CHawk

@mikelevy: Legacy of Ashes is an eye-opener. If you don't want to read the book, this interview with a former CIA agent summarizes the agency: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK1tfkESPVY

I'm about 5'11". My calves are 17.5"/44.5 cm (as measured 6" from the bottom of the knee cap). Quads are 26"/66 cm (as measured 6" from the top of the knee cap). I recently bought my first pair of knee pads: 7iDP Project Knee Lite, XL. They fit similar to knee warmers (ex-roadie) or at least as close as I thought knee pads could with no frame of reference. And that's what I was looking for in my first pair: be comfortable climbing in Colorado where I live while giving my middle-aged knees at least some protection in the eventual crash. I wore them in Moab (Mag 7) on their maiden ride and they felt comfortable right from the start. Under my shorts, I wore bibs with a rubber leg gripper that made a nice contact point with the rubber logo on the outside top of the "sock." Smart design on 7iDP's part, and I think this helped keep them up to some degree. It didn't take long to test them. I fell on a rock slab directly on my left knee and while I definitely felt the impact, my knee was fine (no soreness in the days after). As the reviewer noted, you probably wouldn't want to crash in a rock garden....understandable for a lite knee pad. Most importantly for me, they stayed in place the entire weekend. Even the gripper on my calves stayed put--not always the case with my knee warmers. This with no straps on top or bottom. I was pleasantly surprised. I wore them again on Dakota Ridge (Morrison) over the weekend where they saw plenty of hike-a-bike action along with riding. Again, they stayed glued where they needed to--on my big quad and around my calf. While I knew I was wearing them, the compression sock construction made them feel not too dissimilar to knee warmers, albeit thicker versions. Verdict: Comfortable, minimalist knee protection with a fit (XL) ideal for riders with big quads and calves. So far I'm happy. Hope this helps.