Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

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 [...]

Golden Era, Silver Bullet

You’ll have to go across the Atlantic to find this jewel of Americana, but for a meticulously restored, original specification 1963 Airstream Bambi ($58,000) it might just be worth the hassle. Originally registered in New Brighton, Minnesota on May 9, 1963 the 16×7 Bambi is clad in its factory aircraft-grade lightweight metal skin (newly polished [...]

Environmentally Insensitive

Looking like the illegitimate child of a flattened Humvee and an angry warthog, the Shadow Hawk Steel Hawk might also fit in nicely as the Tumbler’s stand-in during Gotham chase scenes. The Steel Hawk is powered by a 6.6 liter V8 engine with turbocharging that provides a healthy 360 horsepower and a meaty 650 pound [...]

Not so Woolly Mammoth

There’s off-road, and then there’s OFF-ROAD. The Russian built Trecol 39295 takes it to an altogether different level. The insane six-wheeler enables you to drive over logs, insanely rocky terrain, deep water (with optional outboard motor) and even people. Okay, back up now. Yes, you can do that, too. The Trecol just happens to have [...]

Now THIS is how you roadtrip

One look at the Ketterer Motorhome Custom and you’ll view RV’s in a whole new light. This, gents, is the luxury coach that dreams are made of. Built from the ground up using a Mercedes-Benz truck chassis, the Ketterer Custom can be built to spec with such creature comforts as a master bedroom with requisite [...]

Mean Green

Essentially a plug-in steroidal, man-sized Tonka truck, the Bremach T-Rex takes green power beyond mere passenger cars and into the realm of ruggedly capable vehicles. Bremach has been making industrial grade trucks since the 1950s and is now breaking new ground with this monster that houses a 100kW electric motor providing a 150 mile range, [...]

How to Armagedd-it-on

Someday in the not-too-distant future, you may have to rely on your wits and your skills rather than rest on the creature comforts in your life to survive. Then again, maybe not. All you may need to do is get your grubby mitts on a custom hunting variant of the Mercedes-Benz Zetros 6×6. This vehicular [...]

Flame Off

In purely concept form right now, the Amatova ATV, from designer Liam Ferguson, gives us a vision into what first-line fire-fighting could look like in the near future. More like something out of the ‘Terminator’ series than out of your local firehouse, the Amatova houses 2 passengers in a high-visibility cockpit and can liquid Howitzer [...]

Mod-copter

If Apple built a UAV what would it look like? Well, it might look something like the Swiss UAV KOAX X-240. Winner of a 2010 Red Dot Design Award, Swiss UAV has been focused on developing smaller sized vertical take-off (think: helicopter) unmanned aerial vehicles for use by civilians and militaries. Partnered with Saab Aerospace, [...]

F1 Sledding

Feel like the Porsche Tobogan is too expensive? Or maybe the Mountain Boy Sledworks Boggan is to traditional for your tastes. Then consider this as a third option: the Stiga Snow Racer ($125+). The Snow Racer breeds traditional toboggan design with race-like components including a shock absorber, polyethylene seat and skis, steering wheel, high-tensile steel [...]

Snow Speeder

Your motorcycle is in winter storage. Your ATV is fun with tire chains but fails to provide anything resembling blistering speed in the snow. The luge is clearly not an option. Say hello to your maniacal turbo sled, the new 2011 Yamaha Apex SE ($14,949) With increased torque and top speed from its more refined [...]

Four-wheelin' fangs

Cectek, known for their badass Quadrift four-wheel motorcycle also has a lesser known, but equally indomitable brother, the KingCobra ATV ($11,000). The four-wheeler features a trail bombing liquid cooled 500 cc engine desiged for optimum performance throughout its powerband and over-enginnered features like extra large disc brakes, locking rear differential, fully-adjustable independent suspension and continuously [...]

Not Exactly Slumming It

Eddie Bauer has teamed up with our favorite RV maker to create a special edition of the iconic silver bullet. The 25-foot luxury collaboration features a customized Eddie Bauer interior detailed with maple and soapstone laminates, quilted bedding and Sunbrella upholstery. A unique rear sport hatch also makes loading and unloading outdoor gear like bikes [...]

Tony Hawk Meets Tank

The 2011 MXB Shocker Motocross Board ($2,999) is designed to be a different kind of fun on wheels from the usual small-motored toys guys often buy. Weighing 74lbs and featuring a 48-volt brush-less motor capable of producing nearly 5 lb/ft of torque and reaching a top speed of 35 mph (with tweaking), think of it [...]

Oh The DTV Shredder? You Wouldn't Be Interested in That

Like the Mattracks Powerboard Snow Scooter we shared a while back, the BPG-WERKS DTV Shredder is a scooter even Dolph Lundgren would love. Designed by MIT graduate Ben Gulag, this motorized vehicle sports a pair of tank treads instead of wheels, giving it ludicriously good off-road performance for both military and extreme sports uses. Riders [...]