No Pads?

[albert]

Hey,

I just wanted to ask why there are some of you out there these days that dont use pads on your boards?

I have tried it only twice; the first time was the first time I ever rode a kneeboard, two surfs later I had ice on both my knees and I was shopping around for kneebraces. The second time I blew out one knee and the other was sore for a day (this was after catching two waves! ).

I understand that back in the day there werent these polymer hydrophobic rubbers that we could use to protect our knees, and finding a set of kneebraces that both dont loosen up in the water and are affordable was also a bit hard. But my question relates to now, present day... there are a bunch of options available, thin, thick, different textures, etc. Why do some of you still insist on not using pads?

And then there is the question of longevity... do people that dont wear pads, still last as long in the water without getting sore knees? or can they surf as many times in a week? and can they hit the lip, land floaters, etc. with the same vigor without feeling pain?

Final question for those of you that dont wear pads; what sort of shape will your knees be in 20 years? I know that after 20 years of kneeboarding with pads and/or kneebraces I am extremely glad I used them. Otherwise I would not be kneeboarding still!

Thanks
Albert

[ScottMac]

..

[toofast3]

Albert....I`ve been KBing a little over 30 yrs. now. No Pads for me.!! I have ridin some bards with pads but I didn`t like them. I didn`t feel like I had the same "feeling" as I did with out the pads. Without the pads, I feel more intouch with the board. Plus, I seem to stick better to the board with just the wax. I can`t tell you I don`t have a knot on both knees from Kbing becasue I do a one one both knees and the wax pulls the hair out. The hard landing, sometimes they hurt and sometimes they don`t. I `ve done the same thing on a board with pads.
Then you asked a about if a "no pad" guy can last as long in the water as the "pad" guy..... I know I can. When I get out of the water its not because of my knees. Most of the time its because I am phyicaly tired.
Here`s something, I have heard people sayingthey put pads on their boards so they don`t get the dents in the deck so that they can get a better price for the board if they don`t like it or get a better one. I buy my boards for ONLY me. So I don`t buy into that idea either.

[albert]

Here`s something, I have heard people sayingthey put pads on their boards so they don`t get the dents in the deck so that they can get a better price for the board if they don`t like it or get a better one. I buy my boards for ONLY me. So I don`t buy into that idea either.

All I can say about that is that with pads I still put huge knee compressions on my boards... Pads have never stopped me from putting knee impressions on a board (no matter how thick the pads are).

[SFKneelo]

Well...

To start with... Osgood-Schlatter's

Second, blown knees.

Pads are my friend, and I look on with envy at those that were built for the task!

[K-man]

Surfed many yrs without pads,wore out quite a few wetsuit knees,as well as some aches/pains.After pads no pain,not too much anyways.And my suits last longer.Nothing worse than 49-50 deg winter water flushing up the knees to those sensitive male parts...
Knee dents are ineviatable,[for the average KB glass job]which I like,closer to the board,lower center of gravity.Definately a plus for me.


cheers.

[Steeno]

the first ten years of my surfing, i used no pads.....but my knees started to hurt and grow bumps from doin standup manouvres aswell as kneelo ones, you know backflips and sh!t..... pretty kooky...i know. Then I had those wetsuit kneepads, but they thinned pretty quickly. At one stage i could not surf unless i strapped padding to my knees with electrician tapes. now that was kooky but i was still surfing.
nowdays.....i would not surf without em. I feel you get more kneesurface with pads on, they hug around my knees rather than just sit at one point, makes me feel better connected to the board as one. It becomes an extension of my legs.

but you all ready knew that chiko

[albert]

but you all ready knew that chiko

yeah, but what I didnt know is that according to Gene West I am a kook is because I have pads on all my boards!!

Im off to the garage to rip all the pads off my boards right now!!!

[Masons]

Im a bit younger than the majority of kneeriders on this site,, say by 20+ years , with that being said, I prefer no pad on my KB's.

