Outdoor: Did you hear?…

>> REI will open a store in Folsom, Calif., in November 2003. It will be REI’s third store in the Sacramento area and the 11th in Northern California. A new store in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood will precede it in October. The 22,500-square-foot store will be in the Folsom Gateway Shopping Center at the corner of Iron Point Road and E. Bidwell, off Highway 50. It is a single-story new construction and will be leased. The store will have interactive features including a climbing boulder, a water-filter test station, a footwear test trail and a camp stove demonstration table to encourage customers to try out gear. It will also have gear rentals and a bike and ski repair shop. It will employ about 50 full- and part-time staff. REI has 33,726 members living in the Sacramento area.

>> Will wonders never cease! A landmark piece of legislation in Utah, enacted on May 5, now allows TWO DRINKS (of any kind, mind you) in front of a restaurant patron at one time. Not only will we enjoy this loosening of the leash, but the server can now offer Salt Lake City restaurant patrons a wine list without a prior request, and the restaurant can even advertise what drinks are available. SNEWS View: Now if we can just get the governor to actually acknowledge that wilderness is more important than relaxed drinking laws we’ll be getting somewhere.

>> Black Diamond Equipment has issued a voluntary recall for approximately 150 pairs of Bionic Crampons made and sold from September 2002 through March 2003. At issue is the front rail of the crampon which could have been improperly heat-treated leading to toe points that could bend and result in a malfunction of the crampon. Black Diamond has received 13 reports of crampon rails bending but no reports of injuries. According to Black Diamond, the recalled crampons can be identified by a four digit Date Code stamped on the center strap. (Date Codes 1360, 2235, and 2250). For more information, contact Black Diamond Equipment at 801-278-5533 or climb@bdel.com. The U.S. warranty repair center address is Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd., Warranty/Repair Center, 2084 E. 3900 S., Salt Lake City, UT 84124. In Europe, contact Black Diamond Equipment, AG, Christoph Merian Ring 7, 4153 Reinach (BL) Switzerland. Phone: +41/61 715 95 95.

>> Proderma has joined forces with Squaw Valley USA Resort to offer the Resort’s summer guests a variety of skin-care products for protection from the increased effects of high-altitude sun. Participants in the many summer activities and programs that Squaw Valley USA offers will find the full range of Proderma products available in retail outlets throughout the resort.

>> Woolrich has signed on to be the presenting sponsor of Wild Arctic at SeaWorld San Diego, which is one of the Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks. Starting this summer, all of the team members at Wild Arctic will wear clothing provided by Woolrich, including polo shirts, jackets, pants and shorts. Wild Arctic, one of SeaWorld’s most popular attractions, takes guests on a journey to the frozen North.

>> Horny Toad Activewear, official sponsor of the Telluride MountainFilm Festival’s 25th Anniversary Celebration, will hold a reception to honor unicyclists and filmmakers Kris Holm and Nathan Hoover during the event. Holm and Hoover will debut their mountain unicycling film “Into the Thunder Dragon” on Friday, May 23. Horny Toad will host the athletes Saturday, May 24, from 3 to 5 pm at the Horny Toad store in Telluride. The two will discuss the film, demonstrate their unicycling skills, and share tales of their experiences in Bhutan and other unicycling adventures. DVDs of the film will also be available.

>> Mike Scherer, longtime Kelty designer, has launched out on his own starting the design firm Inkling Design. Scherer told SNEWS that he is eager to help companies seeking to improve products — “My specialty is functional improvement, from evolution to revolution.” Scherer told us that he’s got far more than tent and pack designs up his sleeve — including pens. Click on http://www.inklingpen.com/ for a glimpse at a better pen design that is winning awards. Scherer is also working on stove, snowshoe, trekking pole and knife blade ideas. To contact him, send an email to: mike@inklingdesign.net

>> In order to maximize ease and profitable for its retailers, TravelChair is opening an additional U.S. distribution and silk-screening facility in Charleston, S.C., to serve accounts east of the Mississippi. How much time and margin is involved? According to TravelChair, a retailer in Virginia receiving a 100 piece order of Dirtbag Chairs, will now receive the shipment in approximately two days instead of five. Cost per unit to ship will drop from $1.14 to $.63 — a reduction in shipping cost of over 81 percent on an item that already carries a margin of 59 points.

