Shoes are composed of upper, tongue, insole, midsole, outsole and various accessories. The structure of the sole is quite complicated. It can include all the components that make up the bottom such as the outsole, midsole, and heel. The common characteristics of outsole materials should have features of wear resistance, hydrolysis resistance, oil resistance, heat resistance, pressure resistance, impact resistance, good elasticity, easy to fit the shape of the foot, Thermal insulation, easy absorption of moisture, etc., There are many types of shoe sole materials, which can be divided into two types: natural materials and synthetic  materials. Natural  materials include natural base leather, bamboo, wood, etc., and synthetic base materials include rubber, plastic, rubber-plastic composite materials, recycled leather, and elastic cardboard. The following introduces several main synthetic soles and their respective advantages and disadvantages.

1. Polyurethane sole (PU): Polyurethane is a kind of high polymer material, which is foamed from A/B/C polyester. It is divided into oily and water-based. It is mostly used in the manufacture of high-end leather shoes, sports shoes, travel shoes and so on.

2. Leather sole: Leather sole features with good breathability. It can automatically release the sweat and keep the feet dry. Mainly leather sole is made of cowhide, and the price is higher. It is with hard texture and is not easy to be pierced. But it is easy to warp, deform or rot after being soaked in water and oil.

3.EVA Sole: Ethylene VinylAcetate-vinyl acetate copolymer, is a kind of polymer material. EVA Sole is commonly used in the jogging shoes, casual shoes. It is features with lightweight, easy to process, not abrasion-resistant and not oil-resistant.

4. MD sole: MD is referred to MODEL or PHYLON. Material of MD soles must contain EVA. For example, MD=EVA+RB, EVA+RB+TPR or RB+PU and so on.

5. Rubber sole: RB is the abbreviation of rubber. It is divided into natural rubber and reclaimed rubber. Its advantages are good wear resistance, anti-slip, elastic, softness, good elongation, stable shrinkage, flexibility and waterproof. But it is not easy to corrode (environmental issues); It is not suitable to be worn in gas stations that touch oil as it’s poor air permeability and moisture absorption and is afraid of oil soaking.

6. ABS sole: ABS has excellent comprehensive performance. It is easy to molding processing and mechanical processing. Compared with TPU, it has poor weather resistance.

7TPR sole: TPR is a material that has the properties of rubber and can be processed and recycled according to thermoplastics. Compared with TPU, it is heavier and poor performance in wear-resistant , softness, flexibility and poor shock absorption.

8. TPU sole: Thermoplastic Polyurethane (poliuretano termoplástico) is a linear polymer material produced by the reaction of diisocyanate, macromolecular polyol, and chain extender. It is a new type of environmentally friendly material. TPU sole are generally used in sports shoes, football soles, roller skates, hiking shoes, etc. It is features with outstanding performance in wear-resistant and impact-resistant, toughness and mechanical strength.

How to distinguish the TPU sole:
1.Low density-The sole of TPU material is with low density and is light in hand. Holes on the back of the sole are round.

2. Good wear resistance-Wipe the soles of different materials on the rough floor, the bottom of the soles will be obviously damaged after rubbing if it is made of EVA, rubber or TPR. And it will be not damaged if it is made of TPU abrasion resistance of TPU excellent;

3. Higher mechanical strength-you will find that poliuretano termoplástico soles perform better during strenuous exercise.

KUNSUN newly developed grade U080 which specialized developed to curt for require of competitive price, high transparency, and short molding time. U080 is widely applied in outsoles. with shore 80A soft hardness the outsole is curt for ergonomic design and with softness touch. This outsole adopts a curved groove design to increase the boosting force and make the steps more flexible. The transparent TPU outsole is harder and more wear-resistant and provides good grip.