Issue Three | Issue Two | Issue One | Shop the Store
40,000 words. 280 pages. 274 original photos. 183 days of tracking down stories and staring at grid lines. 116 recorded orders of Szechuan Chinese food, primarily Mapo tofu followed closely by General Tso’s chicken. 60 days of production, give or take. 10 Chilean beers. Nine Belgian beers. Seven ebikes. Seven coquito nuts. Five meals in Queens. Four days of quality time with mountaineering legend Conrad Anker. One omitted review of a Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker. Only one memorable instance of anyone yelling loudly, thankfully. The birth of one child — wait, make that two. And that’s just Issue #1.
At Gear Patrol, we believe there are many types of adventures. Traveling to distant locales, conquering physical challenges, learning a new craft or language, designing great products — they all count. As a publication, our biggest adventure to date has been using what we’ve learned from our digital roots and applying it to the time-honored format of print. We’ve tried to do it in a way that feels original and authentic to what we’ve been doing as a team since 2007. The first issue of this biannual magazine is a collection of chapters representing seven places, each of them small journals unto themselves. Collectively, they make up a journey around the world.
That journey doesn’t end with the last printed word. When you get the magazine, look for URLs at the end of select reports, product guides and features, where you’ll be directed to pages on our website rich with complementary photos, videos and storytelling that you can read on your phone or tablet.
To coincide with the launch of our first magazine, we’ve also lined up a collection of goods ranging from pocket-friendly items to essentials for travel and the home, as well as a four-wheeled companion. We’ve kept an eye on good design made by people who care, and imbued many of the products with a subtle reminder of the Gear Patrol ethos. The store will be stocked with a rotation of new and unique items: collaborations, products of our very own and one-off picks by our editors, writers and contributors from their adventures on the road. What you won’t find are flash sales and in-your-face marketing; after all, we know you’re here for the stories.
Finally, thank you for being a reader. We hope you’ll continue to visit Gear Patrol for inspiration and that you’ll hang on to this magazine to use as a starting point for adventures of your own.
-The Gear Patrol Crew