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Knee Pads for the Summer

littlepod

littlepod

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    • Oct 16, 2012
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    Kirkland, WA
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    I normally run 5.11 Pants with the internal knee pads. I have no problem running them in the cooler days but in the hot summers, there's no way I want to wear pants, and the knee pads inside the pants also affect breathability and get me clammy/sweaty. Clammy/sweat pants = makes it worse to kneel in.

    So now I'm thinking of just getting some external strap on knee pads and wearing shorts. Anyone have any good recommendations for external knee pads? I could just get some cheapo ones off Amazon, but wondering if there was anything that stood out to people.

    Thanks!
     
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    Knee pads strapped to your legs will be less breathable than knee pads in your pants. Not to mention you will have elastic bands around your legs all day.

    I got some Wrangler hiking/outdoor pants from target and made pockets on the front that hold the knee pads from my Emerson Gear knock off pants. The Wranglers are much lighter weight and more breathable than the Emerson Gear's.
     
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    These are great: Arcteryx Leaf Combat Knee caps. My only complaint is that the elastic things tend to loosen over time, and you need to tighten them back up. I use them for running around on gravel for IDPA and USPSA when you might need to take a kneeling position.

    Pretty lightweight and you don't really feel them after a while.

    Arc'teryx LEAF Combat Knee Cap | 911supply.ca
     
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    665.0coupe said:
    Knee pads strapped to your legs will be less breathable than knee pads in your pants. Not to mention you will have elastic bands around your legs all day.

    I got some Wrangler hiking/outdoor pants from target and made pockets on the front that hold the knee pads from my Emerson Gear knock off pants. The Wranglers are much lighter weight and more breathable than the Emerson Gear's.
    Click to expand...
    At least with strap on knee pad you don't need to either: buy a lot of expensive pants, or wear the same pair of pants multiple days a week
     
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    They have small amount of padding built in. But offer both soft and hard pad that can slide in. Used to run the 5.11s like these a lot more since the pads slide in from the outside so you can take them out while the pants on.
     
    The HT are the ones I run and off the top of the head the main difference is the HT have vents you can open up to let more air into them. They take the same knee pads iirc. They are designed so you can run the soft pads + hard pads at the same time or just one or the other.
     
    59core said:
    At least with strap on knee pad you don't need to either: buy a lot of expensive pants, or wear the same pair of pants multiple days a week
    Click to expand...

    So far I've been lucky that I can wash them at night if I need to wear them multiple days in a row. I guess you can take the strap on knee pads off between stages, but then it's one more thing to carry around and one more thing to get ready between stages. The Arcteryx's look good though.
     
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    59core said:
    These are great: Arcteryx Leaf Combat Knee caps. My only complaint is that the elastic things tend to loosen over time, and you need to tighten them back up. I use them for running around on gravel for IDPA and USPSA when you might need to take a kneeling position.

    Pretty lightweight and you don't really feel them after a while.
    Arc'teryx LEAF Combat Knee Cap | 911supply.ca'teryx LEAF Combat Knee Cap | 911supply.ca
    Click to expand...

    Have had the Arcteryx for years beginning with my time in the Marine Corps. Really durable, very comfortable, and holds up really well to constant use. My first preference is the Crye combat pants with integrated kneepads, but these are a really close second.
     
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    665.0coupe said:
    So far I've been lucky that I can wash them at night if I need to wear them multiple days in a row. I guess you can take the strap on knee pads off between stages, but then it's one more thing to carry around and one more thing to get ready between stages. The Arcteryx's look good though.
    Click to expand...
    College kid here, what's this washing of pants you speak of? Never heard of it. 😂
     
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    Reactions: BOISCOID and 665.0coupe
    I get a pair of $30 pants off lapg or tact gear that have the knee pad slots. Cut the legs off just below the pads. Only sucks when you gotta walk through cheat grass, sage etc. but I got hairy af legs so I make do
     
    You're going to get a bunch of different opinions, but I'll contribute anyways.

    I wear Leatt Airflex Pros. I can pedal in them all day long and they have decent protection. Multiple 20+ mile rides in them with no issues. They're no DH pad, but they have front, side, and top protection.
     
    I'm not a competitor and I don't know how they will hold up to use outside in the dirt or on concrete.

    I wear these ACE Brand knee pads under coveralls for crawling around the inner bottoms and tanks on ships and they work great for almost 50 year old knees. They stay in place better than the various strap-on knee pads for me, as well.
     
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    I didnt have good luck with pants with the hard pads built in. they seemed to never actually land on my knees when I drop down. they would kick off to one side or the other. I went back to the volly ball style knee pads under the pants and they stay put and its just a wide band instead of 2 tighter straps.
     
    If you are gifted, you could use the style like the arcteryx above and sew on some attachment points to your pants.

    Then the hard plastic gets worn vs your pants of sewn on pockets.

    sew them to be a tad lower than you think and just hike up your leg to position pad well.
     
    I ended up getting these since Amazon has free returns if it didn't work. I ran them in my last 3 matches and they stayed in place and I had no issues with them. They definitely didn't make my knees heat up like the built in ones in my 5.11 pants. Just strapped these over and they worked all day.

     
    =“College kid here, what's this washing of pants you speak of? Never heard of it. 😂
    Click to expand...

    When I was traveling overseas and living cheap we had a saying:
    “Wear them ‘till they’re clean!”
     
    AnimalMother224 said:
    I didnt have good luck with pants with the hard pads built in. they seemed to never actually land on my knees when I drop down. they would kick off to one side or the other. I went back to the volly ball style knee pads under the pants and they stay put and its just a wide band instead of 2 tighter straps.
    Click to expand...
    I had similar problem with the hard-plastic capped knee pads when worn over pants. Seems they would catch on the smallest protrusion and pull down to my shin. Couldn't crawl in them at all.
     
    The Arcteryx address the slip issue by having one of the straps being low stretch and by their light weight.

    The only others out of many tried that I like are these:
    • KP Ultra Flex III™ Tactical Kneepad
    They are clunky looking but stay in place well and have a hinge that works well.

    A good choice if you are going to be crawling around a lot on gravel or rocks (or rebuilding your deck).
     
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    Reactions: Chief_Rick
    "hey, $20 is $20" ............................ all the guys asking about knee pads
     
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