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We Need to Talk about This 3D-Printed Bike That Has Crowdfunded $3.4 Million

Seems like every few months, a bike appears on Kickstarter or Indiegogo out of nowhere, with sleek aesthetics, a slick video and the promise of revolutionizing the two-wheeled world. Because these bikes often come from unknown entities and ultimately deliver more sizzle than steak, we tend to view them with a healthy measure of skepticism. But when one raises $2 million in less than three days — and now more than $3.4 million with nine days to go — we’ve gotta document it.

So here’s what Arevo is telling us about its new Superstrata bikes — which have absolutely blown up on Indiegogo — followed by the response of GP’s most passionate cyclists.

The Superstrata line consists of two bikes — Terra, a traditional bike (pictured below), and Ion (pictured at the top of the page), an e-bike — both of which have frames made of continuous carbon fiber. You share your measurements with the Arevo team, and they 3D-print a made-to-measure unibody frame and fork with no glues or screws.

Superstrata

With over 500,000 possible combinations, the frame can be tailored to riders’ heights, weights, arm and leg lengths, riding positions and even preferred stiffness levels. The frame weighs in at 2.9 pounds (1.3 kilograms).

The ebike has a 55-mile range and can be fully charged in two hours. Both bikes have integrated data and power wiring throughout the frame, allowing for electronic upgrades. They can be further modified to accommodate different riding styles, such as street and gravel.

The bikes have the endorsement of Sky Christopherson, two-time Oympian, who says: “My Olympic race bikes were light, but would crack when pushed too hard or crashed. Having a bike that’s light like other carbon fiber bikes but really tough is a dream come true.”

Sounds pretty sexy, right? I admit, I’m intrigued. I’m also not nearly as bike-savvy as some of my colleagues, for whom 200-mile rides are no big deal. So I asked for their thoughts, and here’s a sampling of their comments.

“You have like no saddle height flexibility — if it is adjustable, it’s very very limited.”

“The wheels are probably so stiff.”

“Near zero resale value because it’s rider bespoke.”

“1.3kg frame is not light.”

“The type of consumer this is aimed at probably doesn’t know how to treat a carbon bike. I’m curious to see a test of it though.”

And my personal favorite…

“This bike would look good as a prop in Westworld.”

Looking more closely at some of the photos on the Indiegogo page, additional concerns arise about a Shimano groupset that dates back to 2016, the lack of anywhere to put a bottle cage, mountain biking with no suspension, a missing rear brake caliper and comically long valves. There’s also this truly disturbing image showing multiple gears paired with a single-speed chain and no derailleur.

Superstrata

But hey, if you aren’t dissuaded after all those grains of salt, we can’t stop ya. Pre-order pricing starts at $1,499 for the Terra (regularly $2,799) and $1,999 (regularly $3,999) for the Ion.

LEARN MORE: HERE

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August 14, 2020 / Comments Off

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Patagonia’s New Camp Blanket Is Perfect for Life at Home

During a normal year, it’d be right about now that we’d begin planning our first weekend camping trip of the season. It’s warm enough to inspire the meteorological optimism needed to bust open the gear bin and swap ski jackets for sleeping bags. But we’re not doing that yet this year; instead, we’re looking at an undetermined number of weeks spent indoors. Leave it to Patagonia to get us excited about that with a new piece of gear that’s 100 percent stay-at-home-friendly: the Macro Puff Quilt.

Through our extensive testing of synthetic puffy jackets, we determined that Patagonia’s Macro Puff is the best in overall warmth, weight and fit. Now that same jacket is a big, plush blanket. The Macro Puff Quilt is identical to its namesake jacket in all but shape — it has the same water-resistant, windproof nylon ripstop shell and the same super-warm, down-mimicking PlumaFill insulation. It also adds webbing loops at the corners for hanging it or lashing it to a sleeping pad.

All of these features coalesce to make a quilt that’s light enough at 27.4 ounces (exactly double the weight of the Macro Puff Jacket) to bring camping. But at 83 x 69 inches, it’s also extensive enough to sling over a queen-sized bed or engulf us as we slouch on the couch, and that’s perfect for the days when we long for the feeling of camping but know it’ll have to wait.

Buy Now: $249

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August 14, 2020 / Comments Off

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This Sleeping Bag Is for People Who Don’t Like Sleeping Bags

In recent years, a small contingent of camping gear designers have done something radical: they’ve admitted that sleeping bags aren’t always comfortable. Their rebellion was at times overt (remember Poler’s Napsack?) but is often subtler, as in Nemo Equipment’s bulbous “spoon” shape, which provides more space at the knees. Zenbivy’s design splits the sleeping bag into two pieces. Its newest campsite sleep system, the MotoBed, makes another hard admission: that as much as we like to consider ourselves bold adventurers, most of us camp out next to our cars.

