Enthusiasts get a peek at new equipment

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SALT LAKE CITY --The biggest outdoor show in Utah got even bigger this year. Even after the Salt Palace Convention Center's recent 40 percent expansion, the 2007 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market was spread wall to wall with booths spilling out into the hallways.

Updated outdoor gadgets of all types and for all target markets were on display for the estimated 22,000 attendees, retailers and manufacturers to have a first look.

Kayaker Corey Volt, of South Weber, was seen flipping and balancing his kayak in the paddle tank while demonstrating the new wireless VOZ Sports Evolution Lynk Helmet. The multi-impact helmet allows kayakers to communicate wirelessly with each other even after taking a dunk in the water.

Volt, a kayak instructor at the Ottowa Kayak School in Canada, said, "It's going to be super-useful not only for running rivers, but also for teaching."

The helmet can also be used to listen to music while on the water.

"It's nice to have a jam session when I'm out paddling," Volt said. The helmet will retail for $249 and will be available in March.

Other companies also introduced new technology that straps to a helmet. The Go Pro Helmet Hero and the V.I.O. POV 1 are both helmet-mounted cameras for recording video from the perspective of outdoor athletes like skiers, mountain bikers and BASE jumpers. These cameras may be marketed to extreme athletes, but they can be used by anyone.

"It's a way for the crazy guy in the office to say, 'Here is what I do from my point of view,'<2009>" said David Olilla, president and founder of V.I.O.

V.I.O.'s biggest customer is the military, which uses the camera to give a first-person perspective from the field. The waterproof POV1 is solid state, meaning it doesn't use a video tape. It comes with a 1 gigabyte SD card to record 43 minutes of video at the highest resolution.

Olilla, who says he's shot more point-of-view video than anyone, tried to think all the way through the process of capture video. Consely, the user of the POV 1 can shoot, tag, edit and share the video with the included software. Editing can even be done in the field, or by using the loop mode, users can decide after the fact if they want to save the most recent footage.

The POV 1 will be available Sept. 1 and will retail for $850.

The Helmet Hero made by Go Pro has a lower resolution than the POV1 and retails for $169.99. This camera has the option of taking still photos and can record up to 56 minutes of video.

The movement to produce lighter outdoor gear was reflected in many new products this year. Climbing equipment company CAMP has this year's offering in the race for the lightest carabiner. At 23 grams and one of the smallest carabiners on the market, the Nano 23 wire-gate pushes the weight to less than 1 ounce.

"It's just a trend that everyone is trying to come up with the lightest 'biner in the world,'<2009>" said sales and service manager Jay Getzel. "It's a fun little game that climbing companies play."

Also shrinking in siz CAMP's popular tricams. The units' unique design can be used to protect crack climbing by placing the device as protection from a fall with the smallest size, colored pink, being the most popular.

"We've heard that a lot of people actually file down the small one," Getzel said. The new sizes go even smaller than the pink size to protect thin cracks without having to use a file. They will be available March 1, retailing for $17.95 and $16.95 respectively. The Nano 23 carabiner will be available at the same time, retailing for $7.95.

Cascade Designs introduced a lighter and possibly simpler way to filter water with the Platypus Clean Stream and MSR Auto Flow. Rather than pumping water, these systems use gravity to do the work and can filter 4 liters of water in 2.5 minutes.

The system works by filling one water bladder with untreated water and hanging or holding it up, causing water to flow through the hollow fiber microfilter and into another reservoir of clean, treated water. They will be available Jan. 1 and retail for $79.95. If the 10.5-ounce weight of these filters is too much, users can try the new MSR Hyperflow pump filter that will weigh in around 7.8 ounces.

This year marked the 20th anniversary of Crazy Creek camp chairs.

"It all started with the chair," said import-export specialist Greg Henry.

Now the company has followed the ubiquitous trend and made a lighter version of the chair called the Hexalite. Available in October, the original and long back at 14.8 ounces and 18.5 ounce respectively, Hexalite chairs will retail for $33 and $44.

"The big growing market is in car camping," Henry said.

To fill the needs of car campers and boaters who care less about weight than backpackers, the company has also created the Grub Hub outdoor camp kitchen. This portable workstation folds out of a rolling suitcase-sized package into a full kitchen space with organizers.

"There are a few other kitchens out there, but nothing as complete as this," Henry said. The Grub Hub will be available in January and retail for $375.

MSR also is increasing its offerings in the growing car camping market, making roomier tents with the new Venture Series. With names like Elbow Room and Mo Room, the tents have grown in interior size compared to other lighter models offered by the company.

MSR is marketing to car campers and ultralight backpackers with their new offerings.

"We think this is going to be a growing area," said media relations specialist Kerri Dellisanti. "We're trying to hit two different markets."

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