Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2015 Wrap-up
Introduction
For a buyer from a local outdoor store, the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show is serious work; they may place orders for $500K of new merchandise for their store, so they need to choose carefully. For media folks, like us, it’s a big treasure hunt to find gear of interest for lightweight and ultralight outdoor pursuits. For a gear-head, it’s nirvana being emerged in the latest and greatest gear for four days. And it’s also very social; we get to meet up with all of our friends in the industry we have known for 10 years.
In previous years we put in 18-hour days, roaming the show during the day and writing late into the night. Amazingly, we put out some good coverage, in spite of limited time and consciousness. Now we write our coverage after we get home; it may be delayed a few days, but hopefully the organization and depth will be better.
Most of the gear we report on are evolutionary improvements on existing gear, where gear is made better by incorporating new designs, technologies, and materials. Revolutionary new gear only turns up once in awhile. The outdoor industry is really driving hard to develop new and better products, and weight reduction is part of the equation. They never fail to impress us. We continue to find lighter sleeping bags, packs, shelters, footwear, and apparel - everything just keeps getting lighter and better.
Following, in no particular order, are our findings from Summer OR, held August 4-8, 2015. Items featured will be available in spring 2016 unless stated otherwise. Weights are for men’s size Medium apparel or size 9 footwear. Note: for more information on any of the items featured, simply Google the name and experience the wonders of the internet.
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By Will Rietveld
Will Rietveld Ph.D, Senior Editor for Gear and Apparel, joined the BPL staff in April 2004. In his former career, Will was a research scientist, project manager, and R&D program administrator. Now retired, he lives in southern Colorado where he takes up a new career of backpacking year-round in the mountains and canyon country of the Southwest. During the summer months Will and his wife Janet are volunteer wilderness rangers in the Weminuche Wilderness. He has been a lightweight backpacker for 52 years and an ultralight backpacker for 13 years.
Discussion
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Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2015 Wrap-Up
Any photos of the upcoming GSI canister stoves?
Saw a small photo on the Deseret News site last night, but couldn't see much details.
From what I could see, they had a similar appearance to some Kovea stoves, but not exact matches.
At 21oz and roughly 9' x 8', that Nemo Apollo 3P pyramid tarp could be a good alternative to a lot of the cottage mids. That's a lot of space for the weight
Also, the updated SMD Fusion packs look nice
I tried a prototype of that Kokepelli packraft at the APA Roundup, bought it and took it to Canada for a big trip. I liked what I saw.
1. The raft holds air better then Alpackas and can get very stiff which is nice for punching through whitewater.
2. The current deck/skirt combo is okay but the version coming out in 2016 is VERY good.
3. The two chamber setup saved my raft and gear when the front chamber was cut and the raft went on a 5-6 mile Class 4 run without me (long story). The short story is it would be hard to convince me to go back to a single chamber boat for a long wilderness trip. Next year I expect to be paddling either my repaired prototype or the updated 2016 version.
4. The tubes on the Kokepelli are a bit smaller then Alpackas, I think 11 inches versus 12. It doesn't seem like much but it is different. The boat was easier to get back into after I tipped over. It also is less affected by wind IMHO (I paddled it down a rather long lake in B.C). Waves break over the boat more but with a good spray deck that is not a problem, except in some cases when they push the front down in big whitewater. My understanding is they plan on turning the bow up a bit more in order to solve this problem (it didn't affect me or my friend who also paddled a Nirvana through Class 4 water).
5. The one way "Boston" valve is really nice for inflating the boat.
Bottom line is I think Alpacka is about to have some real competition. Other plans I've heard discussed but not officially announced are for a bare bones budget packraft which should be good for people looking to enter the sport for the first time.
Hi Brad, the new GSI Pinnacle canister fuel stoves and windscreens are covered in another OR coverage article I wrote for the Gossamer Gear Blog. Go to http://gossamergear.com/wp/coverage-summer-2015-outdoor-retailer-lightweight-and-ultralight-backpackers.
Link not working for anyone else?
Not working for me either.
Compass Broken?
The page you were after (outdoor-retailer-summer-market-2015-wrap-up-rietveld.html) is lost in the woods.
You may have followed a bad link or mis-typed a URL. That’s most likely what went wrong.
Link in OP is bad. Accessed the article from elsewhere.
Try this: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/outdoor_retailer_summer_market_2015_wrapup_rietveld.html
Edit to add: I see what happened. Whoever put the link into this thread at the top used dashes instead of underscores.
Thanks Doug.
Your link works.
For anybody interested in further details on the Cubic Tech buyout, I put together an interview article that could be of interest to you.
http://hikelighter.com/2015/06/20/cubic-tech-corp-buyout/
It includes Q&A from a number of cottage owners, as well as from DSM Dyneema representative who was kind enough to answer some questions.
Great roundup! I've got to disagree with you here though: "It costs real money to go backpacking. Road bikes, mountain bikes, skis, and canoes are expensive too. But that’s our passion, so go for it; we get to enjoy the wilderness." It costs real money to keep up with trends. But as fun as that is (I fall into it myself), it's still completely possible to have a safe, enjoyable backpacking experience without spending much at all. Even in a world with Pertex and Cuben, Frogg Toggs and blue poly tarps still work just as well as they always have. Like any sport, backpacking has become more gentrified as it gains popularity. But I'd like to think there's still a place on the trail for dirtbaggers.
Good point Mitchell, there are lots of inexpensive functional alternatives in most categories. And one can purchase used equipment for things like shelter, pack, and sleeping bag to get the lighter stuff. One error: the Osprey UL Stuff Pack has one mesh side pocket. I said it had no side pockets. Will
Hello Will, I wanted to give you a report on the Terra Nova tent. How can I do that? Please let me know. Barb O'Donnell bodonnell@alaska.net
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