• Frank [he/him, he/him]
    ·
    6 months ago

    I've owned two couches, both purchased twenty years ago at a surplus hotel furniture place. One of them was never really comfortable, but it folded down in to an almost queen bed and the utility was undeniable. And it was still much more comfortable than anything Ikea carries. The other is a conventional couch and quite comfortable. And over the years i've patched then, repaired the springs, washed the surface carefully, and done everything I can to take care of them because all the times I've ducked in to a furniture store or Ikea in the last couple of decades I've marvelled at how grotesquely uncomfortable the sofas were.

    When building boffers, foam clubs and swords on a fiberglass core, for larping we had "tech". As in technology, technique, concepts for building safe, reliable, and handy " swords". And one of the key techs was the idea od "progessive give". You start witha. Core of hard, stiff foam around the fiber glass core. The hard foam is less likely to be damaged by the fiber glass and creates a stable base for additional layers of foam. As you work outwards towards the "blade" you use progessively less stiff, cushier foams. The result is "progessive give". When the sword hits you, instead of a rock hard foam that hurts like hell, or a soft foam that the fiberglass core will rip through very quickly, the varying layers of foam act to protect both the weapon and your opponent. It's cushy. It's comfortable.

    And it would make a great seating cushion. I know it's all costs and profit bs, but i'm always a bit bewildered that the techniques for getting the most out of foam bats invented by smart, dedicated, working class nerds for their hobby don't get carried over to manufactured foam products that are supposed to be comfortable.