Gear Patrol Magazine, Issue Nineteen: The Winter Preview

2022 Winter Gear Awards: 60 Essential Products We Swear By 138

New Renaissance Man THE

Marques Brownlee on Success, Stardom and the Future of Tech 1 24

Hidden Barn: Inside Kentucky’s Boldest New Distillery 112

POR SCHE EXCLUSIVE MA N U FA K T UR

Presenting the 000 Package for the Porsche 718 Spyder, a thoughtful pairing of four historic Porsche paint colors with hand-tailored Ascot Brown full leather upholstery and other special touches — all inspired by the legendary Carrera GT. Available through Porsche dealers worldwide.

GLEN CORDLE

w w w. 0 0 0 m a g a z i n e . c o m / 0 0 0 p a c k a g e

EVO 150 Evo is everything you’ve always loved about hi-fi, evolved to suit your needs. An elegantly crafted amplifier and streamer offering compact simplicity and exceptional performance.

All from a single box designed and engineered in London.

Just add speakers.

EVO & ALVA A match designed and engineered in London

CAMBR IDGEAUD I O.COM

ALVA TT V2 Just like you, we love records and want them to sound great.

A direct drive motor ensures precise rotation speed, while our bespoke cartridge retrieves every bit of detail from the grooves. With a built-in phono stage and Bluetooth aptX HD, Alva TT V2 is the perfect partner for Evo. ALVA & EVO A match designed and engineered in London

CAM BRI D GEAUD I O.COM

Made for Zach Z A C H M I L L E R C A R R I E S T H E PA L M E R

T H E PA L M E R C A N A R Y + S TA I N L E S S

Z AC H M I L L E R : S K AT E B OA R D E R | S U R F E R | S H A P E R THEJAMESBRAND.COM

FO L LOW U S @ G E A R PAT R O L S T U D I O S

Contents The Guide

ISSUE NINETEEN

TECH 26 The Scoop on Klipsch’s Tiny, $2,500 Earbuds 30 Why You Might Want to Skip the Soundbar

32 Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4

OUTDOORS 36 8 Great Multi-Tools for Your EDC

44 IceMule Clear 52 Maurten Solid 225

38 This Snowboarding Non-Profit Spreads the Stoke

60 Solo Stove Fire Pit 2.0

42 How to Pick Out a Down Jacket

68 Hardin’s Creek Jacob’s Well Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 76 Soft Services Speed Soak 84 Seiko 5 Sports SKX Sports Style GMT 96 2023 Acura Integra

14

FITNESS

HOME

46 Superior Supplements

54 Bean Bag Chairs Are Back

48 Flexing Your Mental Fitness

56 Saunas Deliver Domestic Luxury

GEAR PATROL WINTER PREVIEW 2022

T I M E TO R E A C H YO U R S TA R

AARON RODGERS

Z E N I T H - W AT C H E S . C O M

CHRONOMASTER SPORT T H E F U T U R E O F S W I S S WATC H M A K I N G S I N C E 18 6 5

CONTENTS

The Guide

STYLE 70 New England Upstarts Go Their Own Way 74 Smoky Scents Warm up Winter

FOOD & DRINK 62 The Triumphant Return of Dansk 64 How to Stock a Bar Cart

16

WATCHES

MOTORING

78 The Case for Plastic

86 Bentley’s Surprising EV Impact

82 Hunting Down a Rolex

92 Hyundai Motor Group’s Electric Triple Crown

GEAR PATROL WINTER PREVIEW 2022

CONTENTS

Features

98

112

Spawning lines around the block across the planet, Swatch’s Omega Speedmaster became the watch event of the year. How’d it happen? We head to Switzerland to uncover the story behind the hype.

Kentucky’s boldest new distillery boasts A-list talent — and fresh ideas about what makes a good bourbon.

The MoonSwatch Moment

Hidden Barn Whiskey Just Wants You to Open the Bottle

124

138

Multidimensional YouTube star Marques Brownlee is revolutionizing how we think and learn about tech. In this exclusive Q&A, he spills the secrets to his surprisingly slow and steady success.

Whether you’re keeping fit, pursuing a passion or just dressing better, do it intentionally — with help from this compendium of superlative, GP-endorsed products.

The New Renaissance Man

On the Cover:

160

Detour Step inside a traditional Japanese tool shop that has served Bay Area woodworkers by supplying and sharpening specialty hand tools for 40 years — and counting.

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Winter Gear Awards

GEAR PATROL WINTER PREVIEW 2022

Longtime Gear Patrol contributor Nick Kova crossed the Hudson to photograph Marques Brownlee at MKBHD Studio in Kearny, New Jersey.

Kova’s crew used multiple lighting setups to capture unique portraits and action shots as Brownlee himself reviewed a new Insta360 camera.

MASTHEAD

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ART DIRECTORS

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BRANDED CONTENT STRATEGIST

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ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR , PRODUCT AND MARKETING

Where Product Meets Culture Gear Patrol Studios is the award-winning branded content agency of Gear Patrol. We leverage 15 years of storytelling to create compelling campaigns at the intersection of products and culture.

We are enthusiasts of design, utility and adventure, connecting brands with audiences through creativity, content marketing, branded events and more.

Select advertising in this magazine has been crafted by Gear Patrol Studios on behalf of brands to help tailor their message specifically for Gear Patrol readers.

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MADISON SCHULTZ J. TRAVIS SMITH @jtravsmith AYSIA STIEB @aysia

WILL PORTER SEAN TIRMAN

ISSUE 19 CONTRIBUTORS

STINSON CARTER @stinsoncarter MIKE DO @mikedo SOPHIA FOSTER-DIMINO @hellophia ALEX FRANKEL @alexfrankel.co

OREN HARTOV @ohartov ANNAMARIE HOULIS @her_report NICK KOVA @nickkova

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

A Long Time Coming The goal of any editor is to publish stories emblematic of the times. In other words: Fresh. Current.

Relevant. And not just up until the pages roll off the printer but, if they’re doing their jobs right, long after, too.

The reality of making Gear Patrol Magazine, however, is that the journey requires many months (and sometimes years) of planning, research and reporting by our talented team of writers and editors. The culmination of this work is a collection of content across a swath of subjects and interest areas that, together, tell a larger story about where products are, and where they’re going.

Nowhere is this truer in Issue Nineteen than across our feature well, which takes you around the world with three dispatches from the far corners of horology, whiskey and consumer tech.

First on the docket: a deep dive into the $260 MoonSwatch (p. 98), one decidedly unconventional timepiece that took the watch world by storm when news of its mere existence dropped earlier this year.

Our watches editor, Zen Love, traveled to Biel, Switzerland, for an exclusive, on-the-ground scoop. And to secure the coveted accessory for himself.

Closer to home, J. Travis Smith, a longtime friend of the publication, visited Kentucky to drink whiskey with the folks behind the country’s boldest new distillery, Hidden Barn (p. 112). The key word here, of course, is “drink” — an activity that can feel increasingly uncommon in whiskey circles. (Let’s hope Hidden Barn’s founders can help to change that.)

Finally, contributor Stinson Carter sat down with our cover star, Marques Brownlee, or MKBHD as he’s known to some 16 million YouTube subscribers,

to hear what it takes to become one of the most influential voices in consumer technology, as well as what excites him from the future of the field (p. 124).

Hint: he drives an EV. Kudos to our new art director, Paul Naughton, and the rest of our creative team for their role in bringing these features to life, commissioning original artwork from award-winning illustrator Sophia Foster-Dimino; coaching Smith through behind-thescenes distillery snaps; and sending trusted Gear Patrol contributor Nick Kova to New Jersey to photograph Brownlee at his Kearny studio.

Of course, every new issue of the Magazine is an opportunity to bring you both practical product advice and the latest and greatest in gear, and Issue Nineteen has no shortage of either. Multi-tools (p. 36). Down jackets (p. 42). Backyard saunas you can buy or build yourself (p. 58). See something you like? Keep an eye out for a handful of QR codes, a new feature we’ve introduced to help you shop the dozens of recommendations in the pages that follow.

By the time you flip through them all, our team will be heads-down working on the next installment of Gear Patrol Magazine, special in the sense that it will represent the 20th in our history. Until then, take your time savoring everything we’ve collected this go-round. There’s enough to keep any gear nut informed and inspired through fall, winter and beyond.

Jack Seemer EXECUTIVE EDITOR @jackseemer | jseemer@gearpatrol.com

Kind of Obsessed

Earlier this year, I tested a few pizza ovens for our first-ever buying guide on the category. The experience taught me two things: Making pizza from scratch is a rewarding but humbling endeavor. And it’s worth splurging a bit if you plan to take it seriously.

This top-of-the-line Ooni can cook with wood, charcoal or gas, but its true calling card is the glass-paneled door that allows you to keep an eye on your pizza without letting heat escape.

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PHOTO COURTESY OONI

Ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven, $799

ABOVE AND BEYOND EXPECTED.

Your Florida favorites are only the beginning. Take your vacation to new heights. Make the leap, go big, branch out.

FOLLOW YOUR SUNSHINE.

The Guide 24

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“Conspicuous consumption.” Sociologist Thorstein Veblen coined the term over 120 years ago, referring to the habit of buying stuff that’s finer, pricier or simply more than you need just to impress others. Well it’s 2022, and we’ve got a fresh approach: conscientious consumption. It’s all over this Guide, helping you to procure the perfect products for you. From a soundbarless sound system (p. 30) to bespoke bar cart booze (p. 64) to plastic watches (p. 78), surprising tips abound. And hey, you can consume more ethically, too; that’s where responsibly-sourced down jackets (p. 42) and sustainable supplements (p. 46) and exemplary electric vehicles (p. 86, 92) come in. Shop to progress, not to impress, and everybody wins.

Tiny Hi-Fi Klipsch’s new earbuds, the T10 Ear Computers, could change wearable technology as we know it — starting at $2,500 per pair.

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In 2007, Klipsch introduced the X10s, the smallest in-ear monitors ever created. They’re astonishingly slight. The business end is roughly the size of a grain of rice and, with the silicone ear tip removed, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re just looking at a wire.

But here in 2022, wires are over and the still-stunning X10s continue evolving. Klipsch

THE GUIDE

Technology

TEXT BY

Tucker Bowe

and Ear Micro, a wearable tech company, have used the X10s as the foundation for the smallest ever pair of wireless earbuds, the T10 Ear Computers. And at a screamingly high $2,500 a pair (at the lowest), they’re some of the most expensive, too.

The original, wired X10s were designed to fit deep inside your ears, sitting very close to your eardrums, so that they could achieve extreme accuracy in part by being relatively quiet, limiting distortion. Some 15 years later, the T10s operate on the same basic acoustic principles.

“If I put the T10 and X10 next to each other, you will discover it’s precisely the same thing,” says Bear Clark, the chief innovation instigator at Ear Micro. They have the same acoustic package: audio tube, nozzle, precision-balanced armature and acoustic gasket system. “But instead of a cord coming out the end, it has our computer glued onto the side of it,” he says.

The result is acoustic excellence plus the smarts of top-tier wireless earbuds. The T10 Ear Computers support high-resolution streaming up to 24-bit/96kHz (if it’s coming from a device that can dispense it). They have hybrid active noise cancellation. And despite their diminutive size, each earbud has a pretty impressive 9-hour battery life. But as their name hints, the T10 set their sights considerably higher in terms of computational capabilities.

Each earbud works like its own computer — sans the screen, of course.

They are decked out with a custom processor, built-in memory and storage, as well as gyroscopes and accelerometers to detect head and even mouth gestures. It’s a suite of capabilities that, Clark argues, puts the T10s more in the realm of augmented reality

devices than your average pair of cans. “The fundamental difference between Google Glass, which is a computer, and the T10, which is a computer, is Google Glass or Apple Glass is for your eyes and this is for your ears,” Clark says.

And to that end, the T10s are upgradable and customizable, designed with internal components that are replaceable by anyone with standard tools and moderate electronics expertise. “You can think of us as creating this chassis,” Clark says. “You want more memory?

Put a new memory card in here.

You want to put 5G in here? Put the new circuit board in it with 5G.” But maybe most crucially, it means that you’ll eventually be able to replace the battery — assuming that Klipsch, Ear Micro, or someone else is still selling new ones when you need them.

You can purchase a pair of T10s for $2,500, but that price can double if you choose to customize your pair at checkout. “Part of the reason that these things are $2,500 is that they are built like Swiss

”This is a product that is designed to teach the world that you can go way past Apple AirPods.”

The T10s are a joint effort between Klipsch and Ear Micro. They are tiny wireless earbuds with the same audio cartridge as Klipsch’s X10 in-ear monitors, and thus promise exceptional sound quality. That said, the T10s are “ear computers” and have abilities that go way beyond most other wireless earbuds.

GEAR PATROL WINTER PREVIEW 2022

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THE GUIDE

Technology

number of key patents, they’re poised to control the space, whether it gets popular or not.

Clark is unsurprisingly optimistic.

“When I tell you that ear computing is the way that all of us will be interacting with the world, that’s not farfetched — jerks like me are leading that wave,” he says. “And so what you’re really talking about with the Klipsch product, or the T10 product, is a proof of concept. This is a product that is designed to teach the world that you can go way past Apple AirPods.”

The T10 Ear Computers are without a doubt a luxury product. The charging case can even be worn as a pendant (see photo on right). “Part of the reason that [they] are $2,500 is that they are built like Swiss watches,” says Clark. “One at a time with exotic materials, under microscopes by a human being.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KLIP SCH

watches,” Clark explains. “One at a time with exotic materials, under microscopes by a human being.”

And with prices like that, the T10s are aimed squarely at a very small and specific market. “We made this product for people who care too much and whose affinity for the dollar bill is way down on the scale,” Clark says. “What they really care about is something that is excellent, that gives them goosebumps and pride of ownership, and the opportunity to be the first in the world to have something.”

You probably won’t see a lot of T10s out in the wild — they are just too damn expensive. But Ear Micro and its software partner Bragi have designs on making “ear computing” an essential aspect of the coming wave of augmented-reality wearables. Thanks to ownership of a

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RADO.COM

MASTER OF MATERIALS

CAPTAIN COOK HIGH-TECH CERAMIC DIVER

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THE GUIDE

Technology

TEXT BY

Tucker Bowe

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y

Kailah Ogawa

Skip the Soundbar

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE BRANDS

Soundbars are easy. But if it’s surround sound you’re after, you’ll want to take your money elsewhere.

Haven’t you heard? Your TV’s built-in audio is awful. Speakers need to be big to sound big, and TVs these days are paper thin. The simplest solution may seem like a soundbar — one speaker, one wire, no trouble. But the soundbar’s dirty secret is that it doesn’t sound great, either. Here’s why you should treat your ears to a better setup.

Specs are set in stone A soundbar’s specs are permanent. If you want to improve it, you’ll have to replace it. A speaker-and-receiver system gives you room to grow and experiment.

You can start with a modest stereo speaker pair and add a center channel, rears or a subwoofer. Or not! The choice is yours.

No surround sound Soundbars are a single speaker, directly in front of your face. They only trick your ears into thinking that sound is coming from anywhere other than underneath the TV. Home theater systems can use as many as a half-dozen speakers to do the real thing, but even a stereo pair is objectively superior at surround.

One-brand pony Some soundbars will play nice with additional speakers … if they’re from the same brand. An AV-andspeaker solution lets you mix and match manufacturers — not only to fine-tune your system’s sound but also to snag a deal or make use of speakers you already have.

Big space, tiny sound Soundbars are serviceable when you’re right on top of them, but larger rooms demand and elevate a multi-speaker system. Some flagship soundbars have extra drivers (including upward-firing ones) to better fill space, but these higher-end soundbars tend to cost as much or more than a multi-speaker setup.

No headroom An AV receiver, the heart of a non-soundbar system, is an extremely versatile device. Receivers that support Bluetooth or Wi-Fi let you beam music from your phone to your living room and beyond while sporting analog ports for CD players, turntables and more. Some soundbars do support wireless, but they can’t match a receiver’s flexibility.

AFFORDABLE ENTRY-LEVEL SURROUND SOUND SYSTEM

ELAC DEBUT 2.0 This is an excellent 5.1 home theater package that delivers clear and dynamic sound at a relatively reasonable price.

Plus, you can upgrade it by adding Dolby Atmos modules that fit on top of the front and surround speakers.

Price: $1,259

YAMAHA RX-V6A The Yamaha RX-V6A is a perfect newage AV receiver. It supports up to a 7.2-channel Dolby Atmos system, which gives you some room to upgrade. It has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for easy streaming. And, well, it’s gorgeous.

Price: $700

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Technology

TEXT BY

Tucker Bowe

PHOTO BY

Cam Oden

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 Samsung is by far the leader in foldable smartphones — although it admittedly doesn’t have much competition.

Its newest entry, the Galaxy Z Flip 4, is an improvement in pretty much every way. $999+

Samsung didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel when it came to the Galaxy Z Flip 4; it’s almost identical to 2021’s Flip 3. What Samsung did do was make an enjoyable phone even better. The Flip 4 has a lighter, more rugged and more eco-friendly design, improved cameras and a bigger, faster-charging battery. Plus, there are more ways to use the tiny front screen, so you don’t have to flip the smartphone open if you don’t want to.

It takes some getting used (or re-used) to the eccentricities of flip phones; when it’s folded, you can do simple things like check the weather, but it’s an extra step to flip the phone open and then unlock it if you want to do real smartphone things — read an email, check social media, etc.

And, starting at just under a grand, this is not a cheap smartphone — foldable or not.

FIELD NOTES

“After years of foldable phones basically being extinct, there’s something about the Galaxy Z Flip 4 that makes you go out of the way to show it off. You take it out of your pocket just to play with it, or place it on the table just to get a reaction. And when you need it to just be a smartphone, it does that effortlessly too.”

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I N PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H

G-SHOCK

PRODUCED BY

Gear Patrol Studios

G-SHOCK Goes Gold The newest G-SHOCKs combine a touch of luxury with supreme capability.

G-SHOCK’s Stay Gold Collection delivers a timepiece that is equal parts tough and elegant.

With the release of the square GM5600G-9 and octagonal GM2100G-1A9, G-SHOCK not only gives a nod to its heritage, but to another icon in the making.

If you didn’t think it could get better than the launch of the full metal 2100 earlier this year, definitely check out these stunning timepieces.

Both models are finished with a gold ion-plated (IP) forged stainless steel bezel, gold IP side buttons, IP buckle and minimalist dial treatments. The black dial and band contrast nicely to accentuate the luster of the metal bezels. The new models are perfect for those who appreciate a gold timepiece that they can take anywhere. And while the collection’s metal aesthetic is a reason enough to add any of its timepiec-

es to your collection, their compact forms make each even more desirable.

As expected, these new gleaming timepieces retain the G-SHOCK DNA you know and love. With shock resistance, 200m water resistance, full auto calendar and much more, the Stay Gold Collection is both classic, contemporary and capable as its relatives.

The GM2100G-1A9 comes equipped with a threeyear battery life and a unique ‘hand retract’ feature that moves both hands aside momentarily to provide a clear view of the digital display. This model also includes high-brightness double LED light and boxcheck pattern band which adds a bit of texture.

The full-digital GM5600G-9 feature a two-year battery life, EL backlight and smooth band in addition to its iconic square case.

G-SHOCK GM5600G-9

G-SHOCK GM2100G-1A9

Case Size: 49.6 × 43.2 x 12.9mm

Case Size: 49.3 × 44.4 x 11.8mm

Bezel: Forged Stainless steel

Bezel: Forged Stainless steel

Band: Resin

Band: Resin

Water Resistance: 200M

Water Resistance: 200M

$220

$240

THE GUIDE

TEXT BY

Sean Tirman

Outdoors

Tool Time The most useful, well-designed, EDCfriendly multi-tools you can buy.

At the core of the DIY spirit is the concept of self-sufficiency — the idea that, with the right set of tools, a person can do just about anything.

