7iDP Covert Knee Pads – First Look
We check out the versatile Covert knee pads from the guys at 7iDP.
We first met 7iDP over a year ago, where we ogled their technical and innovative looking range of protection. After a lot of excitement, they have taken a long old time to come to fruition, delayed by a few redesigns to make sure that everything was just right. A year down the line and the refined range was looking sick at Eurobike, so we were really pleased to get a box containing a set of the Covert pads.
FEATURES
– Removable foams and knee cap for washing
– Low weight, high strength flexible 1mm cap for superior fit and pedal motion
– Double layer custom foam to increase air flow and reduce weight
– Compression fit, designed to be packable for out on the trail
– A combination of Poly/Spandex and 4 way stretch mesh provide great fit and ventilation
– Designed beyond CE EN 1621/1 standard to ensure maximum protection
– Sizes – S/M/L/XL
– RRP – £69.99
The Covert are, on the face of it, simple looking pads but dig a little deeper and there is a lot of clever design gone into them. A stretchy mesh sleeve with a big padded area over the knee, and a stiff plastic layer over the top, all encased in a hard wearing fabric. The sleeve is well vented and has a plenty of grip to hold the pad in place, with a rubberised strip top and bottom that does the business without rubbing or slipping. I’ve not had any issues with them slipping about, even when it’s stinking wet and they are over a pair of tights.
The clever bit comes when you get inside them. the pads are made of 3 separate layers of protection.With everything in place the pads pass CE EN 1621-1, a motorcycle rating for armour. These pads have undergone extensive testing to reach the standard, and still offer plenty of comfort in full protection mode. On the packaging it states that it is not advised to remove any of the padding in the European Union. If you are a maverick, or perhaps on holiday, and wanted to you can remove some of the padding. With the outer plastic shell and associated padding taken out through the overlapping sleeves on the inside you are left with a great low volume pad that still offers what feels like a decent level of protection. All of the protection is held in place with some elastic or sleeves. Taking the pads apart and reassembling is dead easy, and also means you can give them a wash when they get stinky.
First impressions are excellent, pedaling in both full and trimmed down modes is unrestricted, and I feel like they offer an encouraging amount of protection out on all sorts of trails. The option to tune one set of pads to your needs is great, anything to reduce the massive piles of kit you might need – going away for a race and not sure how burly it’s going to be, take the full setup and tweak at your leisure. These look like they are going to become a firm favourite in our kit bag. These guys are in the shops right now.