With that fact in mind, Zenbivy made the MotoBed big. Not so much that you can’t carry it without help — it weighs just over 8.5 pounds, heavier than most backpacking tents — but enough to add a a 1.5-inch pillow top to its 1.5-inch inflating mattress. Yes, this sleeping bag, if you can even call it that, includes a pad as part of its all-in-one idea of snoozing outdoors.

The rest of the MotoBed functions like Zenbivy’s other sleep systems. There’s a sheet that connects to the mattress and includes a hood and multiple attachment points for the included quilt. That quilt integrates with the sheet however you see fit; you can pin it down and cinch its hem to effectively create a traditional sleeping bag.

The MotoBed considers what happens in the morning too. Instead of struggling to stuff it into a tiny sack, all you have to do is roll it up, which also means it’s tucked and tidy the next time you decide to head out for the night.

The Motobed is currently funding on Kickstarter — it has already met its $20,000 goal — with plans to ship in March 2021.

BUY NOW: $229

August 11, 2020 / Comments Off

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Sleep in the Trees in a Suspended Tent Shaped Like an Avocado

Situated just an hour’s drive outside of Brussels, Antwerp, Aachen and Masstricht, Limburg is a province in Belgium that’s home to the Tranendreef alternative camping site that will change the way you interact with nature.…

The Best New Bikes and Accessories of August 2020

The year 2020 has been… complicated. But one thing we can be certain of: so far it’s been a big one for bikes. There are loads of stats to back up that notion, like this one we just got from PeopleForBikes: for the 12-month period from June 2019 through May 2020, U.S. sales of bicycles, bike equipment and services hit $7.23 billion, up 23 percent over the previous 12-month span.

Bike products have been flying off shelves for months now, and in response, brands keep rolling out new stuff. So much so that we’re launching this monthly roundup to document all the great new stuff we aren’t able to cover elsewhere. Recently, Specialized launched an ultra-light bike, State honored Biggie Smalls, Lumos announced a (crowdfunded) $3 million helmet and more.

Café du Cycliste “The Climb” Cycling Cap

Cafe du Cycliste

This isn’t simply a cool cap released in honor of Mike Covino’s award-winning debut film, The Climb. It’s also a technical garment — windproof, breathable and lined with antibacterial tape for cool, clean rides. And it’s part of a limited edition collection that also includes a jersey, bidon, bib and socks.

BUY NOW: $36

State Bicycle Co. x The Notorious B.I.G. ‘King of NY’ Kit

State Bicycle Co.

This jersey and bib set is also part of a limited edition collection — a very different one celebrating Biggie’s impending induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. With designs inspired by the hip-hop legend’s Ready to Die album, the set includes a single speed bike, foot straps, bar tape, t-shirt, caps and kits like this one festooned with some of Biggie’s iconic lyrics.

BUY NOW: $100

Peaty’s Link Lube — Dry

Peaty’s

This new chain lube is perfect for summer. Why? The biodegradable blend of waxes suspended in a water-based emulsion is specifically designed to help your chain run clean and smooth in dry and dusty conditions.

BUY NOW: $16

Lumos Ultra Bike Helmet

Lumos

This helmet has absolutely crushed Kickstarter, raising $2,966,439 and breaking multiple crowdfunding records. It doesn’t hurt that Lumos has a rep for delivering quality brain buckets. The Ultra boasts front and rear lights, turn signals, Apple Watch compatibility and a MIPS option for ultimate protection.

PRE-ORDER NOW: $84+

Specialized Tarmac SL7

Specialized

“They essentially combined two bikes into one, which is an interesting commentary on the direction road bikes have gone,” observes in-house high-end cycling connoisseur AJ Powell. “There used to be ‘climbing bikes’ and ‘aero bikes,’ but now all road bikes are basically aero, and the tech has gotten so good that you don’t really take a weight penalty anymore by going more aero.” The result: a unicorn roadie that weighs less than 15 pounds and can go anywhere, fast.

LEARN MORE

Spot Mayhem 150

Spot

This new mountain bike is loaded with compelling elements, but we are most impressed with the suspension. Yes, the 150 stands for 150 mm, or about six inches of trail-ready travel. But what’s even cooler is Spot’s unique Living Link suspension platform, highlighted by an aerospace-grade titanium leaf spring that helps riders speed up hills without locking out and provides a stiff linkage between the front and rear triangles for deft maneuvers.

BUY NOW: $5,199+

iZip E3 Path Plus

iZip

As e-bikes continue to evolve, iZip’s latest series strikes a nice balance between performance and price. The 250-watt Bosch motor and 400-watt-hour battery provide pedal assistance up to 20 miles per hour and 30 to 50 miles of range per charge. We dig the mechanical disc brakes and frame variety too.