While a multi-tool will never truly replace a fully-stocked toolbox, it’s the perfect complement for ad hoc repair and maintenance, especially on the go.

Leatherman Free P2 Best Overall Literal decades of consumer feedback went into making Leatherman’s Free P2 the ultimate multi-tool. And one use of any of its 19 integrated, one-hand-operable, locking tools proves all that work worthwhile.

Material: 420HC stainless steel Tools: 19 Closed Length: 4.25 inches Price: $130

Gerber Armbar Drive Best EDC The Armbar Drive is no bulkier than a pocket knife and includes a center-axis driver that makes it far less frustrating to use than its counterparts.

Material: Stainless steel Tools: 8 Closed Length: 3.6 inches Price: $45 Shop This Story

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PHOTO BY

Cam Oden

Leatherman Skeletool RX

Leatherman Signal

Gerber Shard

Best for Emergencies

Best for Outdoors

Best Affordable

Skeletonized to cut as much weight as possible and specially designed with a glass-breaker, seat-belt-cutting serrated blade and much more, this is the multi-tool you’ll want in a life-threatening emergency.

With numerous clever inclusions, like a fire starter and emergency whistle, and a classic Leatherman silhouette, this is an ideal option for wielders who spend a lot of time off-grid.

For the price, you simply cannot find a more compact, lightweight and useful multi-tool. Plus, the Shard is TSA compliant, so you can literally bring it anywhere.

Material: 154CM stainless steel, carbide, Cerakote

Material: 420HC stainless steel, DLC coating, Cerakote

Material: Titanium nitride-coated stainless steel

Tools: 7

Tools: 7

Tools: 7

Closed Length: 4 inches

Length: 2.75 inches

Length: 2.75 inches

Price: $90

Price: $130

Price: $7

Gerber Dime Best Keychain The Dime packs 12 tools — ranging from spring-loaded pliers to dual drivers — into a format so compact you might just forget you’re carrying it (until you need it).

Material: Stainless steel No. of Tools: 12 Closed Length: 2.75 inches Price: $29

The James Brand Halifax Best One-Piece Less is more. This one-piece, ultralight titanium Halifax takes up about as much space as a key, yet includes driver, prybar, bottle-opener and package-opening functionality.

Material: 6AL-4V titanium Tools: 4 Length: 2.875 inches Price: $49

Victorinox Fieldmaster Best Swiss Army Knife Swiss Army Knives (SAKs) were the original multi-tools, and this one boasts Victorinox’s iconic style alongside 15 integrated tools ranging from a knife blade to a bottle opener.

Material: ABS/Cellidor, stainless steel Tools: 15 Closed Length: 3.6 inches Price: $45

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Outdoors

TEXT BY

AnnaMarie Houlis

Spreading the Stoke Snowboarding has long been about as colorful as the flakes themselves. A nonprofit called Hoods to Woods is changing that — one inspired new rider at a time.

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’Twas a white winter in Washington, circa 2008. Mount Baker was blanketed with packed powder, but only up near the resort’s 5,089foot peak — a surprising discovery for Brian Paupaw, an East Coast snowboarder who hadn’t yet experienced such heights. But his mind had already been expanded.

Hitchhiking to the mountain along Highway 542, he’d found catching a ride with his thumb to be easier than hailing taxis in Times Square as a Black man.

“That was so cool — to be a person of color and have people treat me [with open arms] because of snowboarding,” he says.

The cofounder of Hoods to Woods, a nonprofit that introduces inner-city kids to the sport, grew up in Brooklyn in the ’80s. He recalls park parties, breakdancing and the birth of hip-hop. He also recalls a crack epidemic sweeping the streets, leaving bodies in its wake. “ T h i n g s g o t r e a l l y, r e a l l y tough, and when you live in that

OPEN IT UP Want to be part of making the mountains more inclusive? Check out these awesome organizations, too.

NBS

Chill Foundation

SHRED Foundation

Team up with the National Brotherhood of Skiers (NBS), which hosts an annual summit, youth programs and clubs across the country. nbs.org

This Burton-sponsored program is dedicated to inspiring youth through board sports in 23 cities and nine countries around the world. chill.org

Volunteer with SHRED, an organization on a mission to provide young people with life and career opportunities through board sports. shredfoundation.org

environment, you really don’t know anything else until you leave,” he explains.

Snowboarding became that “anything else” for Paupaw, who got hooked while studying at Parsons School of Design in the late ’90s.

Back then, there weren’t many people of color on the slopes — and things aren’t that much different today.

Sure, there are some superstars, including out-of-this-world free rider Zeb Powell and two-time Olympic halfpipe gold medalist Chloe Kim. But while they compose 12.4 percent of the US population, people who identified as Black made up just 8.2 percent of all snowboarders in the 20212022 winter season, according to Snowsports Industries America (SIA). Hispanics (18.7 percent of the population) represented 16.9 percent, and Asians (6 percent of the population), 11.7 percent.

When Paupaw returned from Washington, the thriving motion graphics designer decided he wanted to inspire change.

“I was just like, ‘Wait a minute, reality check: There’s a dead body on the corner of Malcolm X and Jefferson Avenue,’” he says. “It’s strange to have success, to have education, to travel and then come home to see the same things happening.”

He made a short film about his trip, dubbed “Hoods to Woods.”

When he met Omar Diaz after a public screening, the same-named nonprofit soon followed. The cofounders looked past snowboarding’s inherent barriers — awareness, accessibility and affordability — and envisioned a chance for inner-city youth to step away from the grid and see a better future for themselves among role models who looked like them. While having a blast, of course.

“When I’m riding, nothing else exists other than what I’m doing at that point in time,” Diaz explains.

“That next move, that next trick, that next carve. When you get to the bottom, it’s the high five because you just got stoked on something you pulled or saw somebody else pull.”

The pair recruited a few kids popping wheelies around Bed-Stuy and Brownsville in Brooklyn, piled into an old Honda Civic and drove to New Jersey’s Mountain Creek resort, where Burton’s Chill Foundation supplied some gear. Word started to spread. “[It felt like] a historical moment happening,” says Burton Smith, who joined Hoods to Woods in 2012 at 15 years old. “Having the opportunity to leave Brooklyn and experience the slopes with other kids that never left the city is very eye-opening. It definitely changed my point of view and how I appreciate life.”

These days, Paupaw and Diaz load 30 to 40 kids onto a bus, five Saturdays every winter.

Adaptive Sports Foundation For nearly 40 years, ASF has been empowering people with physical and cognitive disabilities and chronic illnesses through snow sports. adaptivesportsfoundation.org

FA C I N G PA G E

From left: Xavier Sapp-Cobham, Keyshonte Bornia, volunteer and pro boarder Alex Caccamo and Keyonte Bornia savor Big Snow’s slopes.

T H I S PA G E

Daniel Ransford Green keeps the peace with Paupaw (above), who cofounded Hoods to Woods with Diaz (below).

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Sliding a box and striking a pose, Keyshonte Bornia and Nathan Brito make the most of the summer shredding possibilities at Big Snow.

FA C I N G PA G E

Sapp-Cobham picks up style points by catching a little air at the end of a run.

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a dedicated space. Then they are grouped based on skill level and linked up with volunteers for several hours of learning, turning and good vibes.

“I see more people of color out on the slopes, and we get a lot of love and support,” Paupaw observes.

Getting everyone back on the bus at season’s end is a “logistical nightmare,” Diaz says, because no one wants to leave. But they take with them more than new snowboard skills.

“We’re teaching these kids to come out of their shells and do something that, according to society, is not meant for us and, you know, put it into play, use it as a tool of empowerment,” he says.

“If you could do this, you could do anything, provided you apply the same principles — get your butt up early in the morning, have a goal and be consistent.”

Diaz is proof. The internal audit manager overcame his share of obstacles moving to the US from the Dominican Republic when he was 11. It was only much later that some skiers he worked with at a hotel mentioned a “skateboard thing” at New York’s Hunter Mountain. The longtime skate rat tried it out and never looked back.

He loves passing on the stoke.

“Having the opportunity to leave Brooklyn and experience the slopes with other kids that never left the city is very eye-opening. It definitely changed my point of view and how I appreciate life.”

P H O T O S B Y J A I R O L I R I A N O A N D S H AW N K A L AT U C K A

T H I S PA G E

Grants from the Share Winter Foundation and Arc’teryx, plus donations, have made it possible for hundreds of kids of all backgrounds, aged 10 to 18, to experience joy on snow. Many go on to help out themselves.

“I hope snowboarding affects them the way it did me,” says participant-turned-volunteer Serigne Diao, 22. “The program taught me the lesson of not being afraid to get knocked down, especially for new challenges life brings.”

That program is growing. A few months ago, Hoods to Woods conducted its first summer session at North America’s only indoor, yearround snow sports space — Big SNOW American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

“It allows us to make snowboarding real and consistent for them,” raves Luis Torres, 30, another volunteer. “The more advanced kids have more opportunities to work on presses, ollies and riding the park.”

SNOW Operating, which owns Big SNOW, is similarly pumped.

They’ve worked with Hoods to Woods via Mountain Creek for years, but now the season doesn’t end when the snow melts. “[We’re excited] to introduce more new participants by removing all the traditional barriers of entry to the mountains,” says Hugh Reynolds, chief marketing officer. “This happens to align perfectly with the Hoods to Woods mission.”

Paupaw says the facility’s design — featuring a carving trail, a terrain park and an open slope for learning — is a game changer.

“Now, when we go to the real mountain in January, a lot of these kids are already going to have that experience,” he points out.

A typical day starts with pickup from two Brooklyn locations. When the participants arrive at Mountain Creek or Big SNOW, they suit up in

“One young lady was the shiest, quietest individual and she now calls herself a snowboarder,” says Diaz, beaming with pride. “She’s very talkative, very outgoing and gets really good grades so she can continue to be part of the program.”

Going forward, Hoods to Woods plans to help even more kids, including those on the spectrum — and in communities beyond Brooklyn.

“As an Afro-Latino, I want to focus on a lot of Latino communities from Washington Heights to Paterson,” Diaz says. “But Hoods to Woods is open to everyone. …

When you’re in the hood, you’re in the hood. It doesn’t make a difference. It doesn’t discriminate.”

Thanks to Paupaw and Diaz’s work, the woods don’t discriminate so much either.

NOVICE NECESSITIES It can be tough getting started on the slopes. These top recs from Diaz will make a world of difference.

Impact Shorts “You will spend lots of time falling on your butt before you learn to carve.”

Seirus Super Padded Shorts, $51

BeginnerFriendly Board “Get a board based on your skill level and your weight [not your height].”

Ride Heartbreaker (women’s, shown), $420; Nitro Prime Raw (men’s), $300

Helmet “Head protection is very important, especially when you’re learning to ride and can catch an edge or lose control.”

Giro Ledge MIPS Helmet, $105

Snowboard Bibs “Bibs have a higher waistline to keep the snow out, as most beginners spend a lot of time on the snow.”

686 Gore-Tex Stretch Dispatch Bibs, $480

Heat-Moldable Boots “Heat-moldable boots are a must because they conform to your feet.”

ThirtyTwo Lashed Double Boa Powell, $360

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TEXT BY

PHOTO BY

Hayley Helms

Joe Tornatzky

Let’s Get Down A puffy down jacket is an essential piece of gear in any outdoor arsenal.

But details about materials, weight and other specifications can make choosing the right jacket a dizzying prospect. Here are the most important details you need to know when you’re picking a puffer.

Natural vs Synthetic Down Natural down insulation is made from the soft, warm and light feathers a duck or goose has under its exterior coat. Synthetic down jackets emulate this, usually with strands of polyester, for a warm but heavier end result.

Synthetic down boasts advantages in durability and water resistance that can outweigh the downsides if you don’t care about a few extra ounces.

Fill Power Fill power is a measure of how efficient natural down is. The higher the fill power, the more air the down can trap per ounce of weight. Premium goose down can reach a fill power of up to 900fp, while duck only gets to 800fp. Synthetic down’s warmth is measured instead in grams. Typical synthetic jackets fall between 50 and 130 grams of fill; the more, the heavier, the warmer. But unlike natural down, you can’t easily compare one formulation of synthetic down to another.

Fabric Down performs poorly when wet, so jackets need an outer fabric made of nylon or polyester, which are durable, strong and lightweight. Nylon is stronger and stretchier, while polyester is slightly more abrasion-resistant.

With either fabric, look for water-repellent treatments like DWR. Some activewear-oriented styles also feature spandex to maintain flexibility and stretch. Synthetic down stays

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warmer when wet, but you’ll still want water-repellent coating.

Weight The average weight of a down jacket is between 8 ounces and a pound.

That is to say, from slightly heavier than a typical windbreaker, to about half the weight of a leather jacket or peacoat. Synthetic fill jackets tend to run a few ounces heavier for comparable warmth. A good benchmark for weight for an everyday jacket is between 10 and 20 ounces.

Certifications An RDS (Responsible Down Standard) badge applies to natural down and signifies certain animal care standards along the jacket’s supply chain — among them, no live plucking and no force feeding. Jackets with bluesign certification, meanwhile, meet various standards prohibiting the use of hazardous chemicals and minimizing emissions during production.

Cost A down jacket, natural or synthetic, can cost anywhere from $99 to $400.

You may balk at a jacket that costs as much as a beginner bike, but top-tier jackets are designed for harsh alpine environments where durability is essential and an ounce is a burden. For a daily driver, err on the side of budget options. If you’re looking to keep warm on hikes, bike rides or a walk to the store, more affordable offerings will treat you well.

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Specs Filling: PlumaFill synthetic insulation Fabric: NetPlus (recycled fishing nets) Weight: 9 ounces Certifications: Fair Trade certified $329

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Hayley Helms

Outdoors

PHOTO BY

Cam Oden

IceMule Clear A clear break from a traditional insulated backpack, this new cooler uses air as its insulator. $99.95

The Clear allows you not only to keep perishables, well, un-perished during day hikes and festivals that require see-through bags, but also allows you to see how many drinks you have left. Setup is as easy as breathing: pour a layer of ice into the bottom; add drinks, food and more ice; inflate with your mouth. Let out enough air to roll the top twice and secure, and you’re set. And odds are you’ll be the only one toting around a backpack cooler this unique.

With only five to seven hours of ice retention, you’ll find yourself wanting more time than the bag can provide.

Although your drinks and food will stay cool that long, you’ll be left with a puddle of melted ice at the end of any day. If you’re not one for cleaning up messes, this isn’t the cooler backpack for you.

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FIELD NOTES

“Most insulated cooler backpacks are heavy, cumbersome and a bit boring. I like the Clear’s ability to show me which drinks — and how many — I have left without having to dig through a dark, icy pack.”

Club Sport neomatik polar. Home run: The robust automatic watch expresses both ease and remarkable style, guiding you through busy weekdays.

With a case diameter of just 37 millimeters, it is striking on any wrist and remains waterproof up to 20 atm when swimming. What powers it? The super slim NOMOS caliber DUW 3001, adjusted in six positions. Also available in petrol at select retailers, such as Arizona: Hyde Park Jewelers; California: Bhindi, CJ Charles, CH Premier, Chatel, Feldmar, Shreve & Co.; Boston: Long’s Jewelers; Cincinnati: Richter & Philips; Colorado: Oster Jewelers; Connecticut: Shreve, Crump & Low; Illinois: Swiss Fine Timing; Indiana: Brinker’s, Reis-Nichols; Massachusetts: Long’s Jewelers, Shreve, Crump & Low; Minnesota: JB Hudson; Nebraska: Borsheims; Nevada: Harland; New Jersey: Hamilton; New York: London Jewelers, Wempe; North Carolina: Windsor Jewelers; Louisiana: Adler’s; Ohio: Diamond Cellar; Pennsylvania: Henne; South Carolina: M. P. Demetre; Tennessee: Diamond Cellar; Texas: L. Majors, Lewis, Timeless Luxury Watches; Virginia: Schwarzschild; Washington: Fox’s; Washington DC: Tiny Jewel Box and at Tourneau / Bucherer, as well as here: nomos-glashuette.com

Superior Supplements With transparent supply chains and sustainable sourcing practices, these products sprint past the smoke and mirrors that obscure the rest of the supplement aisle.

There’s little room left in the supplement game for snake oil tactics and proprietary blends. In today’s fitness landscape, athletes are more conscious than ever about what fuels their progress, how it was manufactured — and how it impacts not just our bodies but the world around us.

Here’s a daily supplement regimen that exemplifies what the supplement industry could, and should, be: an honest, innovative relationship between athlete, brand and planet Earth.

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Ritual Synbiotic+ Morning

Cam Oden

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Bare Performance Nutrition Strong Greens

Myprotein Whey Forward Animal-Free Whey Protein

All the prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics included in this daily capsule are clinically studied with detailed information that allow you to know the intended function, supplier and final manufacturing location. Each batch is also tested for identity, purity, strength and composition.

Morning

Lunch

This powder supports gut health, and it derives its sweetness from stevia and monk fruit. BPN’s Bare Standard philosophy puts the consumer first with transparent, sustainable manufacturing practices — every product is also thirdparty tested for purity.

Using microflora with the same DNA sequence as cow-based whey, this animalfree protein powder provides all the benefits of traditional whey while using up to 99 percent less water, using 60 percent less nonrenewable energy and creating up to 97 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Price: $50

Price: $40

Price: $40

Bare Performance Nutrition Strong Omegas

Bear Balanced Creatine Gummies

FOCL Night

Post-Workout

Before Bed

BPN founder Nick Bare spent two years searching for the perfect source of wildcaught anchovies, which fuel this daily supplement. The due diligence in every Strong Omegas capsule is backed through certification from the International Fish Oil Standards.

This vegan, GMO-free chewable offers a refreshing take on one of the most popular strength training supplements, creatine. Bear Balanced has opened the door for more athletes to enjoy its muscle-building, energy-boosting benefits with a more approachable gummy form.

Harnessing the power of hemp CBD and five botanicals, these nightly capsules provide a clean, natural support system for better sleep and recovery. FOCL’s Night capsules utilize vegan, cruelty-free and non-GMO ingredients, proving that effectiveness can be achieved without synthetic additives.

Price: $40

Price: $28

Price: $49

Lunch

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THE GUIDE

Fitness

TEXT BY

Ben Emminger

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y

Evan Richards

Brain Power

PHOTOS COURTESY OF APPLE AND RESPECTIVE BRANDS

In 2022, maintaining a healthy headspace is as important as a good CrossFit WOD. Here’s how.

You probably have a good idea how to whip your body into shape, right? Work out consistently. Eat (relatively) clean. Rest and recover properly. But as more and more of us are realizing, physical fitness is only half the equation.

The term “mental fitness” refers to a positive state of well-being created through the general maintenance of both brain and emotional health. In other words, training how you think, feel and act in the same manner you would your biceps or quadriceps. But you can’t look at your mind the same way you do your muscles, says certified mental performance coach Carl Ohlson, which can make the concept difficult to grasp.

“It’s much harder to see what’s going on between somebody’s ears than it is to see what’s going on with their physiology,” explains the former Penn State assistant athletic director for performance psychology. “You have to really understand yourself, and then you have to figure out how to manage yourself in different environments, and that is, oftentimes, unique to the individual.”

Such a self-assessment might feel more intimidating than a onerep max bench press, but in today’s world, mental fitness is taking center stage. According to research by the global market intelligence agency Mintel, nearly four out of five Americans (78 percent) cite

mental and emotional well-being as inspiration for exercising, narrowly edging out physical well-being (76 percent). Additionally, a recent poll by the American Psychiatric Association showed that one-quarter of Americans made a New Year’s resolution to improve their mental health this year.

Thankfully, there are plenty of resources to get a boost in this area. Here’s a quick look at three approaches to mental fitness, followed by Ohlson’s thoughts and our own experiential feedback, to help you get your head in the game, so to speak.

