After putting some videos together at the Summer OR show in 2011 on a whim, Elevation Outdoors Magazine was able to pick up a sponsorship from Verde PR & Consulting to make them happen for the Winter Market OR show. A huge thanks to Verde and here are the videos, each posted by the end of the day each day of the show. Click “Full Story” below or the title above to view the videos.
Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2012 Videos
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
22 January 2012
Review: Vasque Rift Approach Shoe
United States
31 December 2011
Spring climbing calls for an approach shoe that is comfortable and light. The Vasque Rift comes in bold and subtle color options to suit every personality. This multisport shoe sports the ultra sticky Vibram Spider outsole with Idrogrip Compound reaching from above the toe all the way back and up the heal to stab those tricky approach routes.
Soft and comfortable, wearing the Rift is like wearing tough slippers. Soft laces tie easily and stay tied. After hitting a few trails in them, my feet are always happy with the experience and I’m never itching to get these shoes off.
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GEAR: Ibex Zepher Wind Boxer Brief
United States
21 November 2011
Some of the best skiing is when the weather is the worst. That’s when the powder is falling, the wind is blowing and the temperature takes a dive. Be it at a resort or in the backcountry, bluebird days bring out the masses and foul weather keeps the slopes clear for those willing to brave the elements.
Ibex has stepped up the game and it may just add a few more folks, maybe you, to the slopes when the weather is being obnoxious. With a poly microdenier windstop front added to the already toasty and super soft 18.5 micron Zepher fabric, these boxer briefs will help you take on the most brutal of windy onslaughts and keep the vitals warm and cozy no matter what you’re doing out there.
Keep toasty, my friends.
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Review: CamelBak Antidote Hydration
United States
2 November 2011
I am totally impressed with CamelBak’s new Antidote hydration bladder. I’ve been though a few rough times with bags of water and their various shortcomings and even very soggy disasters. Sometimes, we tolerate some inconveniences to make something else more convenient. The Antidote eliminates the troubles from hydration bladders of the past and makes it easy to make drinking convenient. Click through to read about the features I love:
REVIEW: LifeProof – Waterproof iPhone Case
United States
13 October 2011
This water/dirt/snow/shock-proof case is designed to go on your phone and stay there. For the protection it offers, the slim design makes it practical to leave this case on your phone for full time protection, not just when you want to get out in the elements. As the instructions suggested, I first tested the case empty as the waterproofness is not intuitively apparent. But once that past the test I inserted my phone and haven’t taken it out since. Until something that does everything this LifeProof case does and resolves some of the issues I mention below, this will continue to be how I protect my iPhone.
GEAR: DryCase – Waterproof your iPhone
United States
1 September 2011
The vacuum seal tells all. Drop your mobile phone into this clear plastic case, pump (or suck) the air out and you’re good to go. By virtue of the vacuum holding, you know your kit is protected. And with a waterproof headphone jack, you can still get your tunes or make a call. The DryCASE allows for full touch screen functionality and comes with a buoyant armband, lanyard and hand pump.
This is a great solution for occasional waterproof protection when you know you’re going to be in a wet or dirty environment, but not practical for everyday use. It’s easy to get your device in and out of the case and has an arm-band for more active and pocket-less activities. In fact, it probably won’t fit in your pocket if you had one. The DryCASE will also do well just sitting in the sand next to your lounge chair or beach towel and you won’t have to worry about anyone kicking sand or standing above it with a dripping swim suit.
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REVIEW: Marmot Zion Softshell Jacket
United States
23 August 2011
This is a technical jacket. The core specifications – Polartec’s new NeoShell fabric, taped seams, storm hood – are impressive. But most importantly it performs well. As with anything new, it’s a little stiff when you first put it on, but that concern quickly fades away as the totally bomber nature of the Zion is realized. While you’re still standing in the store trying it on, you are transported to icy crags and powder days.
This is a winter jacket. The insulative nature of the soft shell is such that during any sporty activity you will want to be in the near freezing/sub-freezing temperatures. The NeoShell fabric is totally windproof. I was impressed when bombing down ski slopes, dead into the wind, and though I felt the pressure of the wind against my body, the cold never seeped through.
The hood, with the jacket zipped all the way up, stayed on my head keeping my forehead warm – something I noticed as a concern earlier in the season before I had the Zion. Even in the wind, this jacket is quiet. While taking a phone call on my iPhone ear-buds, using the iPod port, the microphone tucked inside the jacket didn’t pick up any of the wind or rustling outside. The caller was impressed to know I was on a windy mountain slope and claimed it sounded as if I was inside somewhere.
