Source for Evazote foam for hipbelt & shoulder straps?

[Doug Coe]

I’ve just spent quite a bit of time searching BPL and the WWW, but no luck. I’d like to use Evazote foam for a hipbelt and shoulder straps for a pack I’m starting. I’m thinking 1/2″ for the hipbelt and 3/8″ for the shoulder straps.

Anyone know where I could get that online? In the USA?

Also, what density would you recommend? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Hi Doug,

I just ordered a bunch of 1/2″ thick EVA, medium density foam.  If you can use pieces 24″ or shorter, I don’t mind sending you out some for free. I’m going to have a lot.  Just do a PIF to someone else at some point.

It’s supposed to arrive this Thursday, so I could have some sent out to you this coming Friday.

[Doug Coe]

Hi Justin,

That’s a really nice offer! The pieces I need are longer than 24″, so I’ll pass on it, but thanks just the same.

Btw, where did you find it?

[Ralph Burgess]

https://www.foamorder.com/foam/closed-cell-foam.html

[Anonymous]

Hi Doug, the stuff I bought was this:

It says “high density” on the description, but reading many of the reviews leads me to think it’s probably better described as a medium density as it definitely has/allows some noticeable squish/compression.

Contact cement works very well for EVA foam, so theoretically, you could bond two pieces together to get a longer piece.

I’ve looked at the site that Ralph linked, before. The shipping tends to be somewhat high with them, typically 30 to 70 dollars if ordering a full sized sheet.   However, sometimes they have clearance deals which are pretty good and sell smaller pieces at discount, which usually cost a bit less to ship.

[Daryl and Daryl]

I’ve been using this lately.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-Corning-FoamSealR-3-1-2-in-x-50-ft-Multi-Use-Ridged-Sill-Plate-Gasket-1FS/202084452

Also comes in 5 1/2 inches.

[SIMULACRA]

True Evazote foam is hard to come by in the US. There are places online that I’ve come across that will offer “EVA” but is only their version of Evazote on closer inspection. Not sure of the comparable differences in quality and weight to these. Suluk46 used to offer Evazote but the shipping costs were so outrageous from Canada, he stopped offering it. Oware (bivysack.com) offers Plastizote in 20″x80″ and 40″x80″ sizes. It’s supposed to be less dense than Evazote but works great in my opinion for a mat and is still plenty light. Look up Zotefoams.com and compare the differences there. Plastizote might just work fine for you. All the Zotefoam lines offer differing densities within each lineup of themselves. So one Eva isn’t just the same as the next, as Plastizote…etc. One other thing to note. The orthopedic and health industry uses Plastizote over Evazote due to the higher toxicity levels and health warnings associated with Evazote.

[Doug Coe]

@simulacra

Yeah, I’ve had a hard time finding the real thing online. About the only place I’ve seen it for sale is at NorthShoreInc which is mentioned on the OutLiving blog.

It’s 1/4″ Evazote sold at $5.00/sq.ft. (not cheap). I don’t know what density it is. I might ask them.

I coud use two layers for the hipbelt and one layer for shoulder straps. I still like the idea of 3/8″ for shoulder straps…if I can find it.

Of course, the inspiration for using this type of foam comes from the master, Dan McHale.

[Anonymous]

What makes Evazote superior to other EVA based foams?  And if it is superior in general, how much so on average?

As far as toxicity, I just read this, “EVA is also used in biomedical engineering applications as a drug-delivery device. The polymer is dissolved in an organic solvent (such as dichloromethane). Powdered drug and filler (typically an inert sugar) are added to the liquid solution and rapidly mixed to obtain a homogeneous mixture. The drug-filler-polymer mixture is then cast into a mold at −80 °C and freeze-dried until solid. These devices are used in drug delivery research to slowly release a compound. The polymer does not biodegrade within the body, but is quite inert and causes little or no reaction following implantation.”

Sourced from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene-vinyl_acetate

If the actual EVA itself is relatively non toxic and very inert, then what else is in the foam that is worrisome?

[Doug Coe]

Justin—You lost me with that Wikipedia quote. I guess it means we shouldn’t ingest foam. Fine by me!

I don’t know how much better the Zote brand version of EVA is to other brands. I’m just going by having tried on a McHale pack briefly at the GGG before last (Nick Gatel’s). The hipbelt was dreamy!

[Doug Coe]

Does anyone know how the OWC FY20 foam compares to EVA or Evazote for comfort/squishiness?

[Anonymous]

Hi Doug, I was speaking to the below:

SIMULACRA earlier wrote, “One other thing to note. The orthopedic and health industry uses Plastizote over Evazote due to the higher toxicity levels and health warnings associated with Evazote.”

The interesting thing is that EVA, the use/inclusion of which is what makes certain foams considered “EVA foam” (and is what boosts UV durability, shearing and tensile strengths, etc), is already actually used directly inside human bodies, and is considered by mainstream western medicine at least, to be highly inert and non toxic.

So my question is, if it’s not the EVA in the EVA foams that is making these foams to be considered more toxic, then there must be something else in them that does so?  Or at least, that is where my logic train arrived.

I’m a curious and questioning kind of person by nature.

 

[Doug Coe]

Justin—Oh, OK, now I get what you were talking about.

Question on!

[David Chenault]

I’ve been using the foamorder.com stuff for a year. Good quality, limited types offered.

[Iago Vazquez]

I have used foambymail.com

No complaints buying from them

[Doug Coe]

Dave—Thanks. Which foam do you like best there?  The EVA?

[Doug Coe]

Iago—Which foam from there do you use? Is it the Minicel-T EVA? Thanks.

[Paul McLaughlin]

I have been happy with all of the FY20 that i have used in hipbelts and shoulder straps. Mostly 1/4 and 3/8.

[Iago Vazquez]

I have used their 1/4″ thick 2LB cross-linked polyethylene to supplement uninsulated pads in 3 season use and folded to give rigidity to frameless packs. Happy with it.

https://www.foambymail.com/XPE2/cross-linked-polyethylene-foam-2lb.html

[Doug Coe]

Paul and Iago—Thanks for the feedback.

[Iago Vazquez]

One of my initial concerns was weight before buying from foambymail.com

My 2LB density piece of cross linked polyethylene is cut to 44.5″ x 24.8″ x 0.25″ weighs about 4.8 oz in my cheap scale

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I bought some interlocking foam intended as floor cushioning (for if you have to stand in one place for a long time). It was really super cheap. I can’t remember if I got it at a hardware store or a dollar store. It was the perfect density for a hip belt and in fact, I used it to make a lumbar pad for my hip belt like the kind that Zpacks sells. It helps with my hip belt being a bit too large and also with how the frame on my Zpacks Arc Blast gave my bruises on my back. It works great. I don’t even notice it is there.

[Doug Coe]

Iago—Thanks for the weight info.

Diane—That’s great how well that worked out for you.

I think I’m going to go with the FY20 from OWF.

[SIMULACRA]

@arcturusbearv3-0

Justin W, it appears you are correct. Either my memory has failed me or I gathered a bad lead of advice while searching the internet on this subject last year.

Health and Safety Information:

http://azote.zotefoams.com/Asset/Data-SheetsTIS02.pdf

Toxicity Testing:

http://azote.zotefoams.com/Asset/Data-SheetsTIS20.pdf

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the info/update SIMULACRA.

[Author]

Posts