DonJoy Performance Bionic Knee Brace – Hinged, Adjustable Patella Support, Lateral / Medial Ligament (ACL, MCL, LCL), Meniscus, Knee Sprains for Soccer, Basketball, Skiing, Hockey, Running, Water

30 years of using a metal brace, tried this to see if it would be as good and stop some of the muscle discomfort. Makes you feel like Steve Austin!

Great fit - snug without being constrictive. Provides good support, handles perspiration well (doesn’t get loose). A tad expensive but I’d say it’s money well spent.

Excellent product, for what it is and purports to be. I have a torn medial meniscus, patellar malalignment and osteoarthritis in my left knee. Before I got this brace, climbing and descending stairs was very painful and my knee felt very unstable just when I walked on flat ground. After about three weeks of wearing this brace at all times except when I sleep and shower, I can now walk and climb and descend stairs pain-free, so long as I’m wearing the brace. In fact, I’ve done a couple of 10-mile moderately difficult hikes wearing it, with no pain. And I can now ride a bike. It’s not a $500 Unloader Brace, so I don’t know that continuing to wear it is going to enable any of my conditions to heal. But it does provide some vertical support, and regular use of it for 3 weeks enabled me to return to my usual low impact activities. While I’m wearing it I no longer have pain or instability. I’m 67 and don’t do high impact activities anymore, so I don’t know whether it would enable me to do them. Sizing: Based on the size guide on Amazon, I bought a Medium. On my bare leg it fits perfectly, and comfortably. But it’s too small to enable me to put it on over jeans or any but the thinnest pants. So you may want to order up a size.

I absolutely love this knee brace! My right knee likes to dislocate and strain my mcl, this knee brace does a perfect job of keeping my patella in place and providing support for my knee. My knee is so bad now that it stays sore after extensive exercise aka riding and competing for me. When I wear this brace while riding there is no soreness after and this brace holds up fantastically to riding and weather! I’ve ridden in it in the summer heat, torrential down pours, freezing cold, etc. Never has this knee brace let me down and I’ve had it nearly a year! The metal side pieces are perfect for providing stability and support and I love this design for the Velcro. It stays out of the way of my saddle and stirrup leathers. I truly couldn’t have found a better knee brace, highly recommend!

I compared this to my Shock Doctor 875. They are extremely similar products. I am a Large in SD but a Medium in DonJoy Bionic. The most noticeable difference is that this DJ is inexplicably over twice the price of the SD ($85 vs $40). That will probably be the deciding point for most. With that said, I liked how the DJ had a lower profile where the gear housings are - they are smaller than in the SD and they are covered with smooth neoprene on the outside as well. Of note, the hinges are NOT removable on the DJ - they are sewn in - so the SD has the benefit of you being able to remove the hinges and continue to use the neoprene knee sleeve (e.g. when you are healing and need less support). The SD hinges, specifically in the gear housing, are slightly bulkier - but probably more significant is that they are exposed and subject to snagging on stuff. I'm a hockey goalie and the smooth external service of the DJ interested me because I needed to wear equipment over it. The DJ's bonus is that the back neoprene is Velcro'ed together too at the top and bottom, so you have that additional layer of adjust-ability and you can open it up and lay it completely flat for easier cleaning and drying. The SD does not open up. For better or for worse, the DJ is just a much simpler design (which makes the price difference that much more confusing). It is straight neoprene throughout and it has 2 simple horizontal straps. Whereas the SD is a fancier design with different tech materials for breathability and X-strapping (neither of which convinced me they made much of a difference). I don't see binding in the back knee pit to be a problem on either brace. The DJ has a larger patella hole, which seemed to work better for my anatomical build because my knee cap would poke through it and ensure the brace stays perfectly aligned, where the SD's tighter hole just laid over my knee cap and would shift off-center from my knee cap. This could have just been a visible thing, the actual function and alignment of the hinges were not affected. Conclusion: Again, these 2 braces are very similar, they are both great and you cant go wrong with either one. The differences are nit-picking and are neither objectively good or bad, but more fine tuned to preference. I preferred the DJ mostly because of the smoother and lower profile exterior surface and the fact I was going to wear it under goalie equipment. The larger patella hole worked better for me anatomically. The fact it opened up to be flat was a bonus too since I like to wash and hang dry my braces regularly. With that said, the extreme price difference didn't justify these small design preferences, so I'm returning the DJ and sticking with my SD.

So far the best knee brace my husband has used. Good.mobility.