Overland Expo West 2023

We are now 14 years into this Overland Expo thing, and based on the 2023 edition of Overland Expo West, enthusiasm for the event is as strong as ever. The original Overland Expo continues to be a gathering of community where folks from all over the world and all walks of life spend the weekend catching up, checking out the latest gear and vehicles, and attending classes on everything from Drones to Driving techniques.

As is tradition, I logged 10’s of thousands of steps walking around the vendor booths, moseying through the campgrounds, dropping in on classes in both the classrooms and driving area to try and capture a sampling of everything that is Overland Expo. In no particular order, here is a selection of cool stuff from Overland Expo West 2023.

Black Rhino / Axial – Booth engagement is a thing – how do you draw folks walking down the aisle into your booth? I think the Black Rhino crew figured this one out by partnering up with Axial RC to make a RC crawling course where the fastest time won a set of wheels. Scale RC cars are pretty neat, and this sixth scale Axial rig had my attention.

TRED – TRED Outdoors had a some properly burly screw-in stakes and their new line of vehicle leveling products on display. Hit their website for all of the details on their new leveling products which look well made and well thought out.

ARB – The folks at ARB have been busy working on everything from the new 2024 Tacoma to a host of other products for other platforms. The new summit bull bar pictured for the 3rd gen. Tacoma looks brilliant, as do the new Ford Bronco bits like the compressor mount and JACK mount. ARB is expanding their rack offerings with new platform and bed rack options.

74 Weld – Speaking of impressive Toyota parts, 74 Weld had their portal axle kit on display, which makes stuffing 37’s on a 3rd gen taco an easy thing. The kit uses OEM geometry, and provides the gear reduction to maintain factory ratios. Plus, you get disk brakes on all four corners.

LEXUS – It’s always interesting to see which OEMs are going to show up at Overland Expo on a given year, and 2023 marks Lexus’ first appearance at the show. GX / LX Overland builds are verymuch a thing, so it’s always good to see an OEM recognize what their customers are doing.

GMC – AT4X all of the things! GMC is applying the AT4X treatment to all of their truck platforms from the Canyon up to new new Silverado HD. In partnership with AEV, these rigs are turn key with fancy shocks, lockers, and real armor so you can just load them up and go have fun. A detail I appreciate is the ability to remove the steps from the rock rails shown on the Canyon AT4X.

EQUIPT – The Paul May isn’t scared of a little electronics work in the rain, and I happened to catch Paul in the middle of installing a new control board in a National Luna fridge. This retrofit control board adds Bluetooth control to most all National Luna fridges (check with Equipt for your specific model), so NL owners do not have to shell out for a new fridge to take advantage of the company’s latest wares. Equipt also had Eezi-Awns new sword hard shell root tent on display.

AT Overland – The Aterra Truck Topper and Aterra XL Camper we’ve had the opportunity to check out at Desert Rendezvous made it’s official debut at Overland Expo. The Aterra Topper is a particularly appealing option for anyone who is interested in a slide in camper.

GOOSE GEAR – The new Park Series from Goose Gear is a DIY interior system for Subarus and Toyota Rav4s – and it looks just as awesome as any other Goose Gear system. Goose Gear also had their new interior for the Scout Tuktut on display as well.

Dometic – Dometic is continuing to press headlong into the Overland-o-sphere with a new roof top tent and inflatable shelter system. The TRT 140 roof top tent uses air poles instead of aluminum to save a little weight up high on your vehicle and the HUB 2 is the inflatable version of an EZ-UP. Color me interested to see how these new products work.

Overland Kitted – The folks who have been the US importer for MAXTRAX have launched mounting systems for MAXTRAX recovery boards, and other externally mounted accessories (rotopax shown for example). They’ve also got the lastest from InDeFlate – a digital two hose unit.

Kakadu – New to the US market, this established Aussie brand has some great kit on display like their 1P and 2P sleep systems. They were also showing off a very interesting shower system and based on the specs and initial impressions it all looks very good.

Surefire – Piece of the sun in your pocket maker Surefire had a couple of their new Turbo EDC lights on display at Overland Expo. The EDC2 and EDC1 lights are specifically designed to project light to extreme distances and can be powered by 123s or rechargeable 18650 cells.

Kelty – It’s always interesting to see how established outdoor brands approach the overland industry, and Kelty had an appealing selection of gear on display. Their Backroad and Sideroad awnings are great options for affordable, packable shade that work with SUVs, trucks, or vans, and their multi-seat chairs are always a win.

Rollercam – The company that reinvented the cam strap now has a solution for anyone who can’t remember a trucker’s knot, or anyone who likes an easy to use solution for tying stuff down. The Roperoller works just like the Rollercam, and is a game changer for anyone who has struggled to guy something off.

Zero Breeze – A/C for Overlanding is officially a thing. It will be interesting to see how this segment of the market fares in the coming years.

Tembo Tusk – The company known for the Skottle actually started off as a fridge slide company, and their latest product is a tilting fridge slide. As always, the Tembo Tusk crew were throwing down on their Skottles all weekend serving up all sorts of food.