STEP OVER FRAME: $2,400 | STEP THRU FRAME: $2,400

Yeti Arc 35th

Yeti Cycles

This 35th anniversary tribute throws back to Yeti’s original Arc while bombing toward the future. After all, we’re willing to bet the 1980s version did not feature a carbon frame, a SRAM XX1 Eagle groupset, a Fox Factory 34 fork, a custom wheelset and a weight under 25 pounds. The brand also just announced a number of more affordable versions with different features, starting at just $3,600. Our favorite spec on all of them is one helluva nod to the hardtails of yore… “Rear Shock: Legs.”

LIMITED EDITION: $9,900 | NEW EDITION: $3,600+

August 9, 2020 / Comments Off

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These $40 Sport “Headphones” Are Different in the Best Possible Way

While I’m hardly what you’d call an audiophile, I have struggled with how to listen to music while exercising outdoors for years. It doesn’t help that I’m not super tech-savvy, a weakness that translates to problems when someone tries to speak to me while I’m running or biking or snowboarding or motorcycling with earbuds in. I try to stop the music and inevitably jack the volume up, skip a song or somehow dial a random contact in my phone instead.

Throw in the inherent danger of fully occupying one of your most vital senses while participating in high-speed activities, and you’re asking for, well, broken bones — or worse. The best solution I could come up with to mediate that risk was rolling with just one earbud. But it’s kinda goofy and, the way most music is recorded, also means I miss a lotta notes.

Zulu Audio

Recently, though, I’ve become kind of obsessed with a clever product that solves these problems. And unlike often pricier — and frankly goofier-looking — bone conduction headphones, these cost just 40 bucks. In my experience, Zulu Audio’s Alpha Wearable Bluetooth Speakers are quite possibly the smartest, safest, cheapest way to rock out and ride a bike — or run or skateboard or rollerblade or whatever — at the same time.

A couple of sound-amplifying discs connected by a wire, the Alphas are essentially a happy medium between tiny earbuds that close you off to the world and bulky speakers that weigh you down during exercise. They tip the scales at just three ounces, and I find that once I attach them to my workout shirt or bike jersey using the included magnets, I pretty much forget they are there.

But once I’ve paired them with my phone, I can celebrate The Ramones’ entire catalog while going for a long-ass bike ride. There’s also a built-in microphone so I can take calls on the road, and the pause button is big and round and easy to find, increasing the odds that a spontaneous conversation with a real-live human won’t be awkward as hell.

Because the sound emerges from around your collarbones, rather than being directly injected into your ear canals, it’s quite easy to pick up on all the normal sounds around you and feel safe even when darting in and out of New York City traffic. While the max volume is not nearly as obnoxious as some of the Bluetooth speakers some people use to let everyone know just how terrible their music taste is, it seems to be just loud enough to give pedestrians a little heads up as I approach.

Zulu Audio

I was also pretty stoked to discover that even after a driving rainstorm during a group ride in Brooklyn the other day, the Alpha was utterly unfazed. When I hit the bridge back to Manhattan, I pushed play and my tunes carried my drenched body all the way home. (It’s waterproof-rated IPX4, meaning basically sweat- and splash-proof, so the fact it shook off a deluge is impressive.)

Now, is this product flawless? Nah. I wish the USB-chargeable battery — which lasts for four hours at 75 percent volume — had a bit more life. I also wish the max volume went just a bit higher, though I realize that would kinda defeat the purpose of hearing ambient noise. And I’m sure actual audiophiles would scoff at the overall aural quality.

But I’m not sitting in a soundproof room trying to pick out every note of some obscure Yngwie Malmsteen solo. I’m riding a bike with punk rock-fueled pedal strokes and trying not to get run over in the process. For that sort of scenario, a pair of $40 Zulu Alphas are just about perfect.

BUY NOW: $40

August 8, 2020 / Comments Off

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This New E-Bike Is Incredibly Fun Looking and Actually Affordable

In recent years, Rad Power Bikes has staked a name for itself as a purveyor of excellent urban e-cargo bikes. They are not the lightest or the fastest or the prettiest, but they are reliable, affordable and indispensable for getting around town with your essential gear in tow.

The brand’s latest launch, however, takes things in a decidedly different direction. It’s called the RadMission, and with its more aggressive frame shape, beefy tires and bright colors, it honestly reminds me of the BMX bike I used to rip around on as a kid.

But beyond looks, it stands out from Rad’s other bikes for a number of reasons. At less than 50 pounds, it’s 15 pounds lighter than any other bike the brand makes. At $999, it’s also the only one to dip under a grand, $200 cheaper than the beloved RadRunner. And it’s a single speed, the original non-stop thrill ride.

The RadMission 1 still packs the type of technical capabilities that make the company’s bikes popular. It’s got a 500-watt high-torque motor that lasts up to 45 miles and will get you to 20 miles per hour via the twist grip throttle. There’s also an integrated rear light that comes on anytime you brake and a handlebar-mounted LED panel that lets you control the pedal assist and headlight while monitoring battery and assist levels.

