Review: Amplifi MKII knee & elbow pads

Right then, time for a review - I picked these rather fetching green/black Amplifi MKII pads up in the TREDZ sale and paid the princely sum of £40.98p delivered for the knee and elbow variety with a £5.00 off code.

As you can see from this image they come in two flavours - slip-on and strap-on (oh hang on - that doesn't sound quite right does it.....)

Now Amplifi aren't a brand I'm familiar with, but I was looking for something less bulky than my 661 Rage pads (which are also a tiny bit on the big side and don't quite sit properly - but they're not uncomfortable) and didn't cost a fortune, and they seem to be pretty big in ski protection and my mate who's a ski instructor said that it's decent stuff - so in for a penny, in for £40.98.....

They've got some clever Armourgel in the pads which makes them flexible until you fall off and inevitably have to test them out - I don't really understand the science behind it but this video of the clever stuff does and it has some bikes in it too:

And here's some info from the website:

The MKII series fuses next level material tech with super functional cutting edge design. Now, Amplifi are stepping up the game for protective gear in 2014, taking a material developed by British scientists for military grade body armour - and injecting it into our latest range of protectors. We’ve designed every piece to take full advantage of these properties, working with engineers, riders and testers worldwide, to create the ultimate in comfort AND protection.

Features:

Custom fit design through slip on design in combination with ultra flexible MK II protector

EN 1621-1:2012 – Level 2

Super low profile design

Kevlar fabric over protector area for extra abrasion resistance

Silicone in hems for no-slip grip

The Science

Armourgel uses a combination of an innovative geometric cavity design and an active smart material to deliver a comfort to protection ratio never before seen in the industry. This truly is next level s**t.

The material is strain rate sensitive - Think of it as an extra layer of muscle, working with your body to create an active layer of protection for your body. It intelligently adapts its level of shock absorption relative to the amount of impact. When riding, it flows with your body moving with you, and allowing you full freedom of movement - under impact the material reacts, and increases its absorption properties. The smart material is used in tandem with a geometric cavity design to double dose the safety factor. The unique S-Cell design builds density exactly where it is required, when it is required.

This is proprietary to Armourgel, and cannot be found on any other material. The result is a super-lightweight, incredibly flexible material that moves with you when shred, and adapts itself instantaneously to protect you when you slam. You can get yourself up, get the snow out of your goggles, find where you lost your gloves - and finish the day in style.

I like it when they use words like 'Kevlar', 'Military grade' and 'next level' - makes them sound cool!

So the pads arrived quite quickly from Tredz even using the standard free delivery service - brilliant.

 

I was suprised at how light they are - OK they're not trailskin light but still lighter than my previous pads.

I'd looked at the sizing chart and decided to go for the Small in both knee and elbow as I have weedy arms and pipecleaner legs (just about managing to hold on to the 'runners leg' physique - pity the rest of me isn't.......)

I tried them on and they were a bit tight to get on first time but were actually quite comfy.

 

They've got a little silicone strip top and bottom to stop it slipping - which also means it tries to pull

your skin off when you try and move them!

Around the back they're a full 'sleeve' with elastic top and bottom.

So after trying them on I did the only sensible thing and put them in my bag ready for a weekend away at Coed-Y-Brenin.......

So on to the test! I arrived at CYB around 10:00 on Saturday morning after driving through freezing fog (a balmy -9 deg C at one point - Even the Sheep were cold!) and ice to be greeted by glorious Snowdonian sunshine - it was still cold though, so I decided that some sort of tights would be an idea under my shorts. Luckily the pads still fitted over the top -Result!

So Saturday I did around 30km of riding and the pads were super comfy - I didn't manage to checkout there protection prowess, but I did ride around a mile & half back to the digs on the road and they didn't cause any issue with continual pedalling either - bonus!

Sunday dawned and with it came the snow..... so it was back on with the tights and pads over the top again. After an hour or so the left pad was starting to irritate the back of my knee - this was down to my tights having a slight crease in them more than the pad being the issue. A bit of fiddling & faffing later all sorted and back to not realising you're wearing them. Again I didn't get to checkout the 4D armour gel in action but the fact they're comfortable and light weight they should be OK in most conditions.

Anything I'd change? Well with them being minimalist type pads there's very little protection on the side of the knee, but that's to be expected I suppose.

So far, so good - will see how they stand up to regular riding around Cannock and I'm sure at some point I'll get to experience the science behind the armour gel.....