Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Soul man and Rock 'n' Roll fan

Ahmet Ertegun isn’t a household name — let alone easy to say, but if you’re a music fan, you’ve probably benefitted from his life’s legacy. Despite being the son of the first Republic of Turkey ambassador to the US, Ahmet channeled his love of Blues and Jazz to found Atlantic records. Not up on your [...]

Getting in the holiday spirits

The holidays, scenario one: a time for feasting, enjoying the company of family and friends and exchanging gifts. That’s reason enough to clink glasses. The holidays, scenario two: a time for stress, empty wallets and judgmental in-laws. That’s even more reason to knock back a few drinks. Whichever circumstances best describe your impending holidays, we’ve [...]

Ride to drive

The Milwaukee Golf Caddie is a specialized accessory that combines a certain subset of men’s two greatest passions — a.k.a. golf and their Harley (apologies ladies). If you’re the proud owner of 1995 to Current Road King, Road Glide, Tour Glide, Street Glide or Electra Glide, then the Golf Caddie’s current offerings will fit on [...]

High Living

The living ecological alpine pod, or LEAP, wears its heart right on its name tag and provides all of the benefits of traditional mountain shelters — think trekking basecamps, not lavish homes — but with a significantly smaller environmental footprint. Much of the LEAP’s “green” gains are derived from construction technologies for building planes and [...]

Glove Affair

Leather usually doesn’t hold up well when Ol’ Man Winter puts on the hurtin’. Our recent tests with Helly Hansen’s Leather Gloves ($100) proved they are an exception, even in wet weather. Armed with Primaloft insulation, Helly Tech Protection fabric and rich goatskin leather, these durable mitts warm up quickly and keep moisture out. Don’t [...]

Mountain bound, urban adept

We see just about every size and shape of bag — no complaints here — but we’ve grown fond of the proficient carries from Topo Designs. Blame it on a blend of proficient design and great prices. And of course, the fact that each bag is made in the Colorado Rockies. As a follow-up to [...]

Date-approved, yet still enjoyable

Despite what the posters say, Our Idiot Brother is less of a roll-on-the-floor-comedy, and more of a feel-good-indie. That doesn’t mean you won’t laugh out loud while watching though (the parole officer conversations and an attempted threesome are particularly rich moments). Loaded with generation X stars including Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones [...]

“What happens if we mix the sound of a classical orchestra with the modern tones of a powerful motorsound? What’s the outcome if we try to use the momentum of a melody and blend it to the deep sound of a V8 or the high tone of a biturbo engine?” These are the questions the [...]

Insightful sightseeing

For most people, the term travel guide triggers visions of stout books, stuffed to the margins with 10 point font and the occasional over-saturated color photo. Boutique firm Herb Lester and Associates rebels against this stereotype by working with exceptional illustrators and designers to create beautiful guides to the world’s great cities. Each detailed edition [...]

Hidden Help

Golf is hard. Truth be told, we make it harder than it has to be. We’ll buy drivers and putters the size of snow shovels, but for some reason, we insist on playing irons beyond our abilities. Callaway Golf is offering a chance to make amends for years of frustration and futility with the RAZR [...]

Hot pocket

After a long wait and numerous teaser posts, GORUCK Field Pockets ($85-$110) are finally up for grabs. While there are plenty of excellent MOLLE pouch options out there, we’ve been holding out for GR’s option, and it’s been worth the wait. In the lineup are three pockets of varying sizes from 1.6L to 4.2L, each [...]

Canned craftsmanship

These days, craft beer is all the rage. And gaining more momentum seemingly every day is the canned beer revolution, in which many craft beers are eschewing bottles for cans. One of our favorite in-can libations is Bengali Tiger IPA from Brooklyn-based Sixpoint Craft Ales. Unlike some overly-hopped, bitingly bitter India Pale Ales, Sixpoint’s Bengali [...]

Bean Boots will always be a classic, but if you’re itching to let your current pair tap out once in a while, these Jimmy Boots by Native offer similar levels of foul weather protection in a more technical — and colorful form. Features of note include complete water protection, a micro fleece lining, and odor/antimicrobial [...]

Ridiculous Amphibious

We’re pretty sure we imagined a boat with retractable tank treads out on the playground, but Iguana Yacht founder Antoine Brugidou claims the idea came to him while navigating unique locations like the bay of Mont St. Michel, where low tide is known to reveal miles of sandbanks and rocks. This complicated terrain inspired him [...]

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