Outdoor Retailer Summer Market '07 - Day 1

Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2007

Other articles in this series (OR Summer 2007): Day 2 Blog Day 3 Blog

J. Wilder

I love the summer market- unlike the winter market, there is a certain vibe in the air that just puts a smile on my face. This year is no different- everyone has lots of new stuff to talk about and most of it is pretty exciting. So, without further ado, let’s get started!

Metolius

Due to the rumors about, I talked with Metolius and Chris just happened to have his very first interview available for me to come and talk to him about the secret new cams. Well folks, the rumors are true. Metolius is making a single stem cam, and its pretty sexy…

The Metolius Master Cam- the rumors are true! J. Wilder The Metolius Master Cam - the rumors are true! For a large photo, click here.

Say hello to the Master Cam, Metolius’ new single stem cam. First a couple of answers to the folks asking: The lobes are made of 7075 aluminum, they are the same sizes as Metolius TCU’s and Power Cams, and as a result have the same cam angle. They are available in sizes #00-#6, and are narrower (or at least look) than Aliens.

They have a milled aluminum trigger assembly held together with two thin steel cables (see the center pictures) rather than the metal sheath that the Aliens have. Don’t despair, though, they still flex really well, especially in vertical placements. Flush ends, Kevlar trigger cord, and a molded thumb grip finish them off. Expect to see some changes before they hit the stores in the Spring of next year. They retail at $54.95, except the two largest sizes, which retail at $59.95.

But wait, there’s more. Metolius has a bunch of cool new toys due out this spring. The next up is the ned Inferno and Element carabiners. The Inferno is a hot-forged wiregate that checks in at a paltry 35g despite its full-size. The Element is a new locking carabiner that tests to 24kn and weighs 73g. They are both reasonable in price- the Inferno is $7.50, and also available in draws and draw 5-packs. The Element is $9.95, and comes with your BRD for $24.95. Not a bad package! Expect to see them in the Spring as well.

J. Wilder

J. Wilder

Also new this spring is the Fat Bastard’s replacement. That’s right, the Bastard is getting retired. Meet the new guy- Boss Hogg. A new foam system- 1” closed cell on top, 2.5” in the middle, and another 0.5” on the bottom create 4” of foam. It also features a hybrid folding system- the 1” foam is a taco fold, but the rest of the pad is a hinge, allowing the pad to open flat, but also have continuous coverage. They have also created a new flap system that uses only one buckle and a Velcro flap. It’s 36” x 48” and will retail at $199 in the Spring.

J. Wilder

On another note, the Sketch Pad, a smaller pad with a taco style opening, and 2” of open cell foam with 1” of closed cell on top, is now available. It’s 42” x 32” and retails at $109.

J. Wilder

Chris also showed me something I really liked a lot- the new Porta-Cord rope bag. They put a lot of thought into this bag, and it shows. It has three functions- rope-bag, rope-bucket, and summit/leader pack. It has a hydration pocket (and port), which also will hold the tarp that comes with it (at the same time as your bladder!), it works as a top-loader but also opens up. Also, it has side pockets big enough for your shoes (one in each side), and the tie in points on the tarp are also handles for those quick moves between climbs. Chris tells me that it will easily take a 10.2mm 60m rope, harness, draws, and shoes. The nice part is the pack is very compact, and it looked like it would carry well as a leaders pack. It retails at $54.95 and should be in stores by November or so.

J. Wilder

Finally, Metolius is releasing a new Monster rope. It seems that everyone else has their skinny line, and now its Metolius’ turn. This spring, Metolius will release the 9.2mm Monster rope. The specs are: 53g/m, 5-6 falls, 6.8kn impact force, static elongation of 9%, dynamic elongation of 35%. It will be available in 70m and 100m lengths only, no 60m folks, sorry! Retail prices- $249 for the 70m, $365 for the 100m.

Black Diamond

Strangely, I wasn’t expecting anything new from Black Diamond. They’ve been very quiet lately, and I was pleasantly surprised when I met with Penn to talk about the latest and greatest. First off, the Oz is now available and by November, it should be easy to find. Black Diamond is still ramping up production of this little gem, so give them time to get to capacity. Also, look for a rechargeable battery kit for the Icon headlamp as well as the Expedition Fly for the portaledge.

