Fall - InsideOutdoor Magazine

Anglers enjoy the versatility of SUP
opened. Providing a wave of excitement in an otherwise
flat paddling market, SUP quickly has permeated
the show’s paddlesports section. There’s even an inflatable
stand up board available to retailers already.
“Paddle dealers that haven’t yet brought in standup
paddling, or are at least considering it, will be
doing so in five years,” predicts Duke Brouwer,
events/promotion manager from SUP
board vendor Surf Technicians Inc.
Part surfing part kayaking, the
sight of an adult standing fully erect
up on top of the water is proving
to be an eye-catching site at paddle
dealer demos, says Brouwer, and proponents
of the sport claim it’s much easier
to learn than surfing, due to the flat bottom of the
boards, while the paddle helps with balance. After
a good 15 minutes of proper instructions, most folks
can get the basics down after about five minutes on a
board, says Brouwer.
“After debuting stand-up paddling at the show
three years ago, this year was clearly a break out year
for stand-up, both from the retailers interest, as well
as the expansion of our program into
the range of uses for different models,”
says Sander Nauenberg, Surftech marketing
manager.
Indeed, though SUP is a product
of the coastal surf culture, stand-up
boards are making their way inland,
with hybrid designs being developed
for all sorts of waters and
uses.
“Flat water paddling, tri-athlete
training and racing, fishing, river paddling, wave riding
... too many fun approaches,” says Nauenberg.
Similar to more traditional watercraft, SUP boards
range from nimble and fast to extremely stable and slow,
while SUP vendor C4 Waterman, for its part, this year
introduced a “go-anywhere board” called the ATV. The
end result is a sport with the cool factor of surfing and
the flexibility and market reach of canoeing.
“You want to fly fish off one of these boards? Let’s
do it,” says Surftech’s Brouwer.
18 | InsideOutdoor | Fall 2008
A Fleet for the Feet
Moving from the water ways to
retail aisles, retailers hungry
for opportunities
to cross-merchandise
footwear with apparel
on the sales floor have
some solid options
for Spring 2009. Now
into their second year
in the apparel business,
Merrell’s designers have
placed special emphasis
Lowa’s new Zephyr GTX was
on providing clothing styles designed to walk the line
that integrate tightly with the between beefy backpacking
company’s footwear line, says boot and everyday shoe.
a company spokesperson.
Similarly, Ex Officio took its first steps into
footwear with styles also intended to be
mixed and matched with ExO apparel on
the sales floor.
And sticking with footwear, it appears boots
are back, at least light hikers are anyway. After
years of hearing that old school hiking boots
were overkill for what most users were
doing on the trails, while the “fast and
ultralight” trend dictated that trail
running-type styles would be what
most hikers wanted, a few footwear
The SÓL represents
GoLite’s first step into
the outdoor boot
business.
vendors were plopping down
light-duty hiking boots that resembled
the once-dominant day
hikers of the 1990s.
Even “fast and light” purveyors GoLite, for example,
introduced its first full-sized boot, the Speed of
Light (SÓL). GoLite says its leather/fabric upper
boot is one-third the weight of comparable hikers,
but it’s certainly more day hiker than the
“running-inspired” shoes typical of the
GoLite line.
The Amazon GV Women’s
is part of Asolo’s Freeland
collection of multi-sport
boots and shoes.
Coming from a company steeped in trail running, Oboz’s new
Wind River is billed as a lightweight and agile backpacking boot.