2013 Friedrichshafen Outdoor Fair

From July 10th and 14th 2013 the German city of Friedrichshafen held the Spring/Summer outdoor fair, being the European reference, 8a.nu was there.

Few spectacular news when it comes to climbing and bouldering. There’s a clear tendency towards lighter materials, thinner ropes and flashy designs.

If we talk about climbing shoes, we observed quite a few innovations for those created for the high difficulty climbs with aggressive designs in the lasts and toes following a trend started by La Sportiva with their Solution model. Tenaya and Scarpa are just some of the companies that are going to give something to talk about in relation to this. Along these lines is also Boreal together with a revolutionary insert under the toes to give consistency. Five Ten comes with a new model, not as aggressive as the ones we talked about before although it’s said to be super performing with a new super sticky rubber and a super soft last. Besides of a new Solution model for girls, La Sportiva has created some specific climbing shoes for climbing gyms with its main characteristic being that they are machine washable.

As for the harnesses, their future lie in less thickness in the leg loops and hip belts and lighter products, both for sport climbing and for multi-pitches. Some of the brands working in that way are Edelrid, Petzl and Beal (the latter having started to produce more stuff like headlamps, helmets, etc.). After the ‘Realization’ short with integrated harness, Mammut will come with a trouser with the same system.

When it comes to hardware, the thing that most struck our attention was the new DMM quickdraws, the Edelrid belay apparatuses, the Black Diamond helmets, the new crash pad with an innovative carrying system by Monkee and some other companies with anti-twist systems for their locking carabiners...

The ropes are thinner each year; we don’t know how thin they can make them! Petzl enters this market with a full Collection of ropes. The most stricking thing for us was the ‘Gully’ from Beal for multi-pitches (7,3 mm) and the ‘Corbie’ from Edelrid (8,6 mm and the three homologations (single, double and twin); both were awarded by the fair jury.

Lastly, where we found more new stuff was in the clothes. There are many companies, which were oblivious to the textile stuff up until now which will bring out a full range of clothes for next Spring/Summer season. Such is the case of Wild Country. Also La Sportiva with clothes inspired in the 80’s and with pretty flashy colours. Adidas Outdoor extends its range, adding an exclusive collection for climbers to what was already known as Terrex: the Everyday Outdoor. When it comes to shoes, Adidas association with 5.10’s Stealth rubber is already bringing some good results since their ‘Terrex Solo’ model was one of the awarded products. Arc´teryx has also got this kind of lifestyle clothing. Of course, really nice clothing from companies fully committed to this segment, such as E9 and Monkee –always innovating and with pretty attractive designs–, plus Moon, The North Face, Outdoor Research, etc.

** Important notice ---> We didn’t have the time to visit all the companies’ booths plus running from one stand to another didn’t ease the labour of remembering all, so maybe we’ve skipped/forgot something noticeable. Please, accept our apologies if you feel your stuff should have been mentioned.