Welcome To The New Gear Patrol
See our Letter From The Editor
Welcome (back) to Gear Patrol. In response to the ravenous clamoring of our loyal patrons, Gear Patrol’s own transition team has toiled tirelessly to offer you a web resource unlike any other. The new Gear Patrol is a site for men, by men – and a damn good one at that. Every tweak and improvement has been made with you, our reader, in mind. We know that this latest evolution of Gear Patrol looks better than ever, and now you’ll be able to find the content that suits you with incredible ease.
By way of a tour, we invite you to look around site. Feel free to poke and prod; you can’t hurt anything. We want you to dig right in. The new Gear Patrol is meant to be eaten with your hands, not just admired from afar.
The first thing you’ll likely notice is our featured article, staring your right in the face. Every day, when you come to get your Gear Patrol, we’ll be right up front with the one post you’ve just got to see. To make sure that you don’t miss any of these important digests, we’ll keep a running tally of them just to the right of the daily feature.
As you explore further down the page, you’ll see our veritable table of contents. From here on out, we’re simplifying the filing of our content into ten categories, making it easier than ever to see what we’ve got to say about the things that interest you most.
Just below the content bar, running down the left side of the page, you’ll see a familiar Gear Patrol feature, a chronological listing of our latest articles, regardless of their category, providing you the ease of reading a blog. This is where you’ll come to see the full breadth of GP’s expertise.
You can search any of the 1200+ articles in our comprehensive archives or by publication date and category via a drop down menu at the lower right of the page. This is where you’d go to pull up all of the features penned by your favorite Gear Patrol scribe (hint, hint). As you are consuming any and all of our product related posts, be advised that we’ll always try to provide you with a direct link to purchase the item from a trusted source. We get a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that we can help you find just what you’ve been looking for.
To the right, you’ll see some exciting new features including a weekly poll, drink recommendations, our favorite bits of advice and quotation, quick links to preferred gear, as well as one of our favorite Gear Girls to keep an eye on your browsing. At the bottom of the page, you’ll now find editor’s recommendations for must-see web content found at Gear Patrol and beyond.
We hope that you’ll enjoy the new Gear Patrol as much as we already do. For all of the improvement to the site, one thing hasn’t changed: Gear Patrol still pledges to deliver the best in original, authentic content to you daily authored by real men. We look forward great reviews and editorials considered and authored by our newly expanded crew.
As always, we invite your comments and critique below, so don’t be shy to give us your feedback on the new site, as well as our general awesomeness. Here’s to you and to the newly advanced Gear Patrol.
![2008 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti One to One [2008 NY Auto Show]](http://gearpatrol.com/blog/wp-content/themes/arthemia-premium/scripts/timthumb.php?src=http://gearpatrol.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/2008-ferrari-612-scaglietti-one-to-one-thumb.jpg&w=80&h=80&zc=1&q=100)
I’ve been a pretty big fan of GP ever sense I stumbled onto the site about a year ago. If your making big changes, I figure now is as good of time as any to throw in my two cents. I would love to see when items are featured, a link is also provided to go directly to Amazon or another site where it can be purchased. Also I don’t think there is enough focus on good gear that is inexpensive enough for the average 25 or 30 year old to pick up. Although I have to give Kudos on the article ‘5 Beds Fit For a Man’, I would love to see more articles like this one. Thanks for the time and good luck with the new layout. If you ever are looking for a guest writer to review sailing gear and equipment you have my email address.
Loyal Gear Patrol Reader,
Chris Hoy
Chris,
Thanks for the good word. We’re extremely grateful for readers such as yourself; this is especially true when you guys jump into the conversation and participate in the evolution of Gear Patrol. You were asking about links to purchase sites, so I wanted to let you know that at the conclusion of most product posts, you’ll find item pricing linked to the very place where you can secure that object of your desire. Typically, this will be through Amazon or a manufacturer’s website.
Additionally, we agree with your anguished cry for affordable gear. Gear Patrol will continue to feature items that offer superb value to men across the income range, along with those bits of luxurious gear of which we can sometimes only dream.
