Knee Armor Slippage

[scout.trooper]

Having some problems keeping the knee armor in place. No matter how tight I have the elastic, the armor keeps slipping down (apparently I have little baby deer knees?). I've done some research and some people have mentioned gluing snaps to the armor then attaching the opposite end to the flight suit while others have said they used velcro due to snaps coming undone.

 

I had some previous trouble with velcro peeling away from the armor and I'm not sure I trust it anymore:

 

I was thinking about adding snaps to 5 points on the armor (where the black X's are):

 

Can anyone post pics of how they keep their knee armor up?

[4505Marcel]

Velcro on the armour and flight suit bro

[Chef]

What the man said. ^^^^

[Soundwave]

No disrespect to the guys above, But ....

 

High powered magnets was something I was going to look into at one time... But I never got past the idea stage.

 

I wrapped enough Elastic through the slots on the armor that I could attach it to itself inside the knee piece creating a circle with velcro. It allows it to be adjustable, and you can tighten as needed. I still used velcro on each end of the elastic... It just isn't attached to the inside of the armor.

 

There are at least a couple more options for you.

[batninja]

In your pic, it looks like the Vecro is slipping off the inside of the knee. Is that industrial-strength Velcro? Never seen it do that before. If you're not using the industrial stuff, I highly recommend it. You can also use sandpaper to rough up the spots where to Velcro sits to increase its hold.

 

But I also agree- a spot of Velcro 'twixt the armor and jumpsuit should do you nicely!

[Gato]

I added a little foam to the inside of mine and it works good. I had the same problem with my biceps. I just added some foam there and tightened the straps, but havent tested it yet.

[Gato]

My velcro came up like that too. It wasnt the industrial strength, so that could be the problem. I glued them back down with some E6000 until I buy the industrial strength velcro.

[NegativeEleven]

I have wider elastic for the upper strap (not lancer) and that was mostly doing the job when I attached it tight enough. I added velcro later. Get someone else to help you position the velcro for the suit. If you do it yourself, you won't get it in the right place!

[Chex]

Would never suggest sanding an area that you're applying velcro to. You want as much flat surface space for the adhesive to cling to. Gluing, yes..sand away. But no sanding when using velcro. Your easiest option is industrial strength velcro. I even have a tab of it on my leg and one on the upper inner knee to keep it in place on my leg. Has worked like a champ through over 100+ troops in it the last 4 years.

[Mandalorean]

I don't find the glue on sticky velcro strong enough, even the industrial strength stuff.

I find using non sticky backed, sew-on velcro glued on with E6000 to be the best solution.

To stop the knee slipping I would sew a square of velcro onto the knee of your suit and glue in the other side into the armour using E6000.

[scout.trooper]

Thanks for the responses, guys!

 

Batninja, I thought it was industrial strength velcro but it might've been the "heavy duty" craft velcro instead... I'll look in to that.

 

Soundwave, I never thought of that but I like the idea... might give it a try.

 

Gato, I like that foam idea too. Recently cut up some foam rectangles to place in the empty space between my knee and the armor plate. Makes it more comfortable too!

 

NegativeEleven, you mean you've got velcro on the elastic that's attached to the top rivets? I know you said they're wider, but how did you manage that with the rivets in the way?

[NegativeEleven]

I was typing while working... fixed it. I meant wider elastic. I didn't do rivets because I wasn't going for lancer. I've got sticky velcro (soft side in the armor, hook side sewn to elastic... basically same as shoulder armor strap) for both straps and on suit/middle of knee armor (hook side on armor, soft side on suit).

[Jancelot]

I use foam as well and they don't move. Likewise results on my snowy.

[scout.trooper]

For those of you who used foam... what did you use to attach the foam to the inside of the knee armor? Did you glue it in there, tape it, or use sticky velcro?

[EnigmaEngine]

Permanent mounting tape, for me.

[Gato]

I glued in the foam with E6000.

[Fettski]

i have industrial strength vecro hook side on the knee and sew on loop side of velcro sewn to my elastic. I also have the narrow elastic riveted on. I added a little bit of velcro to the top center of the knee and sewn a small amount to the flight suit to keep it in place. I ran into a little discomfort at my first event over this past weekend and added a small square or ~.25 inch eva foam hot glued at the bottom center of the knee armor. i wore it last night for a few hours and they stayed in place and no discomfort. Hot glue is not the best method to attach it so if it fails, i will replace it with a new piece of foam and e6000 and that should be the last time i worry about it.

