Pickup owners are drawn to their vehicles by the promise of utility and large cargo-hauling capacities, but keeping items organized and within reach has never been very straightforward. Many pickup owners, myself included, have resorted to various bags, cases, totes, and home-built wooden boxes to keep things tidy, secure, and accessible. When Decked entered the…
Featured Vehicle: The Patriot Campers Megatourer 6×6
When Patriot Camper’s Justin Montesalvo set out to build his latest overlander, it wasn’t just an exercise in excess, it was an unabashed attempt to create the most formidable 4×4 touring platform imaginable. Judging by the results, it took a lot more than just imagination. Packed with more technical features than any custom build we’ve…
The Coolest Cooler: Otter Box’s New Venture 45
As a long-time fan of Otter Box phone and pad cases, I was a little surprised to see the Colorado-based company enter the seemingly saturated cooler market. That said, I knew they had the resources and design acumen needed to create a winner capable of standing above the competition. After receiving an early sample of…
Cummins Now Taking Orders for their R2.8 Turbo Diesel Crate Motor
Over the last few years we’ve seen a number of creative attempts to convert various vehicles with diesel engines. From Jeep Wranglers fitted with VW power plants to trucks rolling on marine diesels designed to power electrical generators, we’ve seen it all. The most promising was announced last year with the introduction of the Cummins…
Field Tested: Rocky Mounts BackStage Swing-Out Hitch Rack
Hitch-mounted bike rack systems with integrated swing-out pivots are not new, but most of them up to this point have been of the less desirable hang-and-dangle style with the bikes draped over two rack arms. Most riders, myself included, much prefer the tray style racks which clamp only to the front wheel and accommodate a…
Jim Ratcliffe and Why You Might Want to Know His Name
When Land Rover ended production of the Defender, the assembly line had not yet come full stop before an eccentric billionaire began making claims he was going to single-handedly bring the vehicle back to life. The uber-rich are prone to such musings, but Jim Ratcliffe is not your garden variety rich guy, he’s a genuine…
The Kawasaki KLX250 Returns for 2018
It was just a few years ago when bigger was better and the hulking 1200cc adventure motorcycle reigned supreme. Not to say the big bike’s day is done, but the wee machine is certainly making a comeback. In the time since Kawasaki dropped their KLX250 from the lineup 3 years ago, a number of diminutive…
Field Tested: Yeti Panga 50-Liter Duffel
When it comes to product marketing, talk is cheap which is why I respect brands like Yeti. They let their products speak for themselves. If it could talk, their new Panga 50 waterproof duffel would be a loud-mouth braggart. I would argue it is the toughest and most weather-thwarting duffel ever made. If you have…
2017 Fall Boot and Shoe Roundup
The contemporary overlander is not easily defined, nor are their individual gear needs. While some stay sequestered within their vehicles, many enjoy a mix of pursuits beyond the driver’s seat. For years, overlanders only wore heavy-duty leather boots, a trend I always thought was a little strange. Today’s traveler is still keen to wear well-made…
Automotive News: September 2017 Edition
This is the time of year in the automotive world when we start to see hopeful teases become official announcements and anticipated concepts reduced to crowd-groaning flubs. September is, of course, the launch of the auto-show season with the Frankfurt event in Germany the belle of the ball. Vehicles worthy of the public’s attention don’t…
Bikepacking: Maintenance Tips for a Fuss-free Trip
When bikepacking started to gain momentum roughly 10 years ago, concerns over bike reliability were not just overstated, they were wildly overblown. The reality is, most bikepacking trips clock in at well under 500 miles—if not fewer than 200. If your bike can’t survive a week of use without catastrophic failure, you need to rethink…
Destinations: Nebraska. Yes, Nebraska.
I consider myself an extremely lucky traveler, having been granted amazing opportunities to visit far-flung corners of the globe. My exploits have given me a unique perspective and it seems the further I go, the more parallels and comparisons I draw to places closer to home. I can’t help but walk amidst the Andes and…
Fiat-Chrysler to Produce 2018 Model Year Jeep JK
As the world holds its collective breath for the release of the latest generation Jeep Wrangler, fans of the current JK will get another year added to the timeline. In an announcement made last week, Fiat-Chrysler plans to carry the JK forward for 2018, although it wasn’t made clear if that will translate to a…
Guided Overlanding: Big Adventure with Little Risk
In my early 20s I snagged an awesome gig as a bicycle tour guide in the wine regions of France. That led to managing other companies, including one of the largest adventure travel outfits in Alaska. As a result I always considered myself a leader—never a follower. Not to say I looked down on paying…
Head to Head: Motocycle vs. Truck Travel, Which is Best?
Hard as it is to believe, the first wheeled circumnavigation of the globe occurred in 1886 when Thomas Henry Stevens rode his penny farthing bicycle from San Francisco to Yokohama, Japan. It wasn’t for many years later, in 1908 as part of the New York to Paris Race, when George Schuster became the first man…
Field Tested: Le Chameau Condor LCX Boots
In the mid-1990s, while living in France, I had a local friend named Georges. Twice my age, he spent his days toiling in the vineyards near my home. Every now and then, I’d volunteer to help him trim vines, burn brush, or some days we’d just sit around and chat. The one thing I remember…
Destinations: Amazonas, Peru
As I moved through the mist and fog, rocks carved and stacked with impeccable precision began to reveal themselves in the distance. I rounded a dense thicket of trees and stretched out before me was a massive wall of stone, its upper reaches snagging the low clouds overhead. The high elevation slowed my pace as…
Adventure Interview: Heather and Dave of Riding Full Circle
How many times have you wished you could sell everything that wasn’t bolted down, or put it all in storage, and hit the open road? For most people those daydreams are just that—dreams. There are those with just that little bit of extra courage who take it to the next level and push beyond the…
Field Tested: Filson Duffle Pack
Like all good things, Filson products do not come cheaply. Don’t read that to suggest they are a poor value. Far from it, all of their bags are capable of serving several generations of users, making even their most expensive items a flat-out bargain—but the entry point can be too steep for some. To open…
Adventure Reads: The Disappearances, Scott Thybony
Last fall I was invited to join a friend on a bikepacking trip in Southern Utah along a stretch of high desert I knew well—or so I thought. It turns out just driving by a place does little to tell of its secrets. Like many of you, I have driven through Mexican Hat, Utah, dozens…