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NEOPRENE is a synthetic rubber material designed to be flexible, durable, resilient, and very resistant to failure and breakdown by compression and water. Air and water become isolated in its unique molecular structure. Neoprene is temperately stable with a high heat resistance and commonly found in oven mitts. Its durable quality makes it very useful for applications such as shoe soles, seating, and acoustic noise blocking. Neoprene has comfortable qualities that make it desirable for wet suits, clothing, bicycle seats and shorts, waders, neoprene insulated can holders, sports gloves, mouse pads, pet collars, elbow and knee pads, orthopedic braces, equestrian pads, and neoprene covered poker tables. Neoprene should not be used in long sunlight exposure applications. It may crack and fade. For all sunlight applications apply our UV protectant or use EVA closed cell foam, which is inherently uv resistant.

Neoprene was invented by DuPont scientists on April 17, 1930 after Dr Elmer K. Bolton of DuPont attended a lecture by Fr Julius Arthur Nieuwland, a professor ofchemistry at the University of Notre Dame. Nieuwland's research was focused on acetylene chemistry and during the course of his work he produced divinyl acetylene, a jelly that firms into an elastic compound similar to rubber when passed over sulfur dichloride. After DuPont purchased the patent rights from the university, Wallace Carothers of DuPont took over commercial development of Nieuwland's discovery in collaboration with Nieuwland himself. Arnold Collins at DuPont focused on monovinyl acetylene and reacted the substance with hydrogen chloride gas, manufacturing chloroprene. DuPont first marketed the compound in 1931 under the trade name DuPrene,but its commercial possibilities were limited by the original manufacturing process, which left the product with a foul odor. A new process was developed, which eliminated the odor-causing byproducts and halved production costs, and the company began selling the material to manufacturers of finished end-products.To prevent shoddy manufacturers from harming the product's reputation, the trademark DuPrene was restricted to apply only to the material sold by DuPont. Since the company itself did not manufacture any DuPrene-containing end products, the trademark was dropped in 1937 and replaced with a generic name, neoprene, in an attempt "to signify that the material is an ingredient, not a finished consumer product". DuPont then worked extensively to generate demand for its product, implementing a marketing strategy that included publishing its own technical journal, which extensively publicized neoprene's uses as well as advertising other companies' neoprene-based products. By 1939, sales of neoprene were generating profits over $300,000 for the company (equivalent to $5,112,201 in 2015