This year’s IAAPA Tradeshow in Orlando, Florida offered a great mix of consistent products as well as new innovations in the laser tag industry.
With the economic worries across the globe, exhibitors were ready to bring their best presentations to their clients. While no one would argue attendance was down from previous years, the buyers that did attend were serious about finding the best products for their laser tag facilities.
This year, ILTA’s booth was re-designed and even displayed some of the laser tag packs from the ILTA Museum. The packs caught many people’s attention, especially the Q-zar pack.
In addition to the new booth, the ILTA had two major announcements. The first was the creation of a Laser Tag Safety Report developed for the Boyscouts of America to prove the safety of the laser tag lasers. The second announcement was for the first ever Laser Tag Convention that will be partnered with the Roller Skating Association (RSA) in Las Vegas, Nevada in August 2009!
Here’s a run-down of attending manufacturers and what they had to offer potential clients:
Creative Works:
This year, Creative Works, the attraction themeing company, had their own booth which they displayed a great robot-warrior centerpiece. It was a great testament to the ‘Wow Effect’ the company is known for. For more information on Creative Works and their themes, visit www.thewoweffect.com
Darklight:
Darklight was on hand to show off both their laser tag gear and some of their animated arena props. A great addition to their booth was the energy saving LED black lights from Chauvet Lighting. It was great to see a laser tag company thinking energy-smart and eco-friendly. To learn more about Darklight and their laser tag systems, visit www.darklight.co.uk
Laser Blast:
Laser Blast was there showing off their two main systems, Hyper Blast for the larger budget projects and the entry level Basic Blast system. A new type of gear Laser Blast was showing off was the vest-less Light Blast system, which is a great concept for the mobile and portable projects.
To learn more about Laser Blast and which system would be ideal for your market, you can visit their website here: www.laser-blast.com
Laser Mania:
Another company making the step to a wireless phaser system, Laser Mania’s owners were there showing off their new wireless phasers. You can find out more by visiting www.lasermania.com
Laserforce:
Laserforce had two unique things going on with their booth this year. The first was that all their gear and electronics were wired to their T.A.M.I. (Total Arena Management Interface) device. This let them control every piece of their booth with one touch on the computer. The second piece they displayed was their P.O.D.S. (Player Observation Deck System) that lets the laser tag operator make additional revenue from people watching the game from the observation deck.
To find out more about these features, visit www.laserforcetag.com
LaserTron:
LaserTron was on hand this year to offer their expertise as well as show off their Cybersport products and LT-11.5 laser tag gear. Their booth was designed with their sport arena style in mind, which gave their booth a great arena-like feel.
To learn more about LaserTron, visit their website here: www.laser-tron.com
Lazer Runner:
Lazer Runner was at the show again promoting their upgraded battery system for their packs that can fully charge in less than 3 hours. They also showed their new gaming software called the Lazer Runner Central Processing Unit, designed to make game management simpler. For more information, visit www.lazerrunner.com
Media Vision:
This year we welcome Media Vision to the laser tag industry. While Media Vision itself, is not a new company, they were there showing off their brand new laser tag gear. The wireless phaser system is a unique and sleek style of laser tag that has interesting electric effects that display across the center piece of the packs and phasers when tagged.
To see their laser tag gear as well as Media Vision’s other product lines, visit www.mvisioninc.com
Pizzazz Scenic Contractors:
The theming and design company Pizzazz also made a great impression this year as they created a booth that doubled as a great photo opportunity (which you can see I utilized myself).
Pizzazz offers unique designs that they are gearing for laser tag arenas and facilities. To see some of their design work and learn about their company, you can visit their website at www.pizzazzscenic.com
Veqtor:
Veqtor is no stranger to the entertainment industry and has produced a number of unique children sports products. One of the first companies to incorporate a wireless phaser system, Veqtor’s laser tag products are durable, lightweight, colorful and easy to use. Their systems are also vest-optional, which makes it even easier to use in portable markets and made very cost effective.
You can read all about their laser tag products and children’s play systems by visiting www.veqtor.co.uk
Zone Systems: 
Zone Systems had a number of their products on hand to demonstrate to potential buyers. They displayed their phaser-only Begeara system and introduced the Infusion-R system, which combines the Infusion pack with the Nexus FEC phaser.
Not only could you look at the gear Zone brought with them, but you could also play in their new modular arena they set up for the show. Each pillar had arena targets that were able to change to any Nexus FEC color. Potential buyers vested up and played while spectators used the Klink-guns from the outside to score points.
You can find out more about Zone’s products by visiting www.nexuslasertag.com
Dupuis Laser Products: 
Dupuis Laser Products was back again this year showing off their Mantiz outdoor laser tag phasers and Centipod arena devices. Dupuis has been working on developing new attachable sensors that can be placed on any hook-and-loop patch.
To find out more about this Netherland-based company, you can visit their website here: www.mantiz.nl
Steradian Technologies:
The Steradian Technologies booth was very busy this year. The outdoor laser tag company rolled out two new features to their clients. The first was a carrying case that could charge the batteries in the phasers in just a few hours. The other new product was a wild-west style tag with bandana targets and revolver style pistol-phasers.
To find out more about Steradian’s products, you can visit their website here: www.steradiantech.com
We at the ILTA wish to thank the Manufacturers that attended the IAAPA Tradeshow for their professionalism and wish them luck in the upcoming year. A special thank you goes out to the operators and developers that attended the show to offer their input and experiences during this tough economic year.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this year's IAAPA Tradeshow, please feel free to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
