Hard Blade Guard question

[Skittl1321]

Is there an actual advantage to 2 piece guards over 1 piece guards?

[Kim to the Max]

I think it's personal preference....as a kid, I always had 1 piece guards, but I wanted to be a "cool" kid and get the 2 piece guards so that I could have 2 different colors...now, I have 2 piece guards because that's what I found first (I have no clue what happened to my old pair...probably got lost in one of my many moves during college)...although, I am tempted to buy another pair of 2 piece guards and being one of the "cool" kids again and having 2 different colored guards....hehe

[Skittl1321]

That's what I was thinking. When I was little I had one piece guards and desperately wanted two piece guards like the "cool" kids. Now I have one piece guards because cool isn't so important and the difference in price can pay for one club freestyle session (club ice is cheap here).

But then I thought about who the "cool" kids at the rink are- and they are the higher level skaters. So is there a reason they all use them? Do they fall off less? Are they easier to put on? Once you get huge toepicks will they just not fit in the one piece guards?

[rlichtefeld]

I use one piece because my blades are too long for 2 piece. I have 11 3/4" blades, and with a 2 piece the springs won't stretch enough.

The best one piece guards that I have found are made in Canada and have a clear plastic sleeve over a metal spring.

Rob

[Laura H]

I've had both . . . I actually prefer the one piece for the silly reason that it's not as easy to accidentally pinch my hand when taking the guards on and off!! :lol:

My one piece guards do fit over my MK Pro blades . . . which definitely have more toepick than recreational skates . . . I don't know if there is some point where the one piece guards won't fit over the larger toepicks (?).

[Helen88]

I was scouring the internet for one piece guards but I couldn't find them anywhere - so I just bought the two parters from my local skate shop. I haven't seen anyone with one piece ones at my rink.

[Rusty Blades]

I had the one-piece guards when I was young but that's all there was back then so that's what I bought this time - unfortunately I couldn't find them in natural WOOD LOL!

I asked the young skaters why everybody else is in 2-piece and they said "Cause they don't fall off!"

Ok, there is a little bit of "technique" for walking in one piece guards (which I still remembered after 36 years!) and that same "limitation" allows me to 'step out' of my guards or step into them without bending over and without touching them - I LIKE that ;) THAT is REALLY cool :mrgreen:

[quarkiki2]

I have two-piece because that's what I found first. No one wants mine, though, Tess chewed on them and they're not pretty now, lol! Still work, but not pretty...

[Isk8NYC]

I prefer one-piece guards. You can just hook the heel loop and then "slip" into the front section without having to align your blade.

Seems easier to me than the two-piece guards - I always stand there like a flamenco, struggling to get the two-piece guards onto my blades.

I prefer the ones that Rob mentioned, but they're really hard to find these days. Everyone else seems to prefer the two-piece guards.

[Helen88]

I have a question actually, having looked at Google images - are the one piece guards everyone's refering to the same as centipede guards? I hated my centipede ones - they fell off as soon as I moved.

[Mrs Redboots]

I want flashing guards, myself!

[taijiya]

I still have my ancient one piece guards from when I took a few skating lessons around 20 years ago. They're very gouged-up and pathetic looking, but they still do the job, and I don't have to worry that anyone will steal them! :lol:

~~taijiya

[rlichtefeld]

I prefer the ones that Rob mentioned, but they're really hard to find these days. Everyone else seems to prefer the two-piece guards.

I've always bought mine at Rainbo, but it doesn't look like they carry them anymore. I just opened my last pack last week getting ready for Adult Nationals. When I order from Rainbo, I usually order several of whatever I need. Multiple laces, guards, etc.

I have also seen them at pro shops.

The are not the Centipede guards. Centipede have a plastic loop in the back. The good ones have a metal spring covered in a clear plastic tube.

I just looked at mine, and there is not a manufacturer's name on them. They do have two diamond shapes on each side, and it says "Made in Canada". And, they are hard rubber, not plastic.

I've just been looking on the 'net and I can't find anyone that carries these anymore!!!!

If anyone knows of a supplier, please let me know. Or, maybe one of the vendors at AN will have them there.

Rob

[GordonSk8erBoi]

I had one-piece when I first started skating, but the loopy elastic thing broke and I ordered 2-piece to replace. The main draw for me was that I thought they'd be more reliable (no problems with them in 4 years) and I could get two colors :-).

[peanutskates]

I had centipedes/one piece guards at first. One kept falling off and I couldn't walk in them.. so I bought two piece guards. Awesome. And, really easy to take off. I just pull on the front bit, pull it over the toepick and take the guard off.

[airyfairy76]

I want flashing guards, myself!

