Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Call it a comeback

In America, the hatchback has long fought an uphill battle — garnering the scorn and disdain of image conscious buyers who prefer the look of a sedan or coupe. The thing is, regardless of mass public opinion, we think hatchbacks are great, especially on smaller vehicles where the proportions, engineering and design seem to jive [...]

Tempo al tempo

With the annual watch trade show, SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) about to get underway in Geneva, now is as good a time as any to revisit one of the stars from last year’s show, the Officine Panerai PAM00372 ($10,400). For those who are new to the game, Officine Panerai was originally founded [...]

Look into the future

There are cutting edge TVs, and then there’s Toshiba’s Regza 55X3 (known as the ZL2 in Europe) whose spec sheet reads like it was DeLorean-ed back from 2015. The 55-inch set is one of the first consumer TVs to sport a 4096 x 2160 pixel resolution (or Quad Full High Definition), which already gives it [...]

Turbocharged Feline

Cold harsh winters will kidney punch many of us soon, but it doesn’t have to be all pain and no snowy terrain. That is, as long as you have transportation like the Arctic Cat ProCross F 1100 Turbo Sno Pro Limited ($13,800). Sporting a fancy pearl white, orange and black paint scheme, it surely stands [...]

Shot to the Heart

Despite widespread adoption, Canon’s approach to video hasn’t been the all out onslaught many of us have hoped for. Particularly when you consider how DSLR’s have taken on increasingly powerful video capabilities, spawning a passionate base of amateur and pro film makers dedicated to pushing the limits of what their trusty Canon gear can do. [...]

I Feel The Need...

Part Iceman and all Maverick, the IWC Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Edition Top Gun ($12,000) pays homage to the fearless pilots at the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, who epitomize courage and skill. IWC has emblazoned the Top Gun emblem (and thankfully not Tom Cruise’s mug) on the back of the titanium and black [...]

Ninjitsuuweet

The Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle series has been around for decades, and there’s no sign of stopping anytime soon. They’ve just released their nutified 2012 Kawasaki ZX-14R ($14,889), touted to be the world’s fastest accelerating motorcycle (translation: empty your bladder before you ride). Aside from its appropriate nuclear green paint scheme, the all-new bike is powered [...]

Skiff you could only see

If there’s one item to bowl over in G&G’s freshly launched store, it’s the Garden & Gun Skiff ($24,000). Based on a Dragonfly Boatworks Emerger 16-foot shallow water fishing boat, the innovative skiff not only incorporates classic designs, but extraordinary attention to detail: easily accessible and serviceable components, a generously proportioned poling platform, and wide-stable [...]

Et Tu Brutale

MV Agusta is not a name your hear often stateside, but the Italian motorcycle maker has had a premier racing reputation since 1945, with the founding goal to emerge in the forefront of the Grand Prix of European motorcycling. They succeeded back then and continue to produce some of the finest bikes made. Their newly [...]

Less Chrome, More Black, All Awesome

Conventional wisdom erroneously perceives that most Harley riders are over 40, beefy, peppered with tattoos and leather, with a preponderance of facial hair. Though a fair share of riders fall into that category, it’s also absolutely true that the pre-WWI motorcycle manufacturer has made serious inroads to the younger, hipper crowd. In case you didn’t [...]

Krispy Korean

The Frankfurt Motor Show is just around the corner, and we’re pretty psyched about it. More toys, more power, more everything. But sometimes, less is more. For example, the all new 2012 Hyundai i30. What you see above you is an early reveal of what the production car should look like, and we’re chomping at [...]

Fiat It's Worth

With the Italian brand finally making its debut back on US shores, what better time to get behind the wheel for an extended session with the hot new hatch. More than a Smart Car, but less than a Mini, the 2012 Fiat 500 delivers a cache of vintage-inspired looks combined, modern underpinnings and an approachable [...]

The Dark Night Rises

In 2001, the the Harley-Davidson V-Rod was introduced as a new kind of muscle bike to compete with the other heavy-hitters on the market. It met with great success, using the Revolution engine, a 60 degree V-twin that was a joint effort between the Milwaukee-based manufacturer and Porsche and utilized liquid cooling, an HD first. [...]

The Sound and the Fury

The dictionary defines criterion as “a standard of judgment or criticism; a rule or principle for evaluating or testing”, so it goes without saying that christening your flagship product with such a definitive term shouldn’t come casually. It’s a good thing then that “casually” describes anything but the Jeff Rowland Criterion Preamplifier ($18,000). Built to [...]

Bring the bar to you

Think of the Alpina Mobile Bongos Beer Bar ($11,300) as a graduate degree in outdoor drinking. The mobile party center features an integrated kegerator, 8kg of ice storage, and customizable tops for adding everything from a gas-powered grill to extra serving areas. Thanks its four sturdy wheels and a specially designed refrigeration system, there’s also [...]