Why You Don’t Need Polarized Sunglasses
How to Curb Screen Addiction, for Good
The Rise of Secondhand Outdoor Gear
70
76
86
One Last Lap for American Muscle 112
Behind the New Bond Watch 128
Swim Shorts You Can Wear Anywhere 144
CONTENTS
Contents The Guide
Wish List The world’s most desirable gear Analogue Pocket
24
Merz b. Schwanen Merino T-shirt
44
Yeti V Series
58
Phase One XT Camera System
68
Audi RS6 Avant
74
A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus
82
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22
28
Found: Nikon L35AF
Your Questions About 8K, Answered
Just Get This: Dopp Kits, Bluetooth Speakers & More
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46
Gravel Biking Finds Its Legs
The Review: 5G
50
60
66
Testing: Session Beers, Performance Denim & More
10 Years of Singer Vehicle Design
Summer Watch Straps
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80
Counterpoint: Why You Don’t Need Polarized Sunglasses
Small-Batch Scents for the Summer
Less weight. More trailblazing. Introducing Trail Series™ – 25% lighter
hyd roflask.com
CONTENTS
Features
86 The Rise of Reuse
Despite a reputation for sustainability and environmentalism, the outdoor industry thrives on seasonal updates and new gear releases. In response, some of today’s top brands are looking back to get ahead.
100 Introducing Greg Metze, 42 Years Later
Greg Metze spent decades making whiskey in the shadows of one of America’s largest and most mysterious distilleries. At Colorado’s Old Elk, the prolific whiskey maker may finally get his moment in the sun.
112 Blaze of Glory
Today’s muscle cars rank among the greatest American-made machines to ever rule the road, but with the era of EVs on the horizon, their days may be numbered. So we took the year’s most powerful examples on a wild trip out west.
128 The Moon Is Not Enough
Since 2016, Raynald Aeschlimann has helmed Omega, the world’s second-largest watch company. We caught up with him to discuss the revamping of a famed watch movement, timing the Olympics and a certain secret agent’s predilection for the Seamaster.
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CLASSIC REINVENTED G-SHOCK has been setting the standard for timekeeping toughness and durability since 1983. G-SHOCK announces the new GM6900 Series with stainless steel forged metal bezels. These new models, which fit right in with both high-elegance luxury fashions and modern street fashions, come on the heels of the GM5600 Series with metal covered bezels.
CONTENTS
Intel
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142
144
KIT: Summer Friday Essentials
In Season: Swim Trunks That Go Anywhere
158
160
Tools of the Trade: Chef Michael Hamilton of Little Ways
Detour: Mister Green Life Store
NOT JUST BOOTS. BLUNDSTONES.
BLUNDSTONE.COM
ISSUE 13
Field Note text by will sabel courtney photo by chandler bondurant
Oatman, Arizona, isn’t the sort of place you stay for long. Once the humming home of an active gold mine, the Oatman of today is part tourist trap, part ghost town. On a strip of ramshackle buildings, we found townies selling tchotchkes like Native American crafts and reelection merchandise in the midst of Wild West gunfight reenactments. It’s here, on old Route 66, where we also found a sizable population of docile mules wandering around with the kind of freedom reserved for sacred cows in India. It’s hard to express the surreality of rounding a corner in a trio of superpowered muscle cars only to find a burro smack dab in the middle of town, blocking your path. Stranger still is the scene of more mules meandering over to you once you’ve parked, running their noses over the flanks of a 797-horsepower Dodge in hopes of finding nibbles beneath the fenders. Behind the scenes of “Blaze of Glory” (page 112)
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LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER
