VPD vs D30 vs others

Does anyone have any views or comparisons of POC VPD vs D30 padding?

I’ve done a comparison by smashing my elbow against a door frame as hard as I can. In the POC elbow pads I could do it all day. With a D30 elbow pad it hurt – to the point where I’m wondering if I’ve got a duff pair. ZThe pads seem to be similar thickness, but I wondered if I was missing something. The POC stuff is certainly less flexible to start with when cold.

I think it’s hard to activate the D30 by self harm methods?

I bought some POC pads (maybe VPD Air or something like that) and they were a poor fit as they didn’t bend / fit round the knee nicely.

I’ve used d30 pads that fit much better – Ion K-Pact and Fox D30 Launch (not the pro with the hard top cap). I’ve crashed a few times in the Fox ones and my knees have always seemed to come out unscathed – so can’t say I’ve found any issue with d30.

I’ve never tried taking in a solid door frame with them though.

joebristol

I bought some POC pads (maybe VPD Air or something like that) and they were a poor fit as they didn’t bend / fit round the knee nicely.

That surprises me – was it cold? The VPD really does adjust to your shape one it warms up. I had mine int he back of a car in 35 degree heat in Ainsa, and they became incredibly soft and pliable. Still work, mind.

D3O is pretty temperature sensitive,  My sailing pads have cracked where they’re contoured /  cut out to flex around the knee from repeatedly being slammed into the deck sailing over winter.

And on that note, they definitely work, They must have been slammed into the deck (with all it’s ropes and pointy hardware) with no concerns every tack!

The POC stuff does soften up once it’s warmed up with body heat.

My next test is to arm small children with mallets…..

I use VPD pads when cold they just feel like massive bulk, but they warm up quick and once warm they flex and conform nicely

I like D30 type stuff, but as said, inflexible when cold.  I have also had D30 inserts snap, but nothing that can’t be fixed by removing them and a bit of Gorilla tape.

With the POC knee pads they just felt terrible fit wise as no bend / flex and that was in the house with heating on. So not cold. Fox and Ion d30 felt immediately more flexible / better shaped so I went with those options instead. I think the POC pads also only had one strap instead of 2 so felt less secure.

There are some lab tests here, not sure which materials are represented though

https://www.mountainbikingtube.com/pdf/MTB%20ginocchiere%2010%20modelli%20a%20confronto.pdf

@thisisnotaspoon – which pads are you using for sailing? I’ve been racing a Europe dinghy in Rooster Pro Hikers and the fairly basic neoprene knee pads built in to those have been pretty awesome, but I’m keeping an eye out for the next thing once those wear out.