I have 661 4x4’s, they kept slipping down exposing my knee (common problem for them), straps were WAY too loose for my super skinny legs, and didn’t have enough knee padding if they hadn’t slipped. So I cut off the knees, sowed the shins shut and more elastic into the lower straps, and added hard skate knee pads. Now everything is good but takes a while to take on/off.
I have hardshell Fox Launch elbows which I like a lot.
I’m thinking of KH Purcussion for my next knee/shin pads, and a fully padded “jacket” for my upper body.
The upper and lower straps don’t function the same way and aren’t interchangeable but thanks for the tip!
I have a nearly-new set of the new style (knee cup) medium KH Percussion Leg Armor if you’re interested. I occasionally wear a Raceface Flank Core D30 shirt to protect my shoulders and back (if I’m doing something extra dangerous). I have a Demon D3O Hypervest that I never wear, too. I got it to protect against puncture type injuries going fast through trees but found it to be too hot. It has great shoulder and elbow protection, too.
So any thoughts specifically on the “phase-change” or “rate-dependent” pad material? It looks like Demon Flex Force X and Race Face Flank gear have “D3O” padding while G-Form has something called “RPT” that sounds about the same. By one name or another, flexible like foam most of the time but instantly becomes rigid when something hits it hard enough. (Am I missing other brands and trade names for the stuff?)
It seems to be somewhere between soft EVA foam and hard shell armor in comfort vs protection, but maybe the priciest option; maybe also the target of LanceB’s “a hard hit in the right place will still hurt” comment.
I’m fortunate to be in an area where there are a lot of unicyclists and have seen guys experimenting with a lot. I think it follows what you see here – everyone has their own preference between weight and warmth and safety consciousness.
I prefer the Percussion, despite their heat, because the back of the leg protection is worth it to me. A friend who rides with G-form swears by them and has proven them in some pretty hard hits. Another guy just picked up some cheap protection from the skateboard section of the local big box sports store.
For whatever reason, I seem prone to falling more than some others – big, Superman falls that make people wince – and I have kids and a mortgage, so I’m willing to wear more protection than others. When I rode down the mountain in Durango, Colorado, I stopped by a motorcycle shop and bought a motorcycle jacket for under a hundred bucks. Overkill? Hot? Probably, but I took a couple of hard falls that I barely felt. I’m a better rider when I feel more confident. If you’re interested, Motorcycle Superstore sells online.
