Last year was my first time attending the Outdoor Adventure Show and it was unplanned so my visit was really about exploration. This year I had a bit more of a plan, namely to check in with my friends and re-visit booths that I liked, then to focus on those that I missed last year, and finally to discover anything new.
With those objectives in mind, let’s start with Fenix! I just bought a TK05R from them at the Toronto International Boat Show last month and I have been carrying it since. I look forward to seeing Fenix again at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show next month.
I discovered Dirty Leather at last year’s OAS (and have since seen them at TSS). As I mentioned, they are strong supporters of the shooting community and are CCFR sponsors, in addition to making great leather goods!
Josh was showing us his beer holster
But a single rig may not have been enough for ceriksson who liked the quad setup
Meanwhile, I liked the BMF lineup, including the belt
And mason mug
Great to see you again Josh and see you next month at TSS!
Another exhibitor that I not only discovered but crowned my favourite of last year’s OAS (and saw again at TSS), Axcadmy. To recap, Axcadmy offers courses on forging things like railroad spike knives, hatchets, and two-hander axes among others.
And yet another returning favourite (from OAS and TSS), Bison 1879 axes from Germany, however this time they were being shown by Great Ape Empire.
Awesome pickaroon
Not only does Bison make great products…
…they have great customer service and respond to requests very quickly. For example, they confirmed for me very quickly that their thrower meets BATL regulations.
I visited the Canadian Outdoor Equipment Co. booth fully expecting to see Helle knives from Norway. Instead, they had Casstrom Scandinavian knives, a brand with which I am not familiar.
I liked the Lars Fält knife blanks
But my favourite thing at the Canadian Outdoor Equipment Co. booth was the “youth” axe by Old North Workshop! You might think that I am just young at heart but nope, I just saw an “impact tool” lol.
I wanted to show ceriksson the Suluk 46 ultralight titanium/carbon fiber hand saws as I thought he would appreciate the engineering. Yup.
And for when you need to saw a lot lol
Last year I liked the WJQ-308 Chinese Military Shovel at Mastiff Gears. I know that they now offer a WWII M38 Military Shovel and I was hoping to see that but no luck.
Alright let’s move on to booths that I missed last year and wanted to be sure to visit this time. First and foremost is Kite Optics, who specialize in stabilized binoculars and are the makers of the world’s first stabilized spotting scope!
I won’t get into all the benefits of stabilized optics other than to say Kite uses a unique approach. They use a roof prism design with their KDGS (Kite Dynamic Gimbal System) that securely encases the roof prisms in both optical channels in a permanent and inseparable manner, preventing the issue of one prism falling out of collimation with the prism in the other optical tube. The system also uses KT software to fine tune and ensure there is never delay, wobbling, or discomforting motion in the image. (source https://kiteoptics.com/)
APC Stabilized 30
APC Stabilized 50
I really liked the Mono Stabilized
Its larger brother, the APC 60 ED, the world’s first handheld stabilized spotting scope
Another exhibitor I missed last year, Cutco knives!
They have a wide range of knives from kitchen to outdoor to tactical
I was most interested in the Explorer, their collaboration with Ka-Bar
Finally, some new discoveries, like Kovach Forge
I liked the big cleaver
On Duty Equipment with a nice selection of Helikon-Tex
Many outfitters with exploration of all parts of the world including the Arctic
Lots of canoes and paddles. I am not totally into the recent “yay Canada” craze brought on by our political climate but I have to say this was the nicest looking canoe at the show
Thule rooftop carriers
We saw Optimum Paintball at the Canadian International Autoshow earlier this week as well
Funny we also saw the Ghostbusters car at the autoshow, I wonder if these are remnants from the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
BTW, the show was PACKED so be prepared for that!
I look forward to seeing many of these exhibitors next month at TSS and I will definitely keep an eye on Kite Optics, hopefully picking up a pair soon.
RL
rlauferblog 