MountainSmith has been making some of the best outdoor gear for quite some time. I’m no stranger to their tents and have used them on numerous occasions. What excited me is when I was asked to review their Borealis camera bag. I’ve been doing photography for years and have never really settled on just one […]
travel
Hobie CRUZR-A Polarized Sunglasses | Quick Look
Hobie Alter’s dream was born in his parents’ garage in 1950 when Hobie decided to apply his love of woodworking to the sport of surfing. In the years to follow, plenty of other ocean innovations emerged from Hobie’s imagination to include their world-famous polarized sunglasses in the early 80s. With this progression insert the Hobie […]
Mobile Communications with the Vertx EDC Satchel
As you know, the folks here at the Loadout Room are straight-up gear nuts; We always look for quality gear and Vertx produces some of the greatest bags. I personally have two already; the EDC Messenger and EDC Gamut, and the new addition the EDC Satchel. I have seen some other reviews on this product […]
Overseas Travel: Having an escape and evasion mindset
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Nuremberg, Germany on business. That flight consisted of flying through Atlanta International Airport, Paris France International Airport and then over to Nuremberg. On the return trip, I traveled through Amersterdam. With that said I had to traverse through multiple security checkpoints and Customs. Knowing this ahead of time allowed me to plan for what I would be packing in my bags. It’s vitally important to do your homework before traveling to […]
Goal Zero | Solar Power for Off-the-Grid Travel
The Loadout Room’s professional dirtbag and world traveler, Leo Jenkins, lays down his solar power setup for traveling from Alaska to Argentina. All with one major priority – keeping his beer ice-cold.
Gossamer Gear Vagabond backpack: Durable, attractive and functional
There seems to be some misunderstanding of the term “low-vis,” within the tactical community. Plenty of packs advertise themselves as low-vis, yet are camo’ed out or covered in Velcro. A guy walking around with tactical pants, a Suunto watch and a Velcro-covered backpack stick out like a sore thumb anywhere in the world. You literally […]
Hex Brand Regiment Patrol Pack
We’ve all had a million different packs over the years; at least I have. From a JanSport to the most expensive Kifaru, I’ve owned them all. Very rarely do they impress me anymore, but when I was approached to take a good look at the Hex Brand Regiment Patrol Backpack, I was very intrigued. The […]
5.11 Tactical DRT Folder: Superior performance in a palm-sized package
I’ve been a knife guy for the better part of my adult life, almost always having at least one knife on my person somewhere. Majority of the time I prefer knives with a blade length of no more than 3.5″ for a few reasons, but mostly to skirt most restrictions on blade length. Many local […]
Triple Aught Design Transport Sleeve: Throw out that old Laptop bag and modularize your life
I’ve said it in previous and I’ll say it again; anytime Triple Aught Design (TAD) adds new equipment or apparel to their inventory, I need to have it. Well, they have done it again, this time they have outsmarted the competition by creating a product that replaces all those packs and bags that were specifically […]
The ‘Rule of 3’ Vagabond Clothing Packing Hack
I’ve been variably using this ultralight clothing packing minimalist hack for as long as I’ve been vagabonding and it’s served me well. “Modern vagabonding is like a professional trade that requires a specific system of equipment for the nomadic lifestyle of indefinite world travel. As such, there are tools for the trade and ways to carry […]