by Seth Levy
Tuesday was blistering hot at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market's Demo Day at Utah's Pineview Reservoir. Copious quantities of Sierra Nevada and the coolest in new outdoor equipment were just the thing to temper the heat, though many brands opted to heat things up.
FlameStower
The FlameStower in action.
The newest entry to a growing category of thermoelectric power generators (like Biolite and the PowerPot) is the nifty FlameStower. Andrew Byrnes, one of the company's materials scientists, explained that several things make the FlameStower unique.
First, the unit is separate from a cooking device. It has a built-in height adjuster so that it's compatible with different stove systems and even fires.
Second, it incorporates a little silicone dish of cool water. Since the thermoelectric generator is more efficient where there is a higher temperature gradient present, this cool water purportedly makes it a more efficient power generator.
Weight: 8 oz
Price: $70
Available: November
The Jetboil Joule, showing its inverted canister.
Jetboil Joule
Jetboil, already known for zippy boil times, has introduced a real scorcher of a stove.
The Joule is powered by an inverted pressurized fuel canister, which delivers a steady stream of liquid fuel to a burner assembly that includes a warming coil.
It packs a whopping 10,000 BTU's. ("Holy crap," one observer exclaimed. "That's more than the stove in my kitchen!")
Weight: 27 oz
Price: $169.99
Available: Shortly
Windcatcher
The Windcatcher Air Pad
The gentleman at Windcatcher used words like "channel" and "multiply" to describe the effect its new "rapid inflation technology" has on your breath while inflating the Windcatcher Air Pad.
To me, it's quite simple: You avoid becoming a blue-lipped, gasping wreck while attempting to puff enough air into your sleeping pad.
Weight: 840 g
R-value: 1
Price: $119
Available: Shortly
Ryan Frayne and Zeke Camusio demonstrated the Windcatcher Air Pad for us:
More OR Photos!
Want more photos? Check out our Demo Day Photo Album on Facebook for more shots from the day.
