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.

 



 

There must be something in your wardrobe that brings you joy, relaxation, and comfort in an article of clothing only you can see.  I have a nightshirt that began life as a vacation T-shirt, relegated to a bar-b-que weekend shirt relegated to a running shirt relegated to a carwashing rag.  Let me tell you there's very little that softens a cotton t-shirt better than agitation against a 10 year-old paint job with sun-warmed soapy hosewater.  A couple years later I found this shirt in a bucket in the garage, dried and hardend, and tossed it in the wash with some shop towels.  Fluffed in the dryer, this much used shirt has climbed back into the rotation as an exemplary sleepshirt that i care for and cherish.  But I would never let a soul see it other than my wife.  'Cause that bad boy is shredded, moldstained, and downright fugly!  But wearing it makes me feel like a prince in the fanciest silk pajamas. 
Not only does it feel good, it makes me feel good inside!
Orthotics are not seen by others inside your shoes.  Wearing a pair is a purely selfish indulgant action that gives you an edge over those around you in a boardroom or on a basketball court.  Over the years, you may stop wearing them but mine, you'll go back to time and again  because they never lose their cushy support: They'll always make you feel like royalty. 

I work in carbon fiber.  It's light, strong, and maintains a stiffness based on thickness that if tweaked juuuust right, provides a spring of energy return at the moment the proximal tibia advances over the toes.  It's not toe-off  i'm concerned with, it's the assistance of the body's COG to get forward.  By the time the heel is off the gound is too late.  But if I can help the heel to rise from the return of energy stored by pronation in the mid-foot, my mission has been accomplished.
Guess what, I do and it is.  Try any of these styles and experience what comfort really is.

These orthotics are all you need.  I mean really, in 10 years i've made thousands of orthotics and 80% had these attributes: 4 degrees of intrinsic hindfoot post, a neutral arch, and 2 degrees of forefoot post.  What changed? top cover materials, amounts, and shapes.
I've developed these orthotics to satisfy the people who are demanding of quality, but want a device that will WORK and LAST.

The Travail style came about because as a younger man, I used to have a job that required me to stand 12 hours a day on hard marble floors.  I used to stuff rolled up socks in my arches to combat the pain from plantar fasciitis!  My comfort was truly dictated by the amount of cushion in my shoe.  In 1999 I became a Physical Therapist.  I poured myself into the specialty of the foot and ankle and in 2001, became a Certified Pedorthist.  I've made countless custom foot orthotics and braces using every method imaginable.  Once I found a combination that worked, I vowed to replicate it in an orthotic that could be made without needing a cast of a foot.

Why no cast?  Simply put, I think it's unecessary for the majority of people with foot and ankle concerns.  In my opinion, and based on the literature, if a person has more than 8 degrees of forefoot varus or a  unique shaped foot, a cast is in order.  But most folks require a long lasting device with good arch support, high quality materials, and expert fabrication.

The comfort orthotics I create have been used by hundreds of persons all over the world.  They last around 10 years.  They help people heal.  They keep people from surgery.  They help you perform your sport.  They just plain feel good.