Oh, me too!!! :D :D

I have two piece guards now - I had the one-piece ones to start with, but they started disintegrating pretty quickly.

Had my two-piece ones for about year, and still as good as new!! :D

[BatikatII]

I want flashing guards, myself!

Yep! I bought some and I love them. Everyone loves them! OK so they are 4 times the price of ordinary ones but hey the amount I spend on skating it's a small price to pay for the inordinate amount of pleasure they have given me!:lol:

Yes I am that sad! :oops: ;)

[smelltheice]

The actual advantage of two piece guards is that you can but them on while standing up. Just pick your foot up, hook it over the toe pick then onto the heel. With a one piece guard, you have to be seated to put it on the blade as it can't be fitted toe first.

[techskater]

Interesting - I put my 2 pc guards on heel first and I do that while standing

[Skittl1321]

The actual advantage of two piece guards is that you can but them on while standing up. Just pick your foot up, hook it over the toe pick then onto the heel. With a one piece guard, you have to be seated to put it on the blade as it can't be fitted toe first.

I've put a one piece guard on standing up many times, guess it just depends on your balance, but this theory does make sense.

[sk8tmum]

The one piece guards were an issue with our littlest (she fell off them); two piece guards solved it. The two-piece ones are stable enough that you can actually run in them - which, naturally, teens and pre-teens do. The price difference was about $6 CAD between one piece and two piece - so it was an easy solution.

[SkatingOnClouds]

The are not the Centipede guards. Centipede have a plastic loop in the back. The good ones have a metal spring covered in a clear plastic tube.

I just looked at mine, and there is not a manufacturer's name on them. They do have two diamond shapes on each side, and it says "Made in Canada". And, they are hard rubber, not plastic.

I've just been looking on the 'net and I can't find anyone that carries these anymore!!!!

If anyone knows of a supplier, please let me know. Or, maybe one of the vendors at AN will have them there.

Rob

I bought some of these of Ebay just the other week ! Someone told me the 2 piece guards don't work too well with the Ultima matrix system, so I bought some in case I need them when my new skates arrive.

I used the one piece guards with metal spring loop years ago, but everyone at our rink uses the 2 piece (though you see some centipede), so I went with the 2 piece. But I much preferred the one piece, always found them easier to put on. As others have said, the plastic loop on centipedes do break. Initially I had a lot more trouble putting on the 2 piece guards than I used to with the one piece - though admittedly I'm older, fatter & less flexible these days.

The seller I bought them from hasn't got any listed at the moment, but might be able to help you if you contact them. They are in Australia though.
The Ebay user id is sugarsew65 , their Ebay shop is called Sugar Plum Creations . Oh and Rusty, there's a pair of wooden guards on Ebay right now !

[onlyhappyonice]

For the amount of time my guards are on, one piece do the job nicely (y)

If you're forever taking them on and off then I suppose you might care about how they look and how easy they are

[gt20001]

I bought some of these of Ebay just the other week ! Someone told me the 2 piece guards don't work too well with the Ultima matrix system, so I bought some in case I need them when my new skates arrive.
!


The two piece blades do work fine with the ultima matrix blade system. I have had the matrix blade for 2 years now and have never had a problem with the two piece guards. That is all i have ever used on my blades. I noticed no difference between my old regular blades and the matrix in wearing the guards.

[Mrs Redboots]

Yep! I bought some and I love them. Everyone loves them! OK so they are 4 times the price of ordinary ones but hey the amount I spend on skating it's a small price to pay for the inordinate amount of pleasure they have given me!:lol:

Yes I am that sad! :oops: ;)Where did you get yours from? I didn't know they were obtainable over here, and was thinking I might have to find out if a kind person coming over to the Mountain Cup would bring me a pair.

My present guards are at least ten years old, and look tatty beside a brand new pair, but still do their job very effectively!

[Bunny Hop]

The actual advantage of two piece guards is that you can but them on while standing up. Just pick your foot up, hook it over the toe pick then onto the heel. With a one piece guard, you have to be seated to put it on the blade as it can't be fitted toe first.
I actually find completely the opposite. I have to sit down to put two piece guards on, because they won't fit properly over the blade, particularly in the middle section near the spring - the gap where the blade should fit is too narrow to for them just to slot in. Whereas the one piece guards I have now, I can easily put on if I'm standing, by hooking the spring loop over the back of the blade, and then the toe fits nicely, and I don't end up shaving some of the plastic off the guard with my blade!

[onlyhappyonice]

never tried two piece guards but can easily put my one piece on while standing up and in a rush, going to look into flashing guards for my daughter, I think she'd like them (she's only 6)

[dbny]

I actually find completely the opposite. I have to sit down to put two piece guards on, because they won't fit properly over the blade, particularly in the middle section near the spring - the gap where the blade should fit is too narrow to for them just to slot in.

