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Introducing the Knox Micro-Lock Compact Protection

Top-Notch Tech is Taking over the Gear Scene

The Knox Micro-Lock Compact, featuring a 60% lighter aesthetic for 2022. Photo courtesy of Superbike News.
The Knox Micro-Lock Compact, featuring a 60% lighter aesthetic for 2022. Photo courtesy of Superbike News.

If you’re like me and you love digging up the latest in gear tech, then this one’s for you. 

Knox has just debuted their most advanced protection gear ever – and it uses a neat shock-absorbing system similar to the Non-Newtonian material we covered from the lab of D30, back in September of 2021.

A view of the D30 protective armour found in Xion Protective Gear.  Photo courtesy of Xion Protective Gear
A view of the D30 protective armour found in Xion Protective Gear. Photo courtesy of Xion Protective Gear

The new ‘Micro-Lock Compact’ protection set will, according to Superbike News, be used in future Level 1 and 2 CE-level Knox collections, with the pads featuring a patented system called SMART technology. 

The Knox Micro-Lock Compact, featuring a 60% lighter aesthetic for 2022. Photo courtesy of Superbike News.
The Knox Micro-Lock Compact, featuring a 60% lighter aesthetic for 2022. Photo courtesy of Superbike News.

Here’s the descriptive of how the tech works: 

“SMART technology…keep[s] the armour super soft to touch but it locks when impacted. The locking action increases the amount of impact absorbed by the protector and reduces the energy passed through to the wearers back and/or limbs.”

Essentially, Knox’s new pad sets are fantastic at absorbing excess energy, with the Micro-Lock Compact bragging a very nice 60% reduction in weight – an impressive improvement, made all the more cool by the fact that the pads are even formed into structures and shapes ‘inspired by nature,’ keeping the gear moving easy with the rider while guaranteeing ‘unbroken coverage.’

The Knox Micro-Lock Compact, featuring a 60% lighter aesthetic for 2022. Photo courtesy of Superbike News.
The Knox Micro-Lock Compact, featuring a 60% lighter aesthetic for 2022. Photo courtesy of Superbike News.

Oh, and the best part – if you’re worrying whether or not Knox will have your size, don’t; we’re told that the ‘Micro-Lock Compact’ set “comes in the widest range of shapes and sizes to cover all areas of the body in performance levels 1 and 2 of the CE standard EN1621.”

Whether the set will be readily available is left to be seen; looks like we’ll have to get our reviewers’ hands on a box of the stuff to see for ourselves. 

The Scorpion EXO-R1 Air Bautista Helmet, reviewed by our own Joe Appleton. Photo courtesy of Appleton and the team here at wBW
The Scorpion EXO-R1 Air Bautista Helmet, reviewed by our own Joe Appleton. Photo courtesy of Appleton and the team here at wBW.

For those of you that don’t know (and you might be living under a rock if you don’t), our team here at wBW has punted out over 2,500 of some of the most unbiased and comprehensive reviews available online.

Absolutely NOTHING is promoted or sponsored, so you get exactly what you want: a sapien, having fun putting gear through its paces and publishing the end result, for better or for worse.

The Kronox Lanin Motorcycle Boots, courtesy of Graham Miles, our reviewer here at wBW.
The Kronox Lanin Motorcycle Boots, courtesy of Graham Miles, our reviewer here at wBW.

Not sure what to think of the newest Kronox Lanin motorcycle boots? Our gent Graham gave a piece of his mind on a pair just the other day

Maybe you see the cool new graphics for Ruroc’s new Atlas 4.0 but don’t know if the fit will work? Our man Jim Pruner spent a minute making the good-as-gold comparison between the 4.0 and 3.0 back in February of this year

The Ruroc Atlas 4.0 Helmet, courtesy of the review published by our man Jim Pruner here at wBW.
The Ruroc Atlas 4.0 Helmet, courtesy of the review published by our man Jim Pruner here at wBW.

We’ve got other stuff, too; between the cameras (like this Insta360 One X2), lids ( the recent review on the Scorpion EXO T520), top stuff (new REV’IT! Component H2O jacket, anyone?), and bottoms (the KLIM tactical Armoured Base Layer review was pretty cool), there’s so much more to dig into, so we’ll just leave the link to our reviews page here.

Happy surfing!

Drop a comment below letting us know what you think, and as ever – stay safe on the twisties. 

*Media sourced from Superbike News, Xion Protective Gear, and our relevant reviews here at wBW*