To maximize security and add support to your wrist, we will discuss a comparison review between the SBD Wrist Wraps VS Gangsta Wraps to discover their features, sizes and colors, and which one is best for you to use.
The main purpose of the wrist wrap is to extend support to the wrist joint while lifting heavy weights, either with pressing workouts or overhead weightlifting. During these exercises, the wrist can be subjected to extreme pressure under routine load, and it can lead to either failure of lifting or possible injury.
If your a beginner and just starting out, passionate or serious about powerlifting, it is essential to secure and support your wrist and arms during exercise from any potential injury, as such exercises types will result in a high chance of risk slipping or wrong movement, which could cost you much more than just a wraps.
In general, there are many types of wrist wraps on the market, and here in this in-depth article we will focus on the most popular and attractive for weightlifters, the SBD and Gangsta Wrist Wraps, as well as an overview of other similar wrist wraps such as the Inzer, Slingshot, Powerbelly and A7.
Comparison Between SBD Wrist Wraps VS Gangsta Wraps
| As a start, the diverse uses of the Wrist Wrap make it even more appealing, as it covers a wide range of workouts, similar exercises such as Crossfit, Powerlifting, Deadlift and Competitive Athlete. There are multiple dimensions to compare SBD & Gangsta wrist wraps, below is explained in detail. |
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Choosing the best wrist wraps, picking the suitable best for you and the secret recipe behind it mainly lies mainly in the following categories:
- Wrap Stiffness and Flexibility
- The Suitable Size for You
- Velcro strap if it is stretched or loosened
- Thumb loop availability and it’s design
- Material and Made of
- And certainly the Quality
- The Versatile of Use
- Durable and Heavy Duty
We’ll discuss each of these categories when comparing both wrist wraps.
SBD Wrist Wraps
SBD is a durable wrap for powerlifters and strongmen, designed for maximum training efforts and competition use, while easy to manage self-wrapping.
Made with elastic design with a width of (8 cm) for full wrist support and a maximum length of up to (100 cm), with IPF approved “International Power lifting Federation”.
The SBD Wrap comes in three sizes, Small (40 cm), Medium (60 cm) and Large (100 cm).
SBD designs a durable thumb loop to withstand heavy training, with a left and right design to fit and add a symmetrical wrist wrapping.
As an option, you can select the flexibility type of the wrap that is suitable for you to exercise, either Flexible or Stiffer.
The standard color available is a red wrap, and you can distinguish between the flexibility, with black trim lines on the sides of the wrap in the case of the flexible type, and for the stiffer type it’s fully red color without the black lines.
Pros
- Wrist width (8cm) and maximum length (100cm) to provide the highest wrist support
- IPF Approved
- Durable thump loop
- Easy to differentiate between flexibility of wrap
- Right and Left arm design
- Available in three Sizes
- Great Quality
Cons
- Strip compression provides the impression of a sturdy fabric without the stretch “User Review”
- SBD Wrap “stiff type” tends to get ridiculously stiffness “User Review”
- The Thumb loop is a bit short
- Velcro of Stiff SBDS on 100 cm is kind of lousy! You don’t feel secure at all “User Review”
Gangsta Wrist Wraps
Gangsta wrist wraps are a high-quality product from Mark Bell, designed to protect and provide additional support to your wrist while building muscle strength, whether your an expert in the field of power-lifting, CrossFit, Deadlift or Bodybuilders.
These wraps boost stiffness, and with a durable material for arm support and wrist compression, you can use a stiffer or moderate wrap around your wrist, depending on the nature of the exercise you practice. Stiff wrap can be for heavy squat and will be moderate for medium lifting similar like biceps workouts.
The thumb loop with double flat stitches attached at the end of the wrap, increases extra stability during your practice, by keeping the wrap in place without movement to ensure that the exercise is performed well without wrong movement that may harm your hand. This allows the wraps to be used in different variations and for a variety of workouts with the exact safety you need.
Gangsta brand are made with 3 levels of dependable elasticity with high compression polyester.
Furthermore, the wrist wrap is Authorized and Approved officially by IPF.
