ShockEater® is a high energy absorbing visco-polymer material that utilizes Nano-Poly™ technology. It is a proprietary formulation that provides superior shock absorption and energy dispersion qualities. The ShockEater® Nano-Poly™ technology works at a “molecular level” which allows the material to do some pretty amazing things. Take a look at how ShockEater® reacts to repeated recoil impact.
ShockEater® is very different than traditional gel, foam or rubber pads and this is by design. One of the most common misconceptions about any type of padding is that “soft and squishy” means better recoil absorption. With advances in technology we’re happy to put that myth to bed – Soft and squishy no longer means better performance.
Gels, foams, and rubbers simply create a buffer between you and the recoil, and as a result, there is a direct correlation between how thick those pads are and how effective they will be. Mounting your gun often compresses these materials reducing their effectiveness. ShockEater® absorbs recoil differently. With our Nano-Poly technology, softness or thickness have no bearing on how much recoil the pad can absorb, because it absorbs the recoil based on the science of the material, not how soft it feels.
Our technology allows the pad to absorb recoil in two ways:
- Improve gun fit – The ShockEater® Recoil Pad is designed be soft enough to conform to your gunstock when mounting, creating a “sweet spot” in the pad that will be unique to your mounting style. This provides a customized position for your shoulder, supporting consistent mounting and proper gun fit.
- Eat the Kick – Forget about creating a buffer… ShockEater® works at a molecular level to literally “Eat the Kick” and absorb recoil within the material itself. When moved slowly the molecules within the polymer will just slide past each other, making the material soft/conformal to touch. But when a high-energy impact occurs, the molecules grip onto one another, locking together to absorb and dissipate energy for just a few milliseconds before releasing and becoming soft and conformal once again. That’s why we call it the ShockEater®… it will literally “eat” the shock and vibration associated with recoil.
More of the science behind ShockEater
Science may not have been your favorite subject in school, but for a few of us here at ShockEater®, we couldn’t get enough. Combine that with a passion for hunting, trap shooting, (and everything in between) and you get the ShockEater® Recoil Pad.
Just as they say, “there is a science to everything” and absorbing / dissipating the recoil from the kick of your gun is no different. The effectiveness of absorbing and dissipating the recoil requires applying the right scientific principles. Sir Issac Newton, perhaps the most famous scientist in history, is credited with numerous scientific discoveries, and is most widely known for developing the 3 laws of motion. The 3rd law, “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction,” explains where the kick comes from when you pull the trigger. The energy that hurls the bullet down range is also hurling the butt of your gun into your shoulder.
The 1st Law of Thermodynamics, the Conservation of Energy, states that “Energy cannot be created, or destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form to another.” This statement is the concept to how ShockEater® works as well as it does. Since the recoil energy cannot be destroyed, it must transform to a different state in order to keep it from transferring directly into your shoulder. In the case of ShockEater®, we’ve developed a material that uses a proprietary nano-polymer (or as we like to call it – Nano-Poly™) technology to convert the recoil energy into thermal energy within the polymer itself.
What this means is that ShockEater® works at a molecular level. When moved slowly the molecules within the polymer will just slide past each other, making the material soft to touch. But when a high-energy impact occurs, (like a shotgun kick) the molecules grip onto one another, locking together to absorb and dissipate energy for just a few milliseconds before releasing and becoming soft conformal once again. That’s why we call it the ShockEater®… it will literally “eat” the shock and vibration associated with recoil.
And that’s why we do it, the way we do – if you attempt to make a recoil pad without a good understanding of Thermodynamics and Newton’s laws, all the foams, gels, and neoprene in the world won’t save you. It’s the physics that dictates our pad design, not fashion, and definitely not the marketing department. Our ShockEater® Recoil Pad is thinner, so it’s closer to your body and will not affect the length of pull. It’s shaped to absorb the recoil force where it should be, into the pad, not through it to your shoulder. All we can say is, “it really works.”
We can never claim to be the smartest guys in the room, but when you mix science with passion, you get the ShockEater® Recoil Pad… and we couldn’t be happier to bring it to you.