Any product that someone gets paid (or gets a discount) to review, I view as advertising, and as such take 1-star off but, having said that, the EXOUS knee brace had almost 80% 5-star ratings which was impressive, beaten out by one other I looked at, the ULTRAFLEX which had over 90% 5-star ratings. So, when my right knee started to hurt (the inside part) after running 5K's, I decided to buy both (paid full price, $30 and $20, respectively) and try em out.

The ULTRAFLEX arrived first, so I tried it on. It is made of a nice material, soft to the touch, and you do not feel like you have anything on. It goes on real easy, and once on, it stays on without slipping or curling at the edges due to a band at the inside top, which seems to grip onto your thigh. It goes on easy under jeans or pants, and is completely unobtrusive. If you don't remember to take it off, you will go to bed with it! It does a fairly good job of eliminating my knee pain but I could still feel the ache/soreness of my knee. Although going up/down stairs was easy, there was still that twinge of pain. On a 10-point scale of easing the knee pain, I would give it a 9. I have NOT gone running 5K with this, so when I do, I will update my experience here.
UPDATE: 9/17/17--a full year of use, and I almost religiously run 5K every Sunday (weather and travel-schedule permitting) with this on my left knee. I am just amazed how good this has held up--the material still looks like and performs like new. It did feel like it was slipping, but I wear it slightly higher now, and I can tell you, it does not slip and grips your thigh really well. My knee actually feels better after my 5K run, than before--go figure!

The EXOUS came the next day, so decided to put it on. Required a little effort, but after watching Meredith's (one of the paid reviewers here) video, was able to. This is definitely a more sturdy brace and so doesn't feel as unobtrusive. The material feels comfortable and soft to the touch. The straps are long and there's plenty of velcro, so it goes on and stays on (for now, at least). It does squeeze your knee-area a bit (if you get it on snug), so you do feel you are wearing it. But the amazing part is that the knee pain is almost entirely gone! I have been running up/down stairs to test it out and I do not feel any pain--on a scale of 10, this is a near perfect 9.9 for pain relief. I plan to go running with this on, and will update here my experience (also, how the velcro holds up over time).
UPDATE 9/17/17--I have been using the EXOUS on my right knee for my 5K runs every Sunday, and this is the 1st year anniversary. I can honestly say that I am more pleased with this brace today than a year ago! The velcro holds up well and is still like-new, not slipping or coming off, and once you get the hang of putting the brace on, it goes on in 30 seconds. My knee feels fresh after my 5K run, can't describe it any better! However, between this and the more simpler designed Ultra-flex that I use on my left knee, I can NOT tell any difference--and the EXOUS is 50% more expensive! The only advantage I see with EXOUS is the fact that the straps allow you to tighten or loosen as required, but if you are on a budget, I would stay with the Ultra-flex. Happy running, Boomers!!!

Biggest negative with both products--they are Made in China.

UPDATE 6/4/2018--despite my dislike of anything MADE IN CHINA, I just ordered another EXOUS for my other knee (which I was using the UltraFlex for, which is pretty good for the price, but not as good as the EXOUS). This brace is head-and-shoulder better than any of the other braces have tried. My knee pain is a thing of the past.

Sadly I tore something in the back of my knee snowboarding a month back. I've been riding lightly and I bought three different knee braces that don't address the area I need. So I took one more chance with this one since it has those two middle supports designed for the patella. And it worked for my back center injury!!!! I'm so happy.

Obviously the doctor is the appropriate next step but we all know when dealing with knees it means either bed ridden or surgery. And I'm choosing neither. I'd rather take it easy and enjoy the season and life and deal with it later. I'm 45. May not have many good seasons left. Thanks to this brace I can keep riding. (I am not a doctor and not suggesting you choose a brace over medical examination)

Great brace does what it says it will do in the review. I suspect I have a meniscus injury from a hockey game, but when I wear this brace (along with a sleeve) I don't feel any discomfort or pain AT ALL in my day-to-day tasks. I have to move around a lot and pull 50 lbs or more behind me throughout the day, and I can do so
because of this brace. Like I said, there is literally no pain or discomfort when this thing is on. I highly recommend.

I'm almost a little afraid I'm going to jinx myself for posting a "rave" review, but I just knocked on wood, so here it is! If you don't feel like reading my whole spiel, the bottom line is that this brace is FANTASTIC for lateral support!