>> Recognized for its “We See it, too” ad campaign, Atomic Ski has been selected as one of 25 finalists for the Kelly Awards — presented for outstanding communications in print advertising by The Magazine Publishers of America. The finalists where chosen from thousands of submitted campaigns by a panel of judges comprised of America’s top agency creative directors and leading marketers from top manufactures. The $100,000 Grand Prize Kelly Award will be presented at the Association of National Advertisers Print Advertising Forum in June. The Atomic campaign is also a finalist for the International One Show award — another honor recognizing excellence in print, design, television and radio advertising.

>> Turtle Fur has been nominated for two Polartec Apex Awards. The annual awards, given by fabric manufacturer Malden Mills, honor companies that use Malden Mills fabrics in innovative ways. Award-winners are chosen by an independent, international panel of judges who are prominent editors, designers and athletes in the outdoor industry. Garments are judged on criteria including appropriateness to end use, function, fit, comfort and aesthetics. The two Turtle Fur products nominated for the awards are the Thermal Pro Hoodie Zip and the Soutache Cloche. Both of these products exhibit the unique properties of Polartec Thermal Pro, a 100 percent polyester fabric with a “sweater knit” jersey face that is water-repellent, machine washable and quick-drying.

>> Petzl’s Elios helmet, Meteor helmet, MYO 5 headlamp, Zipka Plus headlamp, Tikka Plus headlamp, Calidris harness, Hirundo harness, Dart crampon and the Spatha knife will be featured at Meandra, the San Francisco Design Museum, as part of an exhibit called “Inspiration Perspiration.” The 12-week exhibit opens on May 31. The exhibit will explore innovations in sports, sports equipment, athletes and fans, and will feature designs in progress, emerging sports concepts, failed designs as well as design innovations in the world of sports.

>> Asolo has launched a new and improved website — www.asolo.com.

>> Officials from Nikwax USA recently announced that Les Angences Benoit Corriveau, Inc., won the coveted DWR (Damn Wonderful Rep) Award for 2002. Les Angences Benoit Corriveau reps Nikwax in Quebec. His four-person agency began in 1990. The agency also reps Royal Robbins, Asolo, MSR, Gabel and Icebreaker.

>> Wacoal Sports Science Corp. (WSSC), makers of CW-X Performance Conditioning Wear, has named retail and sales executive Albert J. St. Jean as its first sales development manager. St. Jean, 29, will support WSSC’s network of independent sales representatives across the United States, as well as develop key account business, manage the sales administration function, and handle sales directly in territories where the company currently doesn’t have sales representation. In addition, he will develop and implement all CW-X retail merchandising programs and activities.

>> The American Alpine Club (AAC) has awarded 21 grants totaling $9,530 for new alpine research projects and young climbers’ pursuit of challenging objectives, including several first ascents, around the globe. The AAC grants program provides resources for climbers and explorers to attempt new challenges, conduct scientific research, and push the envelope of human accomplishment in mountain and polar environments. Go to www.americanalpineclub.org for more details.

>> W.L. Gore & Associates Inc., has announced the recipients of the 2003 Shipton/Tilman Grant. Now in its 13th year, the Shipton/Tilman Grant celebrates the contributions of the award’s namesakes to the world of exploration. The grant awards a total of $30,000 to expeditions that embody the philosophies of Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman, world-class explorers who were strong advocates of small expeditions. This year, six teams were chosen to receive financial contributions toward their expeditions. For complete details on the grant and expedition recipients, go to: www.gore-tex.com

>> The Internet is the only medium consumed during the day for nearly three in 10 workers, according to a new study conducted on behalf of the Online Publishers Association by Millward Brown IntelliQuest. The study followed the online habits of 1,416 Internet users, of which 1,053 had accessed the Web from work and 363 had logged on from somewhere other than work during a 30-day period. The study also found that Internet usage by day varies by demographics. Eighty-one percent of top-level professionals are on the Web in the morning before lunch. In general, this group exceeds all other at-work users in terms of Internet usage from 5 percent to 13 percentage points. Gender differences also exist among at-work Web surfers, with a greater number of men than women logging on. The greatest separation occurs between 6 to 8 a.m., when 52 percent of men are online versus 39 percent of women. The gap narrows during the morning before lunch when the highest percentage of men (77 percent) and women (68 percent) are on the Web.

>>Princeton Tec has retained the True North Brand Group in Avon, Mass., to assist it with its public relations and brand building efforts. The True North Brand Group specializes in working with athletic and outdoor brands.

>> Outside magazine has named Skip Gilbert as its eastern advertising director. Gilbert will join the magazine’s New York-based staff and will report to Publisher Scott Parmelee. Gilbert was most recently vice president of corporate partnerships and publishing for the Arena Football League.