stretching 661 veggie wrap shins?

[saam]

i purchased a pair of 661 veggie wrap shins. i tried one on in the shop and it was very compfy, a little snug but good. neway i got home and put them both on and again the same one fitted nicely but the other just fits and is really tight (no matter which leg it is on). i have tried stretching it around a post over night but i had no effect. ne ideas

PS they are the same size (here is a pic)

[mango]

take it back? one is smaller than the other....that sounds like good enough grounds to get a replacement pair from the shop.

buena suerte

[TonyMelton]

My Veggie shins are pretty tight, too. Its more likely that your legs are slightly asymmetrical. I doubt that these will stretch easily as they are made of neoprene which isn't known to stretch to a great degree. As I posted earlier these are really only cosmetic leg protection when it comes to unicycling, IMHO. I'd swap 'em for the similar Comp Shins 661 armour, which are Neoprene with hard plastic shells sewn in.

[caw89]

Id take em back, how well do they work, anyone use em?

[GizmoDuck]

Originally posted by TonyMelton
As I posted earlier these are really only cosmetic leg protection when it comes to unicycling, IMHO. I'd swap 'em for the similar Comp Shins 661 armour, which are Neoprene with hard plastic shells sewn in.

Cosmetic? I suppose stopping your legs from being banged/scratched to bits qualifies

I think one of Saams legs is probably bigger than the other. He should bring it back and ask for a refund. Saam, if you don't have any luck with your parents, you could try not walking on that leg for about 2 weeks, and just hopping on the other leg, which should have the same effect of debulking the muscle in the big leg.

[bombsquad]

Originally posted by TonyMelton
As I posted earlier these are really only cosmetic leg protection when it comes to unicycling, IMHO.

I can vouch for the veggie shin wraps being great protection. I have about 5 decent sized scars on my left shin from before I got the 661's. Since getting them, I have whacked myself pretty damn good and haven't even gotten a scratch... Worth the money in my humble opinion.

[Seager]

Originally posted by saam
and is really tight (no matter which leg it is on).

It's not from asymmetrical legs.

[TonyMelton]

As I posted in another recent thread about 661 veggie shins:

I've worn both Roaches (similar to, but better than 4x4s) and Veggie shins. I've worn my veggies a grand total of 4 times. In my opinion these are little more than cosmetic leg armour for unicycling purposes. I tried some unispins with veggies on and got an enormous bruise through them when I missed and the pedal hit my shin. I can still feel two permanent bumps on my shin. And these were caused by freestyle pedals. I'd hate to think what damage a good hit from a metal pedal with pins would do.

Roaches or 4x4s offer much better protection. Go for them if you value your shins! If you prefer the Neoprene type of leg armour Lizard Skins or the 661 Comp Shins offer better protection by virture of their plastic reinforcing.

[caw89]

Bump! I got a paor and theyre both a lil small, a lil too tight, there sizing charts were a lil wrong...so doesn anyone know how to stretch em, like soak em in water or something???

[saam]

mine have stretched out a bit over the last couple months. the smaller one is just a tiny bit harder to do up but once they are on they feel the same.
so my advice to caw89 is if you can live with it, they will stretch over time but if they are too small exchange them

sam

[caw89]

Well I dont think i can exchange them because they didnt send my other things i ordered as well so they didnt charge me...yet....so il just wear them adn hope they stretch.....

[hecklar]

Where do you find these '661 Comp Shins'? I looked on the website, but couldn't find them.

And the Lizard Skins aren't available in Canada, or even N. America, are they?

Edit: Forget about the 661 Comp Shins. I Googled and found them. I'm not interested in hard-shelled leg armour, so they're out. Still interested in the Lizards though.

Edit 2: OK, i found the Lizard Skins too. Has anyone used them much? Do you still get stuck in the back of the leg much? I wish there was a full back covering, besides just the straps.

[TonyMelton]

Alex Toms (Tomsey) wears Armadillo leg armour - similar to Lizard Skins. You could try PM'ing him.

In my opinion 661 4x4s and Roach DH leg armour are preferable as they aren't nearly as hot to ride in and they protect your knees as well.

[john_childs]

I have an old pair of the Lizard Skins shin pads. I got them in the last '90's when soccer shin pads and volleyball knee pads were the normal forms of leg protection for muni. I used the Lizard Skins once for muni and I hated them. They don't breathe. When you take them off there is a pool of sweat under them. Your legs will just get dripping soaked with sweat from those pads.

I use the Lizard Skins now for the ultimate wheel. They work well for the UW because the tire can slide against the neoprene. But I still hate them because my legs get soaked with sweat. But they're good for the UW. Tradeoffs.

The 661 4x4's are much more comfortable. The 4x4's actually breathe and allow the sweat to move away from your skin.

Protection for the back of the calf is important for muni and trials. I've had pedals go right up the back of my calf many times. I've got scars on my calfs to remind me of the times I've tried to go riding without the armour.

One option would be to add your own calf protection to some standard open back MTB leg armour. Buy some ballistics nylon fabric and figure out how to attach it to the leg straps or sew it to the leg straps. Just something to cover the back of the calf to protect your calf from getting chewed up by the pedal pins.

Core Rat makes leg armour with a separate calf protection fabric flap.