A LITTLE BACKGROUND TO EXPLAIN MY FANATICISM ABOUT THIS BRACE:
I have a condition called "general joint laxity," which means that almost all of the joints in my body are "looser" than they should be. In most places on the body, this is a neutral or even good thing, but NOT when it comes to the knees. I frequently (at least twice per month) dislocate the knee I had the ACL repaired on over a decade ago, which can happen at any time, often without warning, from a variety of causes, sometimes even from something as mild as sitting incorrectly on the floor or going down stairs. My point is, for me to be an active person in any regard, I need to have reliable support in the knee area, to keep my joint safe and my mind at ease enough for me to get the job done.

COMFORT:
I've tried A LOT of braces, and have gone through the tedious tasks of getting special orthopedic fittings, often to get little or no relief from this issue (or at least, not enough to put my mind at ease), so I'm always leery of trying a new brace. I recently started running again and decided to try this one because of it's impressive amount and quality of reviews, and was very excited by how well it works for me. Most braces are extremely unforgiving and uncomfortable, causing excess heat and sweat which often is accompanied by a rash; however, this one is comfortable enough that I actually forget I'm wearing it most of the time, and is easy enough to adjust that if it does start to feel uncomfortable, I can quickly and easily shift it around to make it feel better. Part of the reason it's so much gentler on the skin is because of a kind of silky hidden sleeve that is sewn into the inside of the brace (you can't really see it in the picture), which doesn't make it slide around, but does protect your skin from the scratchiness of the outer material. It's designed so that it accomplishes more with less fabric and leg-coverage, too, which is a big plus.

SUPPORT:
This by far has the BEST support of any knee brace I've tried, and it's made even better by how adaptable it is. Because of my anatomical abnormality, I need varying strengths of support in VERY specific points on my knee, which has often been a challenge as most braces have only a small range in which the straps will fasten/adhere correctly (and these never line up the way I really need them to.) Since this brace has straps coming from both sides, I can focus the support on the outside of my knee where I need it most, and still have a good amount of support on the inner side of the knee without making it extremely difficult to bend and move well; I especially love that the two skinnier straps go around the outside, because I can cross them over one another to make the fit tighter. This cross design also allows me to put the opening in just the right place on my kneecap (which is slightly to the outside), where most other braces I've tried don't fit correctly unless you center the hole right over the knee cap. The other brilliant thing about the design is that the entire surface of the brace is Velcro-y, so you can literally stick the straps ANYWHERE on the front to get the perfect fit everywhere on and around the kneecap, instead of being forced into one or two configurations that may or may not work for your leg. The one warning I will give is that it will take a couple of tries to find the "sweet spot" since their is so much flexibility with it, so start slow until you figure out where to put everything, how tight to pull the straps, etc. I'll also say that my knees are in need of lateral support, because my condition is often exacerbated by torque on the joint rather than impact, so I'm not sure how the brace will perform for other situations.

QUALITY:
I haven't had the brace long, but it's already holding up better than most I've tried. Many other braces will have the Velcro all fuzzy on the soft side and not sticking as well on the hard side after just a few uses, but this one appears to be stronger. Since it is so small in surface area and light, it also doesn't retain as much sweat and is easier to wash/air out, which keeps it from deteriorating due to excess moisture (this also keeps it from taking on that terrible "gym bag" smell, too.) The seams are sturdy and the straps are very solid, and they are stretchy enough but not overly so, so the integrity of the shape isn't easily compromised; everything on it is well-reinforced, and the fabric is of a high quality. To be honest though, even if the brace falls apart sooner than I'd like (which I seriously doubt), I will probably continue to purchase them because of what a good job they do while they are in good shape. It's quite a bargain, especially for someone who has to find one that's JUST RIGHT to make it worth it!

I sprained both MCLs a few months ago and after graduating from the immobilizer this is the brace I've used most. It works really well - the side stays offer support with being rigid, the liner is nice to keep the straps from cutting in, it's infinitely adjustable, four straps mean customizable firm support. I didn't find that it fit under jeans, but it does fit under loose pants, which are more comfortable for me right now anyway.

Two caveats, one major and one minor. The major is that my physical therapist wanted me out of any brace when sitting for an extended period of time, so I took the braces on and off a lot, probably six or more times per day. The velcro starts out great but it wears out fast at that rate. I think I've owned something like five pairs of these in three months, which starts to get expensive enough I wish I'd just gotten something fancier that would last. The minor caveat is related, which is that each pair fit a little differently. I don't think the quality control is that great in terms of size. But it wasn't critical due to the adjustment of the velcro.

So this brace is great in terms of functionality, but it's probably better for someone who wears it just for a specific activity, or wears it constantly, than if you need to take it on and off a lot.

I've also used the McDavid hinged brace and their knee sleeves, and so far those seem more suitable for a frequent on/off situation, but one is not as comfortable and the other not as supportive. So I am still using these as well in spite of the caveats.