An apparatus located between a ski and a binding mounted thereon, including at least one shock absorption buffer positioned partially in a seat cut-away with respect to the most elevated portion of the ski and extending beyond this portion at rest. The comfort of the skier and the steering of the skis is enhanced without raising the binding with respect to the ski by utilizing the natural cut-aways. The cut-aways are created during the manufacture of the ski or are provided in the thickness of the ski after manufacture. The buffer is then installed within the seat thus cut-away, rather than merely installed on the upper surface of the ski. The buffer is preferably made of viscoelastic material.

A method is provided for manufacturing a shoe insole. First, high density thermoplastic material and low density thermoplastic material are conveyed through two feed pipes respectively into a heated pressing machine. When the high and low density thermoplastic materials are conveyed through a mold head of the pressing machine, they are heated and pressed to bond with each other to form an elongated flat dual density plastic plate structure which is then rolled by rollers of a rolling machine so as to fit the thickness of a shoe insole. A non-woven fabric is then adhered on a top face and a bottom face of the elongated flat dual density plastic plate structure which is then rolled and flattened by the rollers of a rolling machine, and is then cut by a cutting machine into a plurality of dual density shoe insole blanks, each of which is then heated and pressed by a heat forming mold so as to form a shoe insole product which includes a rear heel support portion made of the high density thermoplastic material and a front sole support portion made of the low density thermoplastic material.

A removable insole for insertion into footwear, includes a forefoot portion, a heel portion, and an arch portion connecting together the forefoot and heel portions. At least one of the forefoot portion, heel portion and arch portion is formed by a lower layer of a resilient material which provides a cushioning function, and an upper layer positioned and secured on top of the lower layer and formed of a material having a Shore "000" hardness of less than about 45, and a tear strength greater than about 6.3 lb/in.

A removable insole for insertion into footwear, includes a forefoot portion extending at least to metatarsals of a foot, the forefoot portion including a combination layer formed from a bottom layer of a resilient foam material which provides a shock absorption cushioning function, and a top layer of a slow recovery material which absorbs shear forces applied to the second layer at pressure points and spreads out the shear forces along the forefoot portion, the top layer being of substantially the same dimensions as the bottom layer and superposed therewith, the bottom and top layers having the same thickness and outer dimensions; a cupped heel portion formed by a relatively flat central portion and a sloped side wall; a mid-foot portion connecting together the forefoot portion and the heel portion, the mid-foot portion including a medial arch portion and being connected to the forefoot portion at the medial arch portion, the heel portion and mid-foot portion together being formed by a unitary layer of resilient material, and the sloped side wall extending around a periphery of the heel portion and forwardly to at least the mid-foot portion of the insole; and a top cover secured to upper surfaces of the forefoot portion, mid-foot portion and heel portion.

A custom insole is made up of a plurality of layers of a thermoformable material united together at their interfaces to conform in size and contour to the bottom surface of a foot, the layers comprising at least one strength layer and at least one filler layer united to the strength layer and contoured to conform to the bottom surface of the foot; and an arch flange curves upwardly for a distance to laterally support the bone structure in the arch area of the foot. In the method of making the insole, an unformed blank of thermoformable material is placed on a resilient support portion with the ball portion on a firm surface and, by placing the foot on top of the layers and applying downward pressure, it will cause the heel of the foot to form a depression in the heel portion and the ball portion of the foot to flatten out the layers resting on the firm surface. When the foot is removed, the blank is removed and the bottom surface beneath the heel is flattened to align it with the flat undersurface of the ball portion of the insole.