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GEAR: Portable Power – Solar Charging on the trail
Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2011, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
15 August 2011
Like || Tweet || More Photos || Purchase PhotoBack in 1999, I traveled to Nepal to study mountain ecology in the Himalaya. Part of our trip was a 14-day trek in the Annapurna region. Digital cameras were far from popular then, but somehow I managed to get one loaned to me. Since this was the era before proprietary rechargeable batteries the camera took a whopping four AA’s. Not knowing how fast the camera would use up the batteries and not wanting to cary a bag of AA’s along with me, I looked into rechargeable batteries and a solar charger. Looking back at where the technology was then, I’m amazed that I found a solar charger that held 4 AA batteries. So, I brought 8 batteries – 4 for in the camera and 4 to get charged in the charger that I strapped on the top of my pack to absorb the sun while we were trekking. No shortage of sunshine and the system worked great.
For a number of reasons, one being that there haven’t been many electronic items that people would need to charge on the trail, the idea of harnessing solar power while on the go hasn’t come about until fairly recently. While at the 2011 Summer Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, it’s obvious that with all the little electronic gadgets made to go on our adventures with us (cameras, GPS, iPods, lights, etc.) saving weight on batteries (not to mention the waste) has driven a number of companies to invest in providing portable solar charging options. It should also be noted these devices are not recommended for use with something as large as a laptop, but exceptions and alternatives may exist. Here’s what I found:
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Outdoor Retailer Show – Summer 2011
Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
4 August 2011
I’m in Salt Lake City for the next few days checking out the latest and greatest of outdoor recreation gear that will be hitting the markets in the very near future.
The show started at Jordanelle Park where participants could try out many of the new paddleboards, kayaks and the various accessories that go along with them from sails to clothing to booties and more.
Next, we head to the Salt Palace convention center in downtown SLC where hundreds of outdoor brands have set up shop to display their goods. I’m tweeting about what I find as I go at @offyonder and below are the videos I’m producing for Elevation Outdoors magazine each day. I’ll also be doing a recap writup for Snowshoe Magazine.
Click on the title of the post, above, to check out the videos.
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Review: CamelBak Stoaway
9 March 2011
Like || Tweet || More Photos || Purchase PhotoHydration is a key part of any adventure. When bladders with hoses first started to come out, I was skeptical and held out for a while, perfectly content with my Nalgene bottles which nested nicely in the nook above my hip between me and my Gregory Pack. I could drink on the go, no problem. Or so I thought.
While the CamelBak Stoaway was not my first exposure to this hydration method, it has been my most constant. I picked the Stoaway up for my Trans-Sierra Snowshoe Trek for Atlas Snow-Shoe Co. Since we were going to be pushing over 13,000 foot peaks and camping in the snow we were keen to try the insulated Stoaway.
The Stoaway fit nicely in our bulging packs and the insulation and covered mouth-piece worked well. It’s still smart to blow the water back into the main bladder after taking a sip to help prevent the hose from freezing. The water will be fine if the temps are holding in the upper 20′sF, but any colder, especially with windchill, the hose will still freeze. At those temps, no reasonable amount of insulation is going to do you much good. Although, we did find on calm sunny days we could pack the bladder with snow, strap the Stoaway on the outside of our packs and the sun would melt the snow into water. The only caution here is this puts one of the heaviest items in your pack (water) at the furthest point from your center of gravity. It makes a huge difference to keep 100oz of water close to your body so it’s not leveraging your pack away from you making it feel heavier. Try strapping it on the side of you pack with some sort of counter balance on the opposite side, or right on the very top.
Another great feature of the Stoaway is the series of D-rings stitched into the insulation pouch. These have proven handy in situations like the one above to strap the pouch to a pack and while on a recent river trip in the arctic, I was able to strap it to the top of the gear of my boat providing me with easy access to water on the river. I’ve also found with a piece of webbing, the Stoaway becomes a pack on its own for little day or side trips. It also makes it easy to hang the Stoaway upside down to dry it out after use or washing it. I stuff the drinking hose (if it’s mostly clean) up in the bladder to allow it to breathe some.
The only con I deal with is the top can be extremely difficult to unscrew at times. I’m sure this adds to the leak-proofness of the system, but when it’s well below freezing, wearing mittens and trying to refill your water pouch, it’s a bit annoying. Still, I’d recommed it for any cold weather trips.
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