OutDoor 2007: Review

For the outdoor retailer and media hound summer, and more precisely July, sees the return of the OutDoor trade fair in Friedrichshafen Germany. This ritual get-together is essentially a gargantuan powwow of manufacturers, distributors and sourcing agents from across the globe seeking to impress the attendees with their new wears for the forthcoming years trading.

For the uninitiated the event is an impressive affair to behold, incorporating vast hulk like hangers packed to the gills with flashy stands, pretty girls and shiny product. The pent up anticipation never fails to induce vast swathes of hype, propaganda and general back slapping over the usual collection of semi modified inline products rolled out once again with a last minute lick of paint. Occasionally within the morass of the “same old, same old” is a product/range which genuinely warrants the build up, and 2007 saw the launch of not one but two product groups which, for once, were truly worthy of the hype.

The Cream of the Crop
First up we have the product which won the OutDoor Industry Award 2007: The Edelrid Madillio. This is effectively a FOLDING helmet which packs down to 50% of the volume of a standard helmet, whilst not compromising any of the fit, strength, looks or durability of a standard modern shell helmet. The fit is excellent and, at 380g, it’s very light. The sizing is similar to that of the Size 2 Petzl Ellios. This is due out early 2008 and is set to retail at £70 - definitely one to look out for!

Under the guidance of UK ex-pat Mark Cole and the innovation expertise of a younger super keen design team - not to mention a huge cash injection from their new owners the European powerhouse Vaude - Edelrid appear to have had something of a rebirth over the last twelve months. With the incorporation of many interesting new products into their range, including the Madillio, a fine collection of new harnesses, the already available (and increasingly popular) Eddy belay device, a new belay device called the Zap-o-mat and also another good (if less innovative) lightweight (380g) helmet called the Targa (£40), they really seem to be on the way up. Also, and very uncharacteristically for a Germanic brand, they’ve seem to have worked out how marketing works with their new rope range colour coordinating (in decent colours!) with the harnesses and belay devices… look out Petzl the Germans are coming.

Unsurprisingly the next interesting innovation comes from those guys and gals at Arc’teryx. They have developed a nifty new solution to harness construction – Warp Strength® Technology. This is essentially a method of doing away with the usual, webbing stitched to a foam padding, system of waist belt and leg loop construction. Warp Strength® Technology is achieved through a unique process of unbraiding the webbing, at the point at which it comes in contact with the climber, and laminating the fibers uniformly in between a tough Scholler® face fabric and a thin Spacermesh on the inside face. The result is an extremely comfortable harness which not only spreads the load of the climber much more efficiently but is also lightweight and more importantly super packable!

WST creates higher levels of comfort and support by uniformly spreading the load across the entire harness, equally distributing weight and pressure from edge to edge. Arc’teryx 2007

As with all Arc’teryx products the standard features are all top draw, with the hot forged 7075Aluminum buckles being particularly neat and very slick. The tie-in loop is also a neat configuration of 12mm dyneema.

There are five models in the range all of which use a fairly intuitive naming principal.

• A300a (Alpine 300g Adjustable) – A unisex alpine harness with mountaineering and ski touring as a design brief. (RRP £90.00)
• S240 (Sport 240g) – Impossibly thin and lightweight sport/warm weather climbing. (RRP £65.00)
• X350a (Xtreme 350g Adjustable) – Designed for mixed and ice climbers interested in keeping weight down whilst retaining maximum movement. (RRP £100.00 - Image Above)
  
• R280 (Regular 280 Men’s) High performance jack of all trades harness, ideal for summer traditional climbing but equally at home clipping bolts in the Med. (RRP £85.00)
• R320 (Regular 320 Women’s) Women’s specific performance jack of all trades harness, ideal for summer traditional climbing but equally at home clipping bolts in the Med. (RRP £85.00)

The Arc’teryx harnesses are due to be available from spring 2008.

Best of the Rest
Of the other brands/products we encountered the following is my pick of the best new tweaks variations and modifications.

Five Ten Anasazi L.V. (RRP £75.00)
Continuing with the current trend of modifying the ever popular Anasazi range, the guys at Five Ten have come up with an improved version of the current blue low volume (L.V.) Anasazi Velcro. The Anasazi L.V. comes with the Stealth® Onyxx™ sole unit but has been fitted with the better fitting heel cup already popular with Verde and V2 users. It’s also is a nice new colour-way – Release Date: Spring 2008

Five Ten Prism (RRP £80.00)
After five years of R&D Five Ten have finally launched their Faceted Edge Technology (FET) shoe – the Prism. The Prism is a comfortable semi-asymmetric lace-up which incorporates two flat edges at “optimum angles” on the outside perimeter of the toe box. This apparently offers “unprecedented outside edge performance”. The sole unit is Stealth Onyxx™ – Release Date: Spring 2008.

