Category: Links

This is a stellar video on the process to make a Porter Tanker bag. (h/t to Cody in the Discord for sharing with me.)

Staggering how it’s essentially all by hand. Captivating watch.

Just in time for end of year sales, The Best List for 2025 has been published for members. The sections are expanded, while trying to keep it concise. A lot of turmoil this year, so go check it out.

2024’s list is now free for all, and you can see past years here.

Gear Patrol has a great ode to the Range Rover P38, and as someone who owned a 1998 model year 4.6HSE for a long time I can concur — this is a fantastic vehicle.

But there’s a caveat.

The caveat is that these epitomize the Land Rover stigma of always being in the shop, and thus needing two. In fact, when I met my wife, I had this generation Range Rover — she had to drive me to and from the shop so much, that I am henceforth banned from owning another Land Rover.

That said, these are just a beast of a vehicle. They drive like a tank, they are fantastic off roaders, and smooth on the road. The interior is obnoxiously comfortable, and they have loads of space. I once drove this through 12-14” in snow and ice up a hill without the car flinching while others slid back down. Confidence inspiring.

The V8 is mated to a 4-speed, which is not the smoothest, as it struggles with gearing at modern highway speeds, with constant shifting issues to keep the power in-band.

So, I do think the P38 is stellar, but I also would advise you not own one. Like, at all. Unless it’s a second car you never need to rely on, whether day to day, or on a trip of any kind. It never left me stranded, but I still have error codes and multi-thousand dollar invoices burned into my head.

Vero has a great sale for the holiday, including my favorite The Smokey Bear Campfire Edition (Review.)

Solid savings from Benks on the best cases I’ve found and the only cases I use.

Note: this game was sent to me for review.

This is a fun backyard/outdoor game, and it’s 25% off today.

Feels like one of those games my kids will decide to play for a while, make up completely new rules for and keep playing — and onward with the cycle. Good stuff.

Believe it or not, this is one Ruck I’ve never had from GORUCK. I’ve ordered one.

Find them here.

I’m in, but man up and just call it a purse. No need to qualify.

Chris Turner has a good run down on this foldable mechanical keyboard. I’ve been hovering over the buy button on this forever now. Very interesting device. The Discord has been chatting about it off and on for months now as well.

TechCrunch reporting:

On the same day that Ring announced this partnership, 404 Media reported that ICE, the Secret Service, and the Navy had access to Flock’s network of cameras. By partnering with Ring, Flock could potentially access footage from millions more cameras.

Flock is highly invasive, in case you have never heard of it. Good reason to continue to not trust Ring cameras.

Taylor Lorenz has an excellent newsletter about this, but this part is something to think about:

This moral panic isn’t just limited to access to pornography; it expands state and corporate control by chilling expression and thus creating a climate of self-censorship. Just like how some schools and libraries have become overly cautious about not stocking books that someone may be offended by, in the UK, similar dynamics are already playing out with age verification online. Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, Reddit users attempting to access subreddits covering war crimes in Gaza and Ukraine were required to post a selfie or provide a photo ID.

Bluesky recently cut service in Mississippi over similar laws. Don’t think for one second it’s not happening in the US, it’s been spreading across the south for some time now.

Erin Brooks (my wife) writes about her recent trip to Japan:

My Leica, like every other-than-iPhone camera I have, is a little bit heavy; at least heavier than my phone. Being so hot, so sticky, and in pain, walking up to 20k steps per day, the last thing I wanted to do was lug around any extra weight. Plus, I needed to make space for my sun umbrella in my bag (an absolute must have for summer travel in Japan).

I shot with my Q2 the entire trip, and none of my photos are half as good as hers. And I was fucking standing next to her, I swear.

Great deals on clothing, shoes, and rucks. Good time to buy.

See deals here.

Matt Klein for Zine:

Anything a government now deems “sexual” or “harmful” may now require one to hand over their passport, biometric data or banking information. More concerning, such laws may now require this personal information to access platforms, which may only have some amount of “sexual material.”

I could quote the entire thing, really scary shit.

Bruce and Ben plunge into the irresistible world of gear rabbit holes—where the quest for “just right” quickly morphs into “way too deep.” From ultralight tent debates and cycling minimalism to high-end kitchen knives and slick blazers, they break down the obsessive, hilarious, and sometimes unnecessary lengths we go to research, buy, and justify our gear. Along the way, they dish hard-won truths: when to trust the hype, when to let go, and how to know when “good enough” really is. If you love sweating the details (or just want to know why your buddy suddenly cares about zipper pulls and moonlight modes on flashlights), this one’s for you.

Listen: Spotify, Web, Apple.

Craig Grannell (also) writing for Stuff:

Still, Apple went to extraordinary lengths to convince everyone (including, I suspect, itself) that Liquid Glass was the new black. There was endless talk of dynamic animations and reflected light. In one memorable moment, we were shown tvOS and told how “playback controls refract the content underneath, beautifully complementing the action without distracting from the story”. Because nothing says ‘not distracting’ like James Bond’s face reflected in a pause button.

And:

The hits kept coming. Buttons and tabs now show backgrounds through them, which is great if you never actually want to read their text.

This UI is awful.

Reece Rogers for Wired:

Beyond readability concerns, the first impression from some designers is that this new look could be unnecessarily distracting for users.

That’s an understatement.