Outdoor Insight

54 • Outdoor Insight • August 2017 outdoorinsightmag.com FOOTWEAR A t some point, and it is likely to be sooner than later, the outdoor cat- egory will cease to exist. There will still, of course, be boots that like to take a hike, but they will no longer be called outdoor boots and they will be designed to spend just as much time indoors as out. "Eighty percent of the USA population lives in an urban environment, and this is a global trend," says Luke Schnacke, product, mar- keting and e-commerce director at Hi-Tec. "The majority of customers no longer need an out-and-out three-to-four season hiking boot for the four-day backpacking or camp- ing trip." What active Millennials need – and want to buy – for their close-to-home day- trip adventures, is a multifunctional boot that seamlessly walks from city street to mountain trail. Jack Knoll, director of marketing for Forsake, adds that the desire for versatility has led to a decline in sales of high-tech hiking-specific styles. "This trend applies differently to the tech- nical hiking boot and the lifestyle casual/ sneaker categories, blurring what were once traditional lines of what a hiking boot or summer sneaker should be," Knoll says. At Timberland, the all-around-town and all- terrain styles are translated into what Gregg Duffy, senior director of outdoor performance footwear, calls a "winning formula called SPG, or Style + Performance + Green, that blends form and functioning in a way that gives consumers an adaptive style they need for every day." The appetite for an all-purpose boot is being fueled, in large part, by the idea of value for the buck. "Our market research shows that sales of outdoor footwear remain reasonably stable in the USA market- place; however, the price consumers are willing to pay is decreasing," Schnacke says. "We are also aware that the Millennial cohort has the largest spend- ing power in the U.S. economy yet the average income level is around $25,000." The be-all outdoor boot, by necessity, is big on technology that adds a new level of comfort. Brad Long, director of design product at Oboz Footwear, says midsole foam technolo- gies and constructions as well as flat-knit or engineered knit uppers are changing the design and feel of outdoor boots. "Lower durometer foams give a softer, cushioned feel," he says. "To compensate for that, outsole widths are wider to distrib- ute the impact more broadly since softer foams don't hold up as well. Multiple foam densities in midsoles have been common for quite some time, but now we are seeing more responsive and supportive EVA midsoles that are lighter in weight than conventional midsoles." Flat-knit and engineered uppers not only make boots softer, but they also help the environment. "This technology reduces labor and waste because there are no seams to stitch and dye cutting of upper materials is eliminated," he says. As far as style, well, it's a fusion of athlei- sure and traditional."Classic and heritage are beginning to show some signs," Duffy says. "At Timberland, we'll continue to stay true to our classic aesthetic while reimagining what is iconic in new and modern ways." Q Hi-Tec's Wild-Fire Mid I WP, $90 OUTDOOR SHOES WILL NOT BE CALLED OUTDOOR. OUTDOOR BOOTS

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