Patagonia Foot Tractor

The award winning boot that changed the industry. Self-draining, aluminum bar traction technology with full length rockplate under sticky rubber. Aluminum plates literally stick to wet, algae covered rocks. No felt bottom means it doesn’t collect and spread invasive species from stream to stream. This was a pet project of Yvon Chouinard and I was honored to work with him on it. He prototyped some aluminum bars in his “shed” yeah, that shed but wasn’t sure how to incorporate into a boot and commercialize it taking into account sizing etc. I used my knowledge of track and field competition spikes to come up with an internal plate with screwed in receptacles for the plates so they can be replaced when worn out. The plate also spread point loading or pressure from the plates over a broader base so you don’t even notice them except for the amazing traction you get. The original upper build/sample was all bonded rubberized synthetic with BOA closure that we were forced to abandon due to cost.