SOAR Blog

I have to admit it: I love Man vs. Wild.

I saw my first episode in a hotel room in Oakland, California, and I was soon mesmerized. Whether Bear Grylls, the star of the Discovery Channel show, was dropped off in the arctic, on a deserted tropical island or deep within the Amazon rain forest, his weeklong struggles against nature and the elements were fascinating.

The few times my wife and I have both caught an episode together, we’ve wondered aloud afterward if Grylls is actually on his own or not. Turns out, the answer is most of the time.

For a great exclusive with the British Special Forces chap, check out the Outside magazine article in the November 2007 issue or the full interview here. Great stuff!

Media now have easier access to suggested retail prices, product images (low and high res) and spec sheets for Scott USA merchandise as a result of a newly launched marketing/press only Web site and portal.

Scott USA marketing team members say they hope the site will help on-deadline media get a logo or product fact quickly without having to rely on a member of the marketing team. (See today’s BRAIN article)

From my perspective, this Web site is yet another example of bike industry leaders showing the importance of using the Internet to better communicate with media and how better business practices can improve the industry’s environmental impact, one company at a time.

A few years ago, the Interbike Expo announced its Green Steps program. The program offsets energy used to operate the show by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (REC), recycling aisle and booth carpeting and increasing electronic communication with exhibitors, attendees and media.

New this year, Interbike provided downloadable press kits of more than 40 participating exhibitors for the media to cut down on the amount paper used in the press room.

My hat goes off to these two companies who know how to work with the media and protect the environment as well!

I’ve been putting off writing something for our blog for a couple of reasons. One, life here at SOAR has been incredibly busy. Our biggest client, Interbike, is having their annual bicycle tradeshow in Las Vegas in 4 days and we have spent the last couple of months ramping up for that. The other reason is, I’m new to blogging, and I wasn’t sure I had anything interesting or significant to post.  Now I do.

I’m bummed. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found Landis guilty of doping (see AP story here). I haven’t ridden regularly in a while, but I’m still an avid fan of cycling and racing.  My wife and I cheered loudly at the TV during Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour, only to stare silently again later while learning that Landis was accused of doping.

I’m not even going to pretend to understand the facts surrounding the case and spout my opinion here in this post. I’m just bummed for Landis, racers in general and for recreational cyclists and potential recreational cyclists who might think twice about participating in a tainted activity.

The news about Landis will make for an interesting next few weeks, especially with the industry’s largest trade show, Interbike, and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Championships taking place at the same time. I’m sure everyone will be talking about the verdict and will have an opinion.

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Okay, this is part two of my morning-long visit to the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2007 show in downtown Salt Lake City.

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)

At Poppa P’s invitation I headed downtown to check out the Outdoor Retailer summer market show at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. It’s obvious but this is definitely a place for all things sports, outdoor, athletics, recreation and travel. I got there early and there were still tons of people.

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.

Check out Ergon’s new Outdoor Tourenrucksack, Outdoor Daypack fur Tagestouren and Outdoor-Allroundrucksack (the Outdoor Touring Pack, Outdoor Day Pack and Outdoor Allround Pack, respectively). Very cool!

What I love about these lightweight packs is how well they’ve been ergonomically designed to meet the needs of the active outdoor adventurer.

On page 6 of Ergon’s online product catalog you’ll note what the company calls its Flink ball joint. This feature allows the back to rotate from side to side while enthusiasts are bombing down a hill on a mountain bike, straining across an untracked meadow on cross country skis or starting mile four on a 12-mile run.

The company literature also explains that the strapping system of its packs allows users to keep the bulk of the weight (up to 80 percent) distributed to the hips rather than the shoulders, making for better posture and easier/safer activities while on the go.

Ergon’s packs will be priced at $199 and less. Look for ‘em in booth #71018 at Outdoor Retailer, Summer 2007. (Ergon will be at Interbike 2007 too.)

A bit dried out after several hours in the sun/wind, I’m now back from Open Air Demo, the “try it out in the wilds” outdoor portion of the 2007 Outdoor Retailer, Summer Market trade show.

Of the dozens of participating/exhibiting companies at OAD, four really caught my eye, specifically: SPOT, Inc. (Milpitas, Calif.); Ergon (Irmitz, Germany & Waterloo, Iowa); Boat in a Bag, Inc. (Vancouver, Wash.) and Malone Auto Racks (Westbrook, Maine).

The coolest product was SPOT’s first offering: the SPOT Satellite Messenger, a hand-sized device able to send static emergency assistance and track-me messages to Search & Rescue personnel, family members and friends.

Measuring 4.38- X 2.75- X 1.5-inches and weighing 7.37 ounces (including the two AA batteries required to power the device), the SPOT device is connected to global positioning and communications satellites around the world, all connected to on-the-ground monitoring/communications centers. Hence, when an outdoors adventurer breaks a leg while backpacking in the Sierras or loses a food cache in Alaska to a marauding black bear, a simple push of a button sends an emergency 9-1-1 call or a help me call to to emergency responders or family/friends in moments.

There’s much more to tell about this very exciting device/service from this subsidiary of Globalstar, but time and space will not allow me to go on.

Look for the SPOT Satellite Messenger in stores November 1. Retail pricing for the device will be under $150, with the satellite/communication service from Globalstar slated at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for unlimited service.

(NOTE: Although the FindMeSpot.com Web site wins points for its fun use of Flash programming, the actual level of detail on the site is sorely lacking. The only way I was able to get as much detail as I did was to get my hands on a press kit. SPOT execs tell me this will be fixed shortly.)

I’ll write about the other cool products I found at OAD in future posts.

Outdoor Retailer - Summer Market 2007 officially begins in two days in Salt Lake City. But today is the opening day of Open Air Demo. 

So I’m gonna head up north later today to check out all of the new gear that will be highlighted “in the wild” up at Pineview Resevoir (up Ogden Canyon).

As I understand it, this will be the first time Open Air has been held at Pineview, with the decision to move the festivities occurring roughly two weeks ago due to low water conditions at Willard Bay.

Should be fun.