Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Chill Out, and About

Sometimes it’s nice to keep things chilled without lugging around a cooler. Cascade’s Cardboard Cooler Boxes ($15) are a new green alternative to the styrofoam options we’ve all used before (which are probably still sitting in mint condition on the garbage heap they were dumped on, right next to the Twinkies). Each box is composed [...]

Serves You Right

The Urbancase Sidebar ($3,100) is a proper workspace worthy of any aspiring mixologist. More than just a pretty face, the handcrafted walnut cabinet features a laterally sliding panel which hides adjacent compartments for liquor and glassware, providing some much needed personal space between your Macallan and that handle of Old Grand-Dad you swear was left [...]

Cold and Calculating

The purpose of a Beer Froster ($550+) should be self-evident. What may not be so obvious is how it’s different from a standard freezer. Anyone who has ever attempted to cool down some brews quickly in the freezer and then forgot about it has learned that the consequences of combining beer with freezing temperatures can [...]

Demolition, Man.

Artillery Tool’s various pry bar systems are designed to help professionals and do-it-yourselfers alike tear down construction like Stephon Marbury destroyed his career. While all of their kits feature a variety of interchangeable handles and specialized pry heads, the Disaster Restoration Set ($440)is their top of the line offering. The 22 specialized wrecking components packed [...]

Well Sounded

Long before AirPlay was on the scene, Sonos products made streaming music wirelessly throughout the home an easy affair. The company’s new Play 3 ($299) speaker is no exception. Designed to act on its own as a small but mighty audio solution for apartments, or as part of a larger Sonos system, its 5.2 x [...]

Your Mac's New Big Brother

Screaming thunderbolt three times while hoisting a sword into the sky won’t do anything. The nifty technology embedded in Apple’s latest über monitor does, however, provide new Mac owners with a hassle free docking station, not to mention 27 glorious inches of display real estate. Specifically, connecting one MagSafe cable to the display, and one [...]

Box of Awesome

Surprise the chip off the old block or just re-connect with your inner child by picking up the Summer Camp Care Kit ($145) from Best Made Company. Jam-packed with a horde of nostalgic treasures including Latex slingshot tubing, a four way vintage Swiss army flashlight, a three blade whittling knife, an engineer’s compass, a 45x [...]

And You Thought HD Made the Game Look Good

Neil Leifer is the world’s preeminent sports photographer. Don’t recognize the name? Well, just know that 160 of his images have graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, 40 have made the cover of Time, he’s published over 15 books, and he took this photo of Muhammad Ali’s 1965 knock out of Sonny Liston. Mull over [...]

Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win is the latest epic music video to be released off of the iconic rap trio’s new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part I. Directed by Spike Jonze and featuring musical guest Santigold, the lengthy spectacle runs 11:00 minutes long (that’s just two minutes shy of Thriller proportions), and [...]

Conquer More

Pure. Uncut. Powder. We’re not discussing Whitney Houston’s daydreams here people. We’re talking about the stuff that transforms passionate snowboarders into giddy Catholic school girls. Sure, if you can commandeer a chopper on a whim, accessing the stuff in the prime backcountry of your choice is an easy affair. For those of more humble means, [...]

Snack Better

Want a crash course on the “miracles” of modern industrial food science? Then take a gander at the ingredients of a bag of big brand microwave popcorn. What seems like a simple process apparently requires a labs worth of chemicals and GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) to flavor, preserve, and pop those gum aggravating kernels into [...]

Stash in Style

A cluttered coffee table has killed many a well-designed room. The Caliper Coffee Table ($300) from CB2 can help keep remotes, books, and other constantly accumulating living room detritus out of sight thanks to two cleverly hidden end drawers. Styled to match most modern decor, the table’s white oak veneer top with a steel tube [...]

Assaulting Batteries? Guilty as Charged.

Mac heads are normally a pretty cohesive group — that is until you ask what “magic” product they prefer using. Both the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad have their respective advantages, but until recently, dealing with frequent battery changes was an issue for either side. Thanks to the Mobee Magic Charger ($50) the tides have [...]

Say what you will about the current condition of America’s 46,876 miles of highways, but there’s still no denying their status as a marvel of modern engineering and planning. You may recall from middle school social studies (or more recent History Channel binges) that Eisenhower championed the federal highway project as a necessary undertaking for [...]

Getting the Most Out of Those $20 Pieces of Plastic

You may be through with the whole disc-based movie thing at this point, but anyone who demands the best in video quality will value the firepower of Onkyo’s newly announced BD-SP809 Blu-ray player ($599). It’s THX certified, and sports Marvell’s Qdeo processing for top notch DVD 1080p upscaling and Blu-ray video quality. Home theater geeks [...]