3 unique items unveiled on 1st day of Outdoor Retailer

SALT LAKE CITY — The 2016 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market opened Tuesday night with a preview of some of the newest and coolest items that will be ready for the marketplace later this year.

The latest clothing and footwear fashions were on display, as well as some new high-energy food supplements to get you through a tough workout and recovery. Here are three products that were quite unique and worth looking out for when they hit the market.

Treadagain shoes ================

In a growing effort to be recycling-minded, Austin Footwear Labs has developed a new type of outsole for shoes that are made exclusively out of old tires. Ilya Kuperman, head of operations for Treadagain, said they use a new compound called APX.

“When you look at the outsole of the shoe, 50 percent of the material is recycled tires,” Kuperman said, adding that it's about 10 times more tire rubber in their compound than the industry standard. “Our mission is to leave a better footprint.”

Kuperman said his company is also utilizing other plastic compounds and working to recycle a variety of materials for their shoes and other products.

Unlike the concerns many have today about recycled rubber shavings and its health effects, Kuperman said they have built several layers of material to act as a barrier between the outsole rubber and your foot. You get the performance of rubber tires so the shoes last longer. The tires they use were recycled after 50,000 miles.

“I would like to say the shoes will last another 50,000 miles, but what we have done is tested the rubber to learn that it does last longer than natural rubber,” Kuperman said.

SlideBelts ==========

One of the more versatile products was SlideBelts. These simple belts have more uses than keeping your pants up. Marc Pearl, sales manager for SlideBelts, said these belts have been on the market for a couple of years, but a new style called the ratchet belt allows the user to custom fit the belt to the right length.

“We’ve created an outdoor product," Pearl said. "We replaced our leather strap with manmade materials to perform under even harsher conditions.”

The buckle is the big deal for me. It is made out of lightweight nylon with some very cool features, including being able to function as a tourniquet in an extreme emergency. A small survivor knife, flashlight,and fire starter tools are also all located inside the belt buckle. These new belts with the nylon buckle retail for $180.

FLIR ====

For backpackers, campers, hunters and even pet owners looking for a lost pet at night, there is the FLIR. Just like the system used in public safety helicopters and military applications, this small handheld device will light up the night to help locate a warm body.

Haley Ellison, public relations manager for FLIR, had a really unique product for outdoor enthusiasts. As the name implies, this little camera will take 1,000 pictures and five hours of video powered by a lithium ion battery.

“You can choose white hot, black hot, insular or rainbow pattern and detect a human-sized image up to 100 yards,” Ellison said. “You’ve got to keep in mind that things are camouflages in the backcountry. So when you use this FLIR you can really identify heat signatures through all of that and it really stands out with the thermal reading.”

It’s currently available at outdoor retailers and sells for $599.

The Outdoor Retailers Summer Market runs through Saturday at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

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