Great Gear to Lure Kids to the Great Outdoors

SALT LAKE CITY -- The staycation comes to the great outdoors.

The Woodstock for all things climbing, kayaking and camping -- The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market -- wound up here this past week. I made the pilgrimage.

The and current economic turmoil is having an interesting, two-sided effect on outdoor-goods retail sales. On one hand, this retail subset is showing it can stand up to a soft economy: While the rest of the apparel business, like Philips-Van Heusen(PVH Quote), The Warneco Group(WRC Quote) and Oxford Industries(OXM Quote), is having a bumpy time in this downturn, dollar sales for outdoor goods were up 9% year-to-date through June, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.

That's due in part to sales of recession-friendly stuff like camping gear, charcoal (a nice, long cookout makes a great pseudo vacation) and the like. ...