W Eric Yang
founder , chief executive officer
@hashtagyang | eyang@gearpatrol.com
hat does essential mean? Since starting Gear Patrol in 2007, I’ve learned that knowing if a product is, or isn’t, essential is one of the most intimate things we can understand about ourselves. Cars. Watches. Stereos. Smartphones. Brown leather boots. We have relationships with the products we use, whether we realize it or not. If you’re reading this letter, there’s a good chance you already have a strong grasp of what essential means to you. You may give in to the occasional deal, but I’m willing to bet you boast a savvy purchase-qualifying matrix — a built-in set of instincts that helps you determine whether or not something is worth the squeeze. Irrespective of editorial instinct, years of experience or even a mountain of data, I’m convinced that Gear Patrol readers are simply some of earth’s most sophisticated consumers. It’s not about the price, it’s about the value. I get it: you get it. It wasn’t always this way. Over the last 13 years, our growing masthead has brought a new level of finesse in determining what you might need, and why. What’s more apparent than ever is that things are entirely different than they were when I published Gear Patrol’s first post (about the 2007 BMW X5). In the age of unfettered access to information, consumers’ relationships with products have evolved. A good product — an essential one — propels your life, your passions. Your pursuits. The version of Gear Patrol you’re holding now is designed for many types of consumers, but it’s sin-
gularly focused on helping them all decide what’s essential. For the spring, we’ve designed that into a quarterly, seasonal preview of what’s relevant in the wide world of products. Our team calls it the Summer Preview, and while the notion of a seasonal compendium is hardly new in the theater of magazine-making, it is fresh for us and how we bring product journalism to your doorstep in a way that’s current, dynamic and insanely informative. You know, essential. We’ve endeavored to bring this to print in a couple new ways, but one of my favorites, as a time-poor father of two, is our evergreen series Just Get This (page 28), where we quickly identify which everyday products we deem to be best in class. On the other hand, our cover story, “Blaze of Glory” (page 112), penned by motoring editor Will Sabel Courtney and captured by staff photographer Chandler Bondurant, made me wistful for what may be a well-qualified end to high-octane, American muscle cars. Then there’s staff writer Tanner Bowden’s thought-provoking piece “The Rise of Reuse” (page 86) highlighting how the nearly $20 billion outdoor apparel industry — which relies on relentless updates and new releases — is looking at the secondhand market to advance its financial and environmental goals. You know that eight-year-old Patagonia jacket shoved in the back of your closet? It might just save the planet. That’s exciting. So which products are essential? Join us as we endeavor to find out.
kind of obsessed
Leica Q2
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photo by leica
I have a large Vitsœ drawer at home chockablock with Fujifilm gear. Lenses, adaptors, grips — you name it. I can capture everything from one-inch away to one-mile out. In other words, I’m a hopeless romantic. But I also have two rambunctious kids, so my kit needs a wholesale rethink. I want a camera that’s robust, nimble and optically excellent to live alongside the always-in-my-pocket iPhone 11 Pro Max. And last year’s Leica Q2, which boasts 47 megapixels, a full-frame sensor, fuss-free 28mm lens and ultrafast touch screen focusing (again, kids), does just that. Call me obsessed. $4,995
Shop the new Nuclei FL Jacket at Backcountry.com
Windproof. Warm. Packable. Built for what’s to come.