Yet the bottom-line proposition is clear: an affordable, approachable ebike that gets you where you need to go with minimum fuss and maximum fun. Dammit if this promo video doesn’t make me want to go hop on one right now. How about you?

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Buy Now: $999

Today in Gear

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August 7, 2020 / Comments Off

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10 Yet-to-Be-Released Products That Will Make Camping and Hiking Better in 2021

In a normal year, our summer would be bisected by the outdoor industry’s marquee event: Outdoor Retailer. The show draws hundreds of brands from around the world to Denver, where they show off the thousands of new products they plan to launch the following year. Like every other large gathering, this summer’s OR was canceled, but we’ve been attending Zoom meetings and virtual product showcases to get as much intel on what the coming year has in store for the outdoor gear world. Here are some of the products we’re most excited about for 2021.

Mystery Ranch In & Out 22L

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Design Experts Say CamelBak Made The Best Travel Mug of the Year

Earlier this year, when a jury of product design experts revealed its selection of the best-designed items of 2020, the list included a sleek office chair, an e-bike for commuters, three Ferraris and, somewhat surprisingly, a travel mug. The mug in question is CamelBak’s MultiBev, and calling it a travel mug — or any one thing at all — is somewhat misleading.

That’s because the MultiBev is a two-in-one drinking vessel. CamelBak built it as an insulated water bottle with a non-slip base but engineered its lower half to include a removable cup for portioning, sharing or using as an alternative to single-use vessels at coffee shops. The removable cup even gets its own lid, which is made of flexible, food-grade silicone that stashes inside the MultiBev’s main cap. That little compartment might even count as a third use, as it’s spacious enough to contain snacks, tea or a small wad of cash.

BUY NOW: $48

August 4, 2020 / Comments Off

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Affordability and Versatility Make This New Tent Awesome

Choosing a tent is often an exercise in compromise. Do you want a tent that has a spacious interior, or one that’s lightweight? A tent that’s durable enough to pitch without a footprint underneath, or one that’s lightweight? (Weight is pretty much always what you sacrifice.) However, that’s not the case with the Beluga, a new tent from the French brand Qaou built on a foundation of versatility.

As opposed to tents that you can set up one of two ways — with the rainfly or without it — Qaou bills the Beluga as a six-in-one shelter. Campers can set it up as a tent, a tent with an awning, an unenclosed shelter, a tarp, a hammock, or a covered hammock. Tent-hammock hybrids aren’t new, but the Beluga achieves that versatility more directly than any we’ve seen. With some extra loops and cord, the tent’s rainfly can become a hammock, tarp or shelter, thus enabling all of the Beluga’s formats.

Qaou achieved this feat without increasing the tent’s weight, either — it comes in at just over four pounds, pretty standard for many two-person backpacking tents. (Its practical weight is dependent on how you set it up; bring just a hammock, and you’re looking at 1.1 pounds, but the full deluxe setup is 5.3.) Given that the Beluga starts at $168 during its ongoing Kickstarter campaign, it’s hard to find any compromise here.

LEARN MORE: HERE

July 28, 2020 / Comments Off

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One of the Least E-Bikey E-Bikes Ever Is Now Available for Purchase

Editor’s note: a couple months ago, we shared the scoop on the Gogoro Eeyo, a new e-bike that hardly looks like an e-bike. We’ve just learned the two models of the bike are now available for purchase. A limited quantity of the Eeyo 1s will beginning shipping August 10th. Its brother, the Eeyo 1, will begin shipping mid-September. See below for more details on both bikes, plus links to purchase

Launching a zippy electric scooter in Taiwan five years ago, Gogoro quickly established a rep overseas as a force in the micromobility market. The product the brand is bringing to the US, however, is even more exciting and relevant: Eeyo, a sleek e-bike boasting half the weight and twice the style of the competition.

It’s a tribute to the Eeyo’s design that at first glance, you might not even know it’s an e-bike. That’s because the source of its power is an all-in-one digital drive that sneaks the motor, battery, sensor and connectivity into a super minimal rear hub. That technological feat frees the Eeyo up to be a lot of things other e-bikes aren’t: think nimble, streamlined and open-framed, making it easy to shoulder onto public transportation or up to an apartment.

Of course, most e-bikes are too heavy to shoulder anyway, but the Eeyo is surprisingly light thanks to a ton of admittedly pricy carbon elements. The $3,899 Eeyo 1 rocks a carbon frame and fork and an alloy seat post, handlebars and rims to tip the scales at a feathery 27.5 pounds. The $4,599 Eeyo 1s goes even further with a carbon frame, fork, seat post, handlebars and rims, dropping more than a pound to an even lighter 26.4.

