SNEWS best outdoor reads from around the web

What did the SNEWS team read this week that other outdoor insiders might find interesting? Well, read on to find out!

• We are fresh off of the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market high, and we worked our little tails off to bring you four beautiful issues of the O.R.D., but we can’t possibly fit every awesome product from every awesome company that exhibited at the biggest show yet in our pages, so that’s when we refer you to check out what our other media and blogger friends have to say about what they saw at the show. Check out this recap from the Gear Junky and this other one from Core 77 Magazine.

• Speaking of Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, as we walked miles upon miles in the Salt Palace and at the New Exhibitor Pavilion, we eavesdropped on several conversations and the two recurring themes in them seemed to be about the show moving locations and the other was about the ongoing battle between the outdoor industry and the governor of Utah. Not to toot our own horn here, but O.R.D. covered both topics extensively, and check out this piece in the Trade Show News Network.

• We know and you know: The outdoor industry is home to some of the best-looking people around, and we know it’s not just because we’re a pack of sexy beasts. But check out this Salt Lake Magazine photo gallery of who they deemed to be the trade show’s “Best Dressed.” We know the only reason we didn’t make the cut is because we were writing away in the super-secret O.R.D. newsroom. Maybe for winter. We’ll wear something flashy every day.

• Nothing can take you away from your favorite activities like a little, or a lot, of knee pain. Colorado is filled with hard-core and leisurely hikers alike so this Coloradoan article gives tips to them on how to prevent knee injury, and how to alleviate it for those who are already suffering. Share with your customers to ensure their knees don’t keep them from the trails and from your store!

• Stay safe out there folks. Authorities found the body of Nick Fickett stabbed to death after he went on a solo camping trip near the Cowlitz River in Washington state. Investigators are looking for information to help solve the case. Check out the KATU story for more information.

• As we embark on the TransRockies Run next week, we are carefully reading over all the materials to ensure we pack everything that is needed. One thing popped out at us. We know better than to take food into our tents at night (though we are night snackers), but the information reminded us not to do so because “there is a serious bear problem in the area.” Turns out this isn’t the only area where there’s a serious bear problem. In Kentucky, the Forest Service has closed two campgrounds in the Boone National Forest due to a bear problem. Check out their local NBC affiliate story for more information.

• Childhood obesity and not enough children getting outdoors are two critical problems that our industry faces. But when the SNEWS team ran across this Tree Hugger article about five outdoor games created by kids to get kids involved in the outdoors as part of a Clif contest, we were super excited. There is hope, friends!

• Two topics need to be addressed over and over again and that’s women in the industry and people of color in the industry. Because we have a team that has both, we’re constantly reading up on the two topics and one organization that’s always putting out great information is the Outdoor Industry Women’s Coalition. Check out this piece on Laura Swapp, REI’s director of diversity.

• When we aren’t diving into articles about women and diversity in the outdoor industry, we are gobbling up human interest stories, like this one in BostInno about Michael Brown and Ryan Trolp, and their creation – the Alpine Hammock, which mixes a backpacking hammock-style sleeping contraption and a traditional bivvy.

• Outdoor Retailer is starting to blur so many lines with exhibitors that focus on fly-fishing, others that focus on yoga and a few that focus on bicycling. Perhaps it’s because the average person who shops at outdoor retail stores engages in all these activities. Well, other industries are starting to take notice, especially the bicycling industry. Check out this article in Bicycle Retailer about the topic. 

Have you read anything interesting you’d like to share with us? Maybe we’ll include it next week’s column with a little shout out to you. Send a link to the story with the subject line “SNEWS Reads” to be considered.

–Compiled by Ana Trujillo