The Rock Fight: Outdoor Industry & Adventure Sports Commentary
The Rock Fight: Outdoor Industry & Adventure Sports Commentary

The Rock Fight: Outdoor Industry & Adventure Sports Commentary

Colin True - outdoor industry journalist

Overview
Episodes

Details

The Rock Fight – not just another outdoor or adventure podcast; it's a full on rebellion. We’re here for those inside and outside the outdoor industry. Outdoorsy listeners who are tired of the same worn-out paths. If you want to hear honest discussions that mirror the candid outdoor industry banter you have after a long hike in the wilderness, cracking the cooler while loading the bikes, sharing the ski lift with a stranger, waxing your board at the beach, jumping off rocks into the river, or over a beer at the bar...you've found your tribe. The Rock Fight will dissect the latest headlines to come out of the outdoor industry. We'll weigh in on topics other outdoor media companies avoid like the plague. We'll also hit the things outdoorsy folks care about like pop culture, gear, footwear, apparel and even more important topics like debating the ideal attire for an adventure on the ice planet of Hoth. Our discussions are as diverse as they are real. We’re challenging the conventional, offering a fresh perspective on outdoor industry topics you won't hear anywhere else. The outdoor industry has been stagnant for too long. Missing out on The Rock Fight is missing out on the evolution of outdoor media.

Recent Episodes

The Norda Hype Is Real, TNF's Latest Collab Sells Out & The Camp Stove Power Ranking
MAR 19, 2025
The Norda Hype Is Real, TNF's Latest Collab Sells Out & The Camp Stove Power Ranking

Today on the show Justin Housman has the week off so Colin welcomes Shawnté Salabert as to the co-host chair! Together they run through some of the topics that have come out of the outdoor community over the past week.

  • First up, The North Face has yet another collaboration with a fashion brand that has (almost) sold out! There has probably been too much TNF chatter around here the past few weeks, but this collection is super cool. (05:05)
  • Jetboil has a new version of it's iconic stove out so Colin asks accomplished backpacker Shawnté to power rank the top 5 camp stoves ever! (13:25)
  • The Everest pregame is on! News has started to come out of Everest basecamp including this story about how the famed Everest Ice Doctors will use drones to help map this year's route through the Khumbu icefall. (24:00)
  • It's time for The Parting Shot! Colin is over the moon with his new pair of Norda's while Shawnté finds similarities between her recent experience at SXSW and the old days of Outdoor Retailer (33:46)

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].

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45 MIN
The State Of The Outdoor Economy Plus: Stio Launches Footwear
MAR 17, 2025
The State Of The Outdoor Economy Plus: Stio Launches Footwear

Today on the show Colin is joined by Producer Dave and Outdoor Industry Insider Eoin Comerford to take a look a bigger look at the outdoor industry.

Optimism was high at the end of 2024 that the outdoor industry was due for a come back year. Inventory issues had improved and open to buy was increasing. But with the end of the first quarter just a couple of weeks away things have fallen off of a cliff. We take a look at what happened and what to expect. (07:25)

Then the crew turns their attention to a new backpack by Yeti (that looks an awful lot like something made by Mystery Ranch) and the recent news that two outdoor parent companies Solo Brands & Pelican International are experiencing financial distress. Is this related to the other issues the industry is experiencing? We take a deeper look. (24:59)

Lastly for The Parting Shot Colin looks at the new footwear collection launched by Stio. Will Stio's Mahomes like luck continue? (43:08)

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].

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53 MIN
The Letter That Rocked Outside & Going Inside The North Face's New Strategy
MAR 14, 2025
The Letter That Rocked Outside & Going Inside The North Face's New Strategy

Today Colin opens the show by giving his thoughts on the big outdoor story of the week: The letter that was sent to Outside, Inc CEO Robin Thurston from more than 30 notable journalists making the request to have their names removed from Outside's masthead.

Then outdoor industry insider and consigliere to The Rock Fight, Eoin Comerford joins Colin to run through what he learned from The North Face's presentation at VF's recent Investor Day.

Lastly for The Parting Shot, Eoin highlights two brands from his Founder's Friday series on LinkedIn.

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].

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52 MIN
NEMO's PFAS Free Tent & The Listeners Weigh In On The Value Of Sponsored Athletes
MAR 12, 2025
NEMO's PFAS Free Tent & The Listeners Weigh In On The Value Of Sponsored Athletes

Today Colin & Justin hit the following topics to come out of the outdoor adventure community!

  • Several brands put out new product press releases over the past week including Mountain Hardwear, Tifosi, and NEMO. Colin & Justin give their thoughts on each of these but save most of their commentary for the NEMO Dagger OSMO that is bluesign certified and PFAS free.
  • They read responses they received to last weeks question they posed to The Rock Fight listeners about the value athletes offer to outdoor brands in 2025. This week's question? What is your favorite outdoor sock brand and why?
  • For The Parting Shot, a recent crazy outdoor story prompts Colin to wonder why we don't get action movies featuring action sports anymore. And Justin would like you to know what you're ordering before you get to the counter.

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].

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44 MIN
The Rock Fight's Top 5 Outdoor Accessory Brands!
MAR 10, 2025
The Rock Fight's Top 5 Outdoor Accessory Brands!

Today the hosts, writers and consigliere's of the Rock Fight universe gather to once again rank the top outdoor brands... only this time it's all about accessories.

They've ranked footwear and they've ranked gear and today the Outdoor Media Avengers are assembling to do the same for accessories. Only for this round we don't have our own version of Thor as Producer Dave couldn't join the show.

In his place is the latest addition to the team, acclaimed author and outdoor journalist, Shawnté Salabert!

Shawnté joins Colin, Justin Housman, and Eoin Comerford to do the impossible and whittle down the hundreds of outdoor accessory brands and name the top 5.

Will our heroes pull it off? You have to listen to find out!

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].

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60 MIN