Stability meets the freedom to move with RotoFlex

Blundstone has always been a market-led business, researching and identifying those products its customers need and want and understanding the role Blundstone products play in their lives. Over the past three years the business has invested in a massive, multi-layered research project which has created an even greater depth of understanding of today’s worker and the footwear they want to be wearing tomorrow.

These consumer insights have led to the development of Blundstone’s most technologically advanced safety footwear range, RotoFlex®, designed utilising biomechanical principles to provide an outstanding level of comfort and safety for wearers. The evolution of new materials and world-leading technologies has been a game changer in the development of these safety boots, which Blundstone are confident will increase consumer expectations of the Australian safety footwear market.

“As an established and respected work and safety boot company with a 150 year plus history, our approach to the market has always been consumer-led,” says Adrian Blandford, Blundstone’s Global Work & Safety Range Manager.

Over the past three years, this major research project has enabled Blundstone to better understand how people make decisions when it comes to buying their work and safety footwear, adding a new layer of more structured research with industrial buyers, retail customers and safety boot wearers to ensure Blundstone stays one step ahead.

“We have invested in sophisticated research including product performance testing, user experience and brand equity,” explains Blandford. Through a series of in-depth interviews and surveys, on-site discussions, and trials with users in the construction, trades, mining and light industry markets, Blundstone has been able to “leverage the best of insights, empathy & brand building to understand what our wearers want in safety footwear.”

“The research has shown without doubt that wearers want better performing work boots,” says Blandford. “They want them to be strong, lightweight, offer good grip and manoeuvrability as well as high protection for the user. The most common injuries occurring on work sites include musculoskeletal injuries and ankle and knee injuries caused in falls and slips.”

Other concerns and priorities for wearers included durability and quality of componentry and materials; pain-free, all-day comfort with ankle flexibility and movement; thermal regulation with ventilation to increase airflow and a sole that provides ergonomics, longevity, stability, and traction.

As an outcome of the research, Blundstone embarked on a journey to ‘build’ safety boots that would address all the above concerns. “We have built them new from the ground up. This is something the safety footwear market in Australia has been demanding for many years,” says Blandford.

This world-leading biomechanical design is a result of years of research and development into the needs of workers in the trades, mining and construction industries. The airport-friendly range includes four unisex styles and two women’s-specific styles crafted for the ever-growing female market.

The RotoFlex range of boots feature a biomechanically conforming sole design, GripTek®, which utilises a unique TPU tread pattern and super cushioned midsole, with zoned support carefully designed for all-day stability and comfort and optimum grip. “The sole has been designed with extra width in the heel and toe area to help stop ankle rolls, the larger cleats are self-cleaning, and the heel has a trampoline type A-frame for more stability. The wearer uses less energy when walking, which will help reduce fatigue—another contributor to workplace injuries,” explains Adrian Blandford, Blundstone’s Global Work & Safety Range Manager.

All six styles feature a water-resistant upper, lightweight, compression-resistant composite toe cap, and an all-new zoned airflow footbed, AirCell®. The AirCell footbed is uniquely constructed with specialised zoning, designed to activate ventilation, allowing air to be pumped through channels to the heel, arch of the foot and between toes, offering moisture control and cushioning comfort as the wearer walks and moves—no more sweaty feet.

The overarching comfort system, SoftCell® utilises a combination of specialist materials and a unique biomechanical foot-cradling design to increase stability, balance, comfort and manoeuvrability, while reducing ankle slip risk and fatigue.

An Australian first, the RotoFlex Range also features Infinergy®. This E-TPU material is a super elastic energy foam from BASF which is soft but resilient—providing enhanced cushioning and reducing the impact of every step taken.

Every single component used in the construction of the RotoFlex range has been researched, tested and trialled to ensure Blundstone deliver truly innovative, better-performing safety footwear. Their dedicated design team looked at multiple options for each element and selected the best performing, most appropriate product—and if they couldn’t find the perfect piece, they created it.

Launching in September 2022, RotoFlex delivers a strong foundation from the ground up, providing unbeatable fit and unrivalled comfort—perfect from day one. Put this innovation to work at the link below:

www.blundstone.com.au/rotoflex

About Blundstone

Blundstone is the original work boot that you can be confident will protect you because it is fit for purpose. An Australian icon since 1870, the brand is synonymous with quality design and craftsmanship, supreme comfort, and superior protection.

Blundstone is committed to corporate social responsibility, with the Every Step Better program encapsulating their ongoing commitment to people, product and the planet. Endorsed to ISO:9001, an unwavering commitment to quality has seen them grow into a global business, worn and loved in over 70 countries worldwide, while remaining firmly headquartered in Hobart, Tasmania.