Okay, let’s be honest. Just because I’ve been driving four-wheel drive vehicles for 50 years and just because I’ve covered most of the major four-wheel-drive events in the United States (including numerous trips over the Rubicon Trail, the Jeepers Jamboree, All 4-Fun, Sierra Trek, and Moab’s Easter Jeep Safari), I am not a “four-wheeler.” Getting…
Overland News of the Week
Opinel Releases New Grilling Set Fabricated in France, this grill set includes a stainless steel folding knife, a spatula insert, and extra-large tongs with a stonewashed finish. The No. 12B folding knife features a beechwood handle from sustainably managed French forests and is equipped with a bottle opener at the end, while the spatula is…
Top Gear Overland Expo West 2024
With every year that passes and the overland lifestyle grows in popularity, it becomes increasingly challenging to find innovative products that are practical and worthy of investment. A few years ago, we proudly discovered the Poolahoop, which we initially mocked and later praised. Was the Poolahoop the zenith of modern American overland innovation? No, it was not. Instead of…
Overland News of the Week
Storyteller Overland Acquires Taxa Outdoors In this week’s overland news, adventure lifestyle and adventure van manufacturer Storyteller Overland has acquired camping habitat and overlanding utility trailer brand Taxa Outdoors. Entrepreneur and former Global Brand President for Harley-Davidson Neil Grimmer will serve as the chief strategy officer of Storyteller Overland and CEO at Taxa. “With the…
Overland Events and Rallies You Don’t Want to Miss This Spring
Lead photo courtesy of Weird Wild West SOUTHWEST USA Adventure Van Expo When: April 13-24, 2024 Where: Scottsdale, Arizona The Adventure Van Expo series returns for 2024 with a packed schedule of events, including the first of the season in Scottsdale, Arizona. Lively music, food trucks, vendors, and camping converge in this all-ages celebration of…
KC HiLites Fog, Bumper, and Area Lights :: Long-Term Review
Essential Applications One of the Golden Rules of Overlanding, in the top five at least, is “Do Not Drive At Night.” We have learned this lesson the hard way, and it is one of the reasons that expansive and intricate auxiliary lighting has not been a priority for us when outfitting our vehicles. That does…
Practical Overland Knives :: Buyers Guide
It’s 1982, and I have just walked out of the movie theater after watching Rambo First Blood. While the film itself had me pumped to get pumped and wear a headband, the longest lingering impression was of that knife. You know, the one for hunting. A few years later, Crocodile Dundee graced our screens, and…
The Overlanding Couples’ Valentine’s Day Gift Guide
Husband and wife team Graeme and Luisa Bell have put their heads together to come up with a few Valentine’s gifts for all you lovers out there. As a couple who have been together for close to a squillion years, we do not celebrate Valentine’s Day with roses, expensive meals, and lacy underpants. Instead, as…
Overland News of the Week
Overland Home Launches Overland International’s co-owner and designer Stephanie Brady has launched a new business called Overland Home. Overland Home aims to provide beautiful, unique, and well-designed products from artisans around the globe with a focus on natural materials and time-honored techniques. All artisans sourced from are paid fair wages, which means when you purchase…
25 Holiday Gifts for the Overlander in Your Life
Presented by Küat Racks Have you heard a Mariah Carey song blasting over the speakers at your local grocery store yet? If so, it’s probably time to start thinking about the quickly-approaching holiday gift giving season. From ADV riders to bikepackers, vehicle aficionados, and tent campers, there’s something for everyone in this Expedition Portal gift…
Gear of the Year
What a year 2023 has turned out to be! My wife, Luisa, and I kicked it off by camping on a secluded beach in Baja, then traveling to the Arctic Ocean in winter before collecting our Land Rover Defender from the port in Canada, driving down through the US to central Mexico during a heat…
25 Black Friday Gifts for the Overlander in Your Life
Presented by Nitto Tire Now that Halloween ghosts have been replaced by twinkling reds, greens, and golds, it’s time to start thinking about the fast-approaching holiday season. Luckily, the Expedition Portal team has been busy amalgamating our favorite gear picks just in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While Associate Editor Steve Edwards has…
Top SEMA Products According to One of Our Bosses
Brian McVickers is the Overland International CBDO (Chief Business Development Officer), partner, contributor, highly experienced overlander, and one of the most genuine guys you will ever meet (brownie points, please, boss!). Brian took to the fields of hard carpet at the SEMA event held in Las Vegas last week and returned with sore feet and…
SEMA Best New Products Awards Round-Up
The world-famous annual SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) showcases all things auto-related. SEMA has revealed the winners of its prestigious Best New Products Awards during the 2023 SEMA Show. These awards celebrate the most innovative and forward-thinking automotive aftermarket products that will become available in 2023. These products are evaluated across 18 award categories, with…
Benchmade Mini Bugout CF-Elite :: Field Tested
I’ve never been a “knife guy”. Never mind everyday carry, I barely ever carry at all. With pockets jammed full of keys, wallet, pens, notebook, and phone, who has space to port around one more item? However, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been caught out on more than one occasion when I…
Rockworx Introduces Innovative Tow Hitch Step/MultiTool
One tool to rule them all? As minimalist overlanders, we are always attracted to gear that is not only compact but also serves many purposes. It seems that it has all been done before, but every once in a while, a product comes along that is quite unique; the Rockworkx Step/Multi-Tool is one of those…
Overland News of the Week
Barbara Toy’s In Search of Sheba Returns to Print with Introduction by Lois Pryce Barbara Toy, famous for her solo overland travels by Land Rover in North Africa, Arabia, and beyond, set off in 1959 to drive from Libya to Ethiopia. The result: her travel memoir, In Search of Sheba. Thanks to the persistence and…
Gear Round Up Overland Expo PNW 2023
There are three main reasons to visit any of the Overland Expos including the PNW and other nationally, and those are (in order) the people, the vehicles, and the gear. While the people and the vehicles are generally easy to spot, even if some do insist on being clad in camouflage, finding the newest, best…
Long-Term Review :: Decked x BoxoUSA Off-Road Tool Bag with Tool Roll
When I trundled up to the Hans Flat Ranger Station in Canyonlands National Park’s Maze district in my 1992 Land Rover Defender, I fully admit to feeling nervous. I was, as Edward Abbey puts it in Desert Solitaire, going “under the rim” for the first time—and alone. In a 30-year-old Land Rover. The Maze district…
Overland News of the Week
Gerber Gear Launches More Than Ready Camp Essentials As part of its More Than Ready campaign, Gerber Gear has released a wide range of multi-tools, knives, axes, and other camp essentials for 2023. Lightweight items like the Stake Out and Armbar Scout multi-tools feature a plain edge blade, bottle opener, and scissors in a compact…