From the Expo Floor: When it Rains, Pours, LaCrosse Has Coverage
If you associate LaCrosse with the work footwear the company produces, a stop by Booth 2428 may have you scratching your head. It depends on the angle toward which you approach the booth, but as I haphazardly approached my initial thought was, “Where are the workboots?” That was because of all the hi-vis outerwear the company is introducing in Spring 2008 and the eye-catching, footwear-blocking displays of it that are front and center.
”At last year’s NSC, we really stepped it up with the performance materials, introducing the hi-vis yellow gear made with Precision Fit Technology,” said Erin Patterson, the company’s public relations manager. “This year we’re introducing the new hi-vis orange to complement last year’s rollout.”
While LaCrosse has long provided rainwear, it was the branded Precision Fit Technology that was new last year, Patterson explained. Designed to allow optimal range of motion while maintaining comfort and protection against the elements, the technology is built into the new-for-Spring “Responder” series, including a two-color Class-3 jacket and pant, and flame-retardant hi-vis FR jacket and pant. PFT is also in new rainwear called the Cyclone; available in olive, navy, or jet black, the garments feature a double elbow and knee, is 100 percent waterproof, and is fully lined with mesh in the upper chest to promote breathability and taffeta in the lower torso and sleeve panels for durability.
Just past these new offerings are, of course, the shelves and shelves of footwear. Newest among those on display are the Quad Sport boots, so named because, according to Patterson, “they have four layers of cushioning in all the right places,” with or without a steel toe; the water-resistant Riveter boot with a removable, dual-density footbed; and the waterproof Regulator boot. Patterson says all these are engineered “to address the whole trend of being lighter and faster, for the sneaker generation—for people who don’t want to wear heavy boots all day on the worksite. If they need to have protection in a lightweight shoe, then this is for them.”