MTB Knee Pad Comparison Review - Leatt AirFlex Pro vs. G-FORM Pro X2 vs. Fox Enduro Knee Sleeve Pads 

No matter what protection you get, they must fit and stay in place to function as intended. My POC elbow pads fit snug, but tend to slide down mid ride where I have to pull them up every 20 minutes. Leatt elbow pads do the same, so I literally had to size down from Large to Medium even though Large fits "snug" when not riding. You might want to size down on the knee pads to see if they stay better. I see a lot of people riding with RaceFace, but rarely see anyone wearing G-Form Pro Rugged. No matter what you get, always wear them. In fact, I was riding this weekend where I was going down hill and my rear brake failed causing the bike to slide and side swipe a tree. Lucky me because I had my knee/elbow pads on and walked away without a single scratch. However, two weeks ago I was riding in the rain and my shoe slipped off the pedal going over a slippery rock causing a pedal strike in the shin. bloody ouch, but nothing like what you have going on with your knee. Glad to hear you're 95% recovered. BTW, I'm also happy with the Leatt 3DF 6.0 knee pads for riding trails with rock gardens. amzn.to/492SIDp

@@udtrader I’m def going to try the Leatt 3DF 6.0 knee guards based on your recommendation (and the fact that they are open-back, which seems to be key to comfort). I think I tried the size smaller in the Leatt Airflex, but it was just too small and pinched me. I have the matching elbow protectors but have yet to wear them 😬. I’m also a motorcyclist (on and off-road), and I gear up to the max for that (thousands invested). But when already sweating my ass off on a bicycle, it’s sometimes difficult to add to the heat factor of protective gear in my humid location. Back to the get-off where injured my left knee, I had chosen not to wear my Leatt Impact 3DF 4.0 shorts (I see that in another of your vids you got the 5.0). So, as luck would have it, aside from the knee injury I ALSO got a nasty contusion/strain in my right quad. Crashes are difficult to analyze, so I’m not sure what I really did. If it was a contusion from the bike frame, handlebars, or log, (as opposed to a strain from being contorted) then the shorts might have helped. I had ALSO considered not wearing the knee guards that day, which would have been a dire mistake. As a bonus, I also probably broke a rib in my upper right chest. All this on a 5mph-ish fall: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-T3Xhlh-xTyg.htmlsi=s3pYuOJVTPtLTxed It’s pretty sobering. Plus, it sucks getting old and fragile. So now I have an Amazon cart with your recommended knee guards, and I just added a Leatt Airflex chest protector vest. I can’t really see going beyond that for pedaling, though I own several types of chest/back protectors for motorcycling (have broken ribs doing that, too). I bought a Leatt Enduro convertible full-face helmet a couple weeks ago, as well. Sad thing is I don’t even ride anything crazy, mostly green/blue XC trails with sprinklings of roots, rocks, and rollers. But it doesn’t take much of a fall to do real damage, as I’ve just learned. So I’ll roll around on easy trails looking ridiculous. Oh well, whatever helps me keep at it at my advanced age (61) 😆. Thanks for your well wishes. My quad is finally coming back to full strength and flexibility after four weeks. I’ll probably get the bike out (so glad it’s an eMTB, for recovery) today and just ride easy on pavement 🎉.

@@mike.thomas Here are my observations after watching your videos. 1) Heckler is too much bike for Deer Haven. It's heavy with too much power causing you to develop bad habits relying on the bike. I can tell by the way you pedal hard to go over logs instead of using arm & body shift technique to push the bike over the logs. 2) You're wearing hydration pack on a 2.3 mile trail with 39ft elevation. I'd replace that with a single water bottle and lose the backpack. This will lighten the weight on you AND the bike to help you be more nimble. 3) If your bike was lighter and you didn't have a hydration pack, you might have been able to escape your injury being able to simply walk away from your bike. However, a heavy bike falling over with hydration pack will restrict your movement to escape. At 5mph, you should've been able to simply throw the bike and walk off as if you're getting off a treadmill. I would recommend riding Deer Haven on a simple hardtail with a water bottle wearing knee & elbow pads. Also, lose the gopro as it adds to distraction. IMHO, you'll have a lot more fun this way while developing better riding technique.

