Gear Patrol | The Definitive Men's Resource

Rovah' Puck

Mobile hot spots, unlimited data, and pay-as-you-go plans may all seem like yesterday’s news. But the 1.6 lb Clearwire Rover Puck ($150) shakes things up by offering access to the company/consortium’s 4G data network. That means download speeds of 5 Mbps with bursts up to 10 Mbps and 8 device connectivity with service plans range from $5/day, $20/week, or $50/per month. It may look like a flying saucer toy from Sharper Image, but that sweet speed and pricing tempts the hell out of our undisconnectabilityness. The only downsides are Clearwire isn’t in every market, and its built-in battery maxes at 4 hours of go-juice, so forget getting a full days worth of use from unless you’re near an outlet. Then again, you could probably pull a decent volley of torrents in four hours.

Buy Now: $150 + Service Fees

Sonic Fidelity by Jones

Quincy Jones, a musician who needs little introduction (think: producer behind Thriller and We Are the World) has partnered with AKG to release a signature line of headphones. Three models make up the lineup: the Q702 ($479, shown above) reference-class premium headphones with flat-wire voice coils, patented Varimotion two-layer diaphragm, and 3D-Form ear pads. The Q460 ($229) portable on-ear mini headphones with a 3D-Axis flat folding design, in-line mic and remote, and closed-back design. Finally, the ultralight Q350 ($149) in-ear earphones wrap up the line-up with strong bass response, cable winder, and three sizes of silicon sleeves for proper fitment. Of note – a portion of the proceeds for every set of headphones sold goes to the Quincy Jones Musiq Consortium to further music education amongst American children.

Look forward to seeing a more in-depth review from Gear Patrol on these in the near-future, but until then you can always read up on our time with the AKG K702’s (one-word summary: outstanding) and peruse the high-resolution gallery after the jump.

Buy Now: Q702 ($479) | Q460 ($229) | Q350 ($149) | Available October, 2010

A New Contender

If you hadn’t noticed, we have a penchant for shoes made in the US here at Gear Patrol. So, when Oak Street Bootmakers hit the web with yesterday announcement it was a perfect storm to win our lustful eye. Based out of Chicago, Oak Street was founded by George Vlagos to carry on the shoe making traditions garnered from his father James. Paying homage to that quality focused upbringing, all Oak Street’s offerings are made by hand in the great Pine Tree State (Maine) from Horween Leather. Combine that with some classic yet intriguing models and you’ve got a contender.

Of the four models released, our favorite is the Trail Oxford ($220) with camp sole (a gallery of exclusive images for GP is after the jump). Offered in navy or brown Chromexcel leather, each pair is a moccasin construction, hand stitched with waxed thread by Mainiacs. They also happen to be endlessly resolable, so these won’t be headed to the trash right when you get them perfectly broken-in. For $220 the Oak Street Trail Oxfords are a bit expensive, but far and away a great value amongst their competition. Score it a homerun for Oak St.’s first at bat, looking forward to the next one…

Author’s Note: For those of you looking for a unique twist on a moccasin, take a look at the Trail Oxfords with a work boot sole.

A full gallery of exclusive photographs for Gear Patrol after the jump.

Buy Now: $220

Photography: Ryan Plett

Yes, the Durango

Wait, the Dodge Durango is still around? That’s what we thought too and despite Dodge’s press images looking like something straight off of DUB magazine’s cover, we find ourselves oddly attracted to the taut new 2011 Dodge Durango. Perhaps, this is the Durango to overcome the stigma of its gas-guzzling-pig of a predecessor. With a new, surprisingly handsome, design on a unibody platform, the new Durango will come equipped with either a 3.6 liter Pentastar V6 or a stump-pulling 5.7 liter V8 (with four-cylinder mode), both mated to an all-wheel drive drivetrain. That’s 6,200 lbs and 7,400 lbs towing capacity for you tow-mavens. An all-new interior designed by the same folks behind the new Jeep Grand Cherokee’s gives 22 different seating configurations for its 3-row seating and a bevy of new features like an arsenal of airbags, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross path detection, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, keyless-go, and a reported 500 mile cruising distance. That’s San Diego to San Francisco in one-run, gents. Available Fall/Winter 2010.

