A knee pad assembly includes a protective member, a hard shell member and a hinge member connecting the protective member and the hard shell member. A first end of the hard shell member is connected to the hinge member. A second end of the hard shell member opposing the first end has an upper lip member and a lower lip member, the upper lip member and the lower lip member defining a recessed member that extends from one side of second end of the hard shell member to an other side of the second end of the hard shell member.

A fastener device includes a first fastener part and a second fastener part which can be mounted on one another along a closing direction and are held against one another in a closed position, and are releasable from one another in order to open the fastener device. The second fastener part has a winding element on which a tension element can be arranged and which is rotatable relative to the first fastener part in order to wind up the tension element on the winding element in a winding direction.

Athletic and/or work wear garment can have textile regions of differing friction to facilitate maintaining a grip between high friction textile regions and objects pressed against the high friction textile regions. In some embodiments, the high friction textile regions can facilitate carrying objects. In some embodiments, the garment can be a shirt. In some embodiments, the garment can be pants. In some embodiments, the garment can be an undergarment and the high friction textile regions can reduce shifting of an outer garment in contact with the undergarment.

A leg pad (e.g., a hockey leg pad) for protecting a leg of a user, in which the leg pad is designed to enhance protection and freedom of movement (e.g., during skating strides), such as by providing flexibility of the leg pad proximate to a knee and optionally an ankle of the user (e.g., for extension and optional retraction of one or more parts of the leg pad) to better follow natural movements of the user's leg (e.g., bending of the knee and optional flexion of the ankle of the user).

A protective clothing device having an article of clothing having an inner layer and/or an outer layer is disclosed. The protective clothing device may have thin force absorbing members coupled to the inner layer or outer layer of the article of clothing. The force absorbing members can have overlapping or interlaced portions for enhanced protection even when the protective clothing device expands. In one embodiment, the protective clothing device may be a protective hat. In another embodiment, the protective clothing device may be a headband.

A body impact protection system includes an inner layer and an impact force dampening and defusing structure. The inner layer includes a material composition and is adjacent to a body part when the body impact protection system is worn. The impact force dampening and defusing structure is juxtaposed to the inner layer and includes a plurality of components. The components function to reduce pressure on the body part from an impact force on a layer by layer basis. Each layer of the system dampens and defuses the impact force such that, by the time it reaches the body part, it has been substantially attenuated and spread over a large area.

A composite material which is elastic, which exhibits a resistive load under deformation which increases with the rate of deformation, which is unfoamed or foamed, comminuted or uncomminuted and which comprises i) a first polymer-based elastic material and ii) a second polymer-based material, different from i), which exhibits dilatancy in the absence of i) wherein ii) is entrapped in a solid matrix of i), the composite material being unfoamed or, when foamed, preparable by incorporating ii) with i) prior to foaming.

A toe protecting apparatus according to the present invention prevents blisters from forming by providing a support part that is thicker on any one side than the other side in the longitudinal direction.

A toe protecting apparatus according to the present invention prevents blisters from forming by providing a support part that is thicker on any one side than the other side in the longitudinal direction.

There are provided firefighter protective pants including an inner liner, an outer shell and two pant legs. The outer shell is made of a flame-resistant material and extends over at least a portion of the inner liner. Each of the two pant legs includes a knee sleeve affixed to the inner liner at a knee height inside the corresponding pant leg and a knee pad held on the knee sleeve and extending across a front knee portion of the corresponding pants leg.