Which Foams Work?

[Craig Peters]

Hello all,

I am looking into trying to find as many different distributors of foam for padded weapons so that ARMA members need not have difficulty acquiring foam in their area.

What I need to know is exactly what types of foam will work for these weapons. I know that the ARMA page on padded weapon construction mentions Landau and L2000. Are there other types that work?

Some of the other foams that I have found listed as closed cell foams:

Polyolefin
Polystyrene (EPS)
Polyethelyne
L200
Volara
Minicel
Neoprene
2 LB Density Urethane Foam (Marine Foam)
4 LB Denisty Urethane Foam
High Density Urethan Foam

Do any of these work?

Please, if you are not a member of the ARMA or have not sparred regularly with padded weapons as well as attending a NTP or seminar, do not respond! I'd like to hear only from those people who know what they are talking about.

Thanks

[Craig Peters]

Stewart, does the crosslinked stuff work okay, or is it too thick?

So far, the EVA stuff, L2000 and Landau padding works. Does anything else off my list work?

And, for the record, what's the difference between L200 and L2000 foam?

[Craig Peters]

Thanks Stewart.

Does anyone know about any of the other foams I have listed in my first post?

[Jared L. Cass]

Hi, I just just recieved my order of L200 Minicel (minicel is the brand name) from this place: www.foambymail.com I ordered a 1"x24"x48" piece. It will definently work for sparring weapons! The dimensions will allow me to split/divide the foam into just about any thickness required...thus doubling the ammount of matereal that's actually here. Now, just gotta' wait for Jeanray's (sorry, I know I've misspelled your name) padded weapon design/construction instructions. <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

The price wasn't really too bad for an individual. A study group should be able to pool their funds and reduce the price per person prety well. The shipping from this company was real quick (ordered on monday recieved today, wednsday). My only complaint was the shippin and handling fee, $10. That seems a bit much for something that weighs next to nothing and wasn't a package any bigger than a rolled up sleeping bag. Again, this cost wouldn't be noticed at all if more than one guy did the ordering/purchasing.

Hope this helps.

Jared L. Cass, ARMA Associate, Wisconsin

[Craig Peters]

Thanks Jared, it's good to know that another type of foam will work for the weapons. Incidently, you might notice that a bunch of the items from my list of closed cell foams come from that website... <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

[JeanryChandler]

For flats I reccomend this stuff called "microcell puff" (I assume thats a brand name) which I get from a company called ACOR. I get 1/8" sheets of 36 x 30 for about $10, plus shipping. Thats enough to make about 3-4 swords. It is very firm and strong but soft enough to absorb impact efficiently. It's used for orthopedic shoe inserts. The company is available at www.acor.com.

I use that for the flats and the regular 1/2" blue camping pad stuff for the center. This makes a sandwich where the acor foam protects the camping pad stuff from being crushed but the combination makes it softer on a very hard impact.

On a related note, the cores I use are Schedule 80 PVC. All PVC pipe in the USA is marked with a "Schedule" rating, the range I have seen is from 20 to 80, with 40 being the most common. It will say SCH followed by a number along the side of the pipe, you can read the printed writing on the side of the pipe to know what type it is. Sch 80 is also dark blueish - gray wheras the Sch 40 is usually white. (Don't confuse it with the gray electrical conduit though!). Sch 80 is usually only available at specialist plumbing supply companies but our local LOWES outlet started carrying it recently as well, in convenient 36" and 48" sections.

The 1/2" guage is sufficiently rigid for single swords, and the 3/4" is good for longswords. Anything over 45" or so should use 1"

JR

[Craig Peters]

Hmm... I'll keep that in mind Jeanry. So far, the other ARMA members have pretty positive things to say about your padded weapons. Has anyone had a chance to "put them to the test" so to speak in ARMA free-sparring? If so, can I add the foam Jeanry mentioned to our list?

[Craig Peters]

Stewart,

In your estimation, would it be worth including webpages that sell camping foam or not?

[Craig Peters]

I guess, but it needs to have a disclaimer that it is not the preferred foam. It does not absorb impact as well as EVA or Landau does

Perhaps then, in order to maintain the ARMA's high standard of quality in everything it does, I will not include camping foam distributors on the list.