iXS Carve Knee Pads – Review
We’ve spent all summer shredding in the iXS Carve knee pads. Check out what we thought.
We’ve been testing a set of the iXS Flow pads, and were really impressed with their fit and the protection offered given their size. The Carve featured here is a full coverage knee pad designed for a more gravity focused rider. The XMatter foam is a slow rebound padding that is soft and flexible but retains excellent impact absorption properties. The front of the pad is covered in tear resistant material, while the rest of the pad is a fine mesh that iXS have called AeroMesh. The straps that feature top and bottom are made of a stretchy velcro style material, and features some neat detailing such as the “left/right” labels. The sides of your knees are also covered by thinner padding that is contoured to follow your leg’s shape.
Riding in the Carve pads is a very pleasant experience. We’ve used them for both trail riding and uplifted DH and they have been consistently great. The fit of our pads was spot on, with the straps keeping them in place even during a few unplanned trips to the floor. Getting a good fit is easy as they are available in S,M,L and XL with L being about right for my “average sized” legs. Pedaling in them is a little more cumbersome than the lighter Flow, but the coverage is far greater. Even on long rides with lots of pedalling we’ve not had any issues with them rubbing or slipping. While they might not be our first choice as a trail pad, with the new “full facer” rules for Enduro racing, and the rise of burlier trails for racing I can see these developing a real following. The WTB Enduro team, to name but one, have been using them this season.
As a pad for the DH bike they are superb, staying in place very well even in some big crashes. They are slim enough to fit under trousers with little bother, and don’t cause your shorts to ruck up. We’ve used them through Welsh (and Alpine) downpours and in blazing hot sunshine and never had an issue with getting overly sweaty knees or rubs despite wearing them for 14 hours a day quite often. They do leave your shins exposed, but iXS have, of course, got a full range of knee and shin pads available. For the other bendy bits there are the Carve Elbow pads that employ a similar level of coverage and protection.
Overall we’ve been really impressed with the Carve, and when we reach for the DH bike, they are the pads we rummage in the stinky pile for.
RRP £70 | Elbow RRP £60
Action Shots by Rab Ward-Davies
