If you are a gym rat or even lift weights occasionally you have probably had your share of nagging injuries. Probably the most common injury among those that lift weights are wrist injuries, as we use our wrists for almost every movement when lifting weights. For that reason we have put together a review of the best wrist wraps that you can find in 2017. We tested over 30 different brands and narrowed them all down to the top 4 you can find on the market today.
You may not think wraps are all that important but if you’ve ever had a wrist injury you know how annoying it can be and how they can linger for months sometimes before they get better. The good news is that these types of injuries are almost completely preventable by utilizing weight lifting wrist wraps.
We created this guide because we think so highly of utilizing wraps that we recommend should be added to every fitness minded person’s gym bag and arsenal of tools. Like most things though, not all wraps are created equal. To find the best wrist wraps check out our easy-to-follow guide below where we go into further detail about the top products as well.
Your Guide To The Best Wrist Wraps For Lifting Weights
| Picture | Name | Support | Looks | Comfort | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | #1) Essential Fitness Wraps  | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 4.9 |
| #2) GASP Wraps | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.4 | |
| #3) Harbinger Hummanx Red Line | 4.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 4 | |
| #4) Schiek Sports Ultimate Wrist Supports | 4.8 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 |
Is Wrist Support Really Needed?
Our wrists are one of the more vulnerable joints to injure, especially for active people. Similar to the shoulder, it’s something you tend to take for granted until you suffer an injury. When that happens, you quickly realize how much we use our wrists both inside and outside of the gym, as everyday tasks become a painful reminder of the injury. To keep you from experiencing this pain and keeping those wrists healthy and strong, we have put together a review of the best wrist wraps that are available on the market today.
Do keep in mind that wraps are best used as a preventative measure to keep wrists healthy before an injury can happen. But if you do have a wrist injury or a history of wrist issues, wraps for your wrist are an easy way to help address that problem. We rated the wraps based on quality, support, and looks. We all want something that not only works great, but looks great as well.
How Much Support Is Needed?
For the purpose of this review, we rated these wraps based on general use. This refers to gym goers that push some pretty good weight, but not what we would classify as power lifters. If you are bench pressing 500 lbs or are really moving some heavy, heavy weight, then you probably need some support that goes beyond what these wraps in this review offer. These wraps are intended for bodybuilders and general weight lifting purposes, as they are not designed to provide support for major weightlifters for the most part.
What the wraps in this review provide is around the equivalent of having your wrists taped really well, without having to deal with sports tape and sticky residue. Part of the beauty of wraps for your wrists is that if you need a little more support than normal for a lift, you can wrap your wrists a bit tighter and your wrists will be supported a bit more. Just keep in mind that if you do wrap them really tight, you will probably have to take them off immediately after the lift or your hands will start to hurt due to restricted blood flow.
When To Use Them
There are obvious instances when wrapping your wrists makes the most sense, like when doing pressing movements like bench press and shoulder press. But there are times when your wrists are very vulnerable to injury that you may not be aware of. Exercises like squats (wrists can be in a compromised position during the movement), bicep curls (especially dumbbell curls), and tricep movements can all create issues for your wrists. You will find many high level bodybuilders and fitness professionals that will wear wraps during their entire workout just to make sure they protect their wrists at all times.
You don’t have to wear wraps during your entire workout but if your wrists really tend to give you problems and/or you have smaller wrists, then you may actually want to wear wraps throughout the duration of your workout. If you just need them periodically for certain lifts, then you can choose to take them on and off when needed during your workout. Ultimately, the choice is yours as to when to use them and for what exercises. Just keep in mind that they are best used as a preventative measure, as they will help keep your wrists healthy for years to come.
Is There A Difference Between Normal Wraps and Crossfit Wrist Wraps?
Many people ask us this question, as many fitness products today tend to be marketed towards Crossfit specifically. The truth is that it doesn’t really matter if you’re doing Crossfit or doing more of a traditional workout when it comes to wraps. If you’re performing exercises that can and do put strain on your wrists, then a pair of wraps will definitely serve you well. Don’t buy into something just because it is marketed as “Crossfit”, which is something we are seeing more and more today, as Crossfit has become a worldwide phenomenon. With that sort of popularity, of course, comes marketing to that group of people that are participating in it. There isn’t much in Crossfit that one wouldn’t do in a traditional workout which would require the same amount of wrist support. Keep that in mind when looking for products in this category.
