by Alicia MacLeay
It’s the morning of day four, the last of Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. Things are quieting down as booths get packed up and attendees cruise the Salt Palace hoping for freebies and deals on gear that companies don’t want to bother shipping back home. I’m headed back for one last marathon day of walking the show in the hopes of discovering some new gear and gear companies that I’ve missed while rushing from booth to booth the first few days.
Here’s some of what I saw and liked yesterday:
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Mountainsmith has 19 backpacks and daypacks, seven lumbar packs, and four camera bags with recycled content. The granddaddy of them all is the Phoenix a 4,211 cubic inch alpine pack with 85% recycled materials (recycled PET mesh, recycled PET zippers, eco-friendly hardware, 100% recycled PET fabric, webbing, and binding). It uses the equivalent of 72 recycled bottles (5 lbs 8 oz, $289). -
Also in the recycled category, Mion is introducing the Floodgate, a watersport sandal with 15% recycled rubber outsole (R2R, round two rubber), 29% recycled EVA footbed, and 50% PET recyled straps. Expect some completely green sandals from Mion in the next few years.
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I’ve seen a lot of new tents this year. Mountain Hardwear’s Stiletto 1 (2 lbs. 8 oz, $325) and Helion 2 (3 lbs. 4 oz, $395) are ultralight and guaranteed watertight. They’ve also got some tough new climbing and alpine packs in their Objective Series: South Col (75 L, 3 lbs 14 oz, $260), Direttissima (52 L, 4 lbs 4 oz, $190), Dihedral (40 L, 3 lbs 11 oz., $160), and the Splitter crag pack (35 L, 4 lbs 2 oz, $160), as well as the multi-sport SuperNatural (40L and 55L, 3 lbs 7 oz and 4 lbs, $190 and $230). I fell for their mid-weight, softshell Navigation Pants with zip-off ankle gaiters (men’s and women’s, $130).
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At last winter's OR I stumbled upon Roonwear’s booth, and yesterday I got to visit again. As a parent I was drawn in by their good looking, technical, non-scratchy, clothing for kids. The dri-release socks and shirts are truly cottony soft. They also appealed to me as a family company, started by the Johnsons, two outdoor enthusiast parents who were looking for quality clothes for their own baby, Cameron, now a toddler (working the OR floor at left with Thomas). Parents who need newborn to 5T clothing for their outdoor kids should check out Roonwear. -
Primus has a multi-fuel version of the EtaPower EF stove coming out. It’s appropriately called the EtaPower MF.
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ProBars are really yummy. Each bar guarantees 15 fresh, whole food ingredients. I especially liked the Superfood Slam.
And lastly, I got the chance to visit and have dinner with Bill S and Brian in SLC while here, which was fun. It’s so nice to meet some fellow Trailspace community members in person.
