lucas said:
I'm looking for opinions on hoots armor. anyone? anyone?
I've been using Hoot's knee/shin armor for about 6 months now and here's the lowdown:
For freeriding (and dirt jumping), it's the best armor I've found - the thickest foam, backing up the widest plastic shells, with a back-of-the-calf protector built in (no more pedal slap taking out the skin on the back of the leg!) - I've taken some pretty damn good falls freeriding and dirt jumping and these pads provide the best protection for your legs on the market (IMHO)
here are the issues: It's big stuff - I would NOT wear the pads pedaling anywhere up (they go in my DaKine Apex pack for the ride up, along with my full-face) - they are hot & uncomfortable for pedaling up for any length of time. They would not be great for DH racing - all that padding and armor would get in the way of all your pedaling on a course (I believe Hoot's has a different leg armor for DH racing anyway - although a friend of mine who is a female pro-dh racer wears them - swears she goes faster because she feels so protected) - they also tend to rub the back of my knees raw if I wear them alone - so I usually where XC-style knee-warmers to protect the back of the knee - these also seem to keep them in place.
so, if you are going to not wear them on the ride up, put them on and hit some rocky or North Shore style trails, if you are going to dirt jump, if you are going to fall - best pads you can get - If you're going to race, if you live in the Arizona desert and are going to try to wear them on the ride to the top of South Mountain - look elsewhere....