Kayland A Triple Threat With Hiking Boots Awards

Kayland footwear has been recognized three times as the most outstanding hiking boot in three separate, comprehensive product testing reviews this year. Kayland’s Zephyr hiking boot was honored as a recipient of a 2009 Backpacker Editors’ Choice Award. The women’s Convert hiking boot was bestowed the Women’s Adventure Editor’s Choice Award and, most recently, the Vertigo Light was named Outside Magazine’s Gear of the Year award in the hiking boot category.

“Winning three times for three different styles is really incredible and we are honored. It validates our belief that we are developing exceptional products consistently, across the board,” commented Brent Merriam, Vice President of Novation North America, Inc., the US subsidiary of Kayland’s parent company, Novation S.p.A. “These awards drive home to a larger audience what our loyal customers already know – that Kayland designs some of the best fitting, high performance footwear on the market.”

Kayland’s Zephyr was one of only 18 innovative products that have been honored with a 2009 Backpacker Editors’ Choice Award. The Zephyr is a light hiker featuring the Kayland Overinjected System (K.O.S.), combining lightweight, breathable, abrasion resistant upper fabrics, overinjected with a supportive, protective, ergonomic PU exoskeleton. The result is reduced weight and enhanced structural support. Based on the same last as the award winning Vertigo High, the Zephyr boasts an eVent Cocona lining for maximum waterproofness, breathability, odor control, and quick drying capabilities, letting sweat escape up to twice as fast as common waterproof breathables.

The Vibram®Mars outsole and exclusive EVA midsole provide sure grip, cushioning, and support for a variety of terrain. Extended lacing accommodates a precise fit right down to the toe area. Available in Sand for men and Sky for women, the MSRP is $189.95.

The coveted Backpacker Editors’ Choice Awards, presented annually since 1993, honor the products that Backpacker editors have chosen as the best of the year based on months of trail testing by teams of highly experienced hikers and climbers. With no set categories for the awards and no set number of recipients, the products and the testing process drive the award categories.

After some six months of field-testing literally thousands of products, the Outside staff unveiled its 16 Gear of the Year products including Kayland’s Vertigo Light hiking boot. Cumulatively, testers spent several months in the backcountry testing this year’s top sleeping bags, tents, shells, trail shoes, and packs in more than a dozen states.

The new Vertigo Light takes the concept of light-weight hiking performance to a new level. Based on the same last as Kayland’s award-winning Vertigo High, the Vertigo Light weighs in at a mere 1080 grams per pair in a US Men’s 9. The upper is constructed of a breathable, abrasion resistant textile, with an Action Leatherâ„¢ rand for added durability and support. The boot features and eVent® Cocona® lining and a Vibram®Mars outsole. Available in Bronze/Havana for men and Grey/Ice for women, the MSRP is $179.95.

In a comprehensive search for the proper women’s gear to excel in spring and summer outdoor activities, the editors of Women’s Adventure vigorously tested over 1,000 products from leading sporting and outdoor companies. The result of their testing was the first-ever Women’s Adventure Spring Editor’s Choice Awards – the best of the best of outdoor equipment and products for active women, including Kayland’s Convert.

The stylish, high-performance Convert boots were the boot of choice for Women’s Adventure’s Editor’s Choice Awards. The boots feature a durable suede upper, waterproof protection from eVent® that “lets the sweat out,” and the Kayland Active Sole. The boot’s Convert Lacing System combines an anatomical, asymmetrical, extended lacing for precise adjustability all the way to the toe; free-floating lace points for optimal conformability of the upper; and an ankle lock system to hold the heel in place. The Convert W’s features true women’s specific lasting. Available in Vintage Brown for men and Green for women, the MSRP is $199.95.

About Kayland:
Kayland is an Italian manufacturer of high performance mountaineering, backpacking, hiking, and multi-sport footwear, with a reputation for outstanding fit and innovative materials and technology. With North American headquarters in New Hampshire and a distribution center in the Chicago area, Kayland USA is focused on providing quality products and outstanding service to its US customers. Kayland’s Vertigo High boot won the 2007 Backpacker magazine Editors’ Choice Award, the most prestigious award in the outdoor industry, given annually to products in recognition of their outstanding innovation in design materials and/or performance. Kayland also received Rock & Ice’s Best in Gear Award for its M11 mountaineering boot. Visit Kayland at www.kayland.com

About Backpacker:
Backpacker brings the outdoors straight to the reader’s doorstep, inspiring and enabling them to go more places and enjoy nature more often. The authority on active adventure, Backpacker is the world’s first GPS-enabled magazine and website, and the only outdoor media whose editors personally test the hiking trails, camping gear, and survival tips they publish. Backpacker’s Editors’ Choice Awards, an industry honor recognizing design, feature and product innovation, has become the gold standard against which all other outdoor-industry awards are measured. And the magazine recently launched mobile media applications that allow users to text-message hiking maps and directions to their phones. In 2008, Backpacker won the magazine industry highest honor, the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, joining The New Yorker, Mother Jones, GQ, and National Geographic as top winners in their respective size categories. It has won numerous other print, design, and digital awards, and its writers have been recognized in prestigious contests and best-of-the-year anthologies.

About Outside Buyer’s Guide:
The Outside Buyer’s Guide not only highlights the very best in adventure gear, from sports equipment, tools, and gadgets to footwear, outerwear, and sunglasses, but also calls out the best values in each class. This year’s issue contains 29 Killer Values in everything from mountain-bike shoes to sunglasses. Organized according to sport and activity, the Buyer’s Guide is the ultimate resource for product reviews, technology news, and tips.

About Women’s Adventure:
Women’s Adventure is the only sports, travel, fitness and life magazine published specifically for active women. Published bi-monthly, Women’s Adventure is for women who find mass market outdoor publications to be too general and fitness titles to be too weight loss focused.

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