Tell me about your kneepads

[Alex]

I protect my knees with those blue knee pads but they do not stay in place all the time I find, I have yet to find anything that will.

As for my shins well I use wolfs law, where the bones will get stronger with time after being damged. This is similar in a way to what kung-fu experts do to strengthen a given body part. For the most part it works I find that bruises heal within a couple of days and hurt far less nowerdays then the used to. I also seem to be able to give my shins a good whack and barely feel it.

 

[owd git]

Sounds like one for u tube Alex

 

[Bob Smith]

i've worn my warmbac kneepads under my oversuit for years and haven't noticed any vast difference in knee wear on the suit, mine still wears through first on my bum area.

It's due to the amount of surface area contact  (sorry Estelle I couldn't resist, I expect you'll be making me wear my b*ll$ as earings next time I see you. 

 

[Ed W]

I've been using a pair of these http://www.thanettoolsupplies.co.uk/product/7947/dewalt-heavy-duty-flooring-kneepads for the last few months.  They are currently selling at ?10 a pair in my local B&Q.  I have found them extremelu comfortable, both in terms of the straps digging into the back of the knee and the level of protection to the knee - which greatly exceeds that of the slip on neoprene type.  The only complaint is a gradual tendency for the pads to rotate sideways in long crawls, but a quick push back in place once in a while seems to work OK.  These have been worn on quite a few digging trips so far and are standing up pretty well.

I would say that for comparison, these provide as much protection as the three layers of neoprene I have sometimes resorted to in Upper Flood whilst giving less strap rash to the back of the knees.  I have yet to experience a cobble getting behind the pad, something that used to happen fairly frequently with the old miners knee pads.

In all I reckon these are a pretty good bargain at the moment, half the price of neoprene with more comfort.  In fact I think I'll head down to B&Q and get a couple of pairs before they sell out!

 

[ogof addict]

what are they like for soaking up water? the B&Q website says they are sold out though. a tenner is a good price for really padded looking ones 

i hate the blue neoprene ones and never wear mine. they slip all the time at the same time as being too tight and uncomfy, and then snag on stuff when i wear them round my wellies.

 

[Pitlamp]

I got fed up with the problems alluded to above with the neoprene (Warmbac / Beaver) kneepads and decided most of the hassle was because of their shape. They are a simple design which is basically for a straight leg, yet much of the time when caving the knee is bent. After one particularly uncomfortable gravel scooping trip in Speedwell I cut a curved dart about 50 mm deep in the top surface and glued the cut sides together. This was then secured with a combination of stitching and aquasure (applied carefully after a thorough cleaning with a solvent and roughening with a file to ensure a good "key"). My modified kneepads now fit perfectly when my leg is bent at 90 degrees (but aren't significantly less comfortable when my leg is straight). They are MUCH better and I'm left wondering why caving gear manufacturers don't actually make them like this in the first place.

 

[snoboy]

I think I can imagine what you are describing, Pitlamp, but a pic would be great if you are so inclined? 

 

[Pitlamp]

Will send you a PM.

 

[JasonC]

Almost on topic... I'm reading 'Ten years under the earth' by Norbert Casteret (a French cave pioneer, active from the '20s), and felt this quote was, er, interesting.  Men were men in them days.....

"Being hardened to cold water and the negotiation of difficult underground passages, I did not hesitate to pursue the water course on its way underground.  Undressing completely (clothes hold water, catch on projections, and are hampering and dangerous in caves), I slid head first into the descending fissure which swallows the brook.
It was the beginning of April - an unpropitious time for the water was high and cold.  I crawled desperately and with great difficulty between water and rock; then I moved flat on my stomach over a bed of soft and loathsome slime.  My back was scraped by the low, rough ceiling."

Kneepads ?  Who needs 'em !

 

[Roger W]

Almost on topic... I'm reading 'Ten years under the earth' by Norbert Casteret (a French cave pioneer, active from the '20s), and felt this quote was, er, interesting.  Men were men in them days.....

".... clothes hold water, catch on projections, and are hampering and dangerous in caves...."

Kneepads ?  Who needs 'em !

Kneepads?  Oversuits?  Furries?  Wetsuits?  Wellies?  Who needs 'em?   

 

[Pitlamp]

Snoboy; I only just received the PM you sent to me; I have sent an email to the address you gave with a picture as requested. Hope it's of some use to you.

 

[graham]

Almost on topic... I'm reading 'Ten years under the earth' by Norbert Casteret (a French cave pioneer, active from the '20s), and felt this quote was, er, interesting.  Men were men in them days.....

"Being hardened to cold water and the negotiation of difficult underground passages, I did not hesitate to pursue the water course on its way underground.  Undressing completely (clothes hold water, catch on projections, and are hampering and dangerous in caves), I slid head first into the descending fissure which swallows the brook.
It was the beginning of April - an unpropitious time for the water was high and cold.  I crawled desperately and with great difficulty between water and rock; then I moved flat on my stomach over a bed of soft and loathsome slime.  My back was scraped by the low, rough ceiling."

Kneepads ?  Who needs 'em !

Is that a description of the sump duck in Montespan? 'cos if it is he was talking bollocks.

 

[JasonC]

It was actually from Labastide, but earlier in the book he describes reaching the sump in Montespan:
"Neck-deep in water as I was, I nevertheless considered the rashness of of persevering alone in so hazardous n undertaking....  Putting my candle on a projection of the wall, I inhaled air for an immersion of two minutes.... Then I plunged, one hand ahead, the other touching the ceiling.  I felt the bumps and contours of the ceiling with infinite care...  Suddenly, as I was going forward in this fashion, my head emerged; I could breathe"

He turns back, then comes back the next day, with candles and matches under his bathing cap...

I think he mentions later that the water in some of the caves with significant prehistoric finds was lowered by draining to allow access by less superhuman scientists.

He's obviously a stranger to modesty, but I must say the thought of caving with candles, let alone nekkid, makes my blood run cold, so hats off to Norbert!