Types of cushioning technology in the midsole of sports shoes

Date：2023-03-16 14:40:59

From the point of view of sports and the feeling of human movement, sports shoes with cushioning effect are more comfortable to wear than those without cushioning effect.
Biomechanical studies also show that the main function of sports shoes is their cushioning effect. If sports shoes do not have the support of cushioning technology, people will suffer from the impact of the ground when running sports, which can cause serious leg injuries.
Therefore, sports shoes manufacturers invented cushioning technology, mainly used in the midsole part of the shoe, also called midsole cushioning technology.
In general, cushioning technology can be divided into two main categories: mechanical cushioning and material cushioning.

I. Mechanical cushioning

Mechanical cushioning, also known as structural cushioning, through the unique midsole structure, the use of harder materials to achieve the cushioning effect, the cushioning principle is through the deformation of the structure to absorb the impact energy. For example, the arch, wave-shaped hard material, and air cushion, all belong to mechanical cushioning.
Compared to the material cushioning that relies on the soft material's own elasticity to achieve cushioning, mechanical cushioning is less likely to collapse and deformation due to the passage of time, thus avoiding the weakening of the cushioning effect, loss.
In combination, mechanical cushioning has a more even performance and longer life, but the disadvantage is that it is relatively heavy.
Therefore, athletic shoe manufacturers invented cushioning technology, mainly used in the midsole part of the shoe, also called midsole cushioning technology.
In general, cushioning technology can be divided into two main categories: mechanical cushioning and material cushioning.

I. Mechanical cushioning

Mechanical cushioning, also known as structural cushioning, through the unique midsole structure, the use of harder materials to achieve the cushioning effect, the cushioning principle is through the deformation of the structure to absorb the impact energy. For example, the arch, wave-shaped hard material, and air cushion, all belong to mechanical cushioning.
Compared to the material cushioning that relies on the soft material's own elasticity to achieve cushioning, mechanical cushioning is less likely to collapse and deformation due to the passage of time, thus avoiding the weakening of the cushioning effect, loss.
Overall, the performance of mechanical cushioning is more average performance and longer life, but the disadvantage is relatively heavy.

2. foamed EVA

EVA is the English acronym for ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer, is a random copolymer composed of non-polar, crystalline ethylene monomer and strongly polar, non-crystalline vinyl acetate monomer (also known as VA).
EVA in the shoe midsole has a very wide range of applications, EVA foam midsole has a soft, flexible, good chemical resistance and other properties, the disadvantage is to wear a long time will collapse. In order to improve its performance, usually add different modifiers for compound foam. There are so many styles of EVA foam shoe midsoles, basically every brand will have.

3. other cushioning materials

GEL cushioning gel: Asics GEL cushioning gel is the black technology of the cushioning world, there are many test experiments on its cushioning ability, such as eggs dropped from more than a dozen meters to the GEL pad unscathed, GEL gel wrapped around a ceramic plate wild knock not broken and so on.

Nylon elastomer: This material is considered to be the lightest thermoplastic elastomer, its synthesis threshold is high, production capacity is basically concentrated in the hands of large foreign manufacturers (such as Arkema), so the price is relatively expensive, mainly used in high-end running shoes, hiking boots, ski boots and so on.

OBCs elastomer: This is a polyolefin block elastomer from Dow, which can be seen as a special POE. it has applications in EVA composite footwear as a modifier, and can also be used as the main component, such as UA's HOVR technology, which first appeared on the running shoes Phantom and Sonic in early 2018.

P4U material: this P4U material was first publicly applied on the shoe material is Pique's state pole technology, which has the ability to change its own functional properties according to changes in the state of human movement. This easily makes people think of non-Newtonian fluids, but in fact it is not exactly a non-Newtonian fluid.