Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Never over cook again

Sous-vide (pronounced soo-veed) is a rather nerdy, but effective cooking submovement in the world of haute cuisine. The term literally translates to “under vacuum” in french, and involves sealing food in airtight plastic bags which are then placed in a precisely maintained hot water bath for extended periods of time. Typically the water temperatures are [...]

Chuck the plastic, toast the steel

If you weren’t one of our eagle eye readers that spotted them in yesterday’s Tasting Notes feature (there’s a hint after the jump), this should make things a bit more obvious. A collaboration between Nau and the BPA-free boffins at Kleen Kanteen, these stainless steel ($39) chalices are made from food-grade stainless steel and feature [...]

Mixology 101

New York’s famed Please Don’t Tell nails the hidden speakeasy vibe like few other establishments in the city. For example, gaining access to the snug cocktail lounge requires patrons to find the hidden entrance located behind the vintage phone booth in the attached hot dog joint Crif Dogs. Jim Meehan’s inventiveness behind the bar, however, [...]

Hammer the gods of winter

The Thor ice scraper ($20) is another clever idea to emerge from the creative product think tank Qwirky. It’s purposeful double-blade design allows users to scrape both backwards and forwards. Rubber-coated front and rear grips provide plenty of points for leverage, so there’s no need for excessive force either. The handle is also extendable up [...]

Hold 'em or fold 'em

The Craftsman Clench Wrench ($30) is a hybrid tool that combines the convenient folding design of a pocket knife with the torque-applying benefits of your typical spanner. Besides putting a nail in the coffin of the “is that a wrench in your pocket…” joke, the spring-loaded adjustable jaw easily fits a wide range of fastener [...]

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 [...]

The closest you'll get to drinking with Shackleton

The Alfred Dunhill antarctic whisky cabinet is a soon-to-be heirloom that any fan of fine booze and craftsmanship can appreciate — even if few on this earth could ever afford such an extravagance. The three bottles included in this set are faithful replications of Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky from the 1907. In case [...]

Blended Blender

DeLonghi’s new 12-cup food processor with blender ($300) is designed to combat the kitchen gadget sprawl that plagues many yuppie households. Thanks to a dual-drive motor system, the die cast metal base unit supports speed variations found on most blenders and food processors. With that power issue out of the way, users just have to [...]

Two Bar Garage

As much as we want “YardStash” to refer to especially epic upper lip sweaters, the term has already been claimed by a company who hopes you’ll buy a tent, instead of a shed, when your gear overfloweth. To keep things safe from the elements, the shelter sports weather-proof coated heavy duty polyester with a reinforced [...]

Sconce upon a time

Founder Marc Knight’s days don’t just begin and end with a building, despite the fact that he helms a successful construction company in Austin. But one look at Machine Shop Lighting Co. and you might see why. Born from a dissatisfaction for available lighting choices on his building projects combined with a passion for industrial [...]

Light Reading

When it comes to home design, — it doesn’t get any cooler than having your own secret passage way. If you can’t have the real thing, though, designer Ben Light’s (that’s seriously his last name) Secret Passageway Switch ($50) is definitely the next best alternative. This clever hack is designed to work with most book/lamp [...]

Fire escape hearth

Weighing in at 32 pounds, slightly less than the totalitarian Mongol it’s named after, the Genghis Kahn Hibachi ($180) offers up more than one way to get meat cooked. The stout, yet compact cast-iron grill provides three cooking schemes: flat griddle, 16-skewer shish kebab attachment, or a convex grilling grate with V-Grooves — an improvement [...]

Powder Power

Does your hate for shoveling snow equal your disdain for poor fuel economy? Then Honda’s first-ever Hybrid Snow Blower ($8,000) was designed for you. It’s gas-powered four-stroke iGX390 engine provides enough spinning auger and blower power to discharge 83 tons per hour at distances of up to 62 feet (bombs away!). The fossil fuel burner [...]

Spin in Black

The Puma Blackout Table Tennis Table by design firm Aruliden seeks to elevates the cult rec room sport to a higher plane — specifically, the Penthouse level — thanks to its angular black ash wood legs, clean matte-black finish, and steel mesh net. No matter how killer your serve is though, do try and avoid [...]

Chef by a thousand cuts