Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True cover everything from satellite rescue tech to swamp paddling and the mysterious building atop Mount Whitney. It’s a classic Gear Abby mix of practical advice and outdoor lore complete with gator safety tips and a surprisingly deep dive into early mountaintop science. Pre-Question: Is Trail Running a Sport (Again)? Before diving into listener questi

Tired of the PR spin and LinkedIn platitudes? Outdoor Unfiltered  is a new podcast hosted by industry veteran Eoin Comerford that digs into what’s actually  driving the outdoor business. In this trailer, Eoin lays out the mission: honest conversations with insiders and experts about the forces shaping the industry — from innovation and branding to affordability, sustainability, and the real stories behind the headlines. If you want to understand where the outdoor industry is

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby , Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True celebrate a quarter-century milestone (25 episodes!) the only way they know how: by discussing sex science, ultralight gear controversies, Mount Baldy rescues, heel-lock lacing techniques, and whether America should just let natural selection handle national park safety. It’s chaotic. It’s thoughtful. It’s deeply on-brand. Pre-Question: Enlightened Equip

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True kick things off with rattlesnake etiquette, ancient mega-kangaroos, and Olympic “aerodynamics” scandals before diving into three very real listener dilemmas. It’s equal parts cranky industry hot takes, heartfelt life advice, and hydration-gear redemption arcs. Question 1: Has Trail Running Lost Its Cool? A mysterious (definitely-not-Colin) listener

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True cover an unusually wide emotional elevation range from grief, rage, and civic responsibility to full-tilt poop chaos and climber beef. It’s an episode that proves Gear Abby can hold space for both the heavy stuff and  the deeply awkward realities of spending time outdoors. What follows is a conversation about who gets to feel safe outside, what we o

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In this episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True take on listener questions that span the deeply practical, the unexpectedly philosophical, and the proudly awkward. From the future of brick-and-mortar outdoor retail to murder mysteries in wild places this episode is a reminder that the outdoors isn’t just about gear and destinations, but about how we relate to the systems, stories, and bodies we bring a

This is it; the final episode of The Rock Fight . In one last, wide-ranging conversation, Colin True, Eoin Comerford, and Producer Dave take a final look at the outdoor industry they’ve spent three years questioning, criticizing, and celebrating. From the state of outdoor media and the resilience of specialty retail to brand sameness, authenticity, and the growing influence of algorithms and AI, this episode serves as a candid closing argument for why curiosity and critical t

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the penultimate episode of the podcast, Colin True explains why it’s time to bring The Rock Fight  to a close and why ending things at their peak feels like the right call. Drawing parallels to sports dynasties, iconic artists, and cultural moments that knew when to walk away, Colin reflects on the three year run of the show, what it became for the outdoor industry, and the realities of podcasting, media, money, and burnout in

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True dive headfirst into some of the biggest questions lurking beneath modern outdoor culture: how ethical gear really is, whether extreme landscapes like Death Valley are misunderstood, and if quilts can truly replace traditional sleeping bags. Along the way, the episode delivers practical advice, reality checks, and the kind of gear nerdery listeners h

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Today on The Rock Fight Colin, Eoin Comerford and Producer Dave talk about some recent headlines to come out of the outdoor industry including recent comments made by some of the industry's more notable CEO's. For the Lightning Round they do quick hits on J Crew, JD Sports, and OR's new athlete team. Then they unpack the launch of Stoke Footwear , a running-inspired shoe brand built for “real American men” that’s already landed in

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In this episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True tackle three listener questions that sit right at the intersection of aspiration and anxiety: fueling a thru-hike, learning a notoriously expensive winter sport without going broke, and finding real support for runners with larger chests. Along the way, the conversation veers into enchilada fantasies, mountain-town economics, and the surprisingly complex

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! This week on  The Rock Fight , the crew digs into a round of reactions to some of the latest headlines to emerge from the outdoor industry! From Fleet Feet’s growing footprint, to the maturation of the hydration category and what it means for brands like Hydro Flask and YETI, the conversation spans retail scale, category fatigue, and where real opportunity still exists. The episode also explores why more brands are opening their o

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In this episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True kick off the year by easing back into listener questions with a mix of thoughtful ethics, practical physiology, and a healthy dose of bureaucratic reality. What starts with reflections on winter safety and outdoor education quickly turns into a wide-ranging conversation about fires, fluids, permits, and the fine line between optimism and logistical hell.

Click here to listen on your favorite podcast app! Today on The Rock Fight Colin and Producer Dave help break down Eoin's ten predictions for the outdoor industry in 2026! From tariffs and retail shakeups to REI’s membership future, used gear going mainstream, peak trail running culture, and AI becoming your next gear buddy. Then for The Parting Shot presented by Garage Grown Gear, Colin calls out Timberland’s latest boot , using it as a case study in what happens when legacy

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In this special end-of-year episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True ditch listener mail in favor of interrogating each other. The result is a wide-ranging, deeply nerdy, and occasionally unhinged conversation that blends wildlife biology, outdoor industry reflection, and a full-blown gear-of-the-year showdown. Equal parts reflective and ridiculous, the episode feels like a campfire conversation where t

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In this special episode, Colin, Owen, Shawnté, and Producer Dave hand out the 2025 Rock Fight Awards , recognizing the outdoor industry’s biggest wins, painful missteps, strangest products, and standout brands and individuals of the year. From trail running’s continued dominance to zombie brands, WTF products, creative breakthroughs, and a few well-earned shots across the bow, this is a no-filter temperature check on where the out

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True tackle some of the most quietly judgmental corners of outdoor culture—those moments where people wonder if they’re doing the outdoors “right,” hoarding too much gear, or willingly subjecting themselves to freezing misery for a good cause. The result is an episode that dismantles outdoor status games, celebrates thoughtful decluttering, and offers a

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Today on The Rock Fight , the crew runs a temperature check on the outdoor industry national trade show scene! From fragmentation to event fatigue, Colin, Eoin Comerford, and Producer Dave break down whether outdoor still needs a single “north star” gathering; and who should be responsible for making it happen. But first they hit a rapid-fire six-pack of industry stories, including: ANTA’s push into the U.S. market Arc’teryx livin

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby, host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True take on some of the most gloriously niche problems an outdoor brain can produce: climbing chalk ethics, poncho pride, and the logistics of dropping a deuce when everything is frozen solid. “The Great Chalk Debate, Poncho Town & The Snow Poop Protocol” leans hard into the mix of humor, gear-nerdery, and real talk that’s become the show’s trademark. Qu

Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In this episode, Colin, Shawnté, Eoin, and Producer Dave deliver their on-the-ground, end-of-show  breakdown of The Running Event  and Switchback 2025  — recorded moments after the TRE Retailer Awards wrapped in San Antonio. The crew dig into what worked, what surprised them, and what the outdoor industry should take away from a trade show that knows exactly what it is . On The Docket! The TRE Retailer Awards: Emotion, community &