The SNEWS® and Backpacker editors have been scurrying all over the floor to cover every square inch of trade show space -- even the never-to-be-repeated experimental disaster at the Energy Solutions Arena -- and while the detailed trends and product reports, party and event coverage, and overall show vibe and numbers news you expect from the SNEWS team will not begin until Wednesday, Aug. 13, we have a little taste of Summer Market to feed your information hunger -- blog reports from various Backpacker editors, live from the show floor. Cool stuff!

To make it easier for you, so you don't have to scan and wander through the Backpacker blogosphere, we've provided direct links to each post below. Happy reading. Meanwhile, we're wrapping up Day 4 of the show, and then heading home ourselves...if we survive the last day that is.



The hell with avalanches and snake eating; Survive Outdoor Retailer!

Steve Howe has been to 30 Outdoor Retailer shows and this post is as funny as it gets -- if toting 40-pound packs full of catalogs is funny. -- click here to read

Tents made of recycled materials

Tents have represented the final frontier for recycled materials: We've seen clothing, packs, even shoes all made with recycled content, but not tents -- until now. -- click here to read

Cool compressible stuff sack

Top of my list for today was in the “Why Didn’t I Think of That” category: a reconfiguring of the standard stuff sack by Granite Gear. -- click here to read

Diamonds in the rough

A bargain tent, a rain-ready shirt and a hydration calculator. -- click here to read



Cool stuff through the eyes of Steve Howe

OK, enough whining about the Outdoor Retailer show. It's still decidedly surreal, though. I just walked past two miniature chihuahuas wearing wallet-sized doggie packs. Then, there was a pair of willowy models wearing grass skirts and coconut bras. I think they were advertising coconut-based fabric, but the message somehow got lost. Right now, I'm sitting in the press room... -- click here to read

More cool stuff according to the world of Steve Howe

The North Face Elephant's Foot sleeping bag and Mica solo tent, Black Diamond Neve Crampon, Markhill Stormy, and the Topo Crossover and Sylvan Sport trailers. -- click here to read