New Gear at OutDoor - Friedrichshafen

© Jack Geldard
Kevin Avery and Alan James at OutDoor - tent testing as well!  © Jack Geldard
Kevin Avery and Alan James at OutDoor - tent testing as well!
© Jack Geldard

Retro Chouinard Shirt  © Kevin Avery-UKC
The full UKClimbing.com editorial team hit the stands at the biggest outdoor trade-show in the world last week.

Splitting in to two teams, (I'll leave it up to you to decide which was A team and which was B team!), we visited countless stands, fondled some shiny gear, rustled some sleeping bags and drank our body weight in coffee.

Our team (Kevin Avery and myself) saw an amazing range of new kit, much of which is photographed below. The big news on a technical climbing gear front was the introduction of the new DMM Dragon Cams, which caused quite a buzz around the climbing village (the central area of the climbing wing is in a cafe style layout, named 'the climbing village').

For those who haven't seen the Dragon Cams, they are a twin axle design, very similar in style to the classic Black Diamond (BD) Camalots, but with the added extras that we have come to expect from DMM; weight saving from some very stylishly hot-forged cam lobes and the popular doubled sling. DMM have also kept their camming angle of 13.75° which DMM believe "offers the best combination of holding power and expansion range". With the BD patent expired on the twin axle design, it will be interesting to see if any other manufacturers will produce twin axle cams too.

From a clothing point of view, for me the best item was unfortunately unavailable - but check out this original 1970's Chouinard shirt (pictured right) - it was so cool I almost stole it! We have heard a rumour that these may be available as special press gifts at some point. Now this is big news - talk about a perk of the job.

Back to this millennia, and we saw some very sharp offerings from Patagonia, with the Guide Jacket and the M10 jacket both looking extremely well put together. Both Kevin and myself were very impressed with the award winning Super Mica jacket from Marmot, bringing a whole new meaning to the word 'light'.

In fact Marmot have really embraced the light-weight revolution and also seemed to have gone to town on the look of their range, with tweaks and changes of the look of many of their garments.

Tom Cain models the WC Alpine Sheild helmet - now available without the sheild.  © Jack Geldard
Tom Cain models the WC Alpine Sheild helmet - now available without the sheild.
© Jack Geldard
Meeting people is part of the show too, and it was great to bump in to several friends and make some new ones. Tom Cain is the new International Sales Coordinator for Wild Country, and he did a great job of showing us around their new kit. He's pictured here modelling the new look Alpine Shield helmet.

Mick Ryan and Alan James (the other team...) were also working hard, mainly from the coffee bar (or so it seemed to us..!), having meetings with our partners and generally doing what can only be described as 'high-flying-business-type-stuff'.

Mick did spot a very neat bouldering mat from Chillaz, which is photographed here. It is very similar in concept to the Flashed Air Pad that we reviewed earlier in the year, but the air insert is a single piece. This does look to be the future of bouldering protection.

Mick has done a report detailing the winners of the major awards at the show, covering some really innovative products. You can read his UKC Report.

Down to the gear - Below is a sneak preview of most of the kit we saw, with a brief description of what it is:


“Crux RK 37”

The water-proof fabric and roll top design kept this pack simple and usable.

“Crux Plasma Jacket”

Kevin looked at home in the water-resistant Plasma jacket - perfect for Scotland?

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Crux Plasma Jacket
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“DMM Dragon Cams”

One word... WOW. UKC will be getting the full low-down on these new cams from DMM. Watch this space.

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DMM Dragon Cams
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“DMM Karabiners”

DMM have sharpened up their karabiner range.

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DMM Karabiners
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Patagonia Guide Jacket”

As people have come to expect from Patagonia, their kit this year was the business and the Guide Jacket won one of the OutDoor awards for 2009.

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Patagonia Guide Jacket
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Patagonia M10 Jacket”

Here Darren Townsley from Patagonia models the M10 jacket. We first met Darren at an outdoor day last year and it was good to bump in to him again, if only to witness his modelling skills!

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Patagonia M10 Jacket
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Arc'teryx Squamish Windshell”

Arc'teryx had a full range of stylish looking clothes. This super-light windshirt looked like a great cragging top.

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Arcteryx Squamish Windshell

“Five-Ten Team”

The big new shoe from 5.10 is the 'team'. Here Jenny Johnson shows us the features. The shoe has a single velcro strap and quite an aggressive, perfomance based style. For the hardcore boulderers perhaps?

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Five-Ten Team
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Five-Ten Rogue”

An entry level shoe from 5.10 - the Rogue

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Five-Ten Rogue

“Evolv Defy Shoe with VTR-3”

Evolv showed us their environmental credentials and we were impressed. They have really gone to town using recycled rubber "Eco Trax" Also, with this VTR (Variable Thickness Rand) they have beefed up the rand in certain wear points to help the shoes last longer and offer more value for money. This VTR will be available quite soon.

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Evolv Defy Shoe with VTR-3
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Evolv Royale”

A nice looking comfortable entry level shoe from Evolv.

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Evolv Royale
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Metolius Safe-Tech Harness”

This is a monster. Designed for big-walling and to be super-comfy, the safe-tech has lots of safety features, including load bearing gear loops and twin belay loops.

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Metolius safe-tech harness

“Metolius Chalk Bag Range”

Metolius chalk bags have gone 1980's! And they look superb. Bring back lycra we say!

