freeclimb9 Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 I spent yesterday (8-15-2003) at the Summer Market in Salt Lake, and saw some interesting stuff. Rock on: Just when I thought the big guys had finally squeezed out the little ones, Yates comes through --again-- with some shit that reminded me why they've been in the business for over twenty years. Yates ice-tool leashes are the best, IMO. Check the M9 and detachable M9. John also has got Speed Wall ropes made especially for him by BlueWater. The Speed Wall has a thicker yarn pick for the sheath, so they wear like iron. And the Yates ladder style etriers are all the rage in the valley cause you only need two plus one other two stepper shorty for highstepping; light weight and easier to step into than non-ladder designs. Very nice stuff, and --as usual for Yates gear-- fucking bomber. http://www.yatesgear.com Squamish-based Rock Empire distributes Czech-made cable-slung quadcams that sell for, like, nothing. I've used these cams a little, and would compare them to Metolius. http://www.rockempire.com Approach/climbing shoes and boots: I was impressed by offerings from Kayland and Aku boot companies. Kayland is phasing out a couple boot and shoe models (goodbye Multitraction and Spider) in favor of similarly designed Super Rock and Super Guide. The Super Rock would work very well for Cascade approach/climb/thrash/posthole adventures whereas the Super Guide is a trailshoe scrambling thing. Their SuperIce would be a good choice for pure ice, or winter climbs. www.kayland.com Aku is an Italian boot manufacturer, so the fit and workmanship are superb. They had the largest selection of approach/climbing shoes. The advantage of their design is a stiff board onto which the shoe is lasted, so the shoes don't mush out when you're trying to edge. The disadvantage is they've got a thin forefoot which will tire your feet after miles of trail; This is easy to compensate for with a removable insert, and the shoe volume is easy to change with the laces. Ridge Sanfift, Stone XCR, Stond Sandfift, and the Wind Sandfift are low top models. They got a Wall boot as a high top. www.akuusa.com Vinylove baby: Atlas Glove was making its first showing at the Summer Market. Long known in the commericial fishing industry and among cold-weather construction workers, they had a glove --the Sport Grip-- they thought would be great for outdoor enthusiasts. The Sport Grip has super tacky rubber palms and fingers, and would be great for a lot of uses. But they were clueless that iceclimbers have been using their Freezer Gloves for awhile. It's all about the Vinylove. Check the Bellingham-based distributor: www.lfsinc.com Electronic gizmos: Brunton's SolarPort 4.4 (produces twice the power of their 2.2) is a wee solar panel to power Ipods, PDAs, GPSs, etc. It comes with and assortment of plug adapter so it can plug into device power ports. It also comes with a pack of rechageable AA batteries with an automatic shutoff. Couple that sucker with their new GPS unit (the Atlas) and you can navigate anywhere. (BTW, by adding Mapcreate software, you can compose your own maps for display on the Atlas). www.brunton.com MSR was showing off its little electronic "MIOX" water purifier developed for the military. It's a device about the size of a mag-lite flashlight that creates a super-oxidizing solution that you put into suspect water to blast the bad guys. One set of batteries will produce enough solution to purify 200 liters. Micro-light --known for their Rav'n Party light (I was seeing tracers while stone sober)-- also makes a tiny led light that would be the shit for the ultralight crowd, or on your keychain. Check L.R.I. in Blachy Oregon http://www.photonlight.com/ meatless horsecock: I first saw a sign that read "Vegi Jerky", and thought "wtf?" But Vegi-Deli actually make a few very tasty jerky and sasuage style wheat protein snacks. High protein, low fat, great taste and it looks just like horsecock. www.vegideli.com more energy: SLC-based first endurance had their Optygen at the show for the first time. I'd heard about this stuff from my biking-mad friends, but didn't believe the hype. It turns out, it wasn't hype. If you're a sick ultra-endurance athlete, Optygen won't cure you, but may get you to the next level of competition. www.firstendurance.com And then there's my own contribution --though I wasn't pimping my stuff at the Summer Market, I'll mention it anyways (I understand that it's called "spam"). Go Zaps functional candy can be described as taffy with added vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and salts. They can be used anytime you need to fuel your adventure. Call and remind me about how awesome the PNW is, and I make special price --almost free;-) www.zappage.com BTW, the women at leashables were the finest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelawgoddess Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 freeclimb9 said: BTW, the women at leashables were the finest. they always have eye candy at their booth. they even leashed ME last year! personally, though, i prefer the eye candy at the other end of the hall ... guys, gals, and gear included. i haven't seen much new stuff this year. i mean, there's lots of "new" stuff, but nothing really that different or innovative. of course, i'm not looking *that* hard. i'm mostly just here to have fun. speaking of toys, though, you totally forgot to mention tori allen's new huck doll action figurine, complete with little monkey to hang from her harness. also, the new climbing video, "autodrive," premiered last night. unfortunately the acoustics left way too much to be desired and it was like watching a foreign film -- WITHOUT the subtitles. but some of the photography was spectacular. i almost felt like i was david graham doing that 14d. okay, well, not quite that good, but anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thinker Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 The other day I spoke with a guy who works for Ex Officio clothing company. He'd just gotten back from 3 days at the gala in SLC. Ex is starting to market a line of clothes with a natural insect repellent coating and it sounds like they're putting it on some of their