Amelia Arvesen is assistant editor of SNEWS. Before working in the outdoor industry, she was a newspaper reporter covering crime. She is based in Boulder.
Dana Gleason was stirred in 2000 from an early retirement from the pack-making business when his daughter asked him to design her a new hip sack. Along with his longtime business partner, Mystery Ranch was founded to provide load-bearing equipment to members of the military, ...read more
The November show will not go on, Outdoor Retailer announced on its website on Wednesday. The Winter Market was scheduled for Nov. 5 to 7, but it is now being united with Snow Show slated for Jan. 29 to 31, 2020 in Denver. “We care deeply about our community, and alongside OIA, ...read more
Every type of boat you can think of, Todd Frank is displaying in his new 14,000-square-foot The Trail Head River Sports showroom in Missoula, Montana. Canoes, inflatables, paddle boards, rafts, recreational and touring kayaks—you name it. "We’re at the junction of four major ...read more
The Conservation Alliance is 30 this year and is honing in on growing its community by increasing its social media following and email distribution list. A bigger audience equals more stewards and a bigger impact, right? Outgoing Director John Sterling talks past, present, and ...read more
The acquisition of Rock/Creek Outfitters for a second time in two years will bring the outdoor specialty shop closer to its community roots, President Chad Wykle said Friday. Gearhead Outfitters, a privately-held retailer in Arkansas, announced on Thursday the acquisition of ...read more
If you've never been to Scotland, now you can see its best views from Casper Rolsted's time lapse "The Silence of Scotland." Listen to the birds, waterfalls and lakes, and wind and rain to transport yourself for just a few minutes. We promise you'll feel more at peace. ...read more
New data from Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) shows that gear brands have paid more than $1.5 billion more in tariffs since September compared to the previous year due to the ongoing trade war with China. That number is expected to multiply once an additional 10 percent tax is ...read more
Earlier this year, SNEWS launched a new series of gear reviews written by retailers, for retailers. Our team covered almost every category, from Nite Ize's new dry bags to United By Blue's multi-sport shorts. Now we're taking Retailer Reviews to the next level. Along with our ...read more
Cascade Designs in early July cut 22 jobs from various teams and levels out of its staff of about 500 as part of the brand's reorganization, CEO James Cotter confirmed. The layoffs are tied to Cascade Designs' shift away from siloed teams to a new structure composed of one team ...read more
A dripping wet kayaker carries his neon yellow boat straight from the river. A family munches on food truck sandwiches at one of the many picnic tables. A live band performs for a crowd of energetic onlookers. It's a normal summer day on Main Street in Buena Vista, Colorado, and ...read more
"I heard yesterday from a newly-sober friend that it was a challenge to find non-alcoholic beverages on the show floor during happy hour," Kassondra Cloos, freelance writer and former SNEWS editor, posted in the Basecamp Facebook Group on June 19. The post centralized an ...read more
Almost four years ago, outdoor recreation directors from Utah, Washington, and Colorado met in a little Italian cafe in Salt Lake City, Utah, during Outdoor Retailer. Cailin O'Brien-Feeney, formerly of Outdoor Industry Association and now Oregon's director, was also there. At the ...read more
I'm riding a Stromer e-bike that goes up to 30 mph, yet Eric "Hende" Henderson biking with a trailer full of packrafts and gear is still hard to keep up with. We're pedal pushing along a 10-mile stretch from his office to the Boulder Reservoir for a mellow morning of paddling ...read more
The tariffs on Chinese imports just keep coming. President Donald Trump last week announced that the U.S. will impose 10 percent on $300 billion worth of products—a fourth round in the trade war—which could include all outdoor apparel, footwear, tents, sleeping bags, skis, ...read more
A debate reminiscent of the one that preceded opening access for mountain bikers is playing out right now as e-bikes gain a foothold and federal agencies consider policies. On July 26, more than 50 trail conservancy organizations—such as The Wilderness Society and Colorado ...read more
One of Outdoor Industry Association's member companies was recently almost tricked out of $50,000 as part of a phishing scam. But luckily, the company avoided the loss by working with its U.S. bank to reverse the international wire and is now warning the rest of the industry, ...read more
Andrew "Bernie" Bernstein, an account director at TRUE Communications, is in critical condition after Colorado police say he was struck in a hit and run while riding his bike near Boulder earlier this month. Bernstein's clients include bike, fitness, and technology brands, such ...read more
