Guardog

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Guardog makes hard walking guards for ice skate blades — the moulded covers that go on at the barrier and come off again before the skates are packed away. Every guard we carry is a Guardog, and with this many finishes in the line most skaters end up choosing on looks.

The families in the range

  • Solidz — single block colours: black, white, red and lilac.
  • Glitz — ten glitter shades, from pink, blue and red through copper, silver and emerald.
  • Pearlz — seven pearlescent colours, including coral and sapphire.
  • Chameleonz — two-tone pairs that run one shade into another, several of them scented.
  • Swirlz and Sprinklz — marbled blends and speckled multi-colour patterns.
  • Cotton Candyz and Neonz — pastel blue, green, pink and purple, plus a neon pink.

The whole line sits under Guardog skate guards, with a page each for Glitz and Chameleonz.

Walking guards, and the mistake almost everyone makes

A Guardog guard is a hard walking guard. It is rigid plastic, it clips over the runner, and its job lasts exactly as long as the walk from the barrier to the bench and back. The mistake is leaving it on afterwards. A closed guard holds a film of rink water against the steel inside a warm bag, and that is where rust on an otherwise well-kept blade comes from. The routine that keeps edges alive is short: guards on before you step off the ice, guards off and blade wiped dry when you sit down, soft soakers on for storage.

Choosing between the finishes

Every finish in the line is the same shell with the same spring, so nothing about the protection changes from one to the next and the decision is a cosmetic one. That matters more than it sounds. A guard only works if it actually goes on, and the pair a skater chose for themselves is the pair that gets reached for at the barrier rather than left at the bottom of a bag, which is why a parent buying for a child is usually better off letting the child decide. Where a skater would rather the kit stayed quiet, a plain colour does the identical job. The finishes do age a little differently: plain and pearlescent surfaces show a scuff and wipe clean again, while glitter and speckled patterns carry marks less visibly because there is more going on to look at.

Fit is about the blade, not the boot

Guards are matched to the runner, not to the shoe size on the box. Check that the guard covers the whole length of the blade including the heel, and that it holds without you having to force it on. Too loose and it works free while you walk; forced onto the wrong profile and the plastic wears at the contact points. Figure and hockey blades sit differently in a channel, so confirm the fit for your own blade before the first walk.

When to replace them

Hard guards last a long time, but they are consumable. Retire a pair once the plastic has cracked, once the spring or clip no longer holds the two halves together under tension, or once the guard slides off during an ordinary walk. Grit trapped inside the channel is worth clearing out too — it scores the guard and it can score the blade.

Want something plain? See the Solidz range. Want a sheen without a sparkle? Compare Pearlz, or the marbled Swirlz pattern.

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