They are soft and seem to work well for my husband
I had originally bought these for myself to use since my knees have been giving me problems but the soft flexible side band wasn't working out for me so I passed them on to my husband and they have helped him out more since he stands up a great deal while teaching Tae Kwan Do.  Also I had a problem with them rolling down on me, its the shape of my legs but when my husband wears them, he doesn't have that issue.  He says that his knees don't hurt as bad while he wears them and so he feels better after teaching.  So my husband says yes, he would recommend them to others.
Rating: 4 stars