NRS Elbow Pads

Comments about NRS Elbow Pads:

Use these to protect against rocks while kayaking. Works great!!! but the the straps are really thin and dont know how long they will last. Great value.

Comments about NRS Elbow Pads:

I use this product for kayak and it's really good, doesnt move too much and stay on when you jump falls

Comments about NRS Elbow Pads:

I had the same initial experience as several of the reviews. It is impossible to get the straps tight enough, and even when you do tighten them, they slip too easily.
I eventually figured out why. The buckles are not assembled correctly. It is sort of hard to explain, but here goes. There are 2 plastic buckles on each strap, A larger diameter and a smaller diameter. The pads come with the smaller diamter on the outside. The correct setup is the smaller buckle inside the larger buckle. It is a little difficult to push the smaller buckle through, I needed pliers on a couple of them. But, once you get the smaller one through, the 2 pieces fit together and the mechanism actually works.
I can now tighten each strap with a single pull, and I can get them as tight as I want.
These elbow pads have the reputation, atleast in my circle of boaters, as being the worst available option. However, I have passed this fix on to several people and they all agree that the NRS pads are as good as any other option once you have them correctly set up.
Hopefully this review allows you to have a pair of elbow pads that actually get the job done.

Service and delivery comments:

As always, NRS is one of the best companies there is to work with. I work in customer service for an outdoor retailer, and NRS is as good as it gets as far as customer service goes.

Comments about NRS Elbow Pads:

I resisted buying elbow pads for years (just more gear to cart around), but I bought mine after an impact led to a hairline fracture to my elbow. Now I wouldn't paddle technical runs without them. If the straps were replaced with a different material and/or buckle system, these would be perfect for creek boating; they are very lightweight, and took a few hits this season that protected my elbows and forearms.

I've only had mine for a few months and about a dozen days of kayaking; but I'm already in the market for a replacement. No matter how much I tightened the straps (once to the point of cutting off circulation), they kept loosening up, especially when submerged for any amount of time. (See video below; after getting thrashed in the hole and swimming out, you can see how much the pads slid down my arms, to the point where they got in the way. I'd like to say this was an isolated incident; but between a couple of swims, surfs and other underwater mishaps, these tended to slide down at the exact wrong time. Jump to 2:30 min to see exactly what I'm talking about.)

The elastic straps make them very easy to slide on, but that may be part of the problem. This material seems to stretch out when wet, allowing them to slide through the buckles and/or simply expand enough that they slide down the arm.

Also, once on, the elastic straps are very difficult to re-tighten through the loop buckles; but again that might not be a problem if the straps didn't loosen up in the first place.

Comments about NRS Elbow Pads:

What is the point of having the elbow pads if they are impossible to adjust the straps to fit your elbows properly.