Gogoro promises a smooth power transfer with its Smartwheel tech. The battery charges in two-and-a-half hours, taking you 40 miles in full power assist mode and up to 55 in eco assist with a motor that maxes out at 19 miles per hour. The bikes also feature the grease-free Gates Carbon Belt Drive, which replaces a traditional chain to be much more durable, lower-maintenance and approachable to urban dwellers.

EEYO 1S: $4,599 | EEYO 1: $3,899

Today in Gear

The best way to catch up on the day’s most important product releases and stories. Read the Story

Note: Purchasing products through our links may earn us a portion of the sale, which supports our editorial team’s mission. Learn more here.

July 28, 2020 / Comments Off

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Why Did the Best Female Rock Climber in the World Team up with a Streetwear Brand?

Editor’s Note: Evolv recently announced that preorders of its Ashima x Brain Dead Zenist climbing shoe neared 600 pairs and raised over $50,000 to be donated to DEI organizations focusing on climbing. The original story about how the limited-edition climbing shoe came to be follows.

Earlier this summer, a small streetwear brand called Brain Dead raised over half a million dollars for charities supporting the Black Lives Matter movement by selling two exclusive t-shirts. The first, a collaboration with contemporary R&B artist Dev Hynes, aka Blood Orange, came together in less than 24 hours. Now the brand, led by Kyle Ng, is back on the fundraising path with a collab of a very different kind: a rock climbing shoe produced by the California-based climbing company Evolv.

The shoe is the Ashima x Brain Dead Zenist, a performance climbing shoe with a downturned toe profile constructed with a fine-tuned rigidity to deliver feedback and control on the wall. Its design features a colorful, unlined synthetic upper and a Trax rubber outsole and toe patch for steep and inverted climbing, outdoors are at indoor climbing gyms.

This isn’t the first time Ng has worked with an outdoor gear maker. Brain Dead teamed up with The North Face in late 2019, and it was through that work that Ng met Ashima Shiraishi, the 19-year old phenom who is considered one of the best female climbers in the world.

The two became friends, and soon after The North Face release started to dream up a shoe that would bridge the void between gear and fashion. “In climbing you just don’t see that many cool shoes, shoes with different colorways and different options, and we wanted to introduce that,” Shiraishi says. She brought the idea to Brian Chung, Evolv’s founder, who immediately gave it the green light.

Compared to the other producers of technical climbing gear that populate the industry, Evolv is a newcomer. Chung prides Evolv’s products as cutting edge while contrasting its aesthetic with traditional “Hot Wheels-colored climbing shoes.” Founded in Los Angeles, Evolv is smaller and more nimble as a result, which is why Shiraishi and Ng’s idea — which she admits “was kind of bizarre and far-fetched” — is actualizing just months after their meeting.

It’s also why the company is able to make the timely decision to use proceeds of the shoe to support organizations working to get marginalized groups into climbing, just like Ng did with his t-shirts. “You can’t just let this sit and not take this opportunity to do something good for the climbing community,” Shiraishi says.

Rock climbing has been steadily growing, particularly in recent years — the US is building new climbing gyms faster than traditional gyms and fitness clubs — but, like many outdoor sports, there are unavoidable barriers to entry such as proximity to outdoor areas and expensive gym memberships.

That’s a reality not lost on Shiraishi, who started climbing at age six in New York City’s Central Park, for free. The local climbing community supported her progress with free gym memberships, and Evolv brought her onto its team before she rounded out age 10. “I probably wouldn’t have continued climbing if they didn’t give me that hospitality,” she says.

To Evolv, inclusivity in climbing means “opening up opportunities for everyone with all different backgrounds, abilities and disabilities, and socio-economic situations to climbing by making it more accessible and also by helping those who need more support,” according to Chung. The company’s track record in that includes the creation of an adaptive foot and accompanying shoe for leg and foot amputees.

As for the Ashima x Brain Dead Zenist, Shiraishi, Ng and Evolv employed an outlook of “thinking globally and acting locally,” says Chung. Profits from sales of the shoe will support five organizations: YWWC (Young Women Who Crush), a New York-based program that empowers high school girls through climbing; Adaptive Climbing Group, a community for people with disabilities that creates inclusive opportunities in climbing; Brown Girls Climbing, a company dedicated to leadership development for girls of color through climbing and adventure; Long Beach Rising, an all-bouldering climbing gym that has programs that get disadvantaged youth into climbing; and an upcoming DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) film festival.

Learn More

July 27, 2020 / Comments Off

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The 13 Best Camp Chairs of 2020

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated with our picks for 2020.

There are many styles of camping. Some people go off the grid in Patagonia. Others park their van and camp wherever they can find a parking spot with a view. But no matter what, at the end of a long day of backpacking, fishing, hunting or even just swimming in the lake nearby, every camper likes to take a load off, and the cold, hard ground won’t cut it. There’s a camp chair for everyone; collapsible seating ranges from heavy, relatively luxurious chairs you’ll need a car to tote around to ultralight chairs that can slot snugly into a backpack. These are our favorites for kicking back outdoors.

