Overland Expo West 2021 Recap
Overland Expo West 2021: The Off Road Tents Team Experience
We had the chance to attend to the Overland Expo West this past weekend from the 24th to the 26th of September of 2021, in Flagstaff Arizona. Almost the whole Off Road Tents team made it there, but we had to leave a couple back home to keep the business going.
This year we didn’t have a stand or booth, but it was a great opportunity for all of us to roam around, meet with brands we already carry, meet customers and other passionate overlanders, as well as being able to explore new booths and learn as much as we could from new products and other businesses.
Were you able to go? If you did, tell us what booth and which products stood out the most for you in the comment section below.
As to us, well, we had a 3-day pass and it was totally worth it. Why? Simple, the place is pretty big and there’s a lot to see!
We got there around Friday at 2 pm, which was already a bit late all things considered.
I want to give a kudos to the organizers of the event, because we were able to just park our vehicle in the NAU (Northern Arizona University) campus and then a shuttle took us to the Fort Tuthill Park, and back to our parking lot.
Friday wasn’t as packed, so getting to the Expo and back was quite easy. On top of that, before we got on the shuttle, there were a few volunteers helping scanning QR codes to make sure your tickets were all good, and once at the event it was fairly quick to do the line, get the stamp or bracelet, and go in.
Organization for Saturday wasn’t as great, because it was packed. Too many people, and the shuttles weren’t enough. It happens, hopefully next year they’ll have more shuttles. We had to Uber our way there and back, but it was fine, as the park wasn’t far from the parking lots of the University.
That said, let’s jump into what matters: the Expo.
What Caught Our Eyes At The Overland Expo West 2021
In this short article, I’ll make a recap of what really caught the eye of the Off Road Tents staff at the Expo. Once again, this is not us grading or thinking one thing is better than the other, simply it’s the opinion of our team, and ourselves trying to give you a review of what we saw and learnt.
If you have any comments of your own, leave them below, we’d love to hear them!
iKamper Disco
Well, we knew iKamper was going to be showcasing a new product at the Expo, and it was the Disco. This great product is pretty much a portable outdoor cooking system, very lightweight, fairly compact, easy to set up and take down, but most importantly: allows you to cook many different types of foods in a clean and easy manner.
Similar to the Tembo Tusk, the Disco comes with a metal tripod base, it has different height options for you to set up. Basically, the three legs can be pulled out into different heights, and they keep their balance on any terrain really well thanks to the rubber feet.
Picture of the iKamper Disco
You can then attach the metal disc or plate on top. That plate is made of cast iron, the best in the market, and it can be very, very easily cleaned.
The iKamper Disco Cooking System also comes with a wooden board that can help to support drinks, food or cooking utensils, and a chain system to leave the plate hanging is you don’t want to heat it with a gas/propane flame.
It also includes a propane adaptor for one of the legs, and the top of the tripod works also as a tripod for cameras. Useful huh?
Certainly, a product that will make a splash in the market and help you and your friends or family cook delicious meals anywhere.
We also had a chance to check out the iKamper Skycamp 2.0 as well as the Skycamp Mini, which was on the truck bed of one of the vehicles owned by the YouTuber named Last Line Of Defense. And boy, that was one nice ride.
From left to right: Ignacio Roses, Karsten Koberg, Nathan Hendrix & Gianluca Boncompagni
Leitner Designs ACS Tonneau & Hydro Pod
We love Leitner Designs and their truck bed systems. The smart and innovative designs make a huge difference. This is perhaps one of my favorite, if not my favorite truck bed rack. Well, I hadn’t yet seen the ACS Tonneau as it’s quite new. Fortunately, our friends from Leitner had one on display on the back of a Toyota Tacoma.
For those who don’t know, the ACS Tonneau is an Active Cargo System which fits perfectly fine on the bed of a truck, allowing you at the same time to keep on it a retractable tonneau bed cover, such as the Retrax PowertraxPRO XR.
To make things even better, this truck bed rack was on a 5 feet truck bed of a Taco, with a Retrax retractable tonneau cover, and it had an FSR hardshell rooftop tent on top of it. Literally the whole combination.
We also had the chance to finally see the Hydro Pod, this is Leitner’s newest accessory. It basically is a water tank, with a pump to pressurize it, and a hose with a shower head, which allows you to carry on any of your ACS’s (Classic, Forged or Tonneau), a compact and useful water tank or “road shower”. Even call it truck bed shower if you may.
The HydroPOD Shower Kit also comes with an optional handle so you can detach it from the ACS and carry it around, or even use it on other vehicles. It’s fantastic, easy to use, and great design. It’ll make a big splash in the overlanding industry.
From left to right: Ignacio Roses, Karsten Koberg, Keith Munemitsu, Joe Cardenas & Gianluca Boncompagni
Trailers, Trailers and More Trailers
It’s hard for us or me or anyone to choose what trailer they like best. Darn, the Expo was full of off-road and military trailers and we loved it.
Right when we got in, the Tuff Stuff and Tribe Trailers booth was there. We had a long chat with Monica and Brett, which manage both companies. We had a chance to check all the Tuff Stuff hard shell tents, Alpha and Stealth, but more importantly: their trailers.
Love them. These are high quality and really well-equipped trailers that come at very reasonable prices.
From left to right: Gianluca Boncompagni, Monica Bonin, Ignacio Roses, Karsten Koberg
We then went over to the Turtleback Trailers booth. Nothing like a highly customized trailer that fits your needs.
Speaking of customized trailers, we also had a chance to speak with the Patriot Campers team, and they showed us all the different trailers they had at the event. Honestly, it was hard to pick between one or another. If I had the money, I’d go with a customized trailer, despite the long waiting time and price, but that’s my own opinion.
Anyways, if you’re into trailers, that’s the perfect place to go and checkout as many cool trailers as you can.
Mountain Hatch Cutting Boards
We had heard a lot of the buzz around the Mountain Hatch Cutting Boards, but hadn’t been able to actually look at one in person.
Well, at the Expo we could and plenty of those. Let me say: this is by far one of the most useful products out there. Just install one in the bed of your truck, and you’re ready to chop, cook and prepare food in your camping spot, at a tail gate or during any outdoors grill with friends and family.
It’ll literally take your cooking game to a completely new level. This will unlock your true “Overlanding Cooking Experience”, it’ll take your off road adventures to a tastier level.
Other Things That Stood Out:
Well, what else did we like about the Expo? Besides being able to look at new products such as the Sport Rack from Front Runner (you’ll love these), the Hitch Fire Grills for you to tailgate and cook anywhere you go, or the great amount of high quality roof top tents from Eezi-Awn, iKamper or James Baroud, we really, really liked the whole event.
Stealth Roof Top Tent by Eezi Awn
All the booths were organized, people behaved and the weather was simply great. Sure, we had to walk and walk, but nothing like a nice weekend chatting to people that have your same interests, and doing a bit of window shopping.
Top it all up with the “Oasis” section, which is where they serve food, drinks and have live music. We had a fantastic time over there, enjoying some good food, great craft beer and joyful music.
I have to say, the whole Off Road Tents team had a great Overland Expo West 2021. We had a great chance to bond with customers and enthusiasts, we shared nice in-depth conversations with customers as well as with the owners or representatives of brands we carry. It was enlightening.
Did you manage to go too? Tell us about your experience in the comment section!
Want to see more of the Overland Expo? Check our product review videos on our YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
