Outdoor by ISPO is the new outdoor tradeshow that is held this year for the first time in Munich. Since I was asked to be part of the jury for the ISPO Awards I thought it might be a good idea to give you some insights on the jury meeting and the new gear I saw on the show.
The last couple of weeks have been extremely busy for me and therefor I did not upload as much as I would have liked to. It all began a month ago with the Outdoor by ISPO jury meeting around the lake and the mountains near Annecy in France. On the Lake of Annecy, at the campsite at its shores near Doussard and high in the mountains around the Sambuy peaks we tested the outdoor gear that was send in by manufacturers for the Outdoor by ISPO Awards.
Outdoors!
The good thing about this jury meeting is that it is outdoors. Sounds logical, but this has never been the case. Previously the Outdoor tradeshow – NOT ISPO – was held in the German town of Friedrichshafen on the shores of the Bodensee. Like the winter ISPO – have a look at the video I did on that one by following the link below this article – the Outdoor jury meeting was inside and more of a static one. At least this is what I heard; I was never part of this jury but I am already a jury member of the Scandinavian Outdoor Award that is held twice a year and always outdoors! More on this jury meeting later this week. When I was visiting the winter jury meeting in Munich last December – just before Christmas – the ISPO organization already mentioned that they where planning to go outdoors. I applauded it and I was invited to Annecy.
Real ‘testing’
There we ‘tested’ the products in the outdoors. Yes, tested between quotations. In total we had over 280 products and even though we are with a lot, the number of jury members is still pretty limited. Certainly from my point of view: I test gear mostly for months before publication. But… it is way better than not testing at all. We had a good look and feel on the products. After testing we had many meetings and discussions on what should be awarded. I am working on a video of the jury-meeting but the ISPO made a pretty nice one themselves. Although it does not show the foggy morning in the mountains and the ugly caravans on the campsite. But it also does not show me being lazy in a hottub overlooking the Lake of Annecy. It does show how I unintentionally broke a fieldbed. So sorry!
The jury
The jury for the Outdoor by ISPO consists of 21 persons. They all have very different backgrounds; from journalists to product developers to athletes to shop owners to designers to – and this is very important – sustainability specialists. Regrettably the majority is still male: 14 against 7 ladies. One of the ladies is my fellow Dutchy and Ice Climber Marianne van der Steen. If you want to know more of her and all the jury members: follow the link below.
Awards
When giving awards there are basically three categories: Winner, Gold Winner and the Outstanding Award. The big difference between the first and the second is that the Gold Winner is displayed on the show and that for the Gold Winners there is a special ceremony. The Outstanding Award… I see it as a sort of super Gold. I am not going to mention all Award winners; the ISPO website is the perfect place for this. Again: follow the link below.
ISPO Munich
The testing, the meetings, the discussions and fierce debates all accumulated in the last week at the Outdoor by ISPO tradeshow in Munich. I made a video on the products I liked and some of them won an Award. I also know that I forgot some; I am just a one-man show and that is not always easy. I will make up with them later in reviewing their gear. Hope you enjoy the video!
Links
Link to my fellow jury members here
Link to awards winners here
Link to the Winter ISPO video here
