Every summer at the OutDoor Friedrichshafen show in Germany — the largest outdoor industry trade show for Europe and really the global market — brands hope to take away one of the shows coveted OutDoor Industry Award recognitions. The OutDoor Industry Award is one of the highest design prizes available to companies in the outdoor industry.
Awards go to products and technologies that indicate a possible new trend and demonstrate a high degree of innovation and design quality. Among those 35 awarded were seven gold awards this year for exceptionally outstanding products. This year the panel of judges reviewed 361 products. “The OutDoor Industry Award honors innovative products that represent an exceptional achievement. They have the potential to become future trendsetters in the outdoor industry. Among these OutDoor Industry Award winners are products that set new benchmarks for the entire industry. These products are the gold award winners,” said Stefan Reisinger, Head of OutDoor. The OutDoor Industry Award is held by Messe Friedrichshafen this year for the first time in association with the German Designer Club (DDC).
In addition to the new Arc’teryx Alpha² FL Men´s, the Salewa Speed Ascent also won a Gold Award for footwear innovation. Salewa is based in South Tyrol, Italy, and while many people in the U.S. are still learning about the brand, globally they have been a footwear leader for a very long time.
“For the second year in a row, Salewa has won three awards at the same time from the leading European outdoor trade fair. With the additional launch of a new logo, these awards are even more important to us because they emphasize our strong drive for brand renewal and leadership in innovation. I’m particularly pleased that in addition to two innovation awards, we also won in the area of sustainability,” said Heiner Oberrauch, president of the Salewa-Oberalp Group.
The fast-hike Salewa Speed Ascent features “Take-Off Technology,” a pre-cambered position for the toes, in addition to Vibram’s “Rolling Gait System,” a rocker-shaped sole for quicker, more effective acceleration. The shoe also features a double-row lacing system and an overlapping tongue system for superior support, fit and function.
