SATRA is the world’s leading research and technology authority on international legislation testing, and the technical aspects of footwear.
Its test methods and accreditation systems are unrivalled. Its UK headquarters house a chemical analysis laboratory where, amongst other footwear components, it regularly tests the performance of different leather soles. I have been delving through their detailed analysis of chestnut bark vs. oak bark-tanned leather for soling, and will relay details of their official findings in the second part of this post.
Here though, I am reporting on some in-house sole testing. As mentioned in a previous post, I had a pair of Lodgers made up with chestnut soles and have been rigorously wear-testing and comparing them to a pair made up with our oak-bark sole.
Comparing the finished soles, the colouration is very similar, with both soles absorbing sole stain equally.
Our factory reported that the chestnut leather was more supple and easier to work with. The crispness of the sole bunking is also slightly better with chestnut.
In wear, the oak deteriorated quicker that its rival; and when worn in rain, both resisted water uptake equally but the oak took longer to dry. The oak bark-tanned sole showed signs of slight water staining in the toe area, but both were left almost identical in colour.
Comfort-wise, again the results were almost equal. As the chestnut leather has more immediate ‘flex’ it feels better when first worn each day. The oak took a little longer (two wears) to break in at the flex point and after sustained wear it left the feet slightly more fatigued.
To me, the winner at this point is the chestnut. It is favoured by those in the factory making the shoes, and the greater flexibility is a great advantage.
The SATRA results indicate how the two soles react under extreme analysis: heat resistance, extreme exposure to water and abrasion. In my next post I will compare our findings with the SATRA results and determine the winner; and future Lodger sole material of choice.
