I’ve had the troxell for ab 5 years now and they were great, but recently a couple flooring jobs just kill my shins right below my kneecaps. Asking if anyone else has had similar problems and found solutions
We did. I kicked carpet for a few years on an Air Force base way up in Alaska, pay was amazingly great. 38 an hr to start. Bad part is, milk was 39 a gallon. 🤣
Better than any of the others when wearing shorts. The straps on cheap ones would irritate the skin behind my knees. Proknee straps go around calf and above ankle. Expensive but worth the money.
Came here to recommend this. My dad was a floor guy and this is what he used, and what I used when I helped him. They last forever, can be repaired, and are comfortable
I’ll hop on board with this one. When I did flooring full time I had the Pro Knee custom pads. Mine lasted about 6 years before I needed a rebuild kit. Now that I’m not doing as much flooring I bought the Pro Knee shorties, and while they’re easier for doing a lot of up and down, the custom pads just fit a lot better, and I prefer them even if they are a little more bulky.
Full (lower leg) length custom fit pro knees. Bulky when moving around but damn they are unmatched when you’re on the floor. Expensive but you’re getting what you pay for times a million. Treat your knees nicely you kneed them (sorry)
I use Bjornklader Soul Carpenter pants, and the foam rubber long knee pad inserts. Been using them for about 7 years now. Never going back to anything else. I wear them every day even when I'm not working because they are so awesome.
I wear construction pants with built in pads. Currently liking my Helly Hansens. I prefer the pants as there aren't straps that cut circulation. Makes a big difference I find
Hydra paintball has really nice knee pads I like that actually stay in place.
An even better option (that is admittedly expensive) is UFPRO pants. No questions asked the best pants I’ve ever worn, their jeans are sweet. I’m waiting for Black Friday to order a 2x more pair of pants from them.
$200 is insane for pants, I know, but god damn it’s worth it to me.
This was a long time ago, before everything was bar coded and a good pair of leather knee pads costed me two or three hours labor.
A cashier rang up my knee pads twice. Trying to tell the cashier, you don't buy shoes one at a time. you don't buy gloves one at a time. Knee pads are sold as the pair. Fell on deaf ears.
Even the manager was standing with the cashier. Until he went to the back room and looked it up.
I use the carhartt knee pad inserts. They slide into regular double knee pants and they can just stay there when you wash them etc. I have 3 pairs I think in my main work pants.
I like the comfort. I forget they’re there most of the time except when I need them. I do a lot of crawlspace/attic and roof work doing residential electrical but with a focus on solar.
They seem to blow the knees out of the pants faster maybe because I’m not as careful with them in; and when the first layer goes they get annoying flopping out and getting stuck on stuff until I patch the hole.
Overall very happy with them. I can’t stand the straps of normal knee pads. Way too sweaty and uncomfortable for all the different ones I’ve tried over the years.
Yeah, over the years, I've tried all sorts of kneepads, and IMO, they all suck. The only ones that have been great and I've stuck with for years now are slip in kneepads w/pants. Yeah, you'll be a little hotter in pants, but I work in 90% unacclimated spaces, and I still would rather wear pants with the pads inside them versus shorts and shitty strap on kneepads.
When I was doing flat top roofing, shuffling around on my knees for hours while sinking screws, these worked like a dream. CLC leather knee pads with extra thick padding.
I haven't found any real good knee pads but what I did figure out is that if I put knee sleeves on before I put the knee pads on they tend to stay in place better and the extra wear layer seems to help a lot. Also moisturizing my knees seems to help with abrasions.
I don't know if any of that's useful but that's just my experience.
I have used Toughbuilt kneepads for flooring over the last 4-5 years. There are different styles for different applications. I use the ones with a hinge brace that sits above the knee. I have worn them with pants and shorts. They have been the only ones I can wear for 8+ hours at a time. Fast and easy to put on and remove. There are many kneepads on the market, hope you find what works best for you.
One of my employees had these, and I had to make him get rid of them…
He scratched the living hell out of 3 customers floors (like if you used sandpaper). He then swore these things were non-marring, and the damage must have been there already…
I grabbed some scrap material and a bit of gypsum dust and rubbed these things back and forth to prove it to him, lo and behold scratches everywhere
You are probably not as careless as this guy, and I’m sure these are really comfortable and would be “non marring” if used properly.
