Closed-cell foam

Closed cell foam is one of the three main types of foam, along with Open cell foam and Foam rubber. Closed cell foam is the most commonly used foam in foamsmithing, being the primary foam used in boxing, blading, incidental padding, shield padding (and coreless shields) and pommels.

Types and uses of closed-cell foam

• Blue Camp Pad - used for most basic weapon construction
• Pipe Insulation - used for simple courtesy padding and other uses.
• Boogie Board - used for the "core" of some "coreless" punch shields
• Evalite - a superior and more expensive alternative to blue camp pad
• Polyethylene - related to evalite, the foam used in Edhellen weapons
• Fun Noodle - a terrible foam with few uses and no durability

The nature of closed-cell foam

In Closed-Cell Foam, most of the cells or bubbles in the foam are not broken; they resemble inflated balloons or soccer balls, piled together in a compact configuration. This makes it strong or rigid because the bubbles are strong enough to take a lot of pressure, like the inflated tires that hold up an automobile. The cells are full of a special gas, selected to make the insulation value of the foam as high as possible. Closed-cell foam has varying degrees of hardness, depending its density.