Just like everything these days knee pad/shin guards come in all shapes and sizes. From simple strap on “soccer” style to complex hinged units. At this point EVS is synonymous with safety gear. Since 1985 they have been working to protect riders from injury starting with the AMX-5 knee brace, which is still available for purchase today and ending with the super trick, 100% Carbon Fiber Web knee brace. If you don’t chose to wear knee braces, you should at least wear a high quality knee/ shin guard and EVS has a large selection of for you to choose from.

For this issue we have two sets from this group. The SCO5 and the SCO3, both are made with two layers of neoprene. Dense padding is in-between these layers at the knee and covered with a molded plastic knee cup. The shin plate is sewn between the neoprene with no additional padding. Both close using straps and are secured with hook and loop fasteners. The SC03 is very similar to the SC05 but it seems to be a refined version of it, the revisions are made by Travis Pastrana.

The main difference between the two is the way they close. The Pastrana model closes with hook and loop straps at the back and the SC05 uses elastic straps with hook and loop to secure them to the front. It’s a very subtle difference but one that you will notice after a day of riding. The elastic straps have rubber grip sewn into them.

While this does a good job keeping them in place on your leg, it irritated the skin on all 3 of our testers. If you were to wear some sort of sock or legging underneath this would not be a problem. The simple solution is to get the SC03, the Pastrana model because the soft loop part of the strap is against your skin and doesn’t bother it at all.

These are both great knee pads that offer excellent protection should you smack your knee into something hard – like the ground or a rock. If we were choosing which one to buy the SC03 would win hands down because of the uncomfortable straps on the SC05. If EVS got rid of the rubber grip in the strap we might be swayed to the SC05 because the closure system is a much more refined design.

SC03 – Pastrana
Retail: $59.00

SC05
Retail: $49.00

See all of what EVS has to offer at www.evs-sports.com