Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

The ultimate cheat sheet on human experience

Having a firm grasp on history has always been a core pillar of a proper education. It provides context, insight and understanding on how things came to be, which is especially invaluable for those seeking to innovate. There are obviously innumerable texts on the subject, but for those looking for a casual refresher, it doesn’t [...]

A head start on booking your holiday plans

Despite our concerted efforts to cover the best books over the course of the year, there are still plenty of worthy titles that we didn’t get around to talking about. Subsequently, these selections represent an end of the year GP reading list of sorts for bringing your home library up to speed on 2011. Pack [...]

Redefining animal cruelty

The internet meme Awkward Family Photos has certainly faded from its former glory days as the golden child of internet humor, but that hasn’t stopped authors Mike Bender and Dough Chernack from developing their next great wrinkle on the same embarrassing theme — Awkward Family Pet Photos ($10). As you’d expect from the title, the [...]

Learn from the best

Manvotionals: Timeless Wisdom and Advice on Living the 7 Manly Virtues is the second book from Brett and Kate McKay, the husband and wife team behind the always awesome The Art of Manliness. The idea for the book spawned from one of their namesake web series, which shares inspiring words from famous men throughout history. [...]

Know Your Place

The first thing you should know about Maphead ($15) is that it’s written by Ken Jennings. Yes, it’s the same Ken Jennings who won Jeopardy 74 times in a row, taking home $3,172,700 in winnings and claiming the title of all-time leading money winner on American game shows. The second point worth mentioning is the [...]

A Study on Suds

Clearly, we’re fond of books that teach us more about the things we love. The subject matter alone of The Oxford Companion to Beer ($38) is enough to tempt most men to flip through its pages, but when you factor in that it’s been edited by Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver, it becomes a must [...]

A Detailed Look at Crime from a Keyboard

Does the name Kevin Mitnick mean anything to you? Unless you happen to work for the FBI or a prominent internet security firm, the answer is probably no. Still, long before groups like Anonymous were practicing their own brand of hacktivism Mr. Mitnick had earned the title as the most wanted computer criminal in the [...]

Say what you will about the current condition of America’s 46,876 miles of highways, but there’s still no denying their status as a marvel of modern engineering and planning. You may recall from middle school social studies (or more recent History Channel binges) that Eisenhower championed the federal highway project as a necessary undertaking for [...]

Efficiency Is a Beautiful Thing

Now in its third edition, Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better ($19) is the perfect guide for streamlining your life — and unlike other tutorial books, you won’t feel like an idiot being seen with it. Featuring 121 new and classic hacks, tricks, and downloads from Lifehacker’s archives, the third edition has [...]

The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter

The Rockefeller name is about as close to American royalty as it gets. So you’d think if someone lied about being part of the family, it wouldn’t fly for very long. The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter ($17) proves anything is possible given you’re a [...]

Brew A-Ha

The cigarette companies were slapped year’s ago for using illustrations in their ads on the grounds that it created young smokers in training. Still, those dirty peddlers were on to something. Beer Craft: A Simple Guide to Making Great Beer ($12) takes full advantage of the beauty and appeal of illustration to walk would-be brewers [...]

It's Awesome Baby

After spending at least 10 hours a week across the sports media titan’s various TV channels, websites, mobile apps, and maybe even the magazine, you might assume you know what ESPN is all about. A quick read through Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN ($15) proves otherwise. Starting with the [...]

Beyond the fists, fights and foes

References from film and TV are what flash into most people’s memory today when the subject of boxing arises in conversation. There are just too many great, engaging examples to draw on, from both real and fictional stories (Rocky 45 and Tyson v. Holyfield being exceptions). Before technology padlocked our imagination, though, writing was the [...]

Sporting chances

The sports world is probably responsible for half of the world’s clichés. Fans, athletes, and coaches just love to boil everything down to one catch phrase out of fear that our feeble minds are only capable of processing things muttered in one huddled breath (which admittedly may very well be the case with Mike Tyson). [...]

A Tribute to Ping-Pong

Ping pong or Table Tennis for you highbrow types triggers memories for different people (Bangkok’s “ping-pong shows” not withstanding). Famous fans of the sport include everyone from Fidel Castro, Sasha and Malia Obama, to Henry Miller, and anyone who can recall a middle school history class should remember the term “ping-pong politics”. For the authors [...]