Cheers,
Dusty
Seems pretty damn ridiculous that the only items that can be written about here, at least in terms of clothing, are pretty pricey. Is this actually GearPatrolForTheMetrosexualWithATrustFund.com or GearPatrolForTheManWithASixFigureSalary.com? I think that if you tried to find products that were affordable, design-oriented and well-made that it would be much more fulfilling; after all, you do get the most interesting results when you are faced with strict guidlines and hurdles. I find nothing impressive about what is done here. I can find tons of amazing products that are pricey to most people, seems that you can too. Hooray, you’ve shown me nothing. Get some balls and do some digging and post some information about products that are accessible to most. For example, start with great fitting, great looking pants for under $50. (that doesn’t mean it costs $49.99.) Seriously now.
John,
I think all of us over here at GP appreciate your input. Taking the example you mentioned to heart, can you provide us with any brand of pants that you feel meet the criteria of: being under $50 dollars, feel & fit great, and are made of high quality material?
Please don’t take my question in a negative way as I’m not asking to be sarcastic or condescending at all. On the contrary I think everyone of us on staff appreciates learning about new products and brands so if you’ve got specific examples let us know as that’s something our staff and our audience can benefit from.
In terms of your question of whether is this site is really oriented towards a metrosexual audience, if you took the time to read more about our writers, I’d think you’d find that many don’t come any where close to living a metrosexual lifestyle, or wanting to for that matter.
For instance our Copy Chief Dusty, who replied to Chris’s comment above, is self described as working by day in the construction industry, lives in the south eastern U.S., and is an avid video gamer. In other words qualities not immediately associated with stereotypes of those living a metrosexual lifestyle (or at least not with the stereotype I’m familiar with).
Nor do our writers focus on catering to those with six figure salaries. Personally I write with people like myself in mind, and my annual salary doesn’t come any where close to reaching six figures. Naturally I aspire to be there one day, and sometimes it’s fun to learn and write about products I can’t personally afford in my current stage of life, but that assuredly is not my primary focus.
Finally, no one on staff here believes that a product’s price directly correlates with its quality. Our hope is that you don’t either. If you get some time, dig a little deeper and we think you’ll see our content direction has come a long way since the inception of Gear Patrol. There’s plenty more to come too. Like the web, we’re evolving.
For instance, one of the features current scrolling along the top of our site is 5 easy & Inexpensive ensembles for the work place. Reading the article you’ll find the piece offers suggestions on four complete outfits for various fields of work, all whose total price comes to between $200-$300. You can view a link to this feature below:
5 Easy Inexpensive Ensembles for the Workplace Part 1
Another post on the second page of our fashion and style section is on a Land’s End canvas field coat which retails for $50 at landsend.com A link to that article is also below.
Land’s End Canvas Field Coat
Again though, I think all of us would welcome any supplemental input you might have on other companies we could feature that fit into the model of high quality products at really affordable prices. We’re constantly searching for to expand our own knowledge, and it goes without saying that we depend on audience members such as yourself to bring to our attention relevant things we might be missing. Thanks again though for your comment, as every bit of input helps!
Regards,
Ben
Long time reader, first time poster. First off, I must give you all kudos on the new layout. Looks amazing and functions exactly as it should. This is obviously one step forward for GP but one GIANT leap forward for your readers.
I feel I must agree in part with my fellow readers above. I would love to see more articles focused on budget minded shopping, yet with a flair for design. The ‘5 Beds Fit for a Man’ article was a perfect example of this. I hope to see more along those lines in the future.
Secondly, I would also like to see more articles written with those in the 18-25 age range in mind. Being someone in the range, I’ve noticed that college is one place where you truly begin to decide where you want yourself to fall into this world. This would be a great time for you guys to grabs these kids and show them things that they wouldn’t be learning about watching MTV and Will Ferrel movies. The “young republicans” and trust-funders already know about high end watches and Italian suits, but you also have those of us out there who are tired of American Eagle sweatshirts and Abercrombie and Fitch Caps.
Directing a few articles here and there towards young, hip fashions for the budget minded college student, or even an article for “Dorm Room Furniture Design” would be a wonderful, refreshing read.
