Recently in Outdoor Retailer Category
Just a quick note that I have a little piece in Steve Sargeant's newest Wildebeat podcast. It's about the OR show - both the gear and the environmental slant of this year's show.
Let's get straight to the gear!
- SmarTube Drinking System: At the Axis Outdoor booth I came face-to-face with a solution to my trail hydration needs. I strongly dislike carrying a hydration bladder inside my pack when backpacking due to several reasons which I will not get into in this post, and if I use bottles tucked into the side pockets I neglect to drink enough water. This SmarTube system lets me use my normal side-pocket bottles with the convenience of a drinking tube, keeping me drinking regularly. I have a feeling this will be a handy tool.
- I spent a lot of time looking at some new items at the Optimus booth. The Stella Plus stove is a displaced cannister stove. Although bulkier and heavier than a typical cannister stove, it offers much better stability. Thus it can be used with bigger pots, cooking for more people. The piezo igniter and flame adjuster are attached at the cannister end, keeping the user's hands away from the stove entirely. Similarly, the new multi-fuel Nova Plus keeps the flame adjustment far from the stove itself, making operation safer for the user.
- For those who are big fans of their MontBell down inner liner jackets, you may be looking to replace it soon with their new hooded version. I do not remember the exact weight, but for little more than the weight of the non-hooded version, you have a great addition to any backpack and sleep system.
- Lowe Alpine has been around for a long time, but I've never paid close attention to their packs since they tend to fall on the heavier side. I took a close look at the show, however, and although they are still heavier than a lot of packs on the market, their new suspension system has about the cleverest and easist adjustment mechanism I have seen. With one simple flip of a velcro panel, you can adjust the frame to any measurement, not just discrete 'notches' like most packs offer. Rather difficult to explain in a short blog entry, I'll leave it to you to play with the next time you visit your favorite outdoor retailer.
- I got to try out a pair of the Vibram Five Fingers. I'm a big fan of the Injinji socks and the Vibram Five Fingers had a similar feel, but with lots of grip on the bottom of the foot. I can see how they wouldn't be for everyone, but they felt terrific on my flat feet, especially since I am someone who prefers barefoot over boots. They seem to be selling well - the person at Vibram said they were surprised how they have caught on and the orders are almost too much to keep up with.
- Speaking of shoes, Golite's new footwear line takes a unique approach to trail shoes. They reverse the typical running shoe sole - it is soft on the bottom, allowing for the tread to wrap itself around the typical 'pokies' on the trail, acting as a suspension system for the runner.
- The Digital Hero 3 is a tiny 3 megapixel, waterproof, 4.5 oz digital camera that straps to the wrist. Sick of digging for your camera on the trail? Well, with one of these it is easy to point and shoot right when the moment strikes. They run on AAA batteries and use SD cards, just like many digital cameras on the market.
- One of the things that impressed me was the new line of GPSs from Bushnell. They are able to display different kinds of map data, including base maps, topo maps, and even satellite photo overlays which include basemap information (such as street labels) and waypoints. In addition, these GPSs allow for screen-layering. For example, the compass can be displayed right on top of the map, making it much easier to use - no more skipping through 15 screens of information or customization to find your direction. They will also be releasing a GPS that includes XM radio capabilities, including the ability to overlay live weather information on your map. Imagine having not only live weather data, but your favorite music as well while deep in the backcountry!
There was a lot more gear out there, but if I wrote about it all I'd be sitting here for a few more months. Remember, I was there looking at all this gear for BGT. If you are a gearhead we'd love to have you - it's fun to go to the show every year and see how gear has been updated or changed based on our feedback. And with that, this year's Outdoor Retailer Market Wrap Up is concluded. Until next year!
If there was any kind of 'theme' to the show this year, it would have been Environmental Sustainability. Several companies were announcing new environmental initiatives and renewable supply chains. In addition, the Outdoor Industry Association was asking every person to offset their CO2 emissions created during their travel to the show. There would be a monetary value placed on the emissions, and people could donate this money to the carbon neutrality project. The money was going to the building of new wind turbines. For my round trip flight from San Jose, a $12 donation would cover the cost of the wind power needed to offset my CO2 emissions.
Don't worry, I'm getting back to the gear. Several companies were offering incentives to participate in the carbon neutrality project. By donating the $12, I got a new pair of Hi-Tec boots, the V-Lite Quick Zips. These are incredibly lightweight mid-height hikers. In fact, they weigh less than the trail runners I was wearing around the show. But the thing that makes these boots unique is the zipper. The idea is that once the boots are tied and secured, they can still be easily removed by simply unzipping the ~6 inch zipper that curves down from the top of the boot along the inside ankle. It was sure easy to wear them through airport security! I'm looking forward to trying them out on the trail.
Patagonia had a big media event on Sunday night to announce the next goal of their Common Threads Program. By 2010 they will be operating in a 'closed loop' system - their supply chain will be made of recyled materials, and everything they make will be recycleable. They have been recycling their Capilene base layers for a couple of years now, but the other big announcement was that they will be expanding this to include any Polartec fabrics, including fleeces made by their competitors. They took an obvious pleasure in stating that your old North Face fleece could one day be recyled into a new Patagonia top.
I'm still compiling gear notes from the show - check back later for more goodies!
The Outdoor Retailer Winter Market is wrapped up once again, and as usual, I am completely exhausted. This year's show was successful for BGT; we got great feedback from manufacturers and nearly everyone we approached is on-board. Right now, the only thing holding BGT back is the number of qualified testers. If you are reading this and are not a BGT tester, please join us - we need you! We have enough gear lined up to put every tester in a tent, a pack, a sleeping bag, and a new pair of footwear. Plus accessories galore!
