Hiking Lady

I am back from a whirlwind trip to Salt Lake City! I had a great time at the Outdoor Retailer show, checking out all the latest gear, apparel, and gadgets for the trail! I also got to meet the legendary Helen Thayer!

As expected, there were many amazing new and innovative hiking related products at the show, many of which will be hitting stores this fall and early spring 2011.

Hiking Lady’s Top 10 From OR ’10:

1. Easton’s Kilo Tent

Easton Mountain Products is known for making superior tent poles that many other manufacturer’s use in their own products. Easton debuted a 3-season ultra light tent that weighs under a kilogram, hence the name Kilo Tent! Check out what Hiking Lady found out about the Easton Kilo Tent!

2. CamelBak Antidote Reservoir

Hiking Lady got to test this product before the Outdoor Retailer show! It was definitely one of the most innovative products this year. CamelBak finally improved their extremely popular Omega Reservoir and the new CamelBak Antidote is definitely impressive. Check out the Hiking Lady gear review and video review comparing the CamelBak Antidote to the CamelBak Omega reservoir.

CamelBak Omega and Antidote Reservoirs

3. Energizer Micro LED Headlight

Last year Energizer introduced the Energizer 7 LED Headlight, an extremely powerful, multi-function headlight that is far superior to its higher priced rivals. That’s why I used it on my day hike of Mt. Whitney last year instead of my Black Diamond Spot. I haven’t field tested the Energizer Micro LED yet, but the specs are promising.

This seemingly small headlight is supposed to deliver a 60 lumen spotlight (that is even greater than the Energizer 7 LED) running on only 1 AA battery! That compares to 3 AAAs for most headlamps. Plus, there is a dedicated switch to turn on the Red LED light, unlike the Energizer 7 LED where you have to click through the various settings to get to the red light.

4. Injinji Toe Sock Liners

I am a big fan of the Injinji liner toe socks. Injinji has released a slightly updated version of their classic liner socks! They are softer, just as durable, and are less expensive than the older version!

5. PeakWaggers Dehydrated Dog Meals

I had the privilege to meet the founder and CEO of PeakWaggers, Gayle Brooks! PeakWaggers makes all natural and organic dog meals, that are human grade, tasty (yes I sampled some since it is human grade!), and sealed in water tight packages so when our four legged friends get their saddle bags wet, their chow is still edible! Pretty innovative I’d say. Plus with creative meals and snacks like Chicken Pawmesan, Barkin’ Beef-Barley Stew, Mountain Mutt’s Sweet Potato Pie, and Somethin’ Fishy Wild Alaskan Salmon Jerky, hikers may be snacking on their pooches’ munchies too!

6. Elemental Herbs All Good Goop

At the Salt Lake City airport, I got a nasty mosquito bite! It is pretty ironic, because when I’m in the wilderness I rarely get bitten. I am always prepared with my various bug sprays, lemon eucalyptus, ExOfficio Insect Shield apparel, and DEET when it is really bad. Apparently I’m a tempting target for these nasty blood suckers. So on Wednesday night my arm was itching and burning, and so swollen that my left bicep could have belonged to a body builder. Luckily the friendly team at Elemental Herbs had provided me a sample of All Good Goop Organic Healing Balm. I got to test it right away by slathering it on my arm, and it immediately provided much needed relief. Talk about perfect timing to field test a product!

I also got a chance to meet Jordan Romero, the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest. Here he is showing me some of the Elemental Herbs products he used on his record breaking climb this spring:

Jordan Romero with some Elemental Herbs products

7. Asolo Lifestyle Shoes

Asolo has a new line of casual hiking/lifestyle shoes! I am a longtime wearer of Asolo Stynger Boots for hiking and backpacking. Asolo is also well-known for their high quality mountaineering boots. Now they’ll have something that we can wear on a local hike or a trip to the grocery store! They have a wide assortment of colors, and just like their boots, they’re conscious of women’s desires for a bit more color and style in their shoes. I look forward to buying a pair when the hit the stores in the spring!

8. Dorfman Pacific Discovery Hats

Dorfman Pacific has partnered up with the Discovery Channel to and has a new line of “Discovery Expedition” hats! The Dorfman Pacific Trekker hat is my favorite summer hiking hat, but the new designs of the Discovery Expedition are equally stylish and offer great UPF sun protection.

9. Badger Organic SPF 30 Zinc Oxide Sunscreen

Badger has a line of all natural and chemical free sunscreens made with zinc oxide and natural ingredients. I am tired of rubbing all sorts of chemicals on my skin, and am pleased to see that Badger Organic and Elemental Herbs have designed and developed effective, natural, and chemical-free products. Badger has a neat SPF 30 suncreen that is a “face stick“. It looks like an oversized chapstick, which can be rubbed on your face, ears, nose, and lops to prevent sunburns and windburns! I like the idea of only needing to bring along one tube rather than a separate chapstick and suncreen.

10. Goodhew Socks

Goodhew is a high performance sock company that makes lifestyle and hiking socks. I tried a pair of their Sedona Micros, constructed of a mix of Lambswool and Alpaca, and was impressed by the softness. Wicking socks rarely feel softer than cotton, but Goodhew managed to accomplish that! All of Goodhew’s socks are made in the USA, and they are priced less than SmartWool! I hope to see their Medium and Light hiking socks in outdoor stores soon so I can test them vs. my SmartWool light hiking socks.