Different Sizes of Gangsta Wraps 20 vs 36
There are basically two different sizes of Gangsta wrap lengths, either 20 inches (Mini Gangsta) or 36 inches (Standard Gangsta).
The idea of different sizes to provide either more stiffness or flexibility in the movement of the wrist, this depends on the usual exercise you plan to perform.
What actually happens is, in the case of a long 36″ wrap, you can loop the velcro strap around your wrist for a round 3 times, which will limit movement of your wrist to a minimum and provide you with the highest stiffness you need, while for a short 20″ wrap, you can do one wrap only around your wrist, which will provide more flexibility for the wrist movement.
This means that 20″ is great for lifting, push-ups with more flexibility, while 36″ is suitable for bunching, heavy squats, or heavy joint exercises where you need enough stiffness.
You can check out the Gangsta Wrap offer on Rogue Fitness, by clicking the button below:
Pros
- Approved from IPF
- Can be used for varieties types of arm exercises
- Versatile, it can be used for wrist, knee and elbow for support, which is the reason for the thumb loop’s unique elastic design.
- Thumb loop with double stitches
- Level 3 elastic wrap
- The quality is great, very durable and stands out well over time, after use +8 months of heavy duty “User Review”
- Thumb loop design is unique if you compared to other wraps “User Review”
Cons
- Only available in 20″ and 36″ Length sizes.
- Elasticity whether it is stiffness or flexible, does not come as an optional type of the same length for the wraps. If you need stiffness, you need 36″, and the 20″ is for the flexible type.
How to Wrap SBD Wrist Wrap?
The wrapping is easy, but in general there are two ways to do it in a secure result, either using a thumb loop or not.
But before that, as we explained, the SBD comes in both the left and right side, so make sure you wear the correct side during use. In case we want to wrap the left hand:
Using Thumb Loop: First add your thumb through the loop, then start wrapping on the right side around your wrist, this way the thumb loop will come across your palm, when you start on the first wrap, make sure you cover it above your wrist by (2-3) cm, the second round wrap ensures that below your wrist with 10 cm, once you have finished wrapping, attach the end of the Velcro to secure it.
Without Thumb Loop: Begin by placing the top point of the thumb loop toward your wrist and aligning with it, then start wrapping naturally over the thumb loop with the same steps above to use the thumb loop, this way, your hiding the loop away from your palm. Some people use this technique while practice to keep their palms free, so it depends on you. If you are a beginner, I recommend you using the loop on your thumb.
Note: You can tell that your wrap is correctly in place, by testing it yourself and trying to move your wrist forward or backward, if you feel the suitable stiffness it means you are ready to start your exercise, otherwise you need to unlock the wrap and try again to wrap by raise the wrap slightly above your wrist.
Additionally, you can check out the explainer video below for instructions on how to wrap the SBD wrist wrap:
How to Wrap Gangsta Wrist Wrap?
The Gangsta wrapping is supper easy, the difference from the SBD is in the design of the thumb loop and there is no right and left side wrap that you need to manage, it is also very versatile to be used in different joint places such as your knees and elbows, making the wrap more effective and attractive.
Start by placing the thumb loop over your entire thumb, then pull the Velcro tightly and begin to wrap toward the other side by crossing it first with the palm of your hand, making sure to cover it slightly above your wrist on the first wrap, and while wrapping the second sleeve wrap below the wrist, continue to wrap once you’re done, Then attach and secure the end of the Velcro.
Additional resource video below (3.5 minutes long) for a comparison of the two wrist wraps Gangsta and SBD:
FAQ
What size should you consider in which Wrist Wrap is suitable for You?
It depends first on the nature of the exercises you plan to practice and that you are trying to focus on, and your level of experience, which means that if your plan is to lift heavy weights you need to use a stiffer type or a long size to provide the support you need in your exercises. If you are just starting out and looking for basic training, it is better to choose the short size or 20 inch, it will be sufficient and suitable.
To understand more the differences and which choices are best suited to you, by checking the following short guidance.
In the case of a serious lifter, a stiffer or long one with 30 inches is highly recommended, the longer the bulkier will be, but it will provide the support you need.
