Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Faaster Than Ever

The new Puma Faas 500′s ($100) are designed to be the go to shoe for everyday runners. Tipping the scales at 9.7 oz, the sneaks are inspired from the brand’s old school RS1 runner and include notable features like a rocker shape that enhances stride efficiency while an EverRide and EverTrack outsole provides the cushioning [...]

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid.

Are you drinking straight from the gallon jar of Tabasco without even flinching? Then why not upgrade to cooking with the Bhut Jolokia Ghost Pepper. As the hottest pepper on the planet, it only has a Scoville heat rating of 1,041,427 — which happens to be over three times hotter than the Habanero and over [...]

Back to Square One

As a cheeky middle schooler, my father challenged his math teacher with the then newly introduced Rubik’s Cube. They struck a deal – until he returned a solved cube, he couldn’t assign homework. One beautiful week passed before the kids were back to multiplication tables; whereas today, the standing record is 6.77 seconds. If the [...]

Romeo. Ohh, Romeo.

Following in the footsteps of its positively stunning predecessor, the Alfa Romeo 4C Concept is both lighter and smaller in dimensions than the 8C Competizione. The 4C Concept is built from carbon fiber and aluminum and manages to keep an ultralight weight of 1,873 lbs. Not nearly as powerful as its bigger brother’s V8, the [...]

Judge An iPad By Its Cover

Now that the iPad 2 hysteria has passed — at least until launch day, it’s worth circling back to focus on its companion Smart Covers. Apparently Steve Jobs was upset that the old iPad case hid the beauty of the original iPad’s industrial design, so Apple went back to the drawing board to develop an [...]

The Tablet You Love, Take 2

Let the speculation cease. The iPad 2 ($499-$829) is official. Apple’s latest creation features a new A5 dual-core chip, that’s 2x faster than the original and 9x faster graphics performance. A front and rear video camera are now included too, with the latter being capable of recording 720p video at 30fps — implying HD video [...]

Because you need proofing from your life

Are you the guy that drops his iPhone every time he turns a corner, and then manages to kick it into a puddle foul of dirty rain water? Are you the guy that can’t even muster up a lousy layup, but when it comes to landing iPhones into beer mugs, you might as well be [...]

Fire In the Hole

Make the most out of your outdoor space during the chilly months with the Zero Fireplace ($4,640). As the image shows, it’s an attractive way to store firewood as well as burn it, and thanks to a grill accessory and closing disk, the fireplace can easily be transformed into a social cooking outpost or a [...]

Because You Know Crushed Velvet Looks Terrible

Hef may prefer to unwind in shimmery burgundy, but if you’re like us, sweatshirts are the go to comfort item when couch surfing is on the agenda. That’s why these french terry custom bathrobes from Wings + Horns designed exclusively for Ace Hotel ($150) caught our eye. As a cross between a classic hoodie and [...]

Massive capacity. Minimal cost.

Back in November we first encountered Ignoble’s bag, the Cocoon. Fast forward four months and we find ourselves resolutely liking what we have to see with Ignoble’s latest release, the Cora Classic Rucksack ($165). The ruck continues Ignoble’s combination of limited, US production runs, military-grade materials and a disposition for superior specs at substandard prices. [...]

Stayin' Alive

Surviving at the office typically entails being the first to the coffee pot, but for those who venture outside of cubicle land, making it through the day can be far more serious. We’ll always be firm believers in the utility of survival kits, and have even offered suggestions on what we keep in ours, but [...]

German Efficiency

Traditional knife blocks look great, but unless your a feng shui master, their position in the kitchen is rarely optimized for grabbing cutlery mid recipe. Magnet strips definitely speed up the process, but there’s always that risk a quick grab could lead to Simpson’s hands. That’s where the Wüsthof Rotating Knife Stand ($320) steps in. [...]

Hippie Heaven

Many of us lamented the VW Microbus that never came to fruition several years ago (probably tragically killed off by some bean counter). A decade later, and an even tastier version has emerged, hopefully with a real chance of making into showrooms this time around. Introducing the Volkswagen Bulli Concept, named after the German nickname [...]

Just add jazz

Even if the rumors of 24-bit audio file playback in iTunes come true there’s still one thing it will never do: play vinyl. 1′s and 0′s simply can’t recreate the intimacy and authentic sound of vinyl so until people smarter than us come up with an analog magicsauce filter, we’ll stick to our plates. TDK, [...]

A Photographic Adieu to the End of an Era

After 27 years of operation and 38 missions, the space shuttle Discovery embarked on its 39th, and final mission last Thursday. The shuttle is the world’s most traveled spaceship and has spent nearly a full year in orbit over its lifetime. Though it was a little premature considering there are still two remaining launches left [...]