Today you get to take a more in depth look at the protective material inside the new K18 padding. The material is d3o. D3o (dee-three-oh) is a specially engineered material made with intelligent molecules that harden on impact. They flow with you as you move but on shock lock together to absorb the impact energy.
Chemical engineer Richard Palmer set up his own business to create the substance, "which acts like silly putty in your hands, but stiffens up to absorb shocks and bumps whenever it’s hit". The actual procedure to development and produce the d3o padding is a meticulous process that involves concept design, detailed CAD/CAM, prototype tooling, real world testing, comparative testing and prototype casting.
The d3o lab works with many brands to produce innovative new products that frequently break the mold of traditional solutions to provide a totally new kind of product. STX is one of the first to utilize this technology. Together they have developed a large range of lacrosse products including elbow guards, gloves & shoulder pads all available in black, white, navy, red and royal blue. The products are all uniquely light, flexible and ergonomic, all made possible by the inclusion of d3o as the shock absorbing layer.
Visit d3o for more information on the innovative protective material.