Had a good time - hadn't been in a decade or more and went on opening day and the crowds weren't too heavy.

Things that stuck out for me:

Loved the H2O displays - some nice rigs that got my wallet itchy. Someone pointed out what may have been Camper Christina's new ride - a daisy festooned craft.

Spoke with Ben Beauchamps for a bit - exactly the same smiling, upbeat dude that comes across in his vids. Very likeable (from my limited interaction) young man.

Recognized a couple of the folks (from a distance) who do U-tube's that also post here.

Newfoundland and Labrador had a WHACK (some private outfits included)  of booths - almost a complete aisle length - maybe the man is still out on expedition somewhere but they could have leveraged Justin Barbour to anchor the outdoor adventure theme more.

Jeff of Jeff's Maps had a steady line up of folks waiting to ask questions, meet and greets and tell him how great his products are - no surprise there!

Novacraft was MIA.

Expedition rated mini rv's were really interesting but the price tags gave me sticker shock (what doesn't these days?).

Substantial amount of the show were sun adventure destinations that didn't interest me.

Outdoors Oriented still had some Eureka gear that they were blowing out - the No Bug Zone's seemed to be a popular item at the cash. What was kind of amusing was that Jetboil (division of Johnson Outdoors, the ones who moth-balled the Eureka line of gear last year) were across the aisle.

Weakest "big name" booth for me was the Fed's National Park booth - large footprint, little detailed collateral material - but it's clear they have other mandates and markets they have decided to focus on at this point.

Honorable Mention goes to the individual who decided to access the vertical parking option and backed his hardcore, decked out Jeep Gladiator on a 60 degree angle on one of the piles of plowed snow out in the lot.

Last edited by Smellslikelinament (3/18/2025 11:27 am)