Cooler Cookout
Your average summer BBQ involves dealing with fire, smoke, charcoal, sweaty brows and thick cuts of meat. It’s a manly task that requires tools capable of withstanding plenty of torture and testosterone — but who decided aesthetics had to sit on the back burner? Thankfully, Eva Solo, a Danish firm, wants to bring sexy, sophisticated [...]
Indulging your work addiction
Nobody wants to bring work home, unless of course, you’re one of the fortunate souls earning doubloons as model photographer, single malt critic, or Jennifer Aniston’s brassiere fitter. But when it just can’t be helped Crate & Barrel’s Reese Tobacco Compact Office ($480) offers a minimalist solution that trumps working on the kitchen table. Most [...]
Safe and secure
There are quite a few cyclists in our crew here at Gear Patrol, and amongst us, there’s always grumblings around the watercooler about the best way to strap our two-wheeled rides onto their four-wheeled cousins. Standard mounts make it nearly impossible to access anything in the back of our vehicles, and swing-away versions tend to [...]
New soul? Or a ghost of laptops past?
We’re not ones to embrace hyperbole, but the new HP Envy Spectre XT ($1,000+) may actually live up to its category — and humility-bending title of Ultrabook. Weighing a fairly svelte 3.07 pounds with 14.5mm-thick profile, HP’s newest offering features an Intel Ivy Bridge CPU, a four-speaker Beats Audio sound system, a 13” high-definition LED [...]
Few brands blend vintage fashion and historical significance the way Nigel Cabourn does. The eponymous English fashion house is well renowned for offering what can only be described as archival pieces or, in other words, garments with a history. The SS12 Aircraft Jacket Desert Wax Poplin Khaki ($710) is part of the Nigel Cabourn Authentic [...]
Mellow Yellow
A culmination of the company’s non-comformist sense of self, yet still embracing their storied history, the Pentax K-01 is unlike any other camera in the mirrorless camera world. Indeed, it embraces its lineup of beautiful K-Mount lenses (both modern and from the film days) allowing users to fasten them with a satisfying click, but what [...]
Because dad tells the best stories
Thanks to a practically impenetrable, yet ultra-soft fabric layer called Crypton Super Fabric (seriously, that’s the name), the Read n’ Rock Rocker ($849) will hold up against even the worst chunky eruptions or sippy-cup snafus. Sized for 1.25 people and available in five colors (we like sandstone), the chair should serve nicely both as a [...]
Docking Statement
There are docking stations and then there are docking statements. In a world wrought with crappy auxiliary plug-ins masquerading as “made for iPod” accessories, this would be the latter. No judgment here if you mistook the Jarre AeroPad Two Dock (~$920) for something out of Gattaca, but we think you’ll find that this device has [...]
Shooting for the masses
Nikon’s D3200 ($700) is the newest member of the company’s entry-level DSLR lineup. Following in the footsteps of the popular D3100, the shooter boasts a 24-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor (a 33% step up from its predecessor), an ISO range maximum of 6400 (with the ability to extend to 12800 in boost mode), as well as [...]
Turning it up to 11 starts with 3
An all-tube, hand-wired P3 Guitar Amplifier ($650+) isn’t just a nostalgic replica designed to look liked a bad-ass amp from the golden age of rock. It’s built like one too, which means blasting out loud, clear tones, no matter how hard they’re driven or clumsily treated by a half-cocked roadie. Unlike frailer mass-produced amplifiers of [...]
Slimmin' down for the summer
Ping has long been known for two things: incredible irons and exceptional engineering. But for some reason we’ve never found ourselves overly compelled to play them. Given how soundly their irons perform I can only chalk it up to a lack of aesthetic appeal. Chunky soles and wide hosels are hard on this writer’s eyes. [...]
Good Jeans
It’s only fitting that the founder of Paper Denim & Cloth, Scott Morrison, is the mind behind 3×1. The jeans demigod created the SoHo-based store/workshop/gallery as a shrine to all things denim that includes over 130 bolts of selvage to choose from, and a glass-enclosed “atelier” where each hand-stitched individually numbered pair is made for [...]
Summer's portable penthouse
Now that summer’s just around the bend, it’s time to start thinking about making the most of your weekends again. But, if your idea of car camping is heading for the nearest KOA with a Honda Civic jammed full of Sports Authority clearance rack tents, it might just be time to rethink your strategy. Instead, [...]
Your personal mic on the bike
Twisting the throttle for a two wheeled commute used to mean going incommunicado and possibly missing out on some morning vitals. Now you can stay in the loop at any lean angle. Backed by over 90 years of research and development, Schuberth GmbH has created the new Schuberth S2 ($699). The S2 is the first [...]
Riders on the storm
There’s nothing like using flesh and sinew to propel yourself in a forward motion to sights unseen and destinations unknown. Riding a bike is one of mankind’s oldest and most celebrated forms of transportation and some brands get it better than others. PEdALED is a Japanese company that definitely knows its customers. Their Terri Urban [...]
