Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

One star resort

Part childhood camp, part adult retreat, all neo-luddite, Camp Wandawega proves relaxation doesn’t have to involve iPads and DVRs. In lieu of technology, Wandawega’s camp counselors — oh yes, there are counselors — are happy to point you to activities like lake fishing, archery, various court sports, or one of the many other non-internet-connected activities [...]

Claim in Style

Our ever-tasteful friends at Cool Hunting brought this new travel accessory from one of our favorite notebook brands to our attention. Much to our pleasure, these 3.75 x 2.25 pay direct homage to the company’s classic hard cover journals and feature rounded edges along with a matching elastic closure. Available in four color ways, the [...]

Data Decadence

Jetsetting is a nightmare for untethered internet junkies — particularly when papa corporation isn’t footing the tab. Sure, most U.S. wireless carriers can keep the data flowing, but at their rates, careless users will lose their shirts faster than a night of craps at the Bellagio by just checking email. Frugal types may go through [...]

Whoa, down in Mexico

With just 20 bungalows strewn across 99-acres of mountainside in Mexican wine country, Endemico Resguardo Silvestre might be the best reason to go South of the Border yet. Designed with eco-friendly mentality the demure, yet capacious rooms (each measures about 215 sq ft), called EcoLofts, are built from corten steel and elevated from the ground [...]

Noel Nomad

The person who coined the phrase “getting there is half the fun”, clearly never had to travel by air, train, bus, or car during the holiday season. No amount of planning can ever guarantee a smooth journey, but having the “right tools for the job”, as they say, will go a long way towards making [...]

Insightful sightseeing

For most people, the term travel guide triggers visions of stout books, stuffed to the margins with 10 point font and the occasional over-saturated color photo. Boutique firm Herb Lester and Associates rebels against this stereotype by working with exceptional illustrators and designers to create beautiful guides to the world’s great cities. Each detailed edition [...]

Our weekend at the Golden City institution

All hotels are judged on their location, amenities, and service, but a unique sense of style is usually what separates the good from the remarkable. San Francisco’s historic Clift has all of these qualities in ample supply. Since being opened in 1915 on the corner of Geary and Taylor St., the luxury hotel has offered [...]

Jamaica, by way of food, culture and of course, rum

When the Jamaica Tourist Board invites you to Jamaica for five days of culinary and cultural adventures, you don’t say no. You pack some sandals and swim gear, and you leave some extra space in your bag for local rum. Turns out there was very little beach time on the trip, but as this writer [...]

Versa(style)

Luggage powerhouse Tumi has revealed a new limited edition collaboration with the style-focused, globe-trotting team at Selectism. The midnight blue duffle was designed, first and foremost, to be the go to solution for quick business trips, without being confused for your run-of-the-mill carry-on. Subsequently, it includes all of the standard features you’d expect for keeping [...]

Silver (and black) Bullet

What do you get when you cross a great brand, an Airstream and a trunk show? You get the AETHERstream: a mobile shop chock full of goods like well-cut jackets and sweaters, to other appointments including wireless internet, dinner table, bed and even a suspended fire pit. Conceived by Thierry Gaugain, a former Philipe Starck [...]

Rewarding the hard work

Eric J. Kuhn idea for FoundersCard came to him while leading his startup, Varsity Books, down the path towards an IPO. At the time, Kuhn took advantage of hotel and airfare discounts provided to his investment bankers and questioned why hard-working founders couldn’t receive similar perks. He also felt the sense of community among startup [...]

Oh, the weather outside is frightful

It may be -26°F outside, but inside the comfort of your thermal glass igloo, it’s far from rough. With a campus of 20 glass ensconced igloos, Igloo Village in Kakslauttanen, Finland is a star-gazing bonanza. Capture views of the Northern Lights and Arctic stars while you bask in a fully appointed room dome complete with [...]

Editor’s Note: Foster Huntington is the talented force behind A Restless Transplant and the hugely popular tumblr The Burning House. Recently, Huntington embarked on an epic cross-country adventure to document unique individuals and the things they care about for his upcoming book to be released by Harper Collins. After sharing his plans with us first [...]

Paradise...rain or shine

Glancing down for a moment, my eye caught sight of the orange glow of the speedometer. The readout hovered at 50 km per hour. My head did the rough conversion as a fat drop of rain streaked across the plexiglass visor of my helmet. Things sure felt faster than 30 miles per hour. Then again, [...]

River Deep, Mountain High

Starting a campfire in a rainforest is no easy chore. I summoned up some backcountry knowledge gleaned from watching the Discovery Channel and gathered a handful of “old man’s beard,” the moss that droops Dr. Seuss-like from the limbs of trees. “Good tinder,” I remembered Bear Grylls saying, as I laid a healthy bed of [...]