1. Guided By Voices The Approach: Thanks to advances in telemedicine, app development and awareness of mental health, your phone can be the perfect brain trainer. A number of mindfulness, sleep management and guided meditation apps — like Calm ($70 per year), Headspace ($70 per year) and Breethe ($89 per year) — have shown effectiveness in helping people’s brains rest, recover and re-energize.

and bring it to a good place. You just have to know how to regulate your energy levels, and some apps are quite good at that.”

Field Notes: I’ve relied on Calm to help facilitate my meditation schedule. I enjoy how easy it is to find that proper state of mind through the app’s guided services.

But I wouldn’t recommend an app for addressing serious mental health conditions, which are still best treated with the help of trained professionals.

2. Your Brain on Drugs The Approach: Whether you’re training for a new deadlift PR or a more intuitive mindset, the supplement industry has an answer. Plenty of supplements are marketed as brain boosters, most notably in the subcategory known as nootropics. These “smart drugs” — such as Onnit’s Alpha Brain lineup ($35 and up) and Thesis Nootropic Formulas ($119 for a month’s supply) — claim to improve memory, focus, creativity, intelligence and motivation. But because dietary supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA — and in this case are targeting the sensitive structures of the brain — you need to be extra careful with them.

Expert’s Take: “People talk about stress management a lot,” Ohlson says. “I prefer to talk about energy management, because a lot of stress isn’t automatically a bad thing. It can mobilize some energy

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of depression. And according to Harvard Health Publishing, “the best brain foods are the same ones that protect your heart and blood vessels,” including green leafy vegetables, fatty fish, berries, tea, coffee and walnuts.

Expert’s Take: While he doesn’t necessarily embrace nootropics, Ohlson respects the nutrient-brain connection. “I recognize that if I’m on a sports performance team and I have a colleague there who’s an expert in nutrition, there’s a reason,” he says. “Because nutrition has to have these other impacts on the individual’s health and well-being.” Science backs him up. A review of 21 studies from 10 countries published in Psychiatry Research found that a healthful dietary pattern containing fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other items was associated with a reduced risk

Field Notes: I’ve tried Onnit’s Alpha Brain products, and after a learning curve, I did feel a lift. But I’ve experienced similar results with a simple dietary switch. After all, supplements are just that — something you’re not getting from your normal nutrition. So before you buy a bottle, try adding some of the aforementioned foods to your diet and see if you can’t reap the same benefits — without the heightened uncertainty or expense.

Elevate ($40/year) have grown in popularity, promoting puzzles, quizzes and challenges as a quick, unobtrusive way to unplug and focus on your well-being. These entertaining tasks have been shown to work both sides of the brain, improving focus, shortterm memory and attention, according to a 2018 study published in Medical Science Monitor Basic Research.

Expert’s Take: Ohlson states that puzzle-based brain games, along with other modalities, have plenty of potential to benefit your health.

“They have an undoing effect on stress response, they can help increase your immune system,” he observes, with a word of

3. Flexing Mental Muscles The Approach: Because of the variables that make up mental fitness, approaching a proper training regimen can seem daunting. But a mental workout can be much less of a chore than a physical workout. Apps like Lumosity ($48/year) and

Nootropic supplements, like Onnit’s Alpha Brain and Thesis’s Formulas, promise improved cognitive function, but studies concerning the effectiveness of these “smart pills” are still ongoing. As with other dietary supplements on the market, you should take each product’s claims with a grain of salt.

advice: “Be completely present in whatever you’re doing. It doesn’t matter as much what the activity is; it’s more about your philosophy toward the activity.”

Field Notes: I use Lumosity routinely, and the gaming aspect has proven to be a great way for me to stay focused and present in the moment. I’m always able to find 10 minutes in my day for cognitive training, especially when I can hold that workout in the palm of my hand.

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© 2022 Seiko Watch of America. SSC813

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT SEIKOUSA.COM

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TEXT BY

Jack Seemer

PHOTO BY

Cam Oden

Maurten Solid 225 Maurten reinvented the formula for sports drinks with hydrogel technology. Can it do the same for energy bars? $3 / bar

Unlike Maurten’s drink mixes, which have very little flavor, Solid 225 actually tastes good — like a Chewy granola bar, but sweeter.

There’s also very little fiber (only 2.4 grams per bar), so it curbs your hunger without weighing you down.

Maurten packed as many carbohydrates as it could into Solid 225, resulting in a bar that’s too dense and chewy to realistically consume in the middle of a quick race or workout. And while it’s easy to digest, the price tag may be harder to stomach.

FIELD NOTES

“Solid 225 doesn’t replace Maurten’s other offerings, like Gel 100, which go down easier mid-race.

As a light breakfast before a workout, however, it’s absolutely delightful.”

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Jack Seemer

In the Bag Forget your high-design recliner. The latest craze in easy lounging will have you laid out like it’s 1969.

1 I ta l i a n f u r n i t u re c o m p a n y Zanotta released the first bean bag chair in the late sixties. Examples of the iconic design, named the Sacco, now reside in the MoMA and Centre Pompidou, among other museums across the world.

More than a mere relic of the past, however, bean bags have reemerged as an affordable alternative to designer lounge chairs from names like Eames and Breuer.

Shapelessly ergonomic and ceaselessly laid-back, today’s best takes boast interchangeable covers, sustainable fillings and plenty of slothful swag.

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Muji Body Fit Cushion A squared-off shape gives greater support around the edges, while the removable polyester-cotton cover makes it easy to clean. $149 (cover sold separately)

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Design Within Reach Eazy Bean Everest Chair Need somewhere to sit that won’t put you to sleep? A tapered top here offers head and neck support that can keep your body upright. $895

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Floyd The Squishy Chair Floyd repurposes foam offcuts from its sofa production for the filling of this pear-shaped chair, which also features a cover made from recycled plastic. $695

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE BRANDS

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Yogibo Max Seat up to four people on this extra-long bean bag or use it as a guest bed in a pinch. Once you’ve tried it, the only thing you won’t want to do is get up. $299

Big Joe Fuf Large Available in five sizes from small to XXL, the Fuf from Big Joe features a removable cover with handles that make it easy to move around the house. $167

Fatboy Original Bean Bag More than 3 million EPS beads live inside each Fatboy bean bag, while the water- and dirt-repellent nylon cover thrives indoors or out. $249

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Heat Wave

No pool, no problem. Homeowners with tiny lots can find comfort, and wellbeing, with a backyard sauna.

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The concepts of self-care and biohacking have officially gone mainstream, with an ever-growing number of people seeking out ways to improve their physical and mental well-being at home. Case in point: a rise in homeowners trading hot tubs and plunge pools for four-season saunas.

Saunas 101 The concept of a sauna, along with the word itself, comes from Finland. There, saunas are not some new-age novelty but a crucial part of the culture, dating back thousands of years.

While saunas are sometimes confused with steam rooms, the two are not one and the same. Steam rooms use steam as a heat source, while saunas derive heat from dry sources. Saunas are considerably hotter than steam rooms, often topping out near 200 degrees, and they’re far less humid — though steam still plays a role, often generated by users ladling water over hot rocks.

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THE GUIDE

Know Your Fuel Build Healthy Habits Unverifiable claims abound concerning the alleged health benefits of saunas — particularly infrared saunas — so you should be cautious of any declarations that seem a little too good to be true.

Still, there are plenty of actual, honest-to-goodness upsides one can derive from sweating it out in a sauna. Studies have shown improved circulation and lower blood pressure from regular sauna

Wood-Burning Saunas Modeled after traditional Finnish saunas, these saunas use a wood stove to generate their heat. They provide the most authentic experience but require more upkeep, along with a chimney for ventilation.

Electric Saunas A more modern take on a classic sauna, electric saunas swap out the wood-burning stove for an electric heater. They’re more convenient and precise but also more expensive to operate.

use. In addition, many users report that saunas improve the look of their skin, decrease stress levels and soothe aching muscles.

Be careful not to overdo it, though, as excessive sweating can lead to dehydration. Beginners should start with five-minute sessions a few times a week, eventually working their way up to 15-minute stays. If using an infrared sauna, you can stay longer due to the lower temperatures — 30 to 40 minutes.

FA C I N G PA G E

Infrared Saunas Infrared saunas — which are not traditional saunas — use infrared light to heat your body directly via thermal radiation. This results in a far lower ambient temperature in the sauna itself, allowing for longer stays.

The Backcountry Hut Company’s System S sauna makes for a striking addition to any property.

T H I S PA G E

The System S’s Tylo Sense Pure 8 electric heating system is controlled via a sleek touch panel (top). Den’s The Sauna includes a private room for changing (bottom).

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Top Picks to Buy Now Den The Sauna Den’s DIY plans for a backyard sauna (you provide the materials and contractor) offer room for two to four people, your choice of electric or wood heat and a separate private area for changing. $199+

The Backcountry Hut Company System S If it’s a luxury experience you seek, this is it. System S boasts an expansive front window, a steel exterior fit for extreme weather and a toasty high-tech electric heating system. ~$33,580

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Heartwood Saunas Aire+ Heartwood’s ultra-modern take on a traditional sauna is fitted with a HUUM sauna stove heated by either wood or electricity, and its cantilevered roof makes a stylish statement. ~$42,053

Clearlight Sanctuary Outdoor 5-Person Full-Spectrum Infrared Sauna In the infrared sauna space, it’s tough to beat the Sanctuary. It employs an app-controlled, proprietary heating system that provides all beneficial infrared wavelengths. $9,199

I F Y O U B U I L D I T ...

When it comes to making your backyard sauna dreams come true, you have options. Some, like Den’s The Sauna, provide you with little more than a blueprint. If that sounds like too much work, consider a fully-assembled unit, like The Backcountry Hut Company’s System S.

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Solo Stove Fire Pit 2.0 This new-and-improved smokeless fire pit makes the backyard fire experience more convenient and clean than ever.

$399.99

The initial iteration of the Fire Pit was the first of its smokeless kind; its double-wall design provided ventilation that created a secondary burn effect, making for a highly efficient, smokeless fire. Version 2.0 adds a significant improvement: a removable ash pan. (With the previous model, you had to move the entire unit to dump it out.) This upgrade makes the cleanup process a quick, one-person job: once cooled, you simply remove the grate, dump the ashes from the base plate and call it a day.

Even though the ash pan reduces how often you need to move the Solo Stove, the Fire Pit is awkward to pick up; there’s no easy way to get a grip on it, unless you also purchase the accessory handle.

Additionally, keep in mind that it won’t be shiny and clean for long; the high temperatures quickly create a patina. This isn’t an issue of performance, but it does change the look.

FIELD NOTES

“The days of scooting your chair around the fire to avoid smoke are over; the convenience of the Solo Stove design is unmatched. And the new ash pan’s easier cleanup means you’ll want to use your Fire Pit even more.”

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Food & Drink

TEXT BY

Grace Cooper

Dare to Design

More than half a century since its housewares started shipping around the world, Dansk’s pots, pans and pitchers have never felt fresher.

Since her company acquired Dansk, Food52 CEO Amanda Hesser (above) has championed an archival revival for the brand. One highlight: a wrapped-handle water pitcher first designed by Jens Quistgaard in 1956.

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“What I particularly appreciate about Dansk’s early designs was that [they] had that minimalism that I think we associate with Danish design but also a kind of willingness to dare,” says Amanda Hesser, cofounder and CEO of Food52. “They’re utilitarian pieces that feel aesthetically pleasing that have some whim or have memorable details.”

Dansk’s tapered flatware, colorful enameled pots and wooden salad bowls have found their way into people’s homes since the 1950s.

And while its origins are decidedly Danish, its reach is global — and never more so than today. “There’s a lot of nostalgia for the designs,” Hesser says. “They really bring back childhood memories.”

Dansk was created by Americans Ted and Martha Nierenberg, who hired Danish designer Jens Quistgaard to design a line of cutlery fashioned from stainless steel and teak. It was an instant hit, with a 1958 article in The New York Times calling the pieces “some of the most popular accessories found in American homes.”

In 2021, Dansk found new ownership in an acquisition by Food52, which had by that point already been selling Dansk wares for years. “[The acquisition] was this great opportunity we felt like to not only preserve this brand that had developed incredible loyalty … but actually to take its essence and make it accessible to more people,” Hesser says.

A large part of the revival is sorting through and digitizing multiple Dansk archives around the world.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DANSK

THE GUIDE

The brand has an archive of product drawings and catalogs located in Portland, Oregon — managed by the team at Schoolhouse (another home goods brand acquired by Food52) — as well Quistgaard’s own designs and prototypes housed in his daughter’s attic in Denmark.

U n d e r Fo o d 5 2 , d i s c o n t i n ued Dansk pieces that for many years could only be found during lucky trips to a vintage shop will be reissued. For its first archival release, the company reissued a wrapped-handle water pitcher from Dansk’s Købenstyle line, one of the most popular and iconic collections, known for its colorful enameled cookware. The pitcher sold out within 24 hours. Twice. And its second release was met with a waiting list of over 1,500 people.

Although Dansk is known for cookware and tableware, the brand has ventured into other areas of home goods in the past, and Hesser hopes to continue in this direction by collaborating on new products with internationally known designers who typically work with jewelry, textiles, ceramics or other mediums. This year, the brand released

two new Købenstyle colors, black and moss, and expects to have a third pitcher restock in early 2023 alongside a pepper mill originally designed by Quistgaard.

“There’s more for us to bring back than we would have time for,” Hesser says. “Our plan is to really make each archival release like a real celebration of the brand and the chance to tell the story about that particular product.”

Although Dansk’s aesthetic hinges on functionality and clean design, its pieces often feel like art, which may be why its built a decades-long community following.

“What makes Dansk so great is that the designs are very design-forward, while also being incredibly practical and useful,” Hesser says. “They really made people think differently about a salad bowl. You could feel the care that was put into every design.”

The brand’s classic Købenstyle cookware is not only iconic but also functional, from the butter warmer ($48) to the 4-quart casserole ($135).

The vibrant enameled carbon steel nicely complements the wooden handles, and as a bonus, the lids double as trivets.

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Food & Drink

Take Stock

TEXT BY

Johnny Brayson

CORE SPIRITS

You don’t need an advanced degree in mixology to put together an enviable living room bar.

Stocking a bar cart may seem intimidating, but it’s simpler than you think. With a mix of essential base spirits, aperitifs, liqueurs, bitters, nonalcoholic mixers and a few unexpected bottles to show off your personality, you’ll be ready to make hundreds of cocktails for even your most discerning guests.

TEQUILA

Siete Leguas Blanco

Blanco tequilas can sometimes be a bit lacking in flavor, but Siete Leguas’s take on the form blends a blanco’s traditional smoothness with an intense flavor of cooked agave.

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BOURBON

Knob Creek Small Batch 9-Year Bourbon

Bottled at a robust 100 proof, Knob Creek’s 9-Year Bourbon boasts a hearty oak flavor after spending nearly a decade encased in the stuff.

RUM

Plantation Barbados 5 Years

A happy medium between light and dark, this tropical golden rum spends the first three or four years of its aging process in retired bourbon barrels.

GIN

VODKA

Equally at home in a martini or negroni, Sipsmith’s traditional London Dry Gin is distilled in its namesake city from a smooth and complex blend of 10 different botanicals.

If you’re looking for mass-produced vodka, this ain’t it. Icelandic Reyka is distilled in small batches from lava-rock-filtered glacial spring water. The result is an exceptionally clean spirit.

Sipsmith London Dry Gin

Reyka Vodka

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THE GUIDE

SINGLE MALT WHISKY

Suntory Whisky Toki

The acclaimed world of Japanese whisky can be intimidating and expensive, but this bottle from industry-leader Suntory makes for an approachable and affordable introduction.

TRIPLE SEC

Cointreau

There’s no more essential or versatile liqueur than orange liqueur, which figures in too many classic cocktails to count. And there’s no more essential orange liqueur than clear and complex Cointreau.

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MEZCAL

ABSINTHE

Like a good, quality tequila, this young mezcal is made with 100 percent pure agave. Use its subtle smoky flavor to punch up your margaritas, or sip it over ice.

St. George was first out of the gate with a new American absinthe after the spirit’s ban was lifted in 2007, and its authentic recipe remains the best way to chase the green fairy.

AROMATIC BITTERS

ORANGE BITTERS

The most ubiquitous bitters in existence, Angostura’s vaguely medicinal blend of herbs and spices is a must-have for any home bartender looking to make oldfashioneds or Manhattans.

If you’re willing to venture outside of Angostura when it comes to bitters (and you should), your first stop should be Regan’s refined take on old-school citrus bitters.

Pierde Almas La Puritita Verda

Angostura Bitters

St. George Absinthe Verte

Regan’s Orange Bitters

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAQ AND RESPECTIVE BRANDS

LIQUEURS & BITTERS

PERSONALITY BOTTLES

Food & Drink

APERITIFS DRY VERMOUTH

SWEET VERMOUTH

APERITIVO

Far less cloying than your average Italian vermouth, Antica Formula brings a bittersweet complexity to your cocktails. Keep this and your dry vermouth in the fridge once opened to maintain freshness.

Lovingly crafted in a natural botanical-focused Brooklyn distillery, this American aperitivo makes for a bright and refreshing alternative to the usual Amari standbys of Campari and Aperol.

TONIC

GINGER BEER

Fever-Tree’s tonic utilizes authentic quinine from Central Africa and bitter orange oils from Mexico, for flavor that blows away your typical supermarket fare.

Ginger ale’s sharper, stronger cousin, ginger beer brings bite to tipples like the Moscow mule. Maine Root’s rendition is exceptionally spicy and ginger-forward.

Routin Dry Vermouth

Antica Formula

CLUB SODA

Forthave Spirits Red Aperitivo

MIXERS

Sometimes vermouth can be an afterthought, but not this Frenchmade concoction of sauvignon blanc and jacquère wines that’s been infused with 17 different plants and spices.

Regatta Pacific Sea Salt Club Soda

Club soda adds length to a number of popular drinks, and Regatta’s innovative and premium version uses evaporated sea salt to achieve the perfect level of carbonation.

Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water

Maine Root Ginger Brew

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THE GUIDE

Food & Drink

TEXT BY

Ben Bowers

PHOTO BY

Cam Oden

Hardin’s Creek Jacob’s Well Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey A fresh name from whiskey-making titans shoots for immediate top-shelf status — and collector respect. $150

Jacob’s Well is one of two inaugural releases under Beam Suntory’s new Hardin’s Creek label, which showcases the experimental inklings of freshly minted master distiller Freddie Noe — the eighth-generation descendant of one Jim Beauregard Beam. A pour packs plenty of trademark bourbon flavors — caramel, raisins, syrup, leather, rye spice — along with an added oomph of oak that’s expected after maturing in a barrel for just over 15 years. It’s a tasty, high-end release whiskey geeks will love.

Though it’s decently balanced, the whiskey’s oaky, high-rye leanings may rub sweeter bourbon zealots the wrong way. The packaging, which includes a thin leather strip, feels more hokey than high-end.

At an MSRP of $10 per year of age, Jacob’s Well is fairly priced — but compared to existing Beam offerings such as Knob Creek 12 and 15, the added expense has the whiff of pure hype tax.

FIELD NOTES

“New outlets for bourbon experimentation are always welcome, if they aren’t just blatant vehicles for milking profit from bourbon hysteria.

Jacob’s Well is a strong first showing that leaves us excited to taste more of Noe’s creations under the Hardin’s Creek label.”

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THE GUIDE

Style

TEXT BY

Evan Malachosky

New England’s New School In a region dominated by oldfashioned icons like Alden and L.L. Bean, there’s no shortage of inspiring new designers.

A lot of notable new brands hail from big cities. They’re either a Brooklyn-based upstart or LA darling, both on the brink of making it mainstream. But elsewhere in the US, brands aplenty are responsible for some of the country’s most exciting new menswear. And they’re doing it with less capital and smaller target audiences.

Take New England, a region famous for its blue blazers and all-American aesthetic. Here, however, a new crop of exciting talents are rejecting the status quo and designing for a different kind of guy. The rest of the country would be wise to take notice.