I have tried a number of pads before, and have owned/rode a padded board for about a season worth of waves and prefer the feel/response from the baredeck, whether riding down the line or hitting the lip. No I don't have any pain from floaters or the like, usually that happens when i BIFF it and the board hits me somewhere other than my knees Also the majority of the time I spend in the water is wearing a 4/3, so besides summer I do have a decent amount of padding.

I do put pressure dents on the deck, but from any padded board I've seen/owned they also receive the same pressure dents. (though I know there are some thicker pads out there then what ive rode) Yet pads do help to seal any slight pressure cracks/etc in the glass, which is nice (like on romo's boards)

Currently I surf 4-5 days out of the week if there are waves to support the habit!! And yes, I do surf plenty long sessions

Once again, I'm 22 so my knees are probably taking a beating and I'll feel the pain later on lol.

[Bill E.]

Back in the 70's when my knees bumps hurt from bare kneein it!! I looked and got a 1/2" pad from SeaSuits factory (or maybe Froghouse). It was good for bare knees, but then there was all the wetsuits we wear up here. The suits didnt have real kneepads then so on my new suits I would just stuff a couple big pumpkin pie cans up the leg and glue on 1/4" good quality pads with nylon on the outside.

I liked the feel of the pads, the wetsuit or the pads never wore out, they were part of my leg. I felt like I was connected to my board wherever I landed. I liked the control of the sticky I could get out of the wax. My boards never had any knee marks that said this is where they go.

Now the pads are real thin and the wetsuit pads are more embosed than pads. I would like to find a knee pad that would work and stay put.

[RW]

.....best laugh in ages Steen... ...know what ya mean...especially when doin' all those twin knees over and roll-O's on my tanker...

......ya know....some of those pads come with strings....and we all know what Geno says about guys with cords......

better trash all those leashes while yur at it too.....

[Freddie]

Way back in the good old days starting in 1969, my brother Donny and I never used pads. When I lost my leg in mid 1978 I didn't surf for 20 years. In 1998 I figured how to get back out there and surf. I wanted to protect my stump as much as possible. So my first board shaped by Carl Hayward didn't have a pad, but up in the Central Coast I always had a 3/2 or 4/3 wetsuit to protect my stump. Then I met my old shaper Dean Cleary and I had a chance to surf Southern California with just board shorts. At that time Dean was using ROMO pads, so I gave them a try, I didn't like them because of slippage. I would even wax the pad and still I would slip. My brother turned me on to Baja Bob a guy who makes custom wetsuits in SLO. I had him make me custom stumpy socks with 5mil rubber and I ended up stripping the ROMO pads off, and I have been having so much fun since. My longest session has been 6 hours at my local break with no knee problems what so ever! I'm STOKED...

[RW]

...actually it really makes no difference.....as long as yur not a one dimensional trick rider....

I ride everything....and anything someone is willing to share.....make....ba$tardize....create.....fu¢kup....

..fish, spoons, wacky experimentals...pads...no pads....cords...no cords....two fins, four fins, three fins...one....even itty bitty baby Simmons' half keels.....no lie...the gnome comes up with some wild stuff that's fun and functional....

...but when ya get down to the core of it all....it's about the ride....and was it fun for ya....not what ya can and can't do....not who ya can impress....it's about what ya experienced.....with what ya got in hand....

...that's the soul of surfin' as I was taught and will practice till I croak.....

...everything is....well....like I said....what ya experience for yursef.....the ephipany of the whole trip...

....no right's.....no wrong's...no absolutes....and plenty of left's too....com'on now...ya can't throw out the soul factor...startin' with no cords and no pads...if'n ya do....ya just prove Geno-O right....


.....and nobody really wants ta be a kook.....rally they don't.

[Jimbo]

KB'ed for 25 years without pads. Knees have the damage to show for it. Sometimes it hurts even with pads!!! That said, I love the Parkes bubble pads. Never slip and I don't feel any extra weight. Only problem was getting used to the extra height when paddling.

Never go without them again!!!

[Shelfbreak]

Pads are for Nancy Boys - I find it best to have mine fitted by the shaper.