Seen at Trail Days 2012

Signs of the AT from afar—on the trail in the Grayson Highlands.

Thirsty dogs found a water source at the NEMO booth.

For those of you that have hiked the AT, this t-shirt answers it all.

Crowds gathering for the Obi 2P raffle at the NEMO booth...

... and the big winner is King of the Hill. Always great to see gear go to the thru-hikers.

We helped out with wallet replacements. Backstreet Boys no more.

Always great to see Sheri and Randy Propster of Backpacker's Get Out More tour.

Their ride is hard to miss on the road!

 -Connie

Dogs of Trail Days

Some of our favorites that we met this year at Trail Days in Damascus, VA. The photo style is no Bill Cunningham, but you get the idea of how many dogs were around at the festival.

Sights from SLC

Some pics from the Winter Outdoor Retailer show in SLC last week. The snow came after most of us left, but that didn't stop us from searching for it.

-Connie

Here Comes the Story of the Hurricane

While people in the Bahamas are boarding up, evacuating, or watching with apprehension as category 3 Hurricane Irene makes her way north, surfers here on the east coast watch the reports with nearly (ok, its hard to compare) as much apprehension. A quick check on the Weed a few moments ago yielded this report for local surf break-The Wall, claiming an unprecedented (in my 6 years in New Hampshire) 23 feet of swell. Yikes.


While I know I won't be out in the water on Sunday, I wish safe and fantastic rides to anyone who braves it. Can't wait to see the pictures Monday. Fingers are crossed for a week full of chest high, fast, and clean to follow.

Perhaps we can even stretch those perfect waves until September 10th for Grain's Surf Re-Evolution event. I'm sure a bunch of NEMOites will be stopping in for the day of surf, fun, food, art, movies and philosophy. If you're near, come join in the celebration and conversation (or just come for the waves and food!)

-Suzanne

Sleeping Bag Testers Wanted!

Calling all outdoorsy people who like to use great gear!

NEMO has officially launched its Adventure Product Testing platform through our Facebook Page. As long as I have been at NEMO we have done extensive testing outside of our labs with ambassadors, athletes, ourselves, families, and friends. While we've had a lot of success in excellent feedback from these groups, we are taking big steps to make a more integrated, cohesive, and connected testing program. This means big things for me...lots more information to work with and a direct line to a variety people with all different shapes, sizes, experiences, and needs.

We are unrolling the program with an entirely new category for us - sleeping bags. They've been in the works for a couple years now, and will debut next year. However, before they get anywhere close to a store, we want to make sure we are putting the best and most innovative product out there. We think our unique ideas make a lot of sense, but in the end, it doesn't matter what we think.

In the Adventure Product Testing program we will be integrating feedback from our designers, engineers, ambassadors, athletes, shop employees, and customers. I want to get all of us into a conversation about what makes a great sleeping bag and make this happen. We can sketch and CAD model and lab test all day long, and we'll never get the same kind insights as extensive real world testing. So help me out!

We'll be testing everything from ultralight down quilts to car camping comfort to arctic mountaineering bags. There is something for all adventures, all body types, and all levels of experience. We want as diverse of a testing team as we can make.

You need to visit our Facebook page to enter, but here's the skinny.

First you make a short video with a fake gear review and tell us why you'd make a great member of our testing team. Note: There are no extra points for how hardcore you are or how many sleeping bags you already own. However, there are extra points for creativity, insight, and presenting information well. If the fans like you, we like you, and you've got some testing opportunities coming up this fall, you're on the team. We'll work with you to figure out what prototypes will be most appropriate for your upcoming adventures, and then you are in charge of using the hell out of them. We have several platforms for testers to keep in touch, communicate with each other, and log data points that will be useful in understanding if our designs are performing to their intentions.

Alright, get out there and blow me away with your videos.

-Suzanne

A Peek Into the OR Booth

Our booth at summer OR in Salt Lake City has been slammed for 3 days straight. For those of you who didn't get a chance to make it over, here's sneak peek into the inner sanctum (and a chance to look at some new products if you squint and tilt your head).

-Connie

Sun Valley Love

Bill and I just got back from Sun Valley where NEMO was a sponsor of the US Cycling Mountain Bike Championships this year. We had a fantastic 4 days and met so many great folks out in Idaho who were in town for the event.

The Crit was held Thursday night in Ketchum town center. Before the main event, there was a fat tire relay, perhaps the most entertaining event of the weekend. If there are any doubts on the levels of entertainment, see pictures below.

We were lucky enough to hang out with the Scott folks who rented out Wiseguy Pizza and made sure there was an endless stream of pizza and beer flowing at all times. This, and the unblemished/un-humid air of Sun Valley must be why I look so happy.

The elite men's and women's races were a bit more serious, especially with Rebecca Rusch on the line in the women's field.

And as expected, we were lucky enough to get in some great riding, time with friends, trail running, eating, and drinking here in Sun Valley.

-Connie

Great American Campout

The National Wildlife Federation’s Great American Campout is this Saturday – are you in? Whether you’re camping in the backcountry, at a local campground or in your backyard, NWF encourages everyone to get out this weekend and spend a night under the stars.


I did a little polling around the office to hear what the NEMO crew had planned:

Connie & Suzanne – camping out in Suzanne’s great big new backyard in York, ME
Tom, Sarah and their 15 month old daughter, Rachel – on their family’s land in Washington, NH
Kate, Mike and their dog Charlotte – somewhere near Northfield, NH after the Claymore Challenge Slopestyle Mountain Bike event at Highland Park.
Nate, Lindsay and Lyle – bike touring and camping around Portland, ME

Where will your adventure be?

