Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Gear Guide 2018 For many travelers, a tent is not just a weekend retreat, it is home on the road for weeks if not months on end. For those on extended journeys, spanning all four seasons and on roads prone to destroy delicate gear, finding…
Category Archives: Overland Journal
The Cradle of Adventure
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Spring 2017. Kenya stretched out before us. We moved slowly and deliberately along a rogue track through the rugged and sparsely vegetated area near Sogwass Mountain in Northern Uganda. We were not convinced that this rarely used smugglers’ route was even passable, let alone legal…
“Today is a Good Day to Die”
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Fall 2007. After crossing the Rio Pico Mayo we entered the Chaco, the vast semi-desert area of northern Argentina. During the rainy season, the Chaco floods, and the clay soil makes travel nearly impossible. In the hot, dry season, the scrub forest sheds its leaves…
The Modern Explorer: Land Rover LR4 – Part III
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Winter 2014. I will be the first to admit that the introduction of a Land Rover Discovery with an independent suspension system sounded like the death knell to a brand I have come to love. Over the past few decades, each new model seemed to become increasingly…
The Arctic Challenge
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Winter 2016. Photography by Sinuhe Xavier The wind is always blowing on Alaska’s North Slope and on this particular day it was in rare form, buffeting the Tacoma and reducing visibility to a few meters. It was the middle of winter, the temperatures were well…
The Ultimate Overlander
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Summer 2015. One of the most hotly debated subjects around the campfire these days is what 4WD vehicle deserves the title of “Ultimate Overlander.” The conversation should not be limited to four-wheel drives sold in the United States, but to the best 4WD wagon platform…
A True Global Explorer from the Land Down Under: The EarthCruiser
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Gear Guide 2012. The rain was driving hard against the windscreen, the storm rocking the ferry to starboard, rotating it with the wind and current. The operator was yelling now, his voice barely audible against the squall as the loading ramp slammed into a sand…
Triumph Tiger 1200 XCA Review
Review of the All-New 1200 Tiger XCA for Overland Travel For 2018, Triumph has freshened their lineup to reduce weight and improve trail performance for both Tiger models, with the most significant capability changes coming to the 1200. The Tiger lineup has traditionally been a 60/40 offering with a bias toward upright touring. However, the…
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…
Heart of a Range Rover Stage II
Building a Range Rover Classic for reliable, economical expedition travel. Senior Tech Editor Graham Jackson continues the restoration of his childhood steed.
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…
Overland Routes | Big Bend National Park
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Summer 2016. They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and standing in the heart of Big Bend National Park you’d sure believe it. It’s a land of burning sunsets, soaring mesas, and enchanting vistas that sprawl toward the horizon until meeting softly with the deep blue…
Overland Routes | Northern Arizona Traverse
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Fall 2016. Picture Arizona in your mind; imagine traveling the back roads and observing its landscapes. What do you see? For many people, it’s a sprawling desert dotted with cacti—a place of desolation where sunbaked sands cover endless miles of countryside. But this state has a secret,…
The Traveler’s Tree House
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Gear Guide 2016. The mere mention of the word overlanding is often enough to evoke images of sunsets on the Serengeti, the silhouette of a truck marked for adventure by the outline of a roof top tent. Although roof sleeping is not commensurate with overlanding,…
The Overland Journal Air Compressor Test
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Gear Guide 2015. Air, the simple mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and a few other gases, is not only elemental to life, it is a fundamental requirement for a vehicle or moto-based backcountry trek. In addition to assisting our internal combustion engines in converting chemical energy into…
Field Tested: Zarges K470 Cases
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Summer 2016. My first experience with Zarges aluminum cases was during the Expeditions 7 crossing of Antarctica. We used them to store everything from tents and clothes to spare parts and oil. They were tossed in and out of the vehicles, used as step ladders, chairs, and…
Field Tested: Engel HD30 Soft-Sided Cooler
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Summer 2018. Just when we thought 12-volt refrigerators were all the rage, the cooler revolution began. First, high-quality rotomolded cooler boxes came to market boasting the ability to keep ice for a week. Next came soft-sided models with durable construction and everyday usability (think überlunchbox) and portability….
Tool of the Trade
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Spring 2018. Throughout the history of our publication, the Toyota Tacoma has remained the most popular vehicle among our readers, a reflection of the model’s reliability and accessibility. As travelers, we ask a lot from our 4WDs, expecting durability, capability, comfort, and capacity, all the while hoping…
Overland Journal’s Long Term Tacoma: Part 1
I’m not the type of person who feels the need to have every bell and whistle on the planet, nor do I believe that a higher price is necessarily indicative of higher quality (although Wal-Mart-cheap items are often exactly that, cheap crap). My Coleman stove is 30 years old, has been sandblasted and repainted, and…
Field Tested: Speedway 50-liter Hybrid
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Summer 2018. Perfecting the duffle bag has long been the quest of purveyors of outdoor equipment. It must not only protect our clothes and a medley of gear, but also be durable enough to survive the rigors of real-world travel. During the past few decades, we’ve tasked…