The Overland Expo was held in Loveland, Colorado this past August 23 to 25, 2024. Founded in 2009 by Roseann and Jonathan Hanson, the Expo celebrates its fifteenth anniversary this year. What began as a trade show has grown into an internationally recognized event with four locations throughout the United States: Redmond, OR; Flagstaff, AZ; Loveland, CO; and Arrington, VA. The Overland Expo is described as the “world’s premier event series for do-it-yourself adventure travel enthusiasts.” Attendance at the Mountain West venue seemed to verify that claim – over eighteen thousand participants from forty-nine states flocked to Colorado during the Expo weekend to learn from experienced instructors and shop for gear. Attendees could choose from a list of 250 classes, with themes ranging from legal advice for content creators to winter survival tips in extreme backcountry conditions. An impressive list of over 300 exhibitors with pop-up booths covered every inch of green lawn at the outdoor venue. To passersby on the interstate, the Expo probably looked like the mother of all farmer’s markets… if farmer’s markets catered to the needs of suped-up overlanding rigs.
Photo by Meg Tocci
Having grown up in Colorado, I’ve always loved the outdoors. However, my interest in exploring and connecting with nature has grown throughout my twenties and is something I’m continually prioritizing for myself. My recent purchase of a Bronco Sport this summer encouraged me to dip my toe into the new world of possibilities that come with owning a vehicle that can handle a little dirt (and might even encourage it). A fellow watch enthusiast on The Gray NATO Slack channel told me about the Overland Expo two weeks before the event and I immediately knew I had to check it out. The timing was perfect and my baby Bronco was ready to go. My experiences at the Expo centered around three themes: survival and gear; safety outdoors; and women who wander.
Survival/Gear
Sometimes the right tools can save your life. Various iterations of that sentiment seemed common among the many instructors at the Overland Expo. In a class taught by Jess Caldwell on “The Survival Rules of 3s,” I learned that a cotton ball coated in Vaseline can burn for about three minutes. An emergency blanket or large poncho can be draped over a short length of paracord to create a make-shift shelter to help protect against the elements. I already had the blanket and paracord in my hiking pack, but the cotton ball addition is a great one for both casual enthusiasts and experienced hikers to consider. Two or three of these in a ziploc bag are super light but can provide a convenient flame if needed. After that session, I also bought a ferro rod and striker, which is a far more reliable fire-starting combo than matches, as they are less affected by wind or rain.
I also learned what to pack in a Bug Out Bag. The concept of a Bug Out Bag might be new to some. It certainly was new to me until my neighborhood was evacuated in December 2021 as the Marshall Fire – the most costly wildfire in Colorado’s history, claiming two lives and nearly 1,000 structures – surged towards my home. I had only minutes. I left my apartment with the clothes on my back and my two cats in tow – the beloved essentials. Though I had considered myself safety-minded before this, the Marshall Fire put into perspective how helpful a backpack of overnight gear (and a mostly-full tank of gas) could be.
Photo by Meg Tocci
I learned that an overnight bag should have, at the minimum: a change of clothes, closed-toed shoes (if you don’t normally wear these), basic toiletries, a water bottle, some snacks, medication (prescription or otherwise), and a flashlight. Customize your bag to your needs or your family’s/fur baby’s needs. The goal of this bag is to get you through a night or two, and give you a no-thinking option in an emergency so you can devote mental energy to other things. It’s recommended to keep the bag in your closet or your car so you can grab it and go.
Safety
Though I took away a few tangible items to add to my kit, I was surprised how much of the courses emphasized the intangible: simple research.
I attended the sessions looking for information relevant to my interests: hiking, camping, and off-roading in Colorado. However, many of the speakers and session leaders had extensive experience overlanding throughout the world. While travel in the United States can include its share of dangers, exploring overseas comes with barriers to language and culture. I learned that the U.S. Department of State has a comprehensive travel advisory system for Americans visiting other countries. One attendee shared her experience reading about a common crime tactic in a city in South America. The State Department said tourists, mostly women, were being targeted through a complex ruse involving multiple parties and a decoy woman and child. They were subsequently incapacitated with chloroform. The attendee said she put the fears out of her mind, thinking the chances of it happening to her were extremely slim. However, when she was ultimately targeted, she recognized the dangers and was able to run to safety and get help.
