The Nite Ize S-Biner Named Backpacker Editors' Choice Award Winner

Boulder, CO – The S-Binerâ„¢ from Nite Ize has been honored as a recipient of a 2008 Backpacker magazine Editors’ Choice Award, the most prestigious award in the outdoor industry. The award is given in recognition of outstanding innovation in product design, materials and/or performance.

Backpacker Editor-In-Chief Jonathan Dorn and his staff of editors and testers presented Nite Ize with the award at the annual Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 23rd.

The Backpacker Editors’ Choice Awards, given 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.

The S-Binerâ„¢ by Nite Ize was one of only 17 innovative products that have been honored with a 2008 Backpacker Editors’ Choice Award.

Nite Ize, Inc., designer and manufacturer of innovative accessories, introduced the S-Binerâ„¢ in 2007 to address the everyday need to conveniently attach, carry and hang any item you want conveniently accessible. The S-Binerâ„¢ is an attractive, low profile, double gated carabiner style clip. The S-Biner’s double gated “S” design simply makes connecting and detaching items easier than traditional carabiners. Connect your keys, water bottle, or other valuables to one end. Connect the other end to your belt loop or backpack. Stainless steel construction and smooth wire gate operation provide long-life strength and durability. Now available in five practical sizes and three finishes: Stainless Steel, Black titanium and Spectrum titanium. Each size is laser engraved with a weight rating. MSRP: $1.99-$3.99.

“This year’s winners show that designers in our industry are really pushing the envelope in producing lighter, tougher, and smarter products,” says Backpacker editor-in-chief Jonathan Dorn. “As we found in field-testing, they’re making it easier and more comfortable for anyone to get involved in trail activities. Adds gear editor Kristin Hostetter, who has spearheaded Backpacker’s Editors’ Choice testing for more than a decade: “These outstanding products should enjoy the same sterling track record as our past winners. Readers and retailers trust Backpacker’s picks more than any other magazine’s because our testing is unrivaled in its duration and intensity. Our unofficial gear-testing motto—we break stuff so you don’t have to—says it all.”

“To receive this award two years in a row is quite a testament to our mission at Nite Ize,” states Nite Ize Owner Rick Case. “We continually strive to develop innovative accessories which will make people’s lives easier and more functional. Backpacker’s rigorous testing proves that the S-Binerâ„¢ is truly the safety pin of the outdoors and that product innovation does not always have to come with a high price tag.”

The Backpacker Editors’ Choice Awards are the gold standard against which all outdoor products are measured, and are a seal of approval that can help put an outdoor company or product on the proverbial map. Each year at the Outdoor Retailer show, retail buyers use the awards announcements as a must-buy shopping list, knowing that their customers will be asking for these products in the spring.

All winners must excel under extensive field-testing conducted by Backpacker’s team of editors, who take hundreds of new products every year into the backcountry to put them to the test. This rigorous process ensures that the performance of the winners is truly worthy of distinction and meets the guiding principle behind the program: gear that is of real value to the readers of Backpacker magazine, who are very active, long-term outdoor enthusiasts.

The complete list of Backpacker 2008 Editors’ Choice Award winners will be officially announced to the general public in the magazine’s April issue, on newsstands March 11th.

About Nite Ize:
Nite Ize, Inc. develops and manufactures innovative accessories designed to make every-day life easier and more functional. The Nite Ize product line spans five unique categories including Mobile, Hardware, and L.E.D. Accessories. Founded in 1989 and based in Boulder, Colo., Nite Ize has distribution in the world’s most recognized retailers and in over 60 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit us online at www.niteize.com.

About Backpacker:
Backpacker brings the outdoors to reader’s doorsteps, inspiring and empowering them to get out and enjoy nature more often. The authority on active adventure, Backpacker is the world’s first GPS-enabled magazine, and the only magazine 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.

Backpacker is published by Active Interest Media (www.aimmedia.com), has a circulation of 340,000, and is published nine times per year. In 2006, the magazine won a coveted National Magazine Award for editorial excellence. Backpacker’s award-winning website, www.backpacker.com, is updated daily and features more than 3,000 hikes, a searchable and comprehensive database of outdoor gear (www.gearfinder.com), special sections for beginners and female hikers, the most active community forums in the outdoor space, and a wealth of trail tips, videos, and GPS know-how.

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