Jetboil Hanging Kit (RRP £19.95)
A neat addition to the Jetboil range of fast moving alpine cooking equipment the Hanging Kit allows you to securely suspend your Jetboil stove from a the inside of a tent or a bolt/gear tie-in point on an uneven bivy ledge. It’s also light (55g) and easily packable (180mm) – Release Date: Available now.

Wild Country Xenon Lite Quickdraw (10cm: RRP £12.00)
With the continuing popularity of small lightweight snapgates and quickdraws Wild Country have decided to get in on the act with their new Xenon Lite. At 29g per biner it is a very light krab (although not quite as light as the 26g DMM Phantom) which has decent handling and aesthetics, and at £12 per 10cm quickdraw it’s good value for money. For me, however, the fact this is an eastern European or Far Eastern sourced product is noticeable in the feel and finish and I’m not sure it’s what Wild Country should be about in their top end kit?

POD
Finally just a quick note on the continuing revival/stabilization of the POD brand. As reported on UKClimbing.com last month, POD has been bought into by Equip UK (also owners of the Rab brand). Pete O’Donovan - founder of POD - is still involved in the design and development of the packs but Equip will be using their advertising resources and knowledge of overseas sourcing to help further the brands development.

Talking to the guys at Equip it was clear that they intend to keep the brands unique technical feel and build the brand slowly keeping with the ethos of only supplying stores known for their heritage and active/knowledgeable staff, suffices to say Rock + Run will be continuing to stock the POD range. Whilst we currently have some pack stocks the mainstay of the range will be readily available from November 2007.

Mini Article: Super (Duper) Topo

Well the pound is super strong against the dollar, the British weather gets ever more frustrating and David Beckham now lives in Los Angles. So that's at least two reasons to visit the good old US of A!

With the recent launch of two great new guides (Yosemite Bouldering and Bay Area Bouldering) we thought we'd give you a heads up on America's answer to Rockfax.com.

SuperTopo is prolific producer of North American climbing guidebooks, covering all the various disciplines of the sport, from bouldering, sport climbing to traditional and aid climbing these boys have usually got it covered in the no customary photo-topo layout. Supertopo was founded in 1999 by Chris McNamara (a man said to have spent 3% of his life on El Cap!) after he decided there wasn't enough guidebooks being produced which encapsulated what he saw as the key features of a guide:

• Climbing route history and story telling
• Detailed topo: pitch lengths, gear sizes, beta, beta, beta
• Strategy, retreat, and storm information for each route
• Detailed approach and descent maps
  

SuperTopo.com is designed to be a resource to help you plan a climbing itinerary, as well as get the best topos available for those climbs. We currently include detailed info on over 380 of Yosemite's best big wall and free climbs — including photos, stats, links for related sites, and user submitted beta with the latest info. SuperTopo.com


Freebies?
As well as producing quality publications for purchase they offer plenty of freely downloadable PDF topo's to full sections of their guides - Free SuperTopo's. The site also hosts a great photo gallery, which not only features some excellent shots from the SuperTopo team but also contains entire portfolio's from professional snappers such as Joseph Puryear, Nathan Welton and Greg Epperson. The site also contains a well frequented Forum.

Purchase SuperTopo Guides from Rock + Run here.

Review: Mountain Hardwear Manticore

Another Great Rock + Run Deal
We have just acquired some of last seasons colour-way of the fantastic MHW Manticore jacket on a great deal - RRP £200 DEAL Price £100! This is a jacket which I have been using for sometime, here's a short review of this hybrid shell.

Manufacturers Description
Hardshell and Soft Shell combined for durability, weather resistance, stretch and comfort. Ideal for alpine climbing, ice and all snowsports.

Rock+Run Review
I have worn this jacket as a general shell in varying conditions from plowing though driving rain on Scafell to ski touring through gusting (40mph) snow whilst linking in from Pointe Helbronner to the Vallee Blanche in the Alps, and whilst the insulation is obviously limited the breathabilty, maneuverability and barrier protection is (in it’s class) second to none!

The hybrid construction of this jacket (Hardshell and Soft Shell) gives it a really substantial feel, while remaining quite light and easily packable – it’s easily as thin as most three layer Gore-Tex shells. The softshell portions of the jacket are in all the right places and really help prevent clamminess, something I’ve had a problem with on many a hard shell.

