I bought a stet of POD K300 knee braces recently and wanted to share my thoughts on them as knee injuries are pretty common in our sport and maybe this can help someone else to make a decision. A little background first. I tore my ACL about 7 years ago and have been living and riding with the torn ACL since. I would wear a cheap knee brace when riding, but the knee would still "pop out" from time to time so I decided to get it fixed about 6 weeks ago. After the surgery I was wearing a custom made Don Joy brace for support. These are carbon fiber and along with the CTI braces they are pretty much the best made. But they aren't designed for moto, so I decided to get a pair of moto specific braces for both knees. I chose the POD k300 braces for several reasons. First, they consistently got good reviews both from mags and actual customers. They also had some features I wanted. Like a removable knee cup so I could wear them for everyday activities and snap the knee cup back on for moto use. Lastly, the price isn't too bad. $500 per pair vs $1000 each for the don joy Onto the review. Compared to the custom made Don Joy they are a little lower on the quality scale. Not by much, but the POD's have a plastic hinge housing where the Don joy have an aluminum housing. The don joy is carbon fiber frame where the k300 is a plastic frame. POD also offers a k700 that is a carbon frame and I almost went with this one but they are $300 more than the k300. The don joy fits a little better, but again it is a $1000 custom made brace vs a $250 off the shelf brace. The POD fits extremely well however and I wouldn't consider the fitment to be sub par by any means. After the surgery I wore the don joy for about 2 weeks only taking it off for showers and bed. The comfort was ok. Not bad, not great, just ok. I did have to reposition them several times during the day as they would slip down. When the POD's showed up I switched to see which was more comfortable for all day use. The POD's are wayyyy more comfortable for all day wearing! I have been wearing the pod brace for 12-14 hours a day for the last month and I usually forget I have it on. They are that comfortable. They don't slip down like the don joy did so I don't have to reposition it during the day. I have not had the chance to test them during a ride yet since it will be another 6 weeks until I swing a leg over my Husky. I will update when I have some ride reviews to give. So to summarize, I would highly recommend the POD K300 braces for anyone looking for knee protection. Two thumbs up from me.
Good to hear, I think too many of us go w/o some kind of knee protection. I wear EVS RS-8s, but don't have any underlying knee problems(knock on wood), but may upgrade if funds allow.
I'm pretty sure I tore my left ACL last August. My knee feels pretty solid from side to side but I noticed that it wants to hyperextend backwards. I was in a hurry to ride last Fall and Winter so I quickly bought some EVS SX02 braces. These sell for about $110 each and they provide pretty decent protection for the price. They're a neoprene sock with metal side braces and a adjustable locking hinge on either side. They have three large velcro straps that are great for getting the right fit. It didn't take long and I forgot they're were even on. I like them because they keep my bad knee 'tight' and they provide decent protection from hyperextension.
Great review thanks! This is the last set of gear I need to complete my linebacker/off-road rider attire.
I usually use the ultra cheap stuff and toss it after a while ... The EVS brace for less than a 100$ is looking better to me ...
Thanks for your review, very timely as I tore my ACL off the femur a couple of months ago in a relatively small off. I also badly tore the inside medial ligament, so leg just buckled when i tried to get up. Am having a reconstruction in July & was looking to buy a set of Pod K700s, i.e. the carbon ones, to give me a little more peace of mind when I return to riding, so good to hear your positive feedback.
Sounds almost exactly like what happened to me. Landed awkwardly from a jump and ACL just snapped. No crash or anything, just snap. bye bye knee. I think you will be more than happy with the K700's.
I ruptured my right quadriceps tendon last spring and had 3 trips to the OR to repair it. Flash forward 1 year later I wear DonJoy customs with the MX specific impact guard and won't ride off road without them now. I had to learn the hard way. I wouldn't wish a ruptured quad tendon on my worse enemy. Makes an ACL injury seem like a hang nail... Buy the good gear and wear it
I just got the sames ones and like them a lot. Screwed both knees up doing stuff and not letting them rest. The last episode a few months ago, convinced me I better get them. Glad I did to say the least.
I thought there was another, newer knee brace thread here somewhere, but can't find it now. These look good and big mark down on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FQDGEHE/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I ordered 'em up
OP, I have always wondered about these types of very rigid structured knee braces. I wear what I would describe as knee guards. Good for rash but no real structural knee support in a crash. I have no significant structural damage to my knees (Knock wood). Are these heavy duty braces recommended for riders with no damage (preventive measure) or are they only meant for use by the unlucky ones who are post injury? Thank you for your thoughts on this topic. This may help others wrestling with "is this type of product for me" type questions. All the best with your ongoing recovery. (Oops! I just realized this thread is quite old. I would still like to hear folks opinions on my question posed above.) Bugs
Yes, preventative as well as supportive for post injury. I used to race with a brace just on my right knee, then injured my left and had a brace made for it too. Recently have been using compression wraps and xtra nice guards, but new boots put all force and strain on my knees, so time for some braces. At this price I think it's cheap insurance to avoid further knee injury, but even $1k braces would be cheaper than a trip to the ER and the PT. Will review them here when I can.
Just realized I never updated this thread. I still am using and really liking these braces for riding. They remain very comfortable for even all day rides. They do add a bit of bulky feeling when gripping the bike with my knees but there's no way around that if you wanna wear braces. When I wear these out this will be the first brand I consider for replacements.
I should add the stuff I wear is the preventive stuff and not the brace type hardware with all the metal stuff to help stop a knee from twisting or what ever ... I'm staying under control, off the edge, and not taking alot of chances ... I keep myself out of the hospital, not my gear, first...Next the gear comes into play after I have screwed up ... One last note here..if you notice through time with bike riding, many riders careers\riding ends a crash ... Best not to be crashing no matter what you are wearing ... Take the time to read or watch other skillful riders and learn how to ride a bike correctly and not just roll around on it.
I have a DonJoy for my right knee since PCL surgery but can't wear it riding because of the bulk and also prefer a guard of some kind. I went to the $13 shin knee guards under my riding pants and I weight train 3 days a week to strengthen my body to prevent injury. It's good to know the pod K 300s are a good option, I'll look into those. Thanks for posting!
after doing some research after my very expensive 0 mph crash causing a postierer dislocated knee, blown popiteal artery, which when repaired needed a fasciatomy and resulting skin graft and now onto the ACL, PCL, MCL repair in the next few weeks.... It dont take speed or being careless to crash and your leg is one of the first areas that hits the ground many times not even when crashing..... I for years have rode with Moose knee guards because "I didnt need them".... obviously I did..... Funny thing is I spent $500 on a UFO helmet, $200 on Klim gear, $200 motocrossvests.com chest protector, $400 Gaerne boots, $80 goggles but to cheap to protect something that can stop you from walking around for 6 months.... CRAZY.... wont happen again Below is some just after (pic 3 and 4) 3 weeks after (pic 2 skin graft) and this week (pic 1 PT).... been laid up since June 28th....
I don't wanna' look! The braces I just ordered and linked above are EVS RS9 Pro @ $272 instead of $379 a pair. http://evs-sports.com/index.php/moto/knee-braces/rs9-pro-knee-brace.html
