Company:
Globe Manufacturing Company LLC Pittsfield, NH

Project Details

Fabric 1

OTHER-DRAGONHIDE®
Producer: OTHER-Stedfast, Inc.
Supplier: OTHER-Stedfast, Inc.

Fabric 2

OTHER-GORE® CROSSTECH® Footwear Fabric
Producer: W.L. Gore & Associates Inc.
Supplier: W.L. Gore & Associates Inc.

Fabric 3

OTHER-PUNCTUREX
Producer: OTHER-Tex Tech Industries
Supplier: OTHER-Tex Tech Industries

Fabric 4

OTHER-Composite Safety Toe Cap
Producer: OTHER-Award Applicant
Supplier: OTHER-Award Applicant

Fabric 5

OTHER-Composite Shank
Producer: OTHER-Award Applicant
Supplier: OTHER-Award Applicant


Engineer Name 1
Nick Abell

Engineer Company 1
Globe Manufacturing Company, LLC

Design Name
Design Team

Design Company
Globe Manufacturing Company, LLC

Project Manager Name
Roland Landry

Project Manager Company
Globe Manufacturing Company, LLC


Please describe the project specifications

Our state-of-the-science SUPRAFLEX™ boots are the lightest weight, most flexible firefighter boots available. Continuous segmented flex panels throughout the front of the shaft and top of the foot provide the unprecedented flexibility that make these boots feel like a favorite pair of athletic shoes. Recessed pull-on handles are inset on the sides and hidden when not needed. Flexible NOMEX® webbing carry loops allow easy carrying when installed in firefighter turnout pants. Unlike some other leather firefighter boots with stiff welts and ribbed mid-soles that are flat as a pancake and stiff as a board, SUPRAFLEX™ boots are built with athletic footwear construction so they are far more flexible and feel broken in right out of the box.


What was the purpose of this project? What did the client request?

SUPRAFLEX™ boots are certified to NFPA 1971, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting, and NFPA 1992, Standard on Liquid Splash for Protective Ensembles. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) definition of “ensemble” includes footwear. The NFPA 1971 standard sets the minimum requirements for design, performance, testing, and certification of the elements of the ensemble for body protection in structural firefighting.


What is unique or complex about the project?

Two foundations of our product development process make the SUPRAFLEX™ boots project unique in the fire service:

1) Safety through science; and
2) Performance through design.

In addition to meeting (and in many instances exceeding) NFPA standards, step one of our boot product development is based on science. Scientific studies have proven that lighter weight and more flexible footwear isn’t just about comfort – it’s about safety.

A NIOSH boot study, “Effect of Boot Weight and Sole Flexibility on Gait and Physiological Responses of Firefighters in Stepping over Obstacles,” proved that lighter weight and more flexible cement construction boots equated to less work, and more flexible boots equated to less trip and fall accidents.

No other brand of fire boots has third-party test data proving the safety benefit that our boots deliver.

After studying exactly how the human body moves, step two of our boot product development is a complete understanding of the rigorous demands of firefighting. Through our Voice of the Customer interview process, we queried hundreds of firefighters to get a 360-degree view of their experience wearing boots. They included career, volunteer, urban, suburban, rural, male, and female firefighters from the east, west, midwest, north, south, and those in our boots and other manufacturers’ boots.

Firefighters described themselves as tactical athletes. Just like athletes, they train to be the best, prepare to win, and are always ready to answer the call. Firefighters need boots that let them perform like tactical athletes. And they understand that what they put on their feet really matters to their comfort and safety, as well as their performance.

When concepting a new style of boots based on the customer requirements from our Voice of the Customer exercise, we thought beyond boot style and features. In order to deliver what firefighters were asking for, we decided that material components were equally important as the design. That is how we imagined the continuous segmented flex panels throughout the front of the shaft and top of the foot, with the outer layer made of a lighter weight, more flexible fabric panel rather than leather. The fabric is abrasion, flame, and water-resistant.

Taking this more holistic approach to boot design, now we could reduce the weight while increasing performance through the use of textiles and composites.

SUPRAFLEX™ boots allow firefighters to perform their best with less physiological strain and less likelihood of trips and falls.


What were the results of the project?

We introduced SUPRAFLEX™ boots at the nation’s largest firefighter training conference and exhibition in April of 2018. As with most elements of firefighter personal protective equipment, fire departments and municipal agencies typically wear test new products before specifying them for purchase.

We used this event to get as many firefighters as possible to try on the boots. To showcase the capabilities of SUPRAFLEX™ with the continuous segmented flex panels, after firefighters donned the boots, we had them walk up and down a ramp with a 20-degree incline. The ramp simulated the approximate minimum incline of a typical roof.

Firefighters who try on SUPRAFLEX ™ boots recognize them as a revolutionary change in boot design, as well as capability.

There are many wear tests of SUPRAFLEX™ boots in the U.S. market at this time; and we have received orders from departments looking for a lighter weight, more flexible firefighter boot.

We expect commercial adoption, displacing non-leather and all-leather fire boots, to be swift within the next 2 to 3 years.


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