Second is, the new belay device from Black Diamond. Say hello to the ATC-Sport- a single tube device for those folks who only use one side of their ATC. It has the XP friction, but just a single hole. It’s rated for ropes 7.7mm to 11mm, although I’d like to see someone use it to belay on a 7.7mm!!

J. Wilder

Also, Black Diamond is making more strides into the big wall market by introducing the Big Gun Wall Harness. 6 gear loops plus a haul loop and a hammer holster, drop seat, and dual belay loops make this thing look pretty beefy. It also has an additional long loop in the rear for accessories and the like. It’s $99.95 and expect to see it in the spring.

J. Wilder

Black Diamond is also introducing the Focus SA (speed adjust) to round out its harness offerings. Also, all of its harnesses will feature the new soft edge padding on the top of the harness to increase the comfort for the climber.

J. Wilder

BD also has two new headlamps with ½ watt LEDs that should hit the stores in November. A new and improved Ion that features a better beam with a single bulb but still weighs 1oz and the Cosmo which has a center bulb (the half watt) as well as two superbright LEDs on either side.

Cascade Designs

After the rush of Metolius and Black Diamond, I had a few minutes to catch my breath before I had to meet John at Big Agnes, so I made two quick pit stops. The first was at Cascade Designs to see if I could find out the release date for the MSR Reactor. The good news is that its coming and coming fast- expect to see it in stores by the end of this month. While I was there, I also checked out their two new water filtration systems: the Hyperflow Microfilter and the Autoflow Gravity Microfilter- both are effective to 0.2 Microns as well as protozoa, bacteria, and particulate matter. They are not, however, effective against viruses or chemicals. They retail at $99.95 and $79.95 respectively and will be available in January.

Nikwax

I also stopped by Nikwax to see whats new in the world of detergents, and found that they actually has some really neat stuff available! They have three new products- Woolwash for your fine wool products, Basewash for the nasty capilene hiding in your closet, and Sandal wash to help clean the funk off your tevas. All of these are out now.

Big Agnes

After checking out Nikwax, I headed over to talk to John about Big Agnes latest offerings. Big Agnes is making a big push this year to round out their product line for the core enthusiast and to this end, they have new pads, bags, and tents! They also have a new eco-friendly campagain going called Re-Rout. All of their current synthetic bags now have Primaloft Eco in them which is made from a minimum of 50% recycled content.

They are also expanding their Divide SL series to include some real cold weather bags. They have the new Hahns Peak, a -20 degree bag that checks in at 3lbs 8oz and stuffs to 8” x 9”. Like all BA bags, there is no insulation underneath, but instead it has a sleeve for a BA pad. They also have three new synthetic bags filled with Primaloft SB- the Elbert (20 degree, 2lb 13oz), the Savery (20 degree, 3lb 2oz), and the Yellow Wall (0 degree, 3lb 4oz). They stuff down nicely too- the Elbert stuffs to 7” x 9” and the other two stuff to 8” x 9” and 8” x 10” respectively. Look for them in the Spring.

Another sleeping bag that deserves mention is the Skinnyfish- a bag made of 99% recycled materials. The fill is Climashield HL Green, the shell, and even the stuff sack and toggles are all recycled material. The only thing that isn’t is the zipper and that’s due to zipper compatibility between non-recycled bags. It’s a 20 degree bag and retails at 179.95.

Next up for Big Agnes is a pair of new tent lines to round out their series. They’ve added the Mine Mountain Series- a pair of 4 season tents (a 3 man and a 2 man). They feature dual doors, vestibules, roof vents, DAC twist clips, and a Cordura fly.

They also have new ultralight tents- the Copper Spur UL series. They have 2 and 3 man sizes available and feature an ultralightweight fabric, DAC swivel hubs on the poles, and a cross pole. It retails at $400 and $500 respectively and will be out in the spring.

