Our advice

• Always wear a wrist guard, especially if you're a beginner. Most ski fields will provide them for free when you hire a snowboard. Adults will pay $40 to $50 to hire a snowboard for the day.
  
  
• Don't buy wrist guards until you've tried them with the gloves you'll be wearing. Although some wrist guards offer better protection than others, there's no point buying uncomfortable ones.
  
  
• Because there's no standard to help you find the right wrist guard, use our "What to look for" guide.
  
  
• Wrist guards come in different sizes, so get one that fits.
  
  
• Wrist guards should last for two seasons (depending on how often you wear them). They need to be dried out after use.
  
  
• Just starting to snowboard? Take a beginner's lesson, if the ski field offers this. Learn how to fall properly - it'll reduce the risk of injury.
  
  
• Don't forget other protective equipment, such as helmets and padded shorts.

Lack of a standard

Standards ensure a product can withstand certain forces under testing, and they reassure consumers that the product can do what it claims. But we can't advise you to look for a standards-approved snowboarding wrist guard - there aren't any.

Snowboarding is a fairly new sporting activity and no country has yet developed a standard for wrist guards. The International Society for Skiing Safety (ISSS) will discuss what's involved in developing a standard this year.

Our panel

Thanks to our panel of experts who assessed the wrist guards.

• Dr Simon Brebner: Ski Area doctor at Treble Cone for 12 years. Medical Director for the Winter Performance Programme.
• Ginny Bush: NZ team physiotherapist at the 2002 Salt Lake City and 2006 Turino Winter Olympics. Physiotherapist for the NZ Winter Performance Programme. Ginny is based in Wanaka.
• Erin Greene: Patroller Coronet Peak.
• Associate Professor Peter Milburn: Researcher into sports injury biomechanics, School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago.
• Matt Wood: Buyer of snow products for R&R Sport, Dunedin.

Our thanks to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) which helped with funding for the assessment.

Report by Belinda Allan.