I have been working a lot recently for a small theater where I do a little bit of anything that needs doing.  When there is painting to be done, I do get to paint, which keeps me happy because painting is my favorite, but I do really enjoy the variety too.  Recently I’ve been doing a whole lot of carpentry.  One of the other people I have been working with was wearing knee pads while working.  I had a brief recollection of trying them once way back when I was still an undergraduate student, but couldn’t remember why I didn’t like them.  My fellow worker was really styling in the kneepads, so I did what any fashion conscious technician would do: I decided to try them too.  This foray into fashionable tech-wear didn’t last long however.  Here are some of my discoveries.

Pros

1. In theater, we often end up building on the floor.  Smaller things can be built on work tables, which is healthier in so many ways, but we like big scenery and too often the designer has managed to design something too big to fit on whatever elevated workspace is available.  The result is that sometimes I end up kneeling enough that my knees start to bruise.  Kneepads prevent this injury.
2. In the haste with which we build scenery it seems that knees are some of the most prone to getting knocked into with building materials.  Kneepads protect from this hazard.
3. They make a great fashion accessory and go fantastically with the Gerber and Mag-lite on my belt, as well as the safety goggles and hearing protection on my head.  If only my work boots were black instead of brown…

Cons

1. Because my knees are bent for so much of the process, the part of the kneepad that wraps behind the knee gets all bunched up and digs into the back part of my knee.  In some ways that is actually more painful than the bruising they prevent.
2. I was surprised to learn how much I actually use my knees when I build.  When I’m holding wood square while building a flat so that I can glue and staple it accurately, it turns out my knees do a lot of the holding.  I was entertained by the fact that I never realized that’s what I did until I had kneepads on.  The kneepads didn’t allow as much control during the holding process and I finally end up removing them in frustration.
3. I live in the frozen tundra of central New York, yet once I get working I’m always working up a sweat.  Even in the coldest of work days I believe the kneepads would cause my knees to sweat ten times more than the rest of my body.  Then, because I’m not used to super sweaty knees, they become super itchy knees.  That’s just not cool.

The bottom line is that I do like to have kneepads available, because if I find myself kneeling way more than usual the option of a little extra padding seems like a good idea.  However, the times I choose to use kneepads will continue to be rare because they are generally annoying. 

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