Hello FlyFishers. Recently I had a little mishap on the river while flyfishing and trip over a tree root and fell on a rock smashing my knee caps hard…it took me a few minutes to get up.My question is tha I wear breathable waders and was wondering if I wore a pair of knee pads over my waders,would they damage the waders and make them leak,or would they be ok to use. Maybe a silly question,but one more fall like that and my FlyFishing days will be over.I’m not getting any younger…lol:D
Doesn’t sound like an unreasonable idea. However, I think it would be more comfortable to wear the knee pads UNDER the waders. Or am I missing something as to why you would rather wear them OVER the waders?
As to damaging the material, depends on how the knee pads are constructed on the inner portion. But, I wear knee pads a lot around the house and outside when doing projects and I have a heck of a time keeping them on. They seem to pop off or slip down when they want to and that is when they are strapped onto my knee with only jeans or sweats under them. Seems to me that the heavy material used in waders would really cause knee pads to move around. Lots of luck and hope you find a good solution. Larry —sagefisher—
I was thinking the same thing. I have trouble keeping them in place as well. However, I think a better option might be the type worn by athletes instead of those worn by construction workers.
I have a pair of knee pads that have a strap at the top of the knee and another around the bottom of the knee, and the little I have worn them, they stayed put OK.
Agree with the comment about basketball knee pads worn under the waders. I wore them when I played and don’t recall them slipping. The ones I wear for construction projects need a fair amount of readjusting and I suspect they’d wear out the waders.
Here’s some that are sold through a fly shop and intended to be used over waders
http://www.bluequillangler.com/Products/Wading_Accessories/Rothco-Knee-Shin-Guard#.Ujeg88adFnA
Thank you so much for all the information on my question, greatly appreciated. I went out after work and went to Sports Autority store and bought a pair of Volley Ball need pads…Put them on under my sweat pants and put on waders and boots and went flyfishing. they worked peerfect…thanks again for all the help.
Just out of curiosity, isn’t the purpose of wearing knee pads with waders, to not only provide padding for your knees, but more importantly to prevent damage to your waders when kneeling?
Dave, obviously you are still a fairly young guy with good knees. There will more than likely come a time in your life when your knee’s safety is more important than that of your waders.
Well I am young at heart. I’ll turn 64 before the year ends and have had several operations on both of my knees. But if my knees bother me to the point that I can’t kneel, which I rarely do, when fishing, then I wouldn’t kneel anymore. As far as tripping and falling, well over the years, it’s happened to me on more than one occassion, but not to the point where I felt I had to wear knee pads under my waders. If it ever got to that point then I guess I would look for easier walking streams and rivers to fish or stick to the bluegill ponds.
Well, I don’t have you by many years but a few. About a month back was the 50th anniversary of when I torn the ACL in my right knee, which is still torn. It has started causing me some minor discomfort again at time but so far it has held together.
I’ve been wearing knee pads for years and have never notice any impact on my waders.
I wear them not just to protect myself but to make it easier to be stealthy. With the knee pads on I am very comfortable getting low or crawling over rocks on hand and knees. I found mine at the local hardware store. They are made of a closed cell foam and don’t absorb any water.
Do you use a wading staff? Turned 78 today and can’t wade without one. Saved my butt many times and well worth the cost.