Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Rip yourself up, not your equipment

Sandbag training provides plenty of benefits for athletes of all stripes compared to routines centered only around formal weight lifting. Their awkward shape, along with the slight movements of the sand inside, provides an added endurance challenge, forcing users to constantly adjust to the weight. The no-handled variety are excellent for increasing grip strength too. [...]

Monitor your movements, compete against the world

Nike has finally decided to compete directly with startups like Fitbit to help consumers keep track of how much energy they’re burning throughout the day. To do it, the sports leviathan first had to develop a consistent measuring stick for comparing various activities (and people) head to head. So-called NikeFuel is the metric they came [...]

Your Life on Your Wrist

If you’re a runner, cyclist, hiker or skier, you (hopefully) know how important it is to carry emergency contact and medical information. It’s also a good idea to carry some money in case you bank far from home or just if you want to get a mid-ride ice cream. The problem is, where do you [...]

Bog Deep and 12 Miles to Go

For the uninitiated, or those of you who haven’t heard, Tough Mudder is one of the forerunners of the now fully entrenched obstacle course challenges and race phenomenon. The brain child of former British Army Officer Will Dean, Tough Mudder combines military style obstacle course components with an 8-12 mile trail run. In the last [...]

Shred Your Arms, Not Your Wallet

PowerBlocks aren’t new. In fact, they’ve been around since 1993 — if their website design didn’t clue you in. If you’re looking for a way to workout beyond the gym, PowerBlock Dumbbells are still the most affordable and flexible option when it comes to adjustable weight training. They’re designed like a simple weight stack with [...]

Real Icing, Bros

When we described the Moji Knee as an icing smart bomb last summer, we weren’t joking around. It did and does everything as advertised and has been a real life saver. So, when Moji let us know they were releasing a Moji Back, we decided to give it the Gear Patrol hands-on treatment. The Moji [...]

Surf the Concrete Jungle

Snowboard season may still be a ways off, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get practice in now. The Flowlab Skateboard ($80) is the brainchild of an effort to design a board for San Francisco riders that tackles the city’s steep slopes, and it works. The fact that it can replicate the feel of snowboarding [...]

Bringing Cross Training to Your Elliptical

As fitness routines have evolved, gym equipment have adapted. Octane Fitness has taken the great workout from an elliptical trainer and blended in the added benefits of cross training. The Q47 Elliptical ($4,095) features Octane’s signature Workout Boosters and the ingenious CROSS CiRCUIT+ strength-training program. To do this, Octane Fitness utilizes Powerbands and stationary side [...]

Handy Power

One of the most critical areas of strength, no matter what your sport, instrument, or adventure is hand strength. Problem is, it’s one of the most overlooked elements in a man’s workout regimen. Remedy that. The Gripmaster Pro Hand Strengthener ($15) provides several weight-resistances (7-11lbs) and exercises like fingertip pinch, flat fist, and powergrip – [...]

Fit & Finish In Full Attendance

Details. Exemplary attention to detail. That was the recurring theme that came to mind over and over on a recent test of Lululemon workout apparel. With our collegiate athletic issue gear singing its requiem we sought to test out Lululemon after hearing numerous people swear by it. Coming into the review skeptical but optimistic, we’re [...]

Cheat Sheet Mat

Sure, reading men’s magazines about different workouts and stretches is great, but like a Google search, I manage to forget everything I read in a matter of seconds. No takeaways and prefer leaving the “bring my magazine with me while I’m working out” doucheyness for the guy. The result? Same workout, every time. G2 has [...]

Rethinking Instability Dumbbells

Instability is the new “black” in the fitness world. We’ve seen it permeate every type of workout equipment, and now we’re adding dumbbells to the list. Why? Because we’ve had a chance to use SandBells. The SandBell ($8-$85) is a cross between a sandbag, a dumbbell, a barbell, a grip bag, a medicine ball, a [...]

Feel Fight the Burn

Regardless of the time of year or climatic adversity, many of our readers are committed to getting out of doors and doing their thing. We applaud this effort and feel much the same, even if half of our motivation is the chance to test the latest in performance gear and products. The impending summer heat [...]

Developed By the U.S. Navy Seals... Enough Said

Working out should be an integral part of your life. Maintaining consistency with your workouts is probably the hardest part for many of you (it certainly is for us). Trips, late nights at the office, meeting up with friends, and being tired all make it incredibly easy to start skipping your workouts. With that in [...]

These Have Cojones

Medicine (Med) Balls are an excellent compliment and change up to your workouts. There are few exercises as cathartic as med ball slams. The Garage Gym Store’s Med Balls are made to take any abuse you can dish out. Wall ball, wall slams, floor slams, or partner toss the Garage Gym Store Med Balls will [...]