Is Baffin really the ultimate boot for extreme conditions?
When polar explorers trek to the North or the South Pole they subject their
footwear to the most demanding conditions imaginable. Day after day they
exert themselves to the point of exhaustion, pulling their equipment over
the rough and unrelenting terrain. They lose as much as one pound of bodyweight
each day in perspiration and burned calories. At night they sleep in small
tents where the temperature can drop as low as -60oC (-76oF), freezing their
boots. In the morning they have to put them on again and resume the trek.
Cold feet and blisters, that might not be given a second thought in other
situations, can be fatal in this environment.
Hard shell boots that are suitable for day climbs and for skiing are not
effective at the poles. They are not warm enough and they do not allow the
moisture to escape fast enough, making the boot soggy. Additionally, in the
cold weather it is impossible to handle fiddly laces without getting frostbite.
Thus fastening systems need to be easy to use and remain functional at very
low temperatures - temperatures that render many man-made materials as brittle
as glass.
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