If you’re going to fall and smash your knees up you could get dislocated knees, fractures, meniscal tears, ACL injuries (anterior cruciate ligament), tendon tears, among a litany of other injuries. A pair of knee pads is not going to protect against every possible knee injury in every possible crash, but it is going to do a good job of protecting your knees in most injuries. With skating, especially aggressive skating, you can end up bumping and bashing your knees a lot, so getting a pair of excellent knee pads helps make your experience more comfortable by preventing these minor injuries. That, in itself, is a great reason to invest in a decent pair.
If the last time you bought knee pads was in the 80s, I have something to tell you – a lot has changed in the world of knee pads. There’s some out there that bear little resemblance to those giant white plastic pads of the earliest skaters and skateboarders.
Given all the alternatives out there, weighing up the pros and cons, the ones I highly recommend are the G-Form Elite Knee-Shin Guards.
Go straight to Amazon to check out their features here
They’re designed to give high end performance and protection, whilst still allowing a maximum range of movement, they look cool, have a low-profile articulated design that allows them to form around your knee unique to the shape of your knee. You wear these underneath your trousers and you can barely tell you’re wearing them.
They’re also designed to work well across a range of action sports like mountain biking, snowboarding and you could probably even wear them around your house if you’re doing a lot of DIY on your knees…
Not only do they look cool for knee pads (as I’ve mentioned with helmets – this is important), they also basically act a bit like armour against the many smaller bumps you’re getting. And it’s cool to have armour.
Why I Recommend the G-Form Elite Knee-Shin Guards
These are made for mountain bikers. And this is a good thing. Mountain bikers can crash through woods at incredible speeds, sending them flying and leaving their knees open to all sorts of smashes. They also really need the flexibility to keep their legs pumping up and down on the pedals. Mountain biking is also an enormous sport with lots of money and technological innovation behind it – having these as inline skating knee pads is fantastic because inline sometimes doesn’t get the top-end technology available to bigger sports.
Unlike the old 90s knee pads that you may or may not remember, these aren’t giant moulded pieces of rigid plastic that sit above your knee, they use G-Forms patented “reaction protection” technology, which feels softer to the touch, is positioned in sub sections that that bend and shape around the contours of your knee, shin and leg. They can fit underneath baggy enough trousers and shorts, and are more flexible than the older style knee pads. This gives your knee more movement.
Basically, they’re squishy and provide maybe an inch of padding and are fantastic for all the little falls, bonks and scrapes and when you ever kneel down, while being a bit like simply wearing leggings. But because they become hard upon impact and they’re a good all-round pair of knee pads.
The basic knee guards come in between $48.00 – $175.81 and the ones that extend down the shin come between $94.74 – $211.84.
You can get them easily off Amazon – just check your sizing (see below for a sizing tip)
If you want a pair that don’t extend down your shins, they do an excellent pair of just knee protection. See here:
Check the Basic Knees Guards Without Shin Protection out on Amazon here
What Are Some Of The Key Features That Make G-Form The Best Knee Pads?
The big one is they’re not huge and bulky. They form around your leg – that’s huge. They slip on easily and allow you to get on with your skating, moving your joint through its full range of motion as if they weren’t there. Being able to skate without them bothering you is one of their best features.
They’re soft to the touch. Now for an interesting bit of science that explains this: The molecules within this soft material slightly repeal each other which makes allows you to prod them with your finger slowly and push into them, but when you try to smash into them (upon impact) the molecules bind together. This makes the material hard, allowing them then to effectively absorb the main brunt of the force and dissipate it.
So, with the neoprene, you basically have the hard foam on the outside which takes the brunt of the impact and becomes hard, while you have the soft ‘foam’ on the inside close to your knee where you want it for comfort. The outer part acts like hard plastic only at the moment of impact. These knee pads follow the modern trend in performance equipment, able to give you all the performance whilst also being comfortable. Isn’t the modern world marvellous?
They are certified for bicyclist limb protection (CE en 1621-1: 2012) which gives you confidence an industry safety body has tested them. Now, it’s common that a lot of the knee pads you get should be certified to some level and that’s more like a ‘necessary’ condition than a feature, but it’s worth mentioning.
