The control of flexible robots that interact with the environment presents some difficulties because the mechanical environment is unknown. In this kind of applications, force robust control rather than position control is required. The purpose of this paper is to model the mechanical impedance of the environment contacted by a flexible link based on the well-known spring-damper system typically used in the literature, considering models of both integer and fractional order. In particular, four models are identified: 1) linear regression model, 2) spring-damper model, 3) spring-damper model that also includes a spring for the robotic arm, and 4) fractional order extension of spring-damper model. Experimental results (impacts with ten different objects) are given to identify the parameters of the considered models. The goodness of the adjustment is analyzed by a set of performance indices. The results show that fractional models may have better performance in comparison with classical alternatives proposed in the literature for the objects used in this study.