Knee pads - necessary?

When I was learning, I thought knee pads were kind of a silly extra for those much better than myself.  Then, as I got better, I figured they were just for the extreme skiers. A friend of mine was tossing his knee pads aside as he fell to the dark side of AT and handed them my way . . . subsequently, I became a much more aggressive skier and I would never go without them now. On the rare occasion I have, I approached the hill with much more caution fearing the lurking rock, stump, ice chunk, topsheet, etc. etc. Knee pads are definitely recommended in my book!

They can also be used whenever it is necessary to ask the boss for a raise

-Burns

...if your asking...you probably shouldn't use them :-[

Note: above is a reference to Darwin.

lordhedgie wrote:

Really?  I don't think I've ever seen any alpine or AT skiers with kneepads, at least outside of the park or "extreme skiing".  With a fixed heel you're looking at impact injuries only after an ejection, and at that point you might as well as why not elbow pads, spine protectors, or any other body armor.

Maybe it's my hill. Mission Ridge has lots of rocks and lots of falls(anywhere) involve falling on your knees. I was surprised by the AT/Alpine skiers wearing them as well.

I wear them regardless of tele, alpine or snowboard.

Like a others who have already posted, I started wearing them when I was leaning to tele. It's been a regular part of my kit for so long that it feels weird if I forget them and don't have them on. It's kind of like getting on a motor cycle without a helmet for me, just doesn't feel right.

While they have provided basic protection for my knees over the years, they also help to add insolation to that area keeping them warm on cold days.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. There doesn't seem to be any dissenting opinion on the issue, which helps me settle the debate. I never wore any when I skied alpine, so I wasn't sure if you'd really "k-needed" them while skiing tele Now I just need to find me a bargin!