Soft Parts EVA foam padding

[silvershadow]

Been awhile since I've posted here so I wasn't sure where else to ask so thought soft armor would be best.

I'm currently finishing up my Iron Man MK VI suit and have opted to use EVA foam as padding. However, I'm not sure how much I need.

If anyone knows approximately how many square feet of foam is needed to pad an entire suit then I'd appreciate it and wil probably save some money as well!

 

[Psquiddy]

To be honest, you might have the wrong type of foam. EVA foam is high-impact foam designed for taking the full weight of your body (Or in some cases cars) and isn't the best type of foam for padding. EVA foam is hard, rough, and takes a lot of weight to bend or depress to be efficient at anything. I suggest EVA foam for suit building and suit buffering (Filling in spaces between the body and the suit [make it fit better]) The best type of foam you could use for padding is Egg-crate foam or some similar type of impact foam. You usually buy it in shaped squares, and if you put it in a rudimentary pouch it should pad the suit very well.

Here are some links for products best fit for impact padding;

http://www.thefoamfactory.com/opencellfoam/supersoft.html

 

[Cadena]

So i was watching the making of Chief's suit on the behind the scenes of Forward Unto Dawn , and they said they use a hybrid EVA foam/rubber undersuit. So how would this work if EVA is so hard? Whats an alternative to EVA?

 

[drack]

I used a batch of cheap kitchen sponges, simple

 

[TK3350]

Are you talking that EVA craft foam for interiors? I'm thinking to pad my suit with a few layers of glued together 1mm craft foam. (known as EVA foam around here). It gives for a very smart look and very clean also. I don't know about comfrot though. And theres NO sweat absorption though.

 

[Jason 078]

So i was watching the making of Chief's suit on the behind the scenes of Forward Unto Dawn , and they said they use a hybrid EVA foam/rubber undersuit. So how would this work if EVA is so hard? Whats an alternative to EVA?

You misunderstood. The armor itself was made of EVA foam, but not like we do. They actually molded the armor he was wearing and poured liquid EVA foam into the mold to get the armor. A completely different beast from using EVA foam as a "pepakura" project. And, it was just for the armor. The undersuit was more of a rubberized wetsuit than straight rubber. Think the Batman costumes from Keaton to Kilmer.

EVA isn't really hard. It is solid, but bends. Um, case in point. Watch the Obi-Wan/Jango fight scene in Attack of the Clones. In the end, when Jango is on the edge of the slope. Look at his armor as he is moving around. It is bending slightly. That is EVA foam. It looks hard, but it bends. Also, it can take a bit of a beating and is cheap to replace. That is why it is such a good medium for armor.

 

[TK3350]

Where did you get all of this wisdom o Great one?

Btw on a side note Jason, I'm going through your pai blog tutorial thiny right now! Owns! Just needs pics! That'd be very helpfull.