SNEWS best outdoor reads from around the web

What did the SNEWS team learn this week that other industry insiders might find interesting? Read on to find out!

• Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to our Colorado brothers and sisters affected by the unforgiving wildfires blazing in our state. We, along with the author of this Alamogordo Times story, hope people are not lighting campfires this season. If you think you can’t go camping without a campfire, authorities are quoted in the story saying: “Try camping without a forest.” 

• The heat has been out of control nationwide lately, and the Department of Labor is encouraging folks who are heading outdoors to be aware of how to stay safe in the near-unbearable weather. The mantra to follow, according to this Washington Post story, is: “Water, rest and shade.”

• “It was like a dead animal, but a bit more subtle … It reminded me of something I smelled yesterday and a little the day before. Oh no. That smell was me.” Ever had one of those moments? We know we have. This Dirtbag Diaries recording titled “5 Types of B.O.” is an entertaining must listen.

• Gear Aid, a repair and maintenance brand for outdoor equipment, recently launched Gear Aid TV, which features instructional videos on how to repair and maintain gear, equipment, outerwear and footwear, according to this Seattle Pi story. This is the second outdoor-focused channel in the news recently. We recently reported Outside Television (which began as Resort Sports Network in 1985) started its run on Comcast’s Xfinity cable network.

• Ah, the sweet taste of nostalgia was what we got when we read this Rockport Pilot story, written by a man whose first name rhymes with crevice, about camping in the old days when the whole family came out and made it quite the event. Coming from a big family ourselves, it made us want to hop in the car and head to our favorite San Miguel, Colo., campsite and kick it old school with the relatives.

• It doesn’t matter what generation it is, when they were in their teenage years their elders automatically assumed they were moody. Turns out, according to this story in U.S. News, teens who engage in moderate to vigorous outdoor exercise are happier, healthier and friendlier than their peers who spend a majority of their time using technology.

• With all the news being pitched to us for the Outdoor Retailer Daily, we’re noticing more and more fly fishing product companies — further evidence that fly fishing has started to make a transition from the hook-and-bullet industry to the outdoor industry. So naturally, this Seattle Times story about outdoor writer Dave Graybill’s recent fishing trip to Mexico might be of interest to our insiders.

• The outdoor industry is booming and grew even at the height of the recession, according to the latest Outdoor Industry Association’s Outdoor Recreation Economy Report. That’s partly because camping is less expensive than other vacation options, like Disney vacations. Share some of these tips for frugal family camping recently published in the Star Tribune with your customers, except, of course, the one about buying gear from discounters.

• This Wall Street Journal story is a great read about Title Nine sportswear’s founder and CEO, and the company itself. Missy Park named her company after the legislation Title IX, which 40 years ago made it so sex discrimination in educational programs was illegal. Park said she likes to make fitness a part of the work culture and rather than having a receptionist, the company has showers and a gym stocked with treadmills, ellipticals and stationary bicycles.

• Last week we brought you the knowledge that a “fed bear is a dead bear,” but it doesn’t seem like people are getting the message. Last week’s reads pointed out that bears generally don’t bother people for food unless people they’ve been fed before. Getting fed by people eventually makes them aggressive, and they attack. Now one bear, as reported by this CBS affiliate, is dead after mauling a man in Payson, Ariz. and getting shot as a result. 

–Compiled by Ana Trujillo