To our minds, investing in your long-term health by what you consume on the road is as crucial as opting to pour decent gas in the tank or utilizing the best engine oil one can afford. After all, you are what you eat and sometimes, it’s a challenge to achieve that when in foreign lands….
Category Archives: Gear
Field Tested: Helinox Chair Zero
With hobbies like backpacking, climbing, and paddleboarding, I find myself using a wide range of outdoor gear on off-road trips. Unfortunately, the longer the trip, the more difficult it is to squeeze all of that equipment in. Every square inch of space becomes crucial, which is why I ended up replacing my traditional camp chair…
The 2018 Northwest Overland Rally
The NW Overland Rally, held in Plain, Washington, brings in overlanding enthusiasts from all across the Pacific Northwest and parts of Southwestern Canada—and occasionally places much farther away. Celebrating its eighth year, the NW Overland Rally (also known as NWOR) has grown from a small gathering of adventure-seeking attendees to a mid-sized rally that just…
Shovels 101
Our resident archaeologist digs into the best shovels for overland vehicles.
Video of the Week: Decked
Have you ever watched that show How It’s Made? We tend to geek out over the intricacies and complexities that go into producing the products we love, so you could say we’re pretty big fans. That’s probably why this video on Decked got us excited. It starts at the beginning of the product’s life cycle…
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…
Life in a Go Fast Camper
I think in order to understand where we are going, it is best to know where we have been. With that in mind, I want to start by addressing a question I’ve been getting a lot lately, “Why the switch?” For those of you that don’t know, I had a Flippac for quite a while before getting…
Warn Elite Series Bumper for Jeep JL
There have been mountains of new products being developed for the Jeep JL lately, and last week, Warn Industries threw their hat into the ring with a new line of bumpers for the platform. They’re a part of their Elite Series, and each has been designed to match the JL’s modern styling cues while retaining…
First Annual Roverlander of the Year Winners
First Annual Roverlander of the Year Winners We here at Overland Journal and Expedition Portal love our canines. In fact, we’ve thought of making pup ownership a requirement for employment. Many of us have hiked, camped, and overlanded with our four-legged adventurers, so we were excited to read all of the stories and photos we…
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…
The New Lower Priced LP9 Sport
I’d say more than a few of us were excited when Baja Designs released the LP9. We fell in love with their modern looks, high output, ducted cooling, and of course that 200-degree beam spread, but then there was the price. At full retail, a set of two would cost over $1,200 USD, and that’s…
The Road Chose Me Volume 1: Two years and 40,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina
When I set out to drive my little Jeep Wrangler from Alaska to Argentina, I had no idea how much the journey would change my life. I had no idea that the people I would meet, the experiences I would have, and the lessons I would learn could have such a deep and lasting impact….
Ruffwear Products for Your Roverlander
By Ruby the Adventure Dog Hi, I am Ruby, and I love adventure. That scar by my left eye was from a tussle with a rattlesnake! Read to the end to find out more about our first annual Roverlander of the Year contest and win some cool swag for your pup! If you’re going to…
Gear Scout: Triple Aught Design Foundry
We live in a throwaway society. Most products are designed with a limited lifespan, or even for one-time use. Stores have found themselves in a race to the bottom, with products that keep getting cheaper, and customers who continue to demand lower prices. The solution, sadly, has been to throw quality out of the window…
Head to Head: Multi-tools
From the battlefield to the International Space Station, the pocketable toolbox has infinite uses.
The Best Seat in the House: Scheel-Mann Vario F XXL
We evaluate a lot of gear here at Expedition Portal and Overland Journal. Tents, trucks, bags, fridges, and recovery equipment are regularly used and reviewed by our team, and normally the write-ups are pretty straightforward. We cover their specifications, talk about our expectations, and determine how well the product ended up meeting them. But today…
Vagabond Outdoors Drifter Shell
The pop-top camper shell market has exploded with activity lately. It started with the release of the AT Overland habitat back in 2016 and then heated up with the Go Fast Camper (GFC) which hit the market earlier this year. Now a new contender has entered the ring, and it’s called the Drifter. The Drifter…
Field Tested: Big Agnes Big Joe Bags
As a writer, I try not to make broad assumptions or stereotypes about anything, but today I’m going to make an exception. Most overlanders are bag junkies. I’d reckon there are very few of us that don’t perk up at the sight of a cool new backpack or duffel, and the mere mention of purpose-built…
Field Tested: Generac iQ2000
Portable power gets smaller, lighter, and easier to use.
Field Tested: Front Runner Spare Tire Braai
I love so many aspects of camping, but one of my favorites has always been the campfire. There’s something so relaxing about sitting in the cool night while a warm flame crackles nearby, and it’s the perfect opportunity to share hopes, dreams, and laughs between friends. Of course, there is one thing that can make…