That's the case when they're brand spanking new. When you've used them a week or so, there's no problem.

[Isk8NYC]

never tried two piece guards but can easily put my one piece on while standing up and in a rush, going to look into flashing guards for my daughter, I think she'd like them (she's only 6)
The flashing guards are expensive, so they tend to grow legs and walk away on their own. ;) Use a permanent marker to write a name on them so they can be easily found.

I have a pair of one-piece guards in the closet that are from my oldest DD's first pair of skates. Tiny little white guards with bunny faces/tails drawn or painted on them. Absolutely adorable and I can't part with them. Even though they don't fit any of our skates.

I've never seen them since - I don't even remember where I bought them.

[Morgail]

I have a pair of one-piece guards in the closet that are from my oldest DD's first pair of skates. Tiny little white guards with bunny faces/tails drawn or painted on them. Absolutely adorable and I can't part with them. Even though they don't fit any of our skates.


My mother has one piece guards like those!! :lol: I think she bought them from a vendor at a competition years ago. She loves them and refuses to get new guards.


I always had one-piece guards when I was younger. They were easy to put on, but they had a tendency to fall off (though not that often). I have two-piece guards now - it took some practice to learn how to get them on without falling over! :D But they definitely stay on better.

[sue123]

I had one piece guards with my first skates, but they didn't seem to fit properly, they kept falling off my blade, so I switched to 2 piece guards, and haven't had a problem, except for actually remembering them. The rink I've been going to has benches right outside the entrance to the ice. Usually, I put my skates on at the bench further away because it's nice and warm in that part of the rink, then with my hard guards walk to the entrance. But coming off, I just take them off right by the entrance and seem to leave my guards along the wall. And they never seem to have them in the lost and found. It's definitely not somebody else taking them because on many times, my friend and I are the only ones in the rink.

In the past 3 months, I must have gone through 3 pairs of guards. If anyone sees a pair of light blue guards looking for their owner, they're probably mine, we just got separated :D

[smelltheice]

Maybe your guards are in that bermuda triangle with all the odd socks that mysteriously disappear. I got sick of odd socks so I bought 10 pairs, all black. Today I have one black sock!!

[LW*]

I much prefer two-piece guards as I find them easier to walk round in (because of the shape - they tend to be more curved at the back) and to take on and off (because the ends of the two piece guards are wider at the top than on the one-piece ones so easier to line them up with the blade), they seem to stay on better (with the one piece ones I either had trouble getting them on/off or trouble with them falling off cause without the spring I could never quite adjust them to quite the right size for my blade) and they're much more hardwearing than the one-piece ones I has when I started skating. But that's all personal preference, I'm not saying that they're better, just that they suit me better! The only down-side I've found to the two piece ones is that most of them are so high at the back that for dance blades I've either had to get two pairs and use two-front halves for each guard or had to take a chunk off the backs with a knife - anyone else had that problem?

[skatingdoris]

Where did you get yours from? I didn't know they were obtainable over here, and was thinking I might have to find out if a kind person coming over to the Mountain Cup would bring me a pair.

My present guards are at least ten years old, and look tatty beside a brand new pair, but still do their job very effectively!


Mrs Redboots I got my flashing guards from this eBay shop at Christmas.

Love2iceskate
http://search.stores.ebay.co.uk/Love2iceskate_ice-skate_blade-guards_W0QQfcdZ2QQfromZR10QQfsubZ5133712QQsaselZ30 0488130QQsofpZ0

They don't seem to have as many colours at the moment, just Green, black and clear from what I can see, but maybe they will be getting more of others at some point?

The guards are brilliant, I love wondering around in them cause everybody laughs at them!! Also I would completely recommend the seller as they have always been excellent and reliable with delivery etc.

[AshBugg44]

The one piece guards my rink sells tend to fall off while walking or break much easier than a two piece guard ever would. And they're a good brand...

[Mrs Redboots]

Mrs Redboots I got my flashing guards from this eBay shop at Christmas.

Love2iceskate
http://search.stores.ebay.co.uk/Love2iceskate_ice-skate_blade-guards_W0QQfcdZ2QQfromZR10QQfsubZ5133712QQsaselZ30 0488130QQsofpZ0

They don't seem to have as many colours at the moment, just Green, black and clear from what I can see, but maybe they will be getting more of others at some point?

The guards are brilliant, I love wondering around in them cause everybody laughs at them!! Also I would completely recommend the seller as they have always been excellent and reliable with delivery etc.
Thanks! Actually, a kind friend is bringing me a pair from the USA, I hope, so I shall have a pair in June!