Please Stop Me From Buying These 9 Gadgets From Outdoor Retailer
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Despite the roaming dogs and freely flowing beer, trade shows like Outdoor Retailer are serious business. It's where gear manufacturers meet suppliers, where companies get bought and sold, and where retailers make orders that could make or break a company's bottom line. But if you're a member of the media, and your company doesn't rely on you saying the right things to the right people, going to Outdoor Retailer is like going to the biggest gear sale in the world. Instead of sweating your way through meetings, you can wander around and spend the whole weekend repetitively texting your friends, "OMG! I WANT THIS." Here are nine things that I've been thinking about since I came back from the show.
68601House of Marley
Hydrastash
Keeping hydrated is the most boring, and most necessary, part of snowboarding. Nothing ruins a day faster than deciding that you can wait a few more runs to get a drink, and then keeling over in the lift line. For winter 2018, snowboard apparel company 686 incorporated a tiny micro-bladder into the powder skirt of a snowboard jacket. The 25-ounce bladder doesn't sit awkwardly on your back while you're riding the lift, and it's strong enough to get run over by a small car. Just don't have the jacket on when you try that.
Energy bars are the BEST and stroopwafels are also the BEST, so when you combine them, you have a snack that is just THE BEST. I tried Gu Energy Labs' stroopwafels in a variety of flavors and they are just as thin, sweet, and delicious as regular stroopwafels. These are perfect for your mid-morning or mid-afternoon coffee break while hiking or skiing.
If stroopwafels are the best, then ice axes are the worst. Except for this one. Eliteclimb is currently the only company in the world that is making certified light, strong, technical ice axes out of hybrid carbon and Kevlar composites. You have to be completely loco to ice climb in the first place. But if you are, carrying an extremely light ice axe will make it much easier.
Salomon04Salomon
The Outline Mid GTX
If you like one outdoor sport, you probably like all of them. On any given weekend, we could be rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, or skateboarding—sometimes all at once! And then going out to eat! The Salomon Outline Mid-GTX is grippy and waterproof, but light and flexible enough to feel like a running shoe. It will be released in August 2018 and looks like a solid future contender for the Most Beat-Up Shoe in the World.
Primus05Primus
Kuchoma Grill
I want to be the kind of person who goes car camping and produces miraculous cinnamon buns and savory peanut satay skewers for everyone's delectation. Instead, I throw a grill grate on a fire and force everyone to eat half-burned, half-raw sausages. If anything could help me, the portable, and beautiful Primus Kuchoma grill—made from stainless steel, oak, and brass—could.
Line Skis06Line Skis
Eric Pollard Sakana Skis
I don't even ski, and I am intrigued by these. The Sakana (Japanese for "fish") is the second iteration from freeskier and artist Eric Pollard's line of fish-inspired skis for Line. Like the Pescado (Spanish for "fish"), the Sakana has a swallowtail shape and is meant to ski in powder, with the easy, swoopy flow of a surfboard.
As easy and comfortable as are leggings are in the gym, they have their limitations outside. Fjallraven's trekking tights solve that problem with reinforced knees and seat, zippered pockets, and an adjustable drawcord waist. Of course, they're made from 4-way stretch fabric so that you can reap all the benefits of wearing leggings with none of the problems.
I like soft-sided coolers because they're easier to shove into the trunk of a car. However, they generally don't insulate as well and they get torn up and damaged after one season. Rather than buying and then throwing away a bunch of crappy insulated totes every summer, I'm looking forward to Otterbox's new line of indestructible, premium soft-sided coolers. The Trooper 30L can keep ice cold for up to three days and the strap converts from a backpack to a shoulder carry. It also has a largemouth opening that will let you throw in as many six-packs as you want.
Patagonia09Patagonia
Micro Puff Storm
If climbing partners are like spouses, then belaying—keeping tension on a climbing rope to prevent your partner from falling to the ground—is like emptying the dishwasher. It's just one of those boring chores that you have to do to keep your partner happy and to ensure that you will also have a turn climbing at the sharp end of the rope. I'm looking forward to keeping my belay partner happy with Patagonia's Micro Puff Storm, which will be released later in 2018. It is a next-level, ultralight belay jacket. It combines a waterproof, breathable, DWR-finished outer shell with synthetic PlumaFill insulation to keep you warm, even in wet conditions.