Total Chaos – If you’ve heard about how some older Toyotas had issues with their lower ball joints suffering a rapid unscheduled disassembly – here’s your fix.

Arctic Trucks – The legendary Icelandic manufacture of vehicles that have driven to both poles of the planet is now established in the United States. Having watched videos of these trucks in action for so many years, it was a treat to see one in person and nerd out with the folks from Arctic Trucks USA.

RUX – Bags are a dime a dozen – everyone makes them, so how do you stand out? You make bags like Rux. This Canadian manufacture uses RF welding to build some extremely well thought out bags that are absolutely worth checking out if you like well made, highly functional, durable gear.

Polaris – UTVs are officially overland vehicles. Polaris’ new line of Side-by-Side / UTVs have all the farkles, enclosed cabs, heat, A/C, and a price tag that makes some mid-sized trucks look like a deal.

Step 22 Gear – Step 22 gets a crisp high five for making custom laser etched patch labels which work great on all of their awesome bags or any other place you need a label. Their bags and mounting panels like the Reef shown here continue to impress with their design and attention to detail.

Deep Cycle Systems – Another example of more awesome from Aussieland are DCS batteries. Featuring shapes and sizes that can fit in the voids left in many vehicles and high charge / discharge ratings, these batteries look awesome.

2024 Tacoma – Toyota pulled the cover off of the all new 4th generation Tacoma at Overland Expo. Two models were on display – a PreRunner which initially had a gigantic snow plow of an air dam that mysteriously disappeared shortly after the launch, and the Trailhunter which is directly targeted at the overland crowd. Let us know in the comments what you think about the new Taco!

Classes – Overland Expo has classes on everything: From the expected offerings like driving, spotting, and recovery, to more wildcat offerings, there hundreds of hours of courses availible so the challenge becomes picking the courses that interest you the most.

Cool Rigs – It’s always a treat to get to take a walk through the campgrounds at Overland Expo. Here you’ll find a spectrum of setups as unique as the people that use them. To a person, everyone I chatted up about their camping setup was more than happy to talk to me and generally stoked to be out actually using their gear. It just goes to show – it doesn’t matter what you drive or where you sleep, but that you’re out there actually doing the the thing.

THE BIG PICTURE – Early in 2023, Lodestone Events announced that they had been acquired by Emerald Expositions – the company that puts on industry trade shows like Outdoor Retailer. Yet from a boots on the ground perspective, not much has changed. Overland Expo continues to be run by the same small crew of passionate folks, and many of the familiar faces can been seen making the event run. Time will tell how this new owner changes the heading of their latest acquisition. Despite some classic Flagstaff spring weather (it rained hard on Friday), the show saw plenty of attendees, and the venue seemed to be mostly full of vendors.

Speaking of vendors, most all of the familiar brands were there, and while there is a trend of new names continuing to sell the same Chineseium with their stickers on it (recovery gear and roof top tent cloners I’m looking at you.) there continues to be cool and new things coming market – you just have to seek out the quality kit. One thing that hasn’t changed is that there is no shortage of cool stuff on display. If you attended OXW 2023, let us know about your experience in the comments!

Overland Expo West 2022

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming: Overland Expo West is back to it’s normal timing in May! But with only six-odd months having passed since the last Expo event, like many of you we had to wonder what could really be new here if anything.

Cool new stuff was definitely a little harder to come by at this event (don’t worry we still found a few things) but thankfully, Overland Expo is much more than just an exhibitor bazaar. Newly revamped for this year was the training team that handled all of the vehicle based training, and the new team certainly came out strong. Several OEMs had an official presence, and many of the long standing vendors were upping their booth game with bigger displays. Big money also seems to be testing the waters of this Overland thing, with brands like 4Wheel Parts and Ebay motors posting up for the show.

Overland Expo is definitely continuing to grow, but the growth seems to be biased toward big money at the expense of the smaller brands and sense of community we’ve always loved. It’s going to be very interesting to see where these events are at in a few years. But enough of my postulating – here’s our usual extensive serving of gear, rigs, and training that makes Overland Expo an experience.

GO FAST CAMPERS – GFC has been hard at work cranking out their V2 campers, and they had the first 8-foot bed version on display at the show. Notice the lack of cab over. We also spied their new rack system and their use of Austere Manufacturing buckles on their new straps.

GEYSER SYSTEMS – This small portable showering system looks like an awesome way to get a hot shower in the field. There are two versions, one with a heater, and one that relies on you heating water with a portable stove and adding it to cold water already placed in the unit. A small pump feeds a special sponge making for a hot sponge bath just about anywhere.

WARN – Warn was showing off their new HUB system at Overland Expo. This adds wireless functionality to any of their non-wireless winches (non Zeon Platinum). The system is easy to use and very responsive, and you can still use a corded controller when you want to.

TOYOTA – Toyota claimed so serious real estate for the show, and of course the new Tundra was on hand.

