Protect your knees with the Knee Defender
Think back to the last time you flew coach or sat in a train for a long travel time. Chances are, if you’re a seasoned traveler, at least once in your life someone has reclined their seat in front of you - and promptly smashed into your poor, defenseless knees.
If you’ve got $15 to spare, you can buy yourself The Knee Defender! Two simple clamps attach to the seat in front of you, stopping the seat from coming back far enough to hit your knees. You can also use it as a tray and the site even claims that you can use it for simple leg exercises to prevent deep vein thrombosis while sitting for long periods.
I don’t know if it would tick off the person in front of you, but I guess it can’t bother them any more than it would if you whacked them over the head with your hardcover book if they keep bumping into you!
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POSTED IN: Comfort Travel, Gadgets
7 opinions for Protect your knees with the Knee Defender
Steve Madsen
Oct 11, 2007 at 3:12 am
You do not know if it will tick off the person in front of you? This product is just another way to start an argument with your fellow traveller, and I believe most flight attendants confiscate them on sight. Grow up, and try introducing yourself and coming to a mutually agreeable solution if this is a huge issue for you.
Steve
Oct 12, 2007 at 12:06 am
Do you always delete negative feedback? I admit I was a little terse but at least defend your position.
For those that missed it, these things get confiscated by flight attendants and do upset passengers whose seats are crippled by them.
Sherry
Oct 12, 2007 at 8:08 am
Steve - no I don’t delete negative feedback. I simply hadn’t had a chance to push moderated comments through.
Admittedly I am not much of an airline traveler as flight costs in Canada are ridiculously high, so I stick to driving. However, from what I understand of this product, it doesn’t outright prevent the seat from reclining, it simply stops the seat from coming down far enough to block your own legs or to restrict access to your own tray.
I agree that the best alternative is to talk to the person in front, perhaps letting them know they are too far back, but unfortunately not everyone is courteous enough to care.
Please keep in mind that I am not a representative for this company so I have no position to defend, I simply find gadgets, tools, and websites that relate to travel and write about them as to what they do for travelers. Having never used the knee defender device I am not writing a review, rather I am just posting it as an interest piece.
Steve
Oct 12, 2007 at 8:25 am
Sorry Sherry.
Sherry
Oct 12, 2007 at 8:30 am
Steve - no need to apologize at all! I completely understood your point, I just wanted to make sure people know I’m not running a paid review or anything, just pointing out interesting gadgets. :)
Jon - The DC Traveler
Oct 13, 2007 at 4:01 pm
While I love the concept, they are not allowed on most flights as they restrict normal seat movement.
I just wish the airlines woud give me 2 more inches OF legroom, for which I would pay more for), so when the guy in front of me leans all the way back, he doesn’t crush my laptop.
Mary Jo
Oct 13, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Speaking for US carriers, they are not permitted. Anything which attaches to any part of a plane must be certified for inflight use by the FAA. Flight Attendants will remove them.
And if everyone was willing to pay a little more for air travel, the airlines wouldn’t have crammed so many seats into the planes. But, price is the biggest deciding factor in airline travel. So, we’re getting what we pay for. Unfortunately.
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