sambolino44
Contributor
I've been doing some casual internet research on neoprene and, like a lot of things, it looks like there's a lot of vague terminology, conflicting information, and commonly-misused words.
It seems to me that "compressed neoprene" is not ever really compressed in the way that I would imagine what that word would mean; by physically pressing it. From what I've been able to find out (which is not nearly as much as I'd like) they call it compressed because it exhibits the properties one would expect from regular neoprene if it actually was compressed; namely, smaller bubbles. In fact, I think the difference in process is why they came up with a different name for "crushed neoprene", which is actually squeezed between rollers.
But how do the bubbles get into neoprene in the first place? I know you can buy neoprene with no bubbles at all. I know a lot of materials are created through a combination of chemical and physical processes (for instance, add the catalyst and heat until it solidifies), but do the bubbles in neoprene come from a chemical reaction, like in swiss cheese, or do they actually blow bubbles into the liquid form of the material before it solidifies?
It seems that you can make neoprene with just about any combination of properties; density, bubble size and distribution, stretch, etc. If it isn't actually compressed, at what point do you call one formulation "compressed" and another standard?
I'm asking because I've been asked if my suit is made of "compressed neoprene", and I'd rather answer accurately than spread misinformation.
It seems to me that "compressed neoprene" is not ever really compressed in the way that I would imagine what that word would mean; by physically pressing it. From what I've been able to find out (which is not nearly as much as I'd like) they call it compressed because it exhibits the properties one would expect from regular neoprene if it actually was compressed; namely, smaller bubbles. In fact, I think the difference in process is why they came up with a different name for "crushed neoprene", which is actually squeezed between rollers.
But how do the bubbles get into neoprene in the first place? I know you can buy neoprene with no bubbles at all. I know a lot of materials are created through a combination of chemical and physical processes (for instance, add the catalyst and heat until it solidifies), but do the bubbles in neoprene come from a chemical reaction, like in swiss cheese, or do they actually blow bubbles into the liquid form of the material before it solidifies?
It seems that you can make neoprene with just about any combination of properties; density, bubble size and distribution, stretch, etc. If it isn't actually compressed, at what point do you call one formulation "compressed" and another standard?
I'm asking because I've been asked if my suit is made of "compressed neoprene", and I'd rather answer accurately than spread misinformation.