Midsole Materials

The sports shoes that we wear every day, have you ever wondered what material the sole is made of? Depending on the type of material, we will have a pair of sneakers suitable for each of our wearing purposes. Today, Vsneakers would like to share with you what materials the MidSole (midsole) sole is made of. Discover now...

Each type of Midsole material will have different criteria such as durability, shock absorption, responsiveness, stability, and lightness.
Midsole structures are always constantly innovating in midsole materials from PU, EVA, TPU to PEBA. The following are popular Midsole materials used in many sports shoes, especially running shoes.

EVA (​ETHYLENE-VINYL ACETATE)

EVA sole is the most popular type of Foam sole today, appearing in many sneaker models. It provides many options for designers to combine it with other materials due to the flexibility that EVA sole brings.

Weight: Light
Cushioning Softness: Soft and smooth.
Elasticity: Fair, suitable.
Durability: Low.
Nike's once-popular Lunarlon shoe model uses EVA soles.

PU (POLYURETHANE)

Talking about PU sole material, this sole material provides better durability and provides suitable comfort. This is a slightly heavier sole than EVA, but has very good grip. They have excellent shock absorption. This is a very popular shoe sole type, but now many shoe companies have improved a lot in Midsole technology, so PU sole is no longer the preferred choice.
Weight: Heavier than EVA.
Cushioning: Low, but quite sturdy and solid.
Rebound: Low.
Durability: High.
The Puma Ignite shoe model used PU soles for their shoes.

​E-TPU (EXPANDED THERMOPLASTIC POLYURETHANE)

E-TPU material is produced by foaming TPU particles with high pressure and temperature. The most typical examples are Adidas Boost shoes such as UltraBoost, SolarBoost or Asics Hypergel shoes.
Weight: Similar to EVA.
Cushioning: High, good, soft and smooth when running.
Elasticity: Fair.
Durability: Average.

EVA (​GAS INFUSED EVA & OTHER EVA BLENDS)

This is a type of sole that is combined with materials such as Nitrogen or Carbon infused into the MidSole during the manufacturing process. Or other Polymer materials are added to EVA to achieve the desired results and performance than the regular EVA sole. The New Balance Fresh Foam shoe model is a shoe model that uses this material when making the Midsole.
Weight: Lighter than regular EVA.
Cushioning: High, quite good.
Elasticity: Fair.
Durability: Average.

PEBA (POLYETHER BLOCK AMIDE)

PEBA shoe sole material uses two different types of chemical materials (polyether and polyamide) to increase flexibility and running power. Nike ZoomX shoe sole is the sole that uses PEBA material, so it is soft and fast and flexible.
Weight: Super Light.
Cushioning Softness: High, very good.
Elasticity: Super Good.
Durability: Low.
In addition to these materials, shoe manufacturers also have other materials added to the Midsole to increase the characteristics and performance of the shoe such as Carbon Plate, AIR sole, Gel Pocket... Depending on the purpose of use, you can choose a shoe model with a suitable Midsole: if you like good bounce, choose E-TPU, if you like fast and light for running, choose PEBA, if you like softness for everyday wear, choose EVA or EVA combination.