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Metolius Chalk Bag Range
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Western Mountaineering Down Jacket”

Here Pete from V12 Outdoor models a down jacket from Western Mountaineering. This was a company that we were very impressed with, they showed us photos of their manufacturing process over in the USA and the attention to detail was very high. Perhaps a company to look out for in UK shops?

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Western Mountaineering Flash Jacket
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Petzl Freinio Karabiner”

An interesting karabiner from Petzl. Team with a Gri-Gri for increased friction when using skinny single ropes.

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Petzl Freinio Karabiner
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“La Sportiva Gandalf”

Funky footwear from La Sportiva. Aimed at the approach and climbing market and capable of climbing 5.12 apparently! Wizardry indeed.

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La Sportiva Gandalf
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Marmot Trouser Range”

The 09 range from Marmot was very functional and stylish, but of particular note was a spread of great looking climbing trousers, including the excellently named Gritstone Pant. Keep your eyes peeled for these.

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Marmot Trouser Range
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Award Winning Marmot Super Mica Jacket”

We've got the current version of the Mica Jacket on test at UKC and it is performing well. This new version beefs things up slightly, with re-enforcement patches and a new hood rim.

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Marmot Super Mica Jacket
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Marmot Women's Dri-Clime Windshirt”

Marmot have some great looking women's specific tops this year, including the ever popular Dri-clime.

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Marmot Women's Driclime Windshirt
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Marmot Haul Bag”

This is me modelling the new Marmot haul bag. I'm taking this beauty big walling in September, so will write a full review after that, but we were impressed at first glance. Kevin is inside the bag...

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Marmot Haul Bag
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Scarpa Thunder”

Scarpa's 'tool for endless climbing pleasure' gets a makeover...

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Scarpa Thunder
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Scarpa Phantom Guide”

Super-light technical mountaineering boots featuring a new last and integrated gaiter system. Super light weight too!

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Scarpa Phantom Guide
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Deuter Guide Lite”

This is a top quality cragging and mountaineering sack. Look out for a review on the site soon.

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Deuter Guide Lite
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Grivel Karabiners”

Grivel were justifiably proud of their karabiner range for 2009.

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Grivel Karabiners
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Grivel G20 Crampon”

Technical mono-point from Grivel looks more than capable of handling a Scottish season or two.

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Grivel G20 Crampon
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“OR Helium Light”

We were seriously impressed with the low weight and pack size of the Helium.

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OR Helium Light
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“OR Exos Pant”

A super tough, year-round stretch softshell trouser. These look like a great all-round mountain piece.

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OR Exos Pant
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“BD Fusion Axe”

Black Diamond's top end tool just got better! Here Kathi Krause shows us the Fusion ice tool.

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Kathi Krause from Black Diamond Equipment showing off the Fusion Axe in 2009
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“BD Aspect Harness”

All-round, fully adjustable harness looks just the job for the British market.

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Black Diamond Aspect Harness
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Berghaus Smoulder Hoody in Polartec High Efficiency Fabric”

Berghaus and their award winning hoody, complete with Polartec High Efficiency Fabric. A versatile technical, layering piece.

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Berghaus Smoulder Hoody in Polartec High Efficiency Fabric
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“New Podsacs”

Alan James admires Neil McAdie's range of new rucksacks.

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Neil McAdie of Equip Outdoor shows off the new PODsacs range to Alan James at the Friedrichshafen Outdoor show 2009
© Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com

“Primus Stove”

The real news from Primus is the fact that they are brining out their own version of the JetBoil. It looked very similar to the Jetboil, but with a few design tweaks. We weren't allowed to take a photo of it, so you'll have to take our word for it!

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Primus Stove
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Mammut Belay Device”

An ergonomic easy to hold belay device from Mammut.

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Mammut Belay Device
© Kevin Avery-UKC

“Red Chili Matadors”

The new top-end shoe from Red Chili.

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New Red Chili Matadors
© Jack Geldard

“Wild Country Biners”

Wild Country have tweaked their karabiner range.

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New karabiners from Wild Country
© Jack Geldard

“Wild Country Ziplock”

The newly re-vamped harness looks like it will be popular.

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Re-vamped Ziplock harness
© Jack Geldard

“James McHaffie”

Life size posters of the Cumbrian legend adorned the whole Wild Country stand.

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James McHaffie is the star of the Wild Country stand. Here Jack Geldard spurs him on..!
© Jack Geldard




28 Jul, 2009
I'm guessing the Camalot twin axle patent has run out, looking at those DMM cams.
28 Jul, 2009
Some very sexy gear! The new fusions look awesome! They are Nomics with a better handle, a spike and something that looks it can be used to 'hammer stuff'. Anyone wants to buy a pair of Nomics...? Grivel's take on the Darts look good as well, though i'm not sure about the vertical rail. It'd be dangerous to stand on rocks balancing on that.
28 Jul, 2009
Yes, a while ago, 2 years ago I believe. Mick
28 Jul, 2009
Nice round-up on the whole (although I'm not sure why you flagged up the Freino as it has been on sale in the UK for at least two years). There's a bit more detail on the 5.10 team on the Foundry blog: http://foundryclimbing.blogspot.com/
28 Jul, 2009
Which makes it all the more odd that a friend of mine overheard BD staff on the DMM stand threatening to sue. I am really hoping that he is wrong or misunderstood because it would be pretty lame else. It seems to me that DMM have taken the twin axle idea and built it into a much more attractive unit. BD should see that as a kick in the pants and try to raise their game to match. Iain
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