The Overland Expo 2026 season started with a bang this weekend in Costa Mesa, California, hosting over 15,000 attendees and hundreds of vendors. We were on the hunt for new, impressive products to support our overlanding passions, and this weekend didn’t disappoint. Dozens of products caught our eye, offering unique solutions to common issues we face out on the trail. Of those, here’s our top 10 picks for the best gear we saw at Overland Expo SoCal.
Aluminess – Powerlift
Aluminess had their new Powerlift Bike Rack on display at their booth, which we were eager to see in action. The new product solves two common issues – lifting heavy bikes and e-bikes up and out of the way easily and securing them against theft. Designed for both Mercedes Sprinters and Fort Transit vans, the new Powerlift is compatible with existing rack and bumper components and operates from just a single Dewalt or Milwaukee power tool battery. The system can lift up to 155 lbs. and offers a lift height of 36 inches. A static tray at the bottom of the assembly can hold an additional 100 lbs. of gear. Despite its impressive lift capacity, the product weighs only 70 lbs. The Powerlift is currently available for at an MSRP of $3,100 through their website and their network of builders.
Dry Brew – Coffee Chew
If you are like us, just about every morning has to start off with a cup of coffee to get that caffeine kick-in-the-pants needed to get the day started. Dry Brew showed off a unique take on that morning cup of joe, except it doesn’t need a cup. They distilled the morning brew down to a small chew that reminded us of a java toffee. It was a fun and tasty alternative to the typical morning coffee and is available in three variations: a 65mg of caffeine standard “single shot” bite, a 100 mg “double shot”, and a decaf version.
Far Fetched Adventures – K9 First Aid Course & Airlift K9 Rescue Sling
A lot of us would go to the ends of the earth for our dog, but many of us simply don’t have the training or proper first aid equipment to take care of our K9 companion when it really matters. Far Fetched Adventures provides tools to solve both of these problems. In addition to their animal first aid classes they taught this weekend at Overland Expo, they also offer a K9 first responder course to get the training you need to deal with a variety of injuries and medical emergencies for your pet. Beyond the education, they also sell a variety of dog gear and animal-oriented first aid supplies. Their new Fido Pro Airlift K9 Rescue Sling particularly caught our attention. The sling allows you to carry your sick or injured pet efficiently and safely back down the trail to get them help. It’s an ingenious design that makes a big difference when things have gone wrong.
Grayl – 24oz GeoPress Ti Purifier
The Grayl GeoPress water purifier offers an interesting and simplified approach to purifying water for camp. The 24 oz. titanium water bottle separates into two components – an outer sleeve and an internal reservoir with a replaceable filter at its base. Fill the outer container with the water to be filtered and reinsert the internal bottle after losing the cap and press down. The manual pressure forces the water through the filter system filling up the inner bottle in the process. Once it reaches the bottom, it’s done. It takes about 10 seconds, and there are no batteries to keep charged or pumps to fail. The filter removes silt, microplastics, and other foreign matter and is tested to remove 99.99% of viruses, 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.9% of protozoan cysts, and a host of other nasty things you don’t want to be drinking (see the website for more details). The GeoPress comes in a number of colors in its plastic incarnation, but the natural titanium and black PVD titanium bottles are what caught our eye.
READ MORE: Overland Expo SoCal 2026 Wrap-Up: A Massive Start to the Adventure Season
Iceco – Go Pack
Overlanders love their 12-volt fridges, but many of us wish they weren’t so bulky and difficult to move around. Iceco has been addressing this shortcoming for a couple of years now with their lightweight and compact Go Series of fridges. Their latest offering takes this to a whole new level. We go to check out the prototype of their small, lightweight, Go Pack fridge that will be coming out in the next couple of months. Powered by one of their PB250 battery packs, the fridge can be equipped with a shoulder strap, backpack straps, or none at all for a slim profile. The bag has a capacity of 15 liters, just below their recently released IPT20 cooler. The pricing and release date have not been announced, but expect it out mid-year for what will likely be an affordable price point.
iKamper – Skycamp 4.0 Series
iKamper recently announced their forthcoming Skycamp 4.0 series and had all three of their new models on display this weekend. The forthcoming line consists of duo (two-person) and quad (four-person) tents they had in the previous incarnation, but adds a new trio option for those looking for a mid-size roof top tent. In addition to the new size, the new series of tents offers larger doors and windows, new electrical and heating/air-conditioning pass-throughs, and an updated air mattress option. The shell contour has been subtly refined and is made of fiber-reinforced Duracore, the tent fabric will be manufactured with their proprietary BreatheWeave fabric, and the tent floor will be offered with the cork-topped ThermaSeal for all the models. The new design seems to be a notable set of improvements on an already impressive system. We hope to review one of the new models soon.
