Tested : Pete’s 661 Recon Knee Pad Review.

661’s Recon Knee pad is about as light as you can go whilst still retaining the lower level motorcycle CE certification for when things go south.

Beefier than previous Recon offerings, the 661 Recon Knee Pad is still light weight and all-day comfy but adds the extra protection thanks to the D3O Ghost inserts.

Photos by Pete Scullion.

Key features:

  • New D3O Ghost protective inserts
  • CE 1621-1 rated
  • Extended coverage for upper shin protection.
  • Lightweight stretch construction with abrasion resistant stretch fabrics.
  • Strategically placed stretch mesh fabrics.
  • Elastic & silicone top and bottom grippers.
  • Knee pads fit high on the thigh.
  • Padlock connectors integrate with 661 protective shorts.
  • Sizes S – XL
  • Weight (size large): 322g
  • £85.00 RRP
  • SixSixOne.com

Previous offerings of the 661 Recon Knee Pad have been offered with protection ratings for gloves used whilst operating machinery. Essentially designed to stop your fingers being chopped off a la Tony Iommi, your hands might well not be much use to you otherwise.

This latest offering ups the ante thanks to the D30 Ghost insert which allows the pad to be both lightweight and add the CE 1621-1 certification, which is the lower motorcycle certification. Weight is still impressive at 322g for a pair in size large too.

Elsewhere you’ve Padlock integration if you want to connect the pads to 661 shorts, extended coverage onto the shin, stretch fabric for fit and mesh fabric for ventilation, plus a big old hole in the back of the pad. Silicone grippers aim to keep them from riding up, or down for that matter.

Whilst the certification increase is welcome, anything beyond a big old pedal where full size pads would have been clunky and uncomfortable, these don’t feel particularly confidence inspiring. That said, on those big days out where you’re not wringing your neck to hit turns or jumps hard, they’re perfect for the job. Up the ante though in terms of risk and your knees start feeling naked quite quickly.

Fit wise these were, as their prowess for big rides shows, pretty spot on. The high-riding upper has essentially made the tw*t gap phenomenon extinct, even without using the Padlock poppers. On occasion, the gap in the rear of the pad would line up perfectly and they would be comfort par excellence, whilst not uncomfortable when this was misaligned, it was noticeable.

After a few washes, the silicone grippers started to lose their grip, leading to them shifting more, affecting the comfort levels somewhat. This won’t be unique to these pads, but it still happens all the same.

It’s worth mentioning that I didn’t actually have to find out how much protection these offer as I didn’t stuff my knobbly knees into terra firma.

What do we think?

The current 661 Recon Knees do offer more real world protection thanks to the higher CE certification and do deliver all-day comfort for those big rides. They’re even small enough to pop in your pack to slip on when you’re heading downhill.

For anything where the attack levels go beyond 50% though, you’d be better off with the Recon Advance.

We love:

  • All-day comfort
  • CE 1621-1 protection very welcome
  • Tw*t gap exctinction

Could do better:

  • Not an awful lot

You can check out the 661 Recon Knee Pad over on their website here.


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