Just received the order of internal elbow pads along some other First Tactical items and thought I would leave a detailed review. I haven't used them yet and I would guess the knee pads are the same build which were out of stock when I ordered.
The Build- Measuring the elbow pads without flattening them, are about 4 1/8" wide at the widest point and 9" long. The outside (away from your arm) is a firm layer coating on the foam, it's pliable but not hard or plastic like and will compress if pushed on. The inside (what is against your arm) has a mesh covering the foam which I would say is similar to what you would find in cycling/motocross gloves. The foam under the mesh is soft and compresses well but is not to soft. I kneeled on them and they felt comfortable and still had some padding, so being on the elbows they should give plenty of protection. When holding my arm straight they fit pretty well with only a small gap between the elbow and the pad, a relaxed arm sits nicely in the pad. When the arm is bent in all the way, the pad flexes nicely and conforms to the arm. Looking at the elbow pad on the outside it has three sections where it is made to flex. When bent the middle section (between the two half circle cutouts) of the elbow pad flares out while the upper and lower section stays against the arm.
There are plenty of holes for venting. Towards the sides of the pads the holes are somewhat restricted from the molding process but down the center there are 3 or 4 holes across that are open and all but the last set of venting holes are open inline with the arm. I rolled them up both directions, flattened them out, turned them inside out the opposite direction they are molded and stretched them in both directions (there isn't much stretch in them). They easily returned to their normal shape.
I will mention that I don't think that you would want to wear these right against your skin without something between the mesh. In a low crawl or moving on the elbows would rub the mesh against the arm and become uncomfortable. The mesh may soften up after use.
Having 20+ yrs as LEO, I've used several different knee pads from other popular companies, from both tactical and construction and first impression of this elbow pad is good. They look like they should be durable and will be comfortable to use.
After using them I will add to the review.