Interview: The revolutionary cushioning technology for barefoot shoes
Watch the interview live on YouTube or read the full story here. Find out what makes good cushioning in barefoot shoes!
INTERVIEW BETWEEN DR. CLAUDIA SCHULZ AND CHRISTOF BÄR:
Dr. Claudia Schulz: I see a very special material here. Perhaps you can explain to me exactly what it is. It looks like a piece of plastic to me, but it's not like that.
Christof Bär: No, there is a lot of development behind it. This is a material that we have already used on a trial basis. With good results. It was developed for medical technology and is used to replace intervertebral discs. It therefore has the same properties as the body's own intervertebral discs and we will be using the material next year for a product in the hiking sector. For a shoe that is subject to a lot of wear and tear, as well as long periods of strain, you naturally look for contact with the ground in the barefoot area, apart from the thin sole. This means that we can't put something in there that is thick and cushioned and reduces ground contact, but something that creates cushioning, like this material with a thickness of only 2 mm, but still behaves like the body when it is warm and under stress. This means that it becomes more elastic once it has been broken in, i.e. warmed up a little by body heat. This material therefore becomes more flexible and the cushioning on this small, thin thickness is such that it provides the body with the pressure distribution it needs when running downhill, for example.
Dr. Claudia Schulz: And exactly this material is incorporated into the sole?
Christof Bär: That's right, it's incorporated into the sole and you don't feel it, but you still have penetration protection - which can be useful if you have a stone - but the essential thing is really to be able to create cushioning on this thin thickness that doesn't spring back. This also puts stress on the joints, but only to the extent that the body does. So there is damping/rebound, but in the same way that the body itself would act.
Dr. Claudia Schulz: And this is a new material that will be used in BÄR hiking boots next year?
Christof Bär: Yes, it's a somewhat more expensive material, developed from medical technology, and that's why we use it very exclusively in the hiking boot sector for an article and think that we can offer an additional benefit to all people who have high demands.
Dr. Claudia Schulz: Exactly, because hiking is also very popular. People like being outdoors in nature, which of course also fits in very well with the BÄR concept. We've already talked a lot about barefoot walking and orthopaedic options for relieving back strain. These are all topics that concern many people. People are getting older and older and there are more and more physical problems. I don't really want to say that you see yourself as a problem solver, but I would rather describe your shoes as a supportive measure, in the sense that you can simply walk better and perhaps with more pleasure in BÄR shoes.