Amplifi Knee Joint Pad review
July 27th, 2015
By Joe Hayhow in Reviews
Full Product Name: Amplifi Knee Joint knee pad
Retail Price: £50
Available From: Paligap
Although not hugely well known in the bike industry, German brand Amplifi have experience dating back to 2009 producing equipment and protection for a range of mountain sports. They have a big emphasis on research, testing and development with a very scientific and methodical approach. So how does this translate to performance on the bike?
We’ve spent a couple months now living with the Amplifi Knee Joint pad – which in appearance is a familiar looking pad, sharing similar style to other soft pads from 661, Fox and the like.
Size wise, these pads fit somewhere between chunky freeride/dirt-jump inspired pads and slim/lightweight trail protection, offering a reassuring amount of beef without feeling too bulky on the bike. The Knee Joint is the cheaper knee pad offered by brand from their CORE range, and uses a 3D moulded foam for padding with a Kevlar fabric cover taking care of the impact zones.
A combination of two elasticated straps and a stretchy tube do an excellent job of keeping the pads in place.
Having noodle-thin legs means I’ve always had trouble getting kneepads to stay put on my skinny limbs, usually sizing-down to a size small in order to get a tight enough fit. However, the Amplifi pads fitted perfectly in a more suitable Medium, and have so far shown no desire to move around when riding or slip around in a crash. Doddy has also been riding these pads in a size large, and although he reports the fit to feel great once on, he finds the lower part of the pad very tight round his calves and hard to remove.
With several ’trail naps’ that would leave some pads down by your ankles, the Amplifi Knee Joint pad has held strong and stayed exactly where they needed to be. The shaped knee-cap fits well on the bike and when walking, smaller sections of foam offer side protection but remain flexible and unobtrusive.
We say
The only downside to the close fit and fairly high volume of padding is heat. These pads, although comfortable, do run pretty hot.
If you don’t like clammy knees you may want to look at a more minimal pad that offers increased ventilation in place of protection.
However if you want a high level of protection, have had trouble getting a good fit from other brands and don’t want to spend a fortune, the Amplify Knee Joint should definitely on your short-list.
It’s a very good pad.