Maxtrax – Integrated Recovery Shovel
Walking past the Maxtrax booth, what initially caught our eye was the new Ghost White color way they are offering as a limited run; it’s a great looking color that stands out from the rest of the color range. Affixed to their display recovery board was something new – and integrated recovery shovel. In addition to the two low profile mounting brackets, the kit comes with the shovel as well as a screw in extension handle. The recovery shovel assembly adds just a few inches to the overall thickness of the boards, making it easy and convenient to carry an essential overlanding tool. The system will mount to both Mark 2 and Extreme Maxtrax recovery boards. The product will be available on their US website on April 3rd for about $270.
Rugged Revive – Sponge Bath Wipes
Perhaps it was the uncommonly warm spring weekend, but we found ourselves drawn to a number of vendors selling camp hygiene products. Rugged Revive was showing off their sponge bath wipes that, when dampened, provide an impressive, sudsy foam from a modestly sized sample. The sponge wipes aren’t the flimsy, perfumed baby-type wipes; they are a thicker, more durable, scent-free, sponge-like material. Despite its cleaning power, the rinse-free wipes didn’t leave the characteristic sticky film prevalent with other, similar products. These are a great option for keeping clean when a shower just isn’t available out on the trail.
Shower Pouch – Reusable Body Wipes
Continuing the personal hygiene theme, the Shower Pouch booth also caught our attention. The company offers a line of outdoor products that include hand sanitizer, deodorant, and their Shower Pouch Body Wipes. The latter caught our attention because they are reusable. The wipe itself is a polymer, non-woven sheet that is infused with aloe, witch hazel water, tea tree oil, and willow bark extract. After use, instead of going in the trash, the 24-inch by 12-inch wipe can be re-infused and reused with a simple recipe available on their website and left to soak in a Nalgene-type bottle.
Stark Side Gear – The Shadowline
As anyone who has a low-profile SUV mount for their rooftop tent knows – they are great until you need to mount or unmount them. Trying to get your hands below the tent, much less turn a wrench on bolts you can’t see is a painful and frustrating experience. Stark Side Gear (previously Vanultra) has been coming up with innovative tent mounting solutions for a number of years now, but their new Shadowline mounting system stood out among the systems we saw this weekend. The Shadowline uses 6 tent bushings you mount to your tent’s extruded frame paired to corresponding capture plates that mount to your roof rack. When the rooftop tent is slid into place, the front and rear plates latch onto the bushings, locking the system firmly in place. The system is quickly “unlocked” with the supplied grab tool that keeps you from having to reach into the confined space. Freeing the front and rear attachment points took less than a minute with the demonstration at the booth. For those who don’t want to endure a traditional mount to their low-profile roof rack or want to be able to easily demount their RTT, this is worth looking at.
Step22 – Trash Panda Trail Pack and AMP Trail System
We were excited to check out Step22’s new AMP (Adaptive Modular Platform) Trail System, a modular mount for your spare tire that will be the basis for an evolving line of products meant to provide more storage and organization options for the overlander. They had their new Trash Panda Trail pack mounted to the AMP as well Javan Journey Pack and Pygmy Pouch mounted in a saddle bag configuration off to the side of the spare tire. The Trash Panda sports a rigid, fiber-reinforced back panel laser cut for a host of mounting options, including the AMP. This back panel provides rigidity to the bag, promising to keep it in place when bouncing down a corrugated trail. The dual zippered front enclosure makes it possble to easily open up the entire front of the bag for access and the roll top allows the bag to be sized for the gear or the volume of trash you are carrying, if that’s what you use it for. The body is made from a durable, UV-resistant material that promises to stand up to off road abuse. The Trash Panda also gets bonus points for the best product name of the weekend. You can read more about the Trash Panda, Javan, and Pygmy Pouches, in addition to the AMP mounting system on their website.
