PADS, or how I learned to stop worrying about my knees

Protective gear has come a long way since the late 80s / early 90s when I was younger. They don't look as dorky for one thing, so most skaters wear it. You don't have to wear everything, how much you choose to wear depends on your skill level and how far you're planning on pushing yourself. For example, until I started learning cross-overs, I was taking it easy, skating in my comfort zone so I only wore wrist guards. When I felt more confident and started pushing myself further I added knee and elbow pads.  They can be as cheap or as costly as you want to make it so lets break it down.

Wrist Guards. These are pretty much your basic protection. If you fall either forwards or backwards, chances are you'll reach out to break your fall with your hand if you can, shattering your puny wrist bones in the process. Or maybe just spraining it. There are some pretty cheap looking things on the market, but since this is the cheapest part of the package you'll want to spend £15-£20. For that price they're all pretty much the same. You want one with rigid plastic strips on front and back sewn into the fabric that totally immobilises your movement. Basically a splint wrapped in Velcro fasteners. I've tried Bullet and Pro-Tec and I prefer the Bullet ones, the Pro-Tec ones are more stretchy for comfort but I like the rigidity of the Bullet ones. Wear these all the time and you can't go wrong.

Knee Pads. These are important, as the last thing that you want is a knee injury. Because they're expected to take the weight of a fully grown adult Human dropping onto them, they need serious amounts of padding. Most brands do a couple of entry points, usually around £20 for the recreational skater, £35 for the 'serious amateur', and £70 for the derby crowd (not forgetting the rich kids).  Skating round a roller rink? £20 ones are probably enough for you. If you're learning transitions (turning from front to backwards while skating), and cross-overs the threat of falling will be hanging over you, so could probably benefit by spending a bit more, especially if you're heavy. Leave the £70 pads for the derby teams. Why do they cost so much? In America, where there is no NHS, spending $70 on pads is way more preferable than spending $70,000 on surgery (may not be actual cost), so I guess it's a no brainer over there.

Elbow pads.  I guess you need them, in case you fall backwards and put your elbow out. I fell backwards once and landed on my bum. I had a bruise the size of a Cantaloupe melon on my backside, but I never put my elbows out. I wouldn't spend big money on them. I don't bother wearing mine often but I should start, and if you're going to do fresh meat training with a derby team you'll need to get used to wearing them.