Again, there were tons of exhibitors so this is by no means conclusive, but it certainly shows the extent of the show and the fact that there were exhibitors there representing all kinds of stuff. Here’s the second half of what I saw while strolling along.

GoPro HERO camera. You’ve probably seen all those homemade stunt and extreme sports videos on the Internet or in your e-mail, well these guys are facilitating these videos. The HERO cam is currently available with wrist attachments and will be available later this year with attachments for your head — or helmet. In this picture, Neil Dana, was kind enough to model the upcoming head and helmet mounts for the HERO camera.

This really is a cool concept and can provide almost an hour of TV quality recording on a 2GB memory card.

Next up is another ‘green’ product. the SOLIO hybrid solar charger is a must-have for anyone who hikes and has a bad sense of direction or is being led by the Cheshire Cat. This gadget uses solar panels to recharge various portable consumer electronics, from iPods to cell phones and maybe more. Their current, classic, model is already on the market but they will soon be launching the H1000 that appears to be more rugged and durable and has a carabiner clip to hook to your belt, backpack, etc.

(Photo Credit: Atomic MPC)
Suzanne informed me that not only is the SOLIO a green way to recharge your devices in the wild, but it is also made of very green materials.

In the world of the incredibly-shrinking gadget, Industrial Revolution’s grilliput was definitely cool. Ever thought that a portable BBQ didn’t have to be the size of your kitchen sink? Well these guys’ grill fits into your pocket, practically.

Another cool gadget from Industrial Revolution was the Spork. Now this is different from the cafeteria creation of a spoon with fork prongs on the end. This spork may in fact be a true spork. And I thought it was a nice touch to put the serrated edge on the fork, who couldn’t use that already?

And last, but not least, some of my fellow statesmen, Adventure Trading Inc., from Washington State were selling Hacky Sacks and other Guatemalan imports. If you thought the Hacky Sack craze was over, you’re dead wrong. General Manager Luke Lawson told me he braces every year for the drop off in popularity and every year it doesn’t come; I guess there’s just something catchy about a little woven bag with beads in it you bounce off your foot.

Their display was, by far the catchiest most creative one I saw while walking around, wall-o-Hacky-Sack!

Well, that’s it for Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2007. There were definitely some cool products and exhibits for vendors, media and other attendees to peruse. I can’t close without mentioning the schwag we got, I’ll simply list them.

Keep2go (product), Hi-Tec (shoulder bag), Eagle (poster & badge holder), Patagonia (stickers), Crazy Creek (stickers), scarpa (stickers), H2O Guides (cool stickers)

My goal in going to Outdoor Retailer was to check out cool new gear, snap some photos and pick up some schwag! Well I have to say that I accomplished all of my goals and want to run down some of the unique, cool gear I saw. I’m sure there were tons of cool things that I missed because I only spent about two hours at the show, so if I don’t mention your products I am in no way saying your products aren’t cool, I just didn’t get over to check them out. So here’s my list of cool gadgets from this summer’s Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City.

Swiss Army’s “World’s Largest Pocket Knife,” according to Guinness Book of World Records.

After drooling over this pocket knife that isn’t really a “pocket” knife — unless you’re Paul Bunyan, the company rep proceeded to show me some of Swiss Army’s newest knife designs including the Ranger series they are promoting; nice looking knife, a bit of a move away from the traditional Swiss Army design, but still a very nice looking knife. (The Swiss Army logo is the release button of the locking blade, how cool is that?)

After looking at the Swiss Army knives, I came across Zing and their ZeeBeez toy. This is cool and although it took a couple tries to get the hang of how it worked, the guys at Zing sent me off with a ZeeBeez. Zing is a toy company with some cool, catchy little toys. Needless to say their toys would keep me occupied for a little while.

Being the owner of several iPods and one who gets a kick out the third-party iPod accessory industry Pelican and h2o Audio both have cool, rugged outdoor-proof iPod cases. Although I have to admit h2o Audio’s is cooler because it’s actually waterproof down to ten feet, and at Outdoor Retailer they announced the first waterproof iPod case for the 2nd generation iPod Shuffle. Ron told me he would hook me up and I think it’ll be cool to go swimming and listen to toons — oh yeah, h2o Audio also sells waterproof earphones (I didn’t get a picture of them).

The iS2 comes with an arm band which Ron didn’t mind modeling for me even with his colleagues razzin’ him.

Pelican’s iPod case. Although it isn’t waterproof, it sure looks rugged and I was told it could withstand upwards of 200+ pounds of pressure, yeah, that’s pretty rugged if you ask me! And just like the iS2 it has a built in water-tight headphone jack. The Pelican is a one-size-fits-all iPod case.

Well I think I’ve put enough stuff into this one post for now. I have more pictures that I’ll put into part two of this post later today or tomorrow.