To those who have DIY D3O on their equipment...

[Westside 258]

I can't seem to find the threads anymore, but I'm looking for help/guidance for those who have added D3O to their existing pads. While I attempted to purchase a sheet of material, the cost and shipping were pretty absurd. Thankfully I found some shot blockers that I took apart and figured I could easily cut them up as needed. My plan was to make donuts to put on the knees of my shin pads for some additional protection, but maybe it's better just to throw a slab in the center of the kneecap? To those of you that have done something similar, do you have any pics and tips? 

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Would be putting them on these Bauer 1X shins

Edited May 22, 2023 by Westside

[Buzz_LightBeer 984]

I’ve never done it but I think you might be better off attaching it to the red vented part of the 37.5 liner than to the pad itself

[start_today 781]

I didn’t use D30, but I added VN foam to shinguards around the knee. I cut it to the shapes I wanted, and attached it to the pad, rather than the liner. I went closer to the “slab” approach than donut. To affix it, I doubled over duct tape, and it held everything with no issues. It wasn’t sexy but it held up perfectly fine. 

Prior to that, I had landed at just the wrong angle on my knee a few times and had inflamed bursa issues, but it stopped after added the padding. 

[xstartxtodayx 345]

The Tacks line has D3O right on the inside of the plastic shell dead center on the knee.  Personally I felt it did nothing when I used some Super Tacks shins 4ish years ago.  The biggest issue with modern retail shins is the lack of actual padding around the knee on the liner, the donut area is seriously lacking compared to how they made them some 30 years ago and how pro stock pads are.  Once I switched to pro stock pads with the old school liners I never had an issue anymore, the extra thick padding on the donut makes a world of difference.  If it were me and I wanted to add more knee protection I'd find an old set of pro stock liners, or maybe just a set of old retail liners, and make that donut thicker with a nice dense foam.

[Hills 720]

I added Poron to the inside of the knee and that solved all of my issues. I agree with @xstartxtodayx in that the retail liners weren't thick enough for proper protection.

Are you having issues with pucks or with falling? Mine where both, but a shot on the inside of the knee that really hurt made me do this the next day. Didn't have issues ith the outside of the knee though.

[Westside 258]

6 hours ago, Hills said:

Are you having issues with pucks or with falling? 

Thanks for some of the tips guys. Keep ‘em coming! 
I do not have an issue with falling, but do play D so I take my fare share of pucks/blocked shots. Figured it was worth a shot to see if I notice anything. Worst case it does nothing and I can either leave it or remove it altogether 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Westside

[noupf 42]

I just did something like this a few months ago.  Got tripped while making a rush with the puck, landed square on my right knee cap ( like kneeling down ), with all 230 lbs of body weight going right on to my knee cap.  Took a few weeks for the bruise and pain to dissipate.  My shin guards are the Easton EQ50's and believe me, I've crash tested them many times over the years and was very happy with them. I felt like they were pretty beefy and offered good protection.  After this fall though, I noticed that the hex foam that is sewn into the actual plastic knee cap ( not the liner with donut hole ) is all but collapsed.  I went to hobby lobby and grabbed a sheet of 4 or 5mm EVA foam for like $5 and cut out some large round sections and added them to the the area between the removeable liner and the actual plastic knee cap area.  No idea how effective it will be, as i have not crashed tested the new set up yet, but I have not noticed anything in terms of discomfort and i'm sure having some extra padding can only help.  Ill post a pic if i get a chance

Edited May 23, 2023 by noupf

[Sprungdownunder 18]

If you need more protection for your knees try Smith's knee gaskets the ones skateboarders use , they are a compression fit with padding.