A quick whisk through some new stuff from the recent Outdoor Preview trade show in Birmingham - Brasher fur-topped boots? You'd better believe us...
We popped into the Outdoor Preview Trade Show at the NEC the other
day for a look see. To be honest, most of the kit on show was
spring/summer '06 stuff, which isn't available until early next year,
so there's not much point in going into detail about it just now, but
we thought you might like to see a few of the more entertaining bits
and bobs that turned up...
Meindl
It was great to see the guys from Bramwell International and get a
bit of a refresher course on the Meindl range, especially as we were
too slack to realise that the company sells rafting-type sandals in
the UK. They look great and have a cunning sliding ankle retainer
strap along with a six-fixing strap network.
Look, here they are...
The sandals are out there now, but you'll have to wait until next
year for the revamped Air Revolution range. The existing Air
Revolution is joined by several new models aimed primarily, we thing,
at general walking use. Also new from the company are some rather
nice looking trainer / approach shoe models building on the success
of their current range, should be ideal for travel use.
www.meindl.de
Brasher
Also on the footwear side of things, Brasher have massively
revamped their range over the last year and the traditional Fell and
Trailmaster type models have been joined by more conventional and
contemporary looking boots.
Again we won't go into loads of detail as the new stuff isn't out
until next year, but in an interesting victory for aesthetics, the
very effective, but rather hideous Superlite (which we always
misspell) is joined by a new, funkier looking version that also has
the bonus of not featuring a breathable / waterproof lining. It gets
a completely new sole unit too.
The women's range has been developed too. The notorious 'too pink'
boot for the gurlz is no more. Instead you have the choice of lilac
and pistachio variants. Unfortunately the colours didn't photograph
well, so you'll have to make do with this white boot complete with
furry collar...
Brasher eh? Who'd have thought it?
www.brasher.com
Rohan Footwear
Did you know Rohan made footwear? No, we didn't either, but they
do and it will also be available in some non-Rohan stores. We
particularly like the look of the active travel boots and shoes, but
they do a whole range of stuff from smart travel slip-on through to
Vibram-soled flip-flops... Good value too, some come with their own
smart carry bags.
Regatta
Regatta's excellent value for money range just keeps growing -
they have Polartec fleece in the line-up you know, so don't write
them off just because they're not a top-end label... Most alarming
though were some terrifyingly bright colours aimed at the continental
market. Apparently the feeling for colour in Germany isn't quite on
the same lines as our own discreet good taste.
Anyway, you can expect more softshells from the Manchester-based
company, plus a much expanded footwear range. We really liked the
look of these mesh watersports shoes that should also be great for
knocking around in hot weather.
www.regatta.com
Helly Hansen
The guys at HH have two big new themes for next year. One is
safety and we've forgotten what the other one is. The safety bit
means you'll find reflective stuff all over the place and high
visibility fabric patches. Where they've been clever though, is that
the high vis' stuff is inside the jacket. If you need to use it, just
reverse the garment for emergencies, so you don't have to look like a
mobile Belisha beacon the rest of the time...
Also interesting is what they claim is the world's lightest
water-resistant / windproof jacket. It's a filmy, translucent sort of
thing called the Mars - or the Venus for lasses - and should be a
great pack and forget until needed boon for the weight-wary fast
movers out there. The armpits have little perforations to help your
brew tea more effectively.
The other HH thing we liked the look of was the tarty urban
waterproof jacket with externally welded seams, cool black colour
scheme , stretch fabrics, water-resistant zips et al. Not a pure
outdoors thing at all, but it looks good :-)
www.hellyhansen.com
Rukka
Last but not least, we couldn't help liking the Rukka kids stuff.
Made by a Finnish firm well known for motorcycle waterproofs, their
boots, jackets and trousers are aimed at one to ten year olds, made
from heat welded PVC and have eay to use poppers instead of zips.
They're waterproof, non-breathable, but best of all, mud proof, so
if you're sprog gets muddy, just jet wash the little horror. Priced
from £20 to £25 they come in a variety of bright colours
:-)
www.puddlehunters.co.uk
And that's all for now :-)
