Outdoor Retailers: Everything you need to get out

Wenger Swiss Army, owner of the familiar white cross on the red background introduced on its multipurpose army knives first introduced 100 years ago this September, presented attendees with their first look at its two new shoe designs, named, as always, after Swiss landmarks or products — Alps and Chocolate.

The Alps collection, with 18 styles, is for the performance buyer, while the Chocolate, with 13 styles, is more stylish oriented. One shoe, the Eiger, features a shoe that hardens in the cold and softens in the heat.

The shoe line will include such features as molded insoles that adjust to the foot, anti-microbial and anti-bacterial liners and insoles and anatomically designed foot bed.

The shoes are intended to be "functional and affordable" and are expected to be available in February.

Wenger is also getting into other outdoor lines, including sleeping bags, backpacks, tents and, of course, knives, including a limited edition 100-year model designed after the company's first knife.

Garmin, the leader in hand-held GPS navigators, will put on the market the one and only touch-screen unit — the Oregon series.

GPS hand-held navigators have gotten easier to use over the years, and this new unit is expected to make finding routes even easier and faster. Among other things, it can exchange information with other devices. Retail is $599. Along with becoming easier to use, they've also become less expensive. Michele Annaldo, sales manager, said the first units produced 20 years ago sold for between $1,200 and $1,400 and did little more than give speed, distance and bearings — no maps, no directions, no details.

Among other things, the Oregon 400t offers sunrise/sunset times and a hunting and fishing calendar for sportsmen. Worldwide maps show elevations, trails and points of interest.

It is also introducing a new hand-held, auto-all-terrain device intended for the individual who enjoys backcountry excursions.

National Geographic has overhauled its Utah and Colorado national park and recreation maps, more specifically for Utah Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Zion and Glen Canyon, which Mike Dyer, product manager, called among the company's "bread and butter maps ... Utah and Colorado are among the core recreation areas in the United States."

The new maps around Moab will have far more detail than current maps. And, instead of one map for Canyonlands, there will be three for each of the three regions — Needles, Island in the Sky and the Maze.

The company currently produces about 170 different maps covering the entire world.

Black Diamond, noted for its climbing equipment, will introduce a 1-Watt LED lantern about the size of a man's fist. It will sell for $29.99.

Among the other items that will hit the market: