HexPad is a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

ed technology that provides a lightweight padding system applied directly to performance fabric. This method of padding is used in many sports but most visible in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

Construction

Hexpad uses high quality closed cell athletic foam padding, the same padding density and impact resistance that is used in pads for American football and other impact sports. Hexpad is lightweight allowing for greater coverage and comfort than traditional padding systems. The spaces between the cells allow moisture movement and breathability for temperature regulation.

Types

There are two types of HexPad available: HexPad Dual Density (DD), and HexPad Mono Cellular (MC). HexPad Dual Density (14mm thick) is designed specifically for higher impact sports. HexPad DD is made up of larger Hex shaped pads than HexPad MC, with two layers, an outer layer of harder

durometer The Shore durometer is a device for measuring the hardness of a material, typically of polymers. Higher numbers on the scale indicate a greater resistance to indentation and thus harder materials. Lower numbers indicate less resistance and soft ...

and softer inner durometer layer. HexPad Mono Cellular (9mm thick) is the standard in sports protection and is made up of independently positioned hex shaped pads.

Notable users

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champi ...

and Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat first adopted the technology in basketball. Famous players who use this technology for protection against body-to-body contact and body-to-ground contact include

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson (; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions. Iver ...

, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

. In the NFL, a custom HexPad shoulder protector was created for Drew Brees when he returned from surgery.

References

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External links

More information available at mcdavidusa.com

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