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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2002
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    The best shin/knee pads?

    After a fairly minor crash that has pretty much crippled me I'm looking for recommendations for some good knee/shin pads. I was wearing Roach hard shell pads that suck a mile of cock. They do not stay up over the top of my knee and when I went down I smoked the top of my knee on a rock. This is an unacceptable protective ear failure and I'm thinking there must be something better than that Roach shit.

    Judging by the size of my swollen knee I've probably got 2-3 weeks to consider my options. Whataya got?
    You are what you eat.
    ---------------------------------------------------
    There's no such thing as bad snow, just shitty skiers.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
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    Exit, CO
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    748
    Dainese Viking Bib, if they still make them or you can find them in your size.
    The older I get, the faster I was.






    Punch it, Chewie.

    Damn he seems cool.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    Dedicated knee pads stay in place much better than knee/shin combos. Which is good for the knees, not so good for the shins.

    I just picked up some Demon Dirt knee pads and am super stoked on them. Taken a few first-base slides and they haven't budged. At all.
    I'm so hardcore, I'm gnarcore.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    Seattle
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    If you want Knee only... I've found the the TLD T-Bone(er) stays in place, durable and well priced.
    I picked up a second pair after the first set started holding a constant stink — still kept for backup needs tho.
    They hold up to regular machine washing too.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    4,126
    same problem with Roach/Raceface. no knee protection.

    just picked up a pair of the fox launch knee/shin which get great reviews for staying up, but besides a couple squats and lunges in the shop, I have no personal experience as of yet. they seem like they are going to do the trick and they go on and off ridiculously easy.

    Now, if i can find a elbow/forearm pad that will stay in place.
    "A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles."
    — Edward Abbey (Desert Solitaire)

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2005
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    Germania
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    671
    ^so far I've found the RaceFace/Roach FR elbow/forearm pads to stay in place nicely.

    As for knee/shin combos, I'm starting to give up. I bought some POC Bones after seeing my mate's pair. Thought they'd be better than the old 661s I had, but the first test (first day ) they turned like a top. The 661 Race look better, have a strap that goes above and below the knee - I think this is key to having any chance of staying on. Another mate has them and says they are much better than his old ones.

    I'm thinking about switching to plain knee-pads, if I have to sacrafice knee or shin I think I'll go the shin. Would prefer not to have to make the choice though.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
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    769
    I usually just ride with knee pads (661 Kyle Straight), and rarely have any complaints. For the rare occasion where I feel like I need shin protection I still use the knee pads and just through some Lizard Skin shin guards on. That combo works perfect, doesn't move at all.
    Thanks Shane

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    69
    I second the Fox Launch shin/knee pad. Got them last year after the straps on my 661's were too stretched out to do any good.
    They are pretty hot if there's much pedaling, but they stay where you put them and super easy on and off.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by lph View Post
    just picked up a pair of the fox launch knee/shin which get great reviews for staying up, but besides a couple squats and lunges in the shop, I have no personal experience as of yet. they seem like they are going to do the trick and they go on and off ridiculously easy.
    That's what I have had for a couple years now, they stay up great for me.


    Quote Originally Posted by lph View Post
    Now, if i can find a elbow/forearm pad that will stay in place.
    Have you tried the Fox Launch ones? Stay in place great for me.


    Beaver - I haven't personally tried any, but the reactive d3o pads are supposed to be the shit.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
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    Southeast New York
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    If they fit you right the Specialized Rocca is the ticket. Last I looked they had them on closeout on their site for $55. They're redesigning for next year so dumping the current ones. I don't know how they can make them better....

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
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    in the trench
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    these don't move because of the angle of the strap at the top of your calf and top straps. way more protection with raised plastic shells and they last for ever. i've had mine for 8 yrs. just picked up elbows last yr. they looked like my dainese but they have a seam on the outside where it bends with your arm to give it shape, awesome, again they just stay in place. little details go a long way
    http://www.beastgear.com/armour/leg.html

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    in your second home, doing heroin
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    One of the keys to staying in place is to find a pad that has rigid 'lockdown points'. On something over your knee the obvious answer is around your calf. Most pads use an elastic strap over the top of the calf which is why most pads suck donkey dick when you stuff your knee into something. There's a reason chin straps on helmets, and climbing harnesses aren't elastic. Why the hell people think that a kneepad which you also want to stay in place should be any different is a testament to the geniuses designing this stuff.

    The best knee/shin combo I've used are the T.H.E. storm pads because although they do use an elastic calf strap, it's really short and you can max it out so that it essentially becomes rigid. I rode dirtjumps and dh with those for over a year and a half, at shit as frequently as I always do, and never once got a boo boo. Love'em. Nobody carries them though so they're hard to find. I had to track a pair down of some small town Bmx site.

