Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2017

I feel confident in saying that there is more to see at Outdoor Retailer (OR) Summer Market than one can see in the few short days allotted to the show.  Summer Market completely fills the Salt Palace Convention Center, two massive ‘pavilion’ tents, and the parking lots and lawns within walking distance.  From the big names in the outdoor industry with their massive booths that take up more space than my house to the start-up companies with the ink still drying on their business cards, many, many brands are at the show to show off their latest and greatest—and there isn’t enough time to see it all.

Adventure Travel is continuing to make an impact in the outdoor industry, and more and more brands are starting to offer gear that you would expect to see at Overland Expo.  Big names like Thule are starting to offer gear like awnings, and more and more folks are quick to nod in understanding at the mention of ‘overlanding’ or ‘adventure travel.’ There was a ton of awesome gear on display, so I won’t put any more words in your way.  Here’s a taste of Summer Market.

Knives & Tools

SureFire was at the show showing off their new DBR Guardian along with many of their other proven lighting products. The DBR Guardian is a dual-diode rechargeable light that can intelligently scale its light output depending on close the lens is to an object.

 

Benchmade had their new 535 Bugout knife at the show, which weighs in at all of 1.85 ounces.  The knife has a S30V blade and Benchmade’s AXIS opening system.

 

Benzomatic had a number of new torches on hand for show attendees to ‘test’ at the show.  According to Benzomatic, no less than four cameras had been accidentally melted by their new lighters and torches by folks who under estimated their heat output.

 

Leatherman has expanded their Tread line of wearable multi-tools with some great new options.  There are two watch options and a smaller Tread LT version now available in a stainless or Diamond Like Coating (DLC) finish. Look for an in-depth review here on American Adventurist in coming months.

 

Gerber had a number of new products on display at the show.  The Freescape Camp Saw packs a 12-inch blade and folds up smaller than a paper towel roll.  The Vital Big Game Folder is Gerber’s answer to the Havalon Prianta knife which is notorious for breaking blades.  And the Center Drive multi tool focuses on the things you use most in a multi tool, and accepts standard screw driver bits.

 

Camp Kitchen

Camp Chef was showing off their new Stryker Stove in addition to updates to many other products in their line.  The Stryker works off of propane or iso-butane fuel making it a flexible option for anyone who needs one stove for backpack and vehicle based camping.

 

MSR is expanding the Windburner ecosystem with new pots and burner options.  A revised throttle allows for even more simmer control on a stove we’re already impressed with.

 

OMeals use three to five ounces of liquid to heat up a food pouch that is ready to eat in about five minutes.  They weigh a few ounces more than freeze-dried or dehydrated meals, but do not require you to pack around a stove.  The company claims that ANY liquid is all you need to enjoy a hot meal anywhere.

 

Jetboil has updated their popular Flash cooking system with a redesigned burner and new insulating wraps.  They also introduced the digital gauge that will take the guesswork out of how much fuel is in a canister.

 

Coolers, Bottles, Cups, and more

Hydroflask continues to offer more options to build your perfect bottle; a new straw lid and bottle boots were just some of the options available to compliment their ever expanding line of well-loved bottles.  Hydroflask is also stepping into the soft cooler game.

 

Pelican’s booth was comprised of almost entirely new product:  Soft-sided coolers, hard sided coolers, bottles, cups, new AIR case sizes and colors (AIR cases are up to 40% lighter than original Pelican cases while still meeting all of the standards of the original cases) as well as Pelican’s new backpacks and duffels.

 

Mountainsmith is expanding their line of soft-sided coolers with the Cooloir series of coolers, which will be available in the three sizes.

 

Camp Furniture

Nemo had a new line of chairs on display that allow you to sit up straight (great for eating) and recline to take in the world above you.  These chairs pack down to a smaller size, than many other ‘full size’ chairs and look to be very well made.

 

Helinox had a line of hard-topped packable tables on display at the show to complement their extensive and popular line of packable chairs.

