Austin Leavitt

543 Posts

james brand chapter knife

EDC

The James Brand Chapter Knife: Slim, Stainless, Modern

What’s the James Brand, you ask? We’re not sure if the name is supposed to sound something like James Bond or not, but we do know that they are a group of adventurers from Portland who, a few years ago, started designing knives that fulfill their search for something modern, slim, and functional. They have a few EDC-ready knives at different price points, but if we’re looking at one, it’s their first invention, the Chapter Knife.

By Austin Leavitt

segway one s1

Rides

Segway One S1 Electric Unicycle

We're pretty sure that everybody has always wanted a Segway. They're fast, fun and maybe just a little bit dorky, but let's be real - that's kind of the attraction of it. They're also not very practical. But if you've ever wanted your own Segway-esque device, or have ever dreamed  of an electric unicycle, you're in luck. The Segway One S1 is just that.

By Austin Leavitt

Best Four Season Tents

Outdoors

9 of the Best Four-Season Tents for Winter Expeditions

No, it’s not too early to start looking for a good four-season tent. With Labor Day upon us, Autumn is just around the corner. And in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, that means the temperatures are going to start dropping and snow will start falling, especially for those of us at higher elevations. Time to start gearing up for winter camping.

By Austin Leavitt

alpsmountaineering eclipse table checkers

Outdoors

Go Camping with The ALPS Mountaineering Eclipse Table

Camping table? Sure, we can think of some uses for one of those. Like playing checkers, as the Eclipse Camping Table from ALPS Mountaineering lets you do. The Eclipse Table is built almost like a regular old lawn chair or camping chair, but is instead a foldable, portable table made for enhancing your campsite

By Austin Leavitt

eno nomad hammock

Gear

ENO Nomad Lets You Camp in a Hammock – Without Trees, or a Car

We love camping hammocks. They’re light, portable, easy to use and supremely comfortable, a great way to sleep in what is practically perfect comfort, at least compared to the cold ground. Their only problem is that sometimes, you just don’t have a place to hang one; they need two solid trees or posts (though sometimes you can get away with a couple of perfectly placed rocks).  The ENO Roadie offered a good solution for car camping – the only drawback being, you need a car. But now ENO (that's short for Eagle's Nest Outfitters) seems to have come up with another solution – the ENO Nomad.

By Austin Leavitt

techloom pro APL cosmic grey

Gear

Athletic Propulsion Labs’ Techloom Pro Are Our New Favorite Running Shoes

Declaring a single brand of sneakers or athletic shoes as the best is to throw down some fighting words; everybody’s got their fanboys (looking at you, Nike and Adidas), and some people aren’t too keen about letting other brands vie for the title. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for other brands to try, which is what Athletic Propulsion Labs is doing with the Techloom Pro, their high-tech, high-end trainers.

By Austin Leavitt

vw t-roc crossover SUV

Rides

VW Just Announced the New T-Roc Crossover SUV For 2019

VW has been busy in recent years in adding to their new SUV focused line, having added the big, spacious new Atlas to their lineup last year. And now they are complementing that with a smaller, compact SUV, the T-Roc. VW used the name “T-Roc” in the past, on a concept crossover, but they’ve now put it to good use in this sporty, 4-door compact SUV that fits right into an ever-growing market. 

By Austin Leavitt

icemule boss backpack cooler featured

Gear

Icemule Boss Backpack Cooler: Tough, Portable, Cold

We've seen our fair share of drink coolers before, but we've yet to see anything quite like the IceMule Boss Backpack Cooler. This backpack cooler hybrid may just be the most convenient and portable cooler there is, is easy to wear and carry, meaning it will go anywhere you may find yourself heading off the beaten path.

By Austin Leavitt

schatzii bullet 2.0 featured

Tech

Schatzii Bullet 2.0: Completely Wireless Headphones For On The Go

There's no real shortage of wireless headphones out there to choose from, and a quick search on the internet is bound to turn up more results than you can possibly choose from - which is why it's so hard to get our attention when it comes to new pair. But we've yet to see anything as low-profile and quite literally wireless headphones as the Schatzii Bullet 2.0.

By Austin Leavitt

Cold Bruer Black Featured

Food & Drink

Cold Bruer: Slow Drip, Cold Brew Coffee For Home or the Office

It's no secret that cold brewed coffee is the best way to make ice coffee. Instead of water-down, lukewarm coffee, you get a rich, flavorful almost foamy coffee that tastes perfect over ice. Likewise, it's no secret that pourover and drip coffee methods are the best when it comes to hot coffee, and now there's a brewing method that combines the two: Cold Bruer.

By Austin Leavitt

Solar Charged Jacket Front

Gear

The Vollebak Solar Charged Jacket Actually Glows In The Dark

Vollebak is known for creating a lot of hi-tech apparel - they call themselves "the future of outdoor gear" - items that you could never have imagined or thought up yourself, but are still versatile and extremely functional pieces nonetheless. They've followed these up with perhaps their most interesting piece yet - a Solar Charged Jacket. 

By Austin Leavitt

Grayl Water Filter In action

Gear

Grayl Bottle: One-Piece Water Purification in 15 Seconds

While water purification has come a long way, and you've got your choice of pocket-sized, one-piece water filters (like the Lifestraw) and larger, more intricate systems. But one drawback all these typical systems have in common, is that they are separate from your water bottle, thus requiring you to carry more than one item and requiring more effort to properly filter water. The Grayl bottle, however, seeks to simplify the process and streamline everything down into one piece, for simple, one-step water purification. 

By Austin Leavitt

Best Bike Helmets

Gear

10 Best Bike Helmets of 2017 For Every Ride

If you do any kind of biking, helmets are important. To most of us, they may seem to be little more than an afterthought, but when it comes to protecting your head from a crash or accident, they should be anything but, and it's worth investing in a high-quality bike helmet. You're going to be wearing it a lot, too, so it should be comfortable and properly fitting. The vast majority of bike injuries and fatalities occur from falling or hitting your head, and a helmet offers the first - and most effective - line of protection from such injuries.The exact style of helmet you need will depend on a few things, but mainly, what you are using it for. The most common kinds of helmets are road, commuter and mountain bike helmets, though you may sometimes find some crossover or hybrids between the different types. But no matter what you're looking for, we've rounded some of the best bike helmets of 2017.

By Austin Leavitt