Last summer,听I narrowly avoided degloving my ring finger when my tungsten wedding band got caught between two rocks after I rolled over in my kayak. If you鈥檝e never heard of degloving, it鈥檚 an injury where听most of the skin on your finger gets ripped off because your ring is stuck on something but your body is still moving. Jimmy Fallon did it by , and there are lots of gory photos all over the Internet. (Maybe just trust me on that one.)
Back on shore, after an embarrassing swim from my kayak, I realized that I听still had most of my skin, but there was also a nasty gash.听To treat the wound, I had to pull the ring up over both the cut听and my swollen knuckle, which was excruciating and made me look like a total mess in front of my friends.听I ended up getting a staph infection, which sent me to the hospital with a hand the size of an orange.
By the time the penicillin did its magic and my scar had healed enough to wear a ring, I decided听I wasn鈥檛 willing to risk another injury like that. Instead, I decided to buy an 听($46 for three), which has three different colored rings, all made of听pliable, medical-grade silicone. The rings have a matte finish, so they don鈥檛 look like shiny rubber, and have a tiny bit of stretch so they鈥檒l come off way before your skin will.
I don鈥檛 wear Qalo rings all the time. I still much prefer the impossible-to-scratch tungsten ring my wife put on my finger during our wedding. She bought it for me because she knew I could use it to open beers鈥proof we鈥檙e a good match. However, when I鈥檓 out rowing, climbing, or lifting, it鈥檚 nice to know the Qalo won鈥檛 contribute to an injury. And听since it鈥檚 relatively inexpensive,听I don鈥檛 worry too much about losing it. 听
Unfortunately, my wife hates the way the Qalo听looks on my finger. She鈥檇 rather I go ringless while out playing. And some people do prefer to take their ring off an leave it at home before heading out.听Neither of us are all that worried about me appearing single, but I do like being clear that I鈥檓 married. It鈥檚 something I鈥檓 proud of. The statement I鈥檓 interested in sending isn鈥檛听鈥渂ack off of this semi-athletic, highly neurotic piece of meat.鈥 It鈥檚 more听鈥淚鈥檓 married, and that鈥檚 a big part of who I am.鈥
Even though I听don鈥檛 use the Qalo to ward off the single-and-ready-to-mingle crowd, there are those that do.听听owner and听国产吃瓜黑料听gear tester Billy Brown only wears Qalo rings because he鈥檚 constantly in the gym and wants to be clear he鈥檚 taken. 鈥淚 lost my wedding ring while crossing a river on a gear test, so I just stopped wearing a ring,鈥 Brown said. 鈥淏ut that led to a bunch of awkward conversations with people who thought I was single, so I figured a Qalo would be a perfect way to fly the 鈥榮poken for鈥 flag.鈥
Like me,听国产吃瓜黑料听copy editor Aleta Burchyski switches between the band her husband gave her on their wedding day and a Qalo ring, which she wears at the gym. She鈥檚 often complemented on her hunter green band and it allows her to focus on form听instead of her finger听during strength-training sessions. 鈥淚 just love my platinum and diamonds too much to put them through kettlebells,鈥 she said.