Knee protection--who's got what?

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 4:05 pm

Ok, we don't have a topic soley about knee protection but it's easy to rip yours up on a scooter if you go down. So who has knee protection? What brand? What are the Pros and Cons of the brand? Sing out! (I know Krustyburger has some cool knee protecters but cannot find the thread where she talks about them).

I'm going on a long trip in a few weeks and am considering picking up something to strap on my knees--possibly even a set of gardening kneepads to velcro over my jeans so I can whip them off whenever I need to. But I want some information first; I'll spend good money if it's a worthy cause (I've had 3-4 knee operations so I am of a mind to protect them from here on out, even though I still play soccer).

Becktastic · Post by **Becktastic** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 4:20 pm

I appreciate you starting this thread

I tweaked my knee hiking down a slippery mountain in Peru and if I'm not careful I'm going to need knee replacement before I'm thirty (Those freaking Inkans and their stairs! Hundreds of stairs everywhere you go, but I just kept going on it because I didn't want to miss anything.)

Then I bashed the same knee in my fall the other day. The bruise seems to be expanding...

I want something I can easily strap over whatever I am wearing, because I intend to wear them whenever I am riding.

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 4:53 pm

Yes, your thread got me thinking about this some more. That picture of your knee was definitely "not sexy"!

Becktastic · Post by **Becktastic** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:22 pm

Reading through "Who's crashed?" I have noticed the knee bash is a pretty popular injury, but most people still ride with only a helmet and jacket, if anything.

Jake · Post by **Jake** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:42 pm

My windproof, waterproof, quilted textile pants have knee and hip protection. I was hot (not warm) from the waist to the ankles in a WI January on my 600cc, so I don't wear them now. I'll probably carry them along with me if I start scooting in really cold temps.
I know there's armor for under leathers and such, but I don't know of any just-slip-it-over type stuff. Then again, I haven't looked in a while.

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:44 pm

Mine are Moose Racing M1 knee guards, I think this was the photo in "Who's Crashed" you're referring to:

schlagle · Post by **schlagle** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:05 pm

I wear these:

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/ ... pants.aspx

I would say they are the bare minimum in knee protection tho. Just a bit of padding, no real armor.

coffeekittie · Post by **coffeekittie** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:47 pm

A good pair of motorcycle pants should have great (and comfortable) knee and hip protection, if they fit properly. I always feel I could get smacked pretty hard and still be ok when I'm wearing mine.

k1dude · Post by **k1dude** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:46 pm

Like coffeekittie said, many makes of motorcycle pants have built-in armor. If you want strap on armor, there is tons to choose from in the offroad riding section of retailers online and in stores. Choose the ones that offer the best protection and fit and feel the best. You can also check out mountain biking armor which is usually a bit lighter and better ventilated.

Alix B · Post by **Alix B** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:58 pm

I add gear the more miles that I spend on the road, having seen the amount of idiots on the road. I've also gone down before, about 4x, and feel really blessed not to have been hurt at all.

I won some Dainese Cargo Pants at the SF rally. They were my favorite, but unfortunately, the cotton material of the pants won't really hold up in an extreme slide--nor in intense everyday use. And hell if I would actually pay full price for those pants.
http://www.dainese.com/eng/articolo.asp ... lo=1755003
Fortunately I salvaged the armor form the pants and can make them work with my thicker Carhartts. They just aren't as sexy that way though.

The Icon armor gets me pretty excited.
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/ ... uards.aspx
It gets good reviews, feels nice, and is expensive.

Let's face it, ATGATT, dominates. But I think you can save some bucks and not buy the heavy duty stuff--not for your local scoot commute.
Alpine Star makes a reflex knee guard that is $25 on new enough.
http://www.newenough.com/armor/elbow_sh ... uards.html

I rode with them and they worked fine, but I found them hotter than the other armor. I prefer to keep my armor underneath my clothes, but those knee pads were so bulky that they bust out my knees on the jeans.

armacham · Post by **armacham** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 9:40 pm

i'm thinking of ordering these after a couple weeks of earning money at my new job. http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/ ... Pants.aspx

The biggest selling point is the mesh part for me. In arizona, heavy ventilation is needed for about 8 months out of the year. I'll probably only wear them for long rides though. I just can't see myself putting them on everytime I need to leave the house. At least in this way I understand the people who choose not to wear certain other types of gear.

