Meanwhile in Munich
Michael and Will from the design team went to Munich for a long weekend to explore the city and attend Outdoor by Ispo. Both of the designers have been with us 1 year now and due to covid, lockdowns this was their first trip abroad with Aetha so we sent them with a list of things to do, people to see and a couple of Aetha Tshirts.
Munich
After the now-normal airport delays leaving from the UK, we touched down into Munich late Friday evening. Straight to bed ready for a big weekend ahead.
Saturday consisted of hiring bikes and cycling around the huge gardens the city has to offer, the Englischer Garten is the biggest urban garden in the world, even beating Central Park. With no beaches like Bournemouth and Poole has to offer- the Bavarians have made this their place for sunbathing, BBQs, volleyball and even river surfing! A very relaxed day before heading over to Bahnwärter Thiel at night, for Michael’s first techno rave. Not quite Berghain but some good music and funky people (trust Will to find a rave!)
After an early Sunday start, it was straight to the main event and reason we were in Munich. OutDoor by ISPO 2022 consisted of 4 exhibition halls, filled with businesses ranging from start-ups, to the big brands you see every-day leading the outdoor and sports market.
See a few of our top picks below!
Nordisk
After lugging our backpacks around town on the travel days, we could appreciate the work being done by the team over at Nordisk. Who’ve managed to take the notion “travel light” to the next level. A camping pack totalling around 1kg, we were blown away when holding a sleeping bag that felt like air. If this level becomes the norm and is able to be applied to larger capacity tents- the hiking/bike packing industry will take off on a massive scale, opening the opportunity to more and more consumers.
BACH Equipment
Tucked away in the corner of the large Scott Sports stand was BACH Equipment. The comparatively small Irish company was recently acquired by the sport giant Scott, hence their collaboration with the stand. However, when walking from the section ran by Scott to BACH’s area, the overall lay-out changed dramatically. Gone were the wood fascias and large prints of Scott’s setup, replaced instead by a paired back design. BACH had decided to hang their packs in frames surrounded by light. Like art in a gallery, these packs were being proudly displayed for all to see. We loved the minimal yet effective display paired with equally minimal yet effective products.
Mammut Sports
The Swiss company’s stand was located in one of the showrooms in the upper floors of the arena. However, walking into it felt more like stepping into a flagship high-street store with carefully curated product lines and incredibly satisfying colour combinations. The use of bright accent colours alongside neutral monotones and semi-transparent fabrics was just awesome! Apart from the obvious innovations that Mammut have contributed to the mountaineering and trekking industries, the team did a great job at showing off the companies new exciting products. We love a colour coordinated store.
Vaude
Vaude position themselves as innovators in the sustainable outdoor gear market and that was certainly evident from the products they had on display at OutDoor. In the centre of their backpack display hung one of the most interesting products we found at the show. Aptly named the Novum 3D, this backpack is a ‘monomaterial’ product, using only TPU in it’s construction. With 3D printed ’suspension system’ back panels and raw-cut straps, this pack definitely stood out for Vaude’s other offerings. We’re super excited to see were they take this project and how they implement this technology into their other products.
Osprey
Our day at OutDoor wouldn’t be complete without dropping in on friends/clients at Osprey to see what exciting things they’ve got in the pipeline. Notably the newly realised Talon Earth Backpack with BlueSign approval. The company’s first step in improving the sustainability of their product line and moving to a greater range of BlueSign approved products in the future. Also on show was the yet-to-be realised Mutant Nimsdai 90 backpack signed by the 14 Peaks legend Nirmal ’Nims’ Purge MBE, alongside the company’s Aether Pro 70 backpack (great name choice) signed by Nims himself.
Overall, a great trip organised completely by Aetha. All we had to was find the correct terminal. Super grateful for the opportunity provided by the team and found the ISPO a great source of inspiration— we’re pumped to get back into the studio designing and building again!