The kegs have been kicked and the first day of Outdoor Retailer has officially ended. We’ve had a long day on the show floor and have found some innovative products at this years Outdoor Retailer.

Ruffwear:

One of the coolest new products I saw on the show floor today was a climbing harness by Ruffwear. This harness is made to keep your canine friends nice and safe if you happen to take them climbing with you. While this product does have an extremely small market, it is a fantastic example of how innovative outdoor companies can be. Ruffwear also has a fantastic video of a yellow lab hanging from the harness that they’re showing.

Alite Designs:

This small Bay Area design company has some neat ideas that refine a bunch of products out in the market today. Their nesting set of silverware isn’t yet in production, but looks like it could be a pretty cool product once it comes out. The company also makes a dog leash with built in poop bag storage and a raunchy sleeping bag. We look forward to seeing what else comes out of Alite Designs in the future.

NEMO Equipment:

This small manufacturer has made some of the most innovative tents that I’ve seen yet at the show. Among other tents, they have a 2 pound 3 person tent that uses trekking poles for support. Another model uses an air filled tube for its light weight support. Their more traditional tents have some neat features too. Some of the tents have a diffuser so you can use your headlamp as a lantern for your tent. If all goes well, we’ll be getting a loaner tent to put through its paces.

Green Products:

The trend of the industry this year seems to be green products. Nearly every company I visited today had green products coming out in the near future. NEMO Equipment had a line of tents using nearly entirely recycled material in its construction. Smith Optics has a line of green sunglasses coming out. New Balance has a line of casual shoes using green materials that they plan on expanding to other product lines. Even Millet has a line of climbing ropes that use 66% less dye than the standard ropes. Over all it’s a very welcome trend for the industry to take.