National Hardware Show 2018
Last week the annual National Hardware Show kicked off in Las Vegas! The huge event sprawled over 600,000 square feet of the LV Convention Center and although we couldn’t make the trek out west we still caught up on all the highlights. Including the Tailgate and Backyard BBQ! Check out what the Hardware Show had to offer in this month’s recap below.
Rebranding + Expanding
The 74th annual NHS focused on rebranding and expanding. “A cornerstone of the new NHS logo is an abstract representation of a bolt—everything around us is held together by this streamlined piece of hardware: a computer, a chair, a house, and a lawn mower.” #EvolvingNHS
Midwest OPE Leaders Head to Vegas
Our neighbors to the West at Yardmax (HQ in Libertyville) displayed their powerful line of snow blowers, concrete mixers, trackbarrows, and wood chippers. Last year their Power Trackbarrow was listed as one of the top 20 new products in Landscape and Irrigation Magazine. Perfect for tight spaces, the motorized and tracked wheelbarrow is user friendly and moves up to 660 pounds.
Fill, Light, Smoke!
The small, tube-like smokers from A-MAZE-N-SMOKIN’ Products turn any grill into an authentic BBQ smoker. The 6×6” tool takes pellets (in varying flavors like Apple, Chili Pepper Spice, and Corn Cob) and produces a great quality smoke for cold and hot grilling. In just 10 minutes the stainless steel smoker is hot and ready.
Summer Must Haves: Floating Cooler
Keeping the “drinks cool, and the party floating,” CreekKooler brought their floating coolers to the NHS. As we inch closer to summertime here in Chicago, the CreekKooler is perfect for hot days spent on Lake Michigan. The insulated and floating cooler has a rounded hull design (much like a Kayak) and can be affixed to your canoe or boat for quick access to a cold drink. The kayak sidekick comes with cup holders, mini flag holder, locking lid, and holds up to 30 quartz. The CreekKoolers start at $165.
Pizza Pod
Indiegogo backed start up, Fire Pod, made their debut at the show and recently started production on their pizza oven prototypes. Another summer must have, the Fire Pod is portable, versatile, and user friendly. The pod set comes with reversible cast iron griddle/skillet perfect for BBQs and breakfasts and The Hot Rock is great for searing seafood.
The Fire Pod’s main function is for oven baked pizza (above). But it also serves as a grill, skillet, and hot rock (below)!
Sash-N-Go
We’re at the peak of moving season and Forearm Forklift brought their patented moving straps to help with the heavy lifting. The straps affix to the user and encourage proper moving techniques and reducing back stress and fatigue. They employ leverage that turns moving a bulky mattress into a quick and painless trip. The straps can withhold up to 800 pounds and come in adjustable sizes and colors – including camo and rainbow.
Green Living + Clean Solutions
From pure air to pure power, Green Tech Environmental creates purifying power solutions for the home. At the show they featured their Pure Air 500 (left) and Pure Flow QT7 (right). The egg shaped design uses three advanced technologies to eliminate bacteria, viruses, odors, smoke, pollen, mold, pet dander, and other pollutants in an individual room to sanitize your living space. The Pure Flow QT7 is family friendly, blade-free and dust-free fan that buzzes at a near silent 13 decibels.
Self Heat + Eat
Chef Minute Meals showcased their Tennessee line of self heating 5 minute meals in the desert last week. Their pre packaged meals are vital solutions for unexpected disasters and an easy to make option for campers and hikers. The meals come with a flame-less heater and come in several options, such as: Cheese omelettes, beef stew, chicken pasta Parmesan, and spaghetti and meatballs. Chef Minute Meals are proudly made in America and never freeze dried. 6-pack meals start at $38.95.
A truck drives through flooded roads to provide 5 Minute Meals to those in need.
Inventors Corner: Teracaddy
Terracaddy is currently patent pending and is the easy to assemble display unit from R&M Swank Enterprises. Ideal for growing herbs, succulents and plants in small spaces, the Terracaddy can hold up to 10 pots and is perfect for small spaces. The Teracaddy was featured in the NHS Inventor Spotlight among other budding products.
Smart Home + DIY Security
At this year’s Hardware Show the brand new interactive Smart Home Virtual Reality Experience was available for guests to immerse themselves in new technologies. One of the featured companies was Ring. Ring featured their line of video doorbells and security systems. The battery powered doorbell takes 5 minutes to install and gives the user instant alerts when visitors press the doorbell or trigger the motion sensors. With the Ring app the user can view 720 HD footage in real time and speak to the (wanted or unwanted) guests.
See You In Vegas Next Year!
The National Hardware Show showed us all the new products used to remodel, repair, maintain and decorate the home and garden. For a look at more of our show recaps please read our blog and feel free to drop us a note at info@beyonddesignchicago.com.