Outdoor retailer coverage

Too much? Not Enough? About right?

How would you do it better?

Links to all our reports are here.

I really enjoy reading the reports and seeing what's new, especially practical innovations.

I don't mind the way it is being done presently- I haven't really thought much about how it might be done better, though.

A "Staff Picks" report might be interesting, where each of you selected and extolled an item that particularly captured your interest/liking.

I love it all, certainly not too much for my tastes. I only wish I could join you there.

alan said:

I only wish I could join you there.

I heartily second that sentiment!

I came home over the weekend thinking we were verging on overkill but when I woke up this morning before dawn thinking of an angle I hadn't covered, I think it's safe to say my opinion had changed.

Your coverage was better than that "other" sites was IMO.

I read all the reports, I didn't leave a comment but I enjoyed it all!

I like Gonzans idea of a staff pick, or favorite gear item. Something personal in nature, something you liked for your own reasons.

I believe Alicia already may have done this with the SAK she put together (?). At least that's the impression I got.

Thanks to all for the coverage.

Thanks for the feedback & suggestions. I'm hoping we can find ways to open up the contributor base so Alicia and I don't have to do all the legwork (and do have time to partake of the free beer -- I haven't tasted a drop of it in the two shows I've covered.).

Umm, Tom, I did a bit of legwork, too. I still have a few more things to write up from visits Alicia and I did together and she asked me to do the writing. Plus there are several climbing-related gear items. And Barb did a fair amount of legwork as well, as did Seth.

The Victorinox visit was certainly a highlight. And yes, trout, we each assembled a knife (the model is the Spartan).

Sorry, Bill, I know how modest you are and didn't want to embarrass you.

Just to be clear, I enjoyed the articles written by everyone, and I appreciate the work done by all. I thought the writing was objective and I appreciate that very much.

Actually, Tom, I just wanted Barb and Seth to get credit for running a hunnert miles every day up and down the aisles, trying to cover the huge number of vendors (seriously, there was a lot of ground to cover, and I think I heard there were over 1000 vendors - though frankly most were of no interest to Trailspace readers, and definitely not to me - like the cell phone booster guy who wanted to give me one to test and write up, even though it required a household plug or car plug-in to provide power, the Brunton solar panel that Gary and I both have wouldn't be anywhere near enough, even in broad daylight in summer at noon).

I wonder how many miles of aisles there were. I think the Salt Palace is close to a quarter mile on each axis of the "L", and each section had a lot of parallel aisles. A couple times Alicia had an appointment at one end of the place, with the next one at the farthest point away. Well, it was a substitute for my normal daily hikes, anyway, especially when the vendors would load me down with thick catalogs (why do the ones I was least interested in have the thickest catalogs?)

Pretty close guess there Bill. U some kinda hiker or somthun?

The long end of the Salt Palace is about 1480 feet from north to south, according to Google maps' measurement tool. The shorter end is about 800 feet, measured from the west edge of the long end.

My feet were definitely issuing stern protests to the brain by about 4:30 each day. I figure including the walk back and from the hotel I must've walked 15 miles each day.

You all write well so enjoyed what you had to say.

I just want to thank all of you. It was a great read.

Thanks for all of the feedback. I'm always curious to hear what people like, didn't like, or would like more or less of. We'll do our best to do our very best coverage.

Feel free to send along suggestions or comments anytime.

And yes, building a knife was definitely the show highlight for me. I was very excited and fortunate to have that experience.

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