Gear Patrol

It’s hard to believe how different a hot commute in hair-pulling traffic can be from a balmy mid-afternoon drive on an open road in the countryside — both in the same car. Nothing brings back the freedom of summer like a great drive, and unless you’re cursed with a 36-month lease of a kiddie-hauler that now smells like sour milk, it’s high time you planned just such a trip. Now it’s time to get you equipped.

Though most movies don’t cause the viewer to think about camera angles, lighting or color tone, there are some (Star Trek, Eagle Eye, Fast & Furious) with sequences and scenes that leave you wondering “How the hell did they shoot that?” This is how the hell: Chase Car Inc. We had a chance to check out their matte-black, modded out Porsche Panamera Turbo, replete with a full camera crane. Needless to say, we smiled for the camera.

Golfers looking to escape the winter weather and start working on gloved tan lines will be all too happy to let the Garmin Approach S2 Golf Watch ($250) remove a stripe of sun from their arms and a few strokes from their scorecards. Much like the S3 Approach, the S2 comes preloaded with maps to…

If a hybrid vehicle is what you seek, there are two ends of the spectrum. On the left: the Toyota Prius, sipping fuel at 51mpg through an uninspiring 98 hp engine for $24K. On the right: the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid, which will run you close to $100k, with an “is-this-really-a-hybrid” 22mpg due to its…

So neither your pocketbook nor your pocket is big enough to accommodate a sat phone, but that doesn’t mean that when you go off the grid you have to go completely dark. Thanks to the SPOT Connect, you can pair your smartphone via Bluetooth and connect to satellites to send a 41 character custom message…

The good folks who freed us from mapping out runs have released their latest GPS adventure watch, the Garmin Fenix ($399). Sporting staples such as GPS, HRM pairing, and distance tracking, along with few others like ABC (altimeter, barometer, and compass) and cadence counting, it has the trappings of a winner. But the Fenix also…

The next time you find yourself 90 yards out, in the pines, with no line of sight to the green; open your club face and sneak a peek at your wrist. If you were wearing the new Garmin Approach S3 Golf Watch ($350), the fear of carpet bombing your score card would be lessened considerably….

Android owners continually get the short end of the stick compared to their iPhone counterparts when it comes to the accessory world. Pioneer’s new App Radio 2 does its part to remedy the situation, by adding support for MHL capable Android handsets, in addition to the iPhone 4/4S compatibility the of the original version. That…

Scenario: Somehow the expedition you and the boys planned for an unforgettable bachelor trip has turned into a one hell of a pickle. Your buddy, Steve thought that awesome 25 year old vintage rusted out Jeep he traded his unlocked iPhone for would be the perfect way to traverse the wilderness. Problem is, Steve also…

Motorola as a brand has never been known as a major player in the GPS space, and for that reason alone their release of the MotoNav could be viewed as a strange move. Especially considering the miserable failure that was the MotoNav TN30. Revealed initially early this year at CES 2010, the MotoNav TN765 however…

Cigarette lighters in a car are about as relevant as leaded fuel and not to sound presumptious to our smoking readers, but the convenience of having a regular AC outlet, to this particular writer, trumps inefficient cigarette ignition. A recent procurement, the Stanley 100 Watt Power Inverter helps alleviate the nuiscance by providing a 110…

Dog’s wouldn’t have earned the label of man’s best friend if there wasn’t some shred of truth behind the saying. Unfortunately, the exact qualities that make them so lovable also make them prone to wandering. Leashes, fences, and constant vigilance can, of course, curb this habit, but it doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan…

Recently, we asked Gear Patrol fans on Facebook whether there was any type of product they’d like to see more coverage on at our site. One reader responded asking about what was the absolute best Car GPS device on the market today. So, to answer that question, we present the TomTom GO 740 Live GPS….

