• Tweet
• SumoMe

• Tweet

If you are like me when I started then you will be thinking What pads should I get to protect myself. Don’t worry this should help you.

I didn’t go mad when it came to spending on pads as I believed that it was all about the skates. How wrong I was!

It’s not all about the skates, it’s all about not hurting yourself.

So I opted for some cheapy pads. They were a 3-in-1 set were you get the wrist guards, knee pads and elbow pads too! WHAT A DEAL!! or so I thought!

While performing one of the countless one knee drops that you will do on your way to become a derby superstar I came down on my left knee with the usual force. Except this time I didn’t make contact with the pads the way I wanted to mainly due to them having such a small surface!!

IT HURT!!

It really did hurt! So much so that I spent the rest of the session just watching the others learning and having fun.

I won’t bore you with all of the details but my knee is still hurting now (several months later) and the doctor referred to the still lump on my knee as a product of internal bleeding. Nice.

So I wish that I had spent the extra on the bigger pads and got my knee caps protected. Thinking about it now I am planning on using them well in to my 80s!

So which knee pads to get?

After having spoken to a lot of the derby girls and refs for the game it was suggested that they following pads might be suitable:

The Scabs knee pads always seem to be a popular choice for most of the girls as they always say how soft they are! They come in three styles black and white, leopard print and zebra style so you and pick whatever you like the look of.

Another choice would be the 187s! These pads have been likened to falling on sofas so these too should do the job. I think I am going to opt for these so check back in a few weeks and I’ll let you know how I am getting on!

So in conclusion – Just stay clear of the cheapy ones. You can always upgrade your skates bit by bit as you progress but knees are for life!

If you have any questions then post a message and I will get back to you.

Skate on!!

Want to stay up to date with the Roller Derby World? Sign up for the free Roller Derby news letters and get all the news straight to your inbox. Do it now >>