Having reached the necessary time to seek out a new pair of compression pants, I began looking at what other OCR racers were using and noticed a couple were wearing the Mudforce OCR with built-in knee pads. This intrigued me, so after some deliberation, I ordered the new unisex design with some apprehension. The sizing chart stopped at Large with approximate heights and weights listed. Being 6’0″ and 225-pounds, I was at the “limit”.
Upon arrival and inspection, the material is much thinner than my previous CW-X compression pant, but they had the sealed knee pads, a side pocket built for a phone (not something I will ever carry during an OCR but might fit some GU packets) and a zippered back pocket.
The knee pads were the selling point so let’s discuss that. Over the years, I have tried knee sleeves and volleyball pads to try to assist my tender kneecaps that have been chipped at for bone substrate during two ACL reconstructions, as well as Osgood-Schlatter disease as a kid. Volleyball knee pads would get slogged with water and mud, getting loose, heavy and slick. Knee sleeves, felt awesome, but offered the minimum of padding while getting shredded on sharp rocks during barbed wire crawls.
My first deployment of the Mudforce OCR unisex pants was at World’s Toughest Mudder in Granbury, TX Nov 4-5, 2023.
The 24-hour endurance event would be a chance to test out these new pants in a variety of aspects, and hopefully put them through “hell”. First up, I was very happy with the length, I had plenty of coverage all the way to the ankle and beyond, so no issues there. The thin material was nice during the warm portion of the event and shed water fairly well. The knee pads during the barbed wire crawls and any kneeling were excellent. I did utilize the cell phone pocket for carrying calorie fuel and storing my trash until getting back to the pit area. The pocket is big and stretchy enough to hold a 12 oz. bottle of water, but I’m personally not keen on the feel against my leg. Maybe I could get used to it.
The night portion of the event is where things got a little cool for me. With temps dropping down into the 50’s and being wet for most of the night, any breeze or wind sent an instant chill through me. This is where a thicker compression material would be better, and in fact, I would later change back to my CW-X pants along with a half-wet suit for warmth.
After washing the pants and inspecting them I did find some scuffing and a cut on the right knee pad from the sharp rocks, but overall, they held up well. I will be testing them out again at Spartan Races to see how they perform on obstacles like Olympus and Stairway to Sparta, where I may need to incorporate kneeling position and take some pressure off my knee caps.
I will grade these pants out currently at a B-.
The thin material is great for the average run and most OCR formats, use as a rash guard, but has limitations in cold and windy situations when wet.
The kneepad construction is excellent! A+ on that. We shall see what happens as the coating is cracked, cut and allows water and mud to get in and wreak havoc.
Overall fit, I was pleasantly surprised at the large being just about right for me. I wonder if anyone in the smaller range of the size chart (5’6″ 180) would have issues with too much material length and/or loose fit.
If you are looking for a protective rash guard, some compression and the aforementioned knee pads, these are great for the value.
Maybe Mudforce OCR can come out with a thicker warmth-holding version for cold, wet, overnight races. I’d be willing to test those out at 2024 WTM or the Holy Grail chase!
** Side note, Mudforce OCR gets an additional A+ as they reached out to me via Instagram after I tagged a post for my purchase of the pants. The rep gave me a priceless pointer on where to place the knee pads for optimal performance. Thank you! Above and beyond!
