The Dainese Trail Skins 2 is a new version of the Trail Skins knee guard.

The main difference is the honeycomb kneepad is no longer a two-piece design but rather a single formed matrix pad, which is bonded to a highly breathable mesh body. It looks rigid but it’s totally mouldable to the shape of your knee, creating a tighter fit and better overall comfort.

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According to Dainese the pad material also offers a 14% increase in protection and with the new cutaways, a 15% improvement in breathability. My only issue with the fractal design is mud can collect in the lattice during a wet ride, which means they’ll need more regular cleaning.

To add some further protection the Trail Skins 2 features Crash Absorb (smart material) side pads and a new double elastic lower hem, which actually stops the whole thing slipping down as your riding and exposing the top of the knee. This double elastic also means you don’t have to constantly pull the pad up, something that was common with the original.

All the tweaks and improvements do add £20 (compared to the old trail Skins) to the price but the Trail Skin 2 is still very good value because it such great quality. It’s also comfortable, breathable and has the right level of on-trail protection for risk takers and the accident-prone.