Saturday, January 28, 2012

New Trail Goodies for 2012 Spotted at the Outdoor Retailer Show

Cielestia Calbay of Competitor Magazine has a great recap of the hot products spotted at the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, UT, last weekend. Be sure to check out the whole article (Part 1 and Part 2).

A few of the things that look impressive to me:

Pearl Izumi’s $180 Ultra Barrier WxB Jacket which not only looks comfy, but has a few new features like an abrasion print on the shoulders to keep your pack from moving around. What a great simple innovation!

The $80 Eton Mobius solar charger for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S fits on the back, and lets you know when you're fully charged. Genius. (video review)


Instafire is a new innovation in fire starting that allows you to carry fire in your hands! Owner Gary Banner says, “It’s a mixture of volcanic rock and wood pellets. The rock absorbs seven times its weight of our burning elements. A cup of InstaFire will burn from 20 to 25 minutes, with a flame 10 to 12 inches high.”


The New Balance Winter 110 training boot has a flexible, water-resistant gaiter that you can fold down or up in changing conditions. Sounds perfect for snowshoeing.


Goal Zero's Sherpa 50 portable battery has been reduce in weight to a half a pound, meaning campers (and aid stations!) can now power refrigerators, laptops, stereos, and more absolutely noise free. Well, except for the stereo, of course. Sounds like an aid station must! I vote for the beer fridges at every aid station, and we do the ultra version of the beer mile.


Columbia is now using their thermal reflective Omni-heat technology in footwear, such as in the Master Fly multisport shoe. I bought Christi one of the battery-powered heated Columbia jackets for the holidays (it is called the "Snow Hottie", after all), and it's lined with the super-warm, water resistant Omni-heat layer. The jacket is a little spendy, and a tad bit Tron Goes Skiing, but you thank your lucky stars when you get six hours of delicious battery-powered warmth seeping into your bones. Another aid station volunteer gear must!


Fria has a new pack for dogs...think they make them in pug sizes?!?


The new Zipfy Mini Luge super-fast sled. Yeah? Oh, hell yeah. I can see it now...Zipfy + GoPro Camera = a whole new genre of blooper/crash videos.

Photos courtesy of Competitor.com and Salt Lake's City Weekly.

3 comments:

  1. I would be totally in for a beer ultra. Say 5 beers during a 50K? Maybe there could be an adjustment for degree of difficulty (choosing the Russian imperial stout takes 3 minutes off your time, while choosing the light beer adds 1 minute -- I'm just making that up).

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