# Best Pads for Kids



## cakemonster (Sep 30, 2012)

Have kids 2 and 4 getting more interested in park riding. 4 year old starting to to try harder stuff and taking harder falls.

We have tried the regular pads (Mongoose) but they tend to be pretty restrictive for bikes, especially the knee pads and he is not keen on wearing them for long, then takes a hard fall, wears them, forgets then wants them off, cycle continues....

What are the pads that kids like, wear,and balance movement with protection?

I have seen:

1. G form pads: G-Form Protective Pads | Two Wheeling Tots

2. POC pads: Wheels / Body Armor - POC

3. 7 Pads: http://7protection.com/

Any recommendations on make and model for a 4 year old/46 inches. Thinking XXS G form, but would love to hear from folks. They are pretty expensive, so want to pick a good one.

Thank You!


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

Hi Cakemonster.
Ive actually just invested in the GForm pads for my 5 nearly 6 year old.
I believe that Demos lil shredder also uses them.
Not cheap as you've found out but Ive used d30 type pads before and they are light & flexible and work.
Biggest consideration is size and I think only GForm do pads in XXS
Other option is Fox PeeWee which come in lil' sizes, you can also use adult elbow pads for kids knees.

Helmets are the other consideration. Grace now rides Full face for technical and have just bought a Giro Feature for general use.
If you're riding bike parks then also consider body (core) protection.


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## cakemonster (Sep 30, 2012)

griffter18 said:


> Hi Cakemonster.
> Ive actually just invested in the GForm pads for my 5 nearly 6 year old.
> I believe that Demos lil shredder also uses them.
> Not cheap as you've found out but Ive used d30 type pads before and they are light & flexible and work.
> ...


Thank You.

For the G form did you go knee and elbow, or shin too?


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## ProjectMayhem (Aug 23, 2013)

Has anyone used Fox peewee pads?


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

Just knee and elbow as it took a lot of looking in the UK to get them.
Having had a look they are exactly the same just differing sizes so as she grows knees will become elbows etc,

I have modded the pedals to remove some of the studs and make them smaller so if there is a slip theres less impact. Tends to be the back of legs for slips and the front if you miss a pedal and it spins around.


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

Peewe are good. Knees are internally padded with hard plastic outer and extend down shin, elbows are soft.
They can be picked up very cheap compared to some of the other brands but see if you can try before you buy or get them with a return offer.
They also do a roost (body) protector which covers chest, shoulders and back if the kids are doing bike parks or jumps.
Much better than the basic plastic skate ones.


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## silvascape (Sep 11, 2014)

We have found the G Form knees in size XXS excellent for our 4 (now 5) year old. They are comfortable and work very well. Our son has had many falls off his mountain bike while wearing them and even landing on sharp rocks have not damaged the pads and he doesnt even seem to feel the hit. When mountain biking he seems to land knee first in falls. Interestingly he does not wear his knee guards for BMX as he does not seem to fall on his knees - its his elbows and chest that get abused there. 

For elbows our son uses Fox Peewee size s/m elbow pads which he likes. His size xxs gform pads were stolen and they do not make them in xxs any more so we have not been able to replace them. He actually preferred the fox ones for elbows anyway as the gform ones fell down unless we taped them up. When he gets a bit bigger we will go back to them though - I wear the GFrom ones and they are fantastic.

For BMX racing he also wears the fox peewee roost chest/shoulder gaurd. Saves lots of headset/stem and handlebar hits to the sternum and he finds it comfortable to wear under or over his jersey - as a 3/4 year old he wore the size s/m but when we replaced it recently as all our gear was stolen we got hime the size m/l which is a bit big still - he is now 5 and 3 months old and tall for his age.


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## silvascape (Sep 11, 2014)

Oh and the G From Knee pads cover 2/3 of his shins anyway so we dont bother with shin guards - just the knee pads. He uses shin grater pedals and has not his his shins on the non protected part of his shins yet.


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## cakemonster (Sep 30, 2012)

Followup:

We ended up getting the XXS G forms direct from G form (they still have them from last year). He is a large 4 year old and they fit great.

The knees fit well under pants and he forgot he had them on until he ate it. The elbow ones he is less excited about and wears his Fox Pee Wee elbows. Knees seem to be the best as that is where most of the bending is. Only downside to G form is if pants kinda hard to get them on underneath(got to lower thight), and pants exposed (as opposed to pads that go over pants). But upside to this is that if your kid is one of the older "too cool for pads" types they fit under everything and noone knows.

We will probably send the G form elbows back as he seems pretty happy with the Fox Pee Wee elbow pads and $10 vs $50. If you can't find the G form knees small enough for your kid you could consider getting XS elbows and using them as knees (not tried, just an idea). 

He likes the Fox Pee Wee knee pads for skateboarding (full face mask helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, and spider man costume for trick or treating this year) so those are good too, but he won't wear the knee pads for bike riding for very long. In contrast, he forgot he had on the Gforms.


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## ProjectMayhem (Aug 23, 2013)

Thanks, I'm going to send Santa to look for some pads soon...


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## silvascape (Sep 11, 2014)

Cakemonster - looks like another vote for the GForm knee pads and Fox Peewee elbow pad combination. We took our 5 year old out riding Sunday morning, I thought it was a good vote for the comfort of the GForm knee pads when he still had them on at the dinner table that night. He had been running around all day in them and they were still in place.


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## silvascape (Sep 11, 2014)

Out riding today - GForm and Fox Peewee in action


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## CDK (Oct 1, 2013)

Lucky your 4 year old is big because mine is small in the 3rd% which makes things tricky for gear. She does have the fox youth titan combo which is elbow, knee/shin and roost. Not too pricy either at $50-$60. She usually just wears some Bell elbow and knee pads though because they are more simple.
The biggest problem I have is finding the right full face. They will fit her head but she is so small that they touch her shoulders


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## silvascape (Sep 11, 2014)

Hi CDK
We had the same problem when Zac first started racing BMX. He could not wear his roost as it hit his helmet. We found the THH brand of helmet gave the best clearance (not the helmet in the photo above - its a Giro helmet, his THH one got stolen and the Giro replaced it). I dont know if it is available in the US but it is very similar to the Fly Kinetic helmets. Some of my friends with littler children have modified the G Form pads by running an extra seam down the length on them. This seams to work well but we have not gone that way as Zac prefers the Fox elbow pads and the GForm knee pads fit him.


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## IdahoLee (Apr 7, 2014)

My kids ride Gform. They are excellent.


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## JMD123JMD (Dec 11, 2014)

Just ordered the new combo GForm Knee Shin Combo pad. They are super expensive but I think worth it. My 8 year old daughter wears a XS. She also wears Fox Kids Elbow Pads.


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