~Kate

Report from Damascus

Fried pickles and dirty hikers were still very much a part of this year's Trail Days celebration in Damascus, VA. Here are a few more photos from our stormy visit.

Old friends were caught up with and new friends made. A special shout out to all the wonderful people we met who are currently thru-hiking with NEMO tents.

We also met up with Sheri and Randy with Backpacker's Get Out More Tour. Awesome folks who had probably organized the biggest attraction of the whole weekend - a huge gear giveaway.

Our road trip was filled with other amazing sites like the nearby tornado ravaged town of Glade Spring and these tasty crabs covered in Old Bay in Baltimore (a must do when ever traveling through BWI)

-Suzanne

Dirty Hikers

Somehow it's mid-May again, which means hundreds of dirty Appalachian Trail thru-hikers are going to be converging on the small town of Damascus, VA along with thousands of other slightly cleaner outdoorsy people who want to see the spectacle. Trail Days starts this Friday and the fun lasts til Sunday.

Connie and I are excited to be going down for a third year in a row. Come stop by the booth and say hi, and make sure to pick up any lost looking hikers on nearby roads with thumbs raised.

-Suzanne

2011 Heart of Steel

Seems that Boston Rock Gym has stepped it up a notch for their annual bouldering comp, Heart of Steel (or Heart Ov Zteel if you're being exact).

They're releasing a couple more videos for the next few Tuesdays before game day.

HEART OV ZTEEL • Pt1: Missing from Louder Than 11 on Vimeo.

Sign up, if you have the heart.

-Connie

Rippin Chix Mtn Bike Camp with Alison Gannett

We just finished another successful Rippin Chix Mountain Bike Camp, this time at our new sustainable farm in Paonia, Colorado. The farm is my latest attempt to take "walking the talk" to a whole new level, which has added a significant, but rewarding load to my already full plate! The weekend’s events benefited Save Our Snow, Save Our Singletrack and the local farmers’ cooperative online grocery, Local Farms First.

The first day of the camp was held in our 1880’s cherry orchard where the gals learned to maneuver over roots, rocks bridges, and through switchbacks along with bunny hopping. Janae Prichett, of Colorado Backcountry teamed up with me to teach this camp and Women’s Adventure Magazine joined us.


That evening, professional chef’s Dana Zobs and Stacee Vanaernem cooked an exquisite five-course feast for 55 folks, all harvested by yours truly out of our garden and orchard. Dinner was served on white linens set up in the orchard beneath the fruit trees and surrounded by gardens and running water. I even made special treats like homemade mozzarella, sun-dried raisins and Concord grape and Bartlett pear juice that supplemented the gourmet feast created by Dana and Stacee! My favorites were the Aranchini - a ball made of rice, bacon, mozzarella which is then quickly fried tempura-style. I also loved the spicy bean fries - purple pole and haricot vert green beans rolled in chilies and bread crumbs and served like french fries. Dana and Stacee also made the most wonderful winter squash mashers.

After a night of camping and tent demos from NEMO in the orchard, a well rested crew set out for more adventure. We headed across the street from the farm to the BLM trails on Jumbo Mountain, a well-hidden gem that reminds me of riding in Fruita. Those of you who ride there know and love the spiny desert ridges, so add some gnarly 1,200 year-old Juniper forests with much more mountainous climbing, and voila, you have Paonia's Jumbo trails. We put our new cherry orchard skills to the test in the whoop-de-doo’s, rocks and roots on the many trails.


Thanks to all my green sponsors, including NEMO, for making this fundraiser happen. We look forward to this being the first of many new Rippin Chix Camps and events here on the farm, both for skiing and biking, as well as sustainability classes on how to reduce your carbon footprint. The Rippin Chix Silverton Steep Skiing Camp is already sold out, but I have just added a Rippin Chix Steep Skiing camp at the infamous Aspen Highlands. Visit my website for more information!

Best,
Alison

Asheville Action: 2010 OIA Rendezvous

Last week a few of us from NEMO has the distinct pleasure of participating in the 2010 OIA (Outdoor Industry Association) Rendezvous. Hosted at the Grove Park Inn in the pleasant city of Asheville NC, titans of industry gathered to discuss, collaborate and inform each other on their perception of the outdoor industry and what it will take for a business to survive in the coming years.
If I could summarize in a few words: innovation and cautious optimism.


After a few days of discussions were over, it was time to give a little back to the Asheville community that graciously accepted us. Timberland hosted a service project where those that attended the Rendezvous could offer a few hours in the afternoon on various beautification projects. Ranging from building a labyrinth to cleaning out the French Broad River, participants gave their all to the projects and had a little fun in the process.


What is amazing to me, is the amount of man hours of accomplished work in a single afternoon. Roughly 200 people working for roughly 3-4 hours. How long would it have taken to get ~700 hours of volunteer work without this concerted effort? I don't know, but I assume a while.


And of course, local delicious beverages beer at the end.


-Ryan

Deeper

Proudly sponsored NEMO ambassador, Jeremy Jones has begun a tour of his new movie "Deeper". If you scramble, it looks like there are still seats for tonight's performance in Seattle. Otherwise check out the schedule for when the film is coming to your city. Athletes from the movie will be attending select shows. So if you're lucky, you might get to meet a few bad ass freeriders.

TGR never disappoints so I'm looking forward to when the films comes to Boston on Imax at the end of November.



-Suzanne