[Dart]

For those who are experiencing the velcro falling off, be sure you clean the area first with rubbing alcohol. You'd be surprised how much crap is on the plastic when you first get it.

 

I use some foam knee pad inserts with velcro stuck to those. The fit nicely and the velcro mostly doesn't peel off, but that's just part of the maintenance routine.

[Jancelot]

Hot glue has worked great for me on both suits. I haven't had a piece fall off. That said, I keep my glue gun and sticks in my field kit. Easy peasy repair.

[TB-7076]

I installed foam into the knee protectors for more comfortable kneeling down in the first place but it also keeps them from slipping all too easy.

As I am smaller than average they tend to rest on my boots in case there is some slipping nevertheless. This happens when being constantly in armor for more than 4 hours and a lot of action and different poses.

Bit it doesn't look strange it just gets uncomfortable after a while and then I have to push them back in place.

 

The same happens with my arm protectors even though those are additionally held by the base of real arm protectors.

However this usually takes a while due to the friction of the additional materials and the overall and my arm prptectors always have the same distance to each other.

 

In V2 of my gear I want to install additional canvas loops on the overall and the protectors to keep them in the same height.

For the knee protectors I might use a double sided velcro solution for the strapping but I am not sure yet. I think thin loops like those on pants to host the belt are more practical and comfortable.

They need to be inconspicious though as the originals haven't had such systems. Bit I already succeeded with something similar: the strapping system for my pouches to leep them from flipping.

 

But well, I am more libertine and focused on practicability when ot comes to improvements in case the original look is still preserved .

[Bubonos]

I have the same problem being a thin guy. The walkthrough sc gave suggested the dame as the guys on the top here. Now I'm no tailor so I had trouble making good stitches on the Velcro I put on the knees of my suit and they ripped off by my third troop. I used heavy duty stick Velcro and every piece I put on my armor is holding up. Some is starting to peal after trooping in the rain. Sticky Velcro will work for a troop or two but I say stitch it to the suit, and make sure your straps are tight. I do more than 501st in my costume, I do a scout on the street thing in compiling for YouTube. Kinda like man on the street interviews and riding bicycles downtown just for general humor so I'm in my costume a few times a week some weeks. Hey I wanna get my money out of it 😉

 

[Darth Voorhees]

i use the "hard" side of the industrial strength velcro on the armor and sew on (soft side) sewn to the jumpsuit. Its never failed me.

 

You do need to be sure the area your sticking the velcro is clean and free of any greases, mold release or just grime hand grease lol. Make sure its absolutely clean.

 

You can also heat up the velcro a little with a hairdryer to soften the adhesive a bit. i found that once it sets fully (it takes 24hrs for it to have 100% bond) its near impossible to get off, even if you want to lol

[M.J]

Velcro dude Velcro

 

btw what Lou said ....sticky on the rough ...sew on the smooth... been troopin God how many years? and still going strong

[Jancelot]

I need to follow up on this as my previous response was not accurrate. I actually did use velcro on these knees. Doh! I forgot and had it mixed up with my Snowie. The latter I don't have velcro but they stay put just fine. I did put foam on my knees to keep them from digging in to my shin, though. So...velcro, yes.

[scout.trooper]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I took all your advice to heart and decided to use padding coupled with velcro. Took some old foam knee pads that were laying around and used my new-found sewing superpowers to make a glove to fit over the foam. That way, I could sew the velco on to the glove instead of the foam (which would probably have ripped it).

 

Marked the size with chalk

 

Cut to fit

 

Made an outline on the fabric for the glove

 

Put the 2 glove pieces together to sew. This was really easy because all I did was a straight line stitch then flip it inside out

 

Outline sewed together

 

Flipped inside out

 

I even made the glove removable from the foam in case it ever needed to be washed. I made a little pouch and put velco on it to close the glove.

 

 

The three velcro circles will be attached to the knee armor.

 

This side will be attached to the elastic straps on the knee armor (horizontal) and my under suit (vertical)

 

Ta-da! Super comfortable, secure, and fuctional.