Seems like a pretty good metaphor for religion if you ask me.

scoot121 · Post by **scoot121** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 9:52 pm

I bought draggin jeans with the armor. Some people thinks it's overboard but I can't afford to take time off work because of a crash so I use them.

robtaylor · Post by **robtaylor** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:10 pm

i've got fieldsheer's fourseason pants they are a combo of mesh and not and they have a liner for cold weather. they have knee, hip and tailbone protection. they meet the 3 criteria of: abrasion protection, impact protection, and visibility.

armacham · Post by **armacham** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:28 pm

robonz23 wrote:i've got fieldsheer's fourseason pants they are a combo of mesh and not and they have a liner for cold weather. they have knee, hip and tailbone protection. they meet the 3 criteria of: abrasion protection, impact protection, and visibility.

how are they when it gets warmer?

charlie55 · Post by **charlie55** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:07 pm

Here's what I use.....

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/ ... uards.aspx

robtaylor · Post by **robtaylor** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:47 am

armacham wrote:
robonz23 wrote:i've got fieldsheer's fourseason pants they are a combo of mesh and not and they have a liner for cold weather. they have knee, hip and tailbone protection. they meet the 3 criteria of: abrasion protection, impact protection, and visibility.
how are they when it gets warmer?

it was 92 today with 60% humidity and i was fine. much warmer and i couldn't have gone all 5 hours that i rode.

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:39 am

Good stuff, everyone--thanks!

To clarify: I'm only looking for something I can wear outside of my normal jeans on my long trip. I don't have the cash to buy a full pair of armored pants. I'm sure there are plenty of poor drivers out there (I've found Oklahoma drivers to be surprisingly kind to scooterists) and I'm bound to run into a few on my trip from OK to IN/IL!

Those Alpine Star kneepads look pretty solid and the M1s that Krusty has seem pretty good, as I recall from her description of her spill. I'm leaning towards something like that. The EVS knee/shin guards are a little pricey for me (to put that in perspective, I'm stretching the budget a bit to buy a new pair of regular jeans for the trip!).

The more information, the merrier! Keep posting if you've got something!

Drumwoulf · Post by **Drumwoulf** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:00 pm

My knees like to breathe in hot weather.. So shorts, calf-length socks, and ankle boots help them out!

newslinky · Post by **newslinky** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:15 am

Got a pair of Rocketgear ballistic 5.0 with built in knee armor for $70 on clearance at a Cycle Gear near me. Wear them whenever I go on any trip longer than a couple miles. Not bad as far as heat as they seem to insulate against heat or cold getting in or out of them pretty well.

k1dude · Post by **k1dude** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:25 am

Drumwoulf wrote:My knees like to breathe in hot weather.. So shorts, calf-length socks, and ankle boots help them out!

Shorts are too hot and confining. I prefer speedo briefs in hi-viz.

AJB · Post by **AJB** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:09 am

I bought the Alpine Stars and returned them because I just didn't like the fit. As Alix noted, they're bulky, and I wasn't very confident that they'd stay put in a crash as the velcro straps didn't get to tight and there was no strap on the very top (above the knee). I haven't found an alternative, but wouldn't recommend those. It seems like all of the one-size-fits-all options don't fit us thinner folks very well.

