Wearing the knee bar pad wrong?

I apparently have been wearing my knee bar pad wrong for years, I estimate I have worn it wrong for 400 pitches. I had been wearing it too high on my thigh, apparently it is supposed to touch your knee. 

Maybe in Rifle, people wear them correctly (I havent been to rifle) but even at crags I would consider abundant with knee bars (Banff, Chek, Rumney, Leavenworth, etc.) I think I see everyone wear them like I have. Anyway maybe this will help someone!

Kneebarring is highly technical, and has different levels to it. A lot of climbers learn the most basic level of kneebarring and think that is all there is. And this is fine for the obvious straightforward kneebars. But there's more to it.

Pad placement on the leg is part of this. A pad sitting centered, high on your thigh, works great for a deep, straight-on kneebar. And this placement of the pad is generally more comfortable and secure, so if the only kneebar on the route is an easy one, you should wear your pad this way.

But for more subtle kneebars, the techniques are different. For a shallow kneescum, you often need the pad really low, like down over your kneecap, and sometimes rotated to the inside of the knee. Depends on the specific kneebar. Proper pad placement really expands your options for subtle knee trickery. But it's also a hassle to wear - it can get in the way of bending your knee, and since it is lower on your leg may require shenanigans to keep the whole apparatus secure.

So, the way you are wearing your pad isn't wrong, but rather it is just one way to do it. Be aware that in certain situations a different pad placement may be needed.

I found this Instagram post from Dave Graham really interesting: 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CgSTh4cjGwk/?hl=en

He says "After spending the winter in Ticino refining my bouldering skills, especially my kneebars, I returned breifly before heading to Greece in May, and evolved my sequence a bit, playing with a very sublte kneebar."

Dave Graham, the wizard himself, is still refining his kneebar skills.  Think of how far the rest of us have to go! It is still a fairly young technique for most of the climbing world, and even most strong sport climbers have only unlocked the basic levels. 

it's better to have it either pretty high or really low. it sucks when it slips into that position where the bottom of the pad is trying to pry the top of your kneecap off.

Princess Puppy Lovr wrote:

... at crags I would consider abundant with knee bars (Banff, Chek, Rumney, Leavenworth, etc.) ..

You're getting knee bars around Leavenworth? I remember the newer sport crag out east on hwy 2, but for the most part I associate 11worth with domes, slabs and cracks. Are there steep blocky crags nearby? I just got a knee pad and I've been trying to gain a little skill too.

David Morison wrote:

You're getting knee bars around Leavenworth? I remember the newer sport crag out east on hwy 2, but for the most part I associate 11worth with domes, slabs and cracks. Are there steep blocky crags nearby? I just got a knee pad and I've been trying to gain a little skill too.

So I try to knee bar everything even in index I get a lot but I excluded it since most do not. I always bring two, even if it is a slabby crag.

In leavenworth mostly the boulders or roped climbs on boulders have knee bars. Boulder problems with knee bars: the hole, the undercling, super man, no pain no grain, everything in the schist cave (especially the v10), immortal techniques (but people are mad when I tryd to do it that way). For roped climbing viagro club (and most of that crag) and carnival crack/feet of strength(though most would disagree and offwidth it) are the two I would 100% wear a knee bar pad for. Haven't climbed at nason but I was told I would find a million knee bars. 

I think the lower cliffs of vantage are abundant with them however looking at your tick list you are likely to strong to need one. If you do go to vantage I get at least one knee bar on every climb at power house except death from above. Pretty much every time there is a corner the size of your tibia, you can atleast try.

The chossy crags in the exits are abundant in them cyanide+mr. big I got 6 and skullduggery I also got 6.

Princess Puppy Lovr wrote:

...carnival crack/feet of strength(though most would disagree and offwidth it) are the two I would 100% wear a knee bar pad for. Haven't climbed at nason but I was told I would find a million knee bars. 

Ha! I've wondered if knee bar technique would transfer to wide crack. It has to right. I try to keep a knee pad in my pack now and look for opportunities. Nason does seem like it would have a bunch.

At the lower town wall at index, I actually have seen people use crazy knee bar beta. Gotta learn this skill, I got beat down at rifle and it seemed like the rock wasn't all that different but everyone had their eyes open for the opprtunity.

Puppy Lovr - Have you been on Fleeing Heifer at Chek? That's an interesting one for subtle kneebar trickery. From Beneath You It Devours is another fun kneebarable route at Chek - no hands double kneebar in the steepest part of the overhang .

Agree that kneepads are suprisingly useful at Index for the weird flares. Stern Farmer is an obvious example of a route a pad helps on. But there are many others.

If you haven't been to Horne Lake yet, you absolutely must go. 2 kneepads reccomended for most routes in the cave. 

You could also come to CA and climb at Jailhouse with me this winter, if you are enthused about the rock crawling.

JCM wrote:

You could also come to CA and climb at Jailhouse with me this winter, if you are enthused about the rock crawling.

You post a photo of harness under pants, but not of this knee bar position. I'm disappointed