When Footprint Insoles say their products use NASA-grade materials, it's not marketing fluff. The Kingfoam technology at the heart of their insoles was developed using the same principles applied to impact protection in aerospace engineering. Here's what that actually means for your feet.
What Is Kingfoam?
Kingfoam is Footprint's patented foam compound, engineered to manage energy differently from standard EVA or memory foam. Most insole foams work by compressing under load — which means they absorb impact by squashing down. The problem is that compressed foam transfers energy back into your joints, and over time, it loses its ability to compress at all (this is why cheap insoles go flat).
Kingfoam uses a viscoelastic structure that disperses impact energy laterally rather than compressing vertically. This means:
- More energy is absorbed before it reaches your ankle, knee, and hip
- The foam retains its structure over thousands of impacts
- Protection is consistent whether you're landing a jump or walking all day
You can read the full technical breakdown on our Impact Protection and Footprint x NASA pages.
Why This Matters for Sport
In high-impact sports like skateboarding, snowboarding, basketball, and parkour, the forces going through your feet can be 5–10x your body weight. Standard insoles simply aren't engineered for this. Kingfoam was originally developed to protect skateboarders landing tricks — and that same technology now benefits runners, snowboarders, golfers, and anyone on their feet all day.
The Kingfoam Range
The Kingfoam Elite is the flagship expression of this technology — combining the Kingfoam compound with high arch support for all-day performance. The FluidX range takes it further with a fluid-filled layer for additional shock absorption.
Browse the full Arch Support Insoles and Elite Orthotics collections to find the right Kingfoam insole for your activity.
When the material in your insoles was engineered to the same standard as aerospace components, your feet notice the difference.