N O R WA L K T O N A N T U C K E T

Manresa is Mike McLachlan’s way of paying tribute to his home region, but it’s also a way of subverting others’ expectations of it.

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Manresa “Being a one-man brand, it really is just an extension of my personality and the culture I was raised in,” says Mike McLachlan, the designer behind Manresa.

McLachlan works out of Norwalk, Connecticut, a city along New England’s lower coast. There, plenty of people wear Nantucket Reds and step-and-repeat ties, but he relies on his working-class upbringing for inspiration, as well as his Scottish heritage. That means he makes tartan flannels, waterproof anoraks, deck shorts, durable hoodies and bulky beanies, not preppy polos or boat shoes.

“Aside from maybe a handful of wealthy towns that are mostly made up of Wall Street New Yorkers with lots of money and very little style, New England was GORP before GORP was GORP,” McLachlan says, referring to the technical hiking style popular in recent years.

“Take a ride through rural New Hampshire and you won’t see many step-and-repeat ties.”

McLachlan wants Manresa to represent “being born and raised in New England as a regular working-class kid in the ’90s,” he says.

His designs echo what he wore then, to ride or fix his bike and help his dad around the house. These things have “stayed with me to this day,” he says, “which is why you see the outerwear and workwear at play in the line.”

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THE GUIDE

Style

Slow Process Hailing from Burlington, Vermont, is Slow Process, a small-scale clothing brand specializing in classic menswear fashioned from rare fabrics. Every garment is cut and sewn by Sam Zollman, who founded the label in 2018.

At first, Zollman would thrift for jackets and shirts he could repair, customize and sell. Later on, he expanded into denim jackets, overshirts and soft sweatshirts before landing on something of a signature: vintage fabrics, like a particular type of 19th-century wool blanket, which he now applies to well-known patterns, such as a varsity jacket.

In the summer, old tablecloths become baseball jerseys. And when the temperature drops, French terry turns into stylish mocknecks.

“I have a huge amount of respect for the textiles I come across,” Zollman says, “especially the vintage and antique ones — their age, the time and energy that went into making them, the fact that they’ve endured for this long.”

Once Zollman settles on a particular fabric, it can take him days — sometimes weeks — to finish even a single garment.

“It would feel disrespectful to rush through the process of building the piece and not honor the legacy of making something to last,” he says.

“And at the end of the day, I’m the one sewing almost everything. It’s my reputation on the line.”

Some Slow Process designs take days, while others take weeks. It depends on what the design demands, Zollman says.

“It would feel disrespectful to rush through the process... and not honor the legacy of making something to last.”

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE BRANDS

SLOW AND STEADY

Tony Shirtmakers Tony Parrotti, one half of Tony Shirtmakers, operates a studio in Damariscotta, Maine, a town with hot summers and cold winters — extremes that inform his handmade shirts and jackets.

A graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York City, Parrotti taught himself how to sew shirts by replicating ones he already owned.

Now, he offers a mix of luxurious ready-made and made-to-order designs, each with prices to match.

They aren’t delicate, though.

“We make garments that are intended to be worn and well-loved — pieces you will hang by the door and reach for again and again,” Parrotti says. “We don’t want you to be afraid to wear your clothes and get them muddy or wet or sweat in them. [These are] all things that

happen when you live an active lifestyle in rural New England.”

On social media, Parrotti and his partner, Laura Fraser, paint a pretty picture — a quiet, chaos-free studio with open doors and lots of indirect sunlight. But they aren’t isolated.

“There is an amazing network of makers and craftsmen in Maine that we are so happy to have become a part of,” Parrotti says.

“There is this legacy of creating things yourself, by hand — whether out of necessity or keen interest — that really resonates with us.”

S E L F - TA U G H T TA L E N T Tony Parrotti taught himself how to sew, and he parlayed the talent into a few unpaid (and eventually paid) apprenticeships.

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the guide

Style

text by

Evan Malachosky

photos by

Cam Oden

Santa Maria Novella Tabacco Toscano Size: 50ml Notes: Tuscan tobacco, dried herbs, vanilla beans

Winter Warmers These smoky scents are an antidote to the winter lull.

When it’s cold out, fire promises respite. It’s a tool humans have turned to for millions of years to heat our homes, cook our meals and spark our senses. We let its aroma linger, watch its flames unfurl and listen as its embers crack. Here, six warm fragrances that capture its essence.

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Price: $100

Le Labo Tabac 28 Size: 50ml Notes: Dark rum, shared cigarettes, florals Price: $350

Thin Wild Mercury Laurel Canyon, 1966 Size: 50ml Notes: A sun-lit room, cannabis, fresh wood Price: $165

Gabar Float I Size: 50ml Notes: Hay, fresh basil, loose leaf tobacco Price: $140

Misc. Goods Co. Underhill Size: 50ml Notes: Worn leather, an antique pipe, open air Price: $125

Atum Wild Tobacco Size: 50ml Notes: Earthy tobacco, wildflower honey, smoked Cuban cigars Price: $125

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THE GUIDE

Style

TEXT BY

Evan Malachosky

PHOTO BY

Cam Oden

Soft Services Speed Soak A gel rather than a lotion, Speed Soak hydrates on impact, dries clean and doesn’t clog pores.

$28

Speed Soak absorbs immediately — meaning it hydrates your skin quickly, even if it’s on the verge of cracking, and helps it stay hydrated for hours after application. Turn to it when things get extreme: when that first winter wind rolls in, or the midsummer humidity level hits record highs.

And while it calms dry skin in the immediate, it also balances your epidermis’s moisture levels with long-term use.

As someone with dry skin, I appreciate Speed Soak’s promise of sweet, sweet relief, but there should be more of it in each bottle.

Even though this isn’t an everyday product, 5.5 ounces goes by fast, especially if you’re 6’2” and mostly limbs. I’d pay $45 for 12 ounces, if they ever made a bottle that big.

FIELD NOTES

“Most lotions leave my skin feeling too greasy for my taste, which is why I’ve always been reluctant to try new ones. The Speed Soak isn’t a lotion, though, but it doesn’t feel like aloe vera or, hell, even hair gel.

It’s easy to use and far from greasy.”

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THE GUIDE

Watches

TEXT AND PHOTO BY

Zen Love

A Place for Plastic Plastic gets a bad rap, but sometimes it’s the best material for the job.

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So you just bought a shiny new luxury watch made of stainless steel, with beautifully contrasting polished and brushed finishes.

While most people don’t open the caseback where usually only a watchmaker would look, you’re not most people. There, surrounding the delicate clockwork mechanism, you find a ring made of — gasp — plastic? Are you horrified?

While disposable products give plastic a bad rap, it’s in fact terrifically suited to products that are intended to last forever.

Don’t be. The use of plastic is a documented phenomenon in watches that cost well into four figures. And while it might not fit your romantic image of age-old Swiss craftsmanship, it’s there for a reason: someone decided it’s the right material for the job.

“Synthetic polymers [plastics] are irreplaceable in society and do many, many important things,” says Dr. Frank Bates, Regents Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota. “Windmills would not exist without thermoset plastics,” Bates says. “When you need an artificial hip, you’re going to be very happy high-density polyethylene is around.”

It’s easy for a layperson to come away with only a crude idea of what plastic is. The word itself is an oversimplification. Plastics, plural, are an entire family of materials that combine polymers (particularly long, repeating chains of molecules) with other components to achieve a variety of effects.

They can be lightweight like Styrofoam cups, flexible like grocery bags, hard and heavy like bowling balls, resistant to extreme kinetic force like a bulletproof vest — but they’re durable no matter what form they take.

No watch brand better illustrates the way these properties

FA C I N G PA G E

Different properties of plastic are represented by watches from Casio, Swatch and Nixon.

T H I S PA G E

Packaging and single-use items represent the problems with plastics (right), but polyurethane is a plus when durability is desired, as in the case of a Casio G-Shock watch (below).

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THE GUIDE

Watches

can dovetail with the making of a great watch than Casio. Take the G-Shock 5600 series. It’s lightweight and comfortable on the wrist, with a pleasing texture. It’s probably one of the most comfortable watches I’ve ever worn, and I’ve worn hundreds of watches.

And while G-Shocks are known for being comfortable, they’re famous for being basically indestructible.

Need proof? YouTube has a bevy of videos featuring G-Shocks surviving drops from helicopters, being bunny-hopped upon by BMX bikes and other unspeakable torture

tests. The G-Shock DW5600E-1 holds a Guinness World Record for surviving a pass under the wheels of a 27.5-ton truck, and models of all stripes can be seen on the arms of active duty soldiers in photos released by just about every branch of the US military.

Overall design and other technologies beyond fantastic plastic contribute to G-Shock’s renowned toughness, but when it comes to being a featherweight and shrugging off punishment, no so-called “premium” material like titanium or ceramic could do the job half as

FA C I N G PA G E

Fleece is a kind of polyester (top); different kinds of plastic play into Swatch and G-Shock watches (bottom) T H I S PA G E

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ZEN LOVE, PEPE CERON-BALSAS, AND RESPECTIVE BRANDS

Premium plastics include Tumi’s ballistic nylon, Gore-Tex’s membranes and Casio’s resin cases.

well as plastic — while being affordable to boot.

Cheapness is one of plastic’s greatest strengths, but also a chief reason watch connoisseurs tend to sneer at it. Fortunately, many brands have found an easy solution, one which happens to be more accurate too: just call it something else.

The waterproof-but-breathable Gore-Tex? Tumi’s ballistic nylon?

Those Italian-made acetate sunglasses? Your comfy fleece jacket?

Despite the differences in their branding and the details of their physical characteristics, they’re all part polymer.

“Plastics aren’t going away,” Dr. Bates says. And that’s true in more

than one sense. It’s impossible to imagine a modern life or economy without plastic, but they also take virtually forever to decompose. As a result, single-use plastics like polyethylene shopping bags, polystyrene cups and straws pile up in landfills and pollute the oceans.

“There are problems, and they’re very visible,” Bates says. “We need to figure out how to deal with that stuff, but it doesn’t detract from the incredible technology that goes into producing them.”

Ironically, while disposable products give plastic a bad rap, it’s in fact terrifically suited to products that are intended to last forever. The same longevity that makes plastic

so problematic in landfill-bound bubble wrap makes it excellent for a watch designed to last decades.

That plastics are also affordable shouldn’t necessarily be equated with “cheap,” as in low quality; it makes them even more impressive.

The G-Shock, which embraces its unabashed ruggedness, has earned plenty of respect among watch enthusiasts of all stripes.

But when plastic rears its head in luxury applications, protecting a delicate mechanism or performing other feats no other material could manage, the hemming and hawing begins. In both cases, however, the same question applies: don’t you want the best?

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The iconic Rolex Submariner is available in a whole host of variations beyond what’s behind the glass at your local authorized dealer.

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THE GUIDE

Watches

TEXT BY

Oren Hartov

Roll Call

So you want a Rolex. Here’s how to get one on your wrist.

The stage is set: You’re killing it at work. You’ve got some extra cash.

It’s time for a nice watch. A Rolex watch. There’s just one problem — or three, rather. Unprecedented demand, a global pandemic and limited production mean there are too few watches to go around.

Your best bet? The preowned market, where supply’s aplenty and even deals await. Here are five tips to dial in your search.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANALOG:SHIFT AND ROLEX

Think Small There’s more to Rolex than Submariners, Daytonas, and GMT-Master IIs. There’s a mind-blowing variety of options, many under $5,000, in the 34 to 36mm range. Forget the small-watch stigma and check out 36mm Datejusts and vintage 34mm Oyster Perpetuals. If sub-40mm is good enough for Ryan Gosling, it’s good enough for you.

Study Your Target The Rolex world — vintage, preowned and new — is rife with fakes, “Frankenwatches” and all sorts of shenanigans. Once you’ve found the model you want to buy, study up on what it’s supposed to look like. Watch YouTube videos, go into boutiques and stores and begin handling watches. Speak to experts, buy some reference materials. This part might seem tedious, but it will save you a lot of trouble when it’s finally time to buy.

Buy the Seller Can you score a deal off a random internet sale? Sure — but it’s risky.

Instead, the best bet for newbies is to start with established dealers. Two great places to start are Eric Wind from Wind Vintage and James Lamdin from Analog:Shift.

These guys are consummate pros, and exploring their offerings will help you learn what’s worth buying.

Take Your Time Don’t rush into a purchase and buy the first watch you see. Look at 15 Datejusts if necessary, or at least two or three — that’s half the fun!

Aim for a piece that won’t incur extra service or other costs. It’s much better to spend a bit more on a watch that’s already been properly serviced and is in good condition. Buying a screaming deal on a “project” watch is not for beginners.

Enjoy — the Right Way! Once you’ve got that sucker on your wrist, wear the living hell out of it. You earned it! Just know that preowned (and especially vintage) watches need extra care. Don’t take it in the water unless it’s meant for that express purpose. And only after you’ve had it pressure tested.

Also, understand that at some point it will require service, and that won’t be cheap. The same is true of a sports car, a home or anything cool worth buying.

PERENNIAL PICKS Here are three models that hit the sweet spot: timeless enough to wear, common enough to be affordable.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Models: 4-digit Reference: 5500 $3,500–$6,000

Rolex Datejust Models: 4- and 5-digit Reference: 1601 or 16030 ~$4,500–$10,000

Rolex Submariner Models: 5-digit Reference: 14060 or 16610 ~$8,500–$15,000

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THE GUIDE

Watches

TEXT BY

PHOTO BY

Zen Love

Cam Oden

Seiko 5 Sports SKX Sports Style GMT Is this genuinely affordable automatic GMT too good to be true? $475

An automatic GMT for under $500; there must be a catch, right? That arrow-shaped hand that tracks another time zone is usually found on watches starting at well over $1,000. But Seiko’s economy of scale means they’re able to offer one without apparent compromises. Like the rest of the Seiko 5 Sports line, it boasts impressive comfort and build quality, making it unexpectedly refined for its price — but also a distinctive, fantastic-looking design that makes it look like anything but a Rolex wannabe.

A couple issues with the bracelet are worth noting: the bracelet is surprisingly well-made and comfortable, and has a greatlooking Rolex “jubilee”-style design, but it does add noticeable heft.

Speaking of bulk, the added GMT functionality gives it a case that’s about half a millimeter thicker than the rest of the collection. The clasp also has the stamped feel that’s long irked Seiko fans.

FIELD NOTES

It’s affordable, but this is no ‘beater’ watch. Seiko has outdone themselves with a mix of quality, functionality and price — and other watchmakers will have to up their game to compete.

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THE GUIDE

Motoring

TEXT BY

Will Sabel Courtney

Path of the Plug

Once defined by gas-guzzling giants, Bentley Motors aims to be all-electric and carbon-positive by the end of the decade.

CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT

The Bentley Mulliner Batur presages the look of future EVs; 2019’s EXP 100 concept car explored fanciful possibilities; even the brand’s current PHEVs flirt with an electric range of 30 miles.

Bentley isn’t likely the first name in the automotive industry you associate with going green. But the green is all around Bentley.

Pop by their headquarters in Crewe, England, and you’ll find a factory surrounded by verdant fields and farmlands; sheep graze in pastures across the road from the gate, test cars dodge tractors on the country roads nearby. It’s more Smallville than Metropolis — a sharp contrast to most carmakers’ facilities, which tend to be surrounded by cities and suburbs and roads as far as the eye can see.

But green doesn’t just surround Bentley; it’s been coming in lately, too. Sales-wise, 2020 proved to be the best in the company’s 100-plus-year history — only to see that record shattered in 2021.

That same year, the company made a record €389 million ($391 million USD) in profit — an average of more than $26,000 in profit per car sold.

(For comparison, General Motors

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averaged just $2,270 in profit per new vehicle in 2021.) Yet while some brands might be content to sit pretty under similar circumstances, Bentley is instead shaking things up — by going all-in on cars with plugs and battery packs.

“We want to have a completely ethically and environmentally transparent brand,” says Adrian Hallmark, chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors. “We don’t want to complain, we don’t want to explain, we don’t want to whinge — we just want to fix a date, make it happen, lead, and show it can be done.”

“That is still one of the main principles of sustainability: make less, and use it longer, and then keep reusing it.”

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From the product side, the first step in this journey is plug-in hybrid vehicles, or PHEVs, which combine aspects of both internal combustion (petroleum-burning engines, multi-speed gearboxes) with those of electric vehicles. While Bentley may have built its current rep on the shoulders of giant gas-powered engines, its next step will see those power plants shrink — and gain the help of electric motors. In just four years, every new Bentley with a gasoline engine will be a PHEV. “Plug-in hybrids can be a bridge,” Hallmark says. “And we’ll make some really exciting ones, with loads of power — even more than we offer today. But that’s just a transition.”

Inevitably, those PHEVs will give way to purely electric vehicles.

While the brand has yet to formally reveal them, it’s served up hearty helpings of hints — first with the EXP 100 concept car revealed in 2019, and then with this year’s Bentley Mulliner Batur, a limited-edition coupe that presages the design language of the brand’s electric cars.

Brands like Porsche, Tesla and Rivian have already proven electric cars and trucks can be as quick and capable as anything powered by gas, if not more so. Bentley aims to prove they can live up to and even exceed what ultra-luxury buyers expect of a car with a quarter-million-dollar price tag.

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“These electric cars will be [on] another level,” Hallmark says.

“Everything we do today will step up.

Craftsmanship, digitalization, comfort, refinement, performance, handling, agility, safety — everything.”

Inevitably has a fixed date: 2030.

That’s also the year the brand aims to be not just carbon-neutral, but carbon-positive, according to Christophe Georges, president and CEO of Bentley Americas. “[Sustainability] is the objective we need to reach,” Georges says.

“People are generally more and more concerned about sustainability, [and] our customers are no different. It’s about supporting the environment. All these great values where we as a luxury brand need

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“We as a luxury brand need to lead.

This is the responsibility of luxury brands.”

to lead. This is the responsibility of luxury brands.”

The company has already performed yeoman’s work to make its production facilities in Crewe carbon-neutral. Stroll the grounds and you’ll see that commitment woven into every aspect with the same attention to detail the company’s

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60-plus sewists bring to the stitching that goes into every Bentley; the company is expanding, upcycling, reinvesting and reinventing its infrastructure at Crewe as part of a $3 billion investment into upgrading its facilities.

Bentley is also pioneering new ways of upping its sustainability game, often in ways you might never consider. Case in point: the paint shop where every new Bentley receives its coat. To apply automotive paint, you have to heat it — to such a degree that it’s not efficient to do so with electric heaters.

Which means you need to use gas — but using gas plumbed out of the ground would go against that whole “carbon neutral” bit.

“So, we buy renewable gas,” Hallmark says. “[But] the renewable gas that we need to run our paint shop — which is a tiny paint shop — is 11 percent of the total available capacity of the UK.” Which is where, perhaps counterintuitively, being a small piece of the giant Volkswagen Group empire is a strength. While a brand like Audi that paints hundreds of thousands of cars a year can’t realistically take advantage of such a small amount of carbon-neutral product, Bentley’s limited production numbers enable it to do so — and support the small renewable gas industry in its homeland. Plus, as a super-luxury brand, Bentley can afford to make investments that other carmakers operating on tighter profit margins might shy away from.

“We can help to accelerate that industry,” Hallmark says. “You need these accelerators, and we can be part of that movement.”

That’s true in microcosm even within Bentley. The company’s Mulliner division is both custom shop and skunkworks; to put in the form of a tortured SAT analogy,

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BENTLEY MOTORS

Motoring

THE ROAD TO 2030 Bentley’s path to complete carbon neutrality has been mapped out. Here’s the yellow brick road to the company’s greener tomorrow.

2017 Bentley reveals the EXP 12 Speed E6 Concept, its first electric concept car.

2019 The carmaker reveals the EXP 100 GT concept car (seen here), a more evolved and advanced look at future EVs. Bentley’s first plug-in hybrid, the Bentayga Hybrid, goes on sale.

