Our 10 favorite gear finds from the Outdoor Retailer Snow Show

The annual Outdoor Retailer show in Denver showcases the coolest and most innovative gear on the market.

• We sent John — an outdoor industry veteran himself — to find his favorites.

Local Crowns' Colorado logo sun hat: In Colorado, we love nothing more than to rep our home state. This is how you can do it in style, whether paddleboarding a local lake or vacationing on the coast.

California Cowboy's High Sierra shirt: Billed as the ultimate après party shirt, the thermal-lined flannel comes with a bottle holder and opener, conversation-starter cards in the pocket and a loop to hang gloves.

Poler's Napsack: A sleeping bag you can wear all day sounds like just the thing we need in this remote-work world. My wife, who always runs cold, swears by hers.

Gobi's Terrain Heated Camping Chair: The ultimate you-didn't-know-you-needed item that you definitely need now. A camping chair with heat coils in the back and seat for those chilly Colorado days at the soccer field or nights at the fire pit.

Pak-Jak jacket: The newest outerwear on the market has a back that zips off to prevent overheating when wearing a backpack. You can zip in a mesh layer, or wear it just on the front, using snaps to attach to your pack.

The Ski Pack: This is for the dads and moms who try to carry their kids' skis and it never works. Designed by two 10-year-olds in Littleton, this lightweight backpack allows little ones to carry their gear to the gondola with ease. It then folds into a pocket while on the hill.

Cauldryn coffee mug: Forget the double-walled insulated coffee mugs. This one has a battery that can keep your beverage at whatever temperature you'd like for 10 hours. You can even use it to boil water.

Ignik Gas Growler: The little green propane tanks that fuel my camp stove are so not green because they are one-use and hard to dispose of. I'm going to buy one of these small refillable tanks that comes with a good-looking carrying case.

QuietKat Ranger E-bike: I need to start saving pennies (lots of them!) for this amazing Colorado-made bike. It's designed not to make biking easier but to get you further afield.

Weston Ridgeline skis/snowboards: This Denver ski maker (formerly in Minturn) partnered with an artist on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico for a new special edition with colors inspired by the red tailed hawk.

This story first appeared in the Axios Denver newsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard. Subscribe here.