Designed for the lunatic himself (Travis Pastrana), the T.P. 199 Knee/Shin Pad has been positioned as, "For those looking for complete support without the bulk of a traditional knee brace." That's me! Patella protection comes from a hard outer shell with Reactive Memory Foam (RMF) behind it. RMF is normally flexible, conforming to your knee for a comfortable fit, stiffens upon impact, and immediately returns to a flexible state. Cool stuff! The main carrier body is made from bio foam because it can be thinner and is more flexible than traditional foams, yet still offers good protection. Migration is controlled by silicone strips on the inner sleeve and the integrated internal floating knee sleeve offers continuous support, even when the carrier body moves around. The T.P. 199 Knee/Shin Pad is secured to your leg by Velcro straps above and below the knee and is further held in place by your boot. Here's an exploded view the nicely shows each component and it's orientation.
Out-of-the box, the EVS Sports T.P. 199 Knee/Shin Pads appear to be well constructed. The materials appear to be of good quality, the stitching looks top notch, and they're pleasing to the eye. I like em'! With a handful of good hard rides in, they're holding up extremely well with no visible signs of wear. Time will tell, but I expect them to last a good bit.
When I first put them on, they reminded me of those simple compression knee braces. The inner sleeve really keeps them nice and snug. Once in place, they're super low profile. They're MUCH longer than I expected (18-ish inches), so if you don't wear over-the-boot pants like me, probably a good idea to put them off before your pants. However, I was able to pull my pant legs up just enough to still fasten the top Velcro strap.
I put them on at home without my boots and walked around a bit to see how they felt. I got sucked into doing some work in the garage and pretty much forgot I was wearing them. With boots on, the feeling is the same. Unlike some of the cheapy units I've used, both on and off the bike, the T.P. 199 Knee/Shin Pads stay right where I put them and any protective gear you can forget you're wearing is comfortable.
On the bike, the T.P. 199 Knee/Shin Pads don't restrict movement, but you do notice there is some added stiffness as part of the built-in support systems. However, I had no migration issues and they didn't interfere with my riding in any way. In terms of protection, thankfully I've not wadded it up while wearing them. About all I've noticed is that with cheapy pads, I can usually feel branches & other trail junk bouncing off my lower legs, something that was greatly reduced wearing the T.P. 199s. It would appear that the larger knee cap and RMF armor behind it do a lot better job absorbing impacts.
About the only con that I can mention, is that they are a little on the warm side. It's summer time and there's a few more layers to these guards than the cheapies I've worn. However, given the increased protection, lack of migration, and comfort, an easy trade-off.