It’s versatile too, so if you plan to practice and use the wrist wrap for different places other than your wrist, such as the knees or elbows, you need to choose the 30″ long size from Gangsta, because the SBD can’t offer versatility, and is only designed to support the wrist.
What Material should be considered for Wrist Wraps?
In general it’s crucial to be aware that the materials used in the wrist wrap make a big difference, so for some specific brands type, the wraps are made from 100% cotton. It founds that based on different experiment and different user experience that such types are very flimsy and in a short time become unsupportive while training.
Using a combination of elastic, polyester and cotton (if exists, not more than 50%) will provide great support for your joints as well as absorb excess wet and avoid itchy skin.
Other Different Brands of Wrists Wraps
SBD Eclipse Wrist Wraps
SBD ECLIPSE EDITION product was released in Winter 2019 as a new product line.
It’s the same characteristics, features and design as the classic SBD, but the main difference is that the available Eclipse color is black and white instead of the red in the classic.
The Stiffer Eclipse Wraps type is in black, while the Flexible Type of Wraps is made in white.
Another difference is that the Eclipse comes at a price that’s about 15% higher than the classic SBD.
Inzer Wrist Wraps
Inzer provide atomic wrist wraps with a patented design to increase its performance.
- Stiff wrap with patented Quad-Track spun compression rubber, to support the wrist.
- While training the exclusive wrap act as one solid unit.
- Wrapping fast.
- Have IPF Approval
- Available with two sizes 20″ (Medium) and 36″ (Large)
Note: Find out that there is no special advantage of the wrap except for the patent they claim, but overall, their is no efficient user reviews or demand on this wrap.
Slingshot Wrist Wraps
Another Mark Bell wrist wrap design, with versatility for almost all parts of the body’s joints.
It is very similar in character, features and price to Gangsta wraps, only the design is different and the following points:
- Maintain comfort and pain relief through your exercise, with Level 2 stiffness flexibility
- Available in two colors including Blue and Pink
- There are four sizes, lengths 20″, 26″, 36″ and 42″
- All wraps lengths IPF Approved except the 42″ size
Note: I have found the quality of the Slingshot to be lower than the Gangsta Wrap, based on research and various customer verification reviews, the following is one of the actual user reviews of slingshot:
“These are honestly the most supportive wraps I’ve ever purchased. However after a month of use they are worn down more than my 10 dollar wraps were after two years. It’s not the same quality as the amazing slingshot. I will try the gangstas next time” link to this review on amazon.
Powerbelly Wrist Wraps
The Wraps are made of high-quality materials that have a soft, comfortable feel and a strength bench with a 900 lb.
Expanded Velcro strap design with secure loop for maximum support.
- Available in two colors including Orange and Purple
- There are four sizes, 12″, 18″, 24″ and 36″ lengths
# A normal wrap with out enough detailed information or user experience like Inzer wrap.
A7 Wrist Wraps
The A7 wrist wrap is suitable for both benching and squatting exercises, the design contains a feature with two thumb loops on either side of the wrist wraps, so you don’t have to worry about how to use it while wrapping.
A7 has 3 different sizes: 55cm, 77cm and 99cm. A7 wraps are also IPF Approved.
Note: The double thumb loop does not provide much difference value for exercise and use, as what is most important for the wrap is its quality, the multi-purpose and durability over the period, which is not clear to A7 wrap users.
Conclusion
As we review the details in our comparison between the most popular wrist wraps on the market, SBD Wrist Wraps VS Gangsta Wraps, as well as explaining an overview of other used wrist wraps in use, it clearly shows that both SBD and Gangsta have great advantages overall compared to other wraps, with approval Formal lifting of IPF and more demanding in markets than other ones.
If you are looking for a quality product, SBD wrist wraps will be a good choice, except that it’s velcro will not last for long.
On the other hand, based on research and verification of multiple customer reviews, Gangsta wraps shows more practical and can withstand heavy duty use, with versatility on different joints of your body, and if you feel like you don’t need a stiffer feature in your exercises, it’s better to use The short 20″ length to avoids bulky wraps and it’s great option for fast wrapping.
But certainly the Gangsta Wrist Wraps (on Rogue Fitness) are fulfill to achieve your goal during training with the support, endurance, and heavy-duty you need.