Sweat pants.....tall socks.
If you happen to have your English Mastiff gash your shin open with his tooth while playing fetch, put some gauze on the wound and cut a 2-liter coke bottle into a rectangle and slip it in between two pairs of tall socks. But, in having to do that, you are certainly pulling your deadlift wrong.
You are likely trying to "Squat" your deadlifts off the ground and probably lowering the same way. This might be why you like the feel of the hex bar because you can do what feels more comfortable to you at the moment. Get it fixed though or your back will be the problem and not the shins.
Thank you... a thoughtful and helpful response.
This has been discussed ad nauseam on several forums.
The Hex Bar, or Trap Bar is not directly comparable with a barbell deadlift, end of discussion.
It is not a replacement for the barbell deadlift.
It is not 'superior', I wouldn't even call it 'inferior', I would look at it as a different lift entirely.
It has been bastardized by coaches over the years with claims of it being 'safer' and allowing a neutral spine position to be achieved more readily. The truth is that these coaches don't have the skills to coach a barbell deadlift properly, or are just too lazy to put the time and effort in.
If you have knee sleeves, you can pull them down over your shins. That works pretty good.
When the hex bar gets heavy, I think you can potentially injure yourself while locking out hyperextending the lumbar spine. I also think you get a little better bang for your buck doing normal deads with squats vs the hex bar and squats. Using the high handles on the hex bar would make it even worse. I also don't really fit in a hex bar, so maybe I am just jaded. :-)
Madmaxaus... Sweeping generalizations don't help anyone.
Thanks Andy. Would that everyone could make helpful and thoughtful comments.
Wow, that many people deadlift?
There is something called the Shock Doctor but...
Now I hesitate to mention them.