A
sAustralianswe’ve
toiledourarsesoffto
developareputation
asahard-working
nation.Forovertwo
centuriesour
economyhasbeen
largelybuiltongoldpanning,sheep
sheeringandcoalmining.Butwhat
willhappentouswhentheworldno
longerneedsourcommodities?While
gettingourhandsdirty,countrieslike
Germany,Japan,Scandinaviaandeven
Italyareattheforefrontofground-
breakingtechnology.
IknowAussieshavebeen
responsibleformanytechnological
advancementsbutI’dbesurprisedif
anyonesaidwewereworldleadersin
technology.Sure,wepioneeredthe
developmentofpenicillin,createdthe
bionicear,builtthefirstcommercial
ultrasoundmachineanddevelopedthe
‘blackbox’flightrecorderforaircraft.
But,wedon’tbuildnext-genvehiclesor
rulethemedicalfield.Asafarmer,I
appreciatehardwork,butwhere’sour
Aussiespacestation?!(Don’tget
offended,IknowI’mexagertaing).
Now,atlast,it’stimeforGeelong,
southofMelbourne,tostepbackinto
thetechnologicallimelight.Lastyear,
kneebracecompanyPODinvitedusto
thelaunchofitssignatureK8V2
kneebrace.Geelongjusthappenstobe
POD’sglobalheadquartersand,yes,theyareanAussiecompany.
FastforwardsixmonthsandI’mat
anotherPODkneebracelaunch,this
timefortheK4.Duringthebriefingon
howthiskneebracecanprevent
seriousinjuriesIrealised;here’san
Aussiecompanyleadingtheway!POD
wasstartedbytwoAussieblokesand
standsforProtectionOnDemand.
Theyhaverevolutionisedthemedical
braceworldandareamongthebest
whenitcomestosportsbraces.
PODhasgrownexponentiallyover 15
yearsandisnowdistributedinover 50
countries.Itskneebracesareall
medicallycertified,andevenusea
genetically-modifiedligamenttosecure
yourknee.Okay,maybegenetically-
modifiedisabitofastretchbutthe
technologyisbloodyimpressiveand,
don’tforget,wasdevelopedDownUnder!
Theboyssetaboutdevelopingahinge
systemthatmirroredthebiomechanical
movementoftheknee,whichtheydid
bycreatingapatentedhingethatuses
shock-absorbingsyntheticligaments.As
IexplainedinmyproducttestontheK8
(ADB#476),aKTM1190RRhangsfrom
severalofthoseligamentsinPOD’shead
office.Talkaboutstrong!
TheligamentsuseVectranliquid
crystalpolymerfibresthatarefive
timesstrongerthansteel,toprovide
progressive,multi-directionalcontrol.
Thebestpartisthattheligament
systemisn’tjustfortheirtop-of-the-line’brace,it’salsousedintheK4.The
differencebetweenthetwo’bracesis
theframematerial.
Youcanevenuseload-dampinghinge
insertstolimitkneeextensionand
reducethetimethekneeisinthe‘at
risk’position.TheK4frameismade
fromlightweightnylon(twoyear
warranty)whiletheK8frameiscarbon
composite,(fivetearwarranty).TheK8
isstrongerandmorelightweight.
Liketheirentirerange,theK4comes
withintegrated,adaptivecuffsto
conformtovariouslegshapesanda
rubber,orplastic-like,paddingthat
linestheinsideoftheframe,sothey
don’tendupstinkinglikematerial
paddingcan.
FortunatelyPODcarriedoverthe
newkneecapprotectionfromtheK8
intotheK4,whichmeansyourpatella
isneverexposed.PODalsoclaimsthe
metalstheyuseareanti-corrosive,
whichmeansyoucanusethemin
waterandalpinesportsaswellas
mountainbiking.
PODtookusgo-kartingattheK4
launchandwhileitwasn’tagreat
demonstrationofhowakneebrace
works,itshowedjusthowdown-to-
earththePODmobare.Intypical,
laidbackAussiestyle,theyweremore
interestedinbeatingusinkartsthan
theywereintalkingshopabouttheir
kneebraces!Nowthat’sacompany
worthsupporting. Mitch LeesJUST LANDED I POD K4 KNEEBRACES
WOULD BE AN AUSSIE THING?
WORDS // MITCH LEES PHOTOS // PODPeace in a
108 |JUNE 2019 http://www.adbmag.com.au