I done a bunch of reviews recently on hockey goalie knee guards, which all started because of my disappointed of Bauer Vapor 1X knee guards after years of use. I talk about this search and why the Bauer’s got progressively worse in this YouTube video.
When searching for new goalie knee guards, the PAW PKP 1000 goalie knee pads were often the most highly recommended for their “low profile” design and for being “bomb proof” and “extremely comfortable.” I have had multiple poor experiences with smaller hockey brands in the past, that were all extremely popular and often recommended online… so I was hesitant to buy these relatively expensive PAW knee pads. I found a pair used and decided to grab them and see if they could live up to the hype!
I knew from the beginning that these PAW PKP 1000 goalie knee guards were quite used, and the landing foams were compressed enough that I knew I wouldn’t be able to comment on the comfort of these specific knee guards, so unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to put them up against my current favourite for comfort in the Warrior X4 Pro. But the protective foams behind the plastics were still holding up, so I decided to take these to the ice and put them up against my Boni puck machine and test out their protective capabilities.
What the full review where I break down all of the features and the details on the PAW PKP 1000 knee guards on YouTube here!
Unfortunately the one piece design leaves visible gaps in protection that you can even see in on PAW’s website in their example photos. These knee guards feel like they are designed after the old tied in RBK knee guards that were included with all CCM and Reebok pads in the late early 2000s. The single piece design opens up a gap on the inner knee, and the segmented foams on the inside portion of this knee guard really don’t make sense… especially when on the outside the foam has a solid plastic piece. But with knee guards, the inside of your knees and thighs is what is going to take the brunt of impacts and needs the most protection, and unfortunately the PAW PKP 1000 are lacking in the protection area. Even with the thick plastic and semi-thick foam behind it. The results of the puck machine test were the worst that I have ever tested, and the puck impacted DIRECTLY on the front face right on the thick plastic. These knee pads really need an added external clamshell to cover the protection gaps and to the overall protection.
One of the most frequent claims of the PAW PKP 1000 knee pads is how low profile they are compared to the “bulky” alternatives… so I decided to measure how much thickness the PAW add to my leg and knee compared to a knee guard that is often stated as being “too bulky” (which I disagree with) in the Warrior X4 Pro. When wrapping a tape measure around these two different knee guards & pads you can see the actual difference between these two is relatively minimal, and the PAW PKP 1000 also unnecessarily come up further up into your pants for double coverage (you pants should be able to handle this impact). The only spot these PAW knee pads end up being smaller than the Warrior is right at the knee cap on the X4 Pro, which is exactly where the protection gaps end up in the PAW. This spot also doesn’t end up touching your knee block, and doesn’t end up being thicker than the thigh portion of the PAW either. So while these are often praised at being low profile, when put side by side they actually end up taking up MORE space than the more form fitting Warriors.
Overall, the PAW PKP 1000 knee pads were one of the most disappointing piece of goalie gear I have worn and tried, and unfortunately continues down the line of disappointing small brand gear that is said to be amazing by the online community. So far only Kova and to a lesser praised extent Maxond have continued to impress me with their products and designs.
Thankfully I didn’t spend full price to buy a brand new custom pair of these PAW knee pads, since I can put that money towards new knee guard releases coming out in 2025 so I can continue testing and find out what the best overall hockey goalie knee guard on the market is! PAW does offer an external protective cap to add to their products, and while it is only mentioned on their knee guard web page, previous I have seen examples of the PKP 1000 having this plate. While I think this would be a solid upgrade, the rest of the design of these knee pads doesn’t really make sense if you added an external plate to the design and the whole package should be reworked.
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