PowerPanel is a solar charger from Primus that will be available in 2008. The PowerPanel will have four solar panels sewn into a fabric shell. The solar panels and the charger is connected via standard 12 volt cigarette lighter connector. The charger can fit AA or AAA batteries. The weigh of the solar panels are 470 gram and the charger 155 g.

via svetoutdooru.cz

From looking at the image of the EtaPower stove I think the burner looks alot like my old Primus Micro burner (Not the latest version) that weights 89g. The pot looks like my Primus LiTECH Trek Kettle that weights 255g. Some very simple math gives a total of 344g.

So if I were to switch to the new EtaPower Express I would gain a windscreen (something I already miss today), a heat exchanger that reduces the boil time with 1.5 minutes. Best of all I would only add 74g (The express weights 418g) to my packing, nice..

As reported before, Primus will be releasing a new lightweight variant of their EtaPower stove called Express. Now the nices guys over at Trail Gear Blog has uncovered some more info.

The stove will have a packed weight of 418g and a boil time of 2.5 minutes. It will be interesting to see this stove go head to head with the MSR Reactor and the JetBoil stoves.

via Trail Gear Blog

The OutDoor Industry Award was presented this afternoon at the OutDoor Trade Show in Friedrichhaven, Germany. This is the second year that the award is presented.

The Gold Award was presented to the “Madillo“ foldable climbing helmet from Edelrid. (A not so good image is available here, I will try to find a better one). The jury’s motivation is:

“This product is a 360-degree innovation. The entire product was newly thought out and therefore newly invented. Helmets used to be essentially just metal pots in one shape or another. This product is completely astonishing and displays just what makes a true consumer product – it’s a pot that folds up. Everyone immediately understands the problem that it solves. Brilliant!”

The six Silver Awards was awarded to the following:

“Big Turn Catch All” Fastener by Fidlock

“This is an unconventional and, in comparison to other fastener mechanisms, completely innovative idea. This fastener can be used in any number of situations, and the best thing is, it’s a magnetic system that provides a truly functional fastening action. The two key elements of a lock, the closing and opening functions, are solved here easily and cleanly.”

“R 320” Harness by Arc’teryx (I’m working on an image)

“This product changes the way we think about harnesses. Instead of an uncomfortable, often poorly designed belt, here you have an aesthetically pleasing design solution with perfect functionality. This belt is just as functional as a belt, but looks better and is also very comfortable. In the outdoor industry, function is usually everything, but this product breaks that trend, as it shows that good design and functionality can go together hand-in-hand.”

“ColdBlack” Treatment method for black textiles by Schoeller Textil

“The ‘product’ here is a special treatment technology for handling black fabrics. It ensures that black materials do not warm up too much under heat and expend heat in the cold. This means black textiles ‘work’ the same as normal white or light-colored fabrics. This a great functionality boost for the outdoor industry, as it means black materials can be used in a much wider range of applications.”

“Carbon Fyre” Trail running shoes by Timberland/Golite (Images available here)

“An innovative shoe consisting of a plastic-barbed sole, which prevents slipping on mountainsides. The look of the soles tells you immediately what the shoe is for. This is a unique solution. The entire show is also well-designed, with all parts coming together well.”

“Radikal” Mountaineering shoes by MILLET(I’m working on an image)

“The shoes impress with their successful mix of materials. All parts and materials come together well and look good. If you think of traditional mountaineering boots, and then see these light, well-designed shoes, which fulfill all expectations and replace the traditional leather with rubber and other modern materials, then it’s not only highly functional, but also a nice design.”

“Primus EtaPower MF” Outdoor multi-cooker by Primus

“This is a complete cooking set, whose low weight minimizes the total backpack load and also works extremely efficiently. Everything has been though of here. In this product you can find many small innovations that all come together to form a complete outdoor cooking solution. The result is a single backpack cooking system, that is not too technical to operate – you can hold the pot even when there’s warm water in it, etc. – and which fulfills one or more useful functions, such as the textile bag, which is used to carry the cooker, keep food warm, save fuel and you don’t burn your fingers. This makes the system very easy to operate; you can’t do anything wrong.”

