The 3D knitted balaclava features a fully automatic integrated heatable mouth area, passive visibility in the dark, four-way stretch and moisture and thermal management in a wool/ Lycra construction. The balaclava protects the head area not only from the cold and wind, but also warms the mouth’s cold breath before it reaches the bronchi and lungs, when running or skiing for example. 

With its fully automated 3D pre-shaping, waste in the manufacturing process is said to be under 1%. Judges commented on the balaclava: "This really is an innovation. The seamless construction is great - when we tried it on, the balaclava is really comfortable and the heating system around the mouth is a fine idea.”

The Outdoor Industry Awards are without doubt one of the most highly anticipated moments of the international OutDoor trade show, which ran from July 13-16, 2016. On the evening of day one of the show, the 37 winners received their OutDoor Industry Awards. From a field of 343 entries, products were chosen which demonstrated a high degree of innovation, design and sustainability. In addition, during the prize-giving ceremony eight exceptional products were additionally awarded an OutDoor Gold Award.

The OutDoor Industry Award prize-giving is always a major attraction at Lake Constance. Organisers say that as the leading international trade show’s design prize, the award is highly regarded by experts and beyond and that this applies in particular to products chosen to receive an OutDoor Gold Award.

While the OutDoor Award already recognises products that set themselves apart for their quality, design and sustainability, the Gold Award goes to new innovations that set industry benchmarks with exceptional concepts and redefine innovative performance. This year, eight outstanding products were selected.

Retailers, consumers and the media value the OutDoor Industry Award as a valuable independent source of information when there are so many new outdoor products on offer. It is the result of hard work by the independent panel of judges, who had no easy task to perform over the last few weeks: evaluating 343 entries in a two-stage judging process over a number of days.

The expert panel, which this year was composed of designers, apparel and equipment experts from retail and industry associations, journalists and alpinists, dealt critically and competently with the entered products. "The high level of expertise and experience that comes together for the OutDoor Industry Award judging process is completely unique. It was impressive to witness the in-depth nature of the judges’ discussions. There were differences in opinion and serious debate - which is a welcome part of the process. In the end though, the judges were able to reach a consensus and select the innovative products they saw as deserving winners of the award,” said OutDoor Project Manager Dirk Heidrich.

The OutDoor Industry Award is facilitated by the Deutscher Designer Club (DDC), who are now in their third year as partner to Messe Friedrichshafen and whose experts were on hand to actively support the evaluation process. "At first sight outdoor industry products might look slightly conservative, but take a closer look and you see the astonishing level of design and innovation,” said Michael Eibes, designer and DDC representative.

The other OutDoor Industry Gold Award winners were: Hyper 100 Jacket by Berghaus, Balaclava by Stoll, Transfer Wheelie Bag by Exped, Balance Crash Pad by Edelrid, Trail King SV by Therm-a-Rest, Cafflano Klassic by Beanscorp, Birnabag By Birnadal and GUPPY FRIEND by Langbrett

www.stoll.com