Thoughts on Pads?

mtbklutz · 2 Weeks Ago

Forgive me if this topic has already been covered... I didn't have great luck with the search function. I was thinking about investing in some protective gear and I'd to hear some discussion on peoples experiences.

My thoughts:

I'm thinking knee, elbow and maybe partial radial/ulnar coverage would probably be sufficient for most crashes and all mountain riding.
Full armor would be overkill and burdensome.

My Questions:

I realize that opinions will vary but what gear (if any) do you wear or feel is most beneficial?
Do you feel more confident riding with pads and is it worth the hassle of wearing them?
Are there pads that are comfortable enough to be worn an entire ride or is it best to just throw them on for the downhill?
Do you prefer the soft or hardshell type? I'm assuming there must be a trade-off there between protection and comfort/functionality.
Finally, can anybody recommend and specific products? I was thinking about these:

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/154...Knee-Guard.htm
and these:
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...Arm+Guard.aspx

Thanks for the input.

ExCactus · 2 Weeks Ago

You have it on the nose with the type of knee guards. They work great and are really comfortable. For winter riding I will just wear those and baggies for the whole ride and be fine temperature wise, although in the middle of summer you might get your sweat on wearing them. I wear those as well as 661 Evo elbows, which are extremely comfortable as well. These will also get a little sweaty but I think you kind of just get used to it, and once again I just wear these with a short sleeve jersey and am fine for somewhat cooler temps at least. I would say I ride more confidently wearing them if I'm going to be hitting some drops, jumps, skinnies etc, but I dont find them necessary for standard xc. Hope this helps.

silentG · 2 Weeks Ago

I roll with helmet (Bell Faction), forearm/elbow (661 2x4), knee (Rockgardn LZ Shorty), and gloves (used to be Mechanix Impact and currently O'Neal Sniper).

I live in Arizona (Prescott) and we have a fair amount of rock, brush, etc so you might pay more for your crash based on the junk that happens to be on the ground when you land.

I wear pads all of the time and I'm pretty comfortable wearing them to the point where it feels strange to not wear them.

It also depends on the types of trails that one is riding as all single track is not created equally in terms of difficulty and potential risk.

The pads I use are a mix of soft/hard:

2x4 - soft/non-rigid but tough, wouldn't trade them
Shorty LZ - hard knee cap pad

I did a fair amount of research before purchasing the gear I have. The Kyle Straits are pretty highly thought of and popular from what I saw.

I went with the Shorty LZ as they were a good deal online (BlueSky I believe) although the Kyle Strait was definitely on the short list.

I figure that melon, hands, elbow, and knee is a pretty good hedge bet against things breaking badly on the trail as I would rather take some insurance any day over missing out on ride time because I made a mistake and crashed or pushed myself and ate it.

I don't ride more aggressively because of the gear but I don't really think about crashing or 'crap, what if I eat it' since I have eaten it pretty hard a couple of times and been fine - couple of scrapes, nothing major, and on my way.

Riding time is always better than healing time in my book.

Hangingchads · 2 Weeks Ago

Gloves, full face depending on where I go, and Fox Titan shin/knee guards. Thats it really. I would like to have elbow and some sort of tailbone guard for some of the downhill techie stuff I do but I don't ride up there allot compared to what I do ride so don't need em really.

I just like having gloves for the easy reasons, and shin knee guards cause I always bang my knees on stuff and every once in a while I will spin a pedal into my shin.

archer · 2 Weeks Ago

Full finger gloves. Some rides I wish I had the armored ones when I get crap (stickers, cactus, palmfronds) sticking through the knuckles.

Knee/shin guards and elbow forearm. I've put grooves in the knee/shin ones more than once. Probably saved getting sliced up a lot this season.

Helmet, standard mtb open face or full face for new areas or more agressive riding.

Yes it is a bit heavier but you get used to it. Mostly the same for the heat. When you do need it it makes wearing it the rest of the time worth it.

twowheelsdown2002 · 2 Weeks Ago

Me and the girlfriend have tried a couple models of Rockgardn, and finally the Dainese 3X. Both of us agree that these are the most comfortable by far.

We do indeed ride with these pads on for entire rides. Most of our rides in fact. Only on rides with super long fire road climbs do we put them on the pack. If the climb has technical rocky sections I just wear them the whole time, and I never even remember that they are there until I need them.

We have had ours over a year now, and they are holding up exceptionally well. They fit like they are anatomically fit to your leg.

Do a search for "pictures of knee pads" and you might find a post I did a while back.

twowheelsdown2002 · 2 Weeks Ago

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.ph...t=pics+of+knee

Gasp4Air · 2 Weeks Ago

Even though I'm really more of an XC rider, I've spilled and endo-ed enough on the roots and rocks that I wear hardshell kneepads. Fairly light ones with top and bottom stretch/velcro straps. Wear the whole ride, even in summer. The key is the hard shell rather than just a pad. Far superior.

Steve.E · 2 Weeks Ago

I use 661 Kyle Strait knee pads, they seem to stay up fine although the left one keeps slipping down recently but I've lost weight so maybe that's got something to do with it.

They're relatively cool, non-intrusive and give me more confidence when riding.