What Knee Pads Do You Wear?

[Mroy31]

Just got these recently. Used just once so far, but I can say that the garter belt is waaay better than the CCM I had been using with the 1S knee pads. I've always had an issue where the top strap is just not long enough for my legs. It has to be so tight that it forces the top part down my leg, which doesn't work too well when the bottom part is anchored in place. 

I tried the Optik knee pads in PHL and while I like the design, the  top strap was still too tight. 

These ones have the perfect length on the top strap, and the belt is solid enough that it actually holds them up rather than my CCM belt which would actually get pulled down by the knee pads. 

My one gripe is just that the knee cap part doesn't have an anchor strap.  Butterflies that night felt like I was landing in between my knee blocks and calf wrap, but it was just the edge of the knee cap section that was sitting a little high. Might look into MacGyver'ing an anchor strap. 

A little bulkier than the Bauers, but not by much and got used to it pretty quickly. 

[MTH]

Been using the Bauer Vapor knee pads for the past two months. Perfect.

I used the old Bauer/Nike knee pads for a decade.

I only wrap the bottom strap with clear tape out of habit. The knee pads don't move at all.

I'm 6'2" 250-260.

Knee pads are under $40 at every hockey shop.

[Znowleopard]

2 hours ago, MTH said:

Been using the Bauer Vapor knee pads for the past two months. Perfect.

I used the old Bauer/Nike knee pads for a decade.

I only wrap the bottom strap with clear tape out of habit. The knee pads don't move at all.

I'm 6'2" 250-260.

Knee pads are under $40 at every hockey shop.

I use these too, i do use tape, but only because i have skinny legs, they dont have great protection but also arnt bulky

[RichMan]

On 1/8/2018 at 8:22 PM, TheGoalNet said:

@RichMan - these are a great example of 1 of my life curiosities... would these knee pads haven changed without a retail cycle or did they legit fix some short comings with an earlier product? 

Sorry man, just noticed your response only now. It's a good question. I find that in hockey, as opposed to general consumer product development, there's is an effort to make improvements with subtle to drastic tweaks here and there. It's not like they're trying to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes it takes forever to see change, such as on these knee pads. Since the Koho brand, a lot of goalies were complaining of the knee cap digging into the meniscus area causing pain and discomfort. You can see that Reebok and CCM carried over that same model until, the second pic where the cap seems cut up and squared to avoid said contact on the meniscus.

Now and then it seems like the only thing setting products apart is colour or graphic or catchy names. Slowly, brands are starting to set themselves completely apart, ie Warrior, Bauer, Brian's. CCM and Vaughn are still kinda set in their formula and not going crazy yet. It might happen sooner or later.

Did I answer that right or am I completely off track?

[mik]

Looks like new Bauer supreme knee guards:

[goalie]

hopefully they put some padding in the kneecap this time

[Znowleopard]

Just picked up a pair of Warrior ritual x sr knee pads, they seems pretty  good, i like the knee landing part

[southpawtendy48]

4 hours ago, Znowleopard said:

Just picked up a pair of Warrior ritual x sr knee pads, they seems pretty  good, i like the knee landing part

Tried the warrior ritual INTs for a while but found that the part where it wraps around under my knee wouldn’t go all the way down, exposing it. I have pretty skinny legs so that’s probably why. 

[Znowleopard]

1 minute ago, southpawtendy48 said:

Tried the warrior ritual INTs for a while but found that the part where it wraps around under my knee wouldn’t go all the way down, exposing it. I have pretty skinny legs so that’s probably why. 

Which part?

[southpawtendy48]

2 hours ago, Znowleopard said:

Which part?

Sorry, should be a bit more specific lol

[dreadlocked1]

Do you mean it's riding up and not coming back down? 

[southpawtendy48]

4 hours ago, dreadlocked1 said:

Do you mean it's riding up and not coming back down? 

No. I was unable to strap it tight enough to where it stayed down. They were very stiff I guess you could say. Again, I have skinny legs so that’s probably why it did that.

[dreadlocked1]

Put em through the wash and let them air dry.  that will soften them up if needed.

[southpawtendy48]

11 minutes ago, dreadlocked1 said:

Put em through the wash and let them air dry.  that will soften them up if needed.

Thanks. Will do that if I ever go back to them. Haha

[dreadlockgoalie]

On 5/15/2018 at 9:07 AM, mik said:

Looks like new Bauer supreme knee guards:

Looks like the old Supreme knee guards.  I hope they fixed the piece of gel foam or whatever the hell it is at the knee, it goes hard as rock if it gets even slightly cold.  Every game starts with my knee dropping onto a dense piece of hard foam.

[Chenner29]

On 5/17/2018 at 11:01 AM, dreadlockgoalie said:

Looks like the old Supreme knee guards.  I hope they fixed the piece of gel foam or whatever the hell it is at the knee, it goes hard as rock if it gets even slightly cold.  Every game starts with my knee dropping onto a dense piece of hard foam.

This is the nature of Poron (the foam they use up against the knee cap).  It gets super mushy when it's in a hot environment and super hard when it's cold.  They used it in their high end skates for one year and stopped doing it pretty promptly.  From what I have heard, it absorbs sweat like crazy too. 

