Missing pad location always becomes the ‘crete magnet.

What’s the big deal with wearing or not wearing pads. Wear ‘em if you want, don’t if you don’t want to. Don’t hate on either side.
I wear mine all the time, don’t care about the image. Call me a barney if you want, not going to stop me from having fun.

It’s not even an image of freedom, or toughness, since padless skating tends to be restrained… it’s just an image that doesn’t look as dorky since, unfortunately, elbow pads, above all else, just do. But c’mon, since when are y’all afraid of dad pads! And, if you really need to look more streamlined while unexposed, just duct tape a relatively thin layer of sorbathane foam to each elbow… for that svelte, DYI-chic look.