Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Our new favorite Russian export

The latest vodka to enter the US, Russian Standard Gold Vodka ($45) is made from 100 percent Russian ingredients, including winter wheat from the Russian Black Steppes, soft glacial water from Lake Ladoga in Northern Russia and Siberian Ginseng extracts. The spirit has a luxuriously rich mouthfeel and smooth taste. Hinting at herbs, caramel and [...]

A head start on booking your holiday plans

Despite our concerted efforts to cover the best books over the course of the year, there are still plenty of worthy titles that we didn’t get around to talking about. Subsequently, these selections represent an end of the year GP reading list of sorts for bringing your home library up to speed on 2011. Pack [...]

Taking a bite out of weight

Just because something isn’t broke doesn’t mean you can’t tweak it. Recasting its popular, stainless steel predecessor the PocketToolX Piranha Titanium ($95) proves that lighter is better. 30% to be exact. An open wrench, pry tip, oxygen bottle wrench, metric wrench, scraper, box ripper, 1.5″ driver bit, knot un-tier, and the requisite bottle opener are [...]

The virtual DJ your party's been waiting for

Services like Pandora and Apple’s Genius technology changed the way many of us consumed music, by intelligently mixing and matching songs to fit a particular theme or mood. These jukeboxes of the digital age, however, still fall well short of what professional DJs do best — the continuous mix. Pioneer’s newly launched Mixtrax music software [...]

Give the gift of drink

The holidays are quickly approaching, which means you probably haven’t started shopping yet. No worries. At least one of your friends is likely a heavy drinker libations connoisseur, so we rounded up some of our favorite products sure to satisfy even the most discerning drinker. Check below for gift ideas, and remember –- it’s best [...]

The result of six months of timelapse footage captured over a 1,600 mile journey, Finding Oregon paints the beaver state in a way like you’ve never seen before. Iconic locales like the Blue Mountains, Crater Lake and Columbia River Gorge amongst others are captured at near-impossible moments to create what might be the best “visit [...]

Not so nano

Yeah, we know. Another day, another iPod Dock. But unlike the one sitting in your bedroom, the 8-foot by 4-foot Behringer iNuke Boom ($30,000) probably won’t fit on your nightstand. Then again, it won’t win any awards for classy product names either. Inside the 700 pound stereo beast, the iNuke has been endowed with 10,000 [...]

It takes two to tango

Speed or power? That’s the decision you’ll need to make before you don a pair of Nike Zoom Kobe VII System Supreme ($140-$180, Dec. 22). Two interchangeable inserts provide either full-length Cushlon midsole and ankle cuff for a power bias, or a Phylon midsole with Nike Zoom units and a low-cut power-stretch cuff for aiding [...]

Speed Racer

If you thought the Ariel Atom 3 was a crazy ride, you haven’t seen anything. After three years of development, the engineers at UK-based Ariel have just released the 2012 Ariel Atom 500 V8 ($250,000). Limited to 25 production models, the Atom 500 V8 has a lightweight 3-liter, naturally aspirated 500 horsepower. Okay, so that, [...]

Unless you happen to live right above a New York based GANT store, you may have missed a new collection of small leather goods that launched today. Each piece is crafted by Tärnsjö, a family operated tannery just outside of Sweden, renowned for their leather (you’ve seen them before on Brooks saddles). Here, the collection [...]

The fabric of active lives

Outdoor activity is unpleasant when: A). you are wet; B). your pack is too heavy; or C) when you are not wearing and Outdoor Research Axiom Jacket with Gore-Tex Active Shell (which, conveniently, solves all of these problems). Gore-Tex –- a name that needs no introduction — recently unveiled the latest advancement in its long [...]

Life as a US Military Front Lines Photographer PopPhoto Bruce Weber’s Documentary on Film Legend Chet Baker Open Culture The Most Comprehensive Infographic About Money, Ever XKCD 5 Boroughs in 48 Hours Dwell How to Write with Style (Long Read) Novelr The Sportsman’s Guide to London Garden & Gun

Home sweet home theater

As rabid movie, music fans and gamers, we’re always on the hunt for gear that can push our home entertainment experience to 11 (much to our better half’s chagrin). This roundup includes some of our favorite home theater products out today that we’d love to host in our living room. Continues after the jump.

Yule Time

‘Tis the season for wishes and we bet that a lot of Gear Patrol readers have a new watch on their Christmas lists. We do, too, so we rounded up ten of the most exciting and gift-worthy timepieces of the year for you to add to yours. Whether you’ve been naughty or nice is between [...]

Fact: it’s always a pain to find a decent pair of trunks in the cold weather season, despite the fact that the beach is one of the places you’ve probably got on your list of desired destinations. Developed with a broader wearer (read: like us), the Onia Marko Trunk sticks to a more comfortable overall [...]