At a recent boat show,
Practical Sailoreditors ran across some interesting kneepads made by Crocs, the manufacturer of those annoyingly popular brightly colored, clog-like shoes. Still sore from some serious knee time during spring maintenance, we decided to see whether the Crocs kneepads were an improvement over our homespun design (Duck tape and sponges).
The Crocs are lightweight and made of the same thick, foam-like material as the shoes, which the company claims is buoyant, non-marking, anti-microbial, and odor-resistant. The stretchy elastic straps are adjusted with plastic buckles.
We sent the Crocs kneepads to
Practical Sailorcontributor Skip Allan, who was busy prepping his 27-foot custom Tom Wylie-design sloop for the Singlehanded TransPac. This is what he had to say about the kneewear:
“The kneepads often wind up as ankle pads, but they work very well in the pool. (Before, when I used to try to float on my back, my legs would sink.) I also tried the kneepads in the garden while pulling oxalis, but then I remembered the magazine is
Practical Sailor, so I screwed them onto the foredeck, just aft of the headstay. Here, they serve double-duty: as kneel pads-for when Im changing headsails-and as lightweight spinnaker pole chocks. Ultimately, I think the most appropriate use will be strapping them around the wine bottles in the bilge, so the bottles don’t go clink.”
In our opinion, the kneepads are decent for jobs that don’t require moving quickly-lest they slide to your ankles-like stripping varnish. But they lack the freedom of movement needed by, say, foredeck crew. If you know of something better, let us know. You can find the Crocs kneepads for $12 at www.crocs.com.
