My day at the OR Show!
Nope, it’s not in Oregon. OR stands for “Outdoor Retailer”. I had heard about it because a friend of ours
was attending and he was staying at our house as the show was in Salt Lake City.
He had flown in from Boulder and was spending all day meeting potential clients
and collecting cards. I had heard of the
OR show but I had no idea how big it was….and that curiosity is what fueled my
fire. “I should write a blog about it. For
Deer Valley. I could show all the new ski and snow stuff!” Great idea,
right? Hmmm, maybe not.
I arrived at registration and found it was extremely
difficult to get in without some REAL clout…or previous registration (aka
advanced planning). I brought with me a
piece of paper with my Deer Valley blogging bio and handed them my ID. That
wasn’t going to cut it. I tried to pull my blog up on my computer. That didn’t
work. This was tougher than I thought. Now my curiosity was off the charts…what
was behind those convention center walls? I had to find out. Thank goodness, my
blog popped up just in time and I was cleared. I had my badge and was ready to
depart. But, I paused and asked them
where the ski and snow toys were….(rookie mistake) “No, this is the Summer OR
show…the winter OR show is in Feb.” I couldn’t play it off…the cat was out of
the bag.
First stop, the comfiest neck pillows in the world. Well,
in the moment, that is what I felt their name should be. But, Cocoon makes sense. They are furry and compact and if I hadn’t
felt the need to regain some sort of pride, I would have walked around the rest of
the day with this sucker cuddling my neck region. See that little pouch I am holding? That’s
how small they are when deflated! http://www.amazon.com/Cocoon-Air-2dCore-Ultralight-U-2dShaped-Pillow/dp/B007T4O0UG
I turned around from Cocoon and found myself
looking straight at my husband’s pants. Well, more specifically, his favorite pant company. Kuhl. Erik, in true ski
racer form, has a little extra muscle in the trunk and these pants make it okay
for him to move with some freedom! He loves them. While writing this, I needed to confirm my story so I shouted down, "Honey, why do you love Kuhl pants?" And he said, "Cause I have a big ass!" There you go! http://www.kuhl.com/
All this OR’ing was making me quite hungry so I stopped by Clif
Bar for some Before, During, After and On-The-Go fueling. http://www.clifbar.com/
This could be my favorite gadget. It caught my eye right away because, I LOVE coffee. But I REALLY LOVE coffee when
I am camping. I don’t know why it tastes better. Maybe it’s all the extra effort it takes to get a
perfect cup at camp that makes me appreciate it more. Bottom line is, this gadget is sweet and cute and looks like
it could pull off a mean cup ‘o joe! Mama Like! http://www.gsioutdoors.com/
Remember Croakies? I don’t have to think back that far as I
was in search of them for our white water rafting trip last summer. I found them and I was flooded with memories
from my youth. Who didn’t have croakies attached to their fake Vuarnet’s? Ok,
maybe it was just a Nor Cal thing. But, these belts caught my eye. So cool. The
colors they are coming up with for men’s socks and belts is blowing my mind. I
love it. And guess who makes these babies? That’s right…Croakies! http://www.croakies.com/
Nothing is truly complete without Zombies. Check. Honestly, I had no clue what company they were representing or what they were selling, but I love me some Zombies. Plus, it's a great opportunity for me to make THAT face. Excellent.
Naturally, I was feeling tense from hanging out with
Zombies, therefore, I felt I needed/deserved a 10 minute loosen up. No wonder it was so
difficult to get into this place! Lot’s of hidden treasures.
They basically featured a blow-up version of almost every
water vessel except for a speedboat. Now, you are not limited by the size of
your car! You can fit a large tandem kayak in your mini-cooper! This absolutely
amazed me. These are from Innova.
I had to show you SUP boards as they make me happy and they
were everywhere. I love everything about these boards and now, I am loving
these beautiful colors. When’s the last time you SUP’d? If you never have, here is a great link to
get you started!
I voted LIFE IS GOOD as best booth. So homey and cute. And,
frankly, I strongly believe you cannot spread their positive messages enough. Life IS
good! www.lifeisgood.com
Ok, WAIT…my favorite, for biased and obvious reasons,
was……SPEEDO.
And, ahem, we just happened to win “Gear of the Show” with
these awesomely elegant flippers. I put my “flippers” into the awarding winning
flippers and it was quite a scene. And then I wore them for the rest of the day.........just kidding.
And speaking of flippers, thank you FEETURES for upping the
sock game! My feet are thrilled with your vibrant and exciting take on the
under-footwear. http://www.feeturesrunning.com/
Cutest dog at the show. (wonder how he got thru registration? just saying.)
This product stopped me in my tracks. Yup, those are iPad’s
in a fish tank. Loksak’s are the coolest zip-lock bags for your smart stuff.
Phones, tablets, etc. They have got you covered up to 100 feet deep. And, it still
senses your fingertips thru the plastic. There is some seriously cool technology behind these baggies that makes them
incredibly different than the zip-locks you have in your kitchen. http://www.loksak.com/civilian/index.html
Kayak’s were King at this show. They came in every size and
every color. My kids are obsessed with kayaking and I understand why. They are
just small enough to handle and just big enough to be great. The perfect
vessel.
From what I saw at the show, I am sensing a serious shift in wheel size for everyday
outdoor gear. People want to pull and lug their stuff onto and thru any
terrain! Anything from off-road to deep sand, it looks like this guy has you
covered. http://www.wheeleez.com/
This was, by far, my favorite activity at the show. This
fella and his machine were on the back wall. And, by this point, I was so lost that I had no idea
where the back wall, itself, was located. But it was AWESOME. I hit so many
floating/levitating balls that I created a gallery. I finally caught myself
having too much fun and gave up the bat. This ball is hanging out at the end of
and strong stream of air. It's a bit expensive at $350, but it sure was FUN! http://hitzonesports.com/
Cutest backpacks. These are from Hook & Tackle. I wanted
to scoop up a ton of these packs for the little dudes in my world but I must
wait. They come out next year!
Parting gifts were endless magazines from Shape to Outside.
And I took a moment to say HI to Meb. Well, not the actual mega-star marathoner
but his picture and that amazingly awesome moment when he won the Boston
Marathon 1 ½ hours before I crossed that same finish line. This photo never
gets old. Thanks Meb!
I survived and I loved it. My husband scored some new shoes
out of the day and his feet have never been happier. Thanks Cushe! http://www.cushe.com/US/en
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And, thank you, OR, for letting me in. See you in Feb for the cold
stuff.
