Snowys Camping Show

Fresh from filming some new gear in the wild, Ben and Lauren sit down with Zempire's brand engagement guru James - a Toronto-born, bad-weather-loving New Zealander - to unpack the why behind the brand's kit. This isn't a spec-sheet sales pitch; it's a candid chat about building to a priority, not a price point. From the pioneering air-textured yarn behind the Shape Shifter to the pop-up ease of the Aerospeed, the return-rate maths on air poles versus hard poles, and a sneak peek at a brand-new chair range, a redesigned multi-gas cooker, and a pint-sized Hexolite table — our gear gurus get to the heart of what makes Zempire tick.
Be it packability, durability, or camping that's for everyone — tune in for the philosophy behind the products!
Timestamps
00:00 - Welcome back to the Snowys Camping Show
00:47 - Meet James, Zempire's brand engagement guru
01:28 - Why Zempire went all-in on air
04:36 - From Toronto to New Zealand: James' backstory
07:22 - What 'brand engagement' actually means
08:02 - Talking the 'why', not the spec sheet
10:29 - Designing the new chair range from scratch
11:53 - The Hyperfold: one bag, a lot of chair
16:24 - Cooker 2.0: slimmer, multi-gas, smarter burners
21:52 - Hexolite tables and the new compact 60
31:05 - Shape Shifter: the tent that grows with you
32:30 - Building to a priority, not a price point
43:28 - Future-proofing your kit and the base system
47:37 - Air poles vs hard poles: the return-rate reality
51:11 - What's next in Zempire world
Join the conversation over on our Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/snowys

Head to snowys.com.au for all your gear needs:
https://www.snowys.com.au

Two and a half weeks, 223km, and a whole lot of honesty about what actually happens on trail.
In this episode Ben turns the mic on his co-host Lauren, who's about to walk the Larapinta Trail - 223km from Alice Springs to Mount Sonder with two colleagues over 14 days. They dig into the gear debates that actually matter (trail runners versus boots, three wildly different backpacks between the group), the sleep system upgrades that finally made multi-day hiking bearable for Ben, and the practical realities of toileting, safety, and staying calm about snakes.
Tune in for a genuinely candid conversation about preparing for a long trek, whether you're a first-timer feeling intimidated or a seasoned hiker fine-tuning your kit!
Join the conversation over on our Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/snowys

Head to snowys.com.au for all your gear needs:
https://www.snowys.com.au

100 years, one factory, and a stove design nobody's been able to improve on.
From a small Swedish village called Trångsviken to a factory that's shipped over a quarter-million burners a year, in this episode Ben and Lauren sit down with Magnus Rydel, CEO of Trangia, to unpack a century of doing things the slow way on purpose. They dig into why the brass spirit burner hasn't meaningfully changed since the 1950s, how a scrap of aluminium punched from one part becomes the lid on another, and the story behind the brand's most unlikely bestseller: a glittery pink windshield born from a 9-year-old's note in a suggestion box.
Tune in for an hour of manufacturing philosophy, fuel-safety myths busted, and a genuinely lovely reminder that not everything needs to boil water faster!
Join the conversation over on our Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/snowys

Head to snowys.com.au for all your gear needs:
https://www.snowys.com.au

Turns out the cheapest mod you can make to your rig doesn't cost a cent.
From a fuel price shock that pushed regular unleaded past $3 a litre to reworking your entire weekly shop, in this episode Ben and Lauren strip fuel economy right back to basics. They dig into why weight is the single biggest lever you can pull on any trip, how one multi-purpose camp oven lid lifter can replace three separate tools rattling around your kit, and why the smartest fuel-saving habit might have nothing to do with your car at all - it's what you do with your bike, your kids' public transport cards, and your online shopping cart in the weeks before you even leave.
Tune in for a genuinely useful hour on stretching your fuel budget further, no fuel additives or dodgy chip tunes required!
Join the conversation over on our Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/snowys

Head to snowys.com.au for all your gear needs:
https://www.snowys.com.au

The quiet achiever of the camping fridge world finally steps into the spotlight…
From wire-on-tube heat exchangers straight out of Nan's old Kelvinator to a 35L base that expands into a 52L weekend beast -- in this episode, Ben and Lauren unpack the quiet achiever of the camping fridge world with the man who's lived and breathed the brand for over a decade. They dig into why a swappable wiring loom beats a fancy touch panel, how steel construction outlasts plastic in the harsh Aussie sun, and why Bushman would rather you call them about your dodgy DIY mod than void your warranty over it.
Tune in for an hour of fridge philosophy, real-world efficiency tips, and proof that sometimes the most underrated gear is the stuff that just quietly gets the job done!
Join the conversation over on our Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/snowys

Head to snowys.com.au for all your gear needs:
https://www.snowys.com.au