Day 4 at Outdoor Retailer 2010 Winter Market: Patagonia, Black Diamond, Blizzard and EK USA
Patagonia continues to push the boundaries of outdoor clothing while also striving to be the most environmentally conscious of outdoor gear companies. At the Outdoor Retailer 2010 Winter Market, they unveiled new products to be released this fall, as well as redesigned classics.
Patagonia Untracked jacket
For backcountry skiers, Patagonia is releasing the new Untracked Jacket. It’s a combination of soft shell and three-layer hard shell meant to provide breathable weather protection during high activity mountain pursuits. The core torso areas are made from the soft shell material where breathability is key, while the hard shell fabric is on the shoulders, arms and hood where weather beats down from above.
Patagonia R4 jackets
Classic Patagonia mid layers have been redesigned for 2010, going back to a more retro theme. As you can see above the R4 jacket is a good example. The R4 comes in both a heavyweight and lightweight version and is perfect for keeping warm under a shell, or blocking out the wind as an outer layer.
Patagonia Capilene 3MW longsleeve crew
Patagonia is forging ahead with both Capilene and Merino wool baselayers, and they’re doing so by making them look less like long underwear. Check out the Capilene 3MW crew above. It looks like a shirt I would wear both in the backcountry and later that day at work. Visit Patagonia.com
to shop their current product.
The Black Diamond Couloir Harness
In addition to the Efficient Series of new skis and boots, Black Diamond is also releasing other new gear in fall 2010, including the super-lightweight Couloir Harness. At only 8.2 ounces, it is so lightweight that it is perfect for ski mountaineering. Plus, it packs into a tiny little package so there’s no reason not to throw one in the pack, just in case it’s needed. It also has special leg loops that clip off easily to answer nature’s call, or to put on and off while wearing skis.
Black Diamond has invented a new way to leash ice axes
Black Diamond also is coming out with a new way to leash ice axes. Instead of wrist leashes, they’ve devised a system to attach axes to a harness, limiting the chance of losing a dropped axe.
New headlamp offerings from Black Diamond
Retailers can also look forward to stocking their store shelves with brand new headlamps. They are going to come in four different styles. There’s the Cosmo and Moxie, both powerful lamps that have DoublePower and 2 SinglePower LEDs, which will be released on July 1st 2010. Then there’s also the Gizmo and Wiz, small, SinglePower LEDs due to be on store shelves in April. For more from Black Diamond, visit their website.
New Blizzard Answer skis with the IQ Max Slider system
For the 2010/11 ski season, Blizzard is introducing the IQ Max System. It’s a new, innovative way of mounting bindings to skis. According to Blizzard, you can mount any binding to a “Slider,” which then slides onto the ski securely between two “rails.” Once in, it takes only one screw to mount to binding to the topsheet.
Closeup of the Blizzard IQ Max Slider
Above, you can get an idea how the Slider works. The cool thing about this system is you no longer need a quiver of skis since any binding can be mounted to the ski. Let’s say you ski alpine on Saturday, then go telemark in the backcountry on Sunday. Simply unscrew and slide out the alpine binding and slide in your telemark binding. Viola! You would need to purchase a different Slider for each set of bindings, but that costs far less than having multiple skis.
Top view of the Blizzard IQ Max Slider binding system
Here’s another look at the Slider from a top angle. Another advantage to this seems to be the ability to adjust the binding forward or backwards, on-the-fly. Maybe it’s a powder day and you want to keep your tips up. Slide the binding back a little. Ready to hit the moguls? Slide the binding forward. There is 7cm of adjustment room on the Slider, so there are lots of options depending on your skiing style. I think this IQ Max System Blizzard came up with has a lot of potential and I’m looking forward to seeing how skiers take to it when it becomes available next season.
For more information about Blizzard Skis, visit their website at www.blizzardsportusa.com.
The EK USA booth at Outdoor Retailer 2010 Winter Market.
Finally, Logan, Utah based EK USA celebrated their 25th anniversary at the Outdoor Retailer 2010 Winter Market. They’ve been successful making outdoor accessories like eye wear retainers, lanyards, key chains, tie downs, bottle holders and even “Cat Crap” products like lip balm and sunscreen. All of their operations have been based in Logan for their entire 25-year existence, making them a true Utah success story. Congrats on 25 years! Check out all of their product offerings at the EK USA website.
