It’s a good year to be into gear! GearJunkie editors canvassed the Outdoor Market Alliance (OMA) in Lakewood, Colo., for 2 days. And while the biannual show has been going strong for years, we came away particularly impressed.
We each met with as many brands as we could and then sorted through our collective notes. The list below was whittled down from rounds of voting and debating during and after the show. Don’t worry, we will have more to share, but these products represent unanimous support as the Best Gear from OMA.
Best In Show: Outdoor Market Alliance Summer ’25
Thule OutPace Bike Rack
Bike racks solve one big problem, but can create another. While hauling bikes with your car unlocks adventures farther from home, a well-built rack can be a bear to lug around and store when it’s not on your hitch.
Thule tackles this issue with the OutPace 2-Bike Hitch Rack, launched this summer. Capable of holding up to 110 pounds total for the whole tray, the OutPace surprised the editors when it packed down to the size of a large suitcase that itself weighed just 29 pounds.
An articulating arm (one for each bike) secures the middle of the seat tube, and ratcheted straps secure each wheel. Plus, the OutPace’s design allows users to unload bikes in any order, meaning you can access the bike closest to the vehicle even when another bike is loaded.
The rack can tilt down for rear hatch access and fold up to facilitate parking. And when not in use, the rack fits in a trunk or closet when folded away.
As for price, the OutPace runs $600, putting it squarely in line with other two-bike hitch racks on the market.
Coast EAL 35R Voice-Controlled Lantern
Have you ever been cozy in a cot, storm raging outside, chatting with your tentmates as you get ready to sleep, when someone realizes the lantern is still on? There you are, drifting off to sleep, and you have to jolt yourself awake to stand up and switch off the light? Well, the outdoors just got its own version of the Clapper.
The Coast EAL 35R is the first voice-controlled camp lantern. Yes, it’s cool that you can turn it off, on, or change colors by simply speaking a few words. Better yet? It costs just $40 and offers red, warm, and white modes. It has a USB-C rechargeable battery, kicks out up to 1,000 lumens, and offers a 15-hour runtime on low.
We’ve tested Coast’s first voice-controlled headlamp and liked it. But in many ways, a voice-controlled lantern makes even more sense for those dark hours in camp in the fall and winter. It hits the market in October.
KUIU Waypoint 10000
Pack your bow with all your hunting gear. Yes, you heard that right. The KUIU Waypoint 10000 is a gigantic piece of luggage. With a 10,000 cubic-inch (161L) volume, it holds a vast amount of gear. But this isn’t your ordinary duffle bag.
The Waypoint 10000 has some highly specialized compartments built with the archery hunter in mind. Specifically, it has a removable, padded bow sleeve protected by a polycarbonate shell, a tent pocket, a tripod pocket, and a padded space for a spotting scope.
Why does all this matter? Because with the Waypoint 10000, a jet-setting bowhunter could pack all the gear for a trip into a single piece of luggage and eschew the traditional bow case.
GearJunkie hasn’t tested or seen this one in person yet, so we are still a little skeptical of packing an expensive and fragile piece of hunting gear into essentially a suitcase. But if it proves to be competent and protective, it could change the way we pack for hunts.
Daylight Computer
“Get off your phone!” We’ve all heard it — and probably said it — at some point. When we’re outdoors, the whole point is to be outdoors and not tethered to our devices.
But Daylight Computer created a novel, more nuanced solution to the device versus nature debate. What if a device could be less like an attention sinkhole and more like a sketchpad or journal, something that offers a creative outlet for our time outside without detracting from it?
Think of the Daylight Computer like a Kindle that can operate like an iPad, but emits no blue light. Blue light has been widely criticized for inducing eye fatigue and potentially disrupting circadian rhythms.
With zero backlight, the Daylight Computer DC-1 display looks a lot like actual paper. And with the included stylus, you can write on it like paper, too.
At night, dial up the backlight to view your screen in soft orange light, not unlike candlelight. Yes, you can watch YouTube and access almost any app. But it’s all monochromatic, and after a preliminary test, we found the allure of online media significantly less intoxicating.
According to the Daylight Computer team, that’s the idea: If the internet loses some of its appeal, users will be more likely to put down the device when they don’t actually need to be on it. The debut DC-1 tablet launched this summer and is now available for $729.
Coulée Coffee
Look out, K-cups. Your time may have come — at least if Coulée Coffee has anything to say about it.
You might wonder what an automated tabletop coffee machine was doing at an outdoor gear show. In addition to being a sustainable alternative to home and hotel single-serve coffee pods, Coulée Coffee doubles as a camp pour-over option.
While there is no shortage of convenient and sustainable outdoor coffee products out there, the GearJunkie staff hadn’t seen anything that could potentially topple the Keurig empire. The beauty of Coulée’s “UFO” pods — in addition to being fully compostable — is that they pair with the brand’s patented pour-over machine.
At first glance, the SWIRL machine looks like many other in-room coffee makers, except for a gooseneck spout and conspicuous semi-circle tray. A pod is placed in the tray, the brew button pressed, and the machine begins a single-cup brew cycle that includes pre-wetting and rotating the nozzle to agitate and fully wet the grounds. (Coffee snobs, rejoice!)
What’s more, the system allows coffee enthusiasts to use their own grounds if they choose. The result is a convenient home-to-trail coffee system that just might make a big dent in landfill-based coffee waste.
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