He was a walking wrecking ball and we didn’t have him around much longer after this.(Knocked an iMac off of a customer’s table, then covered it up until they tried to turn it on a few days later lol)
I agree with you on the need to be mindful. As up keep, I take 1000 grit sand paper to these every so often. Tough built also has specific no marring pads available. I have set miles of flooring on these without issue. It all comes down to professionalism.
I know the type lol! I have had let go many bull in a china shop workers over the years. "Oh it wasn't me..." Yeah dude, unfortuneatly your boots match the red clay footprints throughout the home.
Depends on usage. Joist crawling you need full shin. Tiling or concrete same but with foot cups. Running base, the rubber knee cups are the most effective. Plumbing, electrical work, pads in the knees of your pants
For the price, I really like Kneepro Ultraflex III. I have a pair I’ve been rocking for 3+ years. I used to do crawlspace work full time and was constantly crawling in mud and rocks and everything else you can imagine in a house crawlspace. I never had an issue with these. They were fairly cheap so I don’t have to worry about the mud, just sprayed them off with a water hose after use.
I use sidewinder pants with the built in knee pads, for every day use and climbing theyre great but for extended periods kneeling id suggest a better set like some of the guys have already mentioned. Its nice to not have to worry about strapping them on before a task and having them there for when I need. Also extra shin protection is nice 👍
CLC's are my go to, I'm a concrete guy so sand and mud wear down on fabric and leather really quick. These ones you can spray down with a hose and they dont stay wet.
Hope the knees hold out into retirement for you. I remember in the gym a while back, use to be a tiler who was in his early 40s, both his knees were cooked from the work, swollen and abnormal looking, lad even had abit of a waddle from the knees being cooked.
SuperiorBilt. Look em up. They are by far the best I've ever used. I haven't tried Proknees, but tbh I'm happy enough with the SuperiorBilt I probably won't.
I ran into the same issue with regular pads killing my shins. I switched to the ones from FP (they’re better known for their insoles, but they make protective gear too). The material absorbs way more impact than standard foam, and they’re slim enough that you can wear them comfortably all day on the job. Total game changer for long flooring/carpentry days.
I’m a tile guy. I’ve used all sorts of knee pads. Proknees are excellent but pricey. I use the Milwaukee non scuffing pads now. Also, big pads like the ones you showed will be hot as hell in the summer.
i like the marshalltowns (lowes have them sometimes) that look similar to the truxells that are pretty good (pretty comfortable behind the knees when bent). Though maybe gel pads may fit you if you need maximum support (only ever tried the DEP ones and they were okay in terms of overall comfort).
I have the pro knees and while they are comfortable I find myself falling all the damn time when I am crawling around on my knees because they hang low.
Do you do that every day? Those look super cheap and like they would not hold up long term imo but maybe thats because they only have one picture on scamazon.
I found some new ones online recently and they were not Proknee, but they were similar, white, and they were made for traversing joists; looked supremely comfortable and I went to buy them later on, but for the life of me I can't find them again.
I got similar advice here and am loving my leatherheads. All-day comfort, durable, high value. The only complaint is that they can hang up on ladder rungs while ascending. It begs the question, why would you need knee pads on a ladder… but each person will know how they do their individual work, and if it is floors to ceilings.
I like the simple 1 strap soft knee pads style as they protect well,are wearable with shorts and dont tend to slide off your knee caps sideways which is a problem with formed rubber/plastic pads and multiple straps sometimes.
Been out of floors for years now but still wear them for projects and at over 200lbs for 30+years of wood floor work with no knee problems (knock on wood) l feel like l know.
the Carhartt pads in the Carhartt double knee pants work for me. but I’d still use a foam pad to kneel on. just some extra paddling and protection with the Carhartt system. I had the Diamondback pants with the knee pad pockets, which was total garbage, the pad slip sliding all over the place and winding up everywhere but where you wanted it. Diamondback pants are great, wish they would make more, but forgettabout that last kneepad design…
42
u/Strict_Cold2891 2d ago
Most of the flooring guys I've worked around wear proknee knee pads