PINEVIEW RESERVOIR - Outdoor enthusiasts who look for trends would not have to walk any further than two displays near the entrance to Wednesday's Open Air Demo that launched the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show.

There were several lightweight camping and cargo-hauling trailers on display designed to allow smaller vehicles to tote kayaks, tents, bicycles and outdoor gear without losing much gas mileage.

"You want to do more with your vehicle and do it lighter," said Terry Hanrahan of Truck-Bedz, a company that manufactures air mattresses designed to fit snugly into pickup beds.

That could easily sum up the purpose of lightweight trailers such as the Topo Cross Over Tent Trailer, the Rack and Roll cargo hauling trailer and the Sylvan Sport Go trailer displayed at the edge of Pineview Reservoir.

Rick Klug showed off the Topo Cross, a tent trailer weighing 500 pounds that could be towed by almost any vehicle. It includes a tent with two bedrooms, beds off the ground, a kitchen sink and stove.

John Koch of Rack and Roll said that such trailers mark the birth of a product category at Outdoor Retailer, where roof racks that create drag and hurt gas mileage are replaced by extremely lightweight trailers. The latter can carry up to six kayaks, bicycles or luggage racks and can be pulled behind nearly any vehicle.

The Open Air Demo continues today with the Wasatch Whitewater Chute-Out on the Ogden River, about 3 miles below the Pineview Dam. According to Outdoor Retailer's Lee Hart, a release of water from the reservoir will increase the river's flow from 250 cubic feet per second to 500 cubic feet per second.

A competition will be staged from 10 a.m. to noon featuring pros and retail dealers testing many of the kayaks on display at the show. The public then will be allowed to take advantage of the higher flows or watch the event, with the best viewing from Rainbow Gardens to the Eccles Dinosaur Park, near the mouth of the canyon.

This is the second year the demonstration event has been staged at Pineview, something that Ogden Convention and Visitors Bureau officials hope will demonstrate the city's commitment to be a full-fledged outdoor town.

"This provides great exposure to Ogden," said Rick Koski, director of sales for the Ogden visitors bureau.

After the demonstration days, the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, which is one of the biggest conventions of the year in Utah, moves to the Salt Palace Convention Center Friday through Monday. For the first time, the event also will spill over to the Energy Solutions Arena foyer.

The not-open-to-the-public event is expected to draw more than 20,000 manufacturers, retailers and suppliers to Salt Lake. Manufacturers show off their latest products to buyers from retail outlets around the world who will be trying to figure out what customers will buy in coming months.

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* TOM WHARTON can be contacted at wharton@sltrib.com. His phone number is 801-257-8909. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com.