Really, the only caveat to this is that if you are looking for wrist support for Crossfit, then you may want to find a pair that can be worn for an extended period of time without discomfort. There isn’t much time in between movements in Crossfit and time is definitely more of a factor. Luckily for you, we address comfort level of the wraps (among other things) so you can find a pair that can work for you. So whether you are just simply looking for the top wraps for your wrists in general, or are looking for the best Crossfit wrist wraps, we’ve got you covered.
How To Use Them
This video below is a really good demonstration on how to properly wrap your wrists. The common mistakes are not wrapping the wrist tight enough, wrapping the wrist too tight, and not placing the wrap in the correct place on your wrist to provide maximum support during a lift. You don’t want your wrist to be able to move freely during the lift, so think about it as if you broke your wrist and you are trying to stabilize it and prevent mobility.
The Top 4 Reviewed
4. Schiek Sports Ultimate Wrist Supports
For this review wanted to represent the best of all the different kinds of wraps that are out there on the market today. So at #4 we have the Schiek Sports wrist supports, which are sort of the old school buckle type of wraps. Looks wise these are not the best and in terms of support they are a mixture of good and bad. The good is that they do provide sufficient support during lifts but the flip side of that is there is absolutely no mobility in the wrist when wearing these. This also leads to the hands falling asleep if they are left on for too long. The best way to use these are to remove them after every set you do or your hands will start to tingle and circulation can become an issue. In terms of recommending these, they aren’t the worst wraps we have ever used but they sure aren’t the best either. There are better options out there but if you enjoy the old buckle type of wrist support then these are the best out of that bunch.
3. Harbinger Hummanx Red Line
Coming in the 3rd spot in our review is a pair from Harbinger, a well known name in fitness for many years. If you are looking to make a fashion statement with your wraps, then these probably aren’t the ones you want. While they aren’t anything flashy to look at, they are a solid product that has pretty good comfort and gives adequate wrist support during your workout. They have a narrow velcro strap, which we felt made the wraps a little uncomfortable at times and didn’t really give the best support when compared to some other offerings. After a few workouts the velcro actually seemed to get a little weaker at times but some of the guys using these in the test bench in the 300-400 pound range and move pretty heavy weight, for someone who is not at that level these would probably provide adequate support. All in all, they are a solid pair of wraps, but they aren’t the best in their class.
2. GASP Wraps
Longtime lifters will be familiar with our #2 choice, which are wrist wraps from the company GASP. They have been around for a long time and have a good reputation in the industry for quality products. In all fairness we have used these wraps for quite some time until we found the #1 ranked wraps in our review and have since switched to using those over the GASP wraps. Quality wise they provide solid support but one thing we did notice is over time the elasticity starts to really give way and another down side for some can be the length of the wraps as they are only 14 inches long. Again these wraps are very solid as we used them for a long time but they are no longer the best wraps out there on the market any longer.
1. Essential Fitness Wraps
What most gym goers are looking for in a pair of wraps is something that is made of good, comfortable material that will last many workouts and still provide superior support for moving some heavy weight and a great plus is a pair that also looks great as well. It’s nice to own fitness gear that makes you stand out from others in the gym and the pair of wraps from Essential Fitness are the best of both worlds in terms of superior support and great looks. That’s why in our opinion these are still the best wraps you can currently get on the market today as nothing has changed for over 3 years now with Essential Fitness and their quality products. Not only do they perform great in the gym with extra wide velcro straps that provide great support that is still very comfortable, but they also look fantastic with their unique color combinations that they offer in their line of wraps. There isn’t another pair that we found that performed as well as these and the fact that they look fantastic is honestly just icing on the cake.
Essential Fitness currently offers their wrap colors in Blackout (pictured above), Blue, Yellow & Black, Green, Red, Black & White, Pink Camo, and Snow Camo. They are always working and coming out with new colors and new products (we just found out knee wraps are on their way) as well in their ever expanding and updated line of products. You can join their email list also to get discounts and keep up with the latest that they have going on. Bottom line if you are looking for a pair of great wraps that look as great as they perform, then these are the wraps for you. For more information on these wraps just click here.
If you are interested in preventing even more injuries then you may be interested in our review of the top foam rollers on the market in 2016 as well.
If you enjoyed this article then we invite you to check out our review of the best knee wraps of 2017. It’s the most comprehensive review of all the top knee wrap brands on the market today and we narrow it down to the top 5 on the market in 2017.
