Best kneeling pads for plumbing work

The Ergodyne ProFlex 385 is my pick for most plumbing jobs. It’s 16 by 28 inches and 1 inch thick, made of nitrile rubber (NBR) closed-cell foam. Ergodyne says the foam keeps its shape over time and won’t absorb liquids. That last part matters in front of a sink base that’s been leaking for a week.

Size is the reason I’d take it over the smaller 380. At 448 square inches, it covers about half again as much floor as the 14 by 21 inch 380. Ergodyne writes the 385 for static kneeling on larger work surfaces, like the floor in front of a double kitchen sink or a water heater.

The edge is the other upgrade. The 385 has a beveled safety edge with orange warning stripes, which Ergodyne doesn’t list for the 380. On a dark garage slab, a black pad is easy to catch a boot on. The orange stripe makes it easier to see when you step back from the heater with a pan in your hands.

Ergodyne lists the foam as water resistant, petroleum resistant, non-conductive and silicone-free. Petroleum resistance is the line I look for on a garage floor, where the heater often sits a few feet from a car’s oil drips. Ergodyne doesn’t publish an electrical rating, so I wouldn’t treat non-conductive foam as insulating matting.

The built-in handle is for carrying it in from the truck and hanging it on a hook. Ergodyne also says to use the pad under elbows, shoulders and hips in tight, twisted postures. Lying on your side to reach a supply stop at the back of a cabinet is that kind of posture.

What Ergodyne doesn’t list is a weight. Klein’s 60136 is the same 16 by 28 by 1 inch size at 1.31 pounds, but I can’t confirm the 385 matches it.

Ergodyne is a Klein Tools company, according to Ergodyne’s own site. So the choice between this pad and the Klein 60136 below comes down to small details. The 385 lists non-conductive foam. The Klein lists standing use and hand washing. For kneeling on wet tile and slab, I’d take the 385.

Klein’s Tradesman Pro kneeling pads come in two sizes. The 60136 Large is 28 by 16 by 1 inch and weighs 1.31 pounds. The 60135 Standard is 21 by 14 by 1 inch and weighs 1.2 pounds. Both are 1 inch NBR closed-cell foam with a built-in handle for carrying or hanging.

The line that sets them apart is standing. Klein lists both pads for kneeling or standing, as anti-fatigue support. If you spend an afternoon at a bench building a manifold or prepping fittings, you can stand on the same pad you knelt on at the sink that morning.

Klein says the foam won’t stay compressed and bounces back to its original form. That’s the claim I care about on a pad you kneel on every day. A pad that stays flat where your knees go stops cushioning long before it falls apart.

The Large has a chamfered safety edge with orange stripes, which Klein says gives visual and tactile awareness. The Standard has straight edges. Klein also says the Large lets you move without repositioning the pad each time, the same reason I’d pick the bigger Ergodyne.

Both are water repellent, petroleum resistant and silicone-free, and Klein lists them for indoor or outdoor use. They’re also hand washable. That’s useful after a drain cleanout or a sewer job, when you’d rather scrub the pad than throw it away.

Pick the size by the room. The 60135’s 14 inch width fits the narrow gap beside a toilet or a tub. The 60136 is better in front of a kitchen sink base, a washer box or a water heater, where you shift side to side while you work.

Klein doesn’t list non-conductive foam for these pads, which Ergodyne does for the 385. If that line matters on your jobs, take the Ergodyne. If standing use and washing matter more, take the Klein.

The Klein 54836MB is a kneeling pad that also turns a MODbox into a seat. Elastic side straps pull down and hook under the MODbox rails, so the pad sits on the box top as a cushion. Off the box, it’s a 21.5 by 15 by 2 inch kneeling pad.

It’s built differently from the solid foam pads on this page. Inside is NBR foam with an EVA backer that Klein says adds structural strength. Outside is a 1680D cover that resists water, dirt and rough surfaces. The cover keeps a broken tile edge or a rough slab off the foam.