They are “body-mapped” in their design. You’ll notice the geometric pattern which tessellates (yay: got to use the word ‘tessellate”!) providing points at which the material has little joints. It’s put together that way to allow it to bend and form around the shape of a human knee. The size and shape of the pads is distributed taken into consideration how to protect the joint.
The comfort and fit is a big one. Mentioned above these aren’t bulky. But beyond that the material used is a moisture-wicking compression fabric. It has a 2-panel design, and is supposed to act like a “second skin”. Together these material features are designed to keep the wearer dry. In addition, in case you were wondering, it has a UPF rating of 50+, so it keeps the sun away. But I half feel like most any clothing does that. But it’s nice to know… The entire piece is also pretty light, which makes a huge difference to your comfort when wearing them.
The thinner material on the back is also potentially quite good for those really hot days.
Is it breathable? Well, yes it is designed to be quite breathable though your experience may differ depending on exactly how sweaty you get when you skate. The moisture-wicking fabric is supposed to help you deal with the sweat though, and it does a good enough job.
Machine washable! This is also something you should expect, but thank god you actually get to wash them. They could really start to build up a smell if this wasn’t possible. This can also help you avoid rashes forming. I recommend you throw them in the wash after every use. Unless of course you don’t mind wearing smelly things… And if you don’t mind wearing smelly things, everyone is of course entitled to smell as much as they like as long as the stand away from other people.
G-Form Elite Knee Versus Shin-Knee Guards
Now, you don’t have to go in and get the knee-shin guards. I want to say that straight out, these are just the ones I personally recommend just because of the extra protection they give to that area below your knee, that we all like to call the shin. I care about my shins a lot. And these fit underneath your trousers so they’re hidden from view, and the fact they shape around your leg means you can basically wear these guards without even realising you are (I mean, you realise you are, but you know what I mean – they don’t really get in the way of skating). Having them also protect your shin is something I highly recommend, just in general for a nicer life.
If you just want the knee pad version, then I recommend the G-Form Elite Knee Guards.
Get the knee pad version on Amazon here
Or the G-Form Pro X2s.
Get the G-Form Pro X2 on Amazon – available in both adults and kids sizes.
What’s The Difference Between the G-Form Pro X, X2 & Elite Versions?
The Elite knee pad version provides a little more protection around the side of the knees as well as the centre, so that’s why I recommend them over the G-Form Pro X2. However, that version is also pretty good as it’s very similar in design and technology, just with a slightly different coverage area.
The Pro-X2s are better than the Pro-X if you can get them, the pad is designed a little more ergonomically to also extend further around the side of the knee than the X, and the X2 also have vents to help with cooling. The level of protection is the same, but the X2 also have additional fabric that helps reduce friction when sliding on hard surfaces. So you should go with the X2 between the X and X2.
The Elite line is one better still. The pads are designed for more advanced users. Particularly advanced bike riders. The Pro-X range are targeted more to beginner and intermediate across a range of categories. The Elite pads are thicker and slightly longer, and overall offer increased protection both in terms of impact and their coverage.
How Well Do The G-Form Knee Pads Do In A Crash?
The material can rip a bit easily. Several people who’ve bought them have found that. But this only happens in certain instances, and you shouldn’t necessarily expect that to happen to you. Also, this is a reason to wear them under something else. There is an argument to say you can find rigid knee protectors that are just going to offer a better overall barrier against really hard falls, but talking in general terms these are going to work well for most trips, falls and crashes. As long as you get the ones that protect around the side of your knees as well.
Because they’re designed for multiple sports including snowboarding and cycling, so they should provide a decent level of protection.
Sizing of the G-Form Knee Pads
Size up if you’re on the cusp. Basically, they can come in a tiny bit small, so you if you’re on the border between two sizes get the size up.
The first time you put them on they’ll feel tighter than they eventually will after you use them a few times, so be aware of that when you first try them on.
What about slipping?
They generally stay on well and shouldn’t slip too much, especially if you pull them up properly. They have a special inner lining at the top that is supposed to stop them slipping, but it really depends how much your unique movement affects them, it’s not going to be perfect but it’s pretty good and they should stay in place. Most people find they stay in place.
