Spring - InsideOutdoor Magazine

Gear
“outdoors,” and “outdoor activities” largely have been presented,
at least to mainstream audiences, almost exclusively through
high-energy action sports, speed, thrills and the element of risk.
Most folks, most of the time, simply don’t often run into messaging
that emphasizes communing with nature or bonding with
friends and relatives. Maybe that needs to change. A recent survey
by Leisure Trends, for example, suggests Americans are split
on whether outdoor time should be used for physical exercise or
relaxing, with 56 percent preferring to take it easy and socialize
when outdoors and 46 percent preferring to be active.
There also might be an opportunity to align with the nation’s
concerns over the economy by re-emphasizing the
financial relief afforded by a camping vacation, even when
including any initial gear purchases. Nowadays, a brand new
family tent came be gotten for less than $200, sometimes
less than $100. That’s clearly less than a few nights at a hotel
for a family of four, and the tent can be used for several years.
Appetizing food, meanwhile, easily can be packed nowadays
for a fraction of the cost of a few meals at a restaurant, and
the campground is far removed from the snack shops, t-shirt
stands, arcades and activities that empty a parent’s wallet at
a typical tourist trap.
Indeed, there is a small amount of historical data to suggest
such a case would resonate with consumers. After the attacks
of 9/11, another period in time when Americans experienced
a sense of instability, there were brief but noticeable rises in
number of total camping outings and the average number of
outings per participant. In 2002, both outings and frequency
hit their highest levels since the late 1990s.
There’s also lots of cool gear and gadgets to rally around, in
terms of both equipment and accessories. To get some of those
creative, marketing juices flowing, following is a small selection
of innovative new items that we believe possess strong sellthrough
potential among the crowd of campers.
Eureka! N!ergy Screen House
After hearing the “oohs” and “ahs” over its original N!ergy tents
last year, Eureka added the N!ergy Screen House for this year. Ideal
for campgrounds, picnics or a full day at
the soccer field, the new N!ergy
Screen House features all the
benefits of Eureka!’s portable
and rechargeable E! Power
system to power 12-volt accessories
inside the tent.
The three-season screen
house contains four
independently controlled
outlets. Three are
detachable and can swing to the center of
the screen house for table-top use. The fourth, fixed outlet is positioned
in the center of the ceiling to power an overhead light or fan.
This six-pole rectangular screen house has 120 square feet
of interior space, and the factory installed wiring system
can be removed by unfastening the hook-and-loop closures
of the built-in wiring sleeves. Suggested retail is
$214.90 (including the E! Power Pak, sold separately).
www.eurekatent.com
Primus EasyLight Latern
The EasyLight offers just about everything a
camper would want in a lantern. It’s compact, bright
and easy to light. Running on pressurized gas canisters,
the EasyLight also features a patented, almost
noiseless burner and adjustable brightness settings
that max out at 80 Watts. The EasyLight weighs 6.8
ounces and requires only 55 cubic inches of pack
space. Made of corrosion and maintenance-free
materials, it comes standard with a piezo electric
igniter and retails for $65. www.nagear.com
Fozzils ThinkFlat Tableware
There are no more good excuses to use paper plates at the campsite.
Fozzils ThinkFLAT designs are super light, pack flat then snap
into full-size tableware with a few folds. Easy to clean with a nonstick
surface, Fozzils are designed
for the ultra-light backpacker
but also can be conveniently
used for short hikes, picnics,
travel and even as dog bowls.
My kids even have taken their
foldable bowls to the movie
theatre to divide up that big tub
of popcorn. www.fozzils.com
La Fresh Sunscreen Travel Wipes
Applying sunscreen lotion to squirming kids is not exactly a fun
time for parents, and it’s never easy
to make sure their sun-exposed
parts get full coverage. Sunscreen
travel wipes make the
job so much easier, and La
Fresh uses “high-end sunscreen”
and biodegradable
towelettes for its new
SPF 30 Sunscreen
Travel Wipes. Easy to
pack, with no risk of
leaks or messy explosions,
the wipes
come in packs of
four at a suggested
retail of $4.50. Also new
from La Fresh are all-natural,
biodegradable and Deet-free insect repellant towelettes.
www.LaFreshGroup.com
36 | InsideOutdoor | Spring 2008