Technology, urban outdoor garments and water sports novelties created much of the buzz at Outdoor Retailer's summer show earlier this month. The number of attendees remained roughly stable at about 27,000 but the number of exhibitors expanded from nearly 1,300 last year to 1,595 for the latest edition, 329 of them new to the summer show in Salt Lake City. Visitors crowded the pavilions outside the Salt Palace Convention Center, which covered 95,000 square feet out of a record net exhibition space of 545,684 for the entire show – about 5.7 percent more than last year's Summer Market. Among the highlights were the Venture Out area for urban outdoor products and the Tech Zone displaying the latest gizmos for use in outdoor activities. Manufacturing in the U.S. was an important topic at the show, with some voices declaring it a strong sales argument while others thought it overrated. Another hot issue was the tightening grip of Amazon and other non-specialized online stores on the American outdoor market. Exhibitors and visitors were generally pleased with the vibes at the show, despite its relatively late schedule, but there were still many complaints about the housing situation. Next year's show will be held from Wednesday, August 5 to Saturday, August 8, again preceded by an Open Air Demo on the Tuesday.

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