Went from dollar store foam to EVA floor mats and the difference is night and day

I've been making budget cosplay for about 2 years now, mostly stuff from cardboard and hot glue. Last week I finally caved and spent $12 on a pack of EVA foam floor mats at Harbor Freight, just to try it. My first build was a Mandalorian chest plate that took me 6 hours with dollar store foam sheets, and it looked lumpy and crooked. With the EVA mats, I carved out a shoulder piece in 20 minutes that actually had clean edges and smooth curves. The heat gun I borrowed from my neighbor helped too, but the foam itself was the real game changer. I still used cardboard for the base structure to save money, but the visible armor bits finally look legit. Has anyone else made the switch from cheap craft foam to the floor mat stuff and noticed a huge quality jump?

2 comments

2 Comments

cora_perez10d ago

Funny you mention that... I actually found out the hard way that EVA mats are way more forgiving if you make a mistake, you can just heat and reshape them instead of starting over with a new piece of craft foam.

ivanb4110d agoTop Commenter

Wait wait wait, you can just heat EVA foam and reshape it? Like with a heat gun or something? That's insane lol. I've thrown away so many messed up foam pieces because I thought they were done for.