"The Bootmobile is a boot-shaped automobile made by L.L.Bean to celebrate its centenary in 2012. It was introduced on January 17, 2012. It has visited cities such as New York City with the intent of inspiring people to go outdoors.

"The Bootmobile is a Ford F-250 Super Duty truck made to resemble a Bean Boot. The steel and fiberglass construction is 13 feet tall, 20 feet long, and 7 feet wide. There are three Bootmobiles."  (Wikipedia)

"As the launch of its 100th Anniversary celebration draws near, outdoor retailer L.L.Bean today debuted the “L.L.Bean Bootmobile” – a larger-than-life embodiment of its most iconic product. The 13-foot high and 20-foot long vehicle was revealed to employees at the Brunswick, ME manufacturing facility where popular Bean boots are made, stopping at the L.L.Bean flagship store in Freeport before traveling to New York City," the press release says.

"“Our company founder, Leon Leonwood Bean, was an avid outdoorsman who believed that time spent in the outdoors added value to one’s life,” said Chris McCormick, CEO of L.L.Bean. “In recognition of our 100th, we are looking to share his passion and re-ignite America’s love of the outdoors. Today’s kickoff is just the beginning of many outdoor adventures to come in our anniversary year.”

"100 years ago, Leon Leonwood (L.L.) Bean founded his company with a single product, the Maine Hunting Shoe. Having returned from a hunting trip with cold, wet feet, he had a revolutionary idea for a boot design. This innovative “Bean Boot” changed outdoor footwear forever and began one of the most successful family-run businesses in the country.

"The success of the company is due in part to L.L.Bean’s legendary quality guarantee, which began with L.L.’s first product. Of the first 100 boots he created, 92 were defective and he refunded each customer their money. From there, he went back to the drawing board and re-engineered his boot, which has since stood the test of time and become the company’s most popular product."

""L.L.Bean is an American privately-held retail company that was founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean. The company, headquartered in the place in which it was founded, in Freeport, Maine, specializes in clothing and outdoor recreation equipment," the Wikipedia says.

"L.L.Bean was founded in 1912 by its namesake, hunter and fisherman Leon Leonwood Bean, in Freeport, Maine. The company began as a one-room operation selling a single product, the Maine Hunting Shoe, also known as duck boots and later as Bean Boots. Bean had developed a waterproof boot, which is a combination of lightweight leather uppers and rubber bottoms, that he sold to hunters. He obtained a list of nonresident Maine hunting license holders, prepared a descriptive mail order circular, set up a shop in his brother's basement in Freeport and started a nationwide mail-order business. By 1912, he was selling the Bean Boot through a four-page mail-order catalog, and the boot remains a staple of the company's outdoor image. Defects in the initial design led to 90 percent of the original production run being returned: Bean honored his money-back guarantee, corrected the design, and continued selling them.

"The 220,000 sq ft (20,000 m2) L.L.Bean retail store campus in Freeport, Maine, is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."

"What makes the Maine Hunting Shoe worthy of its own vehicular counterpart? That story begins in 1912 with our founder Leon Leonwood Bean. Tired of returning from hunting trips with water-soaked, cold feet, he created the Maine Hunting Shoe — most commonly known as the L.L.Bean Boot — carefully designed to support consummate adventurers. By combining leather uppers with rubber bottoms, he created an innovative boot that changed footwear forever," the official website says.

"The Bootmobile — originally built on the frame of a Ford F-250 — came to life through a six-person team working more than 2,500 hours over seven weeks. The process included concept sketches determining the layout of the boot, 3-D scans built on the drawings, and even cut-up Bean Boots placed on the back of model trucks.

"Using aluminum and fiberglass, the Bootmobile was crafted with the same dedication as our hand-made Bean Boot, integrating both the grandest features and the smallest, down to individually sculpted stitches on the upper section. The iconic dual-colored lace is made from two-inch mooring rope used on tugboats and can pull roughly 106,000 pounds, while the metal eyelets around the laces are made from upside-down Bundt-cake pans."

"The mobile boot has covered more than 350,000 miles, appeared at hundreds of events in 25 states, two countries and dozens of college campuses. It has even climbed Mount Washington, set up shop in Times Square and played a starring role in the wedding of a Maine bride, who rode into the sunset with help from a Bootmobile emblazoned with “Just Married” on the “heel,” the LL Bean.com says.

"In true Bean fashion, the Bootmobile also comes prepared for special occasions. It has been wrapped in custom designs to celebrate partnerships and milestones throughout the last 10 years, including wraps to commemorate the Red Sox World Series wins in 2013 and 2018, and an exclusive camo wrap celebrating the L.L.Bean x Todd Snyder collaboration launch.

"Beloved by fans, the Bootmobile draws crowds wherever it goes, reminding people of the outdoors and L.L.Bean’s Maine roots wherever it roams. One Bootmobile bystander said, “Maine is such a special place. You go up there […] and you feel like you’re going back to something elemental, that reminds you where we all came from and what’s truly important and essential in life: to just take a step back, enjoy what’s around you, enjoy the people that you’re with and to offer an expression of gratitude.”

"You’ve heard of the Batmobile. Now picture a 13-foot-high, 20-foot-long, road-ready replica of a famous brand of footwear. That’s the Bootmobile, created for the venerable outdoor-oriented company L.L.Bean, and the shoe-shaped vehicle made a recent stop at the Sampson Family YMCA in Plum," the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says.



"The company headquarters and home to the Bootmobiles — actually, there are three of them — is in Freeport, Maine, where Leon Leonwood Bean (1872-1967) first set up shop in 1912.

"“Listen, this is the best job I’ve ever had,” Mallas said. “We just do nice things for people along the way. We might pop up at an ice cream shop, pay for ice cream, give people some flowers, things like that. And it’s awesome.”