Dodge sent over nearly 20 high res images of the 2011 Durango. We’ve got them in a gallery right after the jump.

Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day

Golf has for better or worse has been labeled a “fair weather” sport. Many golfers hightail it for the 19th hole at the first hint of precipitation. That’s too bad. With the proper armaments, facing down a rain shower can be easy, dare I say, routine. If you can stay dry your golf game should remain intact. Who knows, you may even have your own Caddyshack moment.

Recently we put the Nike Storm-FIT N-Destrukt Jacket ($400) and Pants ($250) through the Gear Patrol torture test to see if they were as good as advertised or if they were all, well, wet.

A Year Ago on Gear Patrol

Gap Plaid (Fall 2009)

Read more »

Indochino Bespoke Suits

Read more »

Stowa Marine Original

Read more »

Garmin Edge 500 Cycling GPS Based Computer

Read more »

How Sony Does a Pocket Cam

Besides winning the “most appalling product name of the month” award, the Sony Bloggie Touch ($179-$199) does pack an impressive bit of hardware for a pocket camcorder. A 3″ touchscreen, 4GB or 8GB of memory, Exmor CMOS sensor, 1080p video, 12.7 megapixel still image capture, and a fast f2.8 lens give the Bloggie some legit muscle to flex in the pocket cam playground (where its name will inevitably be mocked). A USB connector (a la Flip), HDMI output, and included software ensure those vacation videos are viewed on your flat screen or Facebook pronto. More importantly, it’s solid justification why Sony should stick to alphanumerical product names. Available in silver or black.

Buy Now: $179-$199 (Pre-order, available October)

It's Nano to be Square

Get one iPod Nano, shave a little here, tweak a little there, add a dash of multi-touch. Voila, the 6th generation iPod Nano ($149-$179). Square and only half the size and weight of the previous generation iPod Nano, Apple has packed a 1.5″ 240×240 pixel Multi-Touch display, 8GB/16GB memory, FM Radio, pedometer, Genius Playslits, Nike+iPod compatibility, 24 hour playback time, and an integrated clip into this little beast making it even more gym-ready than ever. Colorways include silver, graphite, blue, green, orange, pink, or Product (Red). Collect all six and win! Sorry, couldn’t resist…

Buy Now: $149-$179

The Kitchen Sink, Minus AT&T

New iPhone, new iPod Touch. Right? Right. Not too unexpectedly, many of the new features on of the new iPod Touch ($229-$399) come from its well-connected sibling, but that doesn’t stop us from being any less impressed. Designed to be even thinner than its predecessor, the new iPod Touch packs the pixel-packed retina display, Apple’s A4 core processor (shared by the iPad and iPhone 4), and a front and rear facing camera. If the features didn’t give it away the hint, that means FaceTime (via Wi-Fi). The rear camera captures the same 720p HD video, as well as capturing HDR enhanced still (sadly only in 960×720). Apple’s new Game Center multiplayer functionality will also be on board, for schooling your friends on the iPhone/iPod game (and soon iOS Unreal Engine powered games… hello nurse!) of your choice. Available in 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB sizes, pre-orders open today with units shipping next week.

Buy Now: 8GB ($229) | 32GB ($299) | 64GB ($399)

Apple's Hobby Gets Serious

Well what do we have here? Apple seems to be taking their AppleTV “hobby” a bit more seriously with the release of the all-new, um, AppleTV ($99). The new AppleTV comes in at a quarter the size of its predecessor and housed in a home theater-friendly black matte finish. The remarkable shrinkage (the good kind) is achieved by ditching the internal hard drive in exchange for streaming content via the device’s integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity. Using the newly announced AirPlay functionality, which is a part of iOS 4.2 that lands in November, AppleTV owners will be able to stream music and video content directly to the device. The little black box features HDMI output, an integrate power supply, and includes a remote. Netflix (free for subscribers), first run 720p DVD rentals ($4.99), and TV episodes from ABC and Fox (99¢) will all be available to stream. Pre-orders start today and yes, we just ordered one to, um, “test”.

Buy Now: $99