I want some protection.

I'm not going for the storm trooper look, but I'd rather not shag my knees and elbows due to my complete lack of ability.

I've been looking at the Thor Quadrant Suff that Madison distributes. LINKY

What else is worth a look?

Having realised that I have only one pair of knees I now have these;

Merlin

661 Kyle Straits for my knees and 661 Evo's for my elbows, been using the KS's for every ride since December and they are nice and comfy to pedal in.

my kyle straights are very comfy.

kyle straights +1

Don't leave home without them.

the above are comfy as they offer minimal protection.

give them a bend in your hands. very little plastic in there to stop serious impacts…

Kyle Straits offer minimal protection? I would tend to strongly disagree.
Fallen onto rocky terrain from high speeds onto mine plenty of times and come away with unscathed knees. The protection they offer is excellent.
Not too sure about the D30 stuff though…

661 d30 pads here, elbow & knee. Fallen off more than once, didn't even realise I whacked my knee into the ground and a tree stump, until I saw the footage after. Comfy, a little warm, warn on all day rides, work well as knee and arm warmers in the winter too!

I've done the spade and 2×4" test, they work!

ah well. beleive what you will. 8 months off proper riding thanks to a shattered right patella says i wont be using them again for anything serious.

the construction of them is literally half as stiff/soild as the TLD bones equivalent.

each to their own. i wouldnt ride them for anything but xc now…

+1 for kyle straits. i use raceface hard-faced elbow/forearms, as you tend to slide on these, and i find hard-faced stuff less onerous to wear on the arms.
Nicko, bad luck. however i'm interested to know why you think something stiffer/harder would be better? surely if you have a very stiff pad, anything that hits that, will transfer the shock straight to the thing it's supposed to protect?