PowerLift Hinged Joint Support Knee Bandage - Bionic Knee Sleeve

Going down is fine. It is coming back up.

Getting down to the bottom shelf, the flower bed, the cupboard under the sink — that part still works. It is the second half that has started costing you something: the push back up to standing, from a deep squat or off one knee, ten or fifteen times in an afternoon.

This is a spring booster, and that push is the only thing it is built for. Three steel coil springs sit on a pivot at the outer side of your knee. Bending compresses them. Straightening lets them push back. You get a share of the effort of going down returned to you on the way up.

A spring, and nothing cleverer than that

There is no battery, no motor and no electronics in this. It is three carbon steel springs on a steel axle, and it behaves exactly the way a spring behaves: it stores a little of the energy you put into bending, and gives some of it back as you extend. Never more than you put in — a spring cannot make you stronger, and this one does not pretend to.

What that feels like in practice is a small nudge at the top of the movement, on the rep where you would normally push off your thigh with a hand. Over an afternoon of up-and-down that adds up. Over one squat it is barely there. Buy it for the twentieth time you stand up, not the first.

It is not a sleeve, and that changes who it suits

Most things sold as knee support are a tube of elastic you pull on, and they work by squeezing the joint. This is not one of those. It is an open frame: a stiff panel strapped to your lower thigh, a second strapped to your upper calf, and the two joined at the outer side of your leg by the spring pivot. Your kneecap is left completely bare. Nothing crosses the front of the joint and nothing squeezes it.

So if what you actually want is compression and warmth, this is the wrong product and a plain elastic sleeve is the right one, for a fraction of the money. And because nothing wraps the joint, it does not hold a knee together sideways — see the note further down before you buy it for a knee that gives way.

Where people put it to work

Gardening and allotments, where the whole day is kneel, plant, stand, move along. Trade and DIY work spent going down to a skirting board and back up again. Long descents on a hill walk, where the springs take a little off each landing. Warehouse and shop-floor jobs with low shelves. The pattern is repetition — anything where you stand back up dozens of times and feel it by the evening.

Getting it on straight

Two straps, one size, a couple of minutes the first time.

• Springs to the outside. The pivot belongs on the outer side of your leg, level with the crease of the knee. The two units are identical, so a single one goes on whichever leg you want — you just turn it round.
• Top strap on the thigh, bottom strap on the calf. Both above and below the joint, never across the kneecap.
• Firm, not tight. It only has to stop the frame sliding. Straps tight enough to leave a mark are tight enough to bother your circulation, and they will not make the springs work harder.
• Bend and check. Squat once. The pivot should stay level with the joint. If it rides up the thigh or drops onto the shin, it is fastened in the wrong place, and it will do nothing useful there.

What you get

• One brace, or a pair — choose under Quantity. One brace covers one knee
• Three carbon steel coil springs on an exposed steel pivot
• Nylon panels and webbing, two hook-and-loop straps
• About 11.6 in (29.5 cm) from thigh strap to calf strap; strap arms 11.0 in (28 cm) and 10.6 in (27 cm) out from the panel
• About 10.5 oz (300 g) per brace — 1.3 lb (0.6 kg) for a pair
• Black, or black with blue trim

Measurements are the supplier's own, taken by hand from a flat-laid brace, and may vary by up to 0.8 in (2 cm).

Before you buy this for a knee that is actually hurt

This is a piece of sports equipment, not a medical device. It does not treat, heal or prevent anything, and nothing on this page should be read as saying it does.

It matters more here than with most products, because of what the frame does not do. It does not enclose the joint and it offers no resistance to your knee moving sideways. If your knee gives way, locks, catches or swells, or if you are recovering from surgery or a ligament injury, the brace you need is one your physiotherapist or surgeon selects and fits for you. Those are chosen against a specific diagnosis, and putting the wrong one on an unstable knee can leave you worse off than wearing nothing.

If a knee has been bothering you for weeks and you have not had it looked at, get it looked at. A brace is not a way of not finding out.

Frequently asked questions

Do I get one brace or two?

Whichever you choose under Quantity. "1 Brace (one knee)" is a single brace. "2 Braces (a pair)" is two, one for each knee. If only one knee is the problem, buy the single — there is nothing to gain from strapping a spring to a knee that is fine.

Is it actually "bionic"? Does it lift for me?

No. That is a product name, not a description. There is no power source and no assistance being generated — a passive spring can only hand back a portion of the energy you already spent bending it. If you cannot stand up from a squat unaided, this will not be what changes that.

Does it stop my knee wobbling or giving way?

No, and please do not buy it for that. The two panels are joined only on the outer side and the joint itself is left open, so there is nothing resisting sideways movement. A knee that gives way needs assessing, and then a brace chosen for that specific problem.

Will it fit my leg?

It is one size, and the hook-and-loop straps fasten anywhere along their length, so there is a wide range in the middle it suits. The supplier does not publish a thigh or calf measurement range, so we are not going to invent one — what is published is the brace's own size, above. The strap arms reach about 11.0 in (28 cm) and 10.6 in (27 cm) out from each side of the panel. If your thigh is unusually large or unusually slim, measure before ordering.

Can I wear it under trousers?

Under loose or work trousers, yes, though it is bulky — rigid panels and an exposed spring pivot standing off the side of your leg. It will show under anything slim, and most people wear it over shorts or on the outside of the leg where they can see it is sitting straight.

Which leg does a single one go on?

Either. Both units in a pair are identical rather than mirrored, so you turn one round to keep the spring pivot on the outer side of whichever leg you are wearing it on.

Can I run or train in it?

People do use these for walking, squats and manual work. Be careful about the obvious trap: feeling steadier is not the same as being stronger, and a springy assist at the top of a movement is not a reason to add load your knee is not ready for.

How do I clean it?

Wipe the fabric with a damp cloth and let it dry in the air. Do not put it in a washing machine and do not soak it — the springs and axle are carbon steel, which will rust if you leave it wet.