Best of OR: Apparel

Our spies return with a look at some of the hottest gear at Outdoor Retailer

Maybe you didn't get to experience the legendary onslaught of gear, booze, and, uh, gear that happens every year in Salt Lake City's Outdoor Retailer Winter Market. That's OK, player—you didn't miss a thing, 'cause we've got the highlights.

Here's some of the most promising apparel we saw at the show:

Arc’Teryx Alpha SV Gloves. Achieve better dexterity and hand comfort with a glove that promises less bulk and uniquely designed finger articulation. The Arc’Teryx Alpha SV with Gore-Tex Pro Shell ($275) falls into the high-performance category of hand warmth and protection—the Lamborghini of gloves perhaps? You will want to take these for a test drive. "The price is staggeringly insane, but so is the glove," says Gear Editor Kristin Hostetter. "I want a pair, bad."

Merrell Guise/Charade. “Sleep with me.” That’s the marketing tagline for the new Merrell Guise (for men) and Charade (for women), an insulated jacket that stuffs into a front pocket to form a neck pillow. It’s not only a clever, useful travel piece, but also eco-friendly, filled with PrimaLoft Eco insulation and constructed with 50 percent recycled materials.

Nau Shroud of Purrin. Designer Mark Galbraith told us Nau’s Shroud of Purrin is like a “little sex kitten in the inside of a soft shell laminate.” After putting it on and seeing several retailers strut around in it (including one in front of the mirror in the men’s room), who are we to dispute that notion? The jacket is made of recycled polyester and looks to be the perfect casual travel blazer that can be dressed up or down -- wear it with a tie, or better yet, with the collar up and a turtleneck...and a gin and tonic in hand ($350). All good.

Canada Goose Hybridge. While New York may seem worlds away from the Arctic Circle, Canada Goose has found a way to infuse its extreme cold-weather experience into urban styling in the Hybridge jacket for men and women. Using Thermal Mapping, the jacket blends Polartec Power Shield O2 soft shell and 750 fill down technology into one form-fitting silhouette. Its heritage still remains in the small details with iconic features like the grab strap on the back and reflective tape on the sleeve. ($475)

—BACKPACKER Editors

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READERS COMMENTS

Come on, people! Where are your senses of humor? We're typing up these blogs, bleary eyed, at midnight, after being shown about 100 products each, per day. These posts are intended to give you a glimpse into what we're being shown at the show. These items haven't been tested yet (many of them won't even make it into our docket), but we chose to blog about them here because they are either: a) very cool, b) absolutely ridiculous, or c) a combination of a & b (like the gloves). Regular readers of the mag and this site know that we regularly review gear that hits all price points. But, we assume (maybe incorrectly it seems) that even if you can't afford the newest whiz-bang gear, you might still like to read about it and see a picture. Much like the readers of car mags like to know about the latest luxury models, even if they have no intention of buying them. Either way, we hear your comments (and we appreciate them, even the ones that insult our work ethic and ability to hold our liquor!), and several of us have already begun brainstorming on how to better cover the next show.

cheers,
kristin

Posted: Jan 29, 2010 Kristin, gear editor

Yup, pretty freaking ridiculous report. a �little sex kitten in the inside of a soft shell laminate.�

Did I really read that in Backpacker? horrible.
Posted: Jan 29, 2010 Patrick

Hey Kristin, I drove a Ferrari the other day. I want one, bad! Maybe instead I'll settle for a pair of Arc'Teryx gloves! Do you suppose I can convince the government to give me a stimulus check to pay for them? Can we please get serious? This is exactly what we don't need -- more overpriced gear that no one can afford. I sure hope that these retailers see these comments!
Posted: Jan 28, 2010 Anonymous

make your own stuff sack out of a hiking towel then you have a pillow a towel and a stuff sack multi purpose stuff that works great is where its at your mag is turning into a rag that is why I canceled my subscription
Posted: Jan 27, 2010 yukonjack

Very disappointing report...More overpriced gear that no one needs
Posted: Jan 27, 2010 BillC926

I cover a number of trade shows in Europe and, occasionally, OR Summer. These 'reports' sound like a combination of recycled press releases and ad sales pressure. Little to do with the real world of backpacking and outdoors generally. So sad to see how the magazine has lost its way.
Posted: Jan 27, 2010 John T

WELL SAID, SIR!
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 Michelle

Seriously? Drink less and concentrate more on gear? At a trade show where vendors freely give away booze at nightly parties? All you see is gear all day so the booze is nice, and it'll probably be a week before the author can go through the mountain of information in order to have a good OR report. So maybe YOU should get a job you are more suited for, like a bishop for the Mormon church.
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 Matt

There's GOTTA be more (and better) gear at the show than what you've reviewed here.

New stoves? New insulations? better tent designs?

SHEESH! $250. gloves that only 1% can afford!

And I still think "softshells" aren't really soft and make terrible shells plus they are to heavy.
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 300 Win Mag

I think the rundown on the OR show was much better at gearjunkie.com
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 Jim

I spend a LOT of time in the outdoors and can't see the use of any of those things--especially at those prices.
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 Mary

Let's hear about new lower cost, high value outdoor gear from the OR show or outdoor industry -- not this overpriced stuff. Please be mindful of your Backpacker subscribers. Thanks.
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 Lin

Went to the show. Saw a backpacke that had a tent built in it and a jacket that was a bivy sack kinda cool lots of cloths and shoes some great hand warmer packets that you can reuse. Anyway it was pretty cool. We will be in the show in summer with our oven.
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 Backpackeroven

Wow - that's it? I kept looking for the rest of the article. Come on - try again.
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 Anonymous

I would echo the comments about overpriced goo goo camping gear.

How about some innovative design that isn't inflated price wise? Or better yet-- DIY designs for a category.

I myself am working class, and value your recommendations. I bought a backpack here and some boots on Backpacker recommendations that are both great (Scarpa Kailish boots on sale, REI Flash 65 for a JMT hike last summer) but your jackets, other accessories are for the Bill Gates set. It is embarrassing to see sporting goods so expensive in a world that is full of other more important places to put your money.
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 Tim Colman

There's more than just these 4 things. There's 2 more blogs. It's crazy that you can't get to them from this article, but if you got here via the "7 Winter-Proof Tents; Outdoor Retailer New Gear Report�" email there are three links to click on to get to different product lists (apparel, backcountry, tech).
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 Anonymous

That's it? Are you kidding me!?! Stay away from the booze next time and pay more attention to the gear...better yet get a job that you are more suited for, try bartender for instance.
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 Wolfman 05 AT

Well said!
Posted: Jan 25, 2010 Jim

Very dissappointing - expensive and nothing really very innovative. The whole OR show and this is all you can come up with. Very limp.

For the Guise/Charade -Try a stuff sack and the jacket you already own. Works great and hardly a new idea. I did it all the way up the AT.
As for the other very expensive stuff - in case you haven't noticed - the economy is a bit slow lately. How about discovering real "Value" or innovative or multi-purpose or at least new & different items we, who can't get to OR, might appreciate and benefit from knowing about.
Posted: Jan 25, 2010 Anonymous