Click to listen on your favorite podast app! Today on The Rock Fight, Colin, Eoin Comerford, and Producer Dave hit the show floor at GOA Connect and explore their favorite brands and products from the Discovery Marketplace. From coolers to chef-designed backpacking meals (and at least one trail running brand) these are the most exciting things they saw at the outdoor industry's most consequential event. Rugged Road:   A foam-first, ultra-light cooler that floats upright . VSS

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Today on The Rock Fight, Colin and Eoin Comerford sit down at the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance Connect show with Alex Lauver, the former Director of Materials & Sustainability at Outdoor Research, now leading Douglas Strategies LLC, a consultancy focused on impact reduction and supply-chain transparency. They unpack the state of PFAS (“forever chemicals”). Once the outdoor industry’s biggest story, now quietly complicated by regula

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! This week on The Rock Fight , Colin, Eoin, and Producer Dave break down a packed slate of outdoor industry headlines, from financial shakeups to listener drama. On the docket! VF’s Up-and-Down Quarter:  North Face & Timberland steady the ship while Vans still struggles. HOKA’s Plateau:  Deckers cools expectations as HOKA’s U.S. sales flatten but international growth keeps soaring. Is the bubble finally bursting or just shifting? M

Click here to listen on your favorite podcast app! Today on The Rock Fight , Colin, Eoin Comerford, and Producer Dave put three buzzworthy trail running brands to the test in the first-ever America’s Next Top Trail Running Brand  showdown. Focusing on Brand Position, Retail Appeal, and wear test performance, the trio have a look at Speedland , Norda , and Mount to Coast  to crown one who will move on to the next round (provided there will be a next round). But before the big

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! The Brief is back! Today on The Rock Fight Colin and Producer Dave break down Mammut’s Mountain Wear Rescue   campaign. They’re joined by Mammut’s Chief Marketing Officer Nic Brandenberger , who shares the inside story of how the campaign came together, from the insight that “8 out of 10 jackets never see a mountain”  to the decision to embrace humor. Episode Topics: How Mammut’s team turned an internal truth into creative gold Th

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Today on The Rock Fight, Colin, Eoin, and Producer Dave return with Outdoor Industry Buy or Sell as they name what’s hot (and what’s not). Here's the rundown! Rough Q4 on the way? Multiple reports this past week paint a less than rosy picture for the end of the year. (06:44) A new survey names what is trending with teens. Spoiler: it's not Puffin Drinkwear. (12:17) The Rock Fight Lightning Round! Rutabaga changes course, Runnin' a

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Today on The Rock Fight, Colin is joined by Shawnté Salabert to break down her trip to Title Nine’s Pitchfest 2025, where women founders are reshaping the outdoor industry from the ground up. Since 1989, Title Nine and its founder Missy Park have been putting money behind women-led brands; more than $1.7 million in Pitchfest investments and $72 million in total purchasing power. Shawnté attended this year's edition and shares what

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert  and producer Colin True  tackle the full spectrum of outdoor awkwardness: from trailside wildlife encounters to underwear performance reviews and the ethics of inflatable flamingos. Episode 8 manages to slither, shimmy, and splash through a set of questions that perfectly capture the mix of humor and hard-earned wisdom that makes Gear Abby  such a must-listen. Pre-Questio

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app!  Introducing The Rock Fight Deep Dive! A new series where we team up with a partner for a deeper look at an outdoor industry topic. Today Colin takes an unfiltered look at the state of fabric innovation in the outdoor industry by heading to the Functional Fabric Fair in Portland, Oregon. Prompted by a listener letter asking whether the industry’s obsession with lifestyle over performance has killed innovation, Colin hits the trad

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Today on The Rock Fight , Colin, Eoin, and Producer Dave tackle a chaotic week for outdoor retail, from store closures to corporate pivots and questionable marketing moves! On the docket! REI shutters its SoHo and Boston stores: Both shops are unionized, sparking speculation about whether this is cost-cutting, anti-union, or just part of the Peak 28  overhaul. (03:55) Orvis blames tariffs for closing 36 stores: Are we sure it isn

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app!  Today on The Rock Fight, Colin digs into the question: what the hell is an “emerging...

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! On this episode of Gear Abby , Shawnté Salabert juggles listener backlash, bear safety,...

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Today on The Rock Fight , Colin,   Eoin Comerford , and Producer Dave  tackle a packed week...

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app!  In this instant reaction episode of The Rock Fight , Colin  and Eoin Comerford  break...

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! On Episode 6 of Gear Abby , Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True dive into another set...

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Today on The Rock Fight , Colin and Producer Dave break down the latest headlines in the...

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Could Outdoor Economy Conferences  be the future of industry gatherings? Today on The Rock...

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! On this episode of Gear Abby , Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True fielded listener...

Can time in the mountains make you a better person? I think about this question often. My time in wild places—on peaks, in the beautiful...

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Welcome to Open Container, where today we're discussing one of the defining features of the...