All you have to do is look around and see how many of us wear a caps and glasses together, and most of us have a story about a pair of glasses that got damaged or lost, or a hat that blew off on the river or while tearing across the water in a boat. With Xcaps patent pending extractable eyewear technology you no longer have to worry. They’ve put the functions of retractable eyewear holders into a high quality cap by using a sleek, concealed, high performance design. No cords that hang and get in the way, no Velcro tabs or buttonholes. Two very small custom made retractors (one on each side) are built into the band of the hat and located right behind the ears. Each retractor has a universal eyeglass attachment affixed to the end, you can’t see or feel the retractors, not even when you are wearing your hat, the only thing visible is the eyeglass attachment. Now, if they could just build in a zinger that would hold a beer can..

Some of the more interesting gear we saw at the show came from the 2007 line-up from William Joseph. These guys showcased 10 new products at Denver. Willy J have totally redesigned their entire line using new super light weight high performance fabrics, new technology and a number of totally new designs which they believe “will change everything” Their new “Hypervent System” features in every product that touches your body and allows cool air to freely pass between you and your equipment. You’ll be seeing some very clever and innovative chest packs and bags from these guys in ‘07

We were particularly impressed with WJ’s Dry-Namic waders which take a new approach to seams, taping them both inside and out. The front (and back) pockets on the upper are stretchable, welded soft shell. And cleverest of all they’ve worked out that waders tend to wear at the seams, the inside seams, and to that end have moved the seam away from the inside leg – there’s thinkin’ for ya. The Dry-Namic waders feature a five layer breathable membrane and a particularly clever boot with a hyperlon sole. What the hell is hyperlon we hear you ask? We have no idea, but apparently it guarantees that you won’t get any compression leaks in your soles – which can be a feature of standard neoprene. Over the next few months we’ll be putting a pair of Dry- Namics through their paces and will get back to you with a field report, so stay tuned. And there's Willy J president Bill Crawley with his favourite piece of gear for ’07 – The Exodus Pack.

The fishing’s hot and you’ve spent a couple of weeks fishing hard, your boots and waders haven’t had a chance to dry out and are now starting to smell like a Russian fishing trawler – sound familiar? It’s Dry Guy to the rescue! - Producing an amazing range of clever things designed to dry wet boots and waders – you’ll be back in action and smelling of roses in no time. More importantly, properly dried gear will last longer and reduce the risk of fungus, bacteria and infection. Dry Guy even make 12v dryers that plug into your vehicles cigarette lighter so you can get some of that warm dry goodness while you’re on the road.
The Dry Guy website is one of the better ones we've seen, check it out.

Ralf Vosseler has been at it again and has produced a bouncing new baby daughter to prove it! He’s also managed to produce a new midge head for the sexy Vosseler vice. The new head is designed to hold flys from size 20 down and is an excellent complement for the larger head that the vice originally came equipped with. This was Vosselers first time at the Denver show and their range of rock solid, reasonably priced fly reels caused quite a stir. We’re looking forward to reviewing the new midge head in an upcoming issue. Congratulations Ralf!

Just when you thought you’d seen every conceivable piece of fly fishing gear, along comes the carbon fly box. Made entirely out of super strong, feather light carbon fibre, this fly box must be about as close to space age as you can get. Best of all, being made from carbon, it’s black. 10 out of 10 for style – this is one fly box really does look fantastic.

Direct from the “That’s so bloody clever, why didn’t I think of that” department, comes Spudz. What makes Spudz so clever is the design. Unlike other lens cloths, the Spudz lens cloth stays attached to the inside of storage pouch. The snap hook also provides an easy way to clip it and keep it. A god-send for anglers with greasy glasses and camera lenses, and available in a range of sizes, Spuds will have you seeing crystal clear in no time.

Spudz come in a couple of different sizes, Standard Spudz offer a 6 x 6 Micro-Fiber cloth sewn inside the pouch. They also offer an XL Spud which has a 10 x 10 Micro-Fiber cloth sewn into a slightly larger pouch.

With their ingenious interchangeable sole system, Korkers changed the way we think about wading boots. For 2007 they’re about to do it all over again. The range has been revamped and features major improvements to the sole system and the introduction of a range of totally new boots, sandals and shoes. We were fortunate enough to get a sneak preview of the new gear at the show. Korkers new Guide Boot really is an incredible piece of work. This puppy is made of high quality durable leather, features rubber toe guards, quick draining mono mesh panels and triple stitched construction. The really clever bit? The guide boot incorporates BOA technologies patented replaceable steel lace and reel system. (Yes you read right, steel lace and reel system!) Forget about tying laces, retying laces and laces that break. Simply set the BOA Dial system to the desired tension and you’re off! We’ll be field testing and reporting on the new Korkers Guide boots down here in New Zealand - where men are men, sheep are scared and boots have to be tough!

A real eye popper at the show was Hobie’s range of self propelled fishing craft. The company that bought you the iconic Hobie Cat now produces an incredible range of watercraft aimed at the fisheman (or woman) Using their patented MirageDrive pedalling system, these babies are pedalled along leaving your hands free for the serious business of fishing. You can paddle them too, but why bother. With a feature list as long as a drunken fishing story these boats have everything including the kitchen sink. One of the models we looked at was sporting inbuilt Scotty rod holders, a GPS and fish finder, cooler and I’m pretty sure there was a big screen TV in there somewhere too. If you’re into features, check out the gear on the Hobie Mirage Outback Fisherman kayak, at their site.

The Sage 2500 Series lightweight, large-arbor reels feature a unique offset 3:1 gear reduction drag system and numbered, repeatable adjustment knob for consistent operation in all conditions. Self-lubricating drive gears and sealed graphite drag washers mean 2500 Series reels are maintenance free and unaffected by sand, dunkings or blistering runs. These reels are made from hard-anodized, aerospace-grade aluminum and are approximately 20% lighter than equivalent size 3000D reels.

To win a brand spanking new 2550 reel just follow these instructions:
1/ Go the Sage site and email us the weight of the 2500 series reels.
2/ Head to the Sexyloops board, and in the tackle section, upload a photo of your most beaten up, pathetic, well worn reel and tell us why you deserve a new one.
With the help of the patented world famous Sexyloops random winner selector we’ll award someone a 2550 reel and then post the result in the next edition of Snapcast!

The gear orgy continues with rods from Sage, Scott and Hardys. We take a look at extreme high-tech clothing from Under Armour and their new poster boy, Rick Hartman. We ogle over Renzetti vices, review the Spey to Z Spey casting DVD from Way Yin and Scientific Anglers and checkout fishing tools from Rising Fish. And Lars will be back with a line review.
Until then, take care, tight lines and keep them loops sexy!