Showoff: All that's new in outdoors

The Outdoor Retailers' summer and winter shows at the Salt Palace are an annual favorite. Overwhelming, true, but for those individuals who prefer a walk in the woods to pushing buttons on a PlayStation, the shows are a dream factory.

Enough so that if I weren't invited to write about what's in and out, I might be inclined to open a retail store just to get an invitation. Only buyers and members of the media are allowed in.

Imagine, if possible, a dozen super stores filled with nothing but outdoor gear.

Therein is the problem show producers have with the Salt Palace. Ever square inch that can be filled is filled. If they could lease out the cleaning closets and rest rooms, there would be companies gladly willing to take the space.

There is a long waiting list of companies trying to get into the show, and a long list of those hoping to move from the pavilion out back onto the main show inside the Palace.

There will be 925 different brands presenting in this year's show. Of those, 94 are new to the trade show.

And, there are another 120 outdoor-related companies that were unable to find space.

Retailers were invited to test drive product lines at Little Dell Reservoir. This would include testing canoes, kayaks, trail running shoes, hiking boots, orienteering equipment and optical products.

Looking for hiking boots? There will probably be a couple thousand samples from a couple dozen manufactures, and no two boots will look alike.

Reading the releases for footwear, new products will ensure that your feet will never feel so comfortable, running will never be easier, and new shoes will offer more protection, stability and traction.

Tents. There will be enough tents set up in the summer show to start a city. And, new tents, claim the early releases, will never be so easy to set up, have never been so stable, nor have they been so lightweight.

Kayaks. Clustered around the indoor pool will be company pros showing off their products in every imaginable boat design, from those made for rough seas to smaller playboats designed for maneuverability.

On the market next year will be self-bailing kayaks for river runners, a sit-on-top kayak designed to be shared by an adult and a child, and a boat that has a clear-view port in the bottom that will allow paddlers to see what's beneath them.