Foam: EVA vs L200 vs XLPE

[RichLather]

I'm in the organizing phase for a near-future Iron Man build (i.e. pricing out materials so that it can be done without immolating my wallet) and I've come to a quandary with regards to which foam I want to use.

I've considered the diamond-plate EVA anti-fatigue mats that folks have used in the past, but am now scared off by the bubbles and voids in the non-textured surface that some users have noted.

The "Foamies" sheets that craft stores carry may be my go-to material for scaling parts to fit my body shape.

L200 foam is a definite front runner, and Foammart has 48" x 72" (1/4" thickness) sheets in black or white available for about $42 including US shipping.

But now I'm looking at XLPE foam (cross-linked polyethylene), which sounds like it's very similar if not identical to L200 foam, and I can find that for $22 white, $27 red for the same size sheet. Shipping's a little less too.

Thoughts on XLPE vs L200? I'm trying to find a local foam supplier so that I can negate the shipping cost, but not having much luck yet.

 

[RichLather]

No one has an opinion? Should I try this on the props section of the forum?

 

[Talisen]

Never heard of the bottom 2 options. I made Mass Effect armor with EVA and used foamies for some of the detailing. The stuff that you can't tell until you've worked with it is whether it can be formed and shaped like EVA with a heat gun.

 

[Shades]

I prefer Eva over L200. L200 is too low density and floppy. Eva holds shape much better.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[RichLather]

One of the reasons for asking about L200 vs XLPE is that L200 is itself a cross-linked (XL) polyethylene (PE) foam. I was curious as to whether they're one and the same.

 

[Bob McCormick]

The voids and bubbles in the anti-fatigue mats aren't a huge deal. I filled mine in with a flexible painters caulk (DAP DynaFlex 230), which worked out great. Kind of a tedious process though. My biggest problem with the anti-fatigue mats is the rubbery diamond texture on the "top" side. It makes it difficult to clue two sheets together in layers. It's possible, but because of the diamond texture you'll have gaps that you need to fill in with caulk or something. Here is an example of both the holes in the foam, and the gaps you get with an overlap of two pieces of foam:


I'm am going to try to get a sample of L200, or see if I can find a place to order "Foamy" quality foam in different thicknesses before my next costume project, but if I can't find anything better to order or if I didn't have time to special order something I wouldn't be averse to using the anti-fatigue mat foam again. It definitely worked out fine.

 

[RichLather]

Your points are exactly why I, as a future foam rookie, want to avoid those diamond-plate mats. I'd rather have smooth foam on both sides to carve into.

 

[Dragonmaster525]

I believe L200 and XLPE are the same foam. I have used similar foam before, and it is a little less dense than the EVA foam mats I have bought from Harbour Freight.