Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture

Get The Gear: Outdoor Retailer Summer 2015

By

The Outdoor Retailer Show descends on Salt Lake City twice a year to show case new gear, styles, and trends in the outdoor market. We were lucky enough to walk the show floor for a few days and get sneak peaks of everything from extreme mountaineering gear to casual camping gadgets. If your idea of a fun time is geeking out over pack fabric and GORE-TEX membranes over a few beers, then our picks for Best in Show accolades will have you drooling over all the best new gear. If you’re anything like us, you won’t be able to patiently wait for any of this stuff to hit retailers in the next few months. Read on for the very best products from the Outdoor Retailer Summer 2015

Recommended Videos

Related: Dirtbag Summer: Black Diamond | Pack It In: Summer Car Camping

Related

MSR Guardian Purifier

The Guardian was born from a massive R&D effort for the US Military. After six years of development, MSR introduced the first purifier that is rated for viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and particulate contamination. The ground breaking hollow fiber technology is rated for 10,000 liters. Look for them on the shelves in early 2016.

Goal Zero Lighthouse Mini Lantern

It seems like every time we head to Salt Lake for the show Goal Zero launches something we immediately fall in love with. This time around we spotted the Lighthouse Mini. On low setting it will light up your camp for up to 500 hundred hours. It also serves as a portable battery, keeping your phones and GoPros juiced up in a pinch. This little lantern will also crank out 210 lumens when you really need to light the night.

KEEN Versatrail

From early morning hikes to post-work trail running, the Versatrail is KEEN’s answer to light, comfortable trail shoes. A toggle lace system keeps things snug, and weighing in under eleven ounces, this shoe will cover some serious terrain. Why can’t this one hit the market sooner than January?

Jetboil Genesis

We love our Jetboil stoves for backpacking, but they are really only built to boil water. The all new Genesis changes that. The clamshell design has two burners and nests in an included five liter pot. This juggernaut is the perfect car camping or river trip stove for backcountry chefs. A satellite burner can be added for even more versatility – think french press coffee. We are very impatiently waiting a chance to test this one.

Nemo Bike Packing Kit

Featuring the new Apollo three person shelter (or one plus your favorite mountain bike), Escape Pod inflatable bug net, and Moonwalk sleeping bag , this kit is a minimalist trekker’s dream. All three together weigh in just under four pounds for a complete shelter and sleep system. As an added bonus, the bag has a completely waterproof base and pad sleeve for peace of mind and a dry night. Color us impressed.

Gregory Baltoro 75 GZ

Taking cues from backpackers and gear heads who have been using carabiners to attach their solar panels to packs on the trail, Gregory teamed up with Goal Zero to create a dedicated solar pack. The result is a new Baltoro with an integrated panel carrier built for Goal Zer0’s brand new Nomad 7 Plus system. Combine one of the most comfortable packs ever built with the ability to keep our electronics juiced up for an entire week of adventure? Yes, please.

Brunton All Night

We’ve been using the Brunton All Day batteries on our GoPros for long mountain bike and paddling adventures. This fall Brunton launches an All Night version that includes an integrated flashlight to the battery and camera housing so your filming doesn’t have to stop when the sun goes down. Who’s up for some late night single track ripping?

Thermarest Camper SV

We love having an overbuilt camping mattress, but hate spending twenty minutes blowing it up. Thermarest’s Speed Valve technology utilizes Bernouli’s principle to aid in creating a low pressure vortex that can suck ten to fifteen times the air you blow in. The result? We blew the Camper SV up in four breaths. We also loved the rails on the side of the pad that kept us from sliding off.

Arc’teryx Atom SL

We first discovered Arc’teryx’s Atom puffy jackets on a rainy trip to Southern Utah with their Law Enforcement and Armed Forces (LEAF) team back in the fall of 2013. Our Atom LT has been pulling cold weather duty ever since and still looks brand new after a few hundred trail miles and dozens of summits. The SL takes the LT’s proven design and shrinks it to a four season platform. Using half the insulation, the Atom SL is ideal for summer camping or as a layering piece for fast and light trail runners and mountaineers when things get cold. Look for these to hit retailers in January.

Power Practical Batteries

The PowerPot made a splash in 2013 by letting any hiker generate power over a backpacking stove or open fire. We stopped by Power Practical’s booth at the show this time around and got a peak at some of the new batteries coming this fall. The Pronto 12 features quick charge technology and dual USB and 12V output so you can power all your gadgets from one compact battery. From the commute to the backcountry, this battery can handle topping off everything from your phone to power hungry DSLRs or laptops. For those counting the ounces, we especially liked the Lithium 4400 battery too. It gave us a full charge from almost dead to full on both a smartphone and GoPro while walking the show floor.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Austin Parker
Austin Parker
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Austin Parker is a former contributor at The Manual Parker is a powder skier and sport climber and is no stranger hauling…
Industry season 4: Everything we know so far
One key cast member is unlikely to return for the fourth season.
Myha'la in 'Industry'

After three seasons on HBO and Max, Industry has proven itself to be one of the most thrilling, unexpected success stories of the past few years. The show, which follows a group of young employees as they work their way up the rungs of an investment bank, has focused on the kinds of wild personalities required to sacrifice every scruple you have in the name of making money.

The show's third season ended with a major twist, as Pierpoint, the bank at the show's center, went under. Given that major twist, many are wondering what the show's fourth season might entail. Here's what we know about the show's fourth season so far:

Read more
Thunderbolts* first reactions praise Florence Pugh, suggest a dark, character-based movie
The reactions are a good sign for a struggling MCU.
The cast of Thunderbolts

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is not as dominant as it once was, in part because the movies they've put out lately have not been received all that warmly by critics or audiences. The first reactions to Thunderbolts* suggest that it might be a step in the right direction. The reactions are overwhelmingly positive, and praised both the movie's darker tone and star Florence Pugh, in particular. Here's a rundown of what people are saying:

Film writer Emily Murray calls the movie one of the "best" MCU movies in some time. She added that it “has so much spark, charisma, and tells a genuinely emotional story you connect with. A tear was shed. Florence Pugh in particular superb, just walks away with it.”

Read more
Bill Hader will co-write a new HBO series about the Jonestown massacre
The story of Jonestown has been infamous for almost 50 years.
Bill Hader in Barry.

If you watched Barry all the way through to its conclusion, you're likely aware that Bill Hader is a kind of dark guy. He's always talking about his fascination with serial killers and murderers, and now he's channeling that fascination into a project for HBO. Variety is reporting that Hader will co-write and potentially star in a new HBO series about the infamous Jonestown massacre.

Hader is co-writing the series with Daniel Zelman, and while it's still in development, the show could potentially be Hader's next star vehicle with HBO, where he also worked on Barry.

Read more