Recent Articles

Note: this item was provided for review.

I am not a huge leather bag guy, but I can say that there’s a very wide variety of experiences you can get from any given leather bag. Some seem overly heavy with leather so stiff you are not sure it will ever wear in. Some are so thin and soft that you find it’s really the nylon lining that’s giving the bag any hope at durability. Thus, it is very difficult to try to ascertain what you are getting from a product website.

This was the case with the Zeppo Solo when Bleu de Chauffe offered to send it over. I quickly accepted and made a request for the navy variant. When I got the bag, I was pretty blown away. There’s no lining, it’s not overly heavy, the leather is very supple and pliable.

It all seemed pretty good. And then, I used it, and I quickly realized that this bag was much more than pretty good — it’s quite excellent.

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Note: this product was provided for review.

The number of trips I take where I need my passport is very low, but passport wallets are really great for passport-sized notebooks, as well as for an auxiliary wallet when you’re traveling (extra cards and cash, etc.). Which is exactly how I’ve been testing this wallet since receiving it.

It’s impressively compact, and I’m in love with the materials choice.

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Note: this item was provided for review.

As I mentioned in my Best List roundup at the end of 2025: there was no pick because I couldn’t stand behind anything I had been using. I’ve been cycling through loads this year, which is why I was excited when Pioneer Carry reached out to see if I wanted to test the Division Bifold. It’s a really great wallet — large, but easy to use and capable.

I’m a fan of this one, and it’s what I’ve been using the most.

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I didn’t own the Gamma for very long before I was longing for the Gamma MX, so I was very happy to be gifted this from my wife this past winter. Since receiving this, it’s been on hikes, walks, and trips with me all over. I’ve come to find that this is an exceptionally good layer for very cold activities, or to wear casually in cooler temps.

It is, however, a different beast than the standard Gamma.

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I was lucky enough to be the person who chose the company gifts, and after a lot of chats with vendors, I settled on ULA’s Cicada backpack in Ranger Green with a custom patch field. It’s lovely, and ULA was stellar to work with.

I expected that this would be a good backpack, but what I did not expect is how great this backpack actually is. It’s one of those bags where the simplicity of it, transcends anything which might be missing/lacking.

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I love Himali, they are a great local Boulder, CO company that makes very technical and practical items. They are underrated, but rather popular here around town. They offer good basic colors, and some really bright stuff that looks killer. I have a lot of stuff from them, but I recently picked up their “Ascent Stretch vest” which is a synthetic insulation line, and I am a big fan of it.

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Chuyen Tactical made waves when the brand first came out, at least on Reddit in the sub-reddits for bag nerds like me. Their offerings are very similar to GORUCK’s offerings, at a lower price point, but with several changes that are more inline with many complaints I see.

What surprised me the most was how much people liked the bags when they received them. I finally bit the bullet, and picked one up. I am underwhelemed, and am not going to bother keeping it long enough to even review the bag, by the time you’ve head this, I likely have sold it, but who knows.

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