Additional contributions by Tanner Bowden, Tucker Bowe, AJ Powell and Meg Lappe.

Helinox Chair One

a black collapsible camping chair with blue accents

Helinox

Editor’s Choice

Goldilocks would skip over the rest and go for Helinox’s Chair One. It’s the camp chair that set the standard for all four-legged adventure seats, with its lightweight fabric and aluminum construction. It weighs in at just over two pounds and offers a seating height of 11 inches, which is plenty of space between your rear and the cold, hard ground. Not only does it collapse to a size small enough to carry in a backpack, but the Chair One is also extremely easy to set up: its frame is made from one tent-style, shock-cord pole apparatus and the seat itself is one piece of ripstop polyester.

Weight: 2 pounds 2 ounces
Materials: ripstop polyester, anodized DAC aluminum
Seat Height: 11 inches
Packed Dimensions: 3.5 x 4.5 x 13.5 inches
Weight Capacity: 320 pounds

Buy Now: $100

Crazy Creek Hex 2.0

Best Packable Camp Chair

Crazy Creek’s foam and fabric chairs have been providing back support for campers in every environment for over 30 years. The Crazy Creek Hex 2.0 is dead simple, and that’s a good thing. It consists of one piece of fabric folded at a 90-degree angle and held together by two nylon straps. It’s light and affordable, and best of all, because there are no aluminum poles to bend, it’s incredibly durable. You can fold it, roll it and jam it into whatever you’re using to pack your gear.

Weight: 1 pound 5 ounces
Materials: Ripstop nylon, carbon fiber stays
Packed Dimensions: 4 x 16.5 inches
Weight Capacity: 250 pounds

Buy Now: $59

NEMO Stargaze Recliner Luxury

Most Comfortable Camp Chair

Here it is, the Cadillac of camping chairs: the Stargaze Recliner Luxury. NEMO built its entire Stargaze line with comfort in mind — each one is a free-swinging seat suspended between a set of lightweight aluminum poles. The Luxury takes comfort to the max though, with a supportive headrest that’ll let you gaze into the depths of the Milky Way for hours without developing a crick in your neck. All that comfort comes at a price — the Stargaze Luxury is probably too heavy for longer treks and will take up plenty of space in your backpack, but it’s great for car and boat camping where you don’t have to worry about weight. It’s like a portable La-Z-Boy; don’t be surprised if you find yourself waking up in it in the morning.

Weight: 6 pounds 5 ounces
Materials: Water-resistant nylon mesh, aluminum
Packed Dimensions: 7 x 24 inches
Weight Capacity: 300 pounds

Buy Now: $220

Therm-a-Rest Trekker Chair

Camp-Chairs-Update-Gear-Patrol-Thermarest

Best Ultralight Camp Chair

Most self-affirmed ultralight backpackers wouldn’t even consider bringing along something so luxurious and unnecessary as a chair, but Therma-Rest’s Trekker Chair isn’t really a chair at all. It’s more of a sling that turns the sleeping pad that’s already in your pack into a chair. The Trekker Chair is made with 100 percent polyester ripstop fabric that protects your pad from abrasions while keeping it folded up on itself in an L shape that’s perfect for sitting at the end of a long day. It packs down small and only weighs 10 ounces — surely even a pure minimalist could find room in an outside pocket to tote this chair along on the trail.

Weight: 10 ounces
Materials: polyester
Seat Height: 4 inches
Packed Dimensions: 4 x 20 inches

Buy Now: $30+

GCI Outdoor Big Comfort Stadium Chair

Best Chair for Campgrounds

Picnic tables are great for giving your legs a rest but spend too much time seated on a wooden bench and your back will be screaming. GCI’s created a solution with the Stadium Chair — it’s constructed specifically to perch on picnic table benches and stadium bleachers so that you can give your back a break while you’re hanging at basecamp or watching the game. The chair secures to the seat with a rotating L clamp and folds up on itself for transportation much like a typical beach chair.

Weight: 4.2 pounds
Materials: nylon mesh, polyester fabric, aluminum
Seat Height: 4 inches
Packed Dimensions: 8 x 22.8 x 7.1 inches
Weight Capacity: 330 pounds

Buy Now: $50

Helinox Beach Chair

a black collapsible high back chair with blue legs and accents

Helinox

Best Chair for the Beach

You can get away with bringing any of the camp chairs on this list to the beach, but if that’s where you plan to park your seat most of the time, it’s best to get a dedicated piece of packable furniture for the task. Beaches are different from campsites in one primary way: sand. Helinox’s Beach Chair has wider feet so that it won’t sink into it. It also has a higher back for lounging because unlike camping, going to the beach isn’t about roughing it.

