Writers sometimes excuse their laziest writing by labelling it service journalism. Other times, they will excuse their lazy research by calling it curatorial reportage (i.e., consolidating information from other published accounts). The following combines both of these lame gambits in a single flaming post. Despite its obvious limits, you might still find it useful.

 

Our subject is June’s 2019 Summer Outdoor Retailer Show and what others are saying about it. The Outdoor Retailer Show is held three times annually, in Denver, and it presents what manufacturers hope outdoors enthusiasts will want to buy in the coming months. Shoes, clothes, widgets, etc. Gear.

 

It’s interesting on its own merits, of course, and also for the differences in how various publications report on it. What did Outside or Gear Junkie find exciting, and how did it differ from what wound someone’s stem at Popular Mechanics or Digital Trends?

 

Out of the thousands of products displayed at the show, those sites together selected 46 products for special attention. And what a strange selection they make, looked at as a group. First, it’s a revelation to discover how many things qualify as notable “outdoor” offerings. Shoes and tents, sure. Camp stoves and packs? Certainly. The Rivian electric pick-up truck? OK, I guess. An $800 portable air conditioner that can lower your tent’s temperature by 30 degrees F. in ten minutes? Your call, but I’m not convinced. An LED-illuminated cornhole game for nighttime play? Nope nope nope.

 

Second, it’s sort of surprising—and sort of an indictment against the industry—that there weren’t a few blow-out products or technologies that showed up on every “best of show” compilation. The backpack-able Oru Lake folding kayak showed up on a couple of lists and, at around $800 and 20 pounds, it’s certainly intriguing. (Can’t speak to performance because this is, again, lazy research.) Also showing up on multiple lists were the Leatherman FREE multitool and the Primus Fire Stick cannister stove, both of which will fit in your pocket.  The Peak Designs Travel Tripod appeared twice, which means it is either more innovative than it seems (especially to someone who isn’t an ardent photographer) or Peak Designs had an awesome courtesy suite at the show.

 

We don’t want to lose track of the really cool products that were identified by the lists, though. Four eye-catchers, one from each article. All should be available soon.

 

  • Patagonia High Endurance Kit: Gear Junkie singled out this collection of five pieces, all sold separately, for anyone motivated to hike or run through a handful of microclimates in an afternoon. It includes shorts, pants, pullover, vest and jacket. Cool feature: All the pieces can be packed into the vest.

 

  • Black Diamond’s AirNet climbing harness: According to Outside, this harness was designed for athletes in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics (in which climbing will be a competitive sport); it has several innovations in the webbing and the belay loop that could eventually work their way down into sport lines.

 

  • HydraCell Lantern and Charger:  Digital Trends tipped its hat to HydraCell, which is good because the underlying technology is awesome. But the company has something to prove: Its products have received kudos for a few years, but early reviews of its fuel cell-powered flashlight/lantern combination were less than, well, glowing. They were exercises in the faintest of praise for the faintest of lights. Yes, reviewers said, the fuel cell did activate with a brief, ten-second bath in water. Yes, the lights came on. But the lights were weak, the duration was short (much less than the advertised 100 hours) and the device was bulky. But HydraCell deserves attention and support because if they can make this competitive with battery devices, it will give us a more sustainable alternative to those little cylinders that power our lives. It could happen. Remember: the first laptops had a run time of less than an hour and weighed almost as much as a 12-pack.

 

  • Nemo Sweepstake:  Popular Mechanics found this gem. It clearly doesn’t have the glitz of most of the other “best of show” products but it’s beautiful in its simplicity and its affirmation that even the most primitive outdoor gear can be improved with a little clever tweaking. Behold the humble tent stake, improved with a glow-in the-dark ring that shows you where your stake (and therefore lines) are at night and, crucially, where you dropped your stake in haste as you tried to get rigged in that sky-opening rainstorm. After you break camp, the ring also slides down the stake, removing dirt and mud from the stake flutes. Results: mud on the ground and not in the bottom of your pack. Simple pleasures.