2020 Bentley announces its Beyond100 strategy, the centerpiece of which is its plan to transition to EVs entirely and disavow gasoline in a decade.

2022 The brand launches the Flying Spur Hybrid, its second PHEV, and reveals the Batur, which previews the look of the company’s future EVs. 2023 Every vehicle in Bentley’s entire lineup will be available as a plug-in hybrid no later than this year.

2026 The first electric Bentley will go on sale. By the end of the year, Bentley’s entire lineup will consist of plug-in hybrids and electric cars.

2030 From this point forward, Bentley will only sell purely electric vehicles. The brand also aims to be carbonpositive by this date.

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ABOVE

The Batur boasts gold trim made via 3D printing, a technology that could be used in future Bentleys.

BELOW

Bentley’s Flying Spur Hybrid makes 536 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque, on par with the gaspowered V8 version.

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what Bentley is to ordinary luxury cars, Mulliner is to Bentley. The nameplate is behind everything from limited production models like the aforementioned Batur to handbuilt replicas of early Bentleys to custom tweaks to the brand’s existing lineup.

“Our role is to try and pilot some of the things we’re working on [at Bentley as a whole],” says Paul Williams, director of Mulliner. Sustainability, as he points out, is in large part about materials, and any new materials need to be tested. Mulliner’s customers aren’t just the brand’s most enthusiastic fans; they’re also among the most interested in being on the cutting edge

of Bentley’s progress — and they’re the most willing to experiment with their specifications. (After all, many of them buy new Bentleys with the frequency most of us do iPhones.)

Take leather trim, for example.

While Bentley strives to ensure the ranches its hides come from are as green as possible, the livestock industry as a whole isn’t exactly great for the planet — and using leather still means bulls have to die. (The brand only uses leather sourced from bulls, since cows have stretch marks.)

So Mulliner is developing alternatives. “[We have] quite a few vegan options we’re testing at the moment,” Williams notes. One

interesting pick: grape skins, which can be treated and dyed to replace the leather buyers know and love.

Then consider another integral element of a Bentley’s interior: wood. The company dedicates an entire wing of its manufacturing complex to woodworking, complete with a room that holds a million dollars worth of some of the finest pieces of koa, walnut and other tree meat you’ve ever seen — or smelled.

But culling that supply requires pissing off the proverbial Lorax.

“We don’t want to chop down the rarest trees and make a car with it,” Williams says.

So the brand is exploring other options. Stone trim is now available as a substitute, for instance. For another, Mulliner’s Bacalar roadster — created for just a dozen of the brand’s best customers — boasts trim made from riverwood, pulled from a deceased oak tree found sitting under a bog for thousands of years and absorbing color from the surrounding murky water like Scotch from a bourbon barrel.

Still, while the crew in Crewe is driving full-throttle toward a sustainable automotive future, the car industry as a whole is too big a juggernaut to turn away from internal combustion overnight — or in eight years, for that matter. So work must be done to make those ICE rides as eco-friendly as possible.

Bentley’s corporate sibling Porsche has already announced a $75 million investment into renewable synthetic petroleum, which — remarkable as it sounds — can be made from thin air. (The process involves smashing together carbon dioxide from the air and hydrogen separated from water to create a fuel that can be burned by gas-powered cars and, if done using green energy like wind or solar power, can approach carbon neutrality.)

“These electric cars will be on another level.

Everything we do today will step up.”

Hallmark, for one, believes this alternative can help keep a limited number of formerly fossilfuel-powered vehicles around even after the industry has followed Bentley’s lead.

“You’ll still see [internal-combustion] cars on the road for 30 to 40 years — maybe 60 to 70,” Hallmark says. A good number are likely to bear a flying B logo, if past is any prologue; as he notes, 80 percent of all Bentleys made since the company’s founding in 1919 are still on the road today.

“For me, that is still one of the main principles of sustainability,” Hallmark concludes. “Make less, and use it longer. And then keep reusing it.”

FROM TOP

The Batur’s interior offers a bevy of sustainable options, from low-carbon Scottish sourced leather to a woven twill substitute for carbon fiber to carpets made from recycled yarn; much may change, but the Flying B emblem is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.

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Hyundai, Kia and Genesis deliver a trio of variations of the same great electric car. Which is right for you?

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT

Kia’s EV6 represents the tip of the spear for the Korean brand’s EV plans; the EV6 hides its charging port out of the way in back for a seamless look; the E-GMP platform’s lack of a transmission means there’s clear space between driver and passenger knees; E-GMP’s floor-mounted battery pack lowers the center of gravity, increasing agility.

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released a striking new EV built on it.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60 each offer a bold look, distinguishing themselves from tepid competitors and each other. All three look poised to define their respective brands in a new era — and potentially set the paradigm for what we look for from EVs moving forward.

The trouble with releasing three game-changing new cars in concert? Those of us in the market must decide which one to buy. It’s not easy to choose between Hyundai’s brilliant new EVs. You’ll find substantial overlap in powertrains, capabilities and price points. Fortunately, there’s no wrong answer here.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE BRANDS

Triple Crown

Hyundai Motor Group — known to most Americans as the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands — has been killing it in recent years. Almost half of the last two-dozen finalists for North American Car and SUV of the Year awards have come from it.

Some, like the Genesis G80, have lasered in on what buyers want and delivered it at a compelling price. Others, such as the Kia Telluride, have asserted themselves as new benchmarks.

As the automotive world goes electric, the brands are carrying over that success to the EV realm.

Hyundai Motor Group has created a new dedicated EV platform, called E-GMP. And each of its brands has

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Tyler Duffy

What is the E-GMP platform?

E-GMP stands for “Electric Global Modular Platform.” It’s pronounced E-G-M-P, not E-Gimp. And it provides some distinct advantages over the current competition.

The E-GMP is only for electric cars, so designers and engineers aren’t constrained with packaging a combustion engine. These cars push the wheels to the corners and boast much longer wheelbases than you’d expect; the Ioniq 5’s 118.1-inch wheelbase is 3.9 inches longer than the three-row Hyundai Palisade’s.

That allows for expansive, flat floor plans creating a spacious and configurable cabin, with novel features like a floating center console.

What the E-GMP vehicles lack in distance they can travel on a charge (the current models all fall between 235 and 310 miles of range, according to the EPA), they make up for with ludicrously fast charging. With an optimal setup, all three cars can fully charge from 10 to 80 percent — the most charge you would typically add while fast charging — in just 18 minutes. Only have five minutes to spare? You can still add up to 68 miles. And unlike Teslas, the E-GMP models also have vehicle-to-load functionality to send power out for other uses, like peak-shaving to save money on your home energy bills.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is the everyday champion The Ioniq 5 is the most visually captivating of the three vehicles. Its retro-futuristic look fuses Hyundai’s polyhedron-producing parametric dynamics design language with LED pixels and callbacks to the brand’s first car, the Hyundai Pony. The Ioniq 5 also enters the discussion with a lofty pedigree, sweeping World Car of the Year, World EV of the Year and World Car Design of the Year for 2022.

But the Ioniq 5’s superpower — like most Hyundai vehicles — is being brilliantly and seamlessly normal. The Ioniq 5 comes off as quasi-avant-garde in pictures, but in person, it’s conventional enough not to draw stares. It’s lightning quick — less than five seconds from 0-60 mph for the AWD version.

While it may be sports car quick, its suspension is set up to make the Ioniq 5 a pliant and comfortable

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everyday driver like Hyundai’s best-selling Tucson and Santa Fe crossovers. And the Ioniq 5 has a robust and versatile platform. The same package that works well with a single-motor 168 horsepower base model will handle nearly 600 horsepower with the upcoming high-performance Ioniq 5 N. The Kia EV6 is for sporty sophisticates The Kia EV6 trades the Ioniq 5’s quirkiness for sleekness and sophistication. The body shape is less hatchback and more station wagon — though you will never hear Kia call it that. The EV6 courts attention from car enthusiasts, even those who don’t know it’s an electric car. And like the Telluride, the EV6 is an elevated offering that won’t have buyers balking at paying more than $50,000 for a Kia. It’s not just the looks. The Kia EV6 boasts more responsive steering than the Ioniq 5 and more dynamic handling in the corners, which you can rocket out of with the AWD version’s grip and 446 lb-ft of instant torque. Most EVs are quick. But the EV6 is fun and visceral enough that you won’t care about it not making noise. It may not have the refinement of a Porsche, but the EV6 can be a reasonably priced alternative for those who can’t afford a Taycan.

Besides being a bit sportier than the Ioniq 5, the EV6 should be more readily available than its Hyundai counterpart. Hyundai opted for a more limited release, focused on compliance states like California, where the brand must sell EVs. But Kia unleashed the EV6 for sale in all 50 states.

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The Genesis GV60 is young luxury, now in electric form Genesis is the youngest of the Hyundai brands; the first vehicles did not arrive in the United States until late 2016. And Genesis faces the steepest hill to climb, competing with established players like Mercedes and BMW in luxury segments where a prestigious badge is a significant consideration for many buyers. Genesis has employed the newcomer’s advantage well, cherry-picking the best features from other manufacturers and orienting toward the future. That’s where the GV60 comes in.

Admittedly, we were skeptical about the GV60’s looks after seeing the first pictures. But in person, it’s clear what Genesis was

The Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60 each offer a bold look, distinguishing themselves from tepid competitors and each other.

going for. The sloping roofline and ducktail rear spoiler give off potent Porsche vibes, and the interior and exterior styling evoke Bentley — from which Genesis cribbed its chief creative officer — for about a quarter of the price.

The GV60 is tech-forward, almost to the point it’s over the top.

Forget your key fob? No big deal.

The GV60 can recognize you via

facial recognition and let you start the vehicle via fingerprint scan.

Shift lever? Try a rotating crystal sphere. But the GV60 also brings the EV skeptic into the modern and newfangled era with reassurance. Every vital function in the GV60 can be controlled with a textured and ergonomically designed metal switch.

As befitting a luxury car, the Genesis GV60 offers substantially more pop than the Hyundai or Kia versions — 429 horsepower in the Performance model. (More powerful Ioniq 5 N and EV6 GT models are coming, but they’re not here yet.) But it does so without being dramatically more expensive. You can fully load a Genesis GV60 and still come in under $70,000.

O P P O S I T E PA G E , F R O M T O P

The Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60.

AT R I G H T

The E-GMP cars offer not just realtime range estimates for various driving styles, they also enable drivers to find chargers en route and schedule their at-home charging for more affordable rates.

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TEXT BY

Will Sabel Courtney

PHOTO BY

Alex Frankel

2023 Acura Integra After 16 years in retirement, the Integra returns to America in an alluring, all-new form — one that still manages to feel familiar. $31,895+ ($36,895+ with manual gearbox)

The Integra is sleeker than the Honda Civic Si it’s based on, with its sharp-angled styling and flowing fastback roofline. Two hundred horsepower may not seem like a lot these days, but the Acura makes the most of it, in part thanks to a limited-slip differential that helps put the power down.

Besides, the light, precise sixspeed manual gearbox makes working the engine a joy. And the 16-speaker, 530-watt ELS Studio 3D stereo is best in class by a mile.

The interior is too similar to the Civic’s — it doesn’t even offer leather seats — and details like the infotainment system’s plasticky controls seem cheap in a car with a luxury badge. While the decision to offer a manual transmission is applause-worthy, it’s only available on the most expensive Integra; every other version uses a continuously variable transmission automatic, the sort of gearbox maligned by enthusiasts.

FIELD NOTES

“Whether you choose the Integra over the Civic Si is more a matter of style than anything else — and whether those looks and an Acura badge are worth $8,300 over the price of the comparable Honda.”

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Spawning lines around the block across the planet, Swatch’s $260 Omega

Speedmaster became the watch event of the year. How’d it happen? We went

straight to the source — Biel, Switzerland — to uncover the story behind the hype.

TEXT BY ZEN LOVE

ILLUSTR ATIONS BY SOPHIA FOSTER-DIMINO

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Similar scenes unfolded in Singapore, Bangkok and other major cities as morning crossed the globe on March 26, 2022, with pictures, videos and internet chatter stoking the frenzy. In some locations, riot police were dispatched and stores were forced to close.

“It was crazy,” remembers Nick Hayek Jr., CEO of the Swatch Group, which owns both Swatch and Omega. “We clearly communicated from the beginning, it’s not a limited edition.”

The MoonSwatch had landed, and it captured the world’s attention. Collectors were astounded; for everyone else, it was the hype product of the year.

As fans were left empty-handed, scarcity led to exploding secondhand prices. Demand was reminiscent of the market for sought-after Rolex or Patek Philippe watches, and so was the way this plasticky, $260 quartz watch became a flex for celebrities. It went viral. Fakes appeared in short order.

Almost as shocking as the reaction was the concept itself.

“It’s a provocative idea to put Omega and Swatch together on a dial and to sell a product for 250 Swiss francs,” says Hayek, the puppet master behind it all. “It’s still a Swatch, but it’s nevertheless also an Omega Speedmaster. It’s a copy but it’s also an original. We fight against the industry that makes copies.”

Provocative is an understatement: it was unfathomable. To conceive and actually go through with bringing such a product to market took serious guts.

Side by side with the original Speedy, the configuration of the MoonSwatch’s subdials differentiate it, but the dimensions and contours are identical. They’re produced in a hybrid plastic-and-ceramic material with a battery-powered quartz movement inside. Alongside “Swatch” is the same prestigious “Omega” and “Speedmaster” branding found on the original timepiece NASA sent to the moon with the astronauts in 1969.

That one became known, of course, as the Moonwatch.

“In the watch industry, what has value is luxury. Everything has to be a limited edition and more expensive than before,” Hayek observes. “And this is just the other way around.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE BRANDS

It started in Australia. Three hours before opening, the 376-square-foot Sydney Swatch store reported a crowd of 5,000 people outside. They all wanted to buy a $260 Swatch-ified timepiece that looked nearly identical to the iconic Omega Speedmaster luxury watch — which starts around $6,000 retail — and there wasn’t nearly enough product to go around.

I’ve written about watches for years and seen countless collab products, and I’ve never seen anything like the MoonSwatch. But how should it be understood? And how did such an audacious product come to be? To get the real story, I went to the source: Swatch’s factories in Biel, Switzerland, and the project’s mastermind, Hayek himself.

ONE SMALL STEP “What I’m telling you is not that I sat in my office and had an idea. It was a process,” Hayek reveals over lunch at the Swatch Group Headquarters in Biel. “At the beginning, it was a playful way to use Bioceramic.”

Bioceramic is the brand’s own concoction mixing ceramic and plastic — the latter of which it calls “biomaterial,” since it sounds better than “plastic” and comes from castor oil rather than petroleum. Pigments are added for color, and it offers some properties similar to ceramic, but it’s much cheaper.

You can get Bioceramic Swatch watches for under $100, whereas traditional ceramic watches command a premium even among luxury watches. Omega’s own Seamaster Diver 300M, for example, costs $3,000 more in ceramic than a similar watch in steel.

“Bioceramic was key in the operation,” Hayek explains. “Our brands wanted to use it with their own identities, but that is a no-go. It’s owned by Swatch, so the idea popped up: why not do a collaboration ourselves? And then, talking with people, it got more concrete.”

Hayek assembled a crack team to tackle the project — codenamed Project Galileo — in strict secrecy: “It was done here with us. From the details at the beginning to the tooling, the distribution, the pricing, the press release, just everything.

I wanted and needed to have control over everything.”

Initially, prototypes were made of other historic watches from the group’s brands. Hayek shows me Bioceramic versions of the Omega Seamaster 300 and the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms dive watches and explains why they were rejected.

“Here, you have no identity of Swatch. It’s a copy. That’s it,” Hayek explains. “The fun and the provocation is not there.”

With a quartz chronograph, however, the three evenly spaced subdials distinguish it visually from the Speedmaster — and recall another Swatch hit, the Chrono of the 1990s. It’s just different enough, and it can still leverage the Omega Speedmaster’s status.

Hayek recalls bringing a mockup to Petros Protopapas, the brand heritage manager for Omega and director of the Omega Museum. His enthusiasm was a key moment.

Son of the Swatch Group’s founder and current CEO Nick Hayek Jr. (above) enjoys the provocative nature of the MoonSwatch, which features a case and components made from Bioceramic pellets (right).

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OMEGA × SWATCH MOONSWATCH

OMEGA SPEEDMASTER MOONWATCH

Diameter: 42mm

Diameter: 42mm

Thickness: 13.25mm

Thickness: 13.2mm

Material: Bioceramic

Material: Stainless steel

Movement: Batterypowered quartz

Movement: Omega 3861 manually wound mechanical

Case Length: 47.3mm

Case Length: 47.3mm

Strap Width: 20mm

Strap width: 20mm

Price: $260

Price: $6,400+

“I said, ‘You know all the Omega fans. You are not shocked by it?’ He said, ‘No. Mr. Hayek, if I take this prototype that you have here, what you did, it will just explode in desirability and also in auctions.’”

Not everybody reacted as positively. Take Omega CEO Raynald Aeschlimann, for one.

“I showed him,” Hayek recalls, “and I saw his face. Yeah, he was scared. He’s a very good man, but he was a bit scared.”

Aeschlimann seemed open to a Bioceramic loaner watch for clients who brought their Speedmasters in for repair, similar to what some other brands offer. But, of course, that’s not what Hayek had in mind.

“I showed him, and I saw his face. Yeah, he was scared. He’s a very good man, but he was a bit scared.”

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“You need courage,” Hayek says. “At the end, Raynald had courage, even if he had no real choice.”

Ideation began in April 2021 and production began several months later in December. Even Hayek is surprised the secret stayed safe.

“We had 400 or 500 workers who started to make the things and, you saw their faces, they knew something magical was happening and they were proud to be part of it,” he says. “But nothing got out.”

Hayek credits the Swatch Group’s vertical integration — its ability to control every step of production — with keeping a lid on things.

“You will see the watch with other eyes after the visit,” I’m told on the way to tour a couple of the factories where MoonSwatch parts are constructed. “This is really high level. People say ‘it’s only 250 Swiss francs;’ you will see how deep we go in the details.”

He’s right. It was unlike any other watch factory I’ve visited. Although nearly every step of production is automated, the attention to detail — from hyper-precise printing to the Moonwatch-accurate “stepped” subdials — is impressive.

“This operation, the product itself, the distribution strategy, the communication strategy was really, point by point, planned, reflected on and totally consistent.” Hayek says.

“We expected queues. But the impact, with 5,000 people waiting in front of the store — that was not foreseeable.”

READY FOR LIFTOFF In mid-March, plain white Omega ads started appearing that read: “On March 26th, it’s time to change your Swatch.” At the same time came the Swatch ads: “On March 26th, it’s time to change your Omega.”

“We put it in all the newspapers,” Hayek says. “Traditional print where the high-end and luxury advertisements go.

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That’s where we launched it.” Only a hardcore Swatch fan would recognize the nod to a cheeky “It’s time to change your Rolex” Swatch campaign from around the time of the 1987 Wall Street crash.

The public sensed something big, but only a handful of people knew what it was. The rest couldn’t have imagined.

Then, sealed suitcases began appearing in Swatch boutiques. “No store manager, no sales personnel, no country brand manager could look inside,” Hayek explains. Anticipation mounted, but even industry insiders and pundits could only scratch their heads.

When the announcement came on March 24, Swatch and Omega employees saw the MoonSwatch for the first time and received training before it went on sale two days later.

But, perfectly timed to kick the excitement into hyperdrive, pictures were leaked online on March 23.

Swatch says it didn’t expect the massive turnout, but critics say it should have — at least when crowds started to swell ahead of the launch. There was confusion, chaos, a lot of disappointed customers and even isolated reports of minor violence and intimidation.

The watches weren’t available online, and the 110 locations around the world carrying the MoonSwatch mostly had only a couple hundred watches to sell. Originally limited to two per customer, Hayek reduced it to one when videos of the crowds started coming in.

