Tecnica is leveraging customization and technology to help consumers achieve a more personalized and functional hiking boot fit.
The footwear giant introduced Forge—a new collection of trekking boots that combines out-of-the-box anatomical sizing with customization capabilities. Starting in February, the Forge collection will be available at select specialty outdoor retailers worldwide.
“For decades we have all dreamed about owning unique, personalized shoes, formed around our own feet. We are all tired of wearing boots that don’t fit or require long break-in times before becoming comfortable,” said Federico Sbrissa, Tecnica Outdoor’s line manager. “We know that millions of outdoor enthusiasts dream the same and we wanted to offer them a fast, efficient and affordable solution to own a unique, personalized pair of shoes.”
Custom Adaptive Shape (C.A.S.), a new footwear technology first used in Tecnica’s alpine ski boots, is incorporated in the collection to offer consumers a fully tailored fit in only 20 minutes. C.A.S. possesses a thermo-formable material in key boot areas—including the arch, the ankle, heel and footbed. The C.A.S. process involves a patent-pending, personalized designed system that heats, compresses and molds the boot to fit consumers’ feet.
The Forge collection includes two trekking boot styles—the Forge S and the Forge.
For serious hikers looking to step up their outdoor adventures, the Forge S offers premium comfort and protection to move securely on multi-day treks. As a newly designed product, the Forge S features an innovative fabric created by Tecnica that’s durable and conforms to the foot when thermo-formed, in addition to a heat-laminated TPU film for extra elasticity. Retailing at 249 euro ($308.76), the Forge S is available in three colors for men’s and women’s footwear.
Similar to the Forge S, the Forge also meets consumer demands for a comfortable, safe and durable hiking boot. Unlike other boots, the Forge brings together advanced C.A.S. technology with the natural feel of Nubuk leather. The upper part of the boot features an elastic fabric on the collar and instep for flexibility, while the Nubuk leather upper layer molds to consumers’ feet during the C.A.S. customization process. The Forge, which retailers at 239 ($296.36), is available in four colors for men’s footwear and three colors for women’s footwear.
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Additional features of each Forge boot include a new overlap cuff design to reduce pressure points, a self-locking lace design that enables micro-adjustability, Gore-Tex fabric liners that make the boots waterproof, an adaptive sole system that conforms to terrain movement and Vibram Megagrip Compound to provide grip and durability on rough outdoor landscapes.