Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Take it to 11

Adding this component to your home audio system can unveil new layers of realism to sounds and vastly improve your listening experience, even if you already own most expensive gear out there. How and why the DEQX HDP-Express ($1,950) works is a bit complicated, so we’ll spare you the lengthy audio lesson and stick with [...]

Bicicletta Italiano

Bringing their subtle Italian style from leather goods to two-wheel motion, Travelteq has collaborated with Milan based Cicli Maestro to create the Traveler Bike (~$1120). For the record, we haven’t decided whether or not to categorize it as a style accessory or simply a stylish bicycle, but we’re leaning toward the former. The single speed [...]

One for all, all-in-one

People at the helm of Apple, like Jony Ives and the late Steve Jobs, tend to get all of the credit for the company’s constant innovation. Startups like the Nest Learning Thermostat and Flipboard, which were both founded by Apple alums, proved though that Cupertino’s talent pool is incredibly deep and certainly capable of innovating [...]

Two of the best get better

Samsung’s flagship TVs are always contenders for top honors in terms of picture quality and features each year. While their remarkable OLED TV garnered the lion’s share of the spotlight at this year’s CES, the company’s latest premier LED and plasma are still nothing to scoff at. The UNES8000 3D (shown above) is the new [...]

Boxed-Up Box Office

Newbies in the display game rarely succeed given the variety of entrenched brands already doing well in the space. BryteWerks hopes to become an exception with their soon to be released Model One Cube, which takes a slightly more literal approach to the concept of a home theater in a box. Inside the sleek black [...]

Whole latte love

Yes, it’s adorned with enough chromed steel to outshine a Kansas City bound Freightliner. Yes, it’s breathtakingly expensive. But for the truly dedicated, the Rocket Espresso Giotto Evoluzione ($2,100) is the closest thing to espresso nirvana we’ve ever had the chance to pull a shot from. Less white-gloved show pony and more workhorse, the Evoluzione [...]

Lovely Bones

Thanks to razor sharp milling from blackened bronze, this collaboration between by The Principals and our friends at The World’s Best Ever will have you rethinking everything you’ve ever known about the game — and probably give you an inexplicable itch to watch Dune to boot. Make no mistake, the ultra-limited edition Bronze Bones Domino [...]

Photo Express

GEAR PATROL SPONSORED POST In our third and final segment on the HP TouchSmart, we decided to see how the innovative desktop handled a usual day at the home office editing photos and scouring the web. How much of a difference did ditching the keyboard and mouse make? Hit the jump to read about our [...]

God of the Sea

In 1992, COMEX diver Theo Mavrostomos completed a daring 701 meter saturation dive, which might explain the odd-numbered depth rating of the first watch released from new brand, Ægir. In fact, this depth rating is no coincidence, but rather an intentional homage from company founder and professional commercial diver, Todd Caldwell, to Mavrostomos’ herculean achievement, [...]

Hidden Help

Golf is hard. Truth be told, we make it harder than it has to be. We’ll buy drivers and putters the size of snow shovels, but for some reason, we insist on playing irons beyond our abilities. Callaway Golf is offering a chance to make amends for years of frustration and futility with the RAZR [...]

All-in-fun

GEAR PATROL SPONSORED POST If the explosion of smartphones and tablets has revealed any universal truth about technology, it’s that touch screens are far more pleasant to work with for most activities compared to mashing buttons. So, how can a touchscreen change the role of the desktop in your home? That’s a question we set [...]

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 [...]

Fly by design

The airplane stands in the pantheon of man’s most amazing engineering feats. So it seems fitting that the folks at Plane Pieces Inc. have developed a knack for recycling classic plane parts into stunning accents for the home. Thanks to relationships with prop manufacturers, repair shops, and designers — they collect and polish vintage parts [...]

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 [...]

Flieger Like an Eagle

While it is widely acknowledged that the best watch movements come from Switzerland, watch collectors and industry insiders also know that some of the best watch cases are made in Germany. Maybe it’s due to the strong heritage of craftsmanship and steelworks or just a national appreciation for good design and impeccable manufacturing. Companies like [...]