I couldn’t believe that for many sports, when I just started, I didn’t wear any protection gear. I learned to acquire helmets, kneepads, wrist guards, struck by hard experience, such as elbow bruises, skin cuts, and an ambulance ride. Protection gear gives you extra weight but the additional mental strength it boosts definitely makes the weight negligible.

For downhill snow sports, I own a helmet and a pair of kneepads. The helmet has accompanied me for several years, which I bought right after I rolled down a black diamond hill like a ball for about 30 meters. The kneepads were obtained about 2 months ago, because I started to learn telemark skiing this season, and every telemark skier kept telling me “you need those.”

I’ve done some research on kneepads, mostly by reading the discussion threads on the Telemark Talk Forum, and reviews I located on line with Google.com.

A few things worth paying attention to when selecting a pair of kneepads are probably the following:

1. Protection. They have to be strong enough to protect your knees. After all, this is the basic requirement, isn’t it? So, select a pair of kneepads which do not have the reputation to crack easily.
2. Comfort. You should not feel them exist, and your motions should not be hampered by them. (This sounds like a commercial of female products, but the basic idea is the same.)
3. Stability. They have to stay in place no matter how wild your movement is. Kneepads are usually worn under snow pants, so it is not easy to adjust them during or between your ski runs. You basically want to put them on once and leave them there.
4. Low Profile. They are low-profiled so that it is easy for you to wear them under your snow pants. Even if you wear them outside of your snow pants, because they are low-profiled, it is less likely that they will tangle branches.

It is also fine to wear the kneepads you use for other sports, such as volleyball and in-line skating. However, my volleyball ones do not usually stay in place and my skating ones are too bulky, therefore I still tried to look for a new pair that is designed for snow sports. (All right, I admit that I have outdoor gear acquisition syndrome.)

I narrowed down to three models: Arc’teryx Knee Caps, Black Diamond Telekneesis, and Voile Kneepads. The first two models are widely used by many telemark skiers according to the discussion on the forum, and both had good reviews. Although some complained that early Arc’teryx models had a problem of cracking easily the current model seems reliable. I didn’t hear much about Volie, but based on the first impression, I felt that the product is no better than my volleyball or skating ones.

I after all chose the BD Telekneesis because it has a wider protection range, although I do think it is over-priced. Based on three or four times of use, I am basically a satisfied customer. The kneepads are comfortable, low-profiled and they stayed in place; however, since I haven’t done any backcountry runs, I haven’t gotten a chance to test their durability after hitting tree stems or rocks.

These kneepads do seem to have potentials to protect my knees well in the backcountry. Why do I say this? Last weekend, I tried snowboarding for the first time. Of course I rolled all over the place and did a lot of butt-slides and face plants. During those falls, my knees kissed the slopes numerous times and I didn’t feel a thing. After the snowboarding ride, I laughed at myself: I bought all this protection gear for skiing but the first time I really used it was for snowboarding.

Wearing kneepads has another advantage for snow sports: they keep your knees warm. Warmth improves circulation and your joints need it. Right now I even consider wearing them when I snowshoe especially after seeing a girl’s knee cracking on ice, but I can’t decide whether it is too over the top.

I also need to buy a new helmet. The helmet I have was an impulse buy, and now I wish I had done more research. The main complaint I have is I can’t hear anything while I am wearing the helmet, as well as it should have a little more space for me to insert a heavier balaclava. I’ve seen people wearing helmets which have some opening/holes at the ear area, and I can’t help but wonder whether that is what I want. I need to do more homework on helmets, in the meantime, if you have any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to leave me some comments!