@@udtrader Been trying to figure out how to respond to this puzzling comment. I've been riding seriously, on and off, for a few decades and have owned many bikes during that time. I spent more time as a roadie, and I confess that I'm no expert at MTB. But I'm also not a complete novice as your commentary suggests, having spent a lot of time MTBing in the foothills of Colorado in the early 2000s. There’s been a long gap though, and I’m just getting back into it, in a much older body. With that background, and reflecting on your commentary, on the one hand it seems as though you’re trying to be helpful. On the other hand it seems like you’re (unintentionally?) being a bit of a gatekeeper. Regardless of your intentions, you’ve made some poor assumptions, and produced a number of incorrect assertions and weird takes, so it really doesn’t sit well. I’ll leave it at that, I guess, unless you want a full breakdown.

I've used the same pair going on 2nd season and still love them and they are still my #1 choice. There's no "cutting/pinching" and I don't even notice the pads and my rides are usually 8 to 12 miles through flow trails with roots, rock gardens, stream crossings, etc. Yes, I'd get these over the Fox. amzn.to/3wbmwMz

I'm in the exact same situation. Currently wearing the ION K-Impact and none on the reviews mentioned the pinching when pedaling. Have you found the solution we are all looking for? What have you bougth?

@@Hello_riders_1993 I found that the key to knee pads comfort is a hole in the back to avoid that pinching at the rear of your knee on the tendons. I bought Leatt Airflex Pro and swear about them. So comfortable you don't even feel them. They are very well ventilated so even in hot days during summer, not a problem at all. I already recommended them to a lot of friends :) They are also super stable and don't move one single millimeter when you are pedaling. No slipping or whatsoever.

I find the Leatts to be super comfortable. You can totally forget they are on, even in hotter weather. Unlike the reviewer and commenters, I do find that they slip down a bit on my thighs. The plastic/D3O knee pad stays more-or less-in place, though I feel like it does move down a bit, of course (see my separate post about my minor crash). This knee section has silicone rings inside, so I think that helps keep it in place a bit (but I have to ask, at what cost to your skin in a crash?). WRT slipping, on my legs it’s like the upper thigh sock and pad kind-of “accordion” a bit. My thighs taper pretty significantly from mid-thigh to knee, so it’s not really surprising. If you have more “tubular” legs, you may not have any issues.

yes, there are 3 foam pads on both outside and inside for protection.

@@udtrader Thanks!

POC VPD Air is good, but my preference is still the Leatt. The "molded" shape of VPD Air sometimes gets annoying when you straighten your legs riding standing up or just stretching your legs. I'm also not much a fan of straps on trail riding. All my DH pads have straps though.

@@udtrader Thanks for the response. Did the VPD Air have any side protection like the Leatt? Looks like I'll try the Airflex Pro

@@ericrollins4607 VPD Air doesn't protect sides like Airflex Pro. However, I have fallen (mostly lean outs) on both and they seem to protect equally well. My preference is Leatt for knees and POC for elbow.

I haven't crashed yet, but the material is solidly made - similar to materials on any good knee pad.

I replaced Dainese Trail Air with Leatt AirFlex Pro. Those porous first layer don't protect from small thorns or shrub branches from penetrating, which are plentiful where I ride. Also, note that side padding is below knee closer to upper calf area. It's also annoying when you fall and small gravel pieces get stuck in the grill. Otherwise, very good pads keeping you cool.

@@udtrader are the leatts much warmer?

@@piciu256 They are about the same, but Leatt has ventilated back where I tend to sweat more than the front ventilation of Dainese.

@@udtrader thanks, so I should be happy with my promo Leatt order :)

@@udtrader damn, it's downright magical how comfortable they are, I don't feel them at all, plus the material feels like plastic when impacted, so should protect quite well, even though it's thin. That was a good choice, also I can add that the sizing chart is accurate, took me by surprise that Small is too small for me, medium fits perfectly, but not tightly, so should leave Abit of room for muscle growth if I ride more.

Fox and Leatt stay in place. G-Form does not.

Carve EVO+ is comparable to Leatt but I generally don't like ones with straps for pedaling flowy trails because the straps usually don't flex with the leg muscles.

XL for knee pads, L for body protection. Their online sizing guide correct.

I also have Leatt Enduro pads for downhill and the logo is less pronounced. amzn.to/3FNIZ5U