Sports & leisure goods: Meeting demanding needs

Adding value through performance

The demands on plastics for use in sports and leisure applications are extremely varied. DSM has one of the broadest portfolios to meet these many different requirements. DSM ensures that the materials it supplies to the sports and leisure industry perform when they are challenged.

Wear resistant surfaces: Ski and snowboard runner surfaces need to be highly abrasion resistant and have low sliding resistance: demands met perfectly by Stamylan UH

Decorative, soft touch films: Arnitel decorative films are easily printed by a variety of processes. They bond easily to compression molded parts (e.g. snowboards), have a pleasing tactile feel and give vibrant printed designs which are abrasion resistant to normal use.

High strength fibers: Stamylan UH is used in high strength fibers to provide climbers with stronger and higher safety ropes, and to improve the performance and tear resistance of sails.

Low temperature performance for ski bindings: Akulon gives a good combination of strength and elasticity at low temperature (down to –30°C). Akulon is also easily colorable for greater consumer appeal.

Aesthetics and ease of design, low temperature toughness and high resistance to wear:

• Stanyl is used in parts that need very high toughness and very high wear resistance.
• Arnitel thermoplastic elastomers offer excellent printing on its surface as well as colorability. Arnitel has outperformed leather and conventional rubbers in many applications in this industry. Its ease of design when compared with leather and vulcanizable rubbers is an added advantage. Its low temperature toughness makes it the material of choice for low temperature applications that need flexibility. Arnitel finds acceptability in applications such as in-line skates, in snow skate-boards as the outer cover laminates, as binding straps for ski boots, and in snowboard boot heels. Arnitel has also been used as one of the layers in golf balls.  
• Akulon polyamide is both tough and has very high strength. It is used as studs in boots, as face helmets in football, snow-mobile bumpers, bicycle parts, etc.