Every year we do an assessment of the “vibe” at the International Fly Tackle Dealer show. Here’s what we think about this, the final installment of IFTD being attached to ICAST in Orlando:
The fly show is smaller. Fewer attendees, and fewer exhibitors. I think everyone is already checked out of Orlando and pointed toward Denver.
It’s well-organized, well run, and on the money. Our hats are off to Ben Bulis and the crew at AFFTA for a job well done, in the face of very long odds. (Denver is already over 50 percent sold out).
The new product offering is the leanest it’s been in at least 10 years, in our opinions. That is not to say that there aren’t some haymakers out there. It’s just that the field is very light. A lot of companies so much as admitted that they’re loading up for next year, and last year saw the power brands come out with some strong stuff. I think of it like there are fewer horses in this race but that doesn’t detract from the quality of the horses that are racing in a smaller field.
We talked yesterday about the Patagonia/Danner boot collaboration, which we think is one of the most noteworthy product news bits, because it’s literally going to change how dealers sell wading boots, and how consumers go about buying wading boots. Below are a few more products that flipped our switches today.
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Need to come check out booth 4013 for new product.