I always wear a helmet. Sometimes i'll wear shingaurds when i have shorts on but never with pants on. Most parks around here don't require you to wear elbows and knees if you over 16, which is nice. But when i have to wear my elbows and knees i wear Shadow knees (they are slim and pretty comfortable.) and Fit elbow pads(basically Volleyball kneepads, but with a Fit logo...)