Again, I thank you all for the wonderful site and for keeping us updated on the latest and greatest. And remember, if you’re ever interested in picking up a writer to cover or review some of those college directed items, I’d be more than willing to lend a hand.
Happily rocking GP as my homepage,
Phil
It would be nice if you would bring back the full RSS feeds.
Chris - As mentioned before, most often whenever there’s an actual price listed, we try our best to make sure the price is a clickable link to the actual destination where you can purchase that item (online retailers, et al). Check out a few of the posts you and whenever there’s a price listed, I think you’ll see that we’ve made 99% of them clickable. As for more inexpensive gear… yes, this is very much something we’re working on highlighting more of. Send us any recommendations you might have too. As for sailing, give Ben a shout - he just got certified in sailing and I believe will be chronicling that in an upcoming article. Talk about a hobby that racks up expensive gear though(!).
John - Yes, we’re guilty of some major luxury indulgences. I think any man would say that at some point he’s overdone it on a purchase of some kind. Give us some time and keep coming back. I think you’ll see that as we talk/write about all the great gear out there (both wildly and well priced), it will serve as a great addition to the interesting features we’re working on. We’re growing into it. Send us some ideas if you have any to info @ gearpatrol dot com. Maybe then we can work on obtaining the site: GearPatrolForTheGuyWhoWantsToBetterHimselfWithoutTheNeedToSpendAllHisMoney.com
Phil - We’re definitely expanding our assortment of content. The 5 Bed Features was among may we’ve done and TONS more to come. We published a 10 Great Wines Under $20 feature earlier today. There’s plenty more to come and though we can’t guarantee every man will like everything - we’re focused on bringing better/more content to the masses of men who are overlooked by other sites, blogs and magazines. Make sure and send in any ideas you have and help us keep spreading the word about GP.
Richard - We’re sorting out some issues throughout Gear Patrol, including the execution of our feeds. Bear with us as we try to get things back up and running properly. We’ve got a lot of subscribers that read GP through our site through RSS and though they’re unable to get the full ‘experience’ of the site - we fully understand the benefits of an RSS reader.
Everyone else - Keep leaving comments. We want to hear them as they help make GP a better experience for everyone!
Eric,
Thanks for re-enabling full RSS feeds. I understand that people tend to lose the full effect of websites when using RSS, but it’s just easier when you have hundreds of sites you want to keep up with. Full RSS feeds allow me to keep everything in one place.
Anyway, just wanted to pass along my thanks.
Richard
Your e-mail feed used to include pictures. Now it doesn’t.
This makes it *less* likely to catch my eye when I skim through it, and make me less likely to click over to the actual site which means less ad revenue and traffic for you.
There’s *another* gear mag that doesn’t have pictures in their emails, and I always loved that yours did. Don’t be like them.
Pictures!
Just so everyone knows:
The Gear Patrol Dispatch with images will be reinstated this weekend. We’ve been migrating things over and had some difficulty with that and may still have some bugs we’re trying to work out.
Benjamin - It’s more important for the team here to know our readers are enjoying the site versus ad revenue. That definitely includes the email dispatch. Trust me, we’re all about pictures here.
To Eric and the Gear Patrol Staff,
Well apparently I am unable to refrain from hitting the enter button in my comments. My apologies.
I would like to thank you for creating this site. There are few places that I find these days that not only offer good advice but also offer a healthy appreciation for those of us who are constantly trying to find something original and personal. I am proud to say that Gear Patrol is one of the sites I frequent daily for this very reason.
As for the new layout, I find that it is much more captivating then before in its appearance. I would agree with Phil’s comment about expanding your articles aimed towards the 18-25 year old crowd. As one of these “young men” if you will, I know that times are changing. Having a website, editorial, etc… that can become a tradition through both good times and bad offers a solid point of reference. A place that remains true to those continually trying to become better friends, boyfriends, coworkers, and men.
My final word of advice would be to follow your motto. Continue to evolve your website and, through it, yourself. Never find yourself satisfied with where you are. The sky is the limit my friend.
Nick Strann