Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Always Analog

The Pelle Leather Journal ($30) is another worthy addition to your analog record keeping repertoire. Inspired by the hard to find and broadly loved Midori Traveler’s Notebook, it features a sturdy leather cover with elastic retainer band and the ability to hold up to three different notebooks in one cover. The covers are made in the [...]

There's an artisan for that

We have a hefty amount of respect for good writing instruments here at Gear Patrol. The No. 2 pencil holds a place near and dear to our hearts (nod to the Dixon Ticonderoga) both for its functional excellence and standardized testing nostalgia — fact: there are now three sections to the SAT’s. So, when we [...]

Inspected By...

Business cards? Good. Letterpress? Better. Custom inspector stamps? Awesome. Put your 3/4″ mark on the world, or anywhere you can tromp your seal onto with a custom Cranky Pressman Inspector Stamp ($23). Small enough to tag along with your keys use the stamp to place your signature, artwork, or any other custom demarcation (we like: [...]

Distinctive task master

In the age of cloud syncing, location aware reminders, and über productivity apps, it’s easy to dismiss physical calendars as vestiges of the stone age. We embrace the convenience of a digital life as much as the next person, but that will never overshadow our fondness for finely crafted accessories like the Postalco Pressed Cotton [...]

A lamp for a lifetime

Any stylish LED desk lamp will dwarf their standard incandescent compadres in terms of energy efficiency. Jake Dyson’s CSYS LED task light (~$850) nearly triples the average life time of other LED bulbs though by reducing the wear and tear that normally comes from overheating. Using heat pipe technology originally developed for satellites and computing, [...]

Just don't call it a pencil

Though far and few in today’s writing supply, the Lead Holder used to be a widely used instrument with hundreds of variants. Each refillable tool was built with a variety of loading and holding mechanisms, sizes, and applications for everyone from the draftsman to the artist. One characteristic they all shared though was their intended [...]

Coolbical

The Magazin Secretary Flatmate has all of the qualities we expect from great German design. It’s sleek, functional and backhands your wallet with authority. Fully expanded, the modern secretary provides a 28 x 16.5-inch work space, capable of easily accommodating a 17-inch laptop, along with other peripheral gadgets like an iPad on the included powder [...]

Bundle Up

In the digital age, the analog markers of a thoughtful desk are disappearing faster than our hopes for a 2011-2012 NBA season. Call us old fashioned, but we still find value in having our work stations stand out from the pack of brushed aluminum and little white cords. If you’re a kindred spirit in that [...]

Penchritudinous

Qualities we like in our writing instruments: weight, simplicity, and crisp writing lines. Caran d’Ache, who you boligrafo boffins might know from their mind-bogglingly expensive bejeweled implements may not be the first you’d go to for a first class jotter, but the Swiss brand also creates refreshingly simple writing instruments. The Caran D’Ache Silver Metal [...]

Office Gym

The Origin Workstation ($4,160) is the kind of office furniture you’d expect to find in the shiny new digs of a silicon valley startup. Weighing in at 250 pounds a pop, each piece is made from reclaimed gym flooring that showcases the original sport lines and features eight below surface storage shelves for organizing office [...]

Born to be Styled

Whether your brewing aspirations of becoming the next Billy Reid are spilling over to bar napkins or you simply like the idea of sketching out the clothes you might want to wear or mod, we can’t think of a better, or cooler place to start compiling your ideas than the Fashionary Menswear Sketchbook ($24). The [...]

Grids + Lines + Leather

First came paper with lines and grids. Now Doane Paper has doled out a new trio of hand-crafted leather goods for you traditional scribes. Shrouded in genuine Horween Chromexcel leather, DP Leather Works come in three offerings: 4 Barrel Pen Holster, Flap Jotter Cover, or Notebook Cover. All less than $70. Each are crafted in [...]

Orson Well

With a heartbreaking price you might be tempted to immediately look past the 365 Orson Desk ($3,845), but give it a few more seconds and you’ll immediately see that its hand-finished American Black Walnut and seasoned cast iron construction make this one ravishing lectern. But designer Matthew Hilton didn’t just create this as an exercise [...]

Number Wonder

One day, we may all look back at today’s digital gadgets with loving fondness. Call it a hunch, but we’re pretty certain a 3rd generation iPod Nano won’t quite conjure up quite the same nostalgia that vinyl does today. Digital treasures do exist though, and here in its latest guise, the quintessential HP 12c 30th [...]

Writing Off the Wall

Since 1883 Kaweco of Germany has been applying their company motto “small in the pocket, great in the hand” in their efforts to produce high end writing implements. Case in point: the AC Sport Carbon Fiber Fountain Pen ($112), which embodies the company motto right down the last dotted ‘I’ and crossed ‘T’. The pen is [...]