how and how hard you fall, the consequences of falling on your back can range from a couple bumps or bruises to full-on spinal cord injury. Lucky, the good people at POC have created the POC Spine Ergo BUG back and spine protector.
The POC BUG back protector uses the same ergonomic hard shell design as the groundbreaking POC Spine Ergo. The BUG is cushioned with ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), an expanded rubber padding known for both its softness and shock absorption, to provide excellent ski, snowboard, and cycling spine protection. The BUG series is designed for freeride skiing back protection, all-mountain ski back protection, snowboarding back protection, or mountain biking back protection. If you’re a racer, you might want to check out the race-oriented POC Ergo Spine Protector.
In the old song “Dry Bones” (sometimes called “Skeleton Bones”), the lyrics read (in part) “The ankle bone connected to the leg bone.” This isn’t entirely accurate. You ought to sing, “The ankle bone connected to the leg bones.” Your ankle bone, the talus, is connected by soft tissue to the tibia and fibula, the two bones that make up your leg below the knee. The two bony protrusions on either side of your ankle are actually the ends of the tibia and fibula. On the inner side of the ankle is the medial malleolus, which is formed by the lower end of the tibia, the larger and stronger of the two bones that make up the leg below the knee. On the outer side of the ankle is the lateral malleolus, formed by the lower end of the fibula, which is smaller and far more slender than the tibia. An ankle fracture is typically an injury to the lower portion of the tibia or fibula, not the talus.
This little anatomy lesson was spurred by the arrival in the XSports office of the Dainese Performance Ankle Guards. These ankle guards combine soft polyethylene (PE) and polyester mesh to protect your medial and lateral malleolus, as well as to compress the ankle, adding stabilization. Flexible high density PE foam cups cradle each side of the ankle, while a larger soft pad cushions the Achilles tendon. Dainese ankle guards are just one of a number of ankle guards we carry. Check out the SixSixOne Race Brace Pro Ankle Guard, the McDavid AnkleX Ankle Brace, the POC Joint Ankle Guards, or the ProTec Soft Ankle Guards. No matter if you want mountain bike ankle protection, BMX ankle protection, skateboard ankle protection, or roller derby ankle protection, chances are XSports Protective carries the ankle guard to meet your needs.
You might not always think about ankle protection when you’re headed out the door with your bike, skates, skateboard, but an ankle injury can sideline you for days or even weeks. Why waste the time?
While we often refer to anywhere between our waist and our pelvis as our “hips,” technically your hip is the joint where your thigh bone meets your pelvis bone. Hips and shoulders are called ball-and-socket joints because the ball-like top of your thigh bone moves within a cup-like space in your pelvis. When your hips are healthy, they are very stable, and it takes great force to hurt them. However, playing sports, running, overuse, or falling can all potentially lead to hip injuries.
One way to protect yourself is to wear the proper protective gear. If you’re going to be hitting the slopes, you might want to look into investing in a pair of ski padded shorts. We’ve put up a new video on the POC Hip VPD ski padded shorts so you can get a full 360-view.
VPD stands for Visco-elastic Polymer Dough. VPD is soft and comfortable yet, upon impact, stiffens to absorb an extreme amount of the energy created by the impact. Since it is this energy from impact that ultimately causes bodily injury, the more energy your protective device absorb, the less likely you are to suffer injury. Most protective padding is static. The POC VPD Tailbone Protector is progressive, meaning the harder the impact, the greater the proportion of energy from the impact POC’s VPD Tailbone Protector will absorb.
Happy New Year from XSports Protective! With the turn of the calendar, many us of make resolutions for the upcoming year: We’ll lose weight (always a popular one). We’ll finally learn Spanish/read the collected works of Charles Dickens/clean out the attic/go through all those old photos. We’ll learn to ski. We’ll learn to snowboard. We’ll get back on our skates or skateboard. If your New Year’s resolution involves an action sport, make sure you do it safely. Any sport in which you might take a tumble is a sport for which you need protective gear. Remember: Falling hurts.
Inline Skating and Roller Blading Protective Gear
Did you get a new pair of skates this holiday? Did you get a skate helmet too? Remember that even the most experienced skater falls once in a while. Why risk serious injury to your head? While many skate helmets still have the classic styling from the late 1970s, advances in materials technology have made them lighter, more comfortable, and more protective. And they come in some fantastic colors. The other must-have piece of skate protective gear is a pair of skate wrist guards. When we fall, we instinctively put out our hands to catch ourselves. Skate knee pads and skate elbow pads are helpful too, but trust us on the wrist guards.
