Outdoor Retailer: Day 2 - 3 Things To Check Out

Summer OR is so big that it overflows into over a huge area across the street from the Salt Palace with 3 giant tents, two outdoor water tanks (one for flyfishing and one for paddling) and a tailgating area.  And this is in addition to filling all of Salt Palace as it does in the winter. The Pavilions tend to house the newer and sometimes smaller companies. Here are 3 things that caught my eye and I am looking forward to trying.

Aquabot by Lunatec: Designed and created in San Diego, CA this addition to your water bottle came from the desire to stop wasting the precious water you have just took the time to filter when camping. The cap turns your existing Nalgene or Camelbak bottle into a pressurized super soaker with 3 settings: jet, shower or mist. It allows you to drink from an upright bottle without sucking or tipping, wash dirt off things with a high pressure spray or cool off with a mist function. Sound cool? It is. They currently have a Kickstarter campaign going and you can be first in line for your Aquabot when they come out this fall.

Scrubba Wash Bag, MSRP $54.95: Basically there is not longer an excuse to be a dirty stinky backpacker or traveler. The Scrubba Bag allows you a solution to efficiently and effectively wash and clean your clothes when on the go. 

Dogger Jogger, MSRP $48: Need to get exercise your high energy pup and would love to take them on a bike ride with you? We have all see the people riding their bikes while holding the leash... crazy! Or the contraptions that have them attached hands free to your seat post... seems like a difference in opinion of which way to go will bring you both down. Bill, the inventor, wanted a safer alternative and created the Dogger Jogger.  Check out this new safe way to take a ride with your four legged best friend. How does it work? 

Outdoor Retailer: Day 1 - Inspired

Amidst all the cool new products and overwhelming amount of outdoor gear, clothes, and business being done, what really stood out today was how much "good" is happening at this trade show. Some of my favorite non-profits American Hiking Society, Outdoor Industry Women's Coalition (OIWC), the Sierra Club, and many others are at the show working on partnerships and bringing awareness to the amazing work that they do.

There are also a lot of companies out there already supporting these types of groups and issues that are so important to the outdoors. Starting at 4 pm each night different companies host Happy Hours as benefits to various groups. Among these, Black Diamond hosted a Happy Hour and book signing of Women Who Dare by Chris Noble to support OIWC. After the show was over we were invited to an event hosted by Klean Kanteen celebrating their 10 yr anniversary. This company was founded on the premise that they wanted to make a change and in the past 10 years have given back 1 million dollars to support great groups and causes such as 1% For the Planet,  5 Gyres, American Hiking Society, and Outdoor Afro to name a few. Think about that a company so committed to the environment and the outdoors that they are willing to donate 1 million of their profits to support what they believe in.

Serious inspiration everywhere. And to close out the show I was able to meet another person who is really trying to make a difference and bring awareness to global issues through his photography, Corey Richards.

Sometimes it is not about the coolest new gadgets.

Confessions of a Beginner Slackliner

So a little while back climbing out at Stoney Point my climbing mentor, Bob and I were bouldering, just having some fun and someone, not I, had a little accident. We no longer climb at Boulder 1 at Stoney because when Bob was a young man he broke his ankle there also. This time it was not as serious, but it was his wrist so climbing was off for a little. Bob being the eternal optimist called me the next week and said we can't climb but have you tried slacklining? I had not and honestly had 2 views of it 1) the insane high work of guys like Dean Potter, which I was amazed by but never thought would interest me and 2) the silly tricks that people do like with Madonna at the Super Bowl, which I had little interest in any way. Well Bob assured me it was fun and took me to a park that had a rope course with a short slack line, perfect for a beginner like me. I was hooked. It took me over an hour to walk across the short line and then I went home and we ordered  one online.

It is relaxing and fun and helps with movement and weight transfer for climbing, I quickly understood why it is so popular. I got a Gibbon's Classic it takes about 5 minutes to set up by myself.  The trees in our backyard are perfect for this new past time. We have two that are closer together making them good for beginners and two that provide more of a challenge due to the distance. I now take it to work with me and if I can find 2 trees I'm in business.

So what I'm saying is this, it is fun and is a great workout, training tool, or end in itself. There are 100's of YouTube videos on rigging advice if you just want to use carabiners and webbing, make sure they are not your climbing gear though. And as long as the line doesn't touch the ground you can put it as low as you like. So get out there, its a blast.