Photo courtesy Overland Expo
This story, and some of the others I heard throughout the day are good reminders that, sometimes the best survival “gear” isn’t actually something you can purchase – it’s just good old-fashioned information. I often find myself scrolling through blogs or books for “best of” compilations detailing various equipment to add to my closet. Will a fancy flashlight or water filter come in handy if I’m ever stranded in the wilderness on some backcountry hike gone awry? Absolutely. However, looking up predicted weather for the day, common flash-flood points along the way, or studying the route online before I leave would help ensure I don’t even need to use those other tools.
The same is true in an off-roading capacity. In a course I attended called “Tackling ‘Oh S**T’ Situations,” a mechanical engineer demonstrated how to recover a vehicle with a system of pulleys, and how using a fixed anchor point – and an elementary understanding of physics – can get a stuck vehicle out of a few binds. However, the main point of his session was that a majority of recovery situations can be avoided if the driver knows the weight of their fully-loaded vehicle and its ground clearance. An additional number of situations could be resolved with a simple shovel and a couple traction boards placed under the wheels. However, many people invest their money in aftermarket tow hooks and expensive metal winch systems – overlooking those very rudimentary basics.
Photo by Meg Tocci
Women Who Wander
Though there was an expansive suite of courses offered, spread throughout the large fields of event space, the ones I attended were mostly centered on women in the overlanding/outdoor space.
These classes had their own tent in the outdoor arena, aptly named the “Women Who Wander Pavilion.” The world of watches – as many of us know – tends to presently skew male. So too, though maybe not as strongly, the world of overlanding/outdoor enthusiasm. This is not to say women are actively discouraged from participating in either of these spheres, though the implicit and explicit factors keeping these communities from being equal parts female are far too complex to analyze in just one article. The fact is: women have a different set of experiences they often need to consider when looking to enter these worlds. That the planners of the Overland Expo recognized that reality and set aside a space for women to speak about their experiences shows a positive understanding of the gender nuance that is too often overlooked – to the detriment of increased diversity in those hobbies.
Photo courtesy Overland Expo
If women are traveling solo, as I often do, the burden of safety is several-times multiplied. Along with general practices everyone considers before a trip, women must also prepare for situations their male counterparts will statistically never encounter. One of the themes that stood out to me during these sessions is that safety while traveling is top of mind for a lot of women.
A participant during a Q&A mentioned she was a beginner fly-fisher and was concerned about going out on her own.
“I was buying gear the other week, and passed up a pair of pink waders I really wanted. I just don’t want people immediately knowing I’m a woman from afar.”
I told her I experienced a similar situation recently when buying my car. I was considering adding some pink accents to my new Bronco Sport, but my first thought involved my safety if I was camping alone. Would I become a target if my car looked like it belonged to a woman? I realized I was just one of many who has these same thoughts. It seems more females are entering traditionally-male hobbies in the past few decades, which is a great thing. However, there is still a fear that drawing attention to oneself as a woman, can be dangerous. We can be women in these hobbies, as long as we’re women quietly. No solution here is simple.
Photo courtesy Overland Expo
A consensus from the group whenever conversations turned to self defense, was that an awareness of one’s surroundings and a loud whistle can deter many situations before they even start. Personally, I think a basic knowledge of hand-to-hand self-defense also doesn’t hurt.
There were many other tips shared amongst the group to bolster safety while traveling alone. However, there is a complexity to sharing that advice outside of women’s groups, as not everyone will use that knowledge with good intentions. So I encourage fellow female travelers to get plugged into communities in-person and online and begin those conversations.
Concluding Thoughts
I came away from the Expo with a better understanding of the types of things I wanted to add to my off-roading and camping/hiking kits. However, perhaps to the dismay of my EDC-hoarding desires, it was clear that preparation is a 90% mindset and 10% gear. Research and planning are the most valuable tools at your disposal, in all situations. While anyone can get outdoors (and should!) hearing from many of the outdoorsy ladies in attendance made clear there is a significant mental load that women carry while adventuring. It shouldn’t stop us from exploring, but it does need to be talked about and recognized by all in this community.
Photo by Meg Tocci
It’s my goal to continue getting out there and pushing my limits in how I experience the world. I’ve learned recently (and am reminded of my first hot air balloon ride in June) that one can only expand their comfort zone by taking small steps past their previous boundaries. I’m looking forward to the next adventures I have planned in the coming weeks and taking some of the knowledge gained at the Overland Expo with me.
