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Gear Review - Gform Pads
I'm 35. I think of that as young...but my "go to" trail has a pump track at about the 1/2 way point. I see nearly every day, kids ranging from 8-18 jumping, pumping and of course falling. All of a sudden 35 seems a bit older.
I took a 10 year hiatus from riding. What I have realized is falling at 25 hurts much less than falling at 35+.
Enter the search for pads!
First I must state I am in no way affiliated with any company. I am not sponsored, all of my gear comes out of my paycheck.
I was searching for a pad (mainly knee and elbow) to thwart trail rash, and to keep the current scabs from tearing off my mangled body.
The riding around Tyler, TX can change quickly from sand, to rock, to roots to technical (yet short) downhill. That's great, but it's also 104+ from July to October. I wanted full range of mobility and of course good/decent protection. I tried the 661 basic Kyle Strait knee pad, the EVO Knee. Both are great pads. Pricy, but what bike gear isn't? The Kyle strait pad is nothing more than a 661 branded neoprene sleeve. It's hot, and does NOT feel good when you dismount and take a knee.
The EVO offers better protection at the knee cap, but is hot, a bit bulky and still offers only minimal protection. Plus it's $$. The work kevlar sounds cool in theory but in practice it means HOT. I am not knocking 661. I don't ride full on, balls out, downhill, but if I did, I'd be wearing 661 gear.
I also tried a pair of Protec knee pads, (sorry model # not available). These are a skate type pad, with a hard plastic cap. It's impossible to get comfortable with these unless you stand for your entire ride. Again, not knocking ProTec. This pad is just not going to work for biking.
I ran across an advertisement in Decline mag for GForm. A new player in the game. They have developed a foam called Poron XRD. It's a light weight foam. At first touch you chuckle...there's no way this pad will protect anything. That's far from accurate.
The foam is designed to stiffen on impact then return to it's flexible nature. It uses a basic polyester compression fabric to attach to the body. No velcro, no straps, as a bonus the fabric wicks moisture very well.
The foam is arranged in a webbed pattern and allows for full range of movement. I truly forgot I was wearing them after the first couple of rides.
I'll wrap this novel up. The pads just work. I have taken multiple falls, clipped my elbow on multiple trees in narrow single track corners, come down directly on the knee cap and these pads absorb an incredible amount of energy.
My only complaint is the color of the foam itself. It's a VERY bright neon Yellow placed on a black sleeve. They stand out for sure. I get lots of questions and comments on the trails, including "cool spiderman pads."
I did take a corner and the sleeve on the elbow pad caught a thorn vine. It ripped the sleeve material. (just as thorn vines do to a jersey).
I wrote Gform an email and they responded quickly. They were happy to mail me a new set, no cost to me. They arrived 3 days later...amazing customer support!
They are happy to hear suggestions. I mentioned an all black option with a bit heavier sleeve material. The rep agreed. There are plans in the works.
From what I understand they did pretty well at interbike (last year). World Cup MTB JoJo Petterson is riding their pads, not a bad endorsement!!
They offer a couple of other cool products utilizing poron. Shoe inserts, saddle pads, shin, and a VERY cool laptop/ipad sleeve. Check the site out. G-Form If for no other reason to watch the video of them dropping an ipad out of an airplane (ipad survived).
THey also drop a 10lb bowling ball onto a knee pad from 4 feet. They place skittles/m&M's under the pad.. no damage...
Again, I am not sponsored by these folks, just impressed with the product. And at $40 for knee and $40 for elbow...you still have some cash left in the bank.
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Originally Posted by rsutton1223
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