Knee pad type

Rad2474

Thinking of investing in a set of kneepads,looked t the 661 rage and fox and nukeproof ones on crc all get good ratings.
I want them for when i ride at Hamsterley and was wondering wether i should go for hard shell or soft i don't do downhill just the red black and blue routes. Any advice in this area would be most welcome.

Lewis A

For trail centre and all round riding Dainese Trail Skins are great, they feel odd at first compared to regular pads, but are so much more comfy.

lawman

I've got some Fox Launch Enduros and they're pretty damn awesome, not huge amounts of protection but just enough to ward off the knocks and being essentially a padded lycra sleeve means they're super light and hardly noticeable while riding.

ej2320

I was looking for pads a while back, go for the soft/d30 type ones for more comfort

basically I was between the trail skins and raceface ambush
went for the RF in the end because I wanted a bit more protection but if you don't want as much padding go for the trail skins.. the ambush can get a bit warm

CitizenLee

I generally hate pads, but I find these really comfy and soon forget I'm wearing them.

Bliss ARG Keenpads

The use Armourgel which is similar to the D30 stuff.

poah

I've got the trail skins and they are pretty dam good. Light, good fit, don't slip down and they have side padding as well http://wp.me/p4HYH0-M

Ferrals

I've also got the trail skins.. problem is I can't quite bring myself to wear them, I've worn them around the house and they feel comfy but the thought of powering up a hill in them is stopping my from putting them on. I'm sure I'll be posting a picture of a destroyed knee soon! :-)

CitizenLee

Ferrals wrote:

I've also got the trail skins.. problem is I can't quite bring myself to wear them, I've worn them around the house and they feel comfy but the thought of powering up a hill in them is stopping my from putting them on. I'm sure I'll be posting a picture of a destroyed knee soon! :-)

Run up and down the stairs a few times

Angus Young

Ferrals wrote:

I've also got the trail skins.. problem is I can't quite bring myself to wear them, I've worn them around the house and they feel comfy but the thought of powering up a hill in them is stopping my from putting them on. I'm sure I'll be posting a picture of a destroyed knee soon! :-)

What's the issue?

poah

Ferrals wrote:

I've also got the trail skins.. problem is I can't quite bring myself to wear them, I've worn them around the house and they feel comfy but the thought of powering up a hill in them is stopping my from putting them on. I'm sure I'll be posting a picture of a destroyed knee soon! :-)

they don't bother me at all - I forget they are even on and try to take my shorts off over them

sofaboy73

depends where you're riding but i would go for ones that have a flexible plastic shell built in to them eg the fox launch pro etc.

can't see how thinner (no shell) pads provide anything more than abrasion protection and on a knee vs tree / rock interface your still going to be coming off worse. i end up doing a fair few rocky downhills in the peak and launch pro's have saved my knee's on more than one occassion and they're not uncomfortable to wear.

.blitz

As above it really doesn't matter where or what you ride the fact is if you fall off you are going to land on your knees which is why knee protection is big business. Knees are a bit like wheels they can put up with all kinds of abuse until you hit them or sideways load them but unlike wheels they are quite difficult to fix.

I prefer the floating hard shell pads they can be bulky but Fox Launch or their virtually identical Nukeproof clones have it sorted they're all-day comfortable especially after wearing them in. Have tested mine a lot they shrug off trail rash like it never happened and for proppa impacts they are amazing. Just get up and carrying on riding

Get some you won't regret it

poah

sofaboy73 wrote:

depends where you're riding but i would go for ones that have a flexible plastic shell built in to them eg the fox launch pro etc.

can't see how thinner (no shell) pads provide anything more than abrasion protection and on a knee vs tree / rock interface your still going to be coming off worse. i end up doing a fair few rocky downhills in the peak and launch pro's have saved my knee's on more than one occassion and they're not uncomfortable to wear.

remember that they are not ment for DH runs.

Ferrals

Angus Young wrote:

Ferrals wrote:

I've also got the trail skins.. problem is I can't quite bring myself to wear them, I've worn them around the house and they feel comfy but the thought of powering up a hill in them is stopping my from putting them on. I'm sure I'll be posting a picture of a destroyed knee soon! :-)

What's the issue?

I think the heat and restriction will slow me down going up hill and as a lot of my rides I'm in semi xc training mode they stay at home :oops: to be fair, I'm recovering from a shoulder injury so am just cruising the downs and when I'm back to speed and riding more tech trails I'm sure I'll wear them. Will prob give them a crack this week and realise they aren't a hindrance at all and never take them off

sofaboy73

POAH wrote:

sofaboy73 wrote:

depends where you're riding but i would go for ones that have a flexible plastic shell built in to them eg the fox launch pro etc.

can't see how thinner (no shell) pads provide anything more than abrasion protection and on a knee vs tree / rock interface your still going to be coming off worse. i end up doing a fair few rocky downhills in the peak and launch pro's have saved my knee's on more than one occassion and they're not uncomfortable to wear.

remember that they are not ment for DH runs.

fair point, but you still get rocks and tree's other than on down hill runs. having wacked my knee on some lovely lumps of rock in coed y brenin recently i'll stick to the greater protection of the plastic shell

Angus Young

Ferrals wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

Ferrals wrote:

I've also got the trail skins.. problem is I can't quite bring myself to wear them, I've worn them around the house and they feel comfy but the thought of powering up a hill in them is stopping my from putting them on. I'm sure I'll be posting a picture of a destroyed knee soon! :-)

What's the issue?

I think the heat and restriction will slow me down going up hill and as a lot of my rides I'm in semi xc training mode they stay at home :oops: to be fair, I'm recovering from a shoulder injury so am just cruising the downs and when I'm back to speed and riding more tech trails I'm sure I'll wear them. Will prob give them a crack this week and realise they aren't a hindrance at all and never take them off

They're only knee pads, not a spacesuit.

Ferrals

Really?? I think I was mis-sold mine - I got these:http://costumespecialists.com/rentals/corporate-characters/michelin-man/#.U_4waWK9KSM

Angus Young

Ah, yes, I see how they might be a little sweaty and restrictive. Nice and bouncy, though.

poah

Ferrals wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

Ferrals wrote:

I've also got the trail skins.. problem is I can't quite bring myself to wear them, I've worn them around the house and they feel comfy but the thought of powering up a hill in them is stopping my from putting them on. I'm sure I'll be posting a picture of a destroyed knee soon! :-)

What's the issue?

I think the heat and restriction will slow me down going up hill and as a lot of my rides I'm in semi xc training mode they stay at home :oops: to be fair, I'm recovering from a shoulder injury so am just cruising the downs and when I'm back to speed and riding more tech trails I'm sure I'll wear them. Will prob give them a crack this week and realise they aren't a hindrance at all and never take them off

my knees only heat up when I'm standing still, they stay cool when cycling

Angus Young

POAH wrote:

my knees only heat up when I'm standing still, they stay cool when cycling

If I'm standing still for any length of time I drop them round my ankles because I like the nonchalant teenager look.