Learning a new sport can be fun if you take the proper precautions. No matter what your New Year’s resolution is, please do it safely.
McDavid’s patented HexPad technology has been used by a majority of Division 1 football teams for several years. In 2010, the company began offering HexPad technology in ski protective wear and snowboard protective wear. As the name implies, HexPad material is made up of a grid-like pattern of hexagonally shaped pads that are permanently bonded to the fabric of compression garments. Each individual hexagon pad is less than an inch across and can move individually or along with the other pads. This configuration allows the McDavid Freeride protective shirt to conform to the shape of your body, no matter if you’re standing straight up, in a crouch, or rolling on the ground laughing after taking a tumble. The tiny HexPads squish and expand upon impact, working as a unit to absorb the force of impact. While it may not be as dramatic as the Grinch stealing (and then saving) Christmas down in Whoville, the McDavid HexPad Freeride ski padded pants and ski body armor can save you from a lot of pain and injury, and that’s pretty nice.
The Triple Eight Brainsaver rubberized skate helmet isn’t made of rubber, but it does have a rubberized coating on the outside of the helmet that helps keep your skate helmet looking new. Glossy helmets are gorgeous when you first get them, but a spill or two can scratch the finish. Some folks like that look–the scratches are like battle scars. Some people would rather keep their helmet smooth and blemish free. With the Triple Eight’s Brainsaver rubberized skate helmet, you can literally just “wipe out” small scratches and rub marks on the helmet. It’s pretty cool. Just like the classic Triple Eight Brainsaver helmet, the rubberized Brainsaver is multi-impact, with a soft, one-inch thick, dual-foam inner liner designed to rebound to its original shape after a low-force impact. The rubberized series of Brainsaver helmets include Triple Eight’s Sweatsaver terry cloth liner, rather than the standard foam liner. The washable terry liner absorbs sweat and keeps your brow-drip free so you can concentrate on skating.
Always remember to check your helmet for cracks and other damage. Multi-impact helmets like the Brainsaver (both rubberized or gloss finish) were designed to retain their protective qualities even after a small impact, making them ideal skateboard helmets or roller derby helmets. But no helmet is impervious to every impact. Our rule of thumb here is, if you take a hit or a fall that makes you say “Wow,” you should probably replace your helmet.
There are a lot of padded shorts to choose from. Some are great for a range of sports, while some work well with one sport but not another. Below are some of the most popular roller derby shorts we sell, with a few quick reasons why customers like them. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but we hope this can give you a start on finding the roller derby padded shorts that meet your specific needs.
The McDavid HexPad derby shorts are the first padded shorts designed specifically for roller derby. The HexPads are very slim, lightweight, and offer great flexibility and mobility. Some girls LOVE them because they are so slim and discreet. Other girls want more protection. If you are looking for light weight impact protection with a low profile, these are a great choice.
Although relatively new to the market, the Triple Eight RD Bumsavers have become very popular with those derby girls who want an intermediate level of protection. The RD Bumsavers have thicker pads than the McDavids, but not as much padding as the Crash Pads. If you are looking for “more than the McDavids, but not as much as the Crash Pads,” then the RD Bumsavers should be your pick.
The Crash Pads 2700s offer the advanced roller derby protection. The 2700s have the most protection all around, including excellent tailbone protection. Plus the 2700s have more advanced fabric that wicks sweat away from your body. They were designed by a Olympic level gymnastics trainer, so the pads, pad placement, and seams are all specifically designed and located to maximize your mobility and protection.
This is the new kid the block. The Vigilante tech padded shorts give you 1/2-inch foam padding all around with a custom designed plastic tailbone shield. The pads are shaped, cut, and designed to move along with your body without bending or crushing, while the breathable, wickable mesh fabric sandwiches the foam padding, moving air and keeping you comfortable. The Vigilante shorts are extremely lightweight (they weigh 8 ounces), low profile, and can do double-duty as ski padded shorts or snowboard padded shorts.
So there you have it. Four padded short options with varying degrees of protection depending on your needs and your style. Whatever one you choose, please skate safely.
