G-Form Knee Pad

[Axxion89 32]

So over the past few months, the ongoing LTR and discussion about G-Form and its products gave me the extra urge to finally purchase these knee pads:

http://g-form.com/products/knee-pad/

A lot of goalies across the internet have also mentioned using the product with much fanfare and praise so it was time I gave these a go. First some information about me:

Male

5' 7"

180 lbs

Butterfly Goalie

Amateur to ex-pro level competition

Relevant Gear Information

Reebok Revoke ProZone 33+3 with Thigh Boards

Ok so onto the review:

I purchased these knee pads as an extra line of defense to protect my knees from errant pucks. I wanted something that could provide protection from these pucks but at the same time, provide the most mobility of anything available. The pads fit the mobility criteria perfectly as they are not overly thick (Maybe 3/8" thick) and provide coverage of just over the top of the knee to about and inch below it with 2 small wings to cover some of the sides. These will not cover your thighs even if you slide them up as they will settle back at your knees over time. The pads are stitched onto spandex/neoprene that wicks away moisture and feels like you are wearing nothing on your knees. For this, these knee pads score tops on comfort and mobility.

As for protection, well this is where things get interesting. Goalie knee pads are designed to prevent impacts from the ice (knee slips off landing gear), impact on knees from repetitive use (constant butterfly), and pucks. For ice impacts, these perform excellent, there is no pain at all but I have yet to have a complete blow to the ice. However, I am still confident that these knee pads would save my knee with little pain if that should occur. For repetitive impacts, again, same as the ice impacts I did not feel anything. For pucks, its a different story. Shortly after wearing the knee pads I had the ultimate test, a full on slapper from an A level player redirected as I was sliding to the other side of the net. Made a direct impact with my knee and it hurt, bad. However, the G-Form knee pads did its job and kept my kneecap in one piece, which cannot be said if I had not had them on. I did have a nice bruise and was unable to put full weight on it for a day. However, this had not deterred me from continuing to use them as it did do its job and even plastic capped knee pads would not prevent the pain.

There isn't much else that I can state other than the knee pads have held up great with only the logo on the inside of the knee pad peeling from use. Not stitches out of place and the foam material (Poron XRD) shows no sign of breakdown or damage.

Below is my simplified ratings of the knee pads:

Protection: 6/10

Durability: 8/10

Mobility: 10/10

In short:

You will like these if: You value mobility at the expense of some protection or want enough for minor impacts

You will not like these if: You expect ultimate protection from puck impacts and want thigh protection

OVERALL: 34/40