 

Shelter

Thule is getting into the awning market with this great looking unit that was the center point of their booth. Quality, fit and finish all looked great, and we’re excited to see how this unit performs in the field.

 

Rooftents. OR is also the place where brands meet with their textile and material suppliers.  I happened to run into an employee from a certain three-letter brand while I was poking around the RTT manufacturer’s booths.

 

James Baroud had a booth and a vehicle display at the show.  These folks from Portugal do some serious product testing, like the 70 mph wind tunnel test that each design has to pass before it can become a James Baroud product.

 

Tepui had a large presence at the show and has some cool new things in the works we can’t talk about just yet… stay tuned!

 

Yakima. Yakima has also entered the “overlandosphere” in a big way lately, and the center point of Yakima’s booth was their Tacoma sporting their roof top tent and awning.

 

Electronics

Goal Zero had a number of new products on display, including a redesigned Fuel gas generator, new revisions of the Lithium-Yetis that will work with a new App, and a system where you can hardwire your Yeti into your home’s panel to use your home’s wiring to power appliances and lights when the power goes out.  (No more having to pull the fridge out to plug it in.)

 

Powervision is a breaking into the scene with a remote control submarine that uses VR goggles to deliver a first person view,  and a couple of multirotor (drone) models that feature some unique designs.

 

RAM Mounts had a new GoPro clip to Ram Ball adapter as well as a number of new track systems that provide even more options for mounting things to other things.

 

Bags & Packs

Big Agnes had a ton of new products at the show, like their comprehensive line of bags.  With waterproof zippers, magnetic handles, and durable construction, these bags are well appointed and well made to handle the abuse of adventure travel.

 

Sea to Summit had a number of new product lines on display at the show.  Their new gaiters, ultra-sil daypack line, and cookwear line all looked great.

 

Western Mountaineering had a couple of new down bags designed for folks who count grams and every last cubic centimeter of space.  These two new bags use your pad and a wraparound design to create and ultra-packable ultralight sleeping bag that still performs like you would expect a western bag to.

 


Summer Market was the last Outdoor Retailer show that will be held in Utah for the forseeable future.  As a result of the Utah government’s handling of public lands, the show is moving to Denver, Colorado. (I’ll let you use Google to understand the details.)  American Adventurist will be at OR Winter Market, so please let us know what you want us to keep an eye out for at the next show in the comments!


 

Overland Expo West 2017

 

Editor’s Note:  Enjoy the ride as we look back at last year’s event and remember what an incredible time everyone had at this great big “family reunion” in Arizona~ 2018 is shaping up to be even bigger so please stop by and say hi at the American Adventurist booth at site PS1.  We’ll have a cold beer ready for you courtesy of Historic Brewing in Flagstaff, bring your cup!

I’m talking to a couple of the driving instructors from Land Rover about the driving course for this year’s Overland Expo West, and I’m starting to get the impression that this year’s event is going to be different – in a good way.  You can hear it in their voices, and the way they talk about the classes that they’ll be teaching for the next few days.  It’s like someone just handed them the keys to a McLaren P1 and said “have fun.”  They’ve built driving and skills courses that are, thanks to the new venue, “the best yet.”  Consider me excited.

The sun seemed to be excited as well, considering that it decided to bless us with plenty of sunburn inducing radiation over the three days of Overland Expo West.  There’s so much that happens at this event that there is no way you can attend all of the classes, from world renown instructors, on topics ranging from bushcraft to battery-powered stick welding.  Likewise, you would be hard pressed to even make an appearance at all of the social events where you’ll find tons of free adult beverages, and in the case of a certain End of the World Party, tons of free gear.  All of these events are attended by some great folks, and the small talk in the beer line typically turns into a great conversation with good people.

Walk the vendor areas and you’ll find awesome products from some very big brands just down the aisle from a brand that’s launching on Kickstarter, working to get their first product to market.  A quick walk through the woods leads you to the moto village, where all kinds of gear and demo bikes from KTM, BMW, and Ural await.  Big budget is parked right next to big dreams, and everyone just seems stoked to be outside in sunny (and windy) Flagstaff.

