We were out and about for you again this year at OutDoor in Friedrichshafen and kept an eye out for the latest trends. Here you will find a brief overview of the trends and innovations from the hardgoods, clothing and accessories sectors. The trend continues to set a clear direction: the materials should be lighter, smaller and of higher quality this time too. In addition, more and more companies are trying to take a "green path". Just like last year, Vaude is presenting PFC-free clothing and equipment. By 2020 at the latest, polyfluorinated and perfluorinated chemicals are to be completely eliminated from the textile production process. In addition, more and more materials are being recycled. Salewa is launching an environmentally friendly sleeping bag on the market with the "Eco-3". It is made from reused polyester materials, recycled zippers and down from old sleeping bags.
Clothing
The clothing segment remains as colorful as ever. However, the colors are becoming a little more sedate and no longer quite so bright. With the "FuseFormTM Orginator Jacket", The North Face is introducing a new weaving technique that allows different fibers to be woven into several zones. This allows, for example, both Cordura and nylon to be combined seamlessly.
"TORAY" is a prime example of how things can be done in an environmentally friendly way. The manufacturer scooped the OutDoor Industry Award in the Material Innovation category with a 100% plant-based polyester material. The polyester developed consists of 30% molasses and 70% plant-based paraxylene and is chemically absolutely identical to polyester made from crude oil. PrimaLoft is revamping its insulation technology. With the Performance Down: this consists of a mixture of water-repellent down and PrimaLoft microfiber and therefore offers 95% of the thermal performance even when wet. The thermal performance is roughly comparable to the fill power of 750 cuin goose down. With the Black Light Cuben Jacket & Pants, Peak Performance is launching an ultra-light jacket/pants on the market. Thanks to its Dyneema construction, it is nevertheless very durable. Berghaus is launching the world's lightest yet waterproof jacket on the market with the "VapourLight Hyper Smock 2.0". From summer 2015, the "fjøra" line will also be available from Norrøna for women.
Material and accessories
A lot has happened here, especially in the area of safety in mountain sports. Many manufacturers such as Petzl, Salewa and Co. presented new safety accessories: Salewa, for example, presented the "Ergo Belay", a new belay device based on the tuber principle, which is very similar to the "Klick Up". However, it does not lock into place like the "Klick Up" and therefore allows the rope to be released quickly.
But there were other innovations too: Using gas cartridges in sub-zero temperatures used to be a major problem. This is because they lose more and more power in the cold and eventually stop working altogether. Primus has now found a solution to this problem. With the Primus winter gas cartridges, it is still possible to cook at minus 22 degrees. The whole thing works thanks to the "Vapur Mesh" (absorbent paper) inside the cartridge. This small construction allows the liquid gas to change its aggregate state from liquid to gaseous more quickly and therefore still works at cold temperatures.
In the backpack sector, many manufacturers came up with new designs to make it "lighter" to carry.
Osprey won a Gold Award with their "Atmos AG 65" because this backpack has a fully ventilated hip belt.
The Ambit 2 from Suunto is almost a "must have" for material fetishists. With the Ambit 3, Suunto is bringing additional functions on board. In future, data exchange will work via Bluetooth. It should be possible to pair the cell phone with the Ambit 3. This will allow messages and calls to be displayed on the watch.
In addition, the heart rate belt has become smaller and can now also be used in water.
Black Diamond is launching the "Ember Power Light", a pocket lamp that could become a constant companion. The lamp not only impresses with its 150 lumens, but also with an integrated charger. This makes it easy to charge your cell phone, GPS devices and other items via USB in an emergency.