KABarash · Post by **KABarash** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:20 pm

Never thought of knee protection, although I had some pretty good rash on my knee from my small spill 2 years ago...... Guess I could just swipe my son's combat knee pads he was just issued

Alix B · Post by **Alix B** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:17 pm

bump!

bluebuddygirl · Post by **bluebuddygirl** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:28 pm

Thanks for bumping this Alix. I keep thinking I really need some sort of armored bottoms, but have had some trouble with fit, never mind the expense of full pants, but at high speeds I find myself thinking about my knees alot!

oryx · Post by **oryx** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:33 pm

in addition to the icon field knee armor, i also have a pair of the womens Scorpion Savannah pants. they are comfy and nicely fitted for a woman They are kind of a pain to wear to/from work and to change in/out of at work, so i tend to wear them only on longer journeys.

siobhan · Post by **siobhan** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:43 pm

For the ladies, a review of the Joe Rocket Ballistic pants...I'm lovin' them and felt they were very affordable at $75 off eBay new.
topic10413.html

Cheshire · Post by **Cheshire** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 5:54 pm

Here's a first-hand account for Draggin' Jeans I ran across on ADVRider.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=377832

olhogrider · Post by **olhogrider** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:08 am

I think I paid about $12 for a set of AXO off road knee/shin guards. I strapped them on over jeans. I was sweating under them but they took a good gash when I crashed on the rocks at the dirt bike park. This was on the KLR, not the Buddy!!

Quo Vadimus · Post by **Quo Vadimus** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 2:06 am

tourmaster is one of the few brands that make men's pant sizes small enough for me. I've been very happy with the fit, although I had some poorly constructed seams on my mesh pair (fixed for free by the wondrously kind seamstress lady at the strip mall next door), and my girlfriend's tourmaster bag had a similar sewing issue.

I was wearing these (I think - tourmaster jean pant or something like that) (not purchased from this vendor)

when I went down in the rain. I was glad. My knee was sore for an hour or so after. Judging by the hole and scratches in the pants, I think it would've been much worse in jeans. They held up and did their job.

I wear the Icon field armor when I need to be somewhere in "real" pants and don't want to change. I don't think they're as comprehensive in their protection, but I do think they'll do well for blunt force impacts. I suspect the pads may shift or roll in a slide.

Coffeejunkie · Post by **Coffeejunkie** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:07 pm

Becktastic wrote:I appreciate you starting this thread I tweaked my knee hiking down a slippery mountain in Peru and if I'm not careful I'm going to need knee replacement before I'm thirty (Those freaking Inkans and their stairs! Hundreds of stairs everywhere you go, but I just kept going on it because I didn't want to miss anything.)

Then I bashed the same knee in my fall the other day. The bruise seems to be expanding...

I want something I can easily strap over whatever I am wearing, because I intend to wear them whenever I am riding.

Thank for making this thread. After the love bite I got on my knee from my little fender bender I really want to get something for the good old knees.

Coffeejunkie · Post by **Coffeejunkie** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:12 pm

Becktastic wrote:Then I bashed the same knee in my fall the other day. The bruise seems to be expanding...

Since I hurt my knee I keep doing the same damn thing. So far I've knocked into the coffee table twice, my computer once and two door jams when I was on vacation in NYC. Of course I'm a super klutz so there for genetically more prone to injury.

Coffeejunkie · Post by **Coffeejunkie** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:19 pm

k1dude wrote:
Drumwoulf wrote:My knees like to breathe in hot weather.. So shorts, calf-length socks, and ankle boots help them out!
Shorts are too hot and confining. I prefer speedo briefs in hi-viz.

Heck I find it better to just put some saran wrap on the seat and let it all air out.

bluebuddygirl · Post by **bluebuddygirl** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:20 pm

siobhan wrote:For the ladies, a review of the Joe Rocket Ballistic pants...I'm lovin' them and felt they were very affordable at $75 off eBay new.
topic10413.html

The Joe Rocket stuff is too slim for me. I wear a medium in their jackets and to wear their pants I would have to get an XXL and they charge more for that size, and I just refuse to get an XXL. It's a little insulting, in that I am not skinny, but a large or a regular extra large should do.

enzomatic · Post by **enzomatic** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:46 pm

You can pants if you want to, you can leave your friends behind.....
can anyone tell me the name of this version of the song???
it's actually what I have in my head whenever I gear up.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 6:07 pm

enzomatic wrote:You can pants if you want to, you can leave your friends behind.....
can anyone tell me the name of this version of the song???
it's actually what I have in my head whenever I gear up.

I don't know what the version you're singing is, but the original version ("You can dance if you want to") is called "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats.