Question about 4# foam

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Question about 4# foam

Postby Sir Thurat » Sun Mar 17, 2013 7:04 pm

A question on 4# foam:

I'm doing an order from foamforyou.com, and I was considering buying a sheet of the 1/2" 4# MC they have there. Right now I'm using the Gold's Gym puzzle mats for my boxes (I route my fries), and it comes out to ~1.07/sqft, whereas the FFY 4# comes out to ~2X that (assuming $15 shipping cost with my other foam).

On my two reds (one 56" and one 51") both boxes are made on the Big Lots puzzle mat, and the tips are starting to fold over. I mean to say that the box tips have gone soft as well, and are destabilizing (both are stabbing, and I stab quite frequently).

So, my questions are these:
1) Is the tip going soft in ~6 months typical of all puzzle mat boxes?
2) Will I still see that in the FFY 4# as well?
3) Would those of you that have experience with the FFY 4# recommend it? Could you attest to its superior longevity?

Thanks for patiently reading my wall of text, and thank you in advance for your advice/assistance.

P.S. I've also noticed that the side walls of the puzzle mat tend to be quite a bit harder than the 4# fries I've handled (I believe Silly and Cas got them from Alric). Is this indicative of some flaw in the foam, or a sign of poor quality foam?
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Re: Question about 4# foam

Postby Celtic Christ » Sun Mar 17, 2013 8:09 pm

As far as question 1, I have a 64" claymore that i used the Harbor Freight floor mats to box. It's coming up on the year mark that I've been using it and it's held up remarkably well for it's size and weight. I use it as an extra weapon to change from spear so it sees regular but not extensive use. I haven't had to make any repairs other than the extra cushioning I put on my pommels. I'm not sure if that's helpful at all concerning how puzzle mat boxes hold up but it's my experience so far with it as a red core. It's a bit unorthodox as well for shape and weight so that may add a difference. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=265686063564284&set=pb.100003686779916.-2207520000.1363572306&type=3&theater
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Re: Question about 4# foam

Postby Sir Thurat » Fri Mar 22, 2013 11:04 am

Alric gave me a pretty good run down after I posted this:

Alric wrote:foamforyou.com sells a 4lb microcell, and I like it much more than the 4lb eva that's used for floor mats by Big Lots, Harbor Freight, etc.

It's more tear resistant, which is a really good thing - EVA foam tears terribly, and even the firmer 4lb mats have a tendency to rip when they're put under stress. I've seen a number of 4lb boxes that were shredded because the EVA, despite being very firm, couldn't survive the core. The microcell is noticeably better.

Also, it's firmer face-to-face than edge-to-edge. That means that the flats feel softer (which you noticed on Casimir and Silly's fries), but the foam is still very firm in the direction in which you're swinging. So you get the advantages of the 4lb without freaking out weapon checkers as much as EVA does.

It also routes really well, and of course comes in conveniently longer strips. The only downsize is that foamforyou doesn't actually stock it, so you have to wait a few weeks for them to request it from their supplier before they can ship to you.

I use 4lb eva for haft padding, because it doesn't get much serious stress there, so I opt for the cost savings. But I use 4lb microcell for everything else, now. It's twice as much as floor mat, but you're still talking about less than $1 extra per blade. It's worth that much more, definitely.
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