Foam filled racket longevity?

[thecatch33]

Does anyone know how long it takes generally for the foam filling in a racket (the hoop) to degrade/disintegrate?

Curious because I recently switched to Solinco Whiteout, which is foam filled in the hoop. So now I’m wondering how long I can expect the “feel” to remain consistent before the foam filling degrades enough that I’ll need to buy a new one.

 

[A_Instead]

You will want a new racket before the foam inside breaks down.

 

[thecatch33]

Considering my recent bout of ‘holism that’s probably true, but I also used my old Prostaff for almost 20 years at one point before my shoulder started acting up, so that statement actually has a very wide potential range in my case!

I take it that racket foam filling is generally seen to last forever then?

 

[Zodd]

but I also used my old Prostaff for almost 20 years

Was just thinking this as well - my pro staff classics still play perfectly w no hint of rattling etc and the superbly solid and stable feel is unchanged.

How well the foam holds up will prob also depend a lot on how well the frames are looked after. Throwing/abusing a foam filled frame will most definitely degrade/loosen/break the foam a lot quicker compared to (if any) purely age-dependent material breakdown/fatigue.

Never thought about foam longevity specifically from a materials/chemicals perspective but might be that there are material/mixture differences between racquet manufacturers and dates of production. Knowing this forum my guess is there are people here who have looked into this or have some behind the scenes/manufacturer info, if so please chime in!

 

[Grafil Injection]

Never known any deterioration in any racket back to the late 70s. It's usually PU foam, which if it broke down, so would most handles.

 

[Crocodile]

I once cut up an old Tecnifibre T Fight 315 Dynacore into many pieces and it was completely fine.
We cut it up because there was this guy who kept going on that the company was lying about it being foam filled right through the shaft and head, but there it was, completely foam filled and in great condition. Some times you got to do these things to prove a point to someone with a big ego,