Possibly the coolest thing that BA is offering this spring are a pair of new sleeping pads. Check out the Clearview Pad- a perfectly see-through pad that inflates to 2.5” thick and comes in at a really reasonable price- around $40 depending on the size you pick. It doesn’t look all that durable, but once you touch it, its obvious that its tougher than it looks. The price isn’t bad, either- probably one of the cheapest pads on the market, and certainly the cheapest at 2.5”.

The other pad in the picture is the Diversion pad, which, like the Skinnyfish, is a green product. This pad features the 100% recycled material Climashield HL Green insulation as well as a recycled skin and valve (obviously not re-used!). Like the Insulated Air Core pad, this pad is insulated, 2.5” thick, and reasonably priced at $85-$95. Look for both of these new pads in the spring.

One last thing from BA- check out the chair. This is a chair kit for your sleeping pad. The kit will take any 20” sleeping pad and turn it into a cozy 5” thick padded chair for $40 and 6oz more in your pack.

Trango

I had a few minutes before my next appointment, so I snuck over to see if I could find Malcolm and see whats new at Trango. I didn’t find Malcolm, but I did see a few familiar faces and I sat down with the boys to see whats new. The bad news is that Trango itself doesn’t really have anything new on the board for this show. The good news is that their Canadian manufacturer of bouldering goods- Flashed Climbing does.

After the success of the Ronin pad, Walson and crew have brought us the Samurai pad, a smaller (and cheaper!) version of the Ronin Air pad. It has the same guts as the Ronin- 5” of Air Core technology, but comes in a smaller size- 36” x 38” x 5” and a smaller price- $289.95. Like its big brother, expect softer landings and a much longer usable lifetime. They also discovered that by adding a bumper around the outside of the zipper that closes the pack, they’ve extended the lifetime of the zipper to match the pad. Before this, the zipper would blow out long before the pad wore out. In addition, though, Flashed has made the zipper on the Samurai removeable/replaceable.

Flashed also has some new natural chalk-bags and some new DVDs coming out soon!

Five Ten

After talking with Walson and crew, I headed over to my next appointment with Nancy at Five Ten. First of all, I should say that I love the new look of Five Ten and I’m really excited about some of the new shoes they have to offer. They have a bunch of new stuff and they’re pretty excited about it.

Meet the Prism, a shoe 5 years in the making. It is the only shoe that has FET- Faceted Edge Technology- which also makes it the only shoe (I think) that is actually patented. Instead of a rounded front edge like a regular shoe, it has several facets that allow for better edging.

The shoe has a non-stretch synthetic upper, ONYXX rubber, and retails at $139.00. Look for it in the spring!

Five Ten is also introducing the Anasazi Lace-Up v2 this year as well as the Anasize LV (low volume) for the ladies. Both shoes feature C4 rubber and are redesigned to meet the standards of the original. They retail at $135 and are due in the spring.

So, Five Ten also happens to have a new performance shoe out this spring, designed by Fred Nicole and Jibe Tribout. Word on the street says this thing takes performance to a whole new level. It features a Velcro closure, a recycled rubber upper for toe-hooking, Stealth HF rubber, and a lined synthetic upper. Retail at 125.00 and due in the spring.

Take a look at the 5X- aka the Moccasym we’ve all been waiting for:

Finally, a Mocc that has a Velcro and zipper closure system!

Mammut

Dave at Mammut and I always have a lot to talk about. The Swiss based company always seems to have a ton of new stuff to show off at the summer show. This year is no exception.

First up, the new carabiners. Sorry for the somewhat blurry pictures- my camera hates the OR show lighting. Anyway, from left to right- the Bionic, the Bionic HMS, the Bionic Mytholito, Element, Element bent gate, and the Moses. All of these little monsters are out in stores now. The Bionic series is a radical new design that actually sets the load toward the middle of the carabiner rather than along the spine, allowing for less material, translating to a lighter weight- 38g for the Bionic, 72g for the HMS, and 58g for the Mytholito. The Mytholito, by the way, has the same basket size as the HMS, just a lower volume for the rest of the carabiner. Finally, you may remember from the winter show the Bionic wiregate- Mammut unfortunately wont be producing these due to the inability to get to a reasonable price point.

