The Paragon Pro is Alpinestar’s offering of lightweight and low bulk knee protection and it succeeds in both of these areas. The pads themselves barely weigh anything and when they first turned up I wondered what on Earth was in such a big parcel with so little weight. On the knee, the low weight means that these pads are barely noticeable. Couple that with the clever flexible pad within the mesh sleeve and you’ve got a pad that doesn’t stick out at your knee and is so light you could go a full day forgetting you’ve put it on.

Talking of the mesh sleeve… It’s not only light but also keeps you from getting sweaty on the longer rides. The clever use such a material has meant that air can continue to circulate all the way around the pad. Better yet, the space behind the knee is left totally uncovered and means you don’t get that horrible sweaty chafing that sometimes happens with sleeve design pads.

The silicone line inside the top and bottom of the Paragon Pro means that once it’s on it doesn’t really move throughout the day. Initially, it took me a little getting used to coming from the Fox Launch Pros and having a strap at the top and bottom. Getting the pad positioned perfect at the start of the ride was essential to ensure a comfy day out with the Alpinestars. I found that the best way of positioning the pads was to pull them on, position the knee protection and then pull the lower portion of the sleeve up at the back so it sat at the top of my calf. I tried at first to spread the whole sleeve evenly across my leg but found that the lower silicone strip would stick slightly better than the top one for some reason – the result was that the pads slipped down. This minor issue was quickly and entirely resolved by pulling the lower silicone strip higher at the back.

View the full Aplinestars range here.

I’ve been exclusively using these pads over the last couple of months to get a proper feel for them. Of course, any good pad should be crash tested before reviewed and I didn’t want to force a crash so waited for one to naturally occur. Three came in the same week and put the pads through that test. Thankfully, they stood up well to the beating and, even though I ended up with pretty good cuts and grazes along my upper leg from landing a bit wonky on a jump, my knees came away totally unmarked. A big tick for the protection box.

One thing I did find with the Paragon Pro knee pads was that they bunched a little behind the knee cup at the top of the leg. This wasn’t due to pad slippage – they stayed perfectly in place once I’d figured out the calf trick – but definitely must’ve meant the top silicone strip had moved during the rides. It didn’t cause too much of an issue as the protective cup part remained in the right permission but did become a little uncomfortable after a few hours. Of course, stopping and pulling up the sleeve alleviated the issue for a time. For the price difference though, I’d go for the Vector Pro knee and shin guards from Alpinestars for the straps.

Features

• Extremely lightweight, durable and flexible guard constructed from breathable stretch mesh for comfortable, close fit.
• Highly convenient and time-saving slip-on design with elasticated cuffs and silicone printing to prevent slippage and help keep protector securely positioned.
• Pre-shaped, ergonomic design for optimised performance with various riding positions.
• Ventilation window on the back of the protector for additional ventilation.

Follow them on social media here:

Instagram: @alpinestars
Twitter: @aplinestars
Facebook: /alpinstars

Review written by: Lewis – #TotalMTB Photography and Videography
Instagram: @Pedal_Slip
Twitter: @PedalSlip
Facebook: /PedalSlip

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