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Brand-X DH knee pads review

Decent protection at a great price

Our rating

4.5

38.00

Brand-X DH pads use a hard plastic knee cup with chunky foam padding above, below and on either side

Robin Weaver

Published: July 30, 2016 at 11:00 am

Our review

Plenty of coverage, loads of padding and surprisingly comfy, even on long pedally rides. A bargain too Buy if, You're looking for good knee protection at a great price

Pros:

Great coverage and comfort at a superb price

Cons:

They do warm up pretty quickly

On the surface these blacked-out knee pads don’t look anything special, but while they may not be emblazoned with a fancy logo or plastered in wild colours, they offer a decent amount of protection at a proper bargain price.

Unlike most pricier pads, the Brand-X DHs use a hard plastic knee cup. While this may not offer quite as much comfort as a ‘smart foam’ like D3O it’ll still help protect against the knocks and is a major contributing factor to why these pads are so cheap.

Above, below and on either side of the knee cup is some chunky foam padding, surrounding the knee in a cocoon of protection. This does mean the DHs get pretty warm, but in testing they’ve not chafed or rubbed even when used for trail riding. The opening at the rear does help to cool things down a little. Most importantly, they stay put, even with sweaty legs on rough trails.

Though there’s a Velcro strap at each opening, we found our medium pads were snug enough that they stayed firmly enough in place with minimal tension on the straps, which helped to keep them impressively comfortable.

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Technical editor-in-chief

Rob Weaver is BikeRadar's technical editor-in-chief. Rob manages all of the testing here at BikeRadar and across our magazines, Mountain Biking UK and Cycling Plus. Rob first graced the pages of MBUK back in 2001 when working as a freelance writer and went on to start testing bikes for the title in 2007. In 2010 he joined the team full-time and has been keeping a close eye on all things test-related ever since. Rob’s expansive knowledge of bikes comes courtesy of his passion for racing. He cut his teeth racing cross-country mountain bikes in the early 90s before finding his feet in downhill. After many years competing on the UK national circuit (including a year attempting to race UCI DH World Cups), Rob realised his know-how and passion for bike setup, tech and writing clearly outweighed his racing ability. A degree in sports technology and decades of riding experience all help to give Rob a thorough understanding of what’s needed to create a great bike or product. While Rob’s a mountain biker at heart and never happier than when he’s sliding down a Welsh hillside, he’s more than happy to put the miles in on the road or gravel bike, too.