5mm vs 7mm Knee Sleeves: Which Is Best for Weightlifting?

Your knees do a lot of work in weightlifting – how do you protect them from injury and soreness? Should you use 5mm vs 7mm knee sleeves?

We’re going to look at both types of sleeves, how they compare, and what each is for – as well as our favorite products for each category.

Dragon Knee Sleeves

7mm Knee Sleeves vs 5mm for Weight Training: The difference between 5mm and 7mm knee sleeves is the thickness, flexibility, and amount of support. Thicker sleeves are more supportive but also more restrictive. 5mm Knee sleeves are better for CrossFit – but 7mm knee sleeves are better for heavy Weightlifting and Powerlifting.

5mm Knee Sleeves

5mm sleeves are perfect for keeping your knees warm and healthy during weightlifting and squats. It’s a neoprene sleeve to provide a little compression, with quite a comfortable design. They feel great on the knees but are noticeably flexible, still.

5mm knee sleeves are ‘normal’ for weightlifting, with a basic and supportive design that keeps the knees warm and healthy. It provides a moderate amount of support to the knees but won’t bunch up behind the knee or restrict any blood flow.

They’re more comfortable for different exercises besides squatting, and they are typically more comfortable to wear around the gym. They don’t offer heavy duty support, but can still be very useful for Olympic lifts – where the knee needs to be able to move freely.

The 5mm knee sleeves are great for general purpose strength training. We particularly like them for CrossFit and lighter weightlifting, where they are a good balance between extra support and free movement.

5mm Knee Supports: Pros

● Lightweight with moderate support for knees

● More flexible – less risk of being too small or too tight

● Typically higher-strength neoprene designs (but not always)

● More comfortable, most of the time – such as walking around the gym

5mm Knee Supports: Cons

● Not as supportive as the 7mm sleeves – weaker compression

● Doesn’t offer heavy duty support for squatting

● May have weaker cuffs and more movement around the knee

When You Need 5mm Knee Sleeves

I like 5mm knee sleeves best for weightlifting – snatches in particular. The knees are not placed under such intense load, and they are more comfortable. 5mm sleeves are also good for cleans, but don’t offer as much support and elastic assistance during heavy cleans.

The 5mm are good for CrossFit, too, because they are not as thick or restrictive. This makes it easier to perform different types of exercise. With 5mm knee sleeves for CrossFit, you can perform weightlifting exercises, but you can also skip, run, or do some stationary bike exercises, too.

These make the 5mm a versatile knee sleeve with good variety.

7mm Knee Sleeves

7mm knee sleeves are not only thicker, but also typically made from heavier neoprene with greater density. This means that they bunch up behind the knee more than a 5mm knee sleeve. This is useful for improving the ‘bounce’ you can get out of these sleeves, but makes them a little uncomfortable to wear for repetitive exercise.

A 7mm neoprene knee sleeve offers great support, but you can’t use it for as many purposes as the smaller sleeves. For example, 7mm knee sleeves are not as popular in CrossFit because they help with squats, but may cause too much restriction around the knee for cycling or running, for example.

You should use 7mm knee sleeves if you’re mostly looking for knee support for squats and cleans. It’s acceptable for snatches, but mainly important in these heavier lifts where the bounce is more important.

You need to be careful with measurements using these thicker sleeves. Getting a size smaller may cause problems, which are less of a problem in the more flexible 5mm sleeves.

7mm Knee Supports: Pros

● Strong knee support for better compression and warmth

● Heavy duty design and materials produce more bounce in the bottom of a squat

● Feels more supportive on the knees – especially for sore knees

7mm Knee Supports: Cons

● Too restrictive for some types of exercise

● Not as versatile as 5mm knee sleeves

● Not as flexible as smaller sleeves – less versatile and require specific sizing

When You Need 7mm Sleeves

You need 7mm sleeves when you’re performing heavy squats – especially for Powerlifters. They’re also great for weightlifters during cleans, where they provide support for the heavy front squat. You want to bounce right out of a clean without wasting time, making these sleeves better.

The elastic support is more powerful in these two types of exercise, because you’re loading up the elastic and bunching up behind the knee. These are more useful than the 5mm sleeves because of the extra thickness and the denser neoprene concentration of most 7mm knee sleeve designs.

Overall, you should think of 7mm knee sleeves as extra support. They’re going to do everything you need for Powerlifting or Weightlifting, but may be a little too much for CrossFit or general strength training.

Conclusion

There’s no single winner in the contest between 5mm vs 7mm knee sleeves. 5mm sleeves are perfect for CrossFit and light support in Weightlifting. 7mm knee supports are superior for Powerlifting and heavy Weightlifting where you need more support and ‘bounce’.

We’ve highlighted products that show off the best of both styles. What’s important is getting the thickness that suits your needs and your training goals.

You can get excellent support at a good price, and knee sleeves can really compliment your training. Click here and contact us for the knee sleeves you want.