Featureswise it’s got pockets everywhere you need them, the pit zips are well placed and a good length, and the hood is big enough for a helmet – I used a Petzl Meteor 3 and an Black Diamond Half Dome. The outer (Synchro SBT/ Nylon Taslan) as pointed out above is really maneuverable and has a great level of stretch but is also extremely durable, in fact whilst descending a short ridge I fell a short way and suffered some nasty bruising to my left arm whilst the Manticore showed only minimal grazing to the outer fabric.

Whilst I haven't used the piece for full on ice/mixed climbing the features specified above - good manuverability, low lift in the sleeves, good stretch and high abrasion resistance - lead me to feel that this would be an awesome active cold weather tooling jacket, especially the high water resistant nature of the jacket would make it excellent for those scenarios were things aren't fully "in condition".

Remember this isn’t designed as a piece for wearing over a vast numbers of layering pieces and it works best as a close fitting garment. The medium should well suit anyone from 5-8" to 5.10 providing they have a slim(ish) build and a 30-34" waist (this is just a guide).

Fabric:

Laminate: Conduit™
Body Fabric: Nylon Taslan™/Schnchro SBT

Features:

• One handed hood and hem draw cords
• Laminated cuff tabs with Velcro® closure
• Double flap, front zip
• Welded hand pockets with water-resistant zips
• Attached, roll-away, Ergo hood with laminated brim
• Two welded chest pockets with water-resistant zips
• Welded, interior, zip pocket
• Micro-chamois lined chin
• Welded, water-resistant, pit zips
• Exterior taped, water-resistant seams
• Hard shell and soft shell, hybrid construction
• Weight: 557g (Medium)

Purchase the MHW Manticore here.

Review: Swedish Meatballs DVD

Producers DVD Summary
Join Dylan Smith and Carl-Ola Boström on a tour of Sweden’s best blocs. Swedish Meatballs features classic lines and first ascents as Dylan and Kalle spend a month on the road meeting up with the boulderers who shaped the Swedish scene.

So what’s it all about?
This is the archetypal road trip movie, so expect plenty of areas and quality looking problems of all grades, with the classic lines being sent here there and everywhere, whether it be by the well dialed locals or a series of drafted in wads, including traveling Welshman Dylan Smith and Swedish cherry picker Carl-Ola Boström. There is a varied grade range of problems though most lines featured are in the mid 7 to low 8 Font Grades. From the major classics, first ascents and highball lines this production is also interspaced with the usual banter-filled “on route” footage shot between locations.

My take on the DVD
For fans of bouldering DVD’s Swedish Meatballs is defiantly worth a watch. For those that are more inclined in watching the crème de la crème of bouldering DVDs, then this might not be your cup of tea, as – in terms of plot, camaraderie and music – there is nothing that you wont have seen before.

The bouldering is generally well filmed. The music is pretty chilled, plenty of Reggae beats, and most of the film has a relaxed feel to it, i.e. it’s not constantly in your face. A big improvement from previous Tielma productions is that this DVD is entirely English – lets face it your average schmoe does not speak Swedish!

In my view the main drawback of this film is the amount of footage on the road. Fair enough it is a road trip movie but the continuous “in-crowd” jokes and banter can get tedious, and I’m sure that after repeated viewings that these sections will start to drag.

What I do like is that these more esoteric productions open your eyes to ever more far flung (excellent looking) bouldering destinations. You often hear about new places which are touted as the next Fontainbleau or Hueco Tanks. Generally this is usually a slight stretching of the truth although it does show these newly opened up areas are going to be well worth a visit. Recently Swedish bouldering has been getting a fair amount of press most of which shows that these Norse lands hold some fine bloc sport. Rock + Run team member Greg Chapman has been to one of the most extensive Swedish areas (“Kjugekull”) and rated it very highly.

Watching this DVD has definitely inspired me for a Scandinavian trip and added yet another location to my ever growing list of places visit. Not quite sure if this is a good or bad thing, there’s already far too many!

Further information
Tielma Swedish Meatballs site, for more information including Trailer:
http://www.tielma.com/sm.aspx

As mentioned above Shawn Boye has also produced ‘Tjugo Pa Kjuge’ which centers on one of the areas featured in Swedish Meatballs (Kjuge Kull) which is apparently one of the best areas in Sweden. Whilst not being quite as polished or user friendly as Meatballs, it does show plenty more quality problems for those of you who want to delve a little further in Swedish Bouldering.
Tjugo Pa Kjuge

Purchase Swedish Meatballs here.