    The fox launch pads are weird. They do work pretty damn well but that's mostly because they rest against the top of your foot and have a pretty sticky inner lining once it gets sweaty.
    Besides the comet that killed the dinosaurs nothing has destroyed a species faster than entitled white people.-ajp

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    Wasatch Backside
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    317
    Glad I read this thread. I was ready to buy the POCs, but if they slide I'm not dumping that kinda money into em. Looks like I'll be trying out the Fox.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
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    Shadynasty's Jazz Club
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    I'll sorta second or add to kidwoo's post. The strap that goes around the top of your calf is the only one that really matters. If you're not cinching it good and tight, or if it's not holding, the pads are going to slide.

    I have Roach pads and replaced the three elastic shin straps with some hefty webbing and sewed some velcro on them. You couldn't get them to budge if you tried. With some mods, I'm still convinced they're the best knee/shin pads available as far as protection goes.
    Remind me. We'll send him a red cap and a Speedo.

  15. #15
    131crew Guest
    Some knee pads designed for skiing actually work pretty well for aggressive XC/AM riding when you just want a little something something. They allow a mad range of comfortable movement. Both of these have rigid bottom calf straps and don't migrate at all. I prefer the ArcTeryx ones, but the BD's have more coverage above the knee joint. Wouldn't use them for full blown DH.

    http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com...eesis-kneepad/

    http://www.arcteryx.com/Product.aspx...ries/Knee-Caps

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    New Hampshire
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    I have found that whether I'm wearing my 661s or RaceFaces, the 661 stretchy knee gaitors that go over the knee pad solve all problems for me ( I dunno what they are called, but 15 bucks well spent)

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    I have a pair of 661 pads sorta like these fox:

    That have a hinge at the knee... you need to crank them down but they work well.

    They are hot and a ton of material and suck to pedal too much with...
    www.dpsskis.com
    www.point6.com
    formerly an ambassador for a few others, but the ski industry is... interesting.
    Fukt: a very small amount of snow.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    I should clarify. the Race Face/Roach stay up while riding, but I have had the same problem that Beaver had; when I crash, the top of the knee pad slide downs and the top of my knee and lower thigh gets cut up or worse you take a rock to the knee cap. This even if the pad itself has not moved below the knee. And, yes, I wrap the upper the straps around the knee and overlap them for extra hold. I have tried two sizes and both had the same problem.

    there needs to be extra material above the hard shell knee cap protector on the raceface pads IMO, which may have been added to some degree on their newer pads. Sort of like the Fox Titans pictured below.
    "A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles."
    — Edward Abbey (Desert Solitaire)

  19. #19
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    ^^I've never had that issue, and I've definitely put them to the test. Must have something to do with being old and/or Canadian?
    Remind me. We'll send him a red cap and a Speedo.

  20. #20
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    Oct 2003
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    ^^^^BASTARD!!!
    "A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles."
    — Edward Abbey (Desert Solitaire)

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by bagtagley View Post
    ^^I've never had that issue, and I've definitely put them to the test. Must have something to do with being old and/or Canadian?
    I think you might be right about that. We old Canadians go pretty fucking hard.

    Those Specialized Roccos look nice. Too bad you can't buy them if you live in Canada.
    You are what you eat.
    ---------------------------------------------------
    There's no such thing as bad snow, just shitty skiers.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
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    in transit
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    alpinstars moab knee shin is really well thought out and way better than any other combo option I have tried, and I've been through alot of them. Check out the above the knee attachment point and you will see why they don't slide. Also thin enough to wear under jeans without issue. I am stoked on them.
    Quote Originally Posted by 3centshort View Post
    I figure when he realized he was still 10-15 feet off as he flew the K his asshole puckered so hard it ate his nuts
    Quote Originally Posted by iceman View Post
    In the other scenario, you would be like "Peanut Butter, cool, fuck I'm stuck HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME oh fuck I'm screwed, but at least I have time to think about how screwed I am. I guess that is a blessing. FUCK NO IT'S NOT A BLESSSING I'M STUCK AND I'M DYING.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    in your second home, doing heroin
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    Quote Originally Posted by 300hp View Post
    alpinstars moab knee shin is really well thought out and way better than any other combo option I have tried, and I've been through alot of them. Check out the above the knee attachment point and you will see why they don't slide. Also thin enough to wear under jeans without issue. I am stoked on them.
    I rode with someone who uses those and they looked pretty burly. The guy was spansrd by them though so I had to take his opinions with a grain of salt. It doesn't look like there's really much plastic covering the shin however. You're pretty happy with them though?
    Besides the comet that killed the dinosaurs nothing has destroyed a species faster than entitled white people.-ajp

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    661 Kyle Strait's for a dedicated knee pad. They hold in place pretty well for me and are actually somewhat tolerable to pedal in, although I wouldn't crank 10 miles in them to get to the downhill.
    "If I could have any K2 skis this year I'd go with the Volkl Gotamas." - Monique

  25. #25
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    I'm actually kinda diggin the shorty version of the fox Launch pads. Haven't tested them much against hard stuff yet, but they actually do stay in place while riding and during the get-off I had so far, but I'm not totally sure how. They can't touch my ankles

    Can't agree more with woos comment about a non-elastic strap above the calf, that's why BD tele knee pads have one.

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