Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Gear 2023 Issue. Camped beside a road in Ivory Coast, I filtered soupy rainwater from an old plastic barrel. I trusted my system but had to wonder—was the hard-working filter up to the task of removing chemicals, bacteria, and viruses? Was I hydrating my family with…
Touratech-USA Presents: Riding Solo AZ to BC
Touratech-USA Announces a New Sterling Noren Film Grab some popcorn, get comfortable, and enjoy the ride. Sterling Noren is about to take you to Canada as no one else has. The noted filmmaker and adventure traveler has teamed with Touratech-USA on another off-pavement motorcycle travel film. Riding Solo AZ to BC follows the 2020 release…
A Place in the Sun :: Comparing Eight Solar Panels for Overlanding
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Gear 2023 Issue. Long-term overland travel requires self-sustained living, and part of that living demands electricity. At the very least, most travelers are using those charged particles to power 12-volt fridges and LED camp lights. More often than not, overlanders are now including induction cooktops, freezers,…
Overland Journal Put Synthetic Rope Winches to the Test. Here are the Results.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Gear 2023 Issue. The year 2009 was a memorable year for many reasons: US Airways Flight 1549 hit a large flock of geese shortly after takeoff and successfully landed in the Hudson River, the swine flu ravaged the world, and Overland Journal printed their 12-volt winch…
Lost and Found in Alaska
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Gear 2023 Issue. The road has been our home for the last six years. During that time, we’ve relished getting to know the intimate details of North America through its winding dirt roads and small towns. Like any travelers, we have goals and bucket list…
The Snowball Effect :: The Progression of Over-the-Snow Transportation
Lead photograph courtesy of Tucker Sno-Cat Archives. Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Winter 2022 Issue. After decades of deliberation, I bought a snowcat a couple of years ago—a Kristi, manufactured in Denver about 1963. Powered by a 36-horsepower VW air-cooled motor, it had sat idle outdoors for over a decade. Perhaps the…
Overland Medicine: Over-the-Counter Field Pharmacy
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Winter 2022 Issue. Travel by four-wheel-drive vehicle affords rapid access to the middle of nowhere, which is a potential mecca of peace and tranquility until said vehicle breaks down, or its jockey becomes ill. As an emergency and wilderness medicine physician, I’ve been trained to identify…
Overland Driving 101
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Winter 2022 Issue. One of the most misunderstood aspects of overlanding is how it differs from off-roading in general. While the two are related, they are far from the same discipline of the genre. This misconception is often seen in the grocery store parking lot when…
Take a Load Off :: Overland Journal Editors Test Six Leading Overland Bed Racks
By Matt Swartz and Scott Brady Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Winter 2022 Issue. Few vehicles offer the overland traveler versatility, utility, and flexibility like a pickup truck. But that doesn’t mean it’s the perfect platform. Pickup trucks are kind of like a blank canvas, offering loads of potential in the…
Georgia, the Road Leads Back to You
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Winter 2022 Issue. Georgia—not the American state Ray Charles and Martin Luther King hailed from, but the little-known country located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe—is a mountainous place of wild and astonishing beauty. Monasteries, watchtowers, and fortresses dating to the Middle Ages stand…
Die Raat vir Elke Kwaal: A CJ-3B Jeep Sluks its Way Through Botswana
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Winter 2022 Issue. At a crossing in the wild country of the Limpopo River may be found Gatvanolfant, the elephants’ hole. Here is also Oerwoud Store with the Wiltshire, a pub established in past times by a British Army unit that once guarded the drift…
Favorite Overland Journal Podcast Episodes of 2022
Whether folks were driving, pumping iron at the gym, scrubbing stubborn bathroom tiles, or taking Fido for a walk, an estimated 120 million listeners tuned in to an endless supply of podcasts in 2021. This figure will undoubtedly rise by the end of 2022 as podcast popularity continues to grow and the holiday season wraps…
Spot X 2-way Satellite Messenger
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Winter 2022 Issue. I frequent locations that don’t have cell service, where I’ve come to appreciate two-way satellite communication devices. And while earlier personal locator beacons simply alerted SAR, modern two-way messengers like the Spot X do that and a lot more, like allowing you…
2022 Overland Holiday Gift Guide :: 20 Gifts OVER $100 For Your Favorite Adventurer
Photo courtesy of Featured Friends With December well underway, the countdown to holiday gift gifting season has officially begun. Out of fresh ideas for 2022? We test a lot of gear throughout the year as Expedition Portal editors and have carefully curated this over $100 list of gifts for the adventurer in your life. Whether…
2022 Overland Holiday Gift Guide :: 20 Gifts UNDER $100
With the holiday season upon us, the quest for the perfect gifts for family, friends, and adventurers has officially begun. Featuring cookbooks and knives, whiskey, shot glasses, and blankets, we hope this under $100 holiday gift guide not only sparks joy but offers suggestions to delight even the hardest to please. Whether you’re shopping for…
Feature Vehicle :: Projeto Mundo Cão’s 2000 Land Rover Defender 110
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Fall 2022 Issue. A flash of insight can be triggered by nearly anything. A conversation with a stranger, a blog post, photograph, or film comes to mind. But sometimes, inspiration strikes when you least expect it. For Brazilian overlanders Sergio Medeiros and Eleni Alvejan, an object…
Modern Explorer :: Baptiste Gissinger
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Fall 2022 Issue. Baptiste Gissinger tells me he grew up on a farm in France, but I’m not so sure. I (not so) secretly think he’s a Viking sent back from Valhalla to teach us overlanders a thing or two. At 15 years old, I spent…
Overland Routes: The Trail of Kings
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Fall 2022 Issue. Arizona may be known for saguaro cactus, but it is also 26 percent timberland, and Humphreys Peak rises 12,633 feet into the southwest skyline. From the precipitous enclave of Jerome, and the start of this Overland Route, Humphreys Peak looms in the distance….
Shower Power: His and Hers Toiletry Bags and Accessories
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Fall 2022 Issue. Whether we’re living out of our vehicle, checking into an Airbnb, staying with friends, working on assignment, or are stationed at the Overland Journal headquarters, we move around a lot, so a multi-functional toiletry kit that can do anything and everything is essential….
Pushkarini and Me: Risky Tracks and Wrong Turns in the Himalayas
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Fall 2022 Issue. I sat on my Bullet at the bottom of the steep slope, eyeing out a potential route. Huge rocks dotted both wheel spoors, and the deep layer of fine, flour-like dust was surely doing a good job of hiding holes beneath it. The…