INDIANAPOLIS, IN, U.S.A., May 3, 2010: Men and boys who compete in sports as diverse as football, martial arts, and rodeo now can obtain the protection of an athletic cup without the discomfort of a conventional cup made of steel or rigid plastic, according to Supreme Athletic Wear LLC.
The companys new Spider Guard cup provides flexibility and ease of movement while enhancing protection through a unique concept of energy displacement and dissipation. One key to making this concept a reality is a Monprene thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) compound from Teknor Apex Company.
While the Spider Guard cup does have a rigid central polypropylene (PP) spine, the rest of the cup consists of a ribbed TPE enclosure that is soft and flexible while providing the rubber-like resilience needed to displace, absorb and dissipate the energy from frontal impacts to the PP component. The patented concept was developed by Supreme Athletic Wear founder Brian Kamradt, who is both a design engineer and a martial arts enthusiast. Kamradt said he selected Monprene TPE for the soft component because it adheres well to the PP substrate and is available in a translucent grade whose clarity further sets the Spider Guard cup apart from conventional products.
The TPE component was over-molded onto the PP spine by Engineered Medical Systems, Inc., also based in Indianapolis. Athletic cups are placed in the pouches of athletic supporters or compression shorts. Supreme Athletic Wear is targeting people in sports who until now have not worn rigid athletic cups because of their discomfort even when they have a soft lining or cushioning and because of their interference with lateral movement, according to Kamradt.
In any sport, you have to be agile, you have to be quick everyone is looking for an edge, said Kamradt, and that is why discomfort has been the biggest problem with conventional cups. Kids will not wear them, and some sports, like water polo, simply cant be played with them. In martial arts, if you get kicked or fall on a hard cup, you could actually get hurt because of it. More injuries are caused by the hard cup being forced into or crushing the wearer than by the actual impact.
The energy-displacement concept of the Spider Guard athletic cup is similar to that of the plastic crumple zone on an automobile bumper, which compresses in a collision, displacing and absorbing the energy of impact, according to Kamradt. He intends to apply the concept to other protective gear, such as shin guards, helmets, and shoulder pads.
SUPREME ATHLETIC WEAR LLC is headquartered at 782 Wedgefield Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46217 U.S.A. Tel: 1-317-294-4001. The firm is headed by two partners, Brian Kamradt and Jim Glasgow, both martial arts enthusiasts. Email: brian@spiderguardwebflex.com. Visit www.sawsports.com.