Also available now is the Procord- a highly abrasion resistant cord available in 2mm-8mm diameter on a spool. It costs 10% more than normal cord, but Dave tells me that the abrasion resistance on this stuff is ridiculously good due to the woven nature of the cord. This spring, you’ll be able to buy the 2mm-6mm Procord in packaged lengths.

Dave also had some new slings to show me and some comments on some old ones. First off, the old. You may or may not have noticed, but Mammut will no longer be making their 6mm slings- they simply aren’t durable enough for Mammut, so they will return to just making their skinny 8mm slings.

On the new front, Mammut is introducing two new slings for those of us who haven’t got $8.50 to blow on those oh so sexy 8mm slings. They both feature the same bar tack technology- where one side is split in two and the other side is sandwiched between them and then bartacked, eliminating one edge that can catch on things. One of the slings will be a dyneema and 10mm thick and the other will be nylon and ½” thick (the thinnest nylon sling available!). Expect the 10mm to be about $1.00 less than the 8mm, and the nylon to be $2.00 less.

Also, check out Mammut’s new helmet. Looks beefy, doesn’t it? It’s not- it checks in at 220g and is really comfortable (yes, I tried it on and no, I didn’t take a picture!). It’s a foam helmet vacuum molded to a 1mm thick outer layer. It comes in two sizes and should be available by next Summer.

Also, the long wait for the headlamps is almost over. They ship on September 1st and they look really cool. The one pictures above is the TX1- a 1 watt LED lamp with a Mammut lens that has a 105m throw (yes, 105 meters!) as well as a pair of smaller LEDs to use when you don’t need that much light. The two highlights for Mammut’s headlamps are even light distribution (there are no bright spots, the light is even throughout the cast) and they also turn on at their lowest setting.

Mammut also has a new shoe out called the samurai that features an asymmetrical last, downturned toe, as well as a mix of synthetic material and leather on the upper. I didn’t have much time to talk about this shoe though, as I was running late for my next appointment. If I get time, I’ll try to swing back and get the lowdown for you.

Royal Robbins

I really like the folks at Royal Robbins- they’ve got a real eye for good looking clothing that actually wears well for a climber. I wore one of their shirts for about two weeks solid this summer (while roadtripping through Canada) and it was none the worse for wear when I was done, despite being half beaten to death on Squamish granite.

With that in mind, Margaret took me on a brief tour of the new lineup for the spring. First check out the button down below. Not only is it organic cotton and recycled polyester, but it has coconut shell buttons. Yeah, how cool is that? I know- I feel like singing Margaritaville. The shorts in the picture are the Discovery Short, which have a nice UPF rating of 40- by the way, most of your clothes don’t have much UPF protection at all, so look for that when you’re buying! Also, check out the t-shirt below- the red fabric is bamboo and the grey fabric is Cocna (aka, coconut shells!!). The more I think about it, the more I truly believe Jimmy Buffet would love Royal Robbins.

Arc’teryx

So, I bet you thought you’ve seen all the really cool stuff for today. You are so incredibly wrong! Arc’teryx, makers of all that is cool looking and awesome in general, have decided to revamp their harness line for the first time since the mid 1990s. They literally took all of their old harnesses and threw them out and started fresh with a line of harnesses that defies description.

This show, Arc’teryx is introducing WARP technology. What is WARP technology, you ask? Cool, I answer. Really cool. They start with a single length of ¾” webbing. Then, using secret Canadian methods they wouldn’t reveal, they remove the waft (vertical fibers) from the webbing, leaving only the warp (horizontal fibers behing). They do this for about 80% of the length of webbing. They then spread out the warp and laminate it with schoeller material on the outside and Spacermesh on the inside. These harnesses have zero insulation or padding, but because of the design, they wont make you sweat and they provide more support than any other harness on the market. Even cooler, the heaviest harness clocks in at 12.2oz. Yeah, hows that for innovation? Look for them in March and expect the price point to be in the $100+ range.

