NERF fatigue?

[Mme.Miscellania]

When we opened our kit this morning, the nerf ball was reasonably rigid (for a soft foam, anyway). After tossing it around, pummeling it some, and generally playing with it, though, it was noticeably softer.
My question is, does anyone know how long balls like this tend to last, or how squishy they get? I've been having visions of foam-jammed shooters all day...

[Petey]

Balls of that sort tend to rip, disintegrate, crater, you name it.

Kickoff kids told me that the balls there had already shown signs of a lot of fatigue.

In choosing nerf balls, FIRST chose cheapness and safety over precision and durability.

--Petey

[Ken Leung]

Please continue this discussion in this thread: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=41285

I think the size, shape, softness and other properties of the ball should be discussed in the same thread.

Unless there's any other objection, I will close this thread in a little bit.

[Ken Leung]

After a quick word with another moderator, this thread is now re-opened with the intention that this thread will be about the wear and tear of the balls.

And the other thread will continue as a thread about the size of the ball itself.

Sorry for the confusion!

[Andrew Blair]

So the question is, in what condition can we expect the ball to be in before they are replaced? I would imagine FIRST could give us a rough estimate of the "crater limit"

[KenWittlief]

Originally Posted by Mme.Miscellania

When we opened our kit this morning, the nerf ball was reasonably rigid (for a soft foam, anyway). After tossing it around, pummeling it some, and generally playing with it, though, it was noticeably softer.
My question is, does anyone know how long balls like this tend to last, or how squishy they get? I've been having visions of foam-jammed shooters all day...

good observation! for several years some of the game elements changed after being used: ball inflation, balls getting dirty (not good if you used a suction cup to handle them) floppys with velcro that changed after use... Even the sterolite boxes got beat up after a while.

Understanding how the nerf balls will degrade during the days event is part of the challenge.