so far ive gone thru 2 pairs in about 3 weeks =(
at the pro shop they put them on with the larger end covering the toepick on the skate, but when l walked around with them on this way they kept clicking.. then my friend said to wear them with the larger end of the guard at the back of the blade, and l have been wearing them like this ever since.
however yesterday l noticed cracks on the last holes for the screws and today they broke clean thru..

wot am l doing wrong??(btw l use sidelines sports guards)

then just buy the blade soakers! they really help a lot, l have them and they help so that the blades do not rust, and they never break! plus they are really nice and stretchy and come in all colors and designs!!

While blade-soakers r a good idea, they can cause u to slip & fall on the rubber matting in the rink. (I've done this - it is really embarrassing & clumsy.) Blade-soakers should only be used so that they absorb the moisture from ur skates & keep them from chipping each other.
Now, first off, try a few different brands. The Guardog brand is good, but it is the only thing I've used. http://prolineskates.com/acatalog/guarddog.jpg

Another thing is that the guards may be on too tight. l do not know if the guards r adjustable, but they could be breaking because they r too tight on the blades. Buy a pair of Guardog guards if possible & loosen them by one notch.
Oh, & continue to but the smaller end at the front!

larger part of the gaurd should be covering the toepick.cuase like even when u look at u skate blade, the toepick is larger than the back of ur blade. it clicks probably cuase it is not the exact tightness of the width of ur blade. l use the guards that only have one end so when they click its cause if the length.but any tighter that u make it, its going to be hard to take off & put on.
i would suggest maybe try soakers like the others have also suggested. or if u want to stick with plastic ones, the guards that only have one big end.
http://prolineskates.com/acatalog/figskateguards.gif

the hard guards r far walking and the soakers r for wen ur skates r in the bag.

its wat theyre made for. dont walk w/ the soakers.

if ur listening to ur friend, ur right. the bigger end goes on the back.

so it doesnt sound like ur doing anything wrong. maybe u should get a different brand of guards.

the guards at http://rainbosports.com last awhile. it would be a good idea to buy a pair there.

l would make a complaint at the pro shop (but do not be too hard on them . . . keep the peace as u probably go there a lot!). Going through 2 pairs in 3 weeks definitely does not sound right . . . l doubt u ran a marathon in those to make them fall apart!!! You may have done nothing wrong . . . maybe it was a bad batch of guards or they were not put together correctlly ( l am assuming they did it for you?). But l would definitely talk to the pro shop about that (bring ur receipt if u can) . . . maybe other skaters have been complaining about them too. Plastic guards r not real expensive, but buying any more will add up! l would think they would at least be willing to replace one pair of guards - if not both!

Good luck!!

OK.. l really dont understand what these other peope r telling you. When u wear ur guards wear them with the larger end on the end of ur blade, NOT the toepick. If they click that is normal. They may be however too small for ur blade so u might need to either not have them cut the guard before they attach it or if that doesnt help then check out another brand of guard. But NEVER r soakers the right answer to walk around in. They do not protect ur blades. Soakers should only be used when u put ur skates in ur bag to help soak up the ice from ur blades, after u clean them off. l really hope my answer helps you!

l agree with ikaihc & Figure Sk8er... l used to wear my guards with the higher end in front -- when l realized they were BACKWARDS & everyone else had them on the other way, l felt like a total clown. When the pro shop put them together for you, r they properly measuring them to ur blades, maybe not making them large enough? What about trying the kind without the back on them...the kind that (sort of) look like the Nike swoosh, with the small plastic/metal loop on the back that ur blade goes through? l do not know if there is a fancy name for them. Rainbosports.com just calls them ''hard rubber guards.'' Then if u want, all u have to do is shorten up the ends so u do not have too much excess at the back of ur blades. l still have pairs of guards that I've had for 10+ years & they only have normal wear & tear on them -- so what you're going through with yours does not sound normal.

l would talk to the pro shop about this because it may be their guards or or something that they are doing wrong, but I'd at least let them know that their guards are breaking so often. l have only gone through one pair of hard guards in 3 years of skating, and l only got rid of them because they were getting pretty dinged up, and the springs were getting loose. l would ask the pro shop where you have bought the guards at why this keeps happening good luck!

u r supposed to wear the onger end on the back of the skate. it is possible that it wasnt fixed right. other then that l have no idea why it keeps breaking