The SNEWS® team heard several tales of a few Ultimate Direction prototype DoubleShot valves that had gone AWOL from the UD booth but were seen making their way around the trade show floor -- without permission for their disappearance or their rounds. They apparently were seen in the hands of, er, other folks at, er, other companies who weren't necessarily authorized to have them. Guess the little buggers somehow must have jumped ship from the booth all by themselves (maybe all that Tequila Saturday night made them run). We checked in with Sierra Designs president Sally McCoy who would confirm only that a few valves had gone missing but declined to say they'd been stolen or point fingers. If the rumors are true (and we all know that rumors have their own shelf life times 10), the individuals who spirited off the prototype valves and then used them to convince retailers the valves were not good by breaking them apart need to be smacked with a length of plastic hydration hose. For those retailers who witnessed the broken DoubleShots, we again remind you that the valves are prototypes and final molds have yet to be created. And for those of you -- and you know who you are -- who wandered off with the valves, we remind you that R&D stands for Research & Development, and not Rip-off & Disparage (or even Rip-off & Destroy, for that matter).