Here’s what we found in canoeing and camping gear at the first day of Outdoor Retailer’s 2014 Summer Market:
Mad River Canoe
Canoeroots loved test paddling Mad River’s Serenade for a review in the Early Summer 2014 issue, so we were excited to see a new Ultralite version available for 2015 that’s lighter and has a more traditional canoe seat. While the original Serenade featured a kayak-style seat with a backrest backrest, the new model has a classic wooden canoe seat. The new composite hull material shaves weight off the original Serenade too—the Ultralite weights in at under 30 pounds. The Serenade can be paddled with either a single- or double-bladed paddle.
ALLY Canoes
ALLY Canoes makes packable boats that come in flatwater and rough water models. At 43-45 pounds, they’re easy to transport whether they’re put together or broken down into the large duffle bag they come in.
The tubular aluminum ribs clip together and, as they’re put in place during the construction process, tension the boat to keep the hull tight. First-timers will take an hour to assemble an ALLY canoe, but after some practice will cut that time in half.
Bushnell
Bushnell’s Compact Lantern folds up to pack and stands on solid legs to light up your campsite once unfolded. The loop on the top makes it easy to hang and there’s an extra beam on the bottom for reading or other tent activities.
Their larger camping lantern has both general lighting and beam settings so it can be used to light up a campsite and to find the trail to the thunderbox.
KEEN
Canoeroots was first in line this morning to check out the new UNEEK shoe at Outdoor Retailer. When KEEN set out to make these shoes, they wanted to do something completely different. UNEEK is just two cords and a sole that move to adjust for a custom feeling fit. They’re light, comfortable and use KEEN’s classic, quality sole. We’re looking forward to putting a pair to the test in 2015.
BioLite
The BioLite Basecamp is a new stove ideal for car camping with the family. It’s ultra-efficient because of BioLite’s patent-pending thermoelectric technology—we don’t fully understand how it works, but were impressed to learn that you can cook a meal for 12 people using only three wrist-width sticks a fuel. (There’s a diagram here if you want to learn more.) Energy created by heating the stove can be used to charge small devices like phones and lights.
The Basecamp’s KickStarter campaign was so successful BioLite raised a million dollars selling this freestanding stove.
