Cooking meals on the road is often defined by a “keep it simple” attitude. We gravitate toward dishes easily prepared on a camp stove like fajitas, tacos, brats, grilled meats, and vegetables, but sometimes we find ourselves craving more. That’s where the Omnia comes in. This lightweight stove-top oven has brought a variety of meals…
The Overland Photographer’s Camera Kit
Photography by Bruce Dorn and Stephanie Worstein You often hear “It’s the artist, not the tool,” that really matters. While that may be true in some cases, things definitely get more complicated when we’re talking about photographers and their choice of camera equipment. At its foundation, photography is both an art and a mechanical craft,…
Why COBB Might Be The Best Overland Grill
Food is a universal language shared around the world. It’s a way to experience each other’s cultures, broaden one another’s horizons, and break down barriers between strangers, so it should come as no surprise that cooking and overlanding go together like chimichurri and steak. Of course, preparing that steak on a camp stove would be…
Reviewed: LifeSaver Jerrycan Water Purifier
Every so often, we find a product that wildly exceeds our expectations. This is the case with the LifeSaver 18.5 liter water purifying jerrycan, a robust and easy to use solution for removing 99.9% of protozoa, 99.99% of viruses, and 99.9999% of bacteria from water, while also improving turbidity from silted sources like glacial rivers…
Reviewed: Kinsmen Hardware 270 Awning
I must’ve used my traditional-style car awning only a handful of times over the year or so that I owned it, mostly because of the difficulty it took to set it up. Whenever I wanted to use my awning while I was by myself, it was almost always a quick “Nope” as I laughed at…
Factor 55 Releases New Recovery Straps and Soft Shackles
Overland News :: Factor 55 Press Release (unedited as supplied by the manufacturer) Soft Shackles- The Factor 55 10 inch Standard Duty Soft Shackles are Made in the USA under the uncompromising Factor 55 quality standards. Like all Factor 55 rigging products, these shackles have been lab and field tested to assure consistent repeatable minimum…
First Look: DMOS Delta Shovel
There are some things overlanders shouldn’t leave home without: a jack, spare tire, lug wrench, and medical kit, for example. But out of all the tools you should be carrying, the shovel seems to receive the least consideration despite being one of the most used. That’s something DMOS set out to change with their line…
Reviewed: Nemo Roamer Sleeping Pad
It’s amazing just how much of overlanding revolves around sleep. People are willing to spend thousands of dollars on rooftop tents, install campers, and even convert the interiors of their vehicles for a good night’s rest, but who can blame them? When you’re fatigued your patience dwindles, enthusiasm burns low, and you wind up finding…
Reviewed: Yokohama’s Geolandar X-AT Tire
I’ve been using Yokohama Tire’s on my vehicles for over three years now, and have run both the Geolandar G015 A/T and Geolandar G003 M/T tire. I loved the performance of both tires but always wished for something between the less aggressive G015 A/T and knobby M/T. For me, the perfect tire is one that…
Field Tested: Sea To Summit Comfort Deluxe S.I. Sleeping Pad
It’s surprising how persistent our bad associations with air mattresses are. I can tell someone I’ve been living on the road for a year and a half, sleeping in my truck during rain and snow and they won’t even bat an eye. But add in that I’ve slept on an inflatable pad for most of…
Helinox Table Review
In the eternal march to find the gear that best fits our travel style and tastes, a table is a simultaneously easy and complicated piece of equipment. Size is one of the biggest limiting factors when deciding on how we will keep our plates, notebooks, stoves, and all other manner of gear from crashing to…
Made in the Shade – Overland Journal’s 270 Awning Head To Head Test
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Summer 2019. As I tightened the last bolt of the awning’s mounting bracket, I smiled, envisioning how the scene would unfold. Soon I would be sitting on some remote sandy beach, the waves lapping on the shore while I sipped a cold drink beneath the unfurled…
Overland News :: Warn Synthetic Rope and Soft Shackles
Over the past decade, significant improvements in winching component safety has become available to the overland traveler, mostly as a result of synthetic ropes and soft shackles. The primary advantage of these products is to reduce the total mass of the winching components under load, a soft shackle weighing a fraction of a steel screw…
The Newest Overland Gear At Outdoor Retailer 2019
If you caught Scott Brady’s recent article, you’d know that overlanding is officially in at Outdoor Retailer. It’s hip, it’s hot, and it was happening across every corner of the show. From Series Land Rovers to Earth Cruisers, vehicles of every kind were being embraced by brands to showcase their products in a new and…
Outdoor Retailer Show Adopts Overlanding
Expedition Portal and Overland Journal first attended the Outdoor Retailer show in 2006, over 13 years ago. Initially, we were met with reserved curiosity, the outdoor industry unsure about its relationship with vehicle-based adventuring. However, in the subsequent years, we have received more and more attention and adoption from the community, and the outdoor industry…
The Do’s and Don’ts of Winching
There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to winching. What should you do and what is considered best practice? What are the don’ts or things that can get you into trouble? I sat down with Warn Industries’ Strategic Communications Manager Andy Lilienthal, also my husband, to go over the basics of winching. Editor’s…
How The Vanlife App Could Change Life on The Road Forever
The open road, a tank full of fuel, and no deadline for a return home; that’s a dream many travelers share. We imagine ourselves roaming the world from the crests of cascading sand dunes to the shores of remote mountain lakes, fulfilled by the vast riches our Earth has to offer and the memories we’re…
Overland News :: ArchiTec Endeavour Kickstarter
As part of our Overland News series, we often feature products that are being released through programs like Kickstarter. These services help smaller companies take more managed risks with new ideas, and I am often inspired by the concepts that make it to market. One of those companies is ArchiTec, a brand that focuses on…
Outpost :: Los Angeles
Among the sea of events that dot the adventure travel landscape, there are few that are truly unique and worthwhile attending. One of those events is the Outpost series, which is held in locations like the redwoods of Northern California, and now in downtown Los Angeles. This was the first year of the LA event,…
Balancing Act: 2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
Photography by Sarah and Chris Ramm While the Cherokee XJ is now regarded as an incredibly capable off-road vehicle, it wasn’t always that way. When the XJ first hit the markets in 1984, it was scoffed at for tarnishing the family name. People said things like, “Square headlights?” “That isn’t a real Jeep! It is…