EvoShield is an American brand that specializes in
protective gear
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...
. Some of EvoShield products are wrist guards, elbow guards, as well as rib and heart protectors for the sports of
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
,
,
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
and
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
.
EvoShield patented the "Gel-to-Shell" technology, a material that reacts with elements in the air and turns the product from a soft, moldable material to a hard and durable shell. In October 2016, the company was acquired by
Wilson Sporting Goods
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. The company has been a subsidiary of Finnish multinational company Amer Sports since 1989, and is, in turn, now under the Chinese Anta Sport ...
Co., a subsidiary of
Amer Sports Corporation. Wilson currently manufactures and sells high performance gloves, bats, uniforms, apparel, protective gear, accessories, and player development equipment and training tools through its Wilson Ball Glove, Louisville Slugger,
DeMarini
DeMarini Sports, Inc. is an American manufacturer of sports equipment headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. The company is known for producing baseball and softball bats and batting gloves.As well as getting baseball company of the y ...
and
ATEC
Atec, Inc. specializes in the design, manufacture, construction and maintenance of precision components, large fabrications, systems and facilities. Atec provides solutions for low to medium volume requirements involving engine test, aero support ...
brands. The Company markets and sells EvoShield-branded products through its baseball and softball business unit. Wilson will market and sell EvoShield as a stand-alone brand, similar to how it is sold today.
History
EvoShield was established in 2006 under the name All Sports Armour. Initial expertise was derived from a chemist, a cardiologist, and a group of former collegiate and professional athletes. After two years of extensive research, design, field and lab testing, the founders released their impact-dispersing protection to the public in 2007. Products are widely available at such sporting goods retailers as
Dick's Sporting Goods
Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized as "DICK'S Sporting Goods") is an American sporting goods retail company, based in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The company was established by Richard "Dick" Stack in 1948, and has approximately 854 stores an ...
,
The Sports Authority
Sports Authority, Inc. (formerly The Sports Authority) was an American sports retailer. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commerce platform and supported the reta ...
,
Hibbett Sports
Hibbett Sports, Inc. is an American publicly traded holding company for Hibbett Sporting Goods, a full line sporting goods retailer headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. As of January 29, 2022, the company operated approximately 1,096 retail st ...
,
Sport Chalet
Sport Chalet was a sporting goods chain with 47 stores in Southern & Northern California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. Most stores were over in size, with many including dive pools and offering SCUBA classes. Sport Chalet stores usually featured la ...
, and
Academy Sports and Outdoors among others.
Technology
EvoShield's protective shields are made of a unique porous composite material that hardens with exposure to air. As the shields harden, they form to the shape of the athlete's body, creating a custom fit protective guard. The material begins soft and flexible, but the chemical components inside the gel-like pads begin to harden when the shields are removed from the foil bag. In about 20–30 minutes, the once soft pad transforms into a hard and protective guard that is permanently molded to the desired shape.
Results from intensive impact deformation testing have shown that EvoShield products disperse the force of impact better than EVA foam and hard plastic, the most common materials found in sports protection. The results, shown below, are measures of backface deformation. Backface deformation is the effect of a non-penetrating projectile on the rear face of a strike plate. It essentially measures how far an object is allowed to protrude against a protective surface. The extent of allowable deformation set by NIJ is 44 mm.”
[Erwin, Sandra.Army’s Procedures for Testing Body Armor Stir Controversy. NDIA, 2009.]
Bibliography
* Erwin, Sandra I. "Army's Procedures for Testing Body Armor Stir Controversy." NDIA's Business and Technology Magazine. NDIA, Oct. 2009. Web. 21 July 2011.
.
* Rovell, Darren. "Evoshield Gets Big Buzz before It Hits Stores." CNBC.com. CNBC, 1 Nov. 2010. Web. 21 July 2011. .
* Southern Impact Research Center, LLC, comp. Rep. no. R3442. Print.
References
External links
*
{{Sports equipment brands
Wilson Sporting Goods
Manufacturing companies based in Georgia (U.S. state)
Privately held companies based in Georgia (U.S. state)
American companies established in 2006
Clothing companies established in 2006
Clothing brands of the United States
Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States