In The Art of War, the ancient Chinese warrior/philosopher Sun Tzu describes the increasingly difficult economic nature of waging a far-away campaign; the further your distance from your objective, the more supply chains you must construct to the front line. Simple, right? With the rising costs of fuel and raw materials, the majority of outdoor manufacturers we visited at “summer OR” announced significant price increases for 2009. We are in the midst of a “greenocracy”, where claims of sustainability are as rampant as home foreclosures, but let’s face it- “made in China” is not sustainable. WildyX strives to support companies who manufacture products in North America and we’re proud to be bringing in the following innovative lines for Fall ’08:
Icelantic
Westcomb
Also check out some of our current outdoor manufacturers who produce their gear in North America:
Western Mountaineering, Colorado Custom Hardware, Omega Pacific, Darn Tough, Chrome, Integral Designs
So what’s new for 2009? Sit back, crack open a locally-produced microbrew, and check out some of the highlights:
CLIMBING
When you’re high off the deck, and friggin’ in tiny, marginal pro, there are only two real options in a soft metal nut for the modern trad climber- the Black Diamond Micro Stopper, and the Metolius Astro Nut . Metolius introduced the Astro Nut several years ago, but this has been plagued by production issues and the free climbing set has been mostly unavailable. Long-gone from the market are the HB Offsets and the venerable RP. There are certain aid routes that you will simply not get up without a rack of Offsets. Tired of pretending to be friends with those crotchety old and bitter “A5” types just to get them to loan you their rack of Offsets? No More! DMM has unveiled the renascent IMP and Brass Offset to again allow you passage back into the rarified world of tiny seams and micro-cracks.
These beauties will be available in April 2009- just in time for a trip to Zion or the Valley. The IMP features a significant improvement in safety over the old RP. If you look closely at the photo, you will see a metal clasp which joins the cable before the clip-in point. On the IMP, one cable is fixed and the other slides freely through the clasp. This allows the direction of load to pivot the cable in a predictable direction. NICE!
BACKPACKS
In this corner, weighing a combined million tons of production facilities, is all of the backpacking manufacturers of the world, and in this corner, designing state-of-the-art backpacks for almost 20 years, is the undisputed market leader- Osprey. This Colorado company is on fire. From the day trippin’ Talon, to the overnight Kestrel, to the multi-day Aerial and Aether, Osprey continues to innovate. For 2009, Osprey has broken the two-pound barrier for multi-day packs with the Exos:
This stripped-down minimalist vision of beauty really stopped us in our tracks. Its looks are reminiscent of an astronaut’s pack and its micro-tensioned frame feels like fleshy sinews attaching the load to your body. Handling this rig was like tossing around a kleenex- definitely not for the crags, but if you want to go mountain touring for days with the weight of a day pack, this is your ticket.
APPAREL
Look at these guys. They seem pretty comfortable in their skin.
Here at WildyX, we’ve long ago given in to our sheepish desires. For base layer and mid layer performance fabrics, nothing beats the moisture management, comfort, and odor-resistant properties of Merino wool. Wool is the ultimate sustainable, renewable organic resource and has made a resurgence in outdoor apparel. WildyX visited the Icebreaker booth to put in their Fall 08 order at the show and was awed by the richness and beauty of their apparel. Of course the Brazilian Samba dancers freely pouring Caipirinhas may have had something to do with it as well…
Also be sure to check out some of the incredible deals we scored on Smartwool and Ibex wool pieces.
CAMPING/BACKPACKING
Last but not least comes sleepy-time. Really, sleeping does come last- right after the cigarette. Just because you have a trick new Osprey Exos two-pound pack doesn’t mean you have to rack yourself out over a bed of nails. The new NeoAir from Therm-A-Rest offers a sub one-pound full-length air mattress. This two-inch thick pad deflates to the size of softball and is incredibly warm, due to the heat-reflective aluminum film lining the 72 baffles:
Other companies like Exped and Pacific Outdoors have been playing with this concept over the past several years, but both have needed to use either down or synthetic filling in the air baffles to provide insulation. The NeoAir eliminates the bulk and weight penalty of a fill while still providing supreme comfort and warmth.
As we sat in a bar in Salt Lake and watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, and as the world saw the torchbearer that night in China floating above the arena in our ancient run to the heavens, we were reminded of both how close and interconnected the world has become, and how far away we really still are. As we walk to the corner store instead of drive, turn off the light when we leave the room, or travel into the wilderness for days on foot with nothing but food and shelter, we connect to our natural world in the most elemental way. To us, that is sustainability.
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