Join us for episode six of our educational series on Tires for Overlanding, where we review selecting various tires, driving and recovery, vehicle preparation, Tread Lightly, and more. For this sixth episode, we discuss the importance of Overland Vehicle Preparation, including the ABCs and other essential items to make overlanding safe and enjoyable. We also…
Minimalist Wallets :: Best of Breed
Good times—at least of the sort we’re after—come with a downside. The hard truth behind adventure is that you can’t safely peace out beyond the confines of cell service with nothing but a sandwich in one hand and your car keys in the other. For those of us desperate for even a brief escape from…
Tires for Overlanding Episode 5: Recovery Techniques
Join us for episode five of our educational series on Tires for Overlanding, where we review selecting various tires, driving and recovery, vehicle preparation, Tread Lightly, and more. For this fifth episode, we discuss the fundamentals of overlanding recovery techniques, including using traction boards, a vehicle-mounted winch, and conducting a vehicle-to-vehicle recovery using a kinetic…
2025 Grenadier Quartermaster :: Overland Test and Project Part 1
After 25,000 kilometers, we rolled up to the Gulf of Aden. Yemen was just over the horizon and the region as close to all-out war as it had been in a generation. I had driven from Cape Town to Djibouti, crossing the continent of Africa and testing the limits of the Grenadier wagon in the…
Crossing Continents :: Traversing the Cederberg Range to Cape Agulhas
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way. – Marcus Aurelius With a crack of lightning, the lodestone is magnetized, becoming one of the most unusual and useful stones on earth, melding magnetic…
Father’s Day Podcast :: Interviewing Larry Brady
On this Father’s Day, we celebrate all of the dads. We are grateful to those with us and honor those who were gone too soon. Dads have an important job, providing protection, love, support, training, and much more. It is a hard job, and it is supposed to be, as honoring those responsibilities helps…
Tires for Overlanding Episode 4: Driving in Sand and the Dunes
Join us for episode four of our educational series on Tires for Overlanding, where we review selecting various tires, driving and recovery, vehicle preparation, Tread Lightly, and more. For this fourth episode, we discuss the fundamentals of driving in sand and the dunes, including tire pressures, leeward and windward side of the dunes, tire selection,…
Tires for Overlanding Episode 3: Airing Down for Backcountry Travel
Join us for episode three of our new educational series on Tires for Overlanding, where we review selecting various tires, driving and recovery, vehicle preparation, Tread Lightly, and more. For this third episode, we discuss the fundamentals of airing down tires for overlanding, including deformation, contact patch, mechanical keying, flotation, and more. We also discuss…
Scout Campers Launches New Lightweight Pop-up
Each day, the overland industry grows in unexpected ways. And for the 3rd of June, Adventure Manufacturing’s Scout Campers announces their new Pop-up. It is no coincidence that the other significant event for the 3rd of June was when Martin Behaim released the first extant globe, the Erdapfel, to the world in 1492. The new…
Stage 1: Project Jeep Wrangler 4Xe for Overland Fun
Each year, we identify one significant international project vehicle and one more modest undertaking. For 2023, it was the Grenadier for crossing Africa and a new Jeep Wrangler 4xe overland project for North America. For this new project, we wanted to try a list of new products and approaches that had not crossed our keyboards….
Tires for Overlanding Episode 2: All-Terrain Tires
Join us for episode two of our new educational series on Tires for Overlanding, where we review selecting various tires, driving and recovery, vehicle preparation, Tread Lightly, and more. For this second episode, we discuss the fundamentals of all-terrain tires for overlanding, including construction, lug design, and tread features for sand, rock, ice, snow, and…
Jeep Beach 2024
Each year, tens of thousands of Jeep enthusiasts descend on Daytona Beach, Florida for the annual (2024) Jeep Beach event. This is considered one of the largest Jeep gatherings in the world, an evolution over the past 21 years to its current form. The event includes trail rides, beach drives, training, obstacle courses, mud bogs,…
Tires for Overlanding Episode 1: Mud Tires
Join us for our new educational series on Tires for Overlanding, where we review selecting various tires, driving and recovery, vehicle preparation, Tread Lightly, and more. For this first episode, we discuss the fundamentals of mud tires for overlanding, including construction, lug design, and basic driving techniques. Presented by Hankook Dynapro Tire How to Select…
The Principles of Overlanding :: Insights on Exploring the World by Vehicle
Lessons are often learned the hard way, which, in my case, includes screwing up, getting stuck, carjacked, impounded, detained, delayed, and generally mired in the throes of adventure. Even the worst scenarios had a silver lining (maybe not the carjacking) as my awareness grew, and I adjusted my traveling operating system. During my travels, I…
Can the Hummer SUV Overland the Toughest Terrain?
Moab has been the testing and playground of capable 4WDs for decades, equal to the Rubicon trail for both range of difficulty and notoriety. The sandstone slickrock of the Colorado Plateau has also become a required milestone for manufacturers, with engineers and test mules descending on the region for validation and tuning programs. All of…
The reMarkable II and Light Phone II for Distraction-free Travel
Technology can be a blessing and a curse, striking a balance between being glued to our screens and Luddite dreams of a cabin in the woods with no electronics. The reality is that our always-on society has yielded a step function in efficiency, communication, and accessibility. However, it has also ushered in a new level…
Does the New Land Cruiser 250 Have What it Takes to Overland?
As more overland details of the new Land Cruiser 250 emerge, we are even more excited by the prospect of the model. It is clear that Toyota is taking performance seriously, but it is also good to dig into their “all in on overlanding” mantra these past few years. Let’s deep dive into the recently…
Celebrating 40 Years of Toyota 4Runner
The first vehicle I ever lusted after was a 4Runner. I was around 12 years old and on the way to the Colorado River in the back of a red 4Runner, riding in the back seat through the heat of the desert. The sharpest memory was of the gauge cluster on the dash, complete with…
Ultra Overlanders: The Era of Grand Tour Overlanding is Here
Travel is supposed to be fun, and everyone has their interpretation of a joyful adventure. In the past decade, vehicle manufacturers have begun blurring the lines between performance, luxury, grand touring, and overlanding with a new crop of ultra overlanders. Why test these extreme vehicles at all? The strongest impetus is the overwhelming popularity of…
Testing the Ducati DesertX Rally in Morocco
Entering the Moroccan souk is a firehose to the senses, the smell of cinnamon, cumin, and harissa filling the air, and wood smoke and scooter exhaust burning the eyes. The sounds of Arabic, interrupted by banging steel and honking horns, make the entire scene a wonder. I had arrived in Marrakech early to spend time…