Review: Strength Wraps

This week, we take a moment to review a pair of Strength Wraps.

Item: Strength Wraps
Price: $30 USD a pair
Manufacturer: Strength Wraps
Purchase: Strength Wraps

For the last couple of years I’ve been getting some pretty terrible pain in my wrists. The combination of CrossFit training, football and surfing can take its toll on my poor wrists and quite often I wake up after a tough WOD with some serious pain in my right hand.

For a while I didn’t take much notice of it, occasionally taping my wrists and just pushing through the pain barrier as I wasn’t aware of many products out there to help reduce the pain. That was until I came across Strength Wraps.

I remember watching the CrossFit Regional Events this year and noticing a number of athletes wearing these colorful wraps around their wrists. At the time, I though it might have just been a fashion statement, or some covering for taping. But after asking a few questions, I found out exactly what they were – Strength Wraps!

Strength Wraps is the original designer of wrist wraps for functional fitness and have been around for some time now.

Basically, Strength Wraps are pieces of material that wrap around your wrists to offer stability, support and control. They are a great alternative for athletes who don’t like the bulkiness of a traditional lifting wrap, or the feel of standard taping.

What makes Strength Wraps different to other wrist supports is that they give athletes the ability to loosen and tighten. You can change how restrictive the wraps are by rotating them left and right.

This is perfect for functional fitness as it allows you to have strong support and stability during exercises like Olympic lifting and push ups, but also gives you the option of having more mobility for exercises like muscle ups and pull ups.

I wore Strength Wraps for a number of WODs and I definitely felt the difference. While I didn’t feel like I had more support than I would have with standard taping, I really enjoyed the ability to loosen and tighten wraps.

It took me a few workouts to get used to wearing them, but after a while I started to really enjoy wearing them and they gave me more confidence during each WOD.

The Good

Effective – At first I thought the wraps might have been a bit of a gimmick. I looked at the material and thought, “How can this support my wrists?” However, they really do offer great support, and definitely reduced the amount of pain I had in my wrists post workout.

Easy to wear – Strength Wraps are no harder to put on your wrists then tape or lift wraps. In addition, I found it took me longer to strap my wrists with tape then it did to wrap around the Strength Wraps. Once you have them on, they generally hold well and maintain their strong hold, even during heavy lifting sessions.

Cheaper than other alternatives – The good thing about Strength Wraps is that they can last for a lifetime if you take care of them. Selling for around $30 a pair, they are cheaper to use than traditional lift wraps and tape. One roll of tape can set you back $10, and after a few months you will have to buy another roll. Strength Wraps, on the other hand, can be used time and time again, with a few washes in between!

Stylish – I’m not one for fashion statements, but I actually like the look of Strength Wraps. During the Regionals and the Games this year, I noticed a number of competitors wearing all kinds of colors. Some were sport bright pink wraps, others the standard black design. So while they offer great wrist support, they are also provide you with the option of bringing a bit of style and flair to CrossFit.

Good on your skin – Traditional tape can leave your hands sticky and gunky after peeling it off, and can also rip out hair and sometimes even damage skin. However, Strength Wraps leave your hands nice and clean after a workout. And as I mentioned before, they are easy to drop in the wash to keep them hygienic.

The Bad

Reliability – Most of the time, the Strength Wraps were reliable, and I was able to tighten or loosen them with ease. However, there were a few times when I was in the middle of a WOD and had some difficulty getting them to the desired level of restriction. While it was only for a few seconds, it was enough to annoy me and throw me off my workout just that little bit.

Price – While they are cheaper then most other wrist strap alternatives in the long run, $30 is probably a little bit more than what I would have thought these wraps would have sold for. At the end of the day they are only two bits of long fabric, even if they are very effective.

Conclusion

Overall I had a very positive experience with Strength Wraps and I will continue to wear them. Not only do they provide great support and stability for my wrists, they also give me the option of getting more hand mobility when I need it during CrossFit workouts.

I have noticed a significant reduction in my wrist pain since I started wearing them and they save me the hassle of having to tape my wrists every workout.

For $30, they are worth the price and knowing what I know now, I would have no hesitation buying another few pairs in the future.