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Is Baffin really the ultimate boot for extreme conditions? |
Paul Hubner, president of Baffin Inc. and Doug Stoup, polar adventurer and professional guide, in April 2006 after successfully trekking to the North Pole.
Polar explorers have come to appreciate the unique qualities of Baffin boots. Doug Stoup, a celebrated polar adventurer, used Baffin boots to travel over 1,000 kilometers across the Antarctic. In 2006 at least three separate international expeditions chose Baffin boots to get to the North Pole, including, of course, Baffin's own polar trekking team. Simply put, there is no other boot that comes close to performing as well as Baffin in polar conditions. |
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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. 
The moisture management of Baffin boots prevents them from freezing overnight, making them comfortable in the morning. |
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