Last Updated on May 22, 2023 by Michael Brockbank
This morning, my Spri wrist weights gave out as I was nearing the end of my session with Avengers: Battle for Earth. One of my favorite pieces of workout equipment bit the bucket while I pummeled Venom as Iron Man.
How do I know? Well, the sound of little pieces of material scattering across my counters and entertainment center was a bit of a giveaway.
It’s nothing a vacuum can’t handle, but it’s still a bit disappointing.
Does This Mean I Don’t Like Spri Products?
When something like this happens, I take into consideration the longevity of a product. See, I am exceptionally hard on wrist and ankle weights because of the way I play the Kinect.
In reality, the Spri weights lasted a lot longer than some of the other brands I’ve used in the past. Some of which didn’t last a week because of poor stitching.
They just don’t make stuff like they used to. We live in a disposable world!
And since the Spri wrist weights have helped me burn a ton of calories this year, I’d say they did a pretty good job in terms of cash value for a piece of wearable exercise equipment.
Even though the seams separated and spread “sand” everywhere, I still feel that I got my money’s worth. Well, I did get them for Christmas. But after looking up at how much they cost, it’s not all that bad of a deal.
Now I just need to spend a few minutes vacuuming my living room.
What kind of disturbs me is how the sand looks like little shards of obsidian. I’ll have to do a bit of research to find out what the “sand” stuff is inside the wrist weights.
Where did the Product Fail?
Oddly enough, the “sand” came from a separation in the middle seam of the wrist weights. Over time, the seams separate too much which allows the sand to leak.
Separating seams is a common problem for wearable weights like this. I’ve seen it in every product so far. And while some will take much longer to show visible signs, it’s still something that happens.
You’d think with such an obvious flaw that manufacturers would come up with a way to make them more sturdy. Then again, some of these brands may want to bank on consumers spending money to replace the units.
Now, in the case of the Gymenist weighted gloves, the separation of the seams is only visible on the area that holds the sand to the back of your hand. This means I can still use the gloves until the weights themselves fly off.
Coincidentally, I finished my gaming session by quickly switching the wrist weights for the gloves in between rounds of fighting. And yes, it was weird to play Avengers without wearing weights even for a few minutes.
I thought for sure the material would have leaked from the fabric that is wearing down from the friction caused by the velcro. However, no sand is leaking from those areas.
How Would I Fix this Flaw?
Outside of changing the type of material used, I’m not sure there is a way to fix the problem of seams separating. The materials used in most Spri products are designed for comfort and flexibility.
If you were to make these out of the same fabric as Levi pants, I doubt they would be as comfortable to wear.
The bottom line is that spandex, nylon and other materials going into moisture-wicking products just are not sturdy enough to withstand months of excessive stress.
In the case of the Spri thumb-lock wrist weights, perhaps not having too many stitchings throughout the product would help. Instead of a visually appealing, two-layer element down the middle, a single pad of sand would suffice.
In reality, I might be able to fix these particular wrist weights with a strip of epoxy or rubber cement. But then, they probably wouldn’t be as comfortable to wear.
What About Fixing the Friction Issue with Velcro?
The problem of velcro wearing down the fabric is a much easier problem to fix. Just make the fabric side of the velcro longer.
As it is now, the two halves of the velcro don’t meet up very well for the size of my wrist. Which means there is an overlap where the harder plastic is constantly rubbing into the actual material of the wrist weights.
This is another problem that is common among a lot of wearable weights. In fact, I have yet to use a product that has a long enough strip of “connector” material for the velcro.
However, the Spri wrist weights are the only ones that show heavy signs of fraying.
How Much Activity did the Spri Wrist Endure?
In the end, I’ve been using this product since I got them for Christmas about seven months ago. And since then, they’ve seen an incredible amount of use as I played tennis, Virtual Smash and Avengers: Battle for Earth on a near-daily basis.
If you’ve ever seen me play these games, you’d see just how much physical activity I get. It’s not a nice-and-easy play. I am moving as fast as I can in most cases, which means the Spri wrist weights are subject to move…a lot!
When I play, I am in constant motion to burn as many calories as I can within a certain amount of time. So products like the wrist and ankle weights are in constant activity.
If I would have thought about it, I would have tracked exactly how many hours of gameplay the weights could withstand.
I guess that gives me something else to track in a spreadsheet for a future article.
It all boils down to how much any product can endure before breaking. In this case, it was an incredible amount of gaming for roughly 30 to 40 minutes per day over a span of seven months.
And when compared to other products, that’s really not all that bad.
Will I Buy Spri Wrist Weights in the Future?
Overall, the Spri wrist weights are comfortable, easy to strap on and do a very good job at helping me increase the workout. And considering how affordable they are, the price value is better than most.
So yes, later today, I will replace these units as I can pick them up from Walmart. But this time, I am going to keep track of just how many minutes the Spri wrist weights can live before shooting sand all over my house.