Petzl ULTRA BELT Honored with OutDoor INDUSTRY Award

Petzl, a leading manufacturer of hands-free lighting and technical climbing gear, has been honored with an INDUSTRY award for its new ULTRA BELT headlamp. The INDUSTRY awards recognize new products demonstrating exceptional design and innovation, and were announced at the OutDoor tradeshow, held July 17th-20th, 2008 in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

An international jury composed of outdoor sports industry thought leaders selected the ULTRA BELT headlamp based on quality, performance, innovation, user-friendliness, and design criteria. Weighing just 230 grams and yielding a powerful 350 lumens of light, the ULTRA BELT is a perfect companion for any outdoor endurance athlete looking for the ultimate in lighting power.

The ULTRA BELT and the ULTRA (the all-on-the-head version) are Petzl’s newest hands-free lighting® innovations. Intended for speed and rapid movements in all conditions, ULTRA series headlamps have a wide, spotlight-type beam, a secure, ergonomic fit, and three regulated brightness levels. Both high-powered headlamps are designed for maximum lighting and visibility, ideal for adventure racing, orienteering, night skiing, and outdoor endurance activities requiring high-quality and high-output lighting. The ULTRA BELT’s rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery pack provides up to 34 hours of burn time and is guaranteed for three years.

The ULTRABELT is the result of several years of research and development by Petzl’s hands-free lighting® project team. Petzl’s team is constantly on the lookout for new technologies and how they can be applied in innovative ways. Most recently, Petzl has increased the power of its popular MYO XP headlamp by 200% without increasing weight or decreasing battery duration, adding value to trail runners, climbing guides, adventure racers and other high-output headlamp fans. ULTRA series headlamps are the brightest in the outdoor market, and are now available in specialty retail stores nationwide.

Petzl’s award-winning innovations can be seen at booth #5014 at the upcoming Outdoor Retailer trade show, being held August 8th-August 11th in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information about Petzl, contact Eric Wynn at 1.801.926.1500 or at ewynn@petzl.com.

About Petzl
Petzl America is the U.S. division of Petzl, headquartered in France. For over 50 years, Petzl has been developing innovative tools and techniques used by those entering the vertical world. Today, the Petzl brand is closely associated with adventure, exploration, rescue, and many notable exploits in the worlds of rock climbing and alpinism. Petzl climbing hardware and headlamps can be found in outdoor specialty shops and premium sporting goods retailers around the world. For more information, log on to www.petzl.com.

About OutDoor INDUSTRY Awards
This year, the OutDoor INDUSTRY AWARD competition was held by Messe Friedrichshafen for the third time during OutDoor 2008. A total of 280 entries from 25 different countries were submitted to this year’s innovation award, originally developed and organized by iF International Forum Design. An international jury of experts presented a total of 27 awards, of them two GOLD and six SILVER awards for exceptional performance in the field of design and innovation. Five entries were also honored in the new “students category”, which was open to students for the first time to allow them to enter concepts and product studies free of charge. The INDUSTRY award jury’s evaluation criteria included: degree of innovation, design quality, workmanship, choice of materials, environmental friendliness, sustainability, functionality, utility, safety, trendsetting character, and brand value/Branding. For more information about the OutDoor tradeshow and the OutDoor INDUSTRY awards, log on to: http://www.european-outdoor.de.