ProView – SHRED. Flexi Knee Pads Review

I tested the SHRED. Flexi Knee Pads Enduro on a 9-day Whistler Bike Park trip covering ~100,000’ of downhill vert as well as on rides at the Jackson Hole, Keystone, and Trestle Bike Parks. Conditions ranged from hot, sunny, and dry to chilly, pouring rain and muddy. 

Size & Fit

My favorite part of these knee pads is the fit and how easy they are to slide on. The sizing chart on SHRED.’s website was easy to use and accurate, and the velcro strap on the thigh ensures that they don’t fall down, even when they’re over my impact liner shorts. These knee pads also fit easily under my downhill biking pants and don’t have any weird edges on the pads or anything that get caught on the pants.

The flexible pads are relatively low profile and so much nicer than the old-school hard and bulky ones. In addition, they just look nice – it’s clear that SHRED. has a thoughtful design team that made them look as high-quality as they feel.

My first couple of days of riding with them, I did experience a little bit of rub due to overtightening them because I’m so used to knee pads that eventually fall down, but once I dialed that in, I was happy to be in them for several hours at a time (which bodes well for taking them on long enduro rides, too). Taking them off when they were wet from either rain or sweat was easy, too, by first stretching the pad around the thigh to break the seal, then pulling them right off, which I was really impressed with.

Functionality

On my Whistler trip, I did take a pretty high-speed fall onto them, and while the side of my shin was a little sore from impacting my bike pedal, everywhere that was padded was totally fine. These have awesome additional pads on the inside and outside of the knee and the top of the shin, but I think they could extend these even more for better coverage for more intense riding or racing (though for the majority of riding these are more than adequate.) 

Durability

SHRED. used a thicker mesh on the back of these pads to enhance durability. While this may make them hotter on warm rides, I’ve had issues with other pads ripping easily, so I’ll take the durability over a little extra sweat. They also used beefy Velcro on the strap and durable ripstop material throughout the rest of the pads. 

Friendliness to the Earth

While I couldn’t find specific sustainability info related to these knee pads, SHRED. does donate 1% of their global online sales to environmental initiatives. They are also supporters of Protect Our Winters.

The Final Word

These are some of the most comfortable knee pads I’ve ever worn, and the thigh strap is perfect for adjustments and ensuring they don’t fall down. I would absolutely purchase these again and recommend them to anyone who needs a new pair of mountain bike knee pads.

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