A new mountain shoe from Salomon, France, known as the Edging Chassis uses the high performance bio-based EcoPaXX polyamide from Royal DSM, the Netherlands. EcoPaXX enables production of a chassis with an intricate design that is light, has the necessary mix of flexibility and rigidity, retains its properties at very low temperatures, and has reduced moisture uptake, despite being a polyamide.
Light mountaineering shoes fit with one of the latest trends in outdoor sports: they provide users with very comfortable lightweight equipment that lets them be quick, agile and safe. The Salomon X Alp range is at the forefront of this trend, with its innovative Edging Chassis, a special plate built into the sole with a sophisticated design that combines two opposites: flexibility and stiffness.
The Edging Chassis provides stability for the foot in the transverse direction—to provide good grip on narrow ledges—but also allows enough flexibility in longitudinal direction to accommodate the natural flexing of the foot. This requires a material with the right combination of appropriate mechanical properties and toughness, and which can also be processed easily.
EcoPaXX has enabled Salomon to produce a chassis with an intricate design that is light, has the necessary mix of flexibility and rigidity, retains its properties at very low temperatures typical of mountain environments, and has reduced moisture uptake, despite being a polyamide.
The material is very suitable for injection molding and is certified as carbon neutral from cradle to gate. It is being used in the chassis of three models of Salomon’s new X Alp range of mountaineering shoes: the X Alp GTX, X Alp MTN GTX, and X Alp PRO GTX.
For the Edging Chassis, a material with excellent flow characteristics is needed as the design requires the use of a mold with multiple gating, which creates multiple weld lines, which means weld line strength needs to be high. The material has these excellent flow characteristics, together with outstanding mechanical properties and also processes very well. Altogether, the polyamide provides a very cost-effective solution that makes it stand out from the competition and a perfect fit for the shoe.
Image caption—A light mountaineering shoe from Salomon has a high performance chassis made out of EcoPaXX from DSM. Courtesy of DSM Engineering Plastics: DSMPR451.
