Recent Articles

I went down a many-subreddit rabbit hole looking at bugout bags, everyday carry setups, get home bags, and vehicle everyday carry kits — basically I started getting frustrated at the state of advice out there for these bags.

I don’t think people plan for emergencies correctly — they plan for the extreme, while missing the likely. So, today, I want to talk about what I see as the most crucial prep for anyone who has a car, or commutes somewhere for work (I mean like eventually, not right now, but now is a good time to prepare because you have ample time to find stuff in your house).

We are talk about a ‘get home bag’. The get home bag is like a bugout bag, but for your car. Or, to carry with you if you commute on public or shared transit. It is the gear you need to help you get home safely in the event of something extraordinary happening.

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Pop quiz, hot shot, how do you carry around face masks, hand sanitizer, pens, and anything else you might need for a COVID-19 day out?

You carry this bag. And I want another, here’s why.

(To see the real reason for why I bought this bag, please read this post.)

I love Filson, as a brand, as a company, and the stuff they make. They remind me in a lot of ways of my grandfather. Everything they make is classic, over built to almost a comical level, and pretty fucking straightforward. Funnily, my grandfather never wore/used Filson stuff, which is almost in itself perfect.

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As you have all likely seen this week, there has been some App Store drama over Apple’s rejection of the Hey.com email client. This is a story that has two important parts:

1. App Store Rules
2. App Store Rule Enforcement

But first, the drama.

1. Hey.com is a subscription email service only, and you can only buy said service on their website.
2. They had an approved iOS email client.
3. They launched, and submitted a bug fix for review in the App Store.
4. Bug fix update to the app was rejected, because the app gives the user no way to pay for the subscription in the app, via an In-App Purchase, and instead is web driven.

Pause here for a moment, because there are two things to be outraged by: that the app was initially allowed, and then rejected; and that surely you can name other apps which require a subscription, but which you cannot subscribe in the app. Others are just mad this rule exists.

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Seeing kits posted online of what people are carrying as businesses reopen, and of what people are carrying to participate in protests, had me thinking about the gear I have carried over the years. The most helpful thing is typically not telling people what you carry, but rather why you chose to carry those things. And luckily for all of you, I have been thinking about this stuff for a long time. So let’s dive in, maybe it will spur you to carry something helpful in your life. (And don’t worry, I do have recommendations at the end.)

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When Benchmade launched this knife it was everywhere — the distinctive bright blue handle and silver blade. It was loud, and those buying it were even louder. Everyone loves it, the only complaint seemed to be that maybe the handle couldn’t survive (insert contrived extreme example not likely to occur). But the thing is, I resisted getting this knife because it was large, and despite people talking about the low weight, I was unconvinced I needed it.

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Simon Crompton writing for the style journal Financial Times:

The vogue for men’s bags has now hit full stride,” says Alessandro Sartori, creative director of menswear brand Berluti. “It has taken a decade to get here but bags are now an essential part of every menswear collection. Men carry them; we design them. They are everywhere.

Oh, hell to the yes.

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Note: These pants were sent to me at no charge for review.

One of the most popular items out there is to make performance denim — to take your standard blue jeans and tweak them somehow to make them better than denim. Ministry of Supply seems to have went for all of that, and then some with the Chroma denim. They claim: no color fade, ‘smart stretch’, and durable construction.

And, in my testing, I think they are on to something here.

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The new Ruck Plate carrier is sweet looking, I snagged one. The founder of GORUCK mentioned on Reddit that this is more of a conditioning tool for people and not really something to look at as a means for replacing the more expensive rucks. In other words, for most rucking activities a Ruck is better, but I am going to give this a go for my rucks.

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The Garmin Instinct Tactical is the first “smart” watch I like. Actually, I like it a lot. Because this isn’t really what you would expect of a smart watch, this is more like a modern incarnation of what G-SHOCK should be building. This is worth talking about.

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