It was high drama for the watch world, especially given the timing — just days before the start of the trade show Watches & Wonders Geneva, the biggest industry event of the year.

“I had a gut feeling,” Hayek says of shifting the release from the originally planned date in May. “I said, ‘That’s the right timing.’”

His team scrambled. “And then we did it.”

“The last time this happened was never.”

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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT

The Omega Speedmaster “Alaska Project” watch comes with a giant thermal shield; the MoonSwatch collection’s snappy suitcase is part of the marketing; the Mission to Mars MoonSwatch references Omega’s “Alaska Project” watch.

MOONSTRUCK “The last time this happened was never,” says Rober-Jan “RJ” Broer. “When we had meetings at Watches & Wonders, even the Patek [Philippe] people said, ‘Oh, you have the MoonSwatch. Show it to me.’ Everywhere you heard the Velcro. It was the talk of the town.”

As founder of the watch website Fratello and the popular #SpeedyTuesday hashtag, Broer’s got a deep perspective on the MoonSwatch. He’s also one of the foremost Omega Speedmaster collectors in the world. “I never saw this for a watch,” he admits.

The reaction, the media frenzy and the crowds were unprecedented, but the nature of the collaboration itself was equally surprising.

“I’m a Speedmaster guy, so I really had to digest it a little bit because, yeah, you’re basically making a copy of an icon,” he explains. “When I saw that it said ‘Omega’ and ‘Swatch,’ and it said ‘Speedmaster,’ at first I thought, ‘Oh, why did you put Speedmaster on the dial?’ But then it struck me: if you don’t put Speedmaster on it, people will say it’s a cheap copy. But with Speedmaster on the dial, well, it’s a Speedmaster.”

In some ways, the MoonSwatch is made for collectors like Broer who know that watch well. “They put a lot of effort into the details,” he says.

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“Bring the people.

Bring the people to the streets.

Have fun. Let the people queue.”

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT

Only 110 Swatch stores initially carried the MoonSwatch; MoonSwatch crystals are tested for transparency; MoonSwatch dials are produced from brass and finished similarly to Omega Speedmaster dials.

You’ll need a loupe to appreciate some of them, like the “dot over 90” (as opposed to next to it) on the bezel’s tachymeter scale, signifying some of the earliest and most collectible Speedmasters. While the Speedmaster features a tiny Omega logo etched into the underside of the crystal, the MoonSwatch has a tiny S (for Swatch, of course).

The red-and-white Mission to Mars MoonSwatch recalls a famous prototype Omega made for NASA in 1969 called “Alaska Project,” with a red thermal shield and the same red “rocket” hands. The design itself is cool, but watch nerds who know the history appreciate it all the more.

Perhaps that’s why the MoonSwatch appeals not only to young, budget-oriented and fashionable crowds, but also to those who typically collect only much higher-end watches.

“We have many Rolex, Patek, Breguet, Omega clients that want these products,” Hayek says. “The first client in the morning on March 26 was an employee from Rolex.”

The hype fed on itself. “We were in Geneva, and we saw people queuing up,” Broer recalls. “At some point we asked someone, ‘Why are you queuing up?’ He said, ‘I don’t know, there was a queue.’”

“It’s good for the people who know, the fans of Omega,” Hayek observes, “but it’s really good for the people who don’t know. They will discover. And even if you don’t know, it’s still fun.”

It’s rare that a collaboration, especially one in the world of watches, brings a luxury item within reach for more people.

Of course, actual availability is a different story. Lacking a chance to buy or repeatedly being told “no” brought a sour note to the MoonSwatch for many — though it simultaneously propelled its appeal.

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THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOONSWATCH “Bring the people,” Hayek says. “Bring the people to the streets. Have fun. Let the people queue.”

Many expected the MoonSwatch to be available online eventually, but he is adamant that the experience should involve more than clicking add to cart: “It’s the moment for social gathering again.”

Even months after the MoonSwatch’s release, there’s only one way to get one directly from the brand: Go to a Swatch store and see if they have any. The stores continually receive new shipments, but usually only a couple models at a time.

People are still lining up, and the stock sells out quickly.

At the only Swatch store in the Philadelphia area, where I live, a sign on the display-only MoonSwatch suitcase read “You just missed them,” but upon inquiring inside, I found two models were actually available. I walked out with the yellow Mission to the Sun and a little story about how I got lucky. A customer I met there said it was his third attempt.

“When Swatch launched the Chrono for the first time [in 1992], they were not limited editions and were only available in stores,” Hayek remembers. “It was exactly the same; the people were lining up and waiting for packages, and they never knew which models were coming.”

The Chrono hype wasn’t like this, but “at some point, we lost control of the distribution,” Hayek says. The MoonSwatch was only made available in monobrand Swatch boutiques “because we needed to have 100 percent control.”

Those mobs at the Swatch stores of course include scalpers — and average prices on eBay, StockX and Chrono24 hitting $1,000 doesn’t look like 100 percent control.

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“We’ve seen the numbers: the Speedmaster is more attractive than ever before. So, win, win, win. It really is elevating both brands in a way that wouldn’t be possible for each brand on its own.”

FAC I N G PAG E

Powered by mechanical clockwork, the Original Omega Speedmaster (black) was the watch NASA issued to the astronauts who first set foot on the moon. The MoonSwatch (yellow) is a playful homage, but also a link to that history.

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Some of these numbers represent a short-term surge in interest, of course, but that’s not all.

“It’s an affordable way to test-drive a Speedmaster,” notes Roger Ruegger, editor-in-chief of WatchTime magazine. “And then in five years perhaps come back and buy the real thing.”

“It made Swatch more attractive, and it didn’t hurt Omega,” he continues. “Au contraire, it also made Omega much cooler.

We’ve seen the numbers: the Speedmaster is more attractive than ever before. So, win, win, win. It really is elevating both brands in a way that wouldn’t be possible for each brand on its own.”

Can you go even further and say the MoonSwatch has exposed new audiences to the brands? Or even raised awareness of watches in general? Ruegger thinks so: “The watch industry owes Swatch Group, once again, a huge deal of gratitude for showing how attractive this product [watches] still is. The last three years we had discussions that went from ‘Is it the end of the watch industry due to smartwatches?’ to ‘Is it the end of the watch industry due to the pandemic?’ to people queuing here. That is really amazing.”

“You cannot avoid it,” Hayek concedes. “You cannot control the parallel market 100 percent when demand is so extreme.”

“We knew it wouldn’t be ideal in some countries where our store coverage isn’t as good as in Switzerland, like the U.S.,” he adds, but “from time to time, it’s good to make a point and say, ‘Look, we are sorry, not every wish can just be fulfilled easily and instantly.’”

Hayek does want to put a MoonSwatch on your wrist, but “it’s not about maximizing our profits and turnover in the shortest possible period of time, otherwise we would’ve opened e-commerce.”

That said, the company has since ramped up production, with factories pumping out (an undisclosed number of) MoonSwatches 24/7. They’ve added dozens of new retail locations and there’s even talk of building new factories to meet the demand.

THE MOONSWATCH EFFECT Criticism, controversy, a chaotic launch, exorbitant secondhand prices and upset customers might not sound desirable. But together they make up the MoonSwatch buzz, and that buzz extends far beyond the product itself.

Naysayers who thought Omega would be damaged have been resoundingly rebuffed; sales of the original Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch are up 50 percent year over year.

In Switzerland, sales at Swatch shops not carrying the MoonSwatch are up by 41 percent.

On secondhand sites, the effect is even more striking.

“Searches for the Omega Speedmaster increased nearly 100 percent and sales were up over 150 percent the week following the release,” says Tirath Kamdar, eBay’s General Manager of Luxury. “The ‘MoonSwatch effect’ absolutely drove increased interest on eBay for the Omega brand.” Platforms like StockX and Chrono24 report similar results.

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“The last three years we had discussions that went from ‘Is it the end of the watch industry due to smartwatches?’ to ‘Is it the end of the watch industry due to the pandemic?’ to people queuing here. That is really amazing.”

ONE GIANT LEAP? In five or ten years, how will we look back at the MoonSwatch moment of 2022? Opinions differ.

“This will always be in the [metaphoric] hall of fame, on a very high shelf,” says Ruegger.

Broer is more blasé: “I think we’ll say, ‘Hey, that was a nice, disruptive little thing going on there.’”

They agree that reaching younger audiences will benefit everyone down the road — but both see danger in dilution.

“If they were to come up with the Swatch x Breguet, the Swatch x Blancpain, Swatch x anything, then it would obviously erode what has happened here,” says Ruegger. “But if they again manage to do something completely different and unexpected … that is the essence of Swatch.”

Hayek himself isn’t too concerned with how the MoonSwatch will be remembered. But you can’t miss the comparison to that ’90s Chrono, which was in production for 10 years.

The MoonSwatch won’t go away anytime soon, and a new sensation might not be far behind.

Which brings me back to a phrase Hayek loves: “positive provocation.” He wants the MoonSwatch’s message to be one of “being provocative and having fun, because it was a fun project, also.”

Wearing a T-shirt and jeans, the Swatch Group CEO puts me in one of the fleet of tiny Fiat 500 cars Swatch bought and turned into mobile retail stations for areas in Europe lacking MoonSwatch distribution.

He opens the top and takes me from his office through Biel to the drive-thru Swatch store outside the company’s headquarters. He proceeds to order watches that come packaged like hamburgers or ice cream.

It’s quite ridiculous. But, point taken. In the end, it’s all about fun.

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Each of the 11 MoonSwatch models is a tribute to a planet or other celestial body in our solar system, including the MoonSwatch Mission to Venus (left) and Mission to Uranus (right).

Kentucky’s boldest new distillery boasts A-list talent — and fresh ideas about what makes a good bourbon.

Tex t by J. TR AVIS SMITH

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FR EE S P IRITS Hidden Barn principals Matt Dankner, Jackie Zykan, Nate Winegar and Royce Neeley aren’t afraid to raise eyebrows in pursuit of whiskey that's unlike anything else on the shelf.

NO T U N LIK E CHE A P beer and expensive watches, the bourbon busi-

ness was built on consistency. To fill a typical bottle, the liquid from barrels stacked in rickhouses squatting throughout the Kentucky and Indiana foothills is dumped and mixed by master blenders until it matches the distillery’s desired flavor profile. That’s why Jim Beam tastes like Jim Beam, no matter when or where you buy it.

This liquid is, by law, made mostly from corn. The other flavoring grains are typically barley, wheat or rye. Like spice? Go with Wild Turkey. Want it sweeter? Maker’s Mark. Among large heritage brands such as Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace, differences are sometimes subtle and variety is relatively limited. At the right bar, you can make quick work of a distillery’s entire portfolio.

Contrast that with the wealth of options in beer and wine and it’s clear why the most celebrated bourbon bottles — the unique and interesting “limited edition” releases — are so precious. These annual treasures are allocated and tucked away and sold at outrageous prices and then resold on the secondary market. But rarely, it would seem, opened.

In this world of similar-tasting brown liquor, Hidden Barn Whiskey, one of America’s newest bourbon brands, is breaking tradition.

Formed by brand ambassador Nate Winegar, finance and operations lead Matt Dankner, master distiller Royce Neeley and master blender Jackie Zykan, Hidden Barn is taking an unprecedented approach not only to launching a distillery but also to producing the whiskey itself.

Having gone to Kentucky to see the operation, hang with the pros and sip some of that whiskey, I now feel qualified to tell their tale. If it doesn’t make you want to pop a cork, I’m doing something wrong.

A

S THE FOR M ER master taster at Old Forester, Zykan is easily the best known of the bunch — and a force in the whiskey world. She’s earned a reputation for bringing, in her words, a “fresh perspective, a different way of connecting with people about whiskey — in which it wasn’t always golf shirts, khaki pants and PowerPoints. It was more human. It was more real.”

"Jackie is a disruptor, a game changer,” says Fred Minnick, a World Whiskies Awards judge and former lead American whiskey reviewer for Whiskey Advocate. “She has an amazing palate. She has incredible

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blending techniques and she was, frankly, trained at arguably the best whiskey company in America.”

But before Zykan can blend in her own inimitable way, that whiskey must exist. So let’s start with Neeley — and a distilling process that’s arguably just as unique.

For the past seven years, as master distiller of Neeley Family Distillery in tiny Sparta, Kentucky, Neeley has been experimenting with the old ways: sweet mash instead of sour, copper pot distillation instead of column distillation and long fermentation times in cypress tanks instead of stainless steel. Most defiantly of all, he’s been forgoing predictable lab-grown yeast in favor of hand-collecting wild yeast himself — a process all but abandoned by commercial distillers. He does it all to T H I S PA G E The name Hidden Barn make the old new again. To bring flavors to references a Prohibitionbourbon that you can’t find anywhere else. era painting practice that “It's harder to make whiskey like that,” helped protect illegal distilleries.

Neeley says. “But I always believe if you go taste old dusty bottles and you hear the FA C I N G PA G E legends of pre-Prohibition whiskey, you Discovery Channel fans may recognize this face. can taste how good it was.”

Neeley, an 11th-generation So once a year, he hikes into the Kendistiller, has appeared on tucky mountains with three steel buckets, the show Moonshiners.

“If we had a full-blown apocalypse, I could still make whiskey. I bet 95 percent of people couldn't.”

P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y O F H I D D E N B A R N K E N T U C K Y S T R A I G H T B O U R B O N W H I S K E Y , M E D I C I A N D J . T R AV I S S M I T H

“It’s unique. It is bourbon, but it’s expanding outside of what we think bourbon’s supposed to taste like.” on the hunt for blackberry bushes. He’s not there for the fruit, but rather the yeast that’s attracted to the fruit’s sugar.

After scouting a promising spot, Neeley hangs the buckets from nearby trees and leaves them up for three days. He then takes the buckets back to the distillery and isolates the wild yeast. The yeast is fed in a large tub known as a dona (a term of respect for a woman in many Latin cultures, not unlike the "don" in, say, Don Corleone) until he’s ready to pitch it into a new batch of whiskey.

“If the entire economy collapsed, if we had a full-blown, you know, apocalypse, I could still make whiskey,” Neeley explains. “I bet 95 percent of the people currently making whiskey couldn't do it, but I could still do it.”

He learned this process from Ed Foote, the legendary master distiller of Stitzel-Weller, the birthplace of such celebrated spirits as Pappy Van Winkle — and there is a method to the madness.

“The problem with wild yeast — and I don't wanna call it a problem because I love that they're doing this — the issue with wild yeast is that it's very hard to control consistency,” explains Drew Hannush, host of the Whiskey Lore podcast and author of a popular Kentucky bourbon travel guide. “But what it is doing is imparting on the whiskey a local character. In other words, the wild yeast that's floating around in central Kentucky is not necessarily the same as the wild yeast that’s floating around Missouri.”

The hanging yeast buckets are one of many time-consuming ways Neeley, the eleventh in an unbroken lineage of distillers, distinguishes his bourbon. Notably, he also uses a double pot still — a less efficient but more controlled method of distilling whiskey than the more popular column still — that requires him to be in the distillery seven days a week to monitor its output.

Reid Mitenbuler, author of Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey, puts it simply: “Despite their drawbacks, those methods occasionally produce magic.”

All this backbreaking work is in the service of spirits unlike anything you're likely to find on store shelves. To be sure, Neeley is making some of the most interesting whiskey in Kentucky. He likens it to producing colorful paint, created for one particularly prodigious painter: Jackie Zykan.

have a little bit more authority in what I was actually doing, but there were still gonna be 30 layers to go through. There were still going to be long-standing templates that I was gonna be trapped by. The only way to be free was to completely go from scratch.”

At Hidden Barn, she’s making the bourbon she wants to make.

And she’s starting small. For the inaugural batch, which retailed for $75 a bottle, Zykan blended only seven barrels together. But she's not trying to take over the industry — just bring it something new.

“It's unique,” she explains. “It is bourbon, but it's expanding outside of this box of what we think bourbon's supposed to taste like. No, bourbon is all these things! By definition, it's hitting all of those little rules, but we're just giving it space to exist differently.”

I

F YOU DON’T know Zykan, you know her work. As a master taster at Brown-Forman — parent company of numerous whiskey brands including Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve — she pioneered Old Forester’s beloved 117 and 150 series, dialing in the blend of the latter in her home kitchen using a Home Depot bucket.

She’s also a “super taster” (a term she’s quick to shrug off) and too creatively restless to forever FA C I N G PA G E Zykan studied biology work within rigid flavor guidelines.

and chemistry and worked as a mixologist before becoming one of whiskey's top blenders.

T H I S PA G E

Copper stills serve as functional nods to history.

James John Neeley emigrated from Ireland to America with a copper still way back in 1740.

No wonder she left a role that some headlines called bourbon’s “dream job” after seven years. The surprising part was that, with numerous offers from other distilleries, she landed on a relatively unknown team of four.

“I explored many of those options, actually,” Zykan says. “I came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. Maybe I would

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Winegar and Dankner wanted more; they wanted to get into the business itself, in an original way.

In the pursuit of bourbon that’s interesting to both drink and discuss, Hidden Barn is taking notes from the collaborative culture seen in everything from streetwear to craft beer and teaming up with other small distilleries. The first one is, of course, Neeley Family Distillery, which is also the brand’s home base. They plan to team up with other like-minded distilleries in the future — and transparently showcase them on the bottle.

This approach differs markedly from the standard method of launching a whiskey label. Because it takes a few years of aging to

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even have your own product, new brands typically start by procuring contract whiskey from brokers, who buy and sell liquid from large, well-known distilleries that are white labeled — meaning their names don’t appear on the bottle. Later, when the new distillery gets to be four or five years old, they begin releasing their own homegrown spirits.

“The problem is that you launched a brand with liquid that wasn't yours and said, ‘This is what our brand tastes like,’” Zykan points out. “Then, four years later, the consumer who’s fallen in love with

your brand goes, ‘Wait, but this is different. This is from a different place. This is a different still.’ And then they go and sniff off elsewhere. You've lost them. So what we're seeing in the industry right now is a critical moment for a lot of craft distilleries, to finally ripen with their own products.”

FA R L E F T

Hidden Barn currently operates out of and sources from Neeley Family Distillery, and the team hopes to collaborate with other craft distilleries in the future.

NEAR LEFT

Some whiskeys are artificially rare, but Hidden Barn's first batch legitimately is: Zykan blended just seven barrels to bring it to life.

N

ATE WINEGAR, HIDDEN Barn’s brand ambassador, is a connector of people. Tall and bearded, with a big personality, Winegar is disarmingly modest.

What started as an informal gathering of whiskey fans headed by Winegar, Colorado’s 5280 Whiskey Society has grown to occupy a spot on a very short list of the most respected whiskey clubs in America. With the help of Matt Dankner, who runs the finances of both the club and Hidden Barn, Winegar legitimized 5280 and eventually hosted talks and tastings with a revolving door of whiskey A-listers.

But Winegar and Dankner wanted to do something more; they wanted to get into the business itself, in an original way.

“There are several distilleries across the country that maybe don't distribute outside their state or just haven't got a lot of marketing or noise or whatnot but are making really good product,” Winegar observes. “We felt like that's something that we wanted to be a part of, to showcase some of those distilleries."

So his radar went up at the New Orleans Bourbon Festival in 2019, when he heard a young buck from Sparta, Kentucky, asking a lot of questions.

“I was like, who is this kid?” says Winegar of Neeley. “Who is this guy that already knows so much? It made me feel like a beginner.”

Winegar shared his vision with Neeley and the two immediately saw eye to eye. Now they just needed someone to expertly taste and blend the whiskey.

Not exactly coincidentally, Winegar ran into Zykan at the Breckenridge Hogfest, a bacon and bourbon celebration in Colorado. In his hand was a special bottle: Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, a rare annual release that can sell for upwards of $2,000 on the secondary market.