COOL RIGS – Overland Expo is becoming a SEMA show in the sense that there are some truly impressive OEM’s and personal builds on display. Here are a few standouts.

ARB Is continuing to expand their gear management systems, and they had this new Tacoma specific system on display.

Deadman Off-Road makes an awesome earth anchor, appropriately named the Deadman. Their new Stretchy Band Kinetic recovery ropes have the same attention to quality and come in a number of sizes and lengths.

Magnaflow – Posted up with a full size semi truck. They were showing off new exhaust systems, including their new xMOD DIY systems with a Helmholtz resonator that helps with droning when used in a turn down application.

THIS THING – There are always a few things at Overland Expo that make you stop and go “what?” And this fits the bill. If you know who makes these trailers, comment below!

LOKI BASECAMP – Remember the big black Falcon Series camper Loki Basecamp was showing off at the last Expo West? Well, meet the smaller sibling, the Icarus.

ONEWHEELS & E-BIKES were all over the place at the show. I only witnessed two Onewheel crashes the entire weekend, and of course neither of said folks who got to eat a soil sandwich had any protective gear on…

GOOSE GEAR has been hard at work building new gear systems for an expanded number of applications. Here are new Goose Gear systems for Ford’s Bronco, Ranger, and F-150.

EQUIPT is expanding their line of National Luna Power systems. They have also given one of their shop trucks, “Sleepy”, a serious refresh and this first gen Tundra looks great! I love their solution for outfitting an AT camper with Aluboxes, which comes in at roughly half the price of a full camper build out.

COMPANY NAME WITHHELD. There are always new companies that show up to Overland Expo to introduce their wares to the world for the first time. Yet sometimes these companies are completely ignorant of best practices in the industry they are selling to. They may also have failed to do adequate research during their product development. This product is a foldable fire ring, which still causes the user to leave a burn scar, which isn’t how you #leavenotrace. It’s also made out of galvanized steel, which releases toxic zinc vapors when you get it hot, say from a fire…

Guzzle H20 makes some really impressive water filtering systems. They also offer A-La-Carte parts and pieces if you’re looking to build out your own water treatment system.

Rouge Journeyman – This was pretty neat to watch. This leather smith has all of his tools packed in this old firetruck and he was cranking out all kinds of handmade items at the show.

LUNO makes vehicle fitting sleeping pads for crossovers and trucks like the Tacoma. I wish they would make a one sided version, so you can sleep with your gear when you’re out solo.

INSTY Makes a 5G hotspot that is claimed to deliver much better data throughput than other boosters on the market that can only work with 3G data signals.

STEP 22 Gear is continuing to make more awesome new gear bags and other ingenious organizational products that help you keep all of your kit safe and sorted. Recovery rope may also be back on a secret menu basis…

Ride With Us was teaching learn to ride a motorcycle classes at Overland Expo.

Truckvault is getting into the bed slider system in a big way. The name of their game is customization, and they’ve got all sorts of options available to help you build out the exact bed slide system you’re looking for.

Training – In our opinion, the quality of training and education provided at Overland Expo saw a decline in recent years. Thankfully they picked up a new training coordinator for this year, and as such the training cadre changed significantly. It was great to see a couple of I4WDTA Certified Trainers in the mix along with a number of other veteran instructors and some up and comers.

Overland Expo has a jam-packed schedule of classes that provide a great breadth of learning opportunities, and I was really impressed with the learning aids that I4WDTA Certified Trainer Nick Cimmarusti created for his class on field repairs. The cutaway third member was especially cool.

Moto Training at Overland Expo is handled by Bill Dragoo and his crew from DART. It’s always impressive to watch these instructors rip around on their monster BMWs like they’re dirt bikes.

Skinny Guy Campers is bringing a unique approach to the camper game. They can be spec’d from bare bones to fully farkled out with a macerating toilet.

EGOE makes loadout systems that provide sleeping, cooking, and other camping needs for a number of vehicles.

TEMBO TUSK had a pile of new products at the show. Revised tables with quick switch collapsible sinks, propane firepits, new bike and build it yourself slides, and of course Jerry’s famous South African Boerwors sausage for breakfast on Sunday.

Factor 55 still makes some of the best recovery gear on the market – gear that’s made in the USA. They were showing off their new Hitch Link Pro which is the industry’s first recovery point designed for both soft and hard (screw pin) shackles. Note that the 2.0 version now has bores for 90 degree clocking like the Hitch Link 2.5 has.

Roller Cams solve the problem of all cam straps in that their unique roller pivot allows you get get a Roller Cam Strap much more tight than a comparable cam strap without a roller. WLL is rated at 350 pounds and they come in all sorts of lengths.

THE BIG NAMES – eBay Motors and 4Wheel Parts are getting into the Overland thing… hello mainstream.

By all accounts, Overland Expo seems to have returned to it’s normal groove. Every year brings with it new things, and this year was no different. The event is clearly changing and it’s going to be interesting to see where this event goes in the coming years. What are your thoughts on the future of Overland Expo?