At 2 inches, it’s twice as thick as the 1 inch pads and four times the 0.5 inch 391 XL. Klein writes it for extended kneeling. That’s the job where I’d want the most foam: setting a toilet flange or re-piping a vanity, on hard tile, for most of an hour.

The seat is the reason to buy it. With the pad strapped on, a stack of MODbox cases becomes a place to sit while you solder a joint at knee height or sort fittings into bins. Without a MODbox, the straps don’t do anything, and one of the other pads makes more sense.

It weighs 2.55 pounds, about twice the 1.31 pound Klein 60136. It has side carrying handles instead of a cut-out handle, and Klein says they help you shift the pad while you use it. The cover is hand washable, the edges are bound, and the colors are black and orange.

What Klein doesn’t list here is petroleum resistance, which both makers list for their solid NBR pads. The cover resists water and dirt. On an oily garage floor by a water heater, I’d still take a solid NBR pad like the Ergodyne 385.

Its footprint, 322.5 square inches, sits between the standard pads at 294 and the large ones at 448. So it fits most bathroom gaps a standard pad fits, with more than twice the foam under your knees.

The Ergodyne ProFlex 380 is the 385’s smaller sibling: the same 1 inch NBR closed-cell foam in a 14 by 21 inch pad. Ergodyne says the high-density foam won’t compress over time and protects your knees against hard surfaces.

Size is why it’s here. At 294 square inches, it’s about two-thirds the area of the 385. That fits better on a bathroom floor between a toilet and a tub, or in a closet where a water heater sits close to the wall and a big pad would curl up against it.

Ergodyne lists it as water resistant, petroleum resistant, non-conductive and silicone-free. The foam is closed-cell, so it won’t absorb liquids. That’s the property you want on a floor that’s wet from a leaking supply line or a toilet you just pulled.

It has a built-in handle for carrying and hanging. Ergodyne also lists it for cushioning elbows, shoulders and hips in tight, twisted postures. Lying on your side to reach a toilet’s supply stop behind the bowl is one of those postures.

Ergodyne makes the 380 in black (18380) and orange (18381). The listing linked here is black. If you want a pad you can see on a dark basement floor, look for the orange one.

What you give up against the 385 is the edge and the reach. Ergodyne doesn’t list a beveled safety edge for the 380, and a smaller pad means moving it more often in front of a wide sink base. Ergodyne doesn’t list a weight for it either.

Klein’s 60135 is the same 14 by 21 by 1 inch size. Choose the Ergodyne if you want non-conductive foam on the spec sheet. Choose the Klein if you’ll also stand on it or want to wash it by hand.

The Ergodyne ProFlex 391 and 386 are the thin pads: 0.5 inch NBR foam instead of 1 inch. The 391 XL is 18 by 36 inches, the biggest pad on this page. The 386 Large is 16 by 28 inches, the same footprint as the 385.

The 391 is the one I’d lay down on a garage slab under a water heater or a softener. At 648 square inches, it’s long enough for your shoulders and hips while you reach a drain valve or a T&P discharge line. Ergodyne lists both thin pads for cushioning elbows, shoulders and hips.

Thin brings two other upsides. Ergodyne says the thinner design is easier to carry and store. Both pads also have a textured top and bottom that grip the floor and keep your knees from sliding on the pad, which helps on smooth wet tile.

Both have beveled edges, which Ergodyne says minimize the risk of trips and falls. Ergodyne also says the high-density foam won’t compress over time, and that it’s water and petroleum resistant for dry comfort on wet surfaces.

The trade-off is cushion. Half an inch is half the foam of the 385 or the Klein pads. For long kneeling on tile in one spot, I’d take a 1 inch pad. For lying down on a slab, where your weight spreads over your back, the thin pad covers more of you.

Ergodyne doesn’t list non-conductive foam or a weight for the thin pads. If you want 0.5 inch foam in a smaller size, Ergodyne’s line-up also has the 376 Small and 381 Standard.

Pick the 391 for slab work where you lie down. Pick the 386 if you want the 385’s footprint at half the thickness, for a truck where space is tight.