Every time this film is shared, New Belgium, a craft brewery in Colorado, will donate $1 to non-profit organizations protecting public lands. So far, they've donated $63,000 of their $250,000 goal. The Finding Common Ground film series and campaign, created in partnership with ...read more
Jackson Hole's Teton Gravity Research followed 23 of the world's most accomplished freeskiers and snowboards to make its next film, "Winterland." Scenes come from some of the most extreme footage captured by TGR in its 22 years of production. The full film will make its world ...read more
Projects on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and other crowdfunding sites will come to life next month in a new startup showcase in Boulder's Neptune Mountaineering. The NeptuneLAB is the latest experiential concept for the iconic gear shop. Owners Shelley and Andrew Dunbar collaborated ...read more
Right now, from your desk, you can watch brown bears fattening up on salmon at Brooks Falls in Alaska's Katmai National Park. You can tune in 24/7 through the National Park Service's Explore live nature cams. Watch as numerous bears—there are about 2,200 in the park—soak in the ...read more
Vista Outdoor recently laid off 14 people at its Scotts Valley, California, facility, the headquarters for Bell, Giro, and Blackburn. The cuts—about 10 percent of the workforce at the facility—come even as the company reinvests in its bike division. Layoffs touched people in all ...read more
A Florida district court yesterday dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Dometic, an RV refrigerator and cooler manufacturer, that alleged that certain products corrode, leak gas, and pose a fire risk. Dometic is a popular brand among RVers because the fridges hook up to a ...read more
Columbia Sportswear President and CEO Tim Boyle has publicly said it numerous times and even confessed to FBI agents in person, but he's saying it again: the multi-billion dollar sportswear company wouldn't be around today without immigrants, including his mother who fled Nazi ...read more
Black Diamond laid off 70 employees last week in its manufacturing division of the Salt Lake City, Utah, headquarters, a 22 percent reduction of the Utah workforce and 53 percent of the manufacturing division. News spread quickly on Reddit. A screenshot of a Facebook post—with ...read more
A new study shows that more women and Hispanics are fishing than ever before, highlighting record-breaking diversity for America's anglers. The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) tracked participation, days out fishing, and interest in the sport in the 2019 Special ...read more
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam climbed into a kayak along the marshy shore of Carvins Cove Natural Reserve on Thursday. Wearing a "Virginia is for outdoor lovers" T-shirt, he spent part of his day paddling the lake, enjoying one of the places that will be protected by a new state ...read more
Believe it or not, a zero-waste trade show is within our reach, especially if the industry rallies around the idea in the same way they did to ditch single-use plastic at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market last month in Denver, Colorado. Not only were single-use water bottles few and ...read more
A boom in gear technology innovation prompted ISPO, Europe's largest outdoor industry trade show, to create an all-new category for the June show. Four brands received "Outstanding Outdoor" crowns, out of 203 nominations in 28 categories, for setting new standards in ...read more
The average American woman is 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighing about 165 pounds with a waist circumference of about 38. That's a pants size 16 or 18—sizes that most outdoor brands aren't making and retailers aren't selling. Marmot, and many others, stop at size 14 or 16 for women. ...read more
Earlier this year, the National Parks Conservation Association released a study titled, "How America is Failing to Protect Our National Parks, People and the Planet from Air Pollution." News article after news article followed, reporting that 96 percent of parks have hazardous ...read more
"Excuse me. Can you tell me where the CamelBaks are?" I asked a hovering, green-vested employee in a big metro REI store last fall. "We don't carry CamelBak anymore," she said. Obviously well-versed, she continued, "Their parent company also owns a semi-automatic rifle ...read more
After rumblings of an uncertain future, Denali announced last Tuesday that its closing all seven locations. A "going out of business" sale at the Old Saybrook location signals the store's end. More than 25 years ago, the first store opened as Trailblazer in New Haven and grew to ...read more
