CTI knee brace question

Hey there fellow wakeworlders. I haven't been posting up on the site to much lately but I am sure that no one missed my little opinions. I was wanting to ask for some advice on a knee brace. About 2 weeks ago I was shredding at TSR and on my first lap I thought it was a good idea to throw a huge hs 5 off the booter cause I have just been on with that trick. Well I landed wrong and hard and tore my acl, ripped and flipped my meniscus and fractured my tibia. I had surgurey about a week ago and will be getting fitted with a knee brace on the 12th. I made sure that I was going to be getting a CTI this time cause the don joy that I had for my left knee a few years ago sucked.

My question to you guys is do I need the standard, the pro sport, or the vapor. I am sure that the vapor is the lightest and most comfy but can it hold up to wakeboarding, I don't know if the impact rating that they give them means impact to the brace or the impact that the knee will be going through. I figured that someone on here has delt with this question before. I tried to call ossur on it but you guys will truely know the best.. Thanks for your help in advance.

I don't think that the cti's are good AT ALL. I snaped my leg, and destroyed my knee while riding a CTI. I got a Bledso. I think that its a better brace and I have a better feeling about the way the brace fits as a whole. My feeling is that CTI's are garbage

Well I can give an opposing view I guess. I partially tore my ACL (no surgery as my knee is still stable) and was given a Cti2 brace. I really like the brace personally. It took a while to get used to riding with it but after a few rides, you forget that it is there. I have ridden it about 8-9 months and my knee is still stable so it seems to be working for me. Good luck.

ouch Al. that is horrible. Did it snap at the tib, fib or above the knee at the femur. I will most definatly look into the bledso braces aswell. I hate to ask but was the it type of fall that attributed to the break or do you feel it was the construction of the brace that did it? Did the brace break? I know from reading on here that you ride hard and so do I so naturally I like to get the best product that I can especially when it comes to injury prevention.

Can someone still answer my original question too please?

What is the diff. between cti and cti2 braces.

(Message edited by RobertR720 on May 05, 2008)

Rob I had the vapor, I feel taht it is to light (not strong enough) for wakeboarding. I broke my tib I broke off one of the lugs on my tib. I feel that if the brace was built different I wouldn't have broke my leg. I'm not the first person this has happend to while wearing this brace. It was a big crow taht did it.

thanks for the info. I didn't think the vapor would be strong enough for wakeboarding either. Did the brace break too? Landing in the flats is brutal man. I feel that if I wasn't at the cable park it may not have happened cause the only place you can land is the flats and the cable goes so slow. Knee injuries sure are a bummer though. I really just want to get back to work cause I am going broke fast. Thank god for insurance.

Robert, my son completly blew out his right Acl,did sevre miniscus damage and frac. his tib, when he was 15. Has been riding with Cti braces for 3 years, Currently the cti2 lite on both legs, left knee Acl is blown.. Loves the way they fit and has never had any problems with support of comfort. (maybe he doesnt ride that big) but anyways he recomends them..

Make sure your fitted properly.
What ever you choose good luck!

I've got a Bledso knee brace and CTI2 vapor. Personally i prefer the CTI brace to bledso. The Bledso slides down when wet.

i rode for the dallas rep for a while. the vapor wasnt out at the time but i know its a step higher than mine, and mine was the best one they had at the time. you need to ask them for the extra strap that goes on under the brace. it keeps the brace from sliding at all. i know you ride a lot like i do so you are probably gonna have to replace your straps about once every year or so, especially the extra one, it tends to have a lot of wear in tear. basically the extra strap is just a wide band made of neoprene. it just wraps around your lower leg. the inside of the knee brace has the rough side of the velcro on it and it sticks to the outside of the neoprene. also you want the bottom two straps on the brace snug and the top two just comfortable so the brace move with your leg. if the top two are really tight the brace will always slide down. just some things we learned when i was with them.

cool, thanks for the info guys. Gordie are you saying that Larry rides with the vapors on both knees. I am just curious if the vapor can withstand wakeboarding. Like I mentioned above the braces are rated for impact levels and wakeboarding would have little to no impact to the brace itself but my knee will be taking some harder impacts from landing and Im not sure what they mean when they say impact I guess.

Here is my opinion. I tore my ACL and meniscus in my left knee a few years ago. Heard good things about CTi, so that is what I got. Loved the brace....good support, light, and comfortable. After using the brace for a while, I was at the Wake Games and the local rep noticed that I had some tape holding the straps (they were really worn). He came over and asked me about it, and I explained that they were basically worn out and also mentioned that my quad muscle had grown back in and that the brace was hurting my leg. He said,"No problem we'll get that fixed up by adding a hockey bend to it". A few weeks later I had my brand new brace in the mail and it worked far better than the first brace.

About a year ago I thought that I blew my knee out again (while wearing the brace). I went to the ortho and he asked me if I was wearing a brace. I said yes, and he said,"Its a damn good thing that you were, otherwise you would be having a second surgery." Braces aren't the end all in injury prevention; if your knee is gonna go, its gonna go regardless of that is wrapped around it, but it can help from time to time.

I had and still have the Vapor and it should work just fine for wakeboarding. Wakeboarding isn't a hard impact sport like football, or even basketball, so you don't need something huge hanging onto your leg. The only thing that I would recommend would be to get some extra straps, because after a while they need to be replaced. Good luck with the rehab, and don't go all out right away.

Go with the CTi Vapor, and you should be fine. They are a great company, with a great product and their customer service is second to none, and that speaks volumes.

I use a CTi and love it. I would suggest that you not get fitted until you are at least 3 months into rehab. Otherwise, the swelling you still have will get you a "custom fitted" brace that no longer fits like it should when you are actually ready to use it.

Robert, like Brandon said you could blow your knee out with or without a brace. Same thing with us, at a contest the rep noticed some wear and tear and fixed him right up. One year later they wanted Larry to come over to the plant They re sized him because he had grown a week later 2 new braces showed up. Good company

Listen to Kat about sizing, you do not want your brace not to fit correctly.

Make sure you do the rehab and don't come back to soon Good luck with everything.

Hey Brandon GREAT JOB AT WAKEGAMES!

Also Larry rode with his in salt water 90% of the time

Thanks Gordie, definately NOT my best day. I'm better than what I showed in my finals run. Oh well, next time I guess.

I don't know about the vapor but my CTI2 custom knee brace has been great. It's rated for slightly higher impact then the vapor on their website so I don't know if that helps or not but it provides great support.

all i can say is I have no ACL in my left knee. I can hyperextend my knee walking down the street. But i have a CTI2 also and i can play ice hockey with it on.It will take a few rides to get used to it but soon you won't even know its there. But for my money there is no better set up than what they offer. Just my 2 cents

thanks for your opinions guys. CTI seamed like the way to go cause of all the good things that I have heard about them. Since they have the 1 year fit gaurantee then they will refit the brace after rehab and I am glad to hear that the vapor will do cause it looks to be the most comfy and least noticable.

CTi is a great company!!! Excellent customer service, good product, first rate materials. I use mine (left & right) for wakeboarding, kiteboarding & motocross. The biggest problem I have with them is my own personal embarrassment wearing them, which is really stupid I know...but I still feel like a tool when I wear them. Maybe if I could ride better I wouldn't feel so self-conscious.

I love my Cti2 brace. I blew my knee out when i was 14 snowboarding and have been wearing one for the past 7 yaers. I have had to get new ones however because of the growth. They fit amazing tho.