Buyer’s Guide:
What are the Best Elbow Pads?

Here you will learn of the best inline skating elbow pads to protect from injury as chosen by Inline Warehouse staff based on preference and/or experience. We have separated street park elbow pads from fitness skating elbow pads. Park skaters take on a lot more risk with frequent falls, so the pads are bigger. Fitness skating elbow pads are more minimalistic to keep cool when skating longer distances.

In order to protect yourself efficiently in a skatepark or aggressive street skating, you're going to need a hard cap. Both the Ennui Shock Sleeve Pro Elbow Gaskets and Smith Scabs Kool Elbow Pads feature a hard-cap and easy-to-wear sleeve designs that make them easy to wear but they do have a night and day difference to them.

Ennui does not shy away from making a product that is of good quality, efficient at its job, and most importantly comfortable. If elbow pads aren't comfortable, they will likely go unused, and quite honestly it's hard to make a cozy pad that includes a hard cap for your elbows. The Ennui Shock Sleeve Pro Elbow Gaskets are for sure an outlier. They include full-rounded protection with EVA and high-impact foam and a large hard cap that will for sure protect your funny bone from a joke that is NOT funny. They have a neoprene sleeve that stays in place with silicone anti-slip bands and an ergonomic design that would allow for a great amount of movement.

If they are out of your price range, the Smith Scabs Kool Elbow Pads are a lovely pad! Simple and efficient they have a very breathable mesh sleeve that has a forgiving fit and really does stay cool in long skate sessions. With top and bottom velcro straps, you can be sure that they will not move around. They also have removable foam inserts that make them easy to maintain. The hard cap is of course durable but the material around it also feels very strong which puts them a little higher on our list for strength.

Comfort is even more emphasized when the stakes aren't so high. We chose these pads, for their quality, strength, and overall feel.

The Ennui Shock Sleeve Pro Elbow Gaskets could make any person against elbow pads fall in love. They don't even feel like they're anything that would protect you but they do with abrasion-resistant kevlar and a "super foam" called the MYFIT Shock Protection Cushion (SPC). MYFIT SPC hardens upon impact (like magic!) and is sectioned into flexible parts so that you can have a completely full range of motion. These would be excellent in aggressive situations as well but we decided to honor them as Best Overall Fitness Elbow Pads since they are so low-profile.

The S1 Pro Elbow Pads are also very comfortable! They are made with smooth and stretchy material that slips onto your arm with straps that ensure they stay in place without a restrictive feeling. The soft material on the inside also wicks away moisture so that you can stay comfortable in longer skating sessions. There is a donut-shaped cup of padding that holds onto your elbow and a perfect amount of padding for rebound. They also use strong Ballistic Nylon and a very durable ABS shell.

Inline skating is great exercise and even greater fun. Unfortunately, even if not planning on doing any kind of tricks or jumps, you can still get hurt. The last thing you want is an injury that could have been easily prevented. Depending on skill level or type of skating, elbow pads may not rank high on your list. They are often left in skate bags due to bulkiness or lack of comfort. Sizing properly should eliminate any comfort woes, and trust that you do not want to join the growing list of those that wish they had them on but didn’t.

All skaters will stick out their arms in an attempt to save themselves when falling. Even if not landing directly on the elbow, gravity will quickly take us from our hands to the elbows. Elbow pads will of course prevent scrapes, and bruises, but they can also save you from suffering a much more serious injury.