As Zykan recalls: “This eight-foot-tall man came out of nowhere, looking like Harry from Harry and the Hendersons, and walks up with a bottle of Birthday Bourbon in public and was like, ‘Hey, um, I know this might sound kind of strange …’”

At first, Zykan thought Winegar wanted her to sign the bottle. It is rare and expensive and allocated, after all. But, to her shock, he wanted to open the bottle right then and there to taste it with her.

The cork came off. Winegar set up his phone to record the impromptu interview. Afterwards, Zykan would visit the 5280 Whiskey Society to speak and lead tastings — and see firsthand the type of whiskey culture Winegar and Dankner had fostered.

The seeds of Hidden Barn were firmly planted.

C

OINCIDEN TA LLY, MY TR IP to Hidden Barn happened just days before the 2022 Breckenridge Hogfest, which Zykan and Winegar planned to attend again, this time to represent their own brand. Zykan and I found ourselves in Sparta tasting one of the first bottles from Batch 2, the next release from Hidden Barn.

Committing to words tasting notes of a batch from Hidden Barn seems counter to the very identity of the brand. Plus, I’ve always found long lists that include words like “mouthfeel” to be a bit self-indulgent.

But I will say that the bourbon is singular. It’s complex and round and sits in your mouth, even between sips. Diluted with water, it keeps together, not slipping into a cheap version of itself on the melted end of a highball glass. Whereas some high-proof stuff — this batch clocks in at 110 — tends to hit a few notes really well, this pour feels more like

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Competing with the established whiskey brands of Kentucky isn’t easy, but these craft distilleries are paving their own way through unique flavors and techniques.

1. LAWS WHISKEY Denver, CO

3. IRONROOT REPUBLIC Denison, TX

By using only heirloom and heritage grains, Laws focuses on showcasing the terroir of Colorado in every bottle. lawswhiskeyhouse.com

Along with Garrison Brothers and Balcones, Ironroot is making Texas a powerhouse of flavors you can’t get anywhere else. ironrootrepublic.com

2. COPPERSEA DISTILLING Hudson Valley, NY

4. HUBER’S STARLIGHT DISTILLERY Starlight, IN

Abandoned techniques resurface at Coppersea, including in-house grain malting, direct-fire copper stills and open wood fermentation tanks. coppersea.com

5. GREEN RIVER DISTILLING Owensboro, KY

With a 137-year history and extensive renovations under the leadership of an eighth-generation master distiller, this distillery recently reclaimed the Green River name for the first time since 1918. greenriverdistilling.com

Part of a family farm that expanded into a winery and then a distillery, Starlight is a one-stop shop offering unique whiskey highlighted by local ingredients and novel barrel finishes. huberwinery.com/starlight-distillery

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S TA R T I N G S T R O N G

Honoring a family history dating back to 1740, master distiller Neeley is reviving long-forgotten techniques — cypress fermentation tanks, double pot distillation and wild yeast harvesting — to bring new flavors to American distilling.

Compared to the giants of Kentucky, Hidden Barn can politely be called a small operation (bottling occurs at a crawl, four at a time), but with master blender Zykan on board, they’ve got the entire industry watching.

a song played on a violin with extra strings. It’s layered in a way that makes you wonder how liquid that’s essentially 55 percent ethanol can sit in a barrel and become something so new that it’s hard to put into words — which I guess is why bourbon is worth sharing with friends.

What isn’t difficult to put into words is the very obvious presence of grain. It’s been a “big point of frustration in some of the reviews,” laments Zykan. And it’s easy to see why she’s frustrated: The grain, just like the fruitiness from the wild yeast, isn’t a flaw. It’s by design.

Unlike more modernized distilleries, which often fill new barrels with scorching 160 proof whiskey (the legal limit), Neeley barrels his whiskey at around 127 proof. The lower the proof of the liquid that enters the barrel, the more sugar that gets pulled out of the barrel. And at this lower proof, there’s more water, too, which interacts with the sugars differently than alcohol, lending a delicious fullgrain character.

“Think of sugar and water as friends that grew up together, they played on the same soccer team,” explains Zykan. “And sugar and alcohol are Facebook friends that just say happy birthday once a year.

Like, they're ‘friends,’ but there's not a lot of depth to it.”

Five days of fermentation via wild yeast. Rich, textured flavors from pot stills. The whiskey is a punch of flavor, and the grain presence is impossible to miss.

“People are like, ‘It’s grainy.’ Yeah, I know! You're acting like it's a bad thing. You've been acclimated to think that grainy just means young, because that's all there is to offer with some of these super neutralized, stripped-out whiskeys,” exclaims Zykan, arms stretched wide in mock disbelief. “We embrace the grain because it's part of the process and we want you to taste the whole damn process.”

The timing could be just right for that philosophy. While Kentucky bourbon may be homogenous to the point that “different” feels like a death sentence, distilleries in other states have put in years of work paving the way for new expressions.

“We've been waiting for the moment that the bourbon consumer no longer compares everything to Blanton’s. I think we're there, you

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know, I think we're at that precipice moment. We have small distillers outside of Kentucky that are making bourbon that is every bit as good as Kentucky bourbon, but it ain't nowhere close to it,” says Minnick. “Unfortunately for Hidden Barn, they're going to be judged a lot more critically because they’re in Kentucky and they have an A-lister behind the brand. But I wouldn't bet against Jackie.”

T

HE NA M E HIDDEN Barn is a nod to an old practice of farmers and distillers coming together during Prohibition to aid illegal distilleries. The bacteria Baudoinia compniacensis, which lives on alcohol vapor, leaves behind black spots. These spots became an obvious giveaway for illegal distilling operations. That was, until the day that Kentuckians started painting all their barns black, making distinguishing a hay barn from an illegal whiskey barn virtually impossible.

RIGHT

Shifting from 200-barrel batches at Old Forrester to much smaller ones at Hidden Barn marks a big transition for Zykan, but an intentional one: She can experiment with more unique flavors and release them on her own time.

BELOW

True to its name, the distillery hides in plain sight, blending in just off I-71 in a northern Kentucky town of less than 300 people.

I’m not fond of extrapolating too much meaning from names, but this concept of coming together kept resurfacing in conversations I had while writing this piece. In case you forgot, bourbon wasn’t always booming. When the boom came on the heels of the vodka-loving ’80s and ’90s, the adage in Kentucky was always “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Or, more pointedly, “thank god, we’re actually selling bourbon.”

And now a second, smaller wave is coming. One that tries new things. One that isn’t afraid to be transparent and showcase other distilleries. One that wants to get people drinking and talking about whiskey. Interesting whiskey, maybe whiskey you haven’t heard of before. As I near the end of my journey, it’s obvious Hidden Barn is here to cultivate and share what the founding partners have been doing all along: drinking and talking about interesting whiskey with friends, new and old.

“We need to get out of this mindset that it has to be allocated or that it has to be something everyone knows,” says Hannush. “It’s more advantageous to expand your palate and give these distilleries that are doing more creative projects a chance.”

And that’s what Hidden Barn has set out to do, both with the whiskey Neeley is making, and with other, yet-to-be-announced craft distilleries down the road. They’ll be reaching out to lesser-heard voices. They’ll be bringing a new wave of attitude and flavor to whiskey.

Hanging with Zykan in Kentucky, the future feels bright but uncertain. But in no uncertain terms, she’s adamant about one thing: Don’t be precious. There’s another batch of Hidden Barn right around the corner, and it’ll be new and different and something else to taste and talk about.

So, please. If you get your hands on one, just open the damn bottle.

TEXT BY STINSON CARTER

New Renaissance Man THE

Multidimensional YouTube star Marques Brownlee is revolutionizing how we think and learn about tech. In this exclusive Q&A, he spills the secrets to his surprisingly slow and steady success.

PHOTOS BY NICK KOVA

Y

ou don’t pick up 16 million YouTube subscribers and 3 billion views by sitting around hoping.

And you sure as heck don’t get there overnight. Just ask Marques Brownlee, who, like Michael Jordan missing the varsity basketball cut in high school, was rejected from YouTube’s partner program … twice. More than a decade later, he’s evolved into MKBHD, one of the most prominent and popular tech personalities in the world.

Brownlee has now lived so much of his life on YouTube that it scrolls like an accelerated autobiography — New Jersey teen casually uploading webcam clips of his golf swing grows up to be a worldwide influencer producing the internet’s slickest tech videos with the help of a $50,000 camera mounted to a $250,000 remote-controlled robot arm.

Wearing many hats — creator, interviewer, podcast host, instructor, Ultimate Frisbee player — the 28-year-old has shifted perceptions of what a tech authority can be and what the success of a digital innovator can look like. His laser-focused but often

humorous observations, combined with deep knowledge and passion, have helped him appeal equally to diehard tech fans and mainstream viewers. And as a truly independent editorial voice with a level of cred that now rivals vaunted tech publications, he has inspired a generation of young upstarts.

But that’s not all. Brownlee also cohosts Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast.

His New Jersey–based studio runs multiple YouTube channels, including the just-launched Auto Focus, spotlighting electric vehicles. He recently launched a MasterClass Session. Oh, and he’s interviewed Kobe Bryant, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Bill Gates, Barack Obama and Elon Musk, among other icons.

Naturally, we felt compelled to flip the script and start asking some questions ourselves. So we grabbed a big ol’ chunk of Brownlee’s precious little free time. Here are the highlights of our wide-ranging chat about methodical growth, online fame, down time, future tech, why he likens the life of a YouTuber to that of an octopus and so much more.

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T H I S PA G E

Brownlee shoots in-hand details of a new camera, the Insta360 X3, for an upcoming video; the package room is a revolving door of incoming gear; a kid-sized, remote-controlled Lamborghini Aventador LP700 hints that it’s not all work and no play at the office.

FA C I N G PA G E

Brownlee takes a seat in the 2022 GMC Hummer EV he will be incorporating into the Insta360 video.

“It got to my opportunity to intern and I was like: ‘Actually, no, I’m just going to spend more time making my videos.

This is what I know I want to do.’ ” 126

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SC: What has it been like for you to progress from making your first videos in your teens to where you are now?

MB: Looking back, it’s felt like a slow and steady growth for this entire time, which I think is a good thing. I’ve described it as a gradient, but also there’s some pillars I can point to along the way. Probably the first milestone was just starting to make tech videos. I made two golf swing videos back in the day, which were like, just a kid discovering that he can upload a video to YouTube. Then making those first few tech videos and getting a couple comments from people was interesting, and then making a bunch of videos and getting more and more feedback.

Another milestone was getting a camera for the first time. I was shooting on a webcam before that, so if I wanted to show the keyboard, I’d have to point it at the keyboard, and that was the video. My first camera was the Sanyo Xacti CG10, which was this little pistol-grip camcorder with a flipout screen. It had a good minimum focus distance for macro shots of stuff like buttons and keyboards. I remember every single camera we have used since — nine cameras — but the first one was a big deal.

“I think one of the best things that’s never happened to me is having one video blow up and go viral, and then the whole channel explodes.”

SC: Is it true you were originally rejected from the YouTube Partner Program?

MB: I was in high school and doing this as a hobby when the [YouTube] Partner Program became a thing. I was pretty early to apply for it, I was not accepted, then there was this like six-month waiting period [to apply again]. So I waited and I applied again and I got rejected again and then waited again, but eventually at some point late in high school, I got accepted to the program and started making money, which was cool. So that was a milestone, actually making money from making videos.

Probably one of the last milestones was graduating from college and this becoming my full-time job. I went to Stevens Tech in Hoboken, and there are a lot of great tech companies in the city, so a lot of students will go intern at the tech company that they hope to work for. And it got to my opportunity to intern for one of these companies and I was like, “Actually, no, I’m just going to spend more time making my videos. This is actually perfect. This is what I know I want to do.” So that was a solid milestone for realization.

SC: Was there a “made it” moment for you, or is it just sort of a continuum?

MB: I think one of the best things that’s never happened to me is having one video blow up and go viral, and then the whole channel explodes. And then you’re like, “Oh, this is the moment where I realized it’s a career.”

Like, that’s never happened. I do remember when the channel hit one million subscribers — that was in college — that was a pretty crazy moment.

But even when that happened, I’d been making videos and seeing the subscriber numbers grow, and I saw the trajectory and I knew it was going to hit a million subscribers at some point. It’s continued past 10 million subscribers, which is another ridiculous number that doesn’t make any sense, but it’s still really cool and I think we’ll continue to evolve.

FA C I N G PA G E

A trio of cameras awaits guests on Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast, which routinely logs hundreds of thousands of views.

T H I S PA G E

The Insta 360 X3 and a RED V-Raptor camera hang out with some buddies at MKBHD Studio.

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SC: You use the word evolve, and it seems like evolution of content is something that is, whether conscious or subconscious, a big part of what you do.

MB: Yeah, we definitely — I say we because it’s a team now — but I’ve always been into video production and the gear and the technology that we use to make the videos. So, as we get better at using these tools, it’s like playing a sport; you find new moves and new creative combos and you try to get better. Even though the fundamentals haven’t changed — I’m still making a video about a product — you find new ways to do it, which is fun.

And why not try to make the latest video the best one, every single time?

SC: With your MasterClass Sessions, you are imparting some of what you’ve learned to a bigger audience that wants to not just consume your content but emulate it. Are there a few key tenets that have guided you, or big things you’ve learned along the way that really stand out?

MB: As a creator, I find myself in a position where I get to talk to a lot of other creators. And two main [tenets] come to mind. One is … I’m making videos that I would want to watch. And the other one is … I always say you can view being a creator online, especially making YouTube videos, as kind of like being an athlete. Pick a sport, like basketball, where you can just play for free in the park. All you need is a basketball, the barrier to entry is almost zero.

But if you want it to be your job, that does require an extra level of not just dedication and skill but a little bit of luck and a little bit of talent. All of that goes into potentially making it your job someday. And there’s a huge gap between just playing pickup in the street and professional basketball. So, if you want to turn it into your job, you have to be very comfortable with making videos for a long time and never making any money. And if that is you, then I can say you’re on the right path.

“It’s like playing a sport; you find new moves and new creative combos and you try to get better.”

MKBHD’S EDC Considering Brownlee has reviewed thousands of products, we were curious what he’s always got on him.

Here are six essentials, in his own words.

Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20

Sigma 18-35 Wide-Angle Zoom Lens

AOHI 65W PD USB-C Charger

I’ve tried other backpacks, but this is the one I always come back to — I carry this thing every day and can fit everything I need into it.

I’ve had it for a decade and it’s still my favorite fast wide zoom. I use it all the time.

It’s a USB-C cable with a little screen that shows you how much power is going through it — such a nerdy thing, but I use it for everything now.

$280

$699

$44

AirPods Max

Trove Wallet

Opal C1 Webcam

Anytime I travel, I need noise canceling and wireless, and AirPods Max pairs well with the Mac ecosystem.

I don’t carry a lot in my wallet.

Disclaimer: I’m an investor in this company but I really believe in it. And for the amount of video calls that we’re on, I get a lot of use out of it.

$549

$35

$300

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SC: Where does fame exist to you in your world? Like, where are the places where you go and get mobbed? And where are the places where you’re totally anonymous?

MB: It’s funny, I know my audience very well and I know where we go, which is tech events and CES, things like that, but I’m pretty fortunate that I don’t have this type of awful not-being-able-to-go-anywhere fame. Like, I remember — so there’s a thing called the YouTube Creator Summit that’s roughly once a year. The top hundred or so creators all go to a hotel, where the CEO of YouTube and a bunch of executives will talk to us directly about what we’re liking and what we’re not liking. And they always tell us not to post on social media so fans can’t find out where you are, because they might come and we wouldn’t want that to happen to you guys.

But every year, it inevitably happens that somebody posts an Instagram story and their fans find out where they are. And I remember being at the door of the hotel, about to Uber back to the studio, and there’s 75 screaming 13-yearolds outside. Like, Oh my God, we know he’s inside, and they’re like waiting for somebody. I saw my Uber pull up, and I opened the door and walked straight through the middle of them and none of them even blinked. None of them had any idea who I was. And I was like, That’s perfect.

SC: Do you have any thoughts on playing a role in shifting perceptions on what a tech reviewer can be?

MB: I’ve thought about that more in the last few years. I was one of the first creators to do a bunch of different things, which shifts perspectives.

I don’t know if going to the Met Gala means anything for being a creator, but things change, and when you ask a lot of the older generation about product reviews, they do see independent product reviews in the form of like a columnist writing for a publication. And I do see an opening of doors for even more independent creators to do completely independent videos, with truly independent thoughts about products, and I think that’s a good thing. So yeah, I don’t know if it’s strategic. I don’t know if there’s any specific choices that move that needle more than others. But I do feel like [more independence] is a thing that’s happening, which is good.

ABOVE

Brownlee reviews some Insta360 X3 footage captured earlier in the day.

RIGHT

In case you had any doubt, this man does not lack focus.

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“If you want to turn it into your job, you have to be very comfortable with making videos for a long time and never making any money.”

A desk adjacent to Brownlee’s work station is replete with tools the team uses to create content and tech ephemera.

“I do see an opening of doors for even more independent creators to do completely independent videos, and I think that’s a good thing.”

SC: I was wondering what the role of Ultimate Frisbee is in your life.

Is that the way you get away from screen time?

MB: Yeah, 100 percent. That is like the left brain, right brain thing. Luckily with working in tech and making videos, it’s weekdays and normal working hours. And then Ultimate Frisbee is very much after hours, practicing on nights and weekends. So, it’s a perfect flip-a-switch type of thing. It’s definitely my competitive outlet. Obviously, it’s an athletic endeavor, so it’s also an outlet for that. But really it’s team building and camaraderie and experiencing leadership and strategy in different ways, and trying to work towards a really difficult goal, which is sort of what I’m into I guess.

So we have a good time with that and then when the weekend’s over, I just flip that switch again and then that goes away. But yeah, that’s the longest time I spend without a screen for sure.

SC: What do your parents think about all of this?

MB: I think it’s grown on them. At the beginning it was a hobby, but it was good for them to know that I had hobbies that were, you know, fairly positive. And then for it to turn into something that I actually enjoy doing as a career is great. My mom is now a heavy part of the operation. She worked for a bank in the past and now she does finance for our team, so yeah, it’s legitimized now.

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“I have likened being a YouTuber to being an octopus. Because an octopus has eight arms and can work them all independently.”

SC: When you started out, you were doing everything: shooting, on-camera and editing. Have you had to pare down to just the on-camera operations? How much of the other things do you still have time to do?

MB: I have likened being a YouTuber to being an octopus. Because an octopus has eight arms and can work them all independently, and a YouTube Creator also has a bunch of different jobs that they do. You’re a camera person, you’re an editor, you’re a writer, and you’re also a social media content strategist. But you’re also in the inbox, reading contracts and doing ad deals, and you’re also the finance person. You’re doing a lot, and building the team here has been an operation of chopping off one arm at a time and handing it to someone who can do that full time and do it better than I ever could.

The other weird part of the analogy is that an octopus has three hearts.

And so I’m trying to find what my three hearts are — the things that I still need to be a part of that I don’t have to cut off. Being on camera, testing the gadgets, writing and content strategy seem to be the things that I enjoy the most and that are really the core of what we do.

SC: The people who you have interviewed in your career are exciting — from Kobe Bryant to Neil deGrasse Tyson to Elon Musk to Barack Obama. Who has been the highlight?

FA C I N G PA G E

When it comes to top-notch tools, Brownlee spares no expense. The $24,500 RED V-Raptor camera behind him is mounted to a $250,000 remote-controlled robotic arm.

T H I S PA G E

The state-of-the-art V-Raptor is the team’s main camera now. They recently got a couple of $49,995 V-Raptor XLs for car shoots, too.

MB: I just threw myself straight into the fire — Kobe was literally the first in-person interview I ever did of any human, which is absurd. But that was obviously a highlight, not just because it was Kobe during his farewell tour in his final season with a new shoe coming out and wanting to talk to me about it, but it was some of the things he said. That he only really involved himself in things that he was really passionate about, which is pretty inspiring, and the level of detail he was able to speak to about a product.

