Trailheads

The Outdoor Market Alliance (OMA) is a group of 25 independent rep agencies representing close to 200 outdoor brands in permanent showrooms spanning a 32,000-square-foot building in Lakewood, CO. OMA is also an official partner of Switchback. I had the opportunity to attend their Media Show last week, where I got the rundown on hundreds of pieces of new gear over the course of 47 meetings with different brands.

I have been covering gear in the outdoor industry for over a decade and have worked in this industry for over two decades. I live for this stuff. Sitting down with brand reps and PR pros to talk gear is a fantastic way to learn what gear trends lie ahead for retailers and the industry. On top of the technical side, it is a great way to get a vibe check on the year ahead. Here are five of my main takeaways from attending the show last month: 

1. Ultra Light (UL) gear is clearly a hot section of the market. 

Three different brands of varying company sizes all used the term “ultra light curious” to describe the customer they were trying to engage with new products featured at the show. Ultra light gear has been working its way out of the esoteric margins of the thru-hiking world for a while, but it is clear that the ethos of carrying less to go farther – and more comfortably – has gone mainstream. Traveling ultralight used to mean making significant comfort sacrifices, but brands showed me some really smart accommodations, like lightweight hip belts on packs that make shaving weight less heinous. I saw three packs from different brands that weigh in at a respectably light 2-ish pounds, while still boasting comfort details like smart padding that won’t chase a novice backpacker away from the sport – even if they did want to travel light.

2. Innovation is firing.

There was a time in the late 2010’s when I would have had trouble finding four or five innovations at a trade show that were exciting enough to get amped up about. I saw over a dozen products at OMA last week featuring new technical innovations that would have individually been showstoppers six or seven years ago. Here are a few of my favorites: Royal Robbins showed me a groundbreaking fabric that doesn’t allow the proboscis of a mosquito through it. COAST showed me a headlamp that I could turn on and off with my voice. Heritage glove company Swany introduced me to a wool that was built to conduct electronics for heated gloves. I understand why it would be scary to make big innovation swings when building outdoor gear – if you do something well already, rocking the boat could be bad for business. But it is really exciting to see that the boat is currently rocking. 

3. Brands are paying more attention to customers in the middle.

The idea that brands need to look beyond the summit-bagging alpha athlete isn’t new, but I heard a myriad of thoughtful pitches about why gear at the OMA show were built for customers at the center of the outdoor enthusiast bell curve. I saw more muted colors on traditionally bright pieces of gear, bags built squarely for weekend warriors, and shoes made for daily driver runs. These design decisions and the conversations around them represented a thoughtful look at serving a larger number of customers that was more than just lip-service. I think the everyday outdoor athlete is going to be well-served in the 2026 and 2027 sales cycle.

4. Versatility is being celebrated.

In my nearly 20 years of covering the outdoor industry, I have seen the pendulum swing from specificity to generalism quite a few times, in quite a few different parts of the industry. Versatility is being celebrated right now, and I am really happy to see that. Having one piece of gear that can do the job of two or three items is a beautiful thing. From a practical standpoint, it saves money, weight, and space when packing, and reduces consumption in a meaningful way. I saw a lot of brands making pieces of gear that were meant to work for a wide variety of uses rather than trying to sell a bunch of products for one singular use.

LifeStraw makes some of the best filters in the market and this technology is in products that span use cases from casual to the most core. They showed me a single, reasonably priced kit that can be used for travel, backcountry UL hiking, and chill backpacking trips. Another great example was a duffle bag from RUX that could turn into a stackable storage container for your garage when you’re not traveling with it, thanks to its origami-like lid.

Versatility can be risky. If done wrong, a product that is meant to do a lot of things can end up doing all of them poorly. My first impression is that brands this year are committed to doing it right.

5. People are excited to come together.

The format of this show for a media member is intensely focused on gear. Over two days, I had 47 appointments during which time I got my hands on – and nerded out about – hundreds of products. Despite the intense format, everyone was still excited to hang out during meals and happy hours. Besides a few “what’s the coolest thing you’ve seen?” questions, the conversation wasn’t about gear. It was rich with human stuff. Every happy hour was shoulder to shoulder, and I was able to personally reconnect with dozens of friends who together represent hundreds of years of friendship. I lost count of the number of times I heard people say “it is just so good to see everyone,” after eight instances. This show was focused on getting gear information to outdoor media – bravo to OMA for how well they executed that. It also offered a gathering point for sales reps, PR pros, and media from the outdoor industry to remember why we love working in this space so much. The excitement was palpable.

Switchback and OMA have entered a strategic partnership in 2026. The alliance will elevate the voice of independent sales representatives and deepen connections across the entire outdoor ecosystem. Learn more here.