Hi all.

I'm headed to the SHOT show tonight. Its my first time going to this show.

I'm aware that Doug, Blast et al are going to have a separate SHOT show reporting thread that will be locked. I've talked to them about this and I'm not going to get on their bandwagon.

If you would like an update on a certain booth or manufacturer, please let me know and reply on this thread. Some of the stuff I post may be as much to get YOUR opinion instead of just to express MY opinion. This way, maybe we can all get more out of the show...

I am very familiar with going to trade shows, having been to many different ones both in Vegas and elsewhere, and so I am an not a noob.

Blast has warned me that picture taking in the show is not allowed.. However, I will have access to promotional materials which I can take pictures of outside the show of any samples that I might receive/purchase, or, of any product data sheets that are handed out as a result of the new products. And of course I may get permission to take pictures at some booths. So I'm optomistic, is the point...

I will check/update this post by responding via email while walking around during the show.

Thanks...

Lucky son of a gun. Have fun and tell us everything.

List of Exhibitors
I thought people might want to know who'll be showing their wares.
-Blast

Clark,while i'm not going to tell you to take your camera....take your camera. I have only been to the show here in Florida and that seems to be a rule that is substantially ignored. Seems like most people there have a camera and are taking pictures of everything. After your first day there with no camera you can see for yourself if the policy is enforced. And then decide if you want to shoot a few pictures.

Enjoy the show(:

You know that spyderco knife that I had on my keychain? Well darn. I forgot about that.

Anyway through security. Blast looks really out of place on the plane. But if it crashes and we survive the crash, I know we'll be fine...

Ray,

I'm sure you are right. I brought one that is very small just in case.

Someone just commented on blast's attire. Did I say he looked out of place?

Lowrance sent this, im looking forward to seeing their booth...

(snippet)
With StructureScan, you can quickly sweep large bodies of murky or turbulant water and often view 30ft, 50ft or more to either side of the boat. Down and side imaging provides superior resolution for accurate identification and the backtrack feature allows you to scroll back on the screen and mark a waypoint exactly on an object so divers go directly to it.

You are invited to the Lowrance Booth,

Thanks for the offer. Be good to see reviews that aren't of knives.
qjs

I'm at the show now. At 8:30 the new product center opens. I figure that will be a good place to start. I'm here as a buyer, Blast is here for ETS. It will be interesting to see how our reception differs. At the press room right now, hope to say hi to Doug.

Went thru the new product center. New stuff from stream light. Long term sandwiches from bridgford (rte sandwiches). very interested in the mtn house fajita kits, that was cool. Leather man sidekick and wingman.

Swung by the adventure medical kit booth. Nice guys. Like the core lite and the new bottle idea. Similar to the survival bandanna but on a water bottle. Nice spin.

Being a backpacker, the wet fire fuel from ultimate survival technologies looks like a must have... Especially how you can just pick it up in your hand to put it out, and carry it for later... Good stuff...

Team Wendy is giving out free beer. Heineken at that.

Met one of the crkt designers, that was very interesting. Most of the manufacturers have really low dealer requirements (except crkt), which really bothers me. I came to the show expecting to have to make some serious commitments but that hasn't been the case. I've made some good connections, but haven't had what I felt was a major score yet.

I was told to expect a lot of swag but we havent seen that. Nor do we see anyone else carrying out a lot of freebies. That's not why you come here but it used to be more common.

The goal zero group had some nice solar stuff. And bashed brunton quite a bit. Still came up short when asked about the construction of their items. Show special is 50% off with them.

Actually a lot of brands have deals going. Ka-bar, crkt, and and more let you just buy stock off the counter.

As a tip, if you are ever going to the shot show, go on Thursday or Friday. I am here tues weds but as the show unwinds it sounds like it gets better.was invited to a party by a flashlight distributor, in addition to the party stuff they said everyone gets 5 or 7 flashlights as parting gifts. I dunno, sounds like fun to me. They had all the brand names. But I'll be leaving tomorrow so it's out. So, parties on Thursday a lot of brands give/sell their stuff on Friday.

I live, you learn.

Izzy, My first impression on those was that they were not unique enough. I haven't been to the booth yet, maybe when I get them in hand I'll feel differently. And I'm really keen on leatherman stuff in general.


Oh and the new mountain house fajitias were really good. The chix salad left me cold. although, chix salad isn't really my thing.

Visited leatherman. The new items are low end, for entry level. Too bad.

Thanks for the tip Izzy. I appreciate it.

I hadn't seen the leatherman crunch before, it's a vise-grip style unit. I wouldn't buy it, but, there you are.

Ron hoods new mega knife, marketed thru buck knives, was surprisingly light. I loved it. I'd like to get on for myself.

Also great news, the buck distributor told me that spring assist is legal in texas as of last year. She is sending me the link to the legislation. I'll post it when I get it.

There was a lot of gun brands there, but bad news, I'm mostly interested in survival gear. I wad impressed by aimpoints sights and intro dealer program.

I thought the product that lets you skin a deer with your pickup truck was clever, although not innovative.

A story of preparedness.

So we're at this bar and they have this contest where the loudest side of the bar gets free shots. People start yelling and whistling but Blast pulls out some ultra survival whistle he carries and you can hear him over the whole din.

Although my ears hurt, we got the free shots.

----------

Yesterday we were able to scope out the entire floor, with the exception of the law enforcement side. We should be able to see most of what we are interested in today and be done. This is because we're skimming the firearms section. The most important part of the show might come next, where we spend longer wth certain manufacturers and designers at these parties, but the show floor doesn't need 4 days.

That is made of pure awesome.

It would be great if those at the SHOT show could check out the new HDS Systems "Rotary" flashlight.

http://hdssystems.com/?id=Edc&mType=Rotary

Thanks!

-john

John, There is no HDS systems in the directory. Are they there with a distributor? We will try to find it but it's not clear what booth they would be in.

Today I received a lot more samples of some cool stuff. It was mostly because I am there as a buyer. These were not new products for this show.

Minimums for new dealers were very low, to the point of being nonexistent, which actually bothered me.

The shot show iPhone app was practically useless. I recommend ignoring it and just using the paper map. Maybe it will be better next year.

The free wifi was overwhelmed. I used the IPads 3G for most of my needs.

I heard an exhibitor at multifunction tools complain that he didn't bring enough cash. He also lamented that they did not bring cases of product because people were asking to buy it.. A surprising number of exhibitors are selling their more expensive products at steep discounts during the show, which reminds me somewhat of IAAPA.

Im leaving the show now, I was able to accomplish my goals and feel it was worth attending. The shot show is large but is smaller than say, Computex Taiwan. I hope that you've enjoyed the posts. I forgot my ipad memory card adapter, which is why there are no pictures. Perhaps next year I will do a better job, as I know what to expect.

Yes. After a lot of digging, I found "Booth 4461", Springboard Engineering.

-john

John, I swung by the booth and talked to the sales rep about the flashlights. My review will be posted sometime on Sunday or Monday.

-Blast

Thanks man!

-john

Great reviews from Shot!

I’ve been following the fantastic reviews from Doug, Cliff, Blast and Alan in the Shot show review thread and just want to say great job and many thanks for bringing Shot to us.

Again, many thanks all!

There's plenty more to come. I have Gerber knives and gear, the rotary flashlight, some guns, Ron Hood's new knife, and a few other odds and ends. I just need to peel my wife and kids off me for a few hours so I can write them up!

For those who can't wait you can see the items here.
-Blast

Your smile is HUGE in those pics Blast! Looking forward to your reviews. Mike