Weight: 3 pounds 4 ounces
Materials: ripstop polyester, anodized DAC aluminum
Seat Height: 6.5 inches
Packed Dimensions: 5.5 x 18.5 x 4.5 inches
Weight Capacity: 320 pounds

Buy Now: $150

Kelty Low Love

Best Two-Person Camp Chair

Camping isn’t always a solo endeavor. In fact, it’s often double the fun with more than one buddy. If you happen to head out with your significant other, your patience might be tested and will leave you questioning, will this last the weekend? This chair is here to help. At the end of a long day of hiking, pull this loveseat out. While this isn’t the lightest of chairs, it’ll fit two people, and you both can lean back to enjoy the views, making it all the better to check out the sky and rest your achy legs and back.

Weight: 15 pounds 6 oz.
Materials: 600D polyester
Seat Height: 13.5 inches
Assembled Dimensions: 44 x 23.5 x 31.5 inches
Weight Capacity: 500 pounds

Buy Now: $115

Alps Mountaineering King Kong Chair

11-Best-Camp-Chairs-of-2018-gear-patrol-Alps-mountaineering-Camping-Chair

Best Backyard Camp Chair

Sometimes you don’t have to wander much farther than your own backyard to experience the great outdoors. Or your neighbor’s backyard. Or the sideline of your kid’s soccer game. Or the park around the corner. You see where we’re going here — the King Kong Chair is heavy, sure, but its padded seat is also comfy and easy to deploy. One more thing: This chair also has a lifetime guarantee.

Weight: 12.5 pounds
Materials: 600D polyester
Seat Height: 18 inches
Packed Dimensions: 7 x 41 inches
Weight Capacity: 800 pounds

Buy Now: $60

GCI Freestyle Rocker

11-Best-Camp-Chairs-of-2018-gear-patrol-Freestyle-Rocker-Camping-Chair

Best Rocking Chair for Camping

Picture yourself sitting lakeside with a beer in hand, feeling tired, yet fulfilled after a successful long day of hiking. Are you sitting still or rocking back and forth? There’s something to be said about a rocker on a porch (or better yet, on a dock). While rocking chairs are definitely not for the carry-in, carry-out type, throw this in the back of your pick-up and enjoy a few calming undulations anywhere you go.

Weight: 12.1 pounds
Materials: Powder-coated steel
Seat Height: 19.7 inches
Packed Dimensions: 25 x 4.9 x 34.8 inches
Weight Capacity: 250 pounds

Buy Now: $65

Yeti Trailhead

a large folding chair with a blue fabric seat

Yeti

Best Rugged Camp Chair

The Trailhead isn’t taking home any prizes for being lightweight or affordable; that’s never been Yeti’s focus. The brand’s second chair follows many of the cues of its first, the Hondo Base Camp Chair. It’s ultra-durable and uses the same high-tension fabric (which can support up to 500 pounds). It’s also sturdy with a frame that locks into place and extra-wide feet that won’t sink into soft ground. Unlike the Hondo, the Trailhead accordions into a tight bundle that fits into an included carry bag.

Weight: 13.3 pounds
Materials: FlexGrid fabric, aluminum
Seat Height: 16.75 inches
Packed Dimensions: 11.75 x 43 x 9 inches
Weight Capacity: 500 pounds

Buy Now: $300

Hillsound BTR

a collapsible stool with a black seat and orange legs

Hillsound

Best Camping Stool

Minimalism and comfort combine in Hillsound’s BTR, a camping stool that packs down to a water bottle’s size. The genius of the BTR — short for “Better Than a Rock” — is in its telescoping legs and their integrated PhantomLock technology, which hold fast while you are seated but disengage when it’s time to pack it all up. The stool comes in two sizes, both of which can support up to 240 pounds.

Weight: 12.2 ounces (14-inch version), 14.1 ounces (17-inch version)
Materials: nylon mesh, aluminum alloy
Seat Height: 14 or 17 inches
Packed Dimensions: 3 x 3 x 11.4 inches (14-inch version), 3 x 3 x 13.4 inches (17-inch version)
Weight Capacity: 240 pounds

Buy Now: $55+

REI Co-op Camp Chair X

REI

Best Budget Camp Chair

Even at its most affordable, the classic camp chair doesn’t have to be uncomfortable or feature-free. And while it isn’t lightweight enough to bring on a backpacking trip, REI’s wallet-friendly Camp X Chair packs plenty to like, from an integrated cup holder and pouch to a supportive fabric seat made of webbing and mesh. This chair also comes with a stuff sack for convenient packing and storage.

Weight: 7 pounds 3 ounces
Materials: polyester, nylon mesh
Seat Height: 10.5 inches
Packed Dimensions: 7 x 33 inches
Weight Capacity: 300 pounds

Buy Now: $40

Moon Lence Compact Ultralight Portable Folding Chair

11-Best-Camp-Chairs-of-2018-gear-patrol-Moon-Lence-Camping-Chair

Best Lightweight Budget Camp Chair

This small, yet mighty chair comes in its own carrying case, meaning the legs won’t get tangled along with everything else in your backpack. Made from lightweight aluminum, it’ll go anywhere you want to take it. The waterproof fabric is easy to clean and at $30, it’s hard to find another well-built chair that’ll survive more than just one adventure at that price point.