Overland Expo has grown to be an event that’s hard to capture in a single article—there’s just that much going on.  If I had to try and wrap it up in a few dozen carefully crafted chosen words and images, I would say this:  It’s an outstanding event where you can meet real people who all share a common love of the outdoors and adventure travel.  It’s an event where you can learn so much, be it driving skills or what the options are for expanding the capabilities of your rig.  And it’s the place where the person in front of you in line could have just ridden around the world and have some awesome stories to share.

I know that what you’re really here for is the photos, so feel free to just work that scroll wheel.  If you’ve read this far, you’ve earned it.  What was your favorite part of Overland Expo West?  What did you think of the new venue?  Let us know in the comments!

A serious THANK YOU goes out to Expedition Overland and Equipt Expedition Outfitters for letting American Adventurist join in on the End of the World Party.  We also want to thanks all of the great brands that contributed gear to our raffle!

Though unobtanium for most of us, we couldn’t help but stop and drool over the flush rivets, branded leather, and all the little details on AeroContinental’s aluminum prototype. Follow @aerocontinental on Instagram for more gratuitous fabrication porn.

Treeline Outdoors made their US debut with their impressive Gen3 Roof Top Tent line. At a glance it may look like the same tried-and-true format with bold colors and a unique window awning added, but look deeper and you’ll find an innovative aluminum honeycomb deck, solar-friendly features, and a long list of little details that set these units apart from the sea of newcomers flooding the RTT market. Look for a detailed review in coming months.

Even more aluminum roof top tents entering the market, including these wedge-style tents from Alu-Cab

Adventure Tool Company sold completely out of their durable lineup of tool organization products (they even sold the 4-year-old demo model). If you missed out, track them down at http://adventuretoolcompany.com/

Warn Industries had a ton of cool new things to share at Expo.  Stay tuned for some content on new Warn goodies in the future.

Available in two sizes, the Fold-A-Flame firepit grills are clearly draw inspiration from the old Foldin’ Cooker your grandpa might have used. It’s great to see more practical and packable options on the market for wood-fired cooking.

The Kariba Ranger 4×4 is a compact hot shower system that doubles as a dual-burner cook top. New to the US market, they’ll be available soon from Equipt. 

Nissan was on site with their Cummins-powered (yep, a Diesel Nissan on US shores) Project Basecamp, what looks to be a solid entry into the severely option-lacking US overland market. We’ll report back in greater detail after we do  a more hands-on evaluation.

Off The Grid brought their good looking (and feeling) prototype adventure pants. They’re still working on a few details so we can’t share much just yet, but we’ll report back with a full review as soon as we get our hands on the production model.

It was great catching up with the folks at Jackcovers—I mean Step 22—and checking out their newly expanded line of durable, fairly priced bags and accessories. 

Oftentimes simple is best. The Tail Gater attaches to your vehicle’s tire, providing sturdy table or counter space while in camp. It straps to the spare tire for transport, though I suspect it might slip into or behind the ubiquitous Trash-a-roo as well. 

Thanks to the crew at  Tembo Tusk for hosting us during the Sunday breakfast.  We cooked a pig worth of bacon, more than 20-dozen eggs and a bunch of awesome South African food!

Spotted Tembo Tusk’s moto-friendly Adventure Skottle prototype, designed to run off the compact MSR multi-fuel stove. Rumor has it we’re going to see an even lighter production model very soon…

Tepui’s new Baja Series answers a problem that’s been around since the invention of the tent: dealing with multiple climates. With interchangeable canopies, you can go from screened summer tent to an aluminized harsh-weather tent by simply zipping-in the appropriate canopy. 

Two new models were on display from Turtleback: a large flatbed hybrid design, and a small crossover-friendly model. Both units are impressive, but we’re most excited about the low profile yet high ground clearance smaller unit.

Have some awesome photos from Overland Expo West 2017?  Post them in the comments!