The Search for the Perfect Caving Kneepad

[L Roebuck]

We may have stumbled upon the perfect caving kneepad!

Quite some time ago Dan Sullivan offered to let us product test the Expedition Essentials Kneepad for a year. Of course, we happily accepted his offer! Dr. Beaner always likes to help other companies whenever he can!

First glance told us these weren't your ordinary kneepad. The Expedition Essentials kneepads actually wrap around your leg instead of floating on the front of your leg. (ahhhhhh!) While it is too soon into the product testing to say these are the perfect kneepad it can be said that these kneepads are primo so far. During the first cave trip with these pads my knee's and shin's were well protected, the pads did not slip to the side of my knee, they crawled extremely well with no binding behind the knee's. Other cavers are also helping with the product testing. At a recent Southport Grotto meeting the kneepads were passed around and cavers tried them on - well that resulted in 2 cavers making orders for their own Expedition Essentials kneepads. Anyway, if these kneepads hold up and are durable - they may very well be the perfect kneepad. Stay tuned as the testing continues....

You can read more about these kneepads at Expedition Essentials

[madratdan]

Glad to hear they are getting a workout. My thoughts are "They make love to your knees." You could almost turn them into a sleeping pad in a pinch. I use mine to insulate me from the ground whenever I'm sitting in one spot for any length of time.

[L Roebuck]

During yesterday's cave trip I did a lot of crawling. One area was a popcorn floor and even popcorn didn't phase these kneepads. I have happy caver knee's now!

These kneepads are sweet! ;D

[rptyd]

Lynn, I noticed that the knee area is contoured. How rigid or flexible is that area, do you think it would fit over or clear a hinged brace?

[madratdan]

I'm not Lynn but I would say yes they would fit over a brace quite nicely. They are contoured and have a lot of side padding.

[rptyd]

Thank you, it looks to be a good investment considering how many I go through. Cool arm pads too for really long, low crawls.

[L Roebuck]

Like Dan, I feel these kneepads would fit over a brace. I have found the contoured knee area is very comfortable and I believe it is more flexible than other knee pads I have tried.

[rptyd]

Thanks, sometimes it's hard to find equipment that will accommodate hardware that I have to use. Wrecked my bike in 94' and put my left ankle on my left hip via the breakage of both tips of my femur. Unfortunately it likes to try to follow that same path occasionally if I don't wear the hardware, especially on verticals.

[L Roebuck]

Sorry to hear about your wreck in '94 - but it is great to hear you can still go caving. These really are some sweet kneepads. The contoured knee and side leg pads are a plus with these kneepads.
I just love them!

[L Roebuck]

Ok so we have had the Expedition Essentials Kneepads for several months now and I wanted to post an update.

After many months these kneepads have proven to be both durable and comfortable! During caving trips my knee's/ shin's are protected with no pad slippage. Crawling in a cave with the Expedition Essentials is wonderful and I am still not noticing any binding behind my knee's. The pads show no wear marks, no seam ripping, no tears etc, etc - just some ground in cave mud and dirt.

I can honestly say I believe these are the perfect kneepads!

Not the best shots of the kneepads but here's a couple of caving photo's with these kneepads.

www.flickr.com/photos/caving/3057834338/

www.flickr.com/photos/caving/3055256055/

[Brad Tipton]

I have the same brand of knee pads and I am satisfied that they are worth the money. My knees didn't hurt at all after our last trip through McBrides Cave. In contrast, the McBrides trip prior to buying these kneepads caused me to be unable to walk the next day.

These kneepads will add years to your knees for the purpose of caving related activities.

[deepcaver]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only caver that doesn't use knee pads anymore. I learned to levitate my knees and set them down gently when pressure is needed at that area. Either that or I've gotten Peter's knees and they look like they ought to belong on a camel... I don't think so but ah well. ;D
I've tried many a knee pads before and experienced the same frustration as many cavers on the fitting, performance and etc. The high end pads have usually been (for me) cost prohibitive ... but someday ... we'll see... I might try these suckas out.

[Brian Roebuck]

You only get one set of knees. Take care of them!

[Rick Brinkman]

Made a video of my new EE pads.


Just thought I'd share. Sometimes a video shows more than a couple of photos.

I'll do another video once I get some 'cave time' with them this summer.

[L Roebuck]

Thanks, nice video Rick! I just love my EE kneepads!!!

[Chad Dubuisson]

I recently purchased a pair of these pads after reading this post and I must say, I'm thrilled. These are some sick pads. They are designed to cover all the right areas and stay in place.

My only recommendation would be to take a sewing machine to them when they are brand new like I did. After inspecting the stitching, I find it lacking in total numbers. I took mine brand new, before any mud got a chance to get into the fibers, and passed it through the sewing machine a few times and reinforced several of the critical seams and the binding tape around the outside. Now, they are bulletproof. I love them and would recommend them to anyone, with improved stitching.

They are extremely comfortable to use & I expect to get years of use out of them. A worthy investment I would recommend highly.

I plan to get the elbow pads eventually since I'm impressed so much with the knee pads.

[Brian Roebuck]

Welcome to the club Chad. I agree with your stitching updates. That has got to make them tougher. Did you use an industrial machine or a home sewing machine to do it?

[Chad Dubuisson]

May 24, 2009 7:04:22 GMT -5 Brian Roebuck said:

Welcome to the club Chad. I agree with your stitching updates. That has got to make them tougher. Did you use an industrial machine or a home sewing machine to do it?

I used my home sewing machine with some nylon thread. About 10 minutes on each pad beefing up the stitching all around made me feel much better about the durability of the pads. As long as they are clean when you sew, a home machine should have enough power to allow you to beef up the stitching on the non padded parts of the pads, especially the flaps which kinda wrap around your leg and cross the straps.

Overall, they are superbly designed. I wear them inside my PVC suit and they do very well. The rubbery grippy stuff in the elastic grips very well on polypro. I find the straps appropriately sized to allow decent circulation in the legs while remaining in place well.

They are certainly the biggest pair of knee pads I've ever owned.