We're working on the schematics of the hiking boot right now. Primarily, the retractable 1" spikes are controlled through an air bellows system. We've referenced patent number 5,588,227 for the project, invented by Mark R. Goldston, Jon L. Bemis, Daniel M. Wickemeyer and David Potter. I want to be clear that we're not stealing this patent from 1992. We're referencing and modifying it to fit our specific needs and changing materials used in hopes of making it as light as possible. The structure is arranged differently in the shoe and the overall functionality in completely different. With that said, I'd like to introduce our first sketch, courtesy of Ellen. We've outlined the main parts and noted their purposes.
