Last-minute gift ideas

When it's 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside and the only adventure you can think of involves a warm drink in an armchair by the fire, it's time to grab some adventure reading:

OUTDOORX4 – Charter subscription, $25.

ADVENTURE MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE – Digital subscription, $8.99. 

ANXIETY ACROSS THE AMERICAS – by Bill Dwyer, $13.99

CRAMPBUSTER $9.86. This stocking stuffer will be much-appreciated by anyone who cruises long distance on a bike. From AMotoStuff.com

HYBRIDLIGHT 150C, $50. This is the first solar-powered flashlight I’ve tried that produces a beam useful for more than reading or walking. Its 150-lumen output elevates it to the status of a practical security light—sufficient for, say, checking the bush for the eyeshine of hippos on the way from campfire to tent—and it will do so for eight hours on one charge. Not only that, the 150C can be stored for seven years with only a ten percent loss in charge. Need more? A USB and micro-USB port allow you to quick-charge the light—or charge your cell phone while the light soaks up energy from the sun. Hybridlight

TEMBO TUSK EXTREME DUTY LANTERN HANGER,  $95. If the idea of an “extreme duty” lantern hanger strikes you as humorous, you’ve never used some of the lame examples I’ve tried over the years. This one will last forever and effortlessly support your heaviest vintage Petromax. A mid-pole bracket takes a roll of paper towels, and auxiliary hooks hold kitchen utensils. The hanger  disassembles into an easily stowable 12-inch-long case. TemboTusk

SNOW PEAK MICRO OVAL DUTCH OVEN, $86. Snow Peak’s products show up in my product guides as often as BMW cars show up in Car and Driver’s Ten Best lists, and for the same reasons: Both companies are driven to engineer excellence into the most ordinary product, be it a sedan or a backpacking stove. This compact Dutch oven is no exception. It’s hand-crafted in the famous Iwate region of Japan, using a proprietary silica/sand casting technique, and is just the right size for cooking dinner or dessert for two. Snow Peak 

BAJA RACK JEEP JK EXPEDITION RACK, $970. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is America’s world-class expedition vehicle, and Baja Rack manufactures a roof rack worthy of that stature. The full-length rack has a dynamic load capacity of 300 pounds (600 pounds static, if you want to stand on it for photography or game viewing), and mounts to the chassis and A-pillar of the JK with no drilling required. A flat platform in the rear is designed to accept a roof tent, and numerous accessories allow attaching everything from fuel cans to Maxtrax sand mats. Whether you’re pitting your JK against Moab or Mozambique, the Expedition Rack will live up to its name. Baja Rack (Also for Land Rover, Toyota, Mercedes, Hummer)

 

National Luna Weekender 52-liter fridge/freezer, $1470. I’ve never figured out why National Luna calls this the “Weekender.” It’s fully capable of handling enough food for a full-on expedition—as one just did for us on a three-week excursion through Tanzania and Kenya. We kept plenty of fresh food cold in the fridge, and the freezer compartment, in addition to maintaining ice cream at the proper chill, also handily re-froze blue-ice packs for Roseann’s sprained ankle. The aluminum cladding saves six pounds (and $180) over the stainless model, but as far as we could tell is just as rugged. The National Luna repays its premium price with a micro-processor controlled combination of fast chilling and extremely efficient energy usage. Equipt

FORCE K9 TACTICAL VEST, $150. It had to happen: A tactical dog vest. Kidding aside, the Force K9 vest’s PALS webbing allows easy attachment of  a myriad of MOLLE accessories, from pouches suitable for Purina to water bladders. You can even have one custom-tailored to your Black Ops dog’s measurements. They’re missing a bet if they don’t introduce a doggie shemagh. Force K9

 

OVERLAND TRAINING, $CUSTOM. The gift of training keeps giving for years, in confidence and competence down the road. May we suggest a couple of our partners for great training experiences: Through teamwork and the execution of strategic decisions in naturally challenging settings, High Trails Expeditions will teach you and your team—whether business or expedition—how to understand the consequences of actions to yourself and others. This is the ultimate leadership course built for people like us, around overland skills. If your passion is adventure motorcycling, then look no further than Jim Hyde's offerings at Raw-Hyde Adventures. Now with an outpost in southern Colorado's Continental Divide country as well as SOCAL, you can learn with the best, in the most beautiful places. High Trails Expeditions, Raw-Hyde Adventures.
  

TRIUMPH TIGER 800 ABS, $11,000. The reborn Triumph motorcycle company has risen to the same legendary status as its progenitor did half a century 

ago by offering stylishly different takes on its competitors machines, and the Tiger 800 ABS continues the tradition with a three-cylinder engine in place of the twin more common in this displacement range, and a minimalist approach to bodywork. The hardware is all there for adventures anywhere on earth: fuel injection (contributing to 93 horsepower), a six-speed transmission, a twin-tube trellis frame, twin-piston calipers on the dual floating front disc brakes, adjustable seat height, and much more. Triumph at  SunandFunMotorsports (an Overland Expo partner)

 

ALL-TERRAIN WARRIOR BRAVO ($TBA). Shipping-container houses are becoming popular among the alternate lifestyle crowd. Well, here’s a four-wheel-drive house/expedition machine that will fit inside a shipping container for extra-continental adventures. The All-Terrain Warriors Bravo pops its rigid roof to reveal a complete living area (and an out-of-the-mud porch) for a luxurious campsite anywhere on the planet. When you’re ready to move, fire up the fuel-efficient Mitsubishi turbodiesel—with 63 gallons of fuel on board (and 80 gallons of water) you can cover a lot of the planet at a go. All-Terrain Warriors USA

 
The perfect gift: Overland Expo 2014. Give the gift of 300+ session-hours of classes, programs, demos, discussions, and films; shopping close to 200 exhibitors of adventure gear and services; and meeting thousands of like-minded adventurers. Still a bargain at $270 (single), $485 (double) 

CLICK HERE for details.

 
Contact us to arrange a GIFT CERTIFICATE or

our new OVERLAND BUCKS—JUST FOR SPENDING ON GEAR AT OVERLAND EXPO!