When Congress passed a historic public lands package or when Outdoor Retailer moved to Denver, Amy Roberts had something eloquent and impactful to say about it as executive director of Outdoor Industry Association (OIA). But after four years leading the organization, and ...read more
Until now, there hadn't been a complete, consistent snapshot of the American climbing community. For over a year, the American Alpine Club (AAC) collected data from numerous partner organizations to create a comprehensive report on the state of climbing that includes data on ...read more
The windswept beaches and cliffs of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The rolling hills of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The quiet waters of a stretch of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. The 47-run Cascade Mountain ski area. These places, along with many more, will ...read more
A component on certain mountain bikes was recalled on Tuesday due to crash and injury hazards, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The SRAM RockShox Lyrik and RockShox Yari front suspension forks—the part that holds the front wheel—can "break and cause the ...read more
In October 2018, Nite Ize was tipped off about a shipment at the port of entry in Portland, Oregon. U.S. Customs and Border Protection had seized the import of 300 counterfeit Steelie car-phone mounts, one of Nite Ize's most popular products. After investigation, Nite Ize ...read more
The first time Dan Epstein visited his wife's family's outdoor store, Champaign Surplus, he left daydreaming about leaving his corporate finance job and one day wearing his favorite gear to work. The store was originally an appliance and surplus shop, opened in 1947 by Shira ...read more
On the heels of Milliken & Company's acquisition of Polartec, Steve Layton was named president of the brand. To start off, Layton will lead the integration of Polartec's outdoor and military apparel fabric technologies into Milliken, a 154-year-old leader in textile ...read more
At every Outdoor Retailer, attendees find reasons to celebrate: new products, the gathering of friends, new seasons. Anniversaries are also another reason. Here are a dozen-plus brands that marked monumental birthdays at the show last week. ...read more
In early May, a sign on Ascent Outdoors' main door suddenly marked the end of an era. "We will miss you," the sign read. For more than 20 years, the shop in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood was a meeting spot for the outdoor scene, and its shuttering was devastating and shocking to ...read more
Uncommon Path is REI's new print magazine, publishing for the first time this fall. Stories will range from gear reviews to full feature stories, curated by the same editorial team that produces the Co-op Journal and created with HearstMedia. “Uncommon Path tells the stories of ...read more
You made it to the finish line of Outdoor Retailer. We hope your whole show was successful and filled with stoke. Here are a few of the things you might've missed from Day 3: Catch up on Day 1 and Day 2. In the afternoon of Day 3, a group of Plastic Impact Alliance members met to ...read more
Happy Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. We hope your Day 2 has been just as energizing as Day 1. Here are a few of the things you might've missed: On Monday night, the ninth annual Inspiration Awards by Outdoor Retailer honored a slew of deserving individuals. Vericool Coolers won ...read more
Happy Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. We hope your Day 1 has been packed with discoveries and fruitful meetings. Here are a few of the things you might've missed: Afdhel Aziz, author of Good is the New Cool, was the keynote speaker at the Outdoor Industry Association Breakfast. ...read more
Sample cups just might have the shortest lifespan out of any disposable product. After one sip or bite, they're tossed into the trash. But a new program debuting at Outdoor Retailer offers a sustainable alternative. Vessel Works, a stainless steel reusable cup service, has teamed ...read more
Because the U.S. backed out of the Paris climate agreement more than a year ago, somebody had to take the lead on fighting climate change. Just this week, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law that aims to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. The first goal? Achieve ...read more
The North Face’s latest marketing stunt isn’t about elevating women or getting more people outside. And no, it’s not about public lands either. The highly-regarded global brand earlier this week bragged that it had found a loophole to crawl to the top of Google’s search results ...read more
Greg Thomsen has had almost every job imaginable in the outdoor industry: a climbing guide, a sales rep, a specialty outdoor retailer, a product designer, owner of Mountainsmith, co-founder of Wilderness Experience. For the last decade, Thomsen has served as the chief outdoor ...read more
