Beefy, I echo spritzer's comment about kuboten. He (Craig) is awesome. In my experience, Yama's sucks ass.
Don't worry too much about the new pads, I think they're kind of nice with the new mesh. Also, the foam backing, iirc, is not necessary to replace.
Also, I have worked on a few Staxen, including a memorable fight with my O2 headband assembly, and can vouch for their surprising toughness. That said, spritzer's common sense admonition is, as always, wise. I may have some price quotes from a while back on the stuff you're seeking. I'll try to dig them up.