Skateboard pads are not a fun place for a skater to spend money. Most skaters don't like to wear them, but skateboard pads can save you from injury that can keep you off your skateboard! Plus, wearing skateboard pads can help you feel more confident when skating. Regardless, if you are skateboarding on ramps of any large size, whether you think it looks cool or not, I would highly recommend wearing pads! Also, check out the
Best Skateboard Helmets list.
TSG Knee PadsTSG ("Technical Safety Gear") is another very strong name in skateboard and snowboard safety gear.
The TSG Force line look great, and have a strong, smaller design. They also strap on nice and easy, without having to slide them up your leg starting at the foot, like so many other knee pads. You can replace the plastic shield when they get damaged, and they will protect your knees well.
The TSG Professional and All Terrain elbow pads work very well, too. They are designed to keep you as cool as possible while skateboarding.
TSG Also makes wrist guards.
Pro-TecPro-Tec has been one of the strongest names in skateboard safety gear forever. They have several styles of pads out there, and you will likely be very happy with any of them.
The Pro-Tec Drop In knee pads are great for park and ramp skateboarding. They give a high degree of protection, shielding you knee in 180 degrees in the front.
Pro-Tec Elbow Pads work just like the knee pads, but for your elbows. On hard ramps, falling on your elbow is very common ...
Pro-Tec also makes great wrist guards, the Pro-Tec Street. These are the wrist guards I started with. Wrist guards can mess up some of your skateboarding, especially grabs, but until you learn to not fall on your hands, they can be a great idea.
You can also get 3-packs for kids.
187 Pads187 pads come very highly recommended. According to a guest review, they fit better than Pro-Tec pads. They also wrap up on the leg high, and cover the knee completely. The have an open back design so you don't have to remove your shoes to put them on. The straps they use are positioned so that they really hold the pads in place. There are two layers of foam cushion under the replaceable knee cap.
Triple 8These are good pads for most park and smaller ramp skating. The padding is sufficient for glancing blows and sliding on the knees. But watch out for direct impact. If you do Vert or Pool skating, you’ll want something with more protection and impact absorption. And, their pads sets for kids are very affordable.
VikingThe Viking protective pad set comes with knee pads and elbow pads, and is available in small, medium and large sizes. The pads are black, with gold rivets holding the large plastic shields in place. Traditional Velcro straps hold the pads on. Basically, the Viking pad set has everything you would expect.
Viking pads aren't the best on the market, but the are good enough for most average skater, and the best price for pads of that quality.
