A Matter of Materials

If you ask an orthotist or pedorthist their secret to success, you'll hear multiple answers; good planning, hard work, accurate biomachanical analysis, but each one will pounce at the opportunity to share why their materials selections are the reason their devices work better and last longer than their competition.  Materials, strictly speaking, are the reason a device works or fails.  And by device, i mean a particular effect produced by an element included in the construction of the orthotic.
Example: an external rearfoot post is a device that can be made from cork, plastic, eva, pedic foam, and virtually anything else that can be glued and ground.  What SHOULD be used? Well, in a clinic, that's where a professional exam comes in.  But oftentimes, the orthotics lab that fabricates the orthotic for a healthcare professional uses the same material for every post they make regardless of the orthotics' intended use.  (That's either management's decision to cut costs by stocking only certain materials or the fabricator having a myopic view of the materials available to choose from or simply not having access to the materials themselves.) 
I change my materials based on the needs of the client and by offering 4 different comfort styles, the person ordering on-line has the ability to determine which version is the best fit for them.  They can be relieved knowing that no matter what style they choose, the coverings and paddings will be the most comfortable and effective for that particular use.

Materials used in the pads and covers of every single orthotic I make include, but are not limited to:

X-Static
Neoprene
Uco-Lite
PPT
Poron
Slow Recovery Poron
Recoil
EVA Heavy durometer
EVA Cloud Light durometer
Plastazote
Teflon

And others...many others.  These are the finest covering and padding materials available to the industry.  When new ones apear on the market and I feel they are appropriate to use them, I will.