Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2012: Top Ten ORWMoments

If you've spent some time on this website, you'll know that the Outdoor Retailer shows can be a bit extreme for me and the people around me. No one went to the hospital this year, although another Columbia Sportswear employee did get hurt (sorry Adam), so I'll call this one a success. Here are a few context-free highlights from the trip.

1. Seeing oil explode out of a vat of molten salt at the Easton Mountain Products factory tour. Ka-BOOM!

2. Listening to Gearjunkie.com founder Stephen Regenold speak of his love of Buff headwear: "I think I wear one every day of my life."

3. Watching half a dozen blind-drunk people from [will remain nameless] apparel company stagger out of their plainly marked limo, then miraculously find their way into the Red Door lounge. Apparently, Kiwis know how to party.

4. Hearing iRunFar.com's (hilarious) Bryon Powell encourage our driver to have a glass of wine by saying "Well, you're not driving NOW..."

5. Seeing Columbia Sportswear's social media manager Adam Buchanan getting cracked on the head with a piece of street art. Sorry about that, A-bomb...

6. Admitting that I came to Outdoor Retailer with my mom's computer (long story).

7. Trying to write down all the courses of our meal at The Yurt at Solitude, but giving up when I couldn't pronounce half of the items. 

8. Realizing that no matter how many shoes I have, I need more.Thanks, Saucony.

9. Receiving a sample flask (still in its packaging) that happened to be pre-loaded with Maker's Mark whiskey. Deluxe model, anyone?

10. Seeing our collective Outdoor Retailer experience summed up in this video. Great job, Verde PR!

You want gear stuff, check out TheGearcaster.com or GearJunkie.com. These guys have tons of great gear content. Or heck, you could even read some of my gear reviews over at ActiveJunky.com/thefix or Wired.com. It's not bad either.

ORWM Day 1 Highlights: Gluten-Free Goodies, Waterproof Down, and...Other Cool Stuff.

Holy cow, Day 1 is done, and I'm beat. I hope you guys are happy, I missed the Michael Franti concert to write (among other things) this post. You're welcome. Here are your dang highlights. 

PROBAR is adding four new flavors to their roster: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate, SuperFruit Slam (not to be confused with SuperFOOD Slam), and Peanut Butter. The Peanut Butter and Chocolate based flavors are tasty and dessert-y, but the SuperFruit Slam is amazing. Tangy and sweet, it tastes like an extremely substantial fruit rollup.

Also, the Fruition bars are going gluten free by March. They're not changing any of the ingredients, since they're all already glutenless, but now they're only buying oats processed in a gluten-free facility. Celiacs rejoice.

This fall, Brooks Range Mountaineering is releasing the Mojave Down Jacket, filled with 800-fill, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial down. Oh, did I mention that it's waterproof? Yup, they've taken a Pertex Quantum shell and stuffed it full of the iPhone of outdoor gear: down that keeps is insulative properties when it gets wet. Downtek is treated with nanoparticles of a waterproof polymer, making it impervious to moisture, potentially eliminating down's only weakness as a jacket-stuffer.

I'm stoked to hear that Pearl iZumi is going to be catering more to ultra-endurance athletes. Their Ultra Barrier WxB Jacket is a great way to get started with this new direction. Made with their quick-drying, sweat-wicking Minerale fabric combined with a stretchy, water- and windproof exterior, the jacket is a great way to warm and dry on long runs. For the ultra set, they've bolstered the shoulders with a tacky reinforcement. Sticky tacky, not style tacky. Reinforcement to keep hydration packs from abrading the jacket, and tacky to keep the shoulder straps in place whilst you run. Paired with their Ultra Tights with pockets for Amphipod bottles, and you're good to go for your next 50k.

I was checking out Julbo's mountaineering line of sunglasses for a Wired.com review, but one of their multisport glasses really caught my eye (see what I did there?) today. Their Ultra sunglasses are lightweight, vented, and rock an open frame to give you a wide field of vision on your bike. What really grabbed my attention was how flexible the Zebra photochromic lens was - you could bend it back and forth in your hand. This means two things: one, that the lens bends instead of breaks when you take a header and two, the next time you faceplant, said lenses won't carve a divot out of your cheekbone. Which is good, because I like my face the way it is. 

Alright, it's past midnight - I'm gotta go crash.

Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2012: Demo Day Highlights

Hey hey, it was demo day at Solitude Mountain Resort, and the booths were out in force. The snow started falling around 1pm, and the booths were clogged with people trying on boots, getting fitted for skis, and slapping YakTrax on their boots. It's already looking like a good event, with the mainstays rolling out some new innovations and the upstart companies hitting back with some interesting pieces of their own. Here are some Trek Tech highlights.

Recon Instruments adds Scott and Smith Optics to their lineup.
Recon Instruments, the guys who brought you the in-goggle head's up display,are adding big eyewear names Scott and Smith Optics to their line of Recon-compatible goggles. Soon, you'll be able to see just how much hang time you got on that kicker so you can brag with precision. 

Nargear introduces Military-Spec packs for civilian use. 
According to Nargear.com, these guys make packs for wildland firefighters and Fire/Rescue crews. And now, Nargear is introducing tough-as-nails packs for the likes of us. With heavy-duty 1000 denier fabric and double-stitched with military-spec parachute thread, Nargear's offerings for backcountry skiers and snowboarders look like they'll be able to survive wrecks that will end you. Just plain end you. So whoever finds your frozen corpse will end up with a sweet pack.

Easton Mountain Products and YakTrax kill "It's snowing outside" as an excuse not to run. 
Is it icy outside? Yaktrax's XTR crampons slip on over your running shoes. Ten spikes on two flexible plates give you traction on icy roads and sidewalks, keeping you on your feet and off your butt. Too much snow? Easton Mountain Products' Vo2 snowshoes let you mount your choice of shoes to the deck. A floating mounting joint and the flexion point behind the ball of the feet give you a natural feel, and carbon fiber decking keep the snowshoe's weight to a minimum.

Osprey adds a minimal lift and sidecountry ski pack to their lineup.
With its low-profile Karve series, Osprey brings a slim pack that will fit the essentials (reservoir, shovel, probe, food, extra layer), but is sits comfortably on a ski lift. An innovative diagonal zip design caught my eye, and the economy with which it stores said items kept it. Can't wait to try one of these guys.

Lots of good stuff, and the show hasn't even started yet. Things are looking good for this week.

Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2012 Day 1(ish): Easton Mountain Products Factory Tour

The Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2012 officially starts tomorrow, but Easton Mountain Products has no problem giving the trade show's early arrivals a special treat: a tour through their Salt Lake City facility followed by a delicious dinner at Settebello Pizzeria Nepoletana. EMP's marketing coordinator Rich Packer took a group of journalists through the factory and showed us the process by which your ridiculously light tent poles (and stakes, and snowshoes, and trekking poles, and arrows) are made. I'll have a full overview of the tour after the show, but here are a few photos to keep you sated:

EMP's marketing coordinator Rich Packer takes writers step-by-step though the process of making super-light goodies.

Your future trekking poles, maybe? Some stacks of rolled and welded aluminum waiting to be softened in the ovens. 

Part of the strengthening process involves heating the poles in molten salt. The factory workers added extra oil to this batch to show what happens when the oil and 900-degree salt mix. Here's a hint: awesome happens. 

Tomorrow's the All-Mountain Demo day at Solitude Mountain Resort. Check twitter for live updates and back here tomorrow night for the report.