At this point, I’ve realized that when I get an opportunity to do an interview, a lot of times it’s connected to some PR run this person is on. They had a publicist who was like, “Oh, you have a movie coming out, you should talk to A-B-C-D and MKBHD, that’s our plan.” But it’s cool just talking to people candidly about tech who have interesting perspectives on it. And Kobe was the best possible intro I could have, so yeah, he stands out for me as a highlight all-time anything.

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SC: What are you most excited about in tech over the next few years?

MB: The tech of the future will probably always be a surprise, but I think the obvious one for me is electric cars. So many interesting things are happening there, and I’ve been paying a ton of attention to the electric car world, and the transition that the world needs to make, and all the complex steps to get there from where we are now with gas stations and gas cars to the question mark number of years in the future with EVs everywhere and electric car charging everywhere.

How long does it take to get there? What are the steps to take to get there?

What sorts of things need to happen? What types of cars need to come out?

Does inflation and chip shortages affect how we get there? There’s so much happening but then also there are crazy cool EVs left and right just popping up that are very fun to place on this timeline.

There’s a video today someone made of the new electric Dodge Challenger SRT. It has a super loud fake noise that it makes that sounds like revving an engine, but it’s just a fake sound pumping out. And seeing that just got me thinking about, when we look back in 50 years, are we going to be like, “Oh yeah, there’s a brief period where electric cars tried to act like gas cars to get people to switch?”

T H I S PA G E

Rigging up the Insta 360 for some outdoor shooting; playing around with the camera’s telescoping invisible selfie stick.

FA C I N G PA G E

Brownlee’s growing interest in electric vehicles like the Hummer EV has led to a new YouTube channel, Auto Focus, which garnered more than 300,00 subscribers and 4 million views within a month of its debut.

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“The tech of the future will always be a surprise.”

Take a cue from nature — winter is the best time for a reset. Use the cooler months to reevaluate your priorities, set new goals and lay the groundwork for the year to come.

While the initial stage of this work is internal, the tangible parts can benefit from the right tools and products. Whether you’re keeping fit, honing your productivity, focusing on a passion or just dressing better, do it intentionally. As you do, consult these superlative products — thoroughly researched and tested by our team — to help you give your life a well-deserved refresh.

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PHOTOS BY: CAM ODEN

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BEST U P G RA D E D R I P CO F F E E MAK E R

Breville Precision Brewer

Automatic drip coffee isn’t typically associated with craft coffee brewing, but Breville’s sleek stainless steel machine changes that. It allows you to customize your brew’s temperature, bloom time and flow rate for the best cup of automatic coffee ever. $330

B EST AFFO R DAB L E SO FA

Ikea Finnala Sofa

Comfortable, stylish and modular, Ikea’s Finnala offers loads of value at a low price point. It even features a removable, machine-washable cover for foolproof upkeep. $1,149

B EST AFFO R DAB L E G O OSE NECK KE TTL E

Cosori Electric Gooseneck Kettle

With a sleek, stylish appearance reminiscent of far more expensive kettles, food-grade stainless steel construction and five pre-set temperature settings, Cosori’s gooseneck kettle is an incredible value. $70

B EST UP G RADE CAST IRO N SKIL L E T

Butter Pat Industries Heather Lighter than a typical cast iron pan, Butter Pat’s Heather is also cast smooth, lacking the usual bumps of cast iron and making for a pan that’s practically nonstick out of the box. $215

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B EST OV E RAL L CO R DL ESS STICK VACUUM

Dyson V8 Absolute

With up to 40 minutes of battery life, powerful Dyson suction and advanced tech that keeps hair from tangling up on the brush head, the V8 Absolute machine will revolutionize your cleaning routine. $500

B EST AFFO RADB L E INDO O R SPACE HE ATE R

Lasko 754200 Ceramic Heater

Steelcase’s Series 1 is more comfortable than most, thanks to a backrest that conforms to your spine, active armrests that move with you and a slew of adjustment points.

Lasko’s compact heater is ideal for small spaces and boasts a quick-heating ceramic element with 1,500 watts of power, a trio of fan speeds and an adjustable thermostat.

$499

$34

BEST OV E RAL L O F F I C E C H AI R

Steelcase Series 1

B EST OV ERALL C HE F ’S KN IF E

Tojiro DP Gyutou Tojiro’s DP Gyutou is a full-tang, mid-weight Japanese knife that combines a durable VG10 steel core with a softer stainless steel exterior that makes it a breeze to sharpen. $100

BEST U P G RA DE WOOL BL A NKET

Pendleton Harding Wool Blanket Any wool blanket will keep you warm, but this classic from Pendleton offers an elevated experience. Made in the USA from American virgin wool, its jacquard pattern has been a hit for nearly a century. $439 (queen size)

B EST U P G RAD E F L AN N E L SHE E T

Coyuchi Cloud Brushed Organic Flannel Sheets Not only are Coyuchi’s organic cotton sheets thicker and warmer than your typical flannel ones, but also they’re more durable, with a smooth, soft brushed finish that resists pilling. $ 268 (queen set)

BEST AF FO R DAB L E STAN D I N G D ES K

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE BRANDS

Seville Classics AirLift Tempered Glass Standing Desk

With a tempered glass top, touch panel controls, dual USB ports and three customizable height settings, this sit-to-stand desk looks as good as it functions. $350

B EST AIR PUR IFIE R FO R AL L E RG IES

Levoit Core 400S

In addition to a triplefiltration system featuring the highest-grade HEPA filter, Levoit’s high-tech air purifier utilizes exclusive AirSight Plus Technology that laser-scans the air for allergens and adjusts its fan speed accordingly. $220

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BEST U P G RA D E C H U K KA BO OTS

Grant Stone Suede Chukka

Grant Stone sells weighty boots that showcase the superior raw materials that they sculpt their boots from. In this case, that’s suede from the famous Charles F. Stead tannery, tough Wisconsin cow leather and a soft crepe sole. $328

B EST OV E RAL L B E ANIE

Colorful Standard Merino Wool Beanie Colorful Standard’s beanie is the best way to top off your fit. It’s perfectly proportioned for most head shapes, made from Italian superfine merino wool and available in every color one could conceivably want. $40

B EST UP G RADE FL ANNE L SHIRT

Filson Alaskan Guide Shirt Filson’s heavyweight flannel — available in a few colors — is made from brushed cotton twill and designed for ease of movement. $145

B EST UP G RADE HO O DIE

Knickerbocker Hoodie

Knickerbocker’s heavyweight hoodie is horizontally knit, so it’s less prone to shrinkage in the wash. Its classic look and feel will fit in, even in the modern era. $165

B EST UP G RADE M O ISTURIZER

Patricks AM1 Anti-Aging Moisturizer

Patricks’s anti-aging moisturizer targets signs of age while moisturizing the skin at both the surface level and deep down. It encourages collagen production and elasticity, while also being anti-inflammatory. $135

145

B EST A F FOR DAB LE RAZOR

Harry’s Truman Razor The Truman Razor is a sensible rubberized tool that promises precision and grip even when wet, and its weighted core makes the whole razor feel more substantial, lessening the likelihood you’ll nick yourself. $9

B EST UP G RADE BACKPACK

Filson Dryden Backpack

Filson always delivers. This time, it’s with a durable bag with ample space and no unnecessary frills. There’s a compartment or pocket for literally everything but the kitchen sink: laptop, tablet, books, papers and more. $225

BEST OV E RAL L WAX E D JAC K E T

Flint and Tinder Flannel-Lined Waxed Trucker Jacket For its waxed jacket, Flint and Tinder opted for the original fabric used for waxed jackets, sailcloth. The traditional textile gets better with time, but it’ll fit like a glove from the first wear. $268

B EST OV E RAL L SW E ATE R

Everlane Grade-A Cashmere Sweater Everlane’s ultra-nice knit is made using 100 percent Mongolian cashmere, sitting at the upper echelons of both fineness and length — hence the name “Grade-A.” $170

BEST A F FO R DAB L E A LU M I NU M SU I CAS E

Monos Hybrid Carry-On

Monos’s Hybrid Carry-On passes for aluminum, even though it’s made from aerospace-grade polycarbonate.

It has an aluminum frame, though, and that’s what matters most. $325

BEST A FFORDA BLE PA RKA

Columbia Marquam Peak Parka

BEST U P G RAD E B E AR D T R I M M E R

Bevel Pro

The Bevel Pro delivers barber-grade shaves from the comfort of your own home with a customizable head to get closer and edge cleaner, all while causing less irritation.

For the price, few parkas can compete with Columbia’s Marquam. It’s made from a cotton-nylon blend that’s excellent at trapping heat and bolstered by faux-fur trim and the brand’s proprietary insulation. $200

$330

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BEST OV ERA L L F I X E D B L AD E K N I F E

Gerber Terracraft

The Terracraft features a four-inch drop-point blade that’s incredibly versatile in a wide range of scenarios — but the aesthetics of the knife are everyday utility, not survival of the fittest. $220

B EST U P G RADE DOW N JACKE T

Arc’teryx Cerium LT Jacket

The Cerium LT packs a surprising amount of functionality into a sleek, lightweight package: two types of insulation, articulated seams, zippered pockets and a durable 10-denier nylon shell. $349

M OST V E RSATIL E FIRE STARTE R

Morakniv Companion Spark Fire Starter Knife A magnesium alloy fire starter, integrated into this ergonomic knife handle, pops out to generate a 5,400-degree Fahrenheit spark; it works when wet, and is good for around 3,000 strikes. $33

B EST HIG H- P OW E R E D HE ADL AM P

Biolite HeadLamp 750

The 750 is not just splashproof but has eight light modes — spot, flood, mixed, strobe, burst, red flood, rear red and rear red strobe. (Yes, this headlamp has a backlight mounted to its battery pack.) $100

149

M OST V E RSATIL L E CAM PING B L ANKE T

Kammok Arctos

M OST RUG GE D PAC K I N G CU B ES

Mystery Ranch Zoid Packing Cubes These practical and utilitarian packing cubes are tough as nails thanks to their rugged 210-denier Hitra Robic nylon and YKK zipper components. Three included sizes mean you can organize with ease, without compromise.

The Arctos is stuffed with enough 850-fill down to provide warmth down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit while maintaining an ultralight classification, thanks to a weight of 26.25 ounces. $360

$24

BEST A L L- COND ITIONS STOVE

MSR Reactor Stove System The Reactor Stove System is the fastest and most fuel-efficient all-conditions stove around. It’s windproof, extremely quick to boil water (half a liter boils in just 90 seconds) and relatively compact. $290

MOST CO M FO RTAB L E H I K I N G PANTS

Mountain Hardwear Exposure/2 Gore-Tex Paclite Plus Pant Mountain Hardwear’s easy-wearing hiking pants are waterproof and durable and feature integrated stretch, an elastic waistband and adjustable cuffs to round out their one-two punch of versatility and comfort. $200

B EST OV E RAL L SKI G LOV ES

Black Diamond Guide Gloves Black Diamond’s warmest gloves feature heavy-duty nylon cuffs, waterproof and breathable Gore-Tex inserts and removable liners. Plus, they’re insulated with 170g of Primaloft Gold and lined with fluffy wool. $180

B EST WO O L SO CKS FO R HIKING

Darn Tough Hiker Boot Midweight Hiking Socks The merino wool, nylon and spandex blend of these everyday hikers is great for multi-day or long-distance hiking, and will hold up to almost everything you throw their way. $28

B EST OVERALL S KIS

Elan Ripstick 96 Black Edition The Black Edition is stiffer than Elan’s popular Ripstick model and will hold its edge better and provide more stability, so you can ride all-mountain, all day. $850

B EST AFFO RAB L E SKI G O G G L ES

Zeal Optics Beacon

Zeal dubbed the aggressive 10-degree lens angle on these goggles “Observation Deck Technology” because it cuts glare, increases vertical peripheral vision and helps you focus on what’s important: the way down. $129

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M OST P ORTA BL E MASSAGE GU N

Hyperice Hypervolt Go 2

The 1.5-pound Hypervolt Go 2 features an ergonomic silhouette, an easy-to-toggle power button and plenty of muscle-relieving potential.

Throw it in any gym bag for on-the-go recovery. $199

B EST ROW E R FO R TIG HT SPACES

Hydrow Wave Rower

This rowing machine is over 40 pounds lighter than its predecessor and takes up 36 square inches less space, all while still offering over 4,000 live and on-demand workouts through Hydrow’s all-access membership. $1,495

B EST OV E RAL L RUNNING JACKE T

Arc’teryx Squamish Hoody This lightweight jacket features Tyono 30 ripstop nylon with a DWR finish for a durable build that’s ready to withstand harsh conditions. After all, this outerwear was designed with mountain training in mind. $159

M OST V E RSATIL E W INTE R RUNNING SHO ES

Hoka Challenger ATR 6 GTX Designed for traction on both the trails and roadways, the Challenger ATR 6 GTX also boasts a Gore-Tex bootie to help defend against the slush and muck you’re likely to encounter during wintertime jaunts. $150

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BEST CO R K YO G A MAT

42 Birds Robin Extra Long Cork Lightweight Yoga Mat

B EST AFFO R DAB L E GYM SHO ES

This extended yoga mat measures 85 inches, which is more than enough surface for even the tallest yogis.

The 5mm-thick cork provides plenty of comfort, along with natural antimicrobial benefits.

These budget-friendly sneakers are great at promoting that stable base you want when strength training. Tacky Pumagrip rubber keeps you grounded, while the high-tensile mesh upper is durable enough for plenty of workouts.

$86

Puma Fuse Training Shoes

$90

BEST SL A M BA LL

Living.Fit Slam Ball Gripping this rubber silhouette is a breeze thanks to a triangle-textured exterior that’s durable enough for plenty of intense training. Despite the free-floating sand inside, the Living.Fit Slam Ball stays relatively balanced, too. $80 (15 pounds)

B EST AL L- PUR P OSE GYM BAG

Baboon to the Moon Go-Bag

Convenient carrying handles give this colorful tote plenty of versatility, allowing for backpack or duffel carriage. The Go-Bag’s spacious interior is great for storing all your gym or travel necessities, too. $189 (40L)

B EST UP G RADE INDO O R B IKE

Wahoo Fitness Kickr Bike Simulator

B EST ADJUSTAB L E DUM B B E L LS FO R HE AVY STR E NGTH TRAINING

SMRTFT Nüobell 80-Pound Classic

Want the on-road experience without the on-road hazards?

The Kickr Bike Simulator features a built-in actuator that tilts 20 percent for climbs and 15 percent for descents to closely mimic that outdoor riding experience.

Machined steel plates stack neatly across both ends of this aesthetically pleasing dumbbell set, and the impressive weight range of 5–80 pounds offers plenty of load for even the strongest home gym users.

$3,000

$745

BEST S P E E D RO P E

RPM Comp4

Blast through double-unders at breakneck speeds with this bare-cabled fitness tool.

The lightweight aluminum handles practically melt into your hands, and thanks to the aggressive knurling, you never have to worry about grip. $70

BEST SMA RTWATC H FOR ENDU RA NCE ATHLETES

Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar With a battery that can go for days, this impressive Garmin wristwear uses your heart rate and sleep quality to deliver a slew of digestible statistics and inform you about your body’s performance abilities. $600

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BEST U P G RA D E T RAV E L CAM E RA

Fujifilm X-T30 II

This interchangeable-lens mirrorless camera is small and lightweight, with off-the-chart performance thanks to its huge sensor, fast processor and incredible autofocus. The throwback design includes other modern touches, too, like a rear touchscreen and understated built-in flash. $900 (body only)

B EST OV E RAL L PROJECTOR

Optoma UHD35

For people who want a gigantic picture with true 4K detail, the Optoma UHD35 is the perfect match. As a bonus, it’s only slightly more expensive than projectors that max out at 1080p. $ 1,349

B EST OV E RAL L L APTO P

M2 MacBook Air

The M2 MacBook Air is super fast, powerful and beautiful. Thanks to a stunning new display, a thinner and lighter body, a Touch ID unlock button and a new MagSafe charging port, it feels fresh, too. $1,199

B EST B UDG E T SM ARTPHONE

iPhone SE (2nd Gen)

This is the perfect iPhone for people who really don’t like change. It’s the only iPhone that still has a Home button, and it’s the smallest and cheapest iPhone that Apple sells. $429

B EST OV E RAL L CAR M OUNT FO R IPHO NE

Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Car Charger This great iPhone car mount does three things well: it magnetically grips and holds your iPhone in place; it charges your iPhone; and it doesn’t take up your entire dashboard. $60

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B EST OV E RAL L SM ART LO CK

August Wi-Fi Smart Lock (4th Gen) The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock has built-in Wi-Fi connectivity — no Wi-Fi bridge needed — and simply attaches to your existing deadbolt. And it works with all major smart home ecosystems, including Apple’s HomeKit. $230

BEST U P G RAD E S MART T H E R MOSTAT

Google Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd Gen) Nest’s Learning Thermostat has long been the most attractive smart thermostat available. The third-generation model stands out even more, thanks to a bigger, brighter display and a slimmer all-around design. $249

B EST OV E RALL W IR ELESS ACT I V E S P EAKERS

KEF LSX II KEF’s newest active speaker system combines the best of both worlds — easy streaming and hi-fi listening. Think of the LSX II as the perfect upgrade from your Sonos speakers that also comes in cool colors. $1,400

B EST B UDG E T W IR E L ESS E AR B UDS

Jabra Elite 3

The Jabra Elite 3 earbuds deliver a similar fit and sound as the company’s more premium alternatives. And though they lack noise cancellation, they’re a great option for working out thanks to an IP55 rating. $80

B EST OV E RAL L 4 K T V

LG C2 OLED

The best 4K TVs in 2022 are all OLEDs: they deliver a combination of color, brightness, contrast and detail that LCD TVs simply cannot match. The LG C2 OLED features LG’s advanced “Evo” panel and highest-end processor so it’s able to deliver a noticeably brighter, better picture. $1,899 (65” model)

B EST OV E RALL NO ISE- CANCE L ING HE ADPHO NES

Sony WH-1000XM5 Sony’s newest wireless headphones are elite in just about everything, including sound quality, active noisecanceling, call clarity, features and comfort. They also support high-resolution audio and have the power to upscale compressed files in real time. $400

BEST OVERALL TU RNTA BL E

Pro-Ject T1 The Pro-Ject T1 is minimal, gorgeous and an incredible value. The base model has direct phono output and manual drive belt change, but other options include built-in preamps, electronic speed switches and Bluetooth transmitters. $449

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DETOUR

TEXT BY

John Zientek

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Aysia Stieb

HIDA TOOL & HARDWARE CO.

THIS BELOVED EAST BAY SHOP HAS A BOUNTY OF SPECIALTY TOOLS AND KNIVES FROM JAPAN. 1333 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA 94702

Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Hida Tool opened in 1982 as a response to San Francisco Bay Area woodworkers’ demand for traditional Japanese tools, inspired by the work of master craftsman Makoto Imai. The specialty tool shop — founded by Osamu Hiroyama, Imai’s brother-in-law, and Kip Mesirow, the author of Care and Use of Japanese Woodworking Tools — was originally based in San Rafael, but it moved to its current location in Berkeley in 1984.

The small store doesn’t stock any power tools. Rather, it has an incredible array of saws, chisels, planes, hammers and other hand tools used in traditional Japanese joinery.

Additionally, Hida Tool carries an assortment of Japanese gardening implements and kitchen knives.

The store’s sharpening business also draws a weekly stream of local professionals and home users. And though Hida Tool has recently grown its online presence, its reputation is built on four decades of word-of-mouth recommendations.

“SIMPLY PUT, EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE HERE, INCLUDING KITCHEN KNIVES, CHISELS, SAWS, GARDEN TOOLS, IS JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF A SAMURAI SWORD.” — KO MINAMIZAKI, MANAGER

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