arcteryx.com
MASTHEAD
founder , chief executive officer
ERIC YANG cofounder , chief content officer
BEN BOWERS
deputy editor
senior writer
chief commercial officer
head of commerce
JACK SEEMER
TUCKER BOWE
ZACH MADER
BRIAN LOUIE
editors
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business development director
content director , commerce
WILL SABEL COURTNEY
GERALD ORTIZ
MIKE BAILEY
JACOB SOTAK
ERIC LIMER
TANNER BOWDEN
STEVE MAZZUCCHI
TYLER DUFFY
senior account executive
commerce editor
ALYXANDER EFFRON
RYAN BROWER
account executives
store operations manager
TIM MURRAY
CHRIS HEALY
ZEN LOVE
associate editors
OREN HARTOV
associate editor , editorial operations
JOHN ZIENTEK
J.D. DIGIOVANNI
assistant editor
editorial associates
WILL PRICE
TYLER CHIN
KEVIN O’BRIEN client success manager
GENEVA AUDUONG
SCOTT ULRICH
editorial coordinator
KYLE SNARR
sales planners
MEG LAPPE
DOMINIQUE GAGEANT NGHI HO campaign manager
art director
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JOE TORNATZKY
HENRY PHILLIPS
senior designer
staff photographer
SHERRY WANG
CHANDLER BONDURANT
GREG TATE
consumer marketing manager
CAITLYN SHAW sales marketing coordinator
AISHA LOPEZ
pacific northwest advertising director
SCOT BONDLOW southwest advertising director
associate designer
cfo
BRANDON FRANK
JUSTIN PARKHURST
HUNTER D. KELLEY
director of video
multimedia producers
ANDREW SICELOFF
BRENDEN CLARKE
coordinating producer
head of marketing
NICK CARUSO
issue 13 contributors
RIDA ABBASI ALEXA EDGERTON @alexa_letters
KASEY MARTIN
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CUSTOMER CARE
project manager , gear patrol studios
support@gearpatrol.com
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CAREERS
content producer , gear patrol studios
gearpatrol.com/jobs
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STORE
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ZEB GOODMAN
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CORRECTIONS & REPRINTS
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sayhello@gearpatrol.com
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WHOLESALE REQUESTS wholesale@gearpatrol.com
JULIUS TANAG @typeofguy
Gear Patrol Studios is the creative partnership arm of Gear Patrol. 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. These sections are demarcated with GEAR PATROL STUDIOS. To learn more visit, studios.gearpatrol.com or reach out to us: advertising@gearpatrol.com
ISSN 2381-4241 PUBLISHED QUARTERLY PRINTED in USA by AMPER LITHO on SUSTAINABLE PAPER INDEPENDENTLY PUBLISHED IN NEW YORK 236 5TH AVE, FLOOR 8 NEW YORK, NY 10001 © 2020 GEAR PATROL, LLC
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The Guide
Freedom of choice can quickly lead to decision fatigue, a stressful condition at odds with summer vibes. But relax: this edition of The Guide is streamlined to optimize warm-weather bliss, whether it’s the best smartphone internet speeds (p. 46) or lightweight watch straps (p. 66) you’re after. Debating the merits of polarized sunglasses (p. 70) and pellet grills (pg. 72)? We can help. You’ll also find a thirst-quenching low-cal brew (p. 52) and the perfect cooler for stashing it (p. 58). And if you just want to get away, straddle a bold new offroad bike (p. 36) or slide behind the wheel of a gorgeous customized Porsche 911 (p. 60) to leave any lingering anxiety right where it belongs: in the dust.
SU M M ER P R EV IEW 2020 G E A R PATROL
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F
FOUND
Nikon L35AF text by henry phillips photo by chandler bondurant
Like vinyl records and mechanical watches, disposable film cameras have won a permanent place in the zeitgeist despite (or perhaps because of) modern tech. The reason? There’s a joy in not actually thinking too hard about photography while photographing. There is, however, a better alternative to the disposable camera: the upgraded point-and-shoot. Point-and-shoots take the recipe perfected by disposables and add a better lens, autofocus, an improved flash and additional film choices. But how to penetrate the outrageously dense market of practically identical products? Avoid the really hyped stuff
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unless you have money to blow. There’s just no reason to spend more than $300 on a point-and-shoot, espcially if there’s no fixing it once it breaks (and they all do, eventually). Our favorite is the Nikon L35AF, a cheapish and cheerful plastic brick from the ‘80s with an excellent 35mm f/2.8 lens, intuitive operation, good autofocus, a big, built-in flash and an ultra-satisfying shutter button. Get one from eBay for a hundred bucks, load it with your film of choice (can’t go wrong with Kodak Portra 400) and pass it around a party — they’ll turn out great.
SU M M ER P R EV IEW 2020 G E A R PATROL
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