Anyone who has ever seen Robo Cop or Terminator 2 should have some ideas of the heads up display fantasy’s entertainment visionaries have teased audiences with for decades. Somewhat out of left field, well known goggle and optics company Zeal now seems to be on the verge of delivering on that crazy Sci-Fi notion with…

Ever listened to Pandora radio at home and wondered how great it would be to have it in the car? Well, commuters now have a reason to perk up. Pandora is now here for your car thanks to Alpine’s announcement of the iDA-X305S head unit. Minor quibble, you must own an iPhone and drive in…

Your current GPS may tell you how to get to the nearest Exxon or Cheesecake Factory, but it sure as hell won’t tell you nautical directions, topographic information, or how to get back to the trailhead on that three day mountain excursion. Consider the waterproof DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 your BMW (or Jeep rather) of off-road…

Your car provides you freedom and, though you may prefer your car to take you away from the trappings of technology, sometimes you need stable internet access whilst road tripping (be it for work, family trips, or the Gear Patrol RSS feed). Autonet turns your car into the local Starbucks (sans lattes) by creating a…

Speed will always hold the attention of men. It’s just a fact of life. So, along those lines, Pocket Radar has done what Flip did for the video camera by creating… well a pocket radar gun. Though its official announcement won’t come until next week during CES, browsing around their site shows that the device…

Winter is the season where most men learn to appreciate their garage more than any other room in their house. That is as long as it still has room to park cars inside. For those lacking this essential male luxury though, owning this electric windshield de-icer might make your morning car preparation at least somewhat…

There are plenty of reasons to go hands-free with your cell phone whilst driving. Decreasing distractions, obeying local laws, and the simple fact that your girlish arms can’t take the punishment of holding a phone to your ear are all good rationales for making a change. If your vehicle didn’t come equipped with a factory-speakerphone…

Anyone looking to tally precise details of their cycling endeavors should mull over buying the Edge 500. This lightweight GPS-Based cycling computer is a data nuts dream and calculates everything including speed, distance, calories burned, altitude, climb, and descent. While monitoring, it also records this information for comparison purposes which trainers can access on their…

There once was a time when having TV’s in your car was a feature only the most bejeweled of new money rappers could obtain. It stood as a point of distinction for the bling elite to promote while sloshing champagne over their floor mats, and they never missed an opportunity to let mere mortals like…

Typically, car phone chargers are nothing to write home about. You stick them in what used to be known as the “cigarette lighter” (back before smoking became equated with terrorism), plug in your phone, and that’s about it. Seeing the newly attached polyp protruding from your otherwise aerodynamic dash was just a fact of life;…

Back Seat Drive? Not When You Can Back Seat Watch. It’s no fun having Jeeves drive while you’re sober, if it means missing your shows. Ten years ago, you were living the high life if you had a DVD player in your car. Now the standards have changed. This is America, a.k.a the land of…

With global warming eroding the once consistent weather forecasts of Old Man Winter, how’s a man to know what to expect on the slopes? Choose the wrong day and the most action you’ll get a forlorn cup of hot cocoa in the lodge. Enter the Ski FX from Bushnell. With wireless delivery of your 7-day…

21st Century Breadcrumbs The BackTrack is required directional gear for outdoorsmen and parking-lot goers alike. Let’s face it. Some people are directionally challenged. Hell, one of the guys here can’t even make it to the golf course, even with a navigation system (Eric: I resent that.). So you can imagine the relief when Bushnell agreed…

Factory car navigation systems are one of the last bastions of sheer profit motive in the car industry. Well, outside of repairs. $2,500-$3,000 for a crippled navigation system that’s outdated within a year. Seriously? Take our advice, forego the factory nav and get a portable GPS. You’ll get twice the features, newer technology and be…

The Dash Express is a new level of car GPS/navigation units. It’s Dash Driver network selects your route based on up-to-the-minute traffic data that is automatically and anonymously exchanged via the most reliable source&emdash;other Dash devices.t will find virtually anything using Yahoo! Local search to find unlimited points of interest&emdash;people, places, products and services&emdash;based on…

[click on image to enlarge] Eclipse by Fujitsu Ten is one of the top dogs in car and mobile audio. TomTom is just the same in the mobile navigation realm. We suppose it only makes sense that brands as successful as these two are decide to get frisky and come up with a co-branded device…

Receive door-to-door directions while staying on top of local weather, traffic and more with nuvi 680, a sleek multi-tasking Personal Travel Assistant. Features a colorful widescreen, hands-free calling and FM transmitter, than takes it up a notch by adding dynamic content from MSN Direct. Like all nuvis, the user-friendly 680 comes with preloaded maps and…