In Hunt Of Outdoor Gear, Seattle Steals The Show

NORTHWEST MANUFACTURERS again led the way in new-product design at the Reno Outdoor Retail Summer Market, the world's largest outdoor-gear trade show.

RENO, Nev. - Three things you can count on every late summer in western Nevada. Blow-dryer winds sandblast a year's worth of slot-machine-blackened fingerprints off the doors of local casinos. The Truckee River shrivels to a slimy crawl. And Seattle invades, conquers and reigns over Reno.

One little corner of it, anyway.

Specifically, the Sparks-Reno Convention Center, where the brightest minds in the outdoor-lifestyle business convene each August to admire one another's tents, backpacks, glutes, cooking stoves and tans. Not necessarily in that order.

The forum is the Outdoor Retail Summer Market, the world's largest outdoor-gear trade show. It's where business connections are made, Himalayan expeditions are launched and, most important, sales deals are signed.

When new products displayed at the Reno show are shipped in coming months, a disproportionate number of them will be in crates with Seattle return addresses. This year, like every year at Reno, a cadre of Seattle manufacturers led the way in new-product design, not to mention market share.

Here's a sampling of significant new products with a Northwest-designed flavor.

Cascade Designs: Cascade, which entered the sleeping-bag market full force this past year with bags designed to mate with the company's popular Therm-A-Rest inflatable mattresses, is seeking to spread its reputation for state-of-the-art design with two new, innovative sleeping-bag lines.

The Quantum series marks the company's entry into the expedition-sleeping-bag market. The bags, which come with comfort ratings of 20, 0 and -20 degrees, have a "wraparound" design, with zippers at the top, rather than cold, drafty sides, of the bag. Fill is Polarguard HV or Thinsulate Lite Loft. All bags come in three sizes to fit bodies 5-feet-6, 6 feet or 6-feet-6. They range in price from $130 to $250 and will be available Jan. 1.

The Synergy line features three bags rated at 20, 10 and 0 degrees, with the bag shape varying from rectangular to full mummy. Fill is Polarguard HV or Thinsulate Lite Loft. It's a warm, basic bag, well suited for soggy Northwest backpacking, and a lot of bag for the money. On the bottom of each Synergy bag is a fabric sleeve, which accepts a Therm-A-Rest mattress. This is a double advantage: It prevents the bag from sliding off the mattress, at the same time allowing free movement of the top and lower sections of the bag. And it shifts part of the bag's underside insulating job to the mattress itself, making the bag lighter and less bulky. They range from $109 to $172 and will be available Jan. 1.

KAVU: A newcomer to the outdoor scene, Fremont's KAVU makes "furiously functional outdoor gear" that already is making a splash in the Northwest. KAVU's cotton-duck-and-webbing "Strap Cap" sold so well in Reno that young company head Barry Barr ran out of product order forms by midweek. What's so special about the cap? The strap. Sewn tightly to the hat rim, it encircles the head and cinches with a Fastex slide buckle in the back. It absolutely, positively will not come off your head, say KAVU salesfolk, who have furiously attempted to dislodge it by mountain biking, snowboarding, bungee jumping, and standing atop Mount Adams in 60-knot winds. The fabric is tough and functional. It's available now for $18.50 at outdoor shops.

SunDog: Once an obscure manufacturer of soft goods for other, brand-name sellers, Seattle's SunDog has become a major manufacturer of inexpensive, highly functional, even nice-looking outdoor accessories.

New this year is the snug-fitting, lightweight "Canyoneer" fanny pack that rides more comfortably than most and utilizes SunDog's "modular" accessory system. That means the pack's sidestraps are fitted with Velcro patches, which will accept any number of SunDog accessories, such as bottle pockets, lens pouches or camera cases. Customize it for your own use. The price, (suggested retail $39) is competitive. Available Jan. 1 at various outlets, but Swallow's Nest typically has the best selection.

One Sport: Last time we visited One Sport, it was a fledgling Kent company with one wildly popular boot, the barrier-busting, lightweight, waterproof Moraine all-purpose hiker. This year, One Sport is a Seattle-based manufacturer with a full line of quality, cutting-edge boots. It's about to hit the mainstream with its new line, the Trail Runner Series.

The TRS line combines One Sport's technical know-how with something the company always has needed to hit the mass market: a designer's touch. The TRS, essentially a Lycra (for stretch) and Coolmax (for sweat wicking) bootie surrounded by a serious lugged sole and a tough, waterproof nubuck leather exoskeleton, is a true looker. It's likely to be grabbed up as casual footwear on the basis of looks alone.

Don't be fooled. This is no sissy Nike hiking-boot wannabe. It's built from the ground up to make fast tracks in the backcountry. The sole is amazingly sticky Goodyear Indy 500 rubber, backed by a rigid, nylon stiffener and a polyurethane midsole. The Lycra/Coolmax upper should provide unsurpassed ventilation. The boot comes in low-, mid- and high-top models, with suggested retail prices of $85, $95 and $105. They'll be available in February.

Outdoor Research: The gearheads on First Avenue South came to Reno with an array of tempting new gear, including a set of six "padded cell" zippered containers designed for weatherproof transportation of small items such as cook stoves, lanterns and water filters.

But OR once again registered quite high on the Why-Didn't-We-Think-Of-That Scale with its latest lightweight sleeping pouch, the double bivy sack. Dubbed the "Love Shack" by OR employees, the Double Bivy is a stretched version of the popular Advanced Bivy Sack, a single-walled Gore-Tex sleeping shelter that serves as a lightweight alternative to a tent. This single-pole bivy has a removable mosquito-net top, a Hydroseal taffeta floor and fully taped seams. It's an all-weather shelter for two, weighing in at less than three pounds. It will retail for about $315 and be available in February.

Of course, not all the good stuff comes from Seattle. Two non-Seattle firms came to Reno with products so innovative, we couldn't resist:

Wy'East Log Company: Two Colorado mountain climbers - both engineers - decided somebody should make a trip log to record backpacking, climbing or skiing exploits, the same way pilots record trip mileage, weather conditions, etc. So they did.

Covers are waterproof plastic, and pages will be made from waterproof fabrics. Peak Log, Backpacker's Log and Rock Climber's Logs will be available soon. Separate logs for cycling, backcountry skiing, whitewater, windsurfing and RVs are under development. They'll retail for $11.95 to $14.95. Excellent gift idea. Contact Wy'East Log Company, 717 12th St., Golden CO 80401; phone (303) 271-4495.

Scarpa/Fabiano: The legendary Italian boot maker believes it has solved the No. 1 one dilemma associated with Gore-Tex bootliners: Removability.

Scarpa says its new Renegade is the first hiker with a fully-removable Gore-Tex bootie. The bootie, which looks like slipper-sock with a scree collar, slips out with one twist of a Velcro tab, allowing repair work on either it or the boot itself. The insert also can be replaced with a Gore-Tex/Thinsulate liner for winter warmth.

The boot itself is a midweight hiker with a one-piece leather upper, Vibram sole, polyurethane wegdge and weatherproof outer rand. If this boot lives up to Scarpa's hard-earned reputation for almost unbelievable durability, it could be an excellent, longtime companion for Northwest snow and scree trompers.