Outdoor trade show a paradise for gear junkies

For three days in January, the Gear Junkie roamed the aisles of the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City, a twice-annual gathering of outdoor industry types and gear hounds looking for the latest and the best. Here are a few things that caught my eye.

Crampons, Scarpa/Grivel GSb system—Attaching a climbing crampon to a boot is now quicker and easier, at least with GSb, a crampon system that eliminates the toe bail in favor of a small prong that slips into the front of the boot. Scarpa, a co-developer of the crampon system, debuted boots at the OR Show to work with the GSb, notably the Scarpa Escape GTX ($229) and the high-end Freney XT GTX. $379; ( www.scarpa.com).

Backpack, TrailFlex system—TrailFlex’s Modular Pack System is a harness of sorts that hugs the body and features small metal knobs upon which more than 20 custom-use gear pouches can be added to carry fly-fishing supplies, water, a cell phone, a camera, a tent, and more. The system lets you create a custom pack of sorts for one of a dozen outdoor activities. Available in April, $89.95 for base harness; www.trailflex.com.

Footwear, GoLite Sun Dragon—Spongy shock-absorbing lugs on the sole of the Sun Dragon shoe work as a suspension system of sorts to stabilize the foot as it strikes the ground on rough terrain, or so the GoLite Footwear theory goes. The company says this new concept in trail-running footwear will reduce shock on the body and help minimize muscle fatigue. Available in March, $95; www.golite.com.

Sled, the Slicer—Sledding in the summertime? That’s the premise behind the Slicer, an “all-season sled” that works on snow as well as grass-covered hills during warmer months. The secret is in the Slicer’s honeycombed undercarriage, which is essentially a removable ice tray. Users fill this tray with water, put it in their freezer overnight, and then attach it to the sled bottom in the morning, ready to slip and slide down the grass. $49.95; www.icesled.com.

Goggle, Zeal PPX—Touted as the world’s only polarized and photochromatic goggle, the PPX cuts glare and auto-adjusts to lighting conditions, going dark in the bright sun, and magically fading to a lighter translucency as conditions turn dim. $170; www.zealoptics.com.

Knife, Wenger Ranger—This new line of Swiss Army Knives are larger than the traditional red pocketknives. The Ranger 57 model, for example, includes a 3.9-inch locking blade plus implements like a wood saw, locking screwdriver, wire stripper, awl, and more. Available in May, $64.95; www.wengerna.com.