Whether or not hand guards are needed on a sled can be argued different ways. Yes, they do help protect your knuckles from flying debris and branches and yes, they do protect them from the cold if they are positioned in the right place. But if the sled has a proper windshield, it can also protect your hands from all of the above. Still, some of the more racy (or mod) looking sleds come with hand guards and Polaris put the most thought into theirs. Ski-Doo’s do look decent, but they seem a bit small and the ones Yamaha put on the Nytro SE are functional, but are too plain. Arctic Cat just revealed hand guards on their Z1 Turbo Sno Pro, so I haven’t tried those, but they too look a bit small to me, although they do look nice. Overall, Polaris wins in this category with their functional and stylish hand guards on the Dragon SP trail models.