Howler Brothers 2018 September Surf Expo Update

October arrived here in Florida with 90 degree weather.  So far this year we have missed the hurricanes that like to ravage the Sunshine State this time of the year. We still have over one month until the hurricane season ends so I have my fingers crossed. 

This past September 6th, 7th and 8th 2018 Surf Expo rolled out the red carpet for surf lifestyle brands, store owners, buyers and hordes of media. Yours truly was one the attendees. 

Surf Expo each year brings together old friends who remissness about times past and new found friends to talk about endless possibilities.  Since I started attending Surf Expo back in 2008, it has been a great experience.  I have cultivated a few Surf Expo friends like Howler Brothers.  I have been following and blogging about these crazy Texans for some time now. Because the Orange County Convention Center is home for the January and September Surf Expos and the July ICAST, the worlds largest sport fishing trade show, I get to visit with the Howler Brothers crew when they attend 3 times a year.  I can always depend on Mason Brent, one of the Howler Brothers founders, to be manning the booth. That's his picture within the picture above.  He is one crazy dude. 

Over the past years the Howler Brothers brand has expanded their product line to include more than just shirts, pants, hats and outerwear.  Their gear and accessories collections have really expanded.  You can now purchase from their website and their Texas store surfboards, Smith sunglasses, fly rods and a SUP  paddle.  There is no telling what is in store when they come to the 2019 January Surf Expo.  I can't wait.

So this month I really got jazzed up when I received my Howler Brothers email.  Right there in my email were the new Smith x Howler
sunglasses and snap-back hat.  Being a big fan of Smith Optics, the new Smith x Howler frames with their camo pattern rocked. I know these will sell out soon. If the sunglasses were not enough, the new Smith x Howler camo snap-back hat with the Smith x Howler logo was a perfect addition.  What a combination to wear on the slopes this winter or during your next fall and winter hiking or surf trip.

Also new for 2018 is the Howler Brothers Yellow Rose Collection. This collection was designed for the annual Austin Parks Foundation, Austin City Limits Festival. The Austin City Limits television series uses the festival to support the Austin Parks Foundation. The collection is sold on the Howler Brothers and the festival website and at the event.

This weekend and next weekend October 12th, 13th and 14th is the Austin City Limits Festival.  You can watch the festival on Red Bull TV.  So be sure to check out the festival as well as the Howler Brothers website. 

Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

Howler Brothers at 2018 ICAST

When  ever I go to ICAST or Surf Expo, I always stop by the Howler Brothers booth to say hello to Mason and the crew.  This year was  no exception.  This year I was surprised to see the Howler Mobile parked in their booth.  The entire Howler Brothers product line up is designed to be worn as everyday wear during the summer, spring, fall and winter.

Since I started attending ICAST and Surf Expo, I have never missed visiting their booth.  What I have missed is a trip to Austin, Texas to visit the Howler Bothers World Headquarters.  That is on my bucket list.  With summer in full swing, now might be the time to score some cool fall and winter clothes and jackets.  Howler Brothers are have a website sale going on right now. Be sure to check it out.

With Surf Expo just right around the corner in September, be sure to check back after September 10th for more news about the Howler Brothers. Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

FisheWear Women's Fly Fishing Apparel and Gear at 2018 ICAST

The 2018 ICAST is a gift that keeps on giving.  At this year's show I met a great bunch of women fly anglers at the FisheWear booth.  The story on how Linda Leary started FisheWear reads like a fairy tale story. From hatching the  idea to being an Orvis collaborator in about four years is very impressive.

The booth was a buzz as buyers were being introduced to the amazing, colorful line up of fly fishing apparel and gear.  If you like colors and crazy artwork, FisheWear is the brand for you.  One of the components of big trade shows like ICAST and Surf Expo that draws me in, are the dazzling arrays of graphic designs and artwork covering every square inch of the show floor space.  The FisheWear booth blended in perfectly.  All of their products are covered with multi-color designs.

Who does not love to wear color clothes, especially those designed for fly fishing or other types angling? 

So if you are in the market for some new fly fishing clothes or gear, or if you are refreshing your fly fishing gear and clothes, do not miss the opportunity to check out FisheWear.  You will not be disappointed.  So until the 2019 ICAST, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

2018 ICAST Slide Show

The goLock VENTURE Innovative Security System at 2018 ICAST

I purchased my first fishing kayak in 2004.  I have taken my kayak to kayak fishing locations and tournaments in North Carolina and Florida from Pensacola to Key West to Wilmington, NC and points in between.  All with my kayak cabled to the roof of my Honda CRV.  All of these trips involved spending the night in hotels. Each time I arrived at the hotel and parked, I tried to park close to the front door and under parking lot lights.  I did this to mitigate the risk of someone stealing my kayak from the roof of my car.  That was then and today is now.  There is a new product that was demonstrated at ICAST by the goLock Technology Inc. company, the goLock Venture locking system. 

