Round Stingray Striking Force Meter

Step 1: Stingray Force Measurement

Step 2: Puncture-Resistant Material Testing

 We used this pendulum to test the puncture resistance of a variety of materials, eventually settling on a composite layering system that balances puncture resistance with flexibility:

Composite Layer Design

Step 3: Stingray Sting Location Survey

To determine the areas most in need of protection, we performed a survey of different sting locations on the foot. The survey is ongoing, and if you would like to contribute, you can find it here!

Regions of the foot for Sting Location Survey

Step 4: Percent Coverage Calculations

In order to calculate the “% Coverage” numbers listed on our Stingray-Resistant Booties, we:

• cut apart sample booties, laid them flat, and took pictures of them
• used an image analysis tool to determine the percent of bootie surface area covered with stingray-resistant materials

Achilles Heels Flat Patterns on Reference Paper

The final figure reflects the approximate percentage of the bootie surface area that is covered with stingray-resistant materials. Although we have designed our products to reduce the chance of a user getting stung, it is possible for the stingray barb to penetrate through the stingray-resistant materials. Please see our Product Liability Disclaimer for more detail.

Step 5: Validation Testing

Finally, to further validate our design, our team induced round stingrays to sting our booties directly! We used a thin membrane on the outside of the booties to determine the total number of strikes, and another thin membrane on the inside to determine the corresponding number of penetrations. The results speak for themselves:

On the DragonSkin bootie, we only induced the stingrays to strike a subsection totally covered with protective material, because the "% Coverage" figure already accounts for the unprotected area.

A Final Note

We have designed our products to protect users from stingray stings. We have tested them with real Round Stingrays (Urobatis Halleri), but we can't guarantee they will prevent all stingray injuries. It is still possible to be stung by a stingray while wearing our booties, although wearing them will significantly reduce the chance of being stung. Please see our Product Liability Disclaimer for more detail.