established super breathable items. I'll be interested in seeing how it really works. check out their website for more details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeclimb9 Posted August 16, 2003 Author Share Posted August 16, 2003 thelawgoddess said: i haven't seen much new stuff this year. i mean, there's lots of "new" stuff, but nothing really that different or innovative. of course, i'm not looking *that* hard. i'm mostly just here to have fun. speaking of toys, though, you totally forgot to mention tori allen's new huck doll action figurine, complete with little monkey to hang from her harness. also, the new climbing video, "autodrive," premiered last night. unfortunately the acoustics left way too much to be desired and it was like watching a foreign film -- WITHOUT the subtitles. but some of the photography was spectacular. i almost felt like i was david graham doing that 14d. okay, well, not quite that good, but anyway. Clearly you've been sleep walking. The meatless horsecock alone should've blown you away. And what about the dynamically water ballasted C-1 canoes? "New" comes to mind in describing that. BTW, the movie is called "Autoroute", but you were pretty close. Another party tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 the Miox pen (this thing works GREAT! I field tested it for MSR when it was being tested FOR the military , this thing makes chlorine dioxide out of table salt, an electrode, and a tiny electric current- size of a magic marker and easy to use, you can even use it in complete darkness without needing extra illumination... and the lightweight Bibler tents made with lightweight silicone enc. nylon are two of the actual innovations from the show Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelawgoddess Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 freeclimb9 said: Clearly you've been sleep walking. The meatless horsecock alone should've blown you away. And what about the dynamically water ballasted C-1 canoes? "New" comes to mind in describing that. BTW, the movie is called "Autoroute", but you were pretty close. Another party tonight. oops; thanks for the correction. autoroute sounds more european, i guess. i knew it was something with "auto". anyway, i did see the veggie jerky and sausage but it didn't really blow me away. i've seen lots of meatless meat products in my lifetime. and i like meat! i was more impressed with the frying pan bread. i got some of that for camp 4 - mmm. and yeah, the bouldering comp afterparty last night was definitely fun! awesome setting, too. oh ... wtf do canoes have to do with climbing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lummox Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 i like meat! priceless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylou Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 The MIOX pen is only supposedly safe for crypto after 4 hours of sit time, so the jury is still out on that. The new MSR tents are pretty cool though. A fresh take on some very old ideers. The new BD tents made of EPIC look really cool, but it remains to be seen if they really keep the wet out when it's wet out. There are a couple of newish innovations in day pack designs that were pretty appealing, and Dead Bird has a couple of new fabrics they are doing nice things with. I'll be interested to see if people really pay $110 for a pair of shorts. Keen is definitely going to be the word on casual footwear, and were from what I could see the darling upstarts of the show. Speaking of casual, all your favorite tech clothing manufacturers have huge casual clothing lines coming out. Look forward to seeing high school kids who don't go outside wearing Cloudveil. Lynn Hill looked tired lugging that baby around in the carrier all weekend. Didn't get a Tori Allen action figure, had to go to a meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 the jury may be OUT, but the US military is DOWN with the miox... but all chemical treatments require that time, mary biglou, this is an innovation in the delivery system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylou Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 Oh, don't let's do smackdown again. Ho hum. The MIOX was tested by the military for durability, and they have, in the past, also told their soldiers that lots of other things were perfectly safe. Personally, I have to reconcile with myself with the idea of not worrying about crypto anymore AND review the EPA data before I'm going to reccommend the cool-gizmo MIOX to anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 marylou said:The new BD tents made of EPIC look really cool, but it remains to be seen if they really keep the wet out when it's wet out. Epic works oh grand gear insider.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylou Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 If you have some info on EPIC's performance in a tent application, please share it with me...I'm dying to know if it's going to work!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sphinx Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 I dunno about EPIC tents. The fabric isn't designed to be waterproof, so it seems like the tent would only work well at high altitude, or in really cold places where all snow is dry. I doubt it would make a very good tent in the Cascades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeclimb9 Posted August 18, 2003 Author Share Posted August 18, 2003 With regard to new clothing, the Sierra Club has a whole line of natural fiber casual clothes. Sales proceeds go to --surprise!