Knee pad recommendations wanted

[variablebinary]

Can anyone recommend knee pads in either ACU or Brown?

No logos are permissible. My legs are like a runners. (thin/muscular)

My current issue knee pads slide all over the place and need to be adjusted constantly. It gets old fast.

I was looking at the Alta Superflex Knee Pads w/ AltaLok. Any feedback on these?

Much appreciated.

[Cold Zero]

The Arc Teryx LEAF knee caps are really good, but do not come in the colors you need. Perhaps you could paint them.

[Iraq Ninja]

The LEAF pads are my favorite and the color blends well with ACU. The buckles are not the best and I have had them come undone.

My second favorite is the Brit mil issued ones. Very simple and you only really need to buckle the bottom strap.

http://www.britishmilitarysurplus.co.uk/ishop/images/1069/kneepad.jpg

Get the LEAF and mod it with velcro.

[tacdrivrnc]

TEAM WENDY has new pads coming out in those colors. I received a test pair at an expo recently and they have been great. The new kind does NOT have the plastic hard cap, it has a softer flexible rubber-type pad. They have been very comfortable and stay in place. The elbow pads are also very low profile.

[readyme]

http://www.hatch-corp.com/detail.aspx?pid=XTAK%20100/200/300/400

I have a set of these Hatch kneepads in tan...they come in a few colors.
They are low profile and move with you well...the best part is the strap clips...very positive attachment, yet easy to remove on the fly.

[rob_s]

Altas were the it thing a couple of years ago and that's what I use. I cross the straps behind my knees and am happy with them.

The Arc'...whatever appear to be the new flavor of the month. Having not used them myself I can't comment on whether that's deserved or because people see them in the right pictures.

IIRC I've been using the Altas for the past 4+ years in matches and classes without complaint. No operational experience.

[Iraq Ninja]

Rob,

I like this flavor. Other than the poor buckle design, it is very good for people who have to wear knee pads all day. You can even wear them under your clothes if needed.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/Iraqninja/KNEEPADS.jpg

[rob_s]

good to know IN. Unfortunately in my circles I see a lot of "I saw this on a video" gear adoption and it's made me rather jaded and suspicious. or, I should say, MORE jaded and suspicious. ;)

At more than double the price of the Altas I don't think I'm likely to get much time with he Arc... unless someone leaves them behind at the range. :D

[M4Guru]

I have used those arteryx pads for a long time with good results. I added velcro as said above for strap management.

Check out Black Diamond's Telekinesis pads. They are kind of like a product improved Arcteryx pad.

[Iraq Ninja]

Those Black Diamond pads look very good. Hmm...

Well, what about when you have no pads? People who have trained with me know I relate everything to body dynamics and how to make all movements as efficient as possible.

Many people put too much weight on their kneeling leg when they go down. Try keeping more weight over the other leg. Flexibility and leg strength is crucial as well. You have to resist gravity just enough to be in control of the knee, not just flop it down as fast as you can.

The knee touches the ground slightly, and then weight is transferred. What if there is something really painful under the knee? Keep the weight off of it and on the other leg while kneeling. This is not very easy though and takes some conditioning. Then, you can float the knee till you find a better spot to touch down.

I find that ankle and hip flexibility also play an important role in kneeling.

I wear knee pads for things other than shooting and kneeling. Banging around in an armoured vehicle can be painful on the knees. There are two types of people who spend a lot of time on their knees and need pads- medics and prostitutes. Knee pads let you focus on the work at hand (or in hand). Pads also help prevent being stuck by that IV needle your buddy threw on the ground, or the broken glass from a vehicle.

Knee pads are good, but most people don't walk around with them on in real life, yet wear them at shooting courses.

[rob_s]

Depending on the range wearing pads may be non-negotiable. Some ranges seem to double as garbage dumps for the local trailer-park crowd.

It's also about repetitions for me. I rarely wear mine now unless the range dictates it (through ground conditions) or unless we're going to be working a whole lot of kneeling (especially monica). I can take several drops as I might need to in a fight, but doing dozens over the course of a short time span and on questionable surfaces it just makes sense to me to protect my knees as much as I can. I view them the same way as eye and ear protection, both of which I may or may not have in a fight and both of which are just PPE for repeated abuse.

[wake.joe]

I don't bother with knee pads at cleaner ranges or indoors.

But I do wear them some places to help prevent extra holes in my pants. I just wear jeans, so nothing special.

[SHIVAN]

I use the Altas, and also try to practice the same sort of "non-flop" going to a knee routine mentioned above. I never really thought about it in so much detail, but my years and years playing catcher in baseball give me a pretty good understand of how to minimize impact with knees on the ground.

[M4Fundi]

I wear knee pads when I'm working and have been using the Arc'y Kneecaps, but they are not perfected for anything other than ice climbing. Arc'y has just changed the color and re-marketed them in their military line of clothing. They are PERFECT for ice climbing which is what they were designed for, but could be improved greatly for tactical work. They do not hold water or sweat like other pads do which is FANTASTIC, but "I" can NOT crawl well in them at all and as INinj says the strap design leaves much to be desired, but the strap design is PERFECT for ice climbing. They move with you better than any other pad I've tried and are VERY light and do not absorb moisture, but mine keep breaking at the narrow plastic cap area (still functional) I love them, but I wish they would have someone like INinj tell them how to upgrade them for Tactical use.

Here is what they excel at
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr280/45Fundi/IMG_2743_2.jpg
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr280/45Fundi/IMG_2158.jpg
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr280/45Fundi/IMG_2619_2.jpg
To keep the photos tactically oriented here is my favorite Ice Terrorist she is wearing kneepads ;)
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr280/45Fundi/IMG_2556_2_2.jpg
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr280/45Fundi/IMG_2599.jpg

[variablebinary]

Mostly I need knee pads that are going to stay in place.

During battle drills my issue pads were all over the place. Also, with the weight of my ruck, AT4, M4, LBE etc etc etc, my knees would get shredded if left unprotected.

I might just go to supply and see if they will swap my pads for a smaller size, and see if that makes a difference.

I got land NAV and battle drills during FTX next month, I will try the Alta's then if the smaller issue knee pads still suck.

[militarymoron]

i just added an elastic loop that i slip over the camlock buckle on the arc'teryx pads to keep the buckle from popping open. look at the last pic in the writeup:
http://www.militarymorons.com/equipment/protective2.html#arcknee

[b6b]

I am not a big fan of knee pads, find the continuous rubbing to be worse than the discomfort of being on a knee for a short time. Although I have the Arc Teryx pads and they are by far the best I have used.

[Outlander Systems]

I am not a big fan of knee pads, find the continuous rubbing to be worse than the discomfort of being on a knee for a short time. Although I have the Arc Teryx pads and they are by far the best I have used.

That's what the appeal to me about the Crye stuff has been. Knee pads suck. They're uncomfortable, and if they're not shifting, they're cutting off your circulation, because you've tightened them up enough to not shift. Then, they're sweat inducing.

I'm going to see what I can do about sewing some neoprene knee pads I have to a pair of BDUs and see how it turns up.

I want knee pads, but, like gloves, I want some knee pads that don't suck.