Back in 2012, the outdoor company L.L. Bean celebrated its 100th anniversary by unveiling the "Bootmobile," a driveable vehicle created to look exactly like one of L.L. Bean's most iconic items—the duck boot, or what L.L. Bean calls the "Maine Hunting Shoe." The original Bootmobile, which measured 13 feet high and 20 feet long, was based on a 3D scan of the iconic boot, and included details such as dual-colored laces and stitching lines. The New York Times explains that if the giant boot could actually be worn it would be a whopping size 708! A second Bootmobile was added in 2013, and a third in 2019.
The three Bootmobiles in the fleet have driven over 350,000 miles and have appeared at hundres of events across 25 states, two countries, and dozens of college campuses. According to the L.L. Bean website, the Bootmobile's mission is "to surprise and delight, while inspiring more people to find joy in the outdoors."
Watch this cool video showing how the Bootmobile was built, and for a great deep dive on what it's like to be a driver of a Bootmobile, check out this interesting piece in the New York Times. And if you want to hire the Bootmobile for an event, here's the request link.
