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,…
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…
Garmin’s Overlander GPS Can Replace All of Your Off-Road Apps
These days it seems like there’s nothing a smart phone can’t do. From listening to music and taking pictures, to answering emails and browsing the internet, they’ve become integrated into nearly every aspect of our daily lives. It’s no wonder why most of us have ditched the old GPS units for an array of navigation…
Lightforce Genesis LED Driving Lights
Australia’s Lightforce has long been known as one of the kings in auxiliary vehicular lighting. They offer up superior LED driving lights, and their round 140W LED Genesis 8.3-inch diameter model is no exception. Our 4×4 needed secondary lights for dedicated off-road use. We’re constantly traversing uneven terrain at night (or in thick forests) and…
Field Tested: Lithium444 Power Pack by Flexopower
At events like Overland Expo, you can’t even throw your favorite collapsible spork without hitting at least one new portable power pack dealer. To be special in this market, you can’t just be good; you have to excel. When I was asked to review the new Flexopower Lithium444 I wasn’t all that excited until Chris…
The Modern Campaign Camp
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Fall 2017. In the ever-expanding lexicon of the backcountry traveler, a new word has emerged which, depending on your personal perspective, can register as a compliment or a pejorative. That term, glamping, is a clever portmanteau melding the word glamorous with camping. It is in…
My Favorite Free Travel Apps
I have been living on the road for just over a year now, and one of the more common questions I receive is What are the best apps for travel and overlanding? As you can imagine, this is a tough question to answer. There are so many useful applications out there these days that I…
2018 Holiday Gift Guide $300+
It’s hard to believe that December is already halfway gone, meaning there is precious little time left before the holidays. Of course, by this time you’ve probably got most of your gifts for friends and family sorted out, but if you haven’t, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with two lists of great outdoor ideas….
Last Minute Holiday Gifts For Your Overlander
You’re sitting in your office, counting down the days until the holiday break when all of a sudden it hits you, you’re almost out of time for gifts! Frantically, you try to figure out what to buy. Well, fret not, as we have two giant lists of last-minute products for the outdoor enthusiast in your…
Field Tested: Thermacell Radius and Scout Mosquito Repellent
Whether or not you’d use the word sweet to describe me is still in question, but there is no arguing that there is something about my blood that is more enticing to insects like mosquitoes. It seems like I come home from camping with a dozen bites for every one or two that my friends…
Gear Scout: Brake Light Antenna Mount
We’re always fans of simple products developed with a little ingenuity, especially when they solve rather annoying problems. Case in point, this flush mount antenna bracket for your rear brake light. It was originally designed by Neal Technologies for the new Ford trucks, as the magnetic mounts wouldn’t stick to their aluminum body panels, and drilling…
Field Tested: WeBoost Drive 4G-X
The Ford’s diesel whistled a sweet tune as I cruised across a remote section of the Southern California landscape. I watched as the shaggy hides of Joshua trees flitted by, while swirling clouds of dust rolled behind me, the road disappearing beneath their form. I took a deep breath and relaxed back into my seat….
Overland Skills: Make Power or Store Power, Which is Best for You?
If you follow Expedition Portal with any regularity, you know we cover the topic of power management quite often. The business of watts and amps has become inextricably intertwined with the pursuit of overland travel. Even when we’re roughing it, we can’t seem to live without our electronic devices. Over the last many years the…
The New and Cool Overland Products of Outdoor Retailer 2018
We’re here in Denver Colorado for the 2018 Outdoor Retailer summer show, and we’re happy to report that there is a flood of new products being unveiled for your next overland adventure! That’s right gear lovers, rejoice, for there are tents, bags, chairs, tables, lights, vans, and four-wheel drives for you to soak in at…
Gear Scout: Luci Lights
We’ve all seen them. Those little solar grids gracing the front dash of a four-wheel drive, van, or camper. It is not just a symbol of “I get out a lot” but one of the most versatile, tough, and useful lights currently on the market. I’m talking of course, about Luci Lights. MPOWERD Inc. created…
Field Tested: Kalipak 401
Like it or not, we live in a digital age. Nearly everything we use requires power, and that need for electricity doesn’t end when we head out into the backcountry. Many of us like to run GPS on our phones or iPads, take photos of our adventures with a camera, or might even need to…
Field Tested: Weego JS12 Jump Starter
We’ve all been there, turn the key and a faint click click click is heard from the engine bay, the result of a flat battery. If you are fortunate enough to be parked at the mall or with friends, you are golden. But if it happens while traveling alone in the backcountry, you will pat…
Field Tested: Midland PPG100 Portable Power Station
If you read my most recent skills piece on the nuances of power management for overland travel, you know I was a bit dismissive of solar. This is not to say it lacks usefulness, but for most people the tools used to store power are more convenient. Solar can be slow, require constant alignment of…
Adventure Photographer: The GNARBOX Backup Drive and Editor
Like many travel photographers, I often accrue so much data while on location I need to back it up in the event I lose a camera or card. On longer trips, I also like to share my image assets in real-time, requiring modest editing capabilities. In the last few years, I’ve patched together a few…
Did Google’s Pixel Buds just break the language barrier?
The written and spoken word have been shaping our lives since the dawn of mankind. They’ve built and defined societies, led to a greater understanding of the world around us, and helped to bridge the gap between nations, but they’ve also been a barrier. Even simple differences in dialects can lead to difficulties in communication,…