Weight: 2 pounds
Materials: 1000D oxford cloth
Seat Height: 15 inches
Packed Dimensions: 14 x 4.2 x 5 inches
Weight Capacity: 242 pounds

Buy Now: $34

July 27, 2020 / Comments Off

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Bespoke Post: The Monthly Themed Box Service For Guys That Give A Damn

Men’s Gear has an exciting company to tell you about. What if you could get a ton of cool stuff delivered to your home every single month? With Bespoke Post, this is a reality. The coolest part is that the cost of the service is dwarfed by the contents inside the box.

As weird as it might be to believe, Bespoke Post stacks the boxes with products that are valued at $70 and up. Yet the cost of the service is only $45. Imagine that, you’re actually able to get a box that costs less than the products inside it if bought elsewhere.

Some may assume that this is just blowing smoke. You might even assume the contents of the box are clearly not that good for such a value and that the $70 cost is just a random number. However, that is not even close to true.

The boxes are made for men who love life and want to get the best possible fun a subscription box service can provide.

That means Bespoke Post could never attempt to offer a lesser product once you open the box. In fact, the company is quite open about how they are able to accomplish this. It comes down to a supply meeting the demand type of thing.

That said, what can you actually get with Bespoke Post every month? Plus, how does all of this work?

How Bespoke Post Actually Works

Bespoke Post Feature

A common issue that subscription boxes tend to have is that they do not think about the person. They have a simple box that they throw together every month that is the same for every person.

Since Bespoke Post is made for men, they knew that they could not be another cookie cutter subscription box service.

Smart men will see right through something like this. Before you even get the box, they ask you a series of questions to get to know you. This allows the company to make a box that fits the person.

While this can be similar to another guy who gets the service, it won’t be the case for everyone.

Some men like things other men do not, which means you need something that best fits your personality. The coolest part is that you know what comes with your box. Of course, there might be some things they add in that you may not know about.

However, the moment you sign up, you’ll know what box you will be getting.

Best of all, you can always swap things out and go with another box in the service. The boxes are then delivered mid-month, every month.

Let’s pretend there is an issue with a product in your box or perhaps you’re not happy with something. Bespoke Post offers free returns as well as free exchanges!

Perhaps you want to cancel the service or hold off on another box for a while. You can do this with ease as there is no yearly commitment. You can cancel or skip any time, and Bespoke Post will not penalize you or charge you a dime for this at any point.

What’s In The Box? WHAT’S IN THE BOX?!?

Bespoke Post Sample Box

A lot of people wonder what Bespoke Post has in their boxes made for men. However, they are quite open about things and let you know upfront. They have something from these categories:

Barware & Mixology
Style Accessories
Clothing & Apparel
Kitchen & Cooking
Grooming Supplies
Camping & The Outdoors
Travel & Bags
Music & Tech Gear

This is what their quiz helps them determine too. For example, you may not really care for grooming supplies. This allows them to form a box that may contain things from the other areas to make up for the removal of this. Truly, it’s all in how the box is formed by you, the user of the service.

Over 100,000 men have bought in and have seemingly loved their boxes from month to month.

Commonly the boxes will have things like a skillet with pancake mix included, knives, axes, travel bags, pens, matches, beard balm, shoes/boots, unique alcoholic drinks, and much more.

The Bespoke Post boxes are themed and perfect for guys who just love exploring new things. The products in these boxes are often unique with many of them coming from newer companies you may not know much about.

That means you’re discovering new and exciting companies every month with this service as well. How cool is that?!?

Join Free Today!

Bespoke Post Barebones Knife

Bespoke Post offers something special to all new subscribers to their box service. You can join and take your quiz today for absolutely free!

Each month, you’ll get an email that allows you to know what is in the box. This is done for a few reasons, the first is to allow you to change things as mentioned above.

The second is that they may include things like clothing that will need your sizes and even the color you might want.

This can sometimes differ for men off and on, which is why they do it. As men, we know body changes happen. However, you may want to give a shirt or something to a friend. This allows you to change up sizes to fit that friend too.

This is a box service made for guys that give a damn about life and luxury at the same time. Yet despite the luxury it offers, it does not come at that type of price. Again, you’re only spending $45 a month for this amazing box service.

$45 for a service like this is an absolute steal!

Don’t take our word for it though. Check it out for yourself right now. Click on the button below and go straight there. Tell them Men’s Gear sent you!

Click To Check Out Bespoke Post

May 23, 2019 / Comments Off

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How Bespoke Post Actually Works

What’s In The Box? WHAT’S IN THE BOX?!?

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