In this Bauerfeind knee brace review, I’ll share how the GenuTrain S knee brace helped me train BJJ while I was recovering from a meniscus tear. 

It provided support, protection, and stability so that I could roll relatively pain-free even though my knee was injured.

Even though my knee has recovered, I still wear it today when it feels a bit achy.

It’s an incredible product and excellent for BJJ athletes suffering from a knee injury.

However, it’s not faultless for grappling.

So in this in-depth review, I’ll share my full experience with the Bauerfeind knee brace — and help you decide if it’s the best BJJ knee brace for you and your injury.

Bauerfeind Knee Brace Review: Quick Links

• Review Summary
• About The Bauerfeind Brand & Knee Braces
• Who Should Invest In A Bauerfeind Knee Brace
• Bauerfeind GenuTrain S Knee Brace Pros
• Bauerfeind GenuTrain S Knee Brace Cons
• Price Breakdown
• Construction Details
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Takeaway Thoughts

Bauerfeind Knee Brace Review Summary

🌓🌕🌕🌕🌕 (4.5/5 Stars)

About The Bauerfeind Brand & Knee Braces

Here’s what you need to know about the Bauerfeind brand before you invest in one of their knee braces.

About The Bauerfeind Brand

Bauerfeind is a family-owned, German company that specializes in orthopedic support and compression wear. Their mission is to help people live active, pain-free lives at any age.

All of their products are manufactured in Germany, and many of them are hand-crafted.

They’ve been making braces, compression stockings, and sleeves for nearly 100 years.

Bauerfeind makes products for various body parts and injuries to the hip, thigh, ankle, elbow, back, wrist, shoulder, and knees.

About Bauerfeind Knee Braces

Their GenuTrain knee brace was first launched in 1981, which set a new standard for fit, support, and comfort.

With over a dozen different GenuTrain knee braces, Bauerfeind has products for every type of knee pathology.

The Bauerfeind GenuTrain S knee brace, the one I’m reviewing in this article, is an orthopedic brace with lateral joint splits to provide support and stability to an unstable knee.

It’s meant for people suffering from instability, osteoarthritis in the knee, and general arthritis in the area.

It was recommended for me due to my degenerative meniscus tear, which caused instability and pain in my knee.

If you’re looking for the perfect knee brace for BJJ, I recommend the GenuTrain or GenuTrain S.

However, you can chat with one of their product specialists, tell them your diagnosis or symptoms, and they’ll recommend the best knee brace for you.

Who Should Invest In A Bauerfeind Knee Brace

There are 3 specific reasons why I recommend investing in a Bauerfeind knee brace.

1. You’re dealing with an acute knee injury. If you’ve just injured your knee, invest in a Bauerfeind knee brace. You’re probably not ready to start drilling or rolling yet, but a Bauerfeind knee brace will make walking more comfortable so your knee can recover quicker.

2. You’re dealing with a chronic knee injury. If you’ve injured your knee a few weeks/months ago, and it’s still giving you issues, the Bauerfeind knee brace is for you. These braces provide an unmatched level of stability and support, giving you an extra layer of knee protection to minimize your chance of re-injury while you train.

3. You’re recovering from an older knee injury. If you’ve had a significant knee injury many months or even years ago, and it still bothers you occasionally, a Bauerfeind knee brace is a great choice. You probably don’t need the GenuTrain S, but the standard GenuTrain is a better (and cheaper) choice for keeping your knee safe.

The Bauerfeind GenuTrain S knee brace isn’t for you if…

1. You’re not dealing with an acute or chronic injury. Bauerfeind knee braces are for genuine knee injuries, not just aches, pains, or weak legs. If you want to future-proof your knees, you don’t need a brace. You need a good strength training program like Knees Over Toes. Working on your mobility with a program like Yoga for BJJ will also help.

2. You’re just looking for padding for your knees. Knee braces are designed to provide support, stability, and pain relief to an injured knee joint. Knee pads, on the other hand, are designed for cushioning and protecting the knees from direct impacts (like takedowns). So if you’re just looking for cushioning, don’t get a brace — save your money and get a pair of cheap volleyball knee pads instead.

Bauerfeind GenuTrain S Knee Brace Pros

Here are 3 specific things I love about my Bauerfeind GenuTrain S Knee Brace for training BJJ with a knee injury.

1. Minimizes Pain While Training. When I was recovering from my meniscus tear, my knee was always in pain. However, as soon as I put my GenuTrain S knee brace on, the pain subsided. It has a cushion pad surrounding the kneecap, which provides a nice compression massage. When I was training BJJ, my knee did not bother me when drilling and rolling as long as I wore my Bauerfeind knee brace.

2. Stability & Support Helps Knee Recover. With medical-grade support and lateral joint splits, the GenuTrain S knee brace keeps your knee and the surrounding muscles supported. Keeping your knee stable is essential for recovery, and of course, BJJ will make your knee unstable. So by wearing the GenuTrain S knee brace, I was able to speed up my recovery by keeping my knee stable and supported while training.

3. Gives You Psychological Confidence. One of the big issues of training with a knee injury is that it lowers your confidence in training. As you’re drilling or rolling, you’re constantly thinking about the position you’re in and if you’re about to hurt your knee again. When I wore my GenuTrain S knee brace, I felt much more confident in my body. I was not worried about hurting my knee while I was rolling. I could focus on the roll instead of my knee. Wearing the knee brace also subtly reminds your training partners that your knee is recovering and not to go too hard on it.