This is something I'm trying out with a pair of Vaughn V5 knee pads (basically the same knee pad that @Mroy31posted above).
It's an insert from the Passau knee pad that I picked up off @IPv6Freely when I first joined the forum.  It sat around in my garage for a couple weeks until I came up with this.
It wraps around the front of the knee cap and supports the entire landing side of my knee.  Very thick, but forgiving landing surface.  Gives me a decent bit of lift off the ice without a huge knee stack to get in the way.

[Mroy31]

@Chenner29 I was looking at those on the Passau website. Gonna start by trying to repurpose the Maltese and Nash knee flaps from my old Monster blocks first. I always used to wear volleyball knee pads inside whatever knee pads I was using, but would prefer a solution like that where it's built in. 

[TitanG]

Anyone tried the Koho Swiss style knee guards from Goaliemonkey? Looks like they’re on clearance:

https://www.goaliemonkey.com/accessories/knee-thigh-guards/koho-goalie-accessories-589-pro-swiss-knee-guard.html

[creasecollector]

9 hours ago, TitanG said:

Anyone tried the Koho Swiss style knee guards from Goaliemonkey? Looks like they’re on clearance:

https://www.goaliemonkey.com/accessories/knee-thigh-guards/koho-goalie-accessories-589-pro-swiss-knee-guard.html

I currently wear these and I love them. They are very bulky, using an open knee cradle with the knee strap velcro'd down on the calf would be best in order to allow for the pad to rotate like it's supposed to (so these work perfectly with my Premier's).

The protection is awesome and they are very comfortable to land on. I wear hockey socks over these so everything stays in place and doesn't snag on anything. After 3 skates I didn't even notice the bulk anymore and now I don't realize I'm even wearing them when I'm on the ice!  I replaced the stock laces with extra skatelaces and they are holding up fine. I've been using these for about 50 skates I'd say. I got them used for a good price. 

[TitanG]

1 hour ago, creasecollector said:

I currently wear these and I love them. They are very bulky, using an open knee cradle with the knee strap velcro'd down on the calf would be best in order to allow for the pad to rotate like it's supposed to (so these work perfectly with my Premier's).

The protection is awesome and they are very comfortable to land on. I wear hockey socks over these so everything stays in place and doesn't snag on anything. After 3 skates I didn't even notice the bulk anymore and now I don't realize I'm even wearing them when I'm on the ice!  I replaced the stock laces with extra skatelaces and they are holding up fine. I've been using these for about 50 skates I'd say. I got them used for a good price. 

Nice! I just got a good deal on some Maltese KTPs so I’m not in the market at the moment, but just wanted to let people know. Seems like a more reasonable price, comparable to other knee guards.

[Boosh63]

On 5/15/2018 at 9:07 AM, mik said:

Looks like new Bauer supreme knee guards:

I had my new pads built with a thicker knee block than I've been using...(2" is likely commonplace now) and I purchased a set of these a couple weeks ago only to discover they don't work well with my new pads without changing the knee block to something thinner. I always assume too much...I'm not a big guy and thought that any knee guard regardless of bulk would not be too bulky. I switched in the blocks off my old pads and it was way better. How do guys get a thick knee block AND big knee guards anyway? Pads are all the same width...I wish I paid attention to gear and current trends...

[Dunsnd]

I've had the CCM Pros (pictured) but I have recently really been having issues with the screws/bolts on the inside of the knee, on my knee pads there is a covering over the inside of the knee, I was just wondering how people were able to mod them with the skate lace, been wanting to do it for a while but the issues with the bolt haven't happened till recently. If anyone does know please let me know. Thanks. Also, side note, yes these can be very bulky at first but imo hands down the best knee pads I've ever worn.

[Adam Cooper]

Hi Goalies,

I've currently been using Warrior Senior Ritual Knee Guards for the past year and they have served me well.  I've only had a couple stingers get me above the knee.  Last week  though I had one which was not even that hard of a shot and it hit just above the knee and it really hurt.  I've now decided to look at an upgrade in protection above the knee.  I was looking at upgrading to the Warrior Ritual X Pro Guards (very expensive) but are essential the same knee pad with harder outside shell.  

I'm not looking to buy massive knee pads like Koho for example.  At this point I'm leaning towards the new Bauer Supreme 2018 Senior Knee Pads.  Based on some of the upgrades from the prior pads it looks like the gel in the knee area has been improved for knee landing comfort.  I think the 4-point strapping for these Bauer Supreme 2018 Senior Knee Pads is better at keeping them stable on your knee.  The upper protection areas seems better than my current Warrior Ritual Senior Knee Guards.  Anyone else give these a try?  I'm also looking for a knee pad that offers some decent cushioning on the knee while also providing smooth rotation in the knee cradle of my Brian's Optik pads.

[coopaloop1234]

@Adam Cooper Did you give the Brians knee pads a shot?

[Adam Cooper]

Great question. I have not tried them on the ice yet.  I should try them out a couple times before I invest in something else. But I have tried them at home and I found they road up the knee when dropping unlike the Warriors which hold better due to that special knee strap. I’ll try them this Friday in Shinny and tape them up to keep in place.