The Daily by Outdoor Retailer is proud to announce the winners of the first Daily Awards, which are designed to honor outdoor business operators and celebrate their achievements.
“We know it’s been a tough year for the outdoor industry as everyone adjusts to the new normal post-pandemic,” said Tiffany Montgomery, editor-in-chief of The Daily.
“However, industry brands still created a lot of great product and storytelling, and deserve to be recognized for their hard work.”
Outdoor Brand of the Year
The Daily staff, in consultation with industry insiders, judged the awards and determined NEMO’s extensive variety of outdoor products fit the bill for Outdoor Brand of the Year.
The New Hampshire-based company was founded in 2002, and over the years has made a commitment to sustainability, including with its synthetic Forte sleeping bag, which is designed to be repairable and recyclable.
One instance of NEMO’s innovative product capability is its new Tensor Extreme Conditions sleeping pad, which uses a new baffle structure to suspend four layers of insulation that offer an industry-topping 8.5 R-value, and only weighs 17 ounces.
NEMO’s new Resolve daypack series offers another good example of what the company brings to the table. The Resolve daypack is fully recyclable while keeping up standards for fit and performance.
In developing the whole line, NEMO engineered strong, durable materials that make the packs adaptable, configurable, and repairable.
The Resolve line is part of NEMO’s Endless Promise collection, which is in line with the brand’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions and resource consumption.
The company plans to release more sleeping bags and backpacks next year with the same sustainability features.
Best Overall New Product of the Year
Best Overall New Product of the Year goes to Florida-based Costa for its King Tide 8 sunglasses designed for elite anglers.
Founded in 1983, Costa is known for its color-enhancing, all-polarized sunglasses.
Costa touts these full wrap-around sunglasses as the brand’s crowning achievement of the past 40 years.
The glasses stand out for their sweat management, zero-fog venting, and removable side shields.
The non-skid hooding is intended to keep the frames from moving, no matter the conditions.
The King Tide series was made available first to select specialty retailers as a nod to the brick-and-mortar stores that helped build the Costa brand.
Snow Product of the Year
Denver-based BOA adding its popular closure system to ski boots this year was a game changer.
Fischer was one of four brands, including K2, Salomon, and Atomic, to jump at the chance to add the hardware to its boots.
After speaking with retailers and other industry experts who said it’s been a strong seller, Fischer’s RC4 Pro MV BOA is our Snow Product of the Year.
The RC4 Pro MV features the new BOA H+i1 system, which wraps the shell to the foot and uses thermoshape polyurethane to maximize power transfer and control.
With a Carbonfused cuff and customizable ZipFit inner boot, the RC4 Pro MV has a flex rating of 140.
To ensure an optimal fit for most skiers, the RC4 MV boots have a Fischer Scan-Fit last, developed using thousands of foot scans.
Matt McDonald with Golden, Colorado retailer Powder7 told The Daily that the Fischer boots are the type of product that “people will pay whatever for.”
Camping Product of the Year
For Camping Product of the Year, Salt Lake City’s Gregory Mountain Product’s Alpaca gear organization collection is our choice for its versatility and practicality.
The collection includes a tote, basket, box, wagon, pods, and cases that can be configured to help store and move gear to pursue outdoor pursuits.
Founded in 1977, Gregory is known for its technical backpacking, mountaineering, and trail running products and accessories.
The products are designed for the gearhead, the family with a ton of camping supplies, or the overlander who needs to keep everything organized on a sustained road adventure.
The system is made to fit in cars, vans, garages, truck beds, and more.
Overland Product of the Year
Kuat’s Ibex truck bed rack is our pick for Overland Product of the Year. The rack is made from lightweight, durable aluminum and is powder coated.
It comes in several different frame sizes to accommodate most truck models and is equipped with telescoping crossbars, T-channels, and full- and mid-height configurations.
Our overland expert said this about the Ibex truck bed rack: “The difficulty with carrying large-format gear on overland journeys is that one either must fit it inside the vehicle, or the gear must take up precious space on the roof or inside the bed of a pickup – pushing out other necessary items that one might use on a long trip.
“Küat’s IBEX solves this problem with a versatile bed rack system that has many uses depending on the accessories one purchases.”
Best Collaboration of the Year
The Best Collaboration of the Year started with a conversation at Outdoor Retailer when the Maine Outdoor Brands booth featuring axe brand Brant & Cochran was adjacent to the Solo Stove booth.
Conversations between the two brands sparked a collaboration pairing an heirloom-worthy special edition Allagash Cruiser, which is Brant & Cochran’s marquee product, with fireside essentials, including matchbooks featuring artwork inspired by the original Brant & Cochran Tool Company.
The limited-quantity run of the collaboration has sold out.