The goLock Venture locking system, as it was explained at their booth by Steve Jones, the inventor, is an electronic cable locking system that protects your kayak or other equipment or fishing gear from theft two ways: 1) triggering an audible 95 decibel alarm at location where the locking system is being used and 2) sending you an alert to an application on your smart phone using cellular or Bluetooth technology.  The Venture cables come in 1/8" and 3/8" diameter and in 3, 7, 10 and 20 foot lengths.  Talking about reducing the anxiety of leaving your kayak cabled to the roof of your vehicle or a trailer over night. 

This new product certainly does the trick.  Steve showed me, at the booth, how the alarm will go off even when the alarm was tampered with not being breached.  I really liked the ability to be alerted in my hotel room when someone was messing with my kayak. Steve said that the Venture security system was great for cyclist who cable their bike to bike stands. If you use your imagination, you can come up with other ways to use the Venture with its different cable lengths.  So before you invest in a cable security system, you really need to check out the goLock Venture. The goLock Venture coming to a outdoor specialty retailer soon.

Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

2018 ICAST Is a Wrap

The 2018 ICAST trade show that is held annually at the Orlando Orange County Convention Center was another great success.   As with any large event like this many of the brand sales and marketing staff, who man the booths come and go. All my contacts from past years are now all gone.  A relationship like these enables media bloke like myself to get a different prospective on new products being present at the show. 

This year, with out any contacts, I had to sort of freelance the show trying to get the attention of booth staff.  Most of the time, unless you are a little pushy, which I am not, you cannot get the attention of booth sales and marketing staff. This is especially true at the major brand booths.  In addition, because booth staff are there to make sales, I never take up their time away from making sales.  This year as I walked the floor I spent my time with small brands where booth traffic was not as hectic as with major brands.  I did have one fun experience at the show.  Here is a little background on my fun.  About five years ago, when  one of my contacts gave me a fly rod to donate to the Jacksonville Kayak Classic, it was won by Jason Schall.

Jason is an amazing angler from Charleston, SC. He has caught over 600 different species of fish. Jason is a two time winner of the IGFA Chester H. Wolfe Outstanding Sportsmanship Award. He won in 2014 and 2018. Jason is also a member of sport fishing whose who. He is on the pro staff of many brands and spends his time promoting sport fishing. I always like to hook up with him at ICAST. Well this year as I walked the show floor after meeting him and his wife early on, I kept crossing his path all day long.  I was able to snap a few photos of Jason and Jennifer. Always fun to see Jason at ICAST.

ICAST is made up of one fishing tournament day, one demo day on the water behind the convention center and three show days. This makes ICAST a week long event.  In the past I always spent two days at the show. But this year I only s pent one day.  Even with one day it was a fun filled experience.  I will b e posting my show video and a few small brand articles to my blog over the next few weeks.

So until next year, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great out doors.

HydraPak Shows Support of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership at 2018 ICAST

The 2018 ICAST trade show lived up to the hype that this year's show would be better than ever.  Looks like the ICAST team hit the nail on the head.

When I walk the show floor, I am always looking for those brands that give back to the outdoor community.  HydraPak was one of those brands that caught my eye this year.

HydraPak has a long history of supporting outdoor causes.  This year at ICAST they teamed with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership to raise money for their mission of  "To guarantee all Americans quality places to hunt and fish".  At the HydraPak booth if you donated $5.00, they gave you a limited edition Stow Bottle.  I could not get my money out of my wallet fast enough.  I only regret that I did not donate more money to score a few more bottles.

 If you are not familiar with HydraPak products, they make complete lineup of hydration reservoirs, flexible bottles, soft flasks, and water storage containers in 2, 3, 4, and 8 liter sizes.  These water storage bags, bottles and containers are amazingly strong.  While at the booth I picked up on of the flasks full of water and asked about the strength. The HydraPak team member who was giving me the product lineup rundown quickly tossed the flask on the floor and stood up on it with one of her feet.  She looked to weight about 110 pounds. She said that because how the products are manufactured the neck is actually molded by heat to the flexible body.  All the HydraPak products can be used when hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, trail running and snowboarding and skiing.  She said you can freeze water and not worry about bottle breakage.

I started hiking and backpacking during the early 1970s (Age give-a-way).  I have hiked and backpacked in Alaska, Colorado, North and South Carolina.  During those days one used a aluminum or heavy plastic bottles or canteens.  It would have been great to have had a very light weight HydraPak bottle or flask. When the bottle or flask was emptied you just rolled it up and put it in your day pack or backpack until time to fill it up again. It takes up almost no space at all.

If you are interested in getting a few HydraPak reservoirs, flexible bottles, soft flasks, and water storage containers and you do not happen to have outdoor retailer in your neighborhood,  you can just visit their website.  REI and Amazon both carry Hydrpak products.

So until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.