Our kneepads kinda... suck.

So I've reviewed some of the most popular and the "best" kneepad options available today in roller derby. And nothing has gotten a rave review. What's with that? Why isn't this working?

Well, our kneepads were primarily designed for vert skating. A sport with harsh forces to be sure, probably more so than what we experience. And its plagued by its own knee problems because of it. So how do they prevent knee injury, they're using the same pads after all...

 

If you checked out the above video, what you'll notice is that while the initial impact is taken frequently by the knees, in a good fall, a skater will fall into the forces against them. Tumbling from the initial impact, thus transferring the forces at work over their entire body. As Bob Burnquist shows, some of this can be by design, and I think some of it is the influence of the curved surface on which they ride.

So what's different with us? Well, the flat-track for one. The physics of our sport frequently throw us straight to the ground with little variation in direction, making rolling out intentionally the only option if we are to mimic their techniques. But unfortunately for us, getting up from your knees is the fastest way to be back in the game... So most skaters are trained to fall to their knees rather than to roll out of a fall. In fact, rolling out of falls in a pack could disrupt gameplay (knocking out other skaters) and  result in a low block penalty. If we're not falling the same as vert skaters, why are we using the same pads?

Ok, so... We're doing it wrong. How do we do it right? That's what I am trying to find out. I've started investigating tons of options, and I have been learning a lot. All of which I'll share in the hopes of helping other skaters, and perhaps manufacturers, find a better way to keep us safe in derby. At this point my own frustration with the state of the gear I am using has made me willing to try anything to find a better answer. Hopefully, I will.