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Editor's comment - Outdoor
This year saw my first trip to Friedrichshafen for the OutDoor show, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. All the talk beforehand had been about how lovely the place was, how brilliant the weather is at that time of year... In the event, I saw some pretty horrendous weather, met some wonderful people, saw some solid product and had a really fine time.
I borrowed some gear to make the camping experience more enjoyable, including a superb backpack from Vango, and a Force 10 tent (the Vortex 200, which I am so glad I took with the inclement weather in mind), plus a cracking sleeping bag (one of Vango's Ultralite range) and a self-inflating mattress and pillow from Multimat that were frankly bloody marvellous.
At the show, standouts included Keen's new range of bags, which were both functional and incredibly stylish, The North Face's lifestyle range of clothes and Coleman's very sexy new propane-fuelled stove, which will apparently work in temperatures up to -42c. For the record, the fuel is 100 per cent propane, and demos on the stand included bottles taken from a freezer to prove their point. Most impressive.
GoLite left an impression too, and I hope they will on retailers in the UK this time around. The backpacks and day sacs they had on show were so light you had to remind yourself you had something in your hand, and their wind stoppers should go down a storm - no pun intended - with UK consumers. If you haven't had a chance to check out their lines, we'll be looking at them in SGB very soon.
Next issue, we'll have a look at some of the product mentioned above in more detail; for now, I'd like to thanks Vango for protecting me from the rain in an outstanding tent, not to mention the excellent Sherpa backpack which kept my socks and pants suitably dry and safe.
The Tent Show is next at Stoneleigh, and after that, OTS - hope to see you all there!
Jon Bruford, Editor SGB - Sports and Outdoor
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