Ermine at Outdoor Retailer

August 29, 2026

Two days of wild ice advocacy at North America keystone outdoor industry trade show

Ermine just spent two great days at the Outdoor Retailer trade show spreading the word about Nordic skates and wild ice! This year’s OR was held in Minneapolis, and brought together thousands of people in North America’s outdoor industry. Over the course of the show we had nearly nonstop conversations with magazine writers, fellow product makers, retail buyers, and media producers. Explaining Nordic skating to others in the outdoor industry was very rewarding – and we walked away from the show with new retailer relationships, too.

Daniel Volland and Ermine owner Paxson Woelber at Outdoor Retailer

Ermine at Outdoor Retailer

One of the highlights of the show was running into our friend Angelina Huang, who is starring in the first feature-length wild ice skating film. We were excited to see a fellow wild ice skater at the show, and it was good hearing updates about the film.

Meeting up with Angelina

Thank you to OR for putting on a solid event (the mayor of Minneapolis even showed up to open it!) and for this opportunity. This was a big moment for Ermine, and hopefully one more small part of Nordic skating’s growth in North America.”

- Paxson Woelber has been a dedicated Nordic skater and advocate for wild ice skating since 2016. In 2021, he founded Ermine Skate, North America's first Nordic skate company. Today, Ermine offers a range of premium Nordic skates and Nordic skating products designed for wild ice.