Workwear technologies
Rhön
VÃLKL Forestry boots with cut protection class 1. The VÃLKL Rhön is particulary adapted to tree work or works on steep terrains.
VÃLKL Safety Technologies
VÃLKL Kevlar cut protection
Our forestry boot VÃLKL Rhön is equipped with the cut protection class 1. In this way the foot is protected from a falling chain even at a speed of 20 meters per second. To ensure this protection, we sew three layers of Kevlar that are furthermore glued together into the shaft. The combination of adhesive and Kevlar makes the shaft especially resistant. The cut protection material is processed in the entire shaft excepted in the heel area.
VÃLKL Toe protection
In order to protect your toes VÃLKL uses high quality steel caps, which have been carefully placed in the shoe pinches. The anatomically shaped caps provide maximum freedom for the toe. The final cap is provided with a rubber transition strip to avoid pressure points in the toe area. In the inside, the toes are protected furthermore by an insulating lining against temperature fluctuations.
VÃLKL Protective midsole
When you are in a mission you have more important things to watch where you step. Therefore, we have equipped our VÃLKL boots with an anti-perforating, esspecially hardened steel midsole. The midsole is fully surrounded by the injection-moulded rubber and polyurethane layers. The blunt nail test method recreeded by the standards doesn't correspond, in our opinion, to real operating conditions. For really sharp objects a steelmidsole provides the best protection. Steel midsoles are 1 mm thick up to 4 times thinner than Kevlar or composites solutions. This strongly relativizes the supposed weight reduction and flexibility of alternative textile solutions.
VÃLKL Grip
Our soles are moulded from a special non-slip mix of nitrile-rubber. It is not a case, that they fulfill the SRC certification without leaving traces in your hangars for their non-marking properties. Furthermore, they are equipped for a perfect fit on a ladder with a footbridge profiling. They are also resistant to abrasion, oil, petrol and acid.
VÃLKL Anti-statics
Anti-statics, on one hand aims to protect the wearer against electric charges, but on the other is nevertheless supposed to let the wearer know that he is contact with a power source. In addition, the shoe has to discharge the electrostatic charge of the wearer in a controlled way in order to avoid sparks or explosions in flammable atmospheres. Usually firefighting boots lose their decreed anti-static effect when the insoles are replaced with different insoles than the ones from the original manufacturer. Our VÃLKL boots reach anti-statics through the connection of a strongly insulating rubber-PU blend and a conducting strip incorporated in the shaft (see picture). In the conducting strip metal threads are woven, which discharge the electrostatic charge permanently. Thus, anti-statics remains permanently, even if you change the insoles.
VÃLKL Comfort Technologies
VÃLKL Shock absorption
Thanks to the specific VÃLKL sole concept our boots have extremely good damping properties. The trick: the soles are incection-moulded directly onto the shaft. First of all there is a damping and lightweight, 2 cm thick polyurethane layer. THis layers is enclosed by a 4 mm thick, heat-resistant rubber layer. The special feature here is that the polyurethane layer is distributed throughout the sole, that it absorbs and that it has insulating properties. Thus, joints, spine and intervertebral discs are noticeably relieved.
VÃLKL Cold insulation
Our boots have a strong insulation against extreme cold temperatures. Due to the special injection-moulded sole concept VÃLKL soles contain a thick layer of polyurethane that can be even seen laterally. In polyurethane small air bubbles are trapped. Thus, polyurethane with the "isolation by air" principle is similar to series insulators such as Stryofoam or glass wool that are used in constructions. The best cold insulation test values are measured in combination with a natural cork insole. In our VÃLKL Rescue and VÃLKLDelta boots the temperature decrease after 30 minutes in a -17 ° C cold environment is only 2.8 ° C. Our VÃLKL Röhn and VÃLKLGrönland boots this value is even smaller and, in the VÃLKL Overshoe it is very good too, though it depends also on the boot that you are actually wearing.
VÃLKL Water repellency
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VÃLKL boots are made out of high quality and water-repellent materials: including hydrophobized leather and water-repellent threads. So we can prevent that liquids with low surface tension, such as gasoline, can enter the boots.
VÃLKL Care
Our boots are designed with a minimum number of seams. This does not only increase the durability of our boots but reduces significantly the need for care. Less cream residues will accumulate at the seams. In addition, seams are designed in a way that all upper leather parts overlap the lower ones. Just as with tiles this increases significantly the waterprofness and durability. Our self-cleaning soles have rounded edges and outward opening cleats, in order to make the dirt fall out by itself.
VÃLKL Basics
The following product features concern all boots of our fire fighting range.
VÃLKL Pull on loops
They help you get started and allow quick entry. Completely sewn pull-on loops are absolutely tearproof.
VÃLKL Ankle protection
Thanks to this technology our shoes mantain their original form even after years of wearing. In addition, this material prevents ankle-twisting.
VÃLKL Scuff cap
The rubber toe cap is scratch resistant and a durable protection against the traces of usage. It keeps the leather protected even while kneeling down.
VÃLKL Orthopedic insoles
Thanks to our partner Matthias Hartmann, all our firefighting boots can be equipped with orthopedic insoles without affecting negatively the security features.