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Outdoor Tradeshow 2003: new products for 2004

Robson design study The Outdoor-Show in Friedrichshafen, Germany is Europe's number 1 for the outdoor industry. The end of the season is moving closer and the manufacturers show next year's line-ups and plans.

Most of the gear shown are prototypes, so the specifications may still change. If you're looking for final information about your favorite manufacturer, you may have to wait until more pictures arrive from the OR 2003 in Salt Lake.

Dagger

The folks at Dagger listened to their team paddlers and to the market and come up with a shining new, longer creek-boat called "Nomad". Available in 2 sizes, the Nomad fits a wider range of paddlers than its older brother the CFS. Because of the longer, narrower shape this boat is supposed to offer lots of speed and the fine rails on the hull keep the boat tracking without sacrificing the easy handling. Also up their sleeves but not on the show is a new modified Kingpin which will probably be at the OR 2003. With the Nomad Dagger is fine-tuning their line-up with a boat for bigger, more pushy water where speed and good tracking is essential and space is less of an issue.

Robson

German manufacturer Robson is still a new name in the kayak industry. But after providing the market with some of the best paddles over the last few years, Robert 'Robson' Sommer had an impressive start with the Red Fred and the Twin Tip as well as the Moonster for river running / creeking. The designs are simple, as well as their outfitting, but both work impressively easy and are bombproof. Apart from that, the simplicity is also reflected in very moderate pricing.

For next year, Robson plans more depth in its line-up and teamed up with Norwegian star kayaker and skier Erik Martinsen to design a new creek boat called the Charger. The boat is designed for those pushy, fast and steep Norwegian rivers, providing the paddler nice speed, tracking and boofability.

A new design-concept called the Scarab was designed in cooperation with an industrial designer and is meant to complete the line-up by providing an aggressive but playful river running playboat.

Also on the show have been new rain jackets as well as a start up line of some paddling jackets for both the touring- and the whitewater sector. All the folk at Robson are very enthusiastic and try to break new ground in all directions they move. Unfortunately I didn't take a shoot at their "new" Robson Chili with bent shaft (sorry guys). It's a paddle aimed for the aggressive, advanced paddler, looking for that bit extra advantage! Nevertheless I managed to get a shot of the blade:

Bliss.Stick

The European Bliss.Stick Agents showed a prototype of a new freestyle boat called the "Rad". After seeing a prototype of a new river runner on Europe's rivers, this boat looks like the next generation of Bliss.Stick's competition weapons. Short and wide is how Bliss.Stick wants to make the boat fly. It will be by far the shortest creation out of the Kiwi factory. They took the well performing hull of the Flip/Slick - Sticks and improved on it. The wide stern of the boat should make it more stable and give it a better bounce! It's still a prototype, but makes us look forward to the production model!

Liquid Logic

System X, the European distributor of Liquid Logic, brought their new river runners over from England. Probably not completely new to some readers' eyes, but still worth a look I thought! It's coming in 2 sizes called the "Hoss" and "Lil'joe". The boats have the standard well finished look and are targeted at paddlers who want a playful river runner (nice hull) with still lots of comfort, some extra volume, length, speed AND some safety features. Definitely worth a look if you're into a freeride boat!

Kober

German paddle manufacturer Kober finished their new bent shaft. After spending a couple of years and various prototypes, people could wrap their hands around the new shaft and get an idea of the ergonomics of their new toy. Kober was the big surprise 2 years ago on the show, when they brought out a new white water line of paddles. The Blades are made out of prepreg and as a exclusivity offers a layed-in aluminum protection in the tips for less wear. The company has a longtime tradition of laminating paddles and have various blade designs for all types of waters and boaters.

Nookie Extreme Sports Equipment

The English folks of Nookie teamed up with their German distributor Lettmann to have their own stand. None of the softwear manufacturers really showed their new lines, because it's just not ready yet. Nonetheless, Nookie brought a few samples over from the work they've done in the past few months. Really interesting is the new thermal line. People who loved the Young Pirates stuff should definitely take a look at these. They will be available in 2 different qualities, a thicker and a thinner one. Nookie is also experimenting with aramid socks, a new neoprene first layer technology and just finished their work on a now streetwear clothing line.

Conclusion

I would have liked to get more pictures of new gear and toys but unfortunately lots of companies found that the show was too early for them and didn't even bother to show up. Others were there, but didn't have their new products ready yet. We hope that the show will be a bit later next year and that it will attract more exhibitors and visitors again.

Thanks to Larry from Dagger Europe, Robert Sommer from Robson, Eric from Kober, the System-X guys for Liquid Logic, the Bliss.Stick special agents, as well as Muppet from Nookie for taking the pictures. There is going to be a new Riot boat as well which looks interesting but the people from PeakUK didn't let me take pictures of it...

For PLAYAK.COM, Simon Hirter.

[Editor’s note] This tour to the biggest events of the European summer is made possible by Simon’s sponsors: Dagger Kayaks, Sweet, Nookie Xtreme Sports Equip., Kober Paddel, Reef, Dainese Protection, PLAYAK and Oakley.

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