Icebug scores new record for traction on ice

Looking for the safest way to get through winter without slipping? Look no further. Icebug scores the highest result ever at the WinterLab at University Health Network in Toronto.

Lately, several brands in the shoe business have started to claim they have the best traction for icy conditions. Here at Icebug, we know from really putting product to the test in real use (both our’s and other’s) that our traction technology is the best to be safe and confident in icy conditions.

This has been the same since we launched the brand 2001 and won the ISPO outdoor award for best footwear innovation. Swedish Icebug is the market leader for traction, and to let those others making that claim walk the walk (and not merely talk the talk) we launched the campaign #trythisinanyothershoes late 2016.
So what’s new?

When all other competitors end up at maximum one snowflake, Icebug gets double in the world leading WinterLab at Canada’s largest academic rehab hospital.

This is a new record. No other shoe brand has ever reached two snowflakes. 90% of the footwear the lab has tested so far didn’t even get one snowflake. To make it more understandable: the Icebug shoe handled an angle over 11 percent while most other shoes can’t even handle an angle of 2 percent when walking on pure ice. (http://www.ratemytreads.com/ratings/casual-boots/)

The Icebug shoe the institute tested was Speed BUGrip. A model with the same traction technology, BUGrip (which features 15-19 dynamic carbide tip studs), that can be found in 20 of Icebug walking models and 6 Icebug running models during winter 2016/2017.
– Even though we already knew we had the best grip, it’s one thing when we say it and a completely different story to get independent backing. The test method used at WinterLab is the most sophisticated and real world like we have seen so far, says David Ekelund, CEO and founder of Icebug.

This Canadian test result goes hand in hand with Icebug’s mission to make a difference in the world by providing products that empowers and inspires people to stay active even in the most challenging conditions. It’s proof that what Icebug does, really works. With the BUGrip traction technology Icebug leaves all competition behind and sets a new standard for what best grip really means. So no more “alternative facts” when it comes to what grips best on ice, please!

If you’re interested in trying the record holder for traction, Speed BUGrip, or any other of the Icebug BUGrip models, please contact:
Marie Thomasson, PR Manager, Icebug HQ Sweden.
marie.thomasson@icebug.se
+46 722 461146

This is how the test works:

The test is being done by iDAPT, the recearch center of Canada’s largest academic rehab hospital: the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network, affiliated with the University of Toronto.

iDAPT’s testing method is the only one of its kind in the world. The scientists at iDAPT have developed a way to get reliable slip resistance results from having participants walk back and forth on an ice floor in a Winterlab while slowly increase the angle of the floor.

http://www.ratemytreads.com/how-we-test/

At iDAPT, you find the Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory (CEAL) which has a set of labs that can recreate real world environments and test challenges that people face in their everyday lives, such as the hazards of Canadian winters. What makes CEAL unique is the motion base that has a 6 metre by 6 metre moving floor. This large platform can move up, down, side to side, forwards and backwards. It can even tilt up to an angle of 25 degrees.
iDapt currently have 4 different interchangeable labs. StairLab, StreetLab, DriverLab and WinterLab, where the shoe tests are done.