The Timberland Company has introduced new footwear technology that the company believes could have a significant impact on the men's footwear market. Catering to the 60% of men who are unable to get an optimal fit through traditional footwear - and the 35% of men who have a half-size or greater difference between their left and right feet - the new patent-pending Timberland PreciseFit system takes a new approach to fit, by going beyond length and width. To address forefoot volume, the system uses an innovative footbed insert system to deliver a better fit every time.

Extensive research involving 4,000 subjects by Timberland's Invention Factory revealed that the greatest dimensional differences exist in the girth of the forefoot, making it the primary driver of proper fit. Traditional fit paradigms focus on length and width rather than girth, forcing consumers to either cram their feet into shoes that are too tight, or trade up to longer shoes that leave a looser fit with gaps. This alleviates one fit issue while creating another.

The PreciseFit system addresses this challenge head-on, allowing consumers to customise their fit through a simple yet revolutionary system of forefoot inserts. Each pair of shoes comes with a set of inserts of varying thicknesses that lock on to a removable footbed, creating optimal volume in each shoe and allowing for differences between left and right feet. The thicker insert minimises volume in the shoe, while the thinner insert adds volume.