The foam and carbon "Sandwich" used inside a Vaughn Ve8 Chesty

[Rogie]

I don't know of others may be interested in this but I did a little surgery on my Vaughn chesty and discovered just what layers of foam are actually being used, and most interestingly, what Vaughn means when they say "Carbon reinforced".   I'll start by saying I'm a long time Vaughn chesty fan (and still wear them) so I'm not bashing here, just sharing what I found in case others may be interested to know what's inside, protecting them.

Here's the model I'm referring to:

So this got started when I decided to remove about an inch and a half or so from the lower right and left hip of the chesty to keep it from sliding up when I get into a low crouch.  Basically, I just wanted to trim the two blocks in the lowest row on each side.

 

Here's what the "foam sandwich" looks like inside:

 

You can see there's super soft low density foam at the bottom (which rests against your body) and it progressively gets more dense as you move up (outward on the chesty).  The yellowish fabric appears to be Kevlar. I was surprised that it was sandwiched in the middle. I thought it would be used toward the top (toward pucks) to prevent cuts. I guess it's just being used for strength and structure in this application.  The thin black pieces toward the top are the carbon fiber.

 

Here are all of the layers arranged separately:

It's actually a reasonably thick sandwich and there are a lot of various foam densities working together.  I was really curious about the carbon so I peeled back the foam "blocks" to see how thick it was and how much it bends. I was thinking that each block would have a pretty stiff (inflexible) piece of carbon inside. Nope. Super thin and flexy. The carbon measured about 0.7mm using a caliper.

Here's a short video demonstrating just how flexible it is. This certainly keeps the pieces from cracking when receiving a hard shot, and it's definitely lightweight, but it made me wonder if this is really helping much with protection, or if it's really just a marketing gimmick.  

 

In case you're wondering, all of this was easy to cut using everyday scissors—including the carbon fiber.  I wonder if any of these foam layers are considered "beefed up" or if this is just the standard layering.  Usually only the arms and floaters get beefed up and I have to admit, I've never been bruised or felt any shots significantly in the lower part of the chest using this model.

If you've done similar surgery on your chesty, it would be cool if you posted photos for comparison.

 

[Chenner29]

13 hours ago, Rogie said:

In case you're wondering, all of this was easy to cut using everyday scissors—including the carbon fiber.  I wonder if any of these foam layers are considered "beefed up" or if this is just the standard layering.  Usually only the arms and floaters get beefed up and I have to admit, I've never been bruised or felt any shots significantly in the lower part of the chest using this model.

If you've done similar surgery on your chesty, it would be cool if you posted photos for comparison.

Very cool post, thanks for sharing.

I believe the gray units like the one you have pictured here were retail stock.  Some retailers (ie. The Goalie Crease, Goalie Monkey) ran SMU models with reinforced arms.

[Puckstopper]

The carbon doesn't have to be rigid to to it's job in this application.  In fact, I'd argue that with such a thin layer, the wearer is safer with it not being rigid in case the piece shatters on impact.   Tiny brittle carbon fibers poking through the back of my chest protector sound really annoying.     

The goal of it is to add just a little extra structure to the foam blocks and extend the life of the unit.   An added marginal benefit is that it probably helps disperse the impact a little better, but looking at the "sandwich" that function is primarily being performed by the outer layer of foam. 

Honestly, I've been astonished at how basic every piece of gear I've ever opened up looks.  We're not really paying for state of the art materials in most cases, but rather the knowledge of how to put them together, the tools and machinery to do the assembly, and the craftsmen to use the tools correctly.  

[RichMan]

Wait till Elon Musk gets involved. Then NASA will answer back with their own version and next thing you know Miklin will be joining with the Russian space program and all hell will break loose  

[Rogie]

13 hours ago, Puckstopper said:

Honestly, I've been astonished at how basic every piece of gear I've ever opened up looks.  We're not really paying for state of the art materials in most cases, but rather the knowledge of how to put them together, the tools and machinery to do the assembly, and the craftsmen to use the tools correctly.  

I think I you nailed it. And for the most part, it works. 
 

But It is astonishing, given the crazy advances in material science (like D3O), that more of it isn’t showing up in goalie gear.  What we still see is mostly the same stuff that’s been used for decades, just rearranged. 

[Puckstopper]

8 hours ago, Rogie said:

But It is astonishing, given the crazy advances in material science (like D3O), that more of it isn’t showing up in goalie gear.  What we still see is mostly the same stuff that’s been used for decades, just rearranged. 

I agree, but I always try to remember that there's a tradeoff in everything.   New materials are cool, but they cost more and you have to learn to use them in the most efficient manner possible.   Another factor is that release of a line of gear lags so far behind the completion of it's design.    CCM is almost certainly done with the design for XF2 (or whatever it'll be called) and well into the production of dies, prefab foam components, etc... for it.   They're probably also to the point in design where they'd have to think long and hard if it was worth it to incorporate some new material into the EF7, and we won't see that pad until 2026!  So that means that if the R/D department makes a breakthrough today, we probably don't get it until 2027.  Being smaller I'm sure Brian's and Vaughn can be a little more responsive, but with the big guys it's pretty safe to assume that today's new hotness is actually a 2-3 year old design.  

I'm just glad to see those new materials making inroads into our masks.   Things like Poron, D30, CCM's 3D printed nest liner, etc... are all making our heads safer than they were 30 years ago when I was wearing a Cooper helmet.   Maybe the next generation of goalies won't be so crazy.  

Edited August 13 by Puckstopper

[RichMan]

7 hours ago, Puckstopper said:

I agree, but I always try to remember that there's a tradeoff in everything.   New materials are cool, but they cost more and you have to learn to use them in the most efficient manner possible.   Another factor is that release of a line of gear lags so far behind the completion of it's design.    CCM is almost certainly done with the design for XF2 (or whatever it'll be called) and well into the production of dies, prefab foam components, etc... for it.   They're probably also to the point in design where they'd have to think long and hard if it was worth it to incorporate some new material into the EF7, and we won't see that pad until 2026!  So that means that if the R/D department makes a breakthrough today, we probably don't get it until 2027.  Being smaller I'm sure Brian's and Vaughn can be a little more responsive, but with the big guys it's pretty safe to assume that today's new hotness is actually a 2-3 year old design.   

I'm just glad to see those new materials making inroads into our masks.   Things like Poron, D30, CCM's 3D printed nest liner, etc... are all making our heads safer than they were 30 years ago when I was wearing a Cooper helmet.   Maybe the next generation of goalies won't be so crazy.  

Kirk at Warrior has expressed this a few times already. New releases aren't under the gun to reach the public, they take time for testing and to check as many boxes as possible. 

[wigalicous]

Thanks for showing this. Very cool to see.