Bauerfeind GenuTrain S Knee Brace Cons

The Bauerfeind GenuTrain S Knee brace is a fantastic product, but it does have some specific faults when you wear it for BJJ.

1. Durability Isn’t Great For BJJ. Even though it has a world-class construction and build, the Bauerfeind GenuTrain S wasn’t designed for BJJ specifically — and it shows. The straps on my knee brace did come apart slightly after several months of use. It still works just fine, but I do have to pop the straps back into place after every few training sessions.

2. Harsh On Your Training Partners. The GenuTrain S knee brace is quite bulky and thick. The joint sidebars are hard and strong, so your training partners will definitely feel them as you’re rolling. Let’s just say when you have them in a triangle choke, they’ll tap extra fast with hard metal jamming into their neck!

3. Tough To Fit In BJJ Spats. The GenuTrain S knee brace is quite big and bulky, and it’s tough to fit underneath tight-fitting BJJ spats. I have to pick my loose-fitting, less durable BJJ spats if I also want to wear my knee brace.

Price Breakdown

The Bauerfeind GenuTrain S will cost you a few hundred dollars.

In general, Bauerfeind knee braces range anywhere from $80-$500, depending on the build.

You can check the pricing for Bauerfeind knee braces on their Amazon store.

Or, you can search their official website for more information on their various knee braces.

Bauerfeind knee braces certainly aren’t cheap, and I paid for mine out of pocket.

But it was worth it for me to get back on the mats, minimize my chance of future injury, and get my knee back to full strength.

So if you’re serious about your health — and you want to train BJJ through an injury — then it’s absolutely worth the investment.

However, if you are OK waiting until your knee is better through interventions like knee health programs, yoga, and strength training — and you don’t want to invest in an expensive knee brace — then I completely understand that too.

Construction Details

Bauerfeind knee braces are expensive, but they are very well-constructed.

I’ve been wearing my GenuTrain S knee brace for BJJ training 3x a week for 2 years. It’s beat up, but it’s still functional and keeps my knee protected.

Here are the construction details for the Bauerfeind GenuTrain S.

GenuTrain S Key Features:

• Medical Ccl 1 (20-30 mmHg)
• Rigid plastic hinges with strap system
• Specifications:
• Three-dimension fabric
• Adjustable straps
• Joint sidebars
• Viscoelastic pads
• Soft-knit fabric
• Reduced pressure at the edges

GenuTrain S Materials

• Polyamide (PA)
• Styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene block copolymer (TPS-SEBS)
• Elastodiene (ED)
• Polyurethane (PUR)
• Spandex (EL)
• Viscose (CV)
• Polyester (PES)
• Polyoxymethylene (POM)
• Cotton (CO)

To wash the brace, put it in a laundry net and wash it cold on a slow tumble. I wash mine with my gi and no-gi gear right after class.

Do not put it in the dryer. Let it air-dry. It takes about 24 hours for it to fully air-dry.

Bottom Line: The GenuTrain S knee brace technically isn’t meant to be worn for BJJ — but it’s well-made enough to last you at least 3+ years of training.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a knee brace and a knee pad in a BJJ context?

A knee brace is designed to provide support, stability, and pain relief. They are used for managing knee injuries or chronic conditions. Buy a knee brace when you want to support your knee after an injury, and you want to train BJJ while keeping your knee safe.

A knee pad is designed to cushion and protect the knee from direct impact, abrasions, or bruises. They are used in sports where there is a risk of falling. Buy a pair of knee pads when you want to cushion the blow from takedowns.

Technically, you could place knee pads over your knee brace to enjoy the benefits of both stability and cushioning.

Which Bauerfeind knee brace should I get for BJJ?

With dozens of different knee braces, it can be overwhelming to choose which Bauerfeind knee brace to choose.

I chose mine — the GenuTrain S — by chatting with one of their product specialists on their website.

I told them my diagnosis and symptoms, and they recommended the best brace that would best fit my needs and goals.

So go to their website to search for the different knee braces, and then chat with their team to confirm which knee brace is best for you.

What is the warranty for Bauerfeind products?

On the Bauerfeind website, they offer a 30-day risk-free trial.

You can try your knee brace for a month, and then decide whether or not you want to keep it.

If you decide to return it within 30 days, you can receive a full refund.

Takeaway Thoughts

Overall, I think the Bauerfeind knee brace is the best BJJ knee brace on the market.

It helped me recover from my meniscus tear and get back on the mats within weeks.

If you’re serious about your health and knee recovery, investing in a brace like the GenuTrain S is a great move.

It’s not cheap. But remember, this is your health we’re talking about. Nothing is more important than that.

With knee braces, you get what you pay for. And there is no more prestigious and well-renowned brand in this space than Bauerfeind.

If you have any questions about the Bauerfeind GenuTrain S knee brace that I missed in this review, drop a comment in the section below.

I read and respond to everyone who reaches out.

Happy rolling — and keep those knees safe. 🤙

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Tsavo Neal

Tsavo is the founder of BJJ Equipment, author of BJJ For Beginners, creator of the BJJ Missions app, and a brown belt instructor at InFighting. He launched BJJ Equipment to help grapplers at every belt level train smarter, make faster progress, and find the best gear for their game.