-- the Sierra Club. They looked nice enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catbirdseat Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 I like Rock Empire. You all should Czech it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 I'm not sure about the MIOX deal but my friend's company is developing the same type of technology but large scale and it sounds pretty legit. No matter what I'm using I still worry about viruses and the only thing that I know that kills them is boiling. Hasn't stopped me from using a filter or iodine though. I've been on that Optygen stuff for 2 months I really think the stuff works. When I started I noticed I could train at a higher heart rate and my recoveries were a lot better. I did a lot of reading on the research behind it before I started using it, but I don't think it would be too beneficial to a climber unless they were doing some serious high altitude stuff or if you were into speed climbing. Sorry Dan, it won't make you lie any better. The stuff is pretty damn expensive thought, after you loading phase it works out to about $50 month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylou Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Jon, I don't have my notes in front of me, but I am researching an article on this subject, and to the best of my recollection Iodine doesn't do the do on Crypto. I beleive that the only EPA approved tablet is the Katadyn Micropur, which has as its active ingredient Sodium Chloride. This is the same ingredient found in some droplets now available, but the Katadyn product appears to be the only one with the official EPA tests passed. As far as viruses are concerned, there is at least one EPA-certified water purifier on the market, made by First Need. It's ugly, bulky, and a couple ounces on the heavy side, but the flow rate is terrific, even on a gravity bag system. I did some flow testing with water pulled from fairly high on the White River (e.g. high particulate) and this filter never hiccupped. At the end of the day, though, one still has to consider the water sources on any given trip. A few days ago, I had to make clean some very muddy and mozzy larva infested water, and it would have been pretty hard to choke it down without running it through a physical water filter. I'm sure in different circumstances I'd have drunk the stuff, but the gross-out factor was still high, and I hadda use the stuff for cooking rather than drinking. That's a barrier to going entirely with a system that doesn't have a pretty tight filter as part of the cleaning process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 ...and because the first need is ugly, you don't like it, marylou? it is a purifier, (its the only mechanical purifier approved by the EPA and has been for the last 15 years, i thought this was about NEW stuff) but it clogs faster than other filters because the filters pores are smaller than others. other water filters are just that, filters. but, new things at summer market. well, wouldn't cha know, the miox pen brews up sodium chloride solution and this is a time tested aspect of municipal water treatment as well... but you are right mary lou, sometimes you really want to filter the water, because it's so ugly. like drinking out of mud puddles... so, the miox pen is one of the true innovations from summer market, and the bibler epic tents; also great advances in faqbrics technology, both is soft and hard shell technologies... we now see a gore tex suitable for tent canopies, but this was released already... also, much better soft shells from gore, Goreis also working on clothes with variable insulation, dialed in by the user... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 SUNDAY-DAY-AY LIVE AT THE TACOMA DOME-OME-OME-OME! BATTLE OF THE GEAR GEEKS! WATER FILTER RAMPAGE! SUPER-MODIFIED TENTS! TITANIUM UNDERWEAR! HEADLAMP MAYHEM! WE'LL SELL YOU THE WHOLE SEAT BUT YOU'LL ONLY NEED THE EDGE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sphinx Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Beck said: ...and because the first need is ugly, you don't like it, marylou? it is a purifier, (its the only mechanical purifier approved by the EPA and has been for the last 15 years, i thought this was about NEW stuff) but it clogs faster than other filters because the filters pores are smaller than others. other water filters are just that, filters. but, new things at summer market. well, wouldn't cha know, the miox pen brews up sodium chloride solution and this is a time tested aspect of municipal water treatment as well... but you are right mary lou, sometimes you really want to filter the water, because it's so ugly. like drinking out of mud puddles... so, the miox pen is one of the true innovations from summer market, and the bibler epic tents; also great advances in faqbrics technology, both is soft and hard shell technologies... we now see a gore tex suitable for tent canopies, but this was released already... also, much better soft shells from gore, Goreis also working on clothes with variable insulation, dialed in by the user... Right, but once you puncture that insulation the air leaks out and you're wearing a nylon vest. This is a stupid argument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylou Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 I'll tell you what, Beck: You may have my share of mosquito larva steeped in muddy water. Obviously I am not as hardcore as you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lI1|1! Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Beck said: the US military is DOWN with the miox... most of the stuff you use in the army doesn't work so maybe that's a bad thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 ... the chinooks work pretty good, last time I flew in them... (And Dana Gleason sells packs to the Navy Seals, sometimes the military knows what they're doing) people already using chemical treatments, will like the long term reliability and ease of use of the Miox pen. I've tested it in the field before the military got theirs, and can say, the MIOX pen is a real innovation! from summer market this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylou Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 Beck said: ... the chinooks work pretty good, last time I flew in them... (And Dana Gleason sells packs to the Navy Seals, sometimes the military knows what they're doing) people already using chemical treatments, will like the long term reliability and ease of use of the Miox pen. I've tested it in the field before the military got theirs, and can say, the MIOX pen is a real innovation! from summer market this year. Beck has finally admitted to me that he did not actually attend the actual Summer Market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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