To brace or not to brace…that is the question. Well, it’s not the actual question, but if you’ve ever thought about giving up knee braces, then you need to check these EVS options out.

I’m a knee brace guy. Always have been, always will be. Or at least I thought. Interestingly, my first ever set of knee braces were the EVS Web braces, one of the early knee brace options on the market at the time. I scored these through my DRD magazine era, so it’s a bit of a full circle moment for me.

After a few years I switched to the POD knee brace brand and have run those exclusively for nearly 20 years. For no other reasons than I was sponsored by POD during my racing career, and then that has carried on since then. There are many other brands who make great knee braces, EVS included, so those who want to stick with the brace, you can gold wild with so many options.

Recently at a 2025 Yamaha model launch at Dirt World, I wore through another set of pants from my knee braces, plus I was getting some irritation on the inside of my knee. Yeah, I’ve done quite a bit of work in both the pants, and especially the braces, which are over 5 years old. But like it or not, this is a byproduct of wearing knee braces. At the end of the day, I saw a guy getting his battle gear off, and noticed him wearing some EVA TP199 knee guards. I asked about them and he could not speak more highly of them. Not only for comfort, but protection and near zero damage to the pants. I was intrigued and decided these needed some more investigation.

Fast forward to now, and the team at Distribution 101 (who are the NZ distributors of EVS, Troy Lee and Fist) hooked me up with not only the TP199’s, but also the recently launched Slayco 96 knee guards – a collaboration between EVS and freestyle mogul Axel Hodges. Both of which are very similar in overall structure and design, but with slight nuances that give each a little uniqueness. And after a couple month of running exclusively these two knee guards, the difficult part is deciding which one I like more.

TP199

Initially I swayed towards the TP199, simply because Travis Pastrana is my guy. I grew up watching him racing AMA Pro Motocross and Supercross, before transitioning to his Freestyle career. I watched him compete at X-Games at 15 years old scoring a 99.00 for his hard-charging style and impressive tricks. Dude was wild and I was totally enamoured. So naturally, I gravitated to the TP199 model right off the bat and wasn’t disappointed.

The knee guard is a two-piece setup, but those two pieces are connected. The floating neoprene knee sleeve helps to secure the guard in place and also adds a compression function. Think if you sprained your knee and you put a sleeve on it from the chemist – it’s like that. Then over top you have the guard itself, which sees two straps, a sleek profile, it uses super-breathable air-mesh material, and Reactive Memory Foam on the kneecap that does all the good work during a hit to the knee. Reactive Memory Foam is a cool product as it is soft and malleable during use, meaning it moulds to your knees shape and is soft to the touch. But when you get a smack, it stiffens up instantly and spreads the load over the entire foam. Again, pretty cool stuff.

The guard is long and goes nearly all the way down the shin, which is a moulded bio-foam padding, and sits on each side of the guard, giving cushioning, and a connected feeling when gripping the bike with your knees.

Slayco96

The Slayco96 knee guards are somewhat the next evolution of the TP199, but not in a way that makes the 199s obsolete. Take everything the TP199 has and the Slayco96 also sports the same aspects and innovations. The Reactive Memory Foam, the moulded bio foam, the inner sleeve etc…all the good stuff. There are a few minor differences that separate the two and it looks like this.

The Slayco96 only has one strap, which is above the knee. Axel Hodges claims that he suffers from behind the knee irritation, so wanted his guards to have one strap only. After using both, the one strap or two straps does not change the fact that they both stay in place all day. This was tested at the recent Husqvarna Hard Enduro where it was 6+ hours on the bike and as I used a different brace each day.

I did notice that the Slayco96 has a slightly tighter fit compared to the TP199, and I’m sure the boot plays a part in helping the guards stay up too. Perhaps there is some correlation between the tighter fit and the one-less strap, but either way both guards stayed in place and never felt uncomfortable.

The other differences see the Slayco96 have a shorted shin guard and a slightly thicker bio foam on the sides of the knees. Both shin portions of each guard sat inside my boot, so the length wasn’t an issue to me. Someone with shorted legs might find the short shin on the Slaco96’s a better fit. Maybe the opposite for taller riders.

The Slayco96 has a newer Hexprene material on the sides which allows it to be very stretchy but also abrasion resistant and super-ventilated with a neat honeycomb design. This is where the more minimalist in length, but slightly thicker side padding is evident compared to the TP199. But again, both guards felt great and gave me a very good feeling on the bike through the knees.

The Slayco96 also has little tabs to help pull the inner compression sleeve on, sports the cool sword and dagger logo known to Axel Hodges, and is a stunning purple colour way that I was not a fan of at first, but I have grown very fond of.

Lastly, the TP199 is CE level 1 certified, where as the Slayco96 is CE level 2 certified. Again, not sure how they are different as they are oh-so similar, but there you go. The only downside is that these only come in two sizes - S/M and L/XL, so if you can, try before you buy.

Which One Is For You?

The million-dollar question. Well actually it’s either a $219.99 or $269.99 dollar question - the flashy purple 96’s fetching for the higher price. If I had to nail it down, if the TP199 knee guard was version 1.0, the Slayco96 knee guard is a version 1.4. It has taken what’s great about the 199 and slightly modified it for a different person. I am stoked about both, and I can’t really pick a huge point of difference if I was to choose between them. However as much as I want to be a Travis guy, I find myself reaching for the pretty purple ones more often than not.

Either way, you will not be disappointed with these options from EVS. They feel as protective as my knee braces, and they definitely give you more flexibility and leg movement when riding the bike. I find there are no pressure points through the leg like can happen with knee braces, and they are machine washable which makes life much easier if you ask me.

This isn’t a recommendation from me to you to swap from braces to guards. But if you have been thinking about it, or are just not a knee brace guy in general, these two products from EVS, in my opinion, are your must haves for your knees. But again, I’m not a doctor, though I am huge knee guard guy now.

Distributed at select dealers in NZ by Distribution 101. Ask for EVS by name at your local dealer or visit the website for more information – www.d101.co.nz.