A while ago, we declared that Opinel knives are art. We stand by that declaration and, as if to prove us right, Opinel has launched a new, innovative multi-purpose range which has us drooling and dreaming of a long hike and a campfire feast. Multi-purpose gear is the outdoor explorer’s holy grail; we love a product…
Want to Write for Expedition Portal and Overland Journal? Here’s How to Submit the Perfect Pitch.
Photography by Jack Mac By the time the most recent issue of your favorite magazine graces the newsstands or appears in the post, its pages were already well-imagined, copyedited, laid out, and finalized many months in advance. If we board our time machine, traveling to a time well before the issue was put together, we…
Telemedicine: Health Care Options Continue to Expand for Overlanders
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Summer 2022 Issue. Technology has advanced considerably over the past couple of decades, and services once out of reach while traveling have become readily available. This is especially true in the wake of Covid-19, as safeguards brought on by the pandemic have allowed expanded insurance coverage…
Join onX OffRoad For a 101 Live Tutorial: Master the App
On Aug 4, 2022 06:00 PM in Mountain Time (US and Canada) onX OffRoad crew members will walk clients through how to use each of the onX OffRoad app’s features and offer tips to optimize your planning for off-road season. Instruction will cover how to find trails, save offline maps, share waypoints and make a…
Is 4WD Essential for International Overland Travel?
Traveler friends Thomas and Sabine from Bavaria, Germany, recently sent me a typically entertaining message. “Next week, I’ll have a talk to around 100 interested people on Explorer-Ostsee-Camp concerning the question 4WD in Travel Reality—How much 4WD do you really need? My personal thoughts about that are only some of all possible. I’d love to add…
Transforming Travels into Tales With Lois Pryce
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Spring 2022 Issue. With her cherry-hued hair, goggle-adorned helmet, and lightweight Yamaha motorbike, you are likely already well-acquainted with this British solo female adventure motorcycle rider, journalist, and author. She praised vulnerable travel in her TEDx Talk, was shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards, and…
Staples In Tents’ The Gathering is Coming to Vancorum, Colorado, August 18-22
Sonya and Necota Staples of Staples In Tents and Black People Off-road are champions of equality in the outdoor space. They strive to make camping and overlanding accessible to everyone, including those from marginalized communities who haven’t traditionally enjoyed easy access to outdoor recreation opportunities. Enter The Gathering, a weekend of outdoor adventure and education…
How To Become an Adventure Rider
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Spring 2022 Issue. Photography by Susan Dragoo Few motorsports employ such a diverse array of skills as adventure riding. Adventure riders are those enviable souls who ride big-bore motorcycles, some approaching 600 pounds before adding luggage, over terrain befitting a world traveler lost in the wilderness….
There’s Something for Everyone at This Year’s Northwest Overland Rally
Photography by Richard Giordano Nestled in the Beaver Valley and surrounded by the pine trees of the Wenatchee National Forest and the Cascade Mountains lies a field that, once a year, fills with trucks, vans, and cars, old and new, tents of all shapes and sizes, and overland fanatics, young and old(er). The brainchild of…
Video of the Week :: Living in the Cactus Forest with Tight Loops
Lead photograph by Tight Loops Eager to escape the coldest winter months in Montana, Chase Bartee and his wife Aimee head the desert southwest in their 1985 VW camper van, exploring the rugged terrain of the Saguaro, Joshua Tree, and Death Valley National Parks. The couple’s skills as artists, photographers, and filmmakers fuse with a…
The Moment Collectors, by Sam Manicom and Friends
I’ve never been much of a short-story reader; I like to invest in written tales for book-length escapes from reality. However, The Moment Collectors is a different kind of collection of short stories altogether—at least it was for me. As a round-the-world motorcycle traveler, there was something in each writer’s tale that I could directly…
How to Ship an Overland Vehicle
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Spring 2022 Issue. Photography by Coen Wubbels The alarm clock sounded at 3:00 a.m. For the fifth morning in a row, Coen yawned as he threw his legs out of bed to once more get on the phone. We were in the Netherlands, visiting family while…
Bear-proof Food Storage for Moto Campers
Many of us traveling overnight or long distances on motorcycles are going into bear territory; that’s why we love our ADV and dual-sport bikes—to get off main roads and into the backcountry. But what about storing food out of reach from bears while we sleep at night? Growing up in the Canadian Rockies, I often…
The Art of Getting Unstuck: Self-Extraction Techniques for Sand
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Gear 2022 Issue. It’s 125°F with a sticky 90 percent humidity level in the Al Badayer Desert, and I am seriously stuck. The Range Rover has four dangling wheels from when I’d gotten a little too excited with the throttle. I try to open the driver’s…
Field Tested :: LivBar
Gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, corn-free, GMO-free are words that all jump off the wrapper of the LivBar, lined up on a playbill of claims to fame. They are also honey-free, to ensure a vegan-friendly status. Coffee Maple Cacao, Lemongrass Cherry Matcha, Blueberry Vanilla Kale, and Raspberry Kale Maca are some of the accompanying exotic flavors that…
The Overland Adventure Rallies Return (With a New Name) For 2022
Lead photo by Bryon Bass As rally organizers gear up for this year’s full season, I know I’m not the only one looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. Overland rallies are where like minds come together, bundling up for nightly bonfire raffles, visiting with colleagues and friends, listening to stories from…
Far Bank Fly Fishing School Offers First Season of Free Educational Videos
While fly fishing might not be the first thing that comes to mind regarding online education, Far Bank is changing the narrative when it comes to what is possible. The fly fishing school recently launched its first season of a free, comprehensive, and feature-film quality educational fishing series hosted by renowned fly casting expert Simon…
Good to the Last Drop :: Instant Coffee Options for the Trail
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Gear 2022 Issue. I have a secret to share with you: I’ve been drinking instant coffee for the last few weeks and have been enjoying it. I know this may come as a surprise to some of you, especially after past articles where I have no…
Garmin’s Acquisition of GEOS Might Affect Those With Additional Evacuation Coverage Who Activate inReach SOS Function
Early last year, Garmin announced the acquisition of emergency monitoring and incident response service GEOS Worldwide Limited, which operates the International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC) for SOS rescue efforts triggered by Garmin’s inReach personal satellite communication device. “With this acquisition, Garmin is now able to provide even more peace of mind to our inReach…
Overlander Mexico
When you face the unknown—whether people, places, or concepts—the talons of fear have a way of gripping down relentlessly. The year was 2018, and my husband and I were facing doubts before overlanding into an unfamiliar country for the first time. We would have experienced less of a mental rollercoaster were it not for our…