The jury was made up of the following people:

• Stefan Engers
• David Fisher
• Thomas Lipke
• Thorsten Schwabe
• Fredrik Sträng (Fredrik’s homepage is here. Oh, and we come from the same hometown he and I)
• Graham Thompson (Graham’s blog is here)

I will try to update this post with more images.

Update 1: Added link to “Carbon Fyre” images
Update 2: Added more images

Next year Swedish outdoor gear manufacturer Primus will be releasing a Multi fuel version of their EtaPower stove, that will run on gas, benzine, petroleum and kerosone. The name of the multi fuel version will be “EtaPowerTM FM”.

There will also be a new product called “EtaPowerTM Trail”. This will be low priced set with a stove for 2-3 persons.

Finally there will be a small lightweight version called “EtaPowerTM Express” suitable for 1-2 persons.

I have noticed that alot of people are looking for information about Primus EtaPower stove, so I though that I would help out a bit and collect some links and videos.

But first some information from Primus local Swedish competitor Optimus, I spoke to one of their representives a few weeks back. He claimed that even though the EtaPower stove has a windshield and heat exchanger the burners in the Optimus Crux and Stella will require less fuel due to higher efficiancy. Since the Crux and Stella is lighter than the EtaPower, combining one of them with the pots from EtaPower should make a great pair… I don’t know what is true, but a test would be interesting.

Here are the links and videos

• First, the official Primus homepage (I cannot like directly to the product page because it’s made in Adobe Flash):
  Primus.se

• This is Primus product demo video of their stove:
  Primus Demo Video

• Jason Boyle has written a review of the stove that you can find here:
  BackpackGearTest.org

• British Podcast show The Outdoor Station has made interview with Primus representive Yorkim Gramik about the EtaPower stove (it’s a few minutes into the show):
  TheOutdoorStation.co.uk

• Swiss outdoor magazin Outdoor Guide has a short review of the EtaPower stove, is in German though:
  OutdoorGuide.ch

• Joel Johansson has written some short impressions of the stove at Swedish outdoor forum Utsidan.se, in Swedish though:
  Utsidan.se

• Below is a video from Backpacker Magazine displaying EtaPower stove:

• Trail magazine Technical Editor Graham Thompson gives a short display of the stove in the video below:

• The video below is a demonstration of the stove, in Swedish:

Primus is releasing a brand new stove for 2007, The Primus EtaPower. The basic idea behind the new stove is to reduce the overall weight, including gas, therefor it has a very good fuel efficency. Primus claims a 220-gram fuelcontainer will last 6 days for 2 persons (4,5-liter boiled water per day). Primus has done a calculation, comparing what you would have to carry during a 6 day hike, using three of their stoves:

• EtaPower EF Stove (including pot and 230g gas), total weight 1140 grams
• Gravity EF Stove (with LITECH pot and 450g gas), total weight 1352 grams
• ClassicTrail Stive (with stainless steel pot and 230g + 450g gas), total weight 1777 grams

The stoves burner is shaped like a disc, providing a low and stable stove and the built in burner is based on the Micron stove. A preheating coil gives the stove a low energy consumption and better winter characteristics. The EtaPower pots are equipped with a heat exchanger and are available in to sizes 2.1-liter and 1.7-liter. The kitchen is also equipped with a standard piezo ignition.

Micron Ti 2.5 is Primus new micro stove having a weight of only 69 grams

Primus is expanding their headlamp serie, introduced two years ago, with the PrimeLite CT and PrimeLite CA. They are based on the T-series but has the batteries in the lamphouse instead of a separte batteryholder.

Edit: Primus has given me som comments so I have updated the article. The Micron image has been replace and some text changes.