Most of the show is a blur, but there were some snazzy items that stand out in my fuzzy memory. There were not any major innovative designs or technologies with that 'wow' factor at the show, but there were a lot of items that have been improved upon as well as some small but useful new items. Over the next couple of days I'll be posting descriptions of these items here. Disclaimer: The following items were things that impressed me, but listing them here does not indicate that they will be tested on BGT - although many of them will.
- Sierra Designs Hercules Assault: Early in the show I noticed that Sierra Designs had a tent set up that was very similar to one Dave tested last year. You may recall our adventure at Lake Winnemucca, where we were pounded with wind and snow over the course of 24 hours. The tent survived, but we noticed several design flaws on that and some other trips. I was pleased to see that these design flaws have been addressed. The tent now has a different venting system, the gear lofts do not hang down in the occupant's face, and the fly material has been changed from silnylon to a breathable Drizone, hopefully addressing the condensation issues we had.
- Gregory Z55 and Jade 50: The mens and womens redesign of the Z Pack is impressive. The JetStream suspension system pulls the pack away from the middle of the back allowing for air flow to cool the user down. I hate having a sweaty back and I've been really happy with this design in other packs I have used, such as the Osprey Ariel and the Deuter Futura. I'm happy to see Gregory using this concept.
- Waldies Aruba Sandal: Anyone who has backpacked with me knows of my fondness for Crocs and Waldies. Nothing feels better on my feet after a long day of hiking (mmmm...squishy), plus they are lightweight and can be worn with socks when the evening temperatures drop, unlike flip-flops. My only complaint about these shoes is that they are rather big and awkward to stuff into or attach to a pack. Well, Waldies has a new sandal that still offers the comfy sole and ability to wear with socks, but they are even lighter and a bit easier to shove into a pack. The straps smoosh down easily so that they can fit into a smaller space than the original clogs. I'm looking foward to using these as my camp shoe this summer!
- Grabber Sleeping Bag Warmers: I get so cold at night that the chemical hand warmers are my best friends. They are always awkward in a sleeping bag, though. They are scratchy and get lost and fall out when I toss and turn. Not anymore! Now there is a soft fleece pocket for stashing your Warmers - huggable like a teddy bear.
Come back later for more!
The Outdoor Retailer show is a gearhead's dream. Gear as far as the eye can see - you can look at it, touch it, try it out, and marvel over new technologies, new designs, and even some good old standbys.
My day was packed with appointments for setting up the next few months of gear testing for BGT, but I still found time to browse around and check out some of the fun new things at this year's show. Snowpeak was showing off some clever new stove and fuel cannister designs, such as the Metal Crab, shown in the photo above.
I stopped by the Vibram booth and tried on a pair of their Five Fingers, a pair of 'shoes' with individual toes. I'm a big fan on Injinji socks and my feet really liked the unique feel and fit of the Vibram shoes. They had a full vibram sole with a neoprene sock-like body, great for slick rock and water crossings. The best part? They were nice and lightweight, making them a good candidate for a camp shoe.
The day was topped off with a book signing by Ed Viesturs, some gear giveaway raffles, and plenty of free flowing beer. Not a bad way to spend a day. Tomorrow I have fewer appointments so I hope to spend some time exploring a bit deeper into the new goodies that will soon be on the market.
For the fourth year in a row (wow, how time flies...) I am off to the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market. I'll catch a flight later today and land in Salt Lake City, in all its Sundancy and Outdoorsy glory. The next four days are some of the most exhausting of the year and I always come home completely wrecked, but it is worth it. I'll get to talk with manufacturers about their upcoming goodies, line up an impressive set of tests for Backpackgeartest, and of course, get lots of freebies. The OR show is a great opportunity to replenish the sock, sunscreen, and bug juice supplies.
I'll probably post an entry or two during the show, especially if I see something that I absolutely have to share. I'm not sure about pictures - I can usually get a photo pass with my media badge, but there wasn't anything about that in the literature this year (only NO PHOTOS). Our BGT OR Show crew will also be recording some information for Steve Sergeant's Wildebeat.
The show is usually pretty fun and exciting - I'm sure this year won't be any different!
Today's entry is a collaborative writing and photo effort between Christine and I. We're staying with Jerry in Salt Lake City to attend the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2006. Today was the Backcountry Basecamp, a demo day that preceeds the actual trade show event.
It was 20 F and snowing when we got to Brighton Ski area at 10,000 ft, 20 minutes from Salt Lake City. Backcountry Base Camp is the day to use demo versions of some of the new gear. Rebecca, Jerry and I (Christine) were ready to take it on. On a tour around the booths, we women were given pairs of the Fox River women’s winter socks. Very cute with embroiders girls and flowers.
Next, at Kahtoola, we found the new thing in snowshoes, ones with accompanying boots that clip in. A couple of booths over, we discovered TSL’s version of clip-in snowshoes have been winning all of the snowshoeing races.
As we continued around the booths, Jerry talked with Outdoor Research about tents. I learned about Jytte, a merino wool beanie company who makes their hats in Idaho. I was very appreciative to get one, since I hadn’t brought a hat and my hair was frozen into dreds from all the snow. JetBoil next door was using their new pot system to boil water for hot chocolate. We passed on that, but stopped by the warming hut for cookies and caffeine before Rebecca and I took a skate skiing workshop.
We both fell on our butts several times. I’m not as graceful as those guys that come barreling past me when I Nordic ski, but I got the hang of it, and it was fun.
After getting the hang of falling, we tackled the big hill on Airboards. These are big, blowup torpedo-shaped sleds that go fast. We both made it to the bottom of the hill alive. After that we were bushed. Jerry had talked enough people’s ears off, and we had seen what there was to see at this taste of the OR show. It was a very successful day. I’m looking forward to the big show tomorrow.
For all of the photos from today, there is a photo album here.
