Sailing knee pads - any good?

Amulet

Amulet

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I knacker my knees whenever I have to do jobs that involve grovelling on the boat. Latest pain is from crawling round decommissioning. Any one got experience of the knee pads available nowadays? I've seen examples from Spinlock and Gill advertised.
 
Amulet said:
I knacker my knees whenever I have to do jobs that involve grovelling on the boat. Latest pain is from crawling round decommissioning. Any one got experience of the knee pads available nowadays? I've seen examples from Spinlock and Gill advertised.
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I have a pair from Lidl/Aldi aboard, and use them quite a bit.
 
Most garden centres sell them, SWMBO has always used them when crewing as she liked to put one knee on the cockpit locker when winching and the pads made this much more comfortable. I have used them for jobs which involve a lot of kneeling such as repainting the deck, they do help a lot. Worth getting a pair if you have tender knees.
 
Leighb said:
Most garden centres sell them, SWMBO has always used them when crewing as she liked to put one knee on the cockpit locker when winching and the pads made this much more comfortable. I have used them for jobs which involve a lot of kneeling such as repainting the deck, they do help a lot. Worth getting a pair if you have tender knees.
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Thanks. My tender is an inflatable and has no knees :-)
 
Vital when you get beyond a certain age!

I find they ride up and down from my knees unless strapped on too tightly for long term use..... so there might be better designs than the B&Q and Aldi ones I've used over the years.

Worth a read?

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12044&PID=1384803

presumably the cycling pads are to protect if they fall off, so should be tough enough for a bit of kneeling :) Not cheap, but look better designed not to slip up and down your legs.

http://www.troyleedesigns.com/bike/protection
 
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They're very useful. I use them for racing on some boats. On one in particular I often found myself impacting my knees on the jammers for the jib sheets when sliding across the cockpit for a tack and wearing knee pads made a big difference. I got the idea from a couple of bowmen who wore them by default.

I've never found them to slip up and down my legs - I wear them outside my oillies.

OK they're quite expensive for a bit of neoprene and elastic (mine cost €15 IIRC) but they do the job. IIRC, they were by Musto, but they're on the boat so I can't check.
 
I have one pretty buggered knee and the other not far behind, so I have spent quite a bit of thought on this subject. I have two pairs of knee pads on board, one for sailing and one for doing work, plus a foam gardening pad.

The sailing ones must open at the back, the slip-over-foot type is incredibly annoying and soon end up being ankle-pads instead. Mine are Gul ones like these (bit older model with red text, but functionally the same). They're not too thick and the non-absorbing part is made of neoprene, so stay warm when soaked. Straps are wide enough to keep them in place without restricting blood flow to the lower leg. Would recommend.

The work ones are some thick things from Blackrock. Importance here is that they're not too hard on the outside, else they'll damage teak and slip on gelcoat, not to mention they must not be black outside or they'll leave marks. Mine are beige (bit hard to find). I did use them a lot during the refit, but now less so. They have more padding, enough to fall on your knees and not hurt yourself, but are unsuitable for sailing as they would soak heavily full of water and the backstraps aren't that comfortable either.

The reason I use them less is because mostly I kneel in the same places, i.e. in front of the engine bay door or the food storage underseat locker. For that I keep a simple green gardening foam pad ready that I just drop in place where needed. Quicker to use than strapping on pads.

Happy kneeling :)
 
A few years ago I adopted "builder's" cargo pants, which have knee pad pockets built in... Wouldn't be without them doing jobs around the boat. Don't need them for sailing, as our sailing is pretty relaxed, and the cockpit cushions allow me to kneel on the side bench to winch... Total cost is about £20 for the trousers (which are superb quality) and a fiver for the pads.
 
Gladys said:
A few years ago I adopted "builder's" cargo pants, which have knee pad pockets built in... Wouldn't be without them doing jobs around the boat. Don't need them for sailing, as our sailing is pretty relaxed, and the cockpit cushions allow me to kneel on the side bench to winch... Total cost is about £20 for the trousers (which are superb quality) and a fiver for the pads.
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+1 for this. I use canvas dungarees with kneepads slipped in.
 
For any sort of padding nowadays look for ones based on D3O, if you have never have never heard of it it is amazing stuff, in it's normal state it is like a flexible padded rubber, but if you for example punch it it turns solid to spread the impact over a larger zone and then goes back to being flexible again.
 
Gladys said:
A few years ago I adopted "builder's" cargo pants, which have knee pad pockets built in... Wouldn't be without them doing jobs around the boat. Don't need them for sailing, as our sailing is pretty relaxed, and the cockpit cushions allow me to kneel on the side bench to winch... Total cost is about £20 for the trousers (which are superb quality) and a fiver for the pads.
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+1. If the knee problem is encountered while doing work, the answer is work trousers, the ones with the pockets at the knees for foam kneepads.
I did try gardening kneepads, but found that to prevent them riding up/down, they had to be strapped on so tight that they restricted circulation.
I had a look at the branded ones, such as Snickers, and thought the prices were as ridiculous as what's charged in the chandelry, so I plumped for the cheap ones from Lidl, (circa €10 ,plus about €2.50 for the pads), which work just as well:)
 
This thread reminds me of Contender sailing. People used to wear anything from skateboarder's body armour through to cricket pads. I had some wetsuit kneepads which were basically a tube with most of the back cut out. Motorcycle trousers these days often have knee armour.
I use some gel kneepads from toolstation, which I bought to do a job in a loft. About 10 or 15 quid well spent.
 
When not sailing my Hanse I often sail my Phantom & that really needs good knee pads. Some of the saliors in our club say that the Spinlock knee pads are better than the Gill ones & i tend to agree. However, when in my cruiser I use a seat cushion as it is quicker to use & does not need special trousers or need one to fit knee pads first. At home I use the 100mm thick piece of foam from some old furniture
 
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