- Oct 28, 2001
- 4,704
- 0
Been using Asterisk Cell braces for 3 years, and feel naked without them.... Highly recommend them. :cool:
Anyway, I haven't taken any really bad blows to the knee until this past weekend riding a tight woods enduro. Cruising along, weaving, bobbin', and bouncing. Sitting down, up near the tank, knees bent at about a 75° angle. Rammed a tree squarely on the kneecap... blasted my foot / leg off the pegs. Eyes watered, slowed to crawl just to scream a little inside. Eventually was able to shake it off and motor on.
Back at the trailer I peeled off the Cells not knowing what to expect. To my surprise there was just a scuff / rug-burn type abrasion on the kneecap.... But boy was it tender... touching it was like burying a hot knife in it.
The kneecap protection on the Cell is a thin piece of semi-flexible plastic, with a very thin layer of foam on the inside... maybe 1/8" or so. This design is nice and lightweight, and allows for the kneecap protection to float and slide naturally as the knee bends. Without any of this I could imagine shattering the kneecap altogether. But what I'm wondering is if there couldn't be some thicker foam or at least some material that would absorb / dissipate direct impacts more effectively. Regular kneepads like my kid wears seem to offer better protection for direct knee impacts like I experienced, but would never want to give up the other protection benefits the Cells offer. Basically I'm looking for the best of both.
So.... Do the newer style Cells offer any improvements in the kneecap area? (I realize there are trade-offs here.) Or has anyone done anything to beef up the foam in the kneecap area? 3 Days later my kneecap is still very painful to even touch... so don't know if it's just bruised or cracked.
Thanks!
Anyway, I haven't taken any really bad blows to the knee until this past weekend riding a tight woods enduro. Cruising along, weaving, bobbin', and bouncing. Sitting down, up near the tank, knees bent at about a 75° angle. Rammed a tree squarely on the kneecap... blasted my foot / leg off the pegs. Eyes watered, slowed to crawl just to scream a little inside. Eventually was able to shake it off and motor on.
Back at the trailer I peeled off the Cells not knowing what to expect. To my surprise there was just a scuff / rug-burn type abrasion on the kneecap.... But boy was it tender... touching it was like burying a hot knife in it.
The kneecap protection on the Cell is a thin piece of semi-flexible plastic, with a very thin layer of foam on the inside... maybe 1/8" or so. This design is nice and lightweight, and allows for the kneecap protection to float and slide naturally as the knee bends. Without any of this I could imagine shattering the kneecap altogether. But what I'm wondering is if there couldn't be some thicker foam or at least some material that would absorb / dissipate direct impacts more effectively. Regular kneepads like my kid wears seem to offer better protection for direct knee impacts like I experienced, but would never want to give up the other protection benefits the Cells offer. Basically I'm looking for the best of both.
So.... Do the newer style Cells offer any improvements in the kneecap area? (I realize there are trade-offs here.) Or has anyone done anything to beef up the foam in the kneecap area? 3 Days later my kneecap is still very painful to even touch... so don't know if it's just bruised or cracked.
Thanks!
