The new Adidas Kromaskin™ field hockey stick is made from Hypetex Textreme material, developed with an innovative technology born out of Formula1 racing. The stick features a unique colourised carbon fibre outer layer on spread tow materials that reduces fibre damage during production to maintain the highest structural performance whilst bringing a premium new aesthetic to field hockey sticks.
Carbon fibre spread tow technology is used for the outer shell, with ultra-thin carbon tapes rather than conventional carbon ply structures. These are woven into tightly packed uniform fibres that reduce voids and carbon defects improving surface quality and maximizing performance.
It also incorporates other new and improved technologies, including a perform core technology designed by the Hypetex team specifically to allow enable players to cut new angles and distribute more effectively, whether it be threading the clinical pass or going aerial.
The new Hypetex® hockey stick is different from existing equipment not just by its unique pigmented carbon fibre finish, but also by its game-changing hitting power and consistency. The patented range of Kromaskin™ sticks, created with support from project partners Textreme® and Marque Makers, was found to outperform competitors in a benchmark study against eight other premium hockey sticks carried out by Loughborough’s Sports Technology Institute (STI).
In tests at the STI, Adidas Kromaskin sticks had up to 16% higher coefficient of restitution (COR). This means that they will return more energy and the ball will travel faster. In addition, through the production led design and materials used, the variation in COR was 70% less than the other sticks on test, a significant reduction in the production inconsistencies common with the manufacturing of performance sporting goods.
Key benefits
- Durable in-mould coloured carbon fibre
- Exceptional hitting power and consistency on the hockey pitch
- Maximised carbon fibre packing in mould
- Preformed core increases fibre consolidation
- Unique visual appearance without paint
The innovation presented uses the patented Hypetex technology to colour a lightweight spread tow plain weave carbon fibre fabric that forms the outer visual and structural surface ply of the Hypetex® Kromaskin™ field hockey stick. In addition to providing the pigmented outer layer, the Hypetex Special Projects division also developed a novel construction method for this new hockey stick.
The innovative carbon fibre colouring technology and construction technique are applicable to a broad range of composite sporting goods produced with closed moulding techniques including:
- sticks
- racquets
- bats
- other bladder or compression moulded composite parts
In the wider composite sector, Hypetex coloured carbon fibre technology can be applied in thermoset and thermoplastic composite components, providing:
- a coloured part solution fully integrated into the moulding process
- removing the need for a traditional paint system
Marc Cohen, CEO, Hypetex says
“We are thrilled to be nominated as finalists for the 2022 JEC Innovation Awards and are delighted that the awards committee recognized the significant performance gains realized with the new Adidas sticks as well as the stunning visual finish created by our Kromaskin technology”.
The award winners will be announced
on the 26th of April in Paris
