Gear, Gear, Gear....OutDoor 2008

© Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com
UKClimbing.com's Editor Jack Geldard and myself have just spent four busy and intense days at this year's OutDoor 2008, at Friedrichshafen, Germany on the shores of Lake Constance.

The OutDoor Show is where hundreds of outdoor companies and brands show off their wares to retailers and the media. Jack and myself were amongst 18,900 trade visitors to visit the show. There were 787 exhibitors with around 200 companies of direct interest to climbers and mountaineers. The OutDoor show has been held at Friedrichshafen for the last 14 years and the European Outdoor Group have just signed up with Messe Friedrichshafen for the next 5 years up to 2013.

Our purpose was twofold: to meet the people behind the gear we use and have a close look at it accompanied quite often by the manufacturers and in many cases the designers, and of course, my job, to show interested companies UKClimbing.com and how UKClimbing.com can benefit them in making climbers and mountaineers aware of the products they offer.

The response was very positive and there are a lot of readers who work in the Outdoor Industry out there who appreciate UKClimbing.com's mix of high quality editorial combined with contributions from thousands of climbers.

Jack and myself visited around 40 different companies and we were lucky enough to meet some great people and see some great new products. Over the next month we shall be doing a series of reports on some of this gear and some of the people we met.

It was Jack's first time and he did very well. As Chris Stirling, manager of Lakes Climber (also a OutDoor Show first timer) said "It was like going shopping for 4 days." It can get very tiring for both exhibitors and visitors alike! Jack is at Gogarth this morning having a well earned rest!!!!!!

In the photo above Jack is at the C.A.M.P stand photographing gear whilst I talked to Isacco Codega of C.A.M.P. and Ian Smith of Allcord. UKClimbing.com is on the lap top of course.


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