Check out how thin they are. These harnesses also feature reversible gear loops and a belay loop with a bright yellow interior that will let you know when its time to replace your harness.

Arc’teryx is also releasing a new crag pack this spring called the Miura. It will be available in 20L, 30L, and 50L sizes. It features a roll top with zip down sides (creating a clam shell opening), gear loops on the inside as well as EVA foam on the sides and bottom. It also has removable compression straps that can be used on the front or on the top for your rope or whatever. I totally spaced getting a picture, so I’ll do my best to grab one tomorrow for ya. It looks pretty sweet, I didn’t get price points, but I’d expect to see it near $200 or so.

Sterling

My next appointment was with JB at Sterling to chat up whats new in the Sterling world and see whats coming next! After ogling the new Nano out front, we got to talking about what Sterling has coming up. First up, notice the new tags on the ropes- much easier to read than the old ones, which even Sterling admitted weren’t very good. Now you can get all of your rope info without searching around for it. This, along with the long-lasting rope-ends that are heat shrunk onto all Sterling ropes are shipping now.

I also asked JB if he had any new ropes to show us. He said he didn’t, but he did sit down with us and talked about the 9.2 Nano and how much researching and developing that rope taught Sterling about making skinny but durable lines. He said that the R&D on the Nano is going to lead to expansion and improvements in the Fusion line, and probably others as well.

Finally, I want to give you all a heads up about Sterling’s Rope Recycling Program. Sterling wants your old ropes so they can be recycled into pellitized nylon that will eventually end up as useful items like kids toys and coat hangers. Send your old rope to Sterling and they’ll recycle it for you. Also, send it cheap- don’t break the bank packing it or mailing it. Send used ropes to: Rope Recycling, 26 Morin Street, Biddeford ME, 04005-4413 USA.

SPOT

So, going along with new innovations, Grant (bootycrew member Darkside) joined me when I headed over to see the folks at SPOT. SPOT is a Satellite enabled personal tracking unit. In other words, it’s a really cool GPS unit that works backwards. Instead of giving you your GPS coordinates, it transmits those coordinates in several different ways to other people. There is a ‘911’ option, which transmits your location to an international emergency center every 5 minutes until you turn it off- with a battery life of 7 days on this mode (it will last 1 year on standby on AA lithium batteries!). It also has a ‘Help!’ option which allows you to transmit your GPS coordinates to 5 people that you choose. Finally, there’s a tracking option that allows you to track your progress via SPOT’s website (or allows your friends to do the same). SPOT works internationally as well, unless you live at the north pole. It weighs 7.37 oz, and costs $149, and there’s also a $99/year subscription fee.

Scarpa

As the day was wearing on, it was time for my last appointment, so I left Grant with the SPOT guys to do some demo work, and I headed over to meet up with Dave to talk about Scarpa’s new shoes. This spring, Scarpa came out with a whole new line-up of performance rock shoes, and next spring, they’re rounding out the line with a pair of all day shoes and one new performance shoe.

From left to right, the Feroce, the Techno (mens, womens), and the Freestyle (womens, mens).

The Feroce is the final shoe in the high performance collection. It’s a Velcro shoe that’s designed to excel at edging, pockets, and smearing. Scarpa considers this to be an excellent bouldering shoe. The Techno is an all day performance trad shoe with a flat last and a really stiff forefoot. It also had a nifty heel lock system that cinches the heel down as you tighten the shoe with a system of webbing. The Freestyle looks like a sneaker and is billed as an all day comfort shoe.

At this point, the show is pretty much done. Grant and I were wandering around and bumped into Graham (crackers) from Cilogear and talked for a couple of minutes about the new dyneema packs. They look pretty sweet, but I was so tired I forgot to take pictures. Don’t worry, though, I’ll meet with Graham again before the show is over. I did find out from Graham that Totem cams are not in attendance at this OR Show, and given the price point of the cams, the outlook is grim for seeing them in production anytime soon. I’ll see if I can dig up some more gossip on these bad boys tomorrow. For now, though, I’ll say good night!!

Other articles in this series (OR Summer 2007): Day 2 Blog Day 3 Blog