The Athletic Equipment Industry has continued to embrace product development to improve fitness since the early days of the Thighmaster. It’s with no surprise that soft surfaces would play an important role in that success as most consumers like to exercise but want to be comfortable while doing it. Foam materials have played a large role in that comfort – from vinyl covered polyurethane foam to my favorite – EVA molded foam.
Protection and Comfort for Athletes
EVA molded foam became popular in the 80’s and 90’s as the go-to material in athletic sports like football, baseball and hockey to offer protection and comfort in the form of padding, sizers and footwear. These materials were soft, lightweight and easily molded using simple tools. Soon these materials were being considered for personal fitness equipment and this would usher in advancements in technology to bring us Foam Injection Molding. Demands in performance to create products like Acumobility Ultimate Back Roller and HECOsix would solidify Injection Molded Foam as the performance leader.
Design High-Quality Sports Equipment with Molded Foam
The case for using Injection Molded Foam comes from durability and cleanability. This allowed products to last longer therefore providing more value to the user. Compared to cut fabricated foam, injection molded foam has a skinned surface which makes cleaning the surface simple. This process allows for high quality products that demand performance like the One World Futbol and Monkii 360. The One World Futbol seems virtually indestructible and lives a tough life playing in harsh conditions while the Monkii 360 takes at-home personal fitness to a new level and can resist the effects of cleaning with harsh disinfectants.
Creative Design for All Fitness Levels
Without molded foam, fitness products wouldn’t be where they are today. With a quick look around you can see that some of the most popular personal fitness tools are made with molded foam and PopFoam produces a wide segment of these products. From problem solving solutions like the soft-edge plyo box RooBox, to unique posture positioning tools like BackBon, PopFoam is used extensively in this category. The PopFoam process exclusively allows for complex shapes and deep undercuts – which are hallmarks of its process.
Support Recovery with EVA Foam Injection Molding
Furthermore, trends in fitness products have evolved around the capabilities of these manufacturing processes. Many products like The Orb massage ball, The RM Extreme roller massager and the Eclipse Foam Roller are designed and engineered to be made using PopFoam molded foam products.
The Fitness products industry is continuously evolving with new products being launched regularly. PopFoam is here to help make these new products the best that they can be. From design review to consumer ready production, contact us to find out if PopFoam molded foam is right for you.