Mountain Biking - What do you use for lower leg protection?

What do you use for lower leg protection while on you mountain bike, if anything, and is it necessary?

Thanks.

not necessary for everyone but i scratched up my leg sleeve tattoo and was affraid it was gonna scar. luckily it didnt but i have been wearing soccer socks since then. they work well and can cover up past my knees if i need them to. some people cut up a 2 liter bottle and insert that to use as a shin gaurd. thats a lotta protection for very little money.

I use these: http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?ID=65354

Necessary? Nah, but they give me that little confidence boost that lets me ride more aggressively than without them. I'm also trying to do more of my riding with platforms, and I slip pedals enough that the shin guards are nice.

A fine sheen of sweat and DEET in the summer, and long shorts/tall socks in the winter.

I don't wear armor much, but when I do, it's Fox Launch stuff. Comfy to pedal in, vents well, and I'm a fan of the hardshell protection.

I don't do extremely technical stuff, so I don't usually wear protective gear on my legs... much more of my riding is in rock gardens amid cactus this year, so maybe that'll change.

My shin scar index tells me how things are going. Few scars = not enough time on the trails!

SixSixOne makes a shin guard (I think called the 'Vegan') that's just a padded shin guard. I was considering them but was convinced by a fellow east-coaster that the summers would be vastly unpleasant with shin guards of any kind.

If you just want to protect against pedal gouges then I would say some sort of thin soccer shin guard would be the best. If you want to protect against real impacts then you need something a bit more robust that will stay in place when you fall. Also, protecting your knees in a fall is more important than your shins. The shins can take a beating and heal up well, knees can be permanently messed up. I only wear protection if I am practicing tricky techniques that involve speed. I use THE storm shin and knee protectors, which work pretty well (stay in place during riding/falling, and decent ventilation). The main drawback is that the upper thigh strap was too short, and I had to take it to a seamstress to get it extended a bit.

I've found for me the best shin protection has been having good, grippy pedals and shoes. The only times I have slipped a pedal for awhile has been when my shoes were covered in ice/snow/mud, and I forgot to knock some off.

What do you use for lower leg protection while on you mountain bike, if anything, and is it necessary?

uhh... just regular socks.

I've never worn anything on my shins. I used to scrape them up sometimes when I was younger from BMX dirt jumping and skateboarding. Now that I read what c_mack9 said about the socks and bottle combo for cheap, I'm considering that. Since it's basically free and I do still do some jumps and ~3' drops these days on the MTB and plan on going decently bigger this spring, I may as well. In general, though, I haven't really had any problems with no shin protection, so personally I'd say don't worry too much about it.

I wear the sixsixone vegan's for shins. I disagree about their feel during the summer. It's really not much discomfort, if any. I also wear fox kneepads.

Going with no armor would be slightly more comfortable, but the idea of my knees and shins not getting torn up is far more appealing than worrying about my legs getting a little sweaty.

integrated knee/shin pad is best if you have a lot of rocks. +1 on the fox launch.

going down hard on a boulder can end your season, or worse. it's not the same as avoiding bacon. I wear nothing if there's no rocks, but this is a personal choice and I don't blame people either way.

I disagree about their feel during the summer

Summer in Georgia is a solid 10 degrees hotter than Ohio, so I can see why the heat wouldn't be an issue for you.

The sweat factor is a good point. The Dainese I posted are ridiculously hot, especially in the summer. So it's mainly a weighing pros and cons thing for me, whether the descent is fun enough that I want to rip it and want the confidence boost to be worth sweating on the climb.

Summer in Georgia is a solid 10 degrees hotter than Ohio, so I can see why the heat wouldn't be an issue for you.Yeah, but it can get nasty up here too (it will occasionally hit triple digits in the summer on rare days). Still, I'm not knocking it though.

I'm sure it does! Humidity is a killer, & I know it's just as bad up there as it is down here. July & August are (for the most part) no-biking months for me unless I get out there early in the morning...95* & 70% humidity is my breaking point.

Depends on what I am riding...trail riding I don't wear anything extra, DH I use 661 Strait knee pads.

i think it is only necessary if you are downhilling. I use sixonesix gear to downhill but when i ride cross country i dont use anything. I do both types of riding often.

Depends on what I am riding...trail riding I don't wear anything . . . .Is that why they stopped you at the border last time you came down?

^ Gives a new meaning to freeriding.

^ ^^ LOL You people crack me up sometimes. Thank you.

I've been known to wear soccer socks to keep the poison ivy and thorns at bay during certain times of the year. They are thick on the front but thin and vented on the back. Easy to roll up or down when needed.

Is that why they stopped you at the border last time you came down?

No...when I come down like that, you Yanks give me a free pass to do whatever I want in your country!

In my case, it's the rocks, thorns and other miscellaneous debris that needs protection from my sculpted pistons.