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Dainese Armoform knee guards

All-new pads with a faultless pedigree

Dainese have an all new range of armour for 2016 including these articulated hard-shell Armoform kneepads aimed at gravity and DH riding. We take a first look at them in detail.

With the Trail Skins pads in the Dainese range for lighter duty riding, these Armoform kneepads have been designed with more protection in mind but keeping weight low with comfort and good mobility still a high priority. There are many softer style knee pads on the market aiming to give ample protection for DH and enduro racing but many riders still look to a hard cap pad for reassurance. Dainese are well aware of this and have taken a fresh look at this style of protection packing plenty of thinking and design detail into these new Armoform pads.

These pads are impressively light for the protection they offer, weighing in at 242g each (for a size large) and are low in bulk too. Let’s have a look at this new Dainese design in more detail…

FIT

These Armoform pads are designed with three hardshell caps that move independently and of each other and replicate the elongation and retraction of the knee joint through the pedalling action. This allows comfortable freedom of movement for the knee joint and keeps the pad in place on the leg too. The pads are a pull-on design with a highly ventilated stretch mesh sleeve as the base fabric with an inner silicone strip and Velcro strap at the top and bottom for size adjustment. A third wider strap runs asymmetrically from below the knee and across the calf keeping the pad in place. There are four sizes available for a good fit but we found they run a touch on the small side so it may be worth sizing up.

PROTECTION

The three Polythene hard cap shells cradle the leg very comfortably, with the kneecap sitting over the upper and lower cap and moving independently. When standing, the pads cover 25cm of the leg extending to 32cm when in the pedalling/riding position, with no bunching of fabric or aggravation from the hard cap pads. The Armoform sub-structure is a supportive ribbed material that sits below the hard cap and is thicker in high impact areas tapering to a thinner depth at the edges for better mobility and flexibility. This, in combination with the outer cap gives full protection from impacts and piercing at high speeds, with good rider comfort.

Additional high-density foam pads sit on the outside of the middle and lower cap giving additional side protection. These pads are shaped with a cut out so the sit well around the leg and go unnoticed when riding.

WHAT DO WE THINK?

With Dainese having a full pedigree in two wheeled sports, you can rely on a thoroughly developed product from them. Certified to EN 1621.1 Level 1, protection is as high as you need and with the four sizes fit should be good too.

These Armoform pads hit the spot for an up to date hard-cap knee pad. Light, well made and giving the best in protection with no compromise to comfort.

PRICE: £79.95

SIZES: S, M, L, XL

dainese.com

windwave.co.uk

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