By Jeff Wilser
A hiking boot breaks down when dirt, mud, and water cause the midsole (the part that touches your sock) to become unglued from the outsole (the part that touches the ground). This is called delamination, and delamination is the enemy of durability. With the Targhee IV, Keen has re-engineered the way these two parts are joined; using new Keen.Fusion tech, a robot directly blasts the soles with a liquid polyurethane that solidifies within seconds, creating a bond that’s three times as strong as normal glue. “You can flex the shoe over one million times, and nothing’s going to happen,” says Scott Labbe, Keen’s senior vice president of product.
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