The Most Important Gear Releases & News of the Week

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New & Noteworthy Releases

Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean
This is not your average Planet Ocean. Rather than steel, its case is constructed from titanium; inside the case is an in-house co-axial movement. The sleek gray color scheme is accented by orange detailing. Since it’s pre-owned, it costs thousands less on StockX than a new Planet Ocean at retail — yet it’s still in excellent condition.

Smarter Coffee 12-Cup Coffee Maker
Imagine a world where coffee is ready — always — when you wake up in the morning. With Smarter Coffee, a wifi-enabled, app-controlled drip brewer from Smarter, a London-based brand specializing in smart kitchen appliances, it’s possible. The IFTTT-compatible machine can be programmed to grind beans and brew coffee remotely, or, say, 15 minutes before your alarm goes off in the morning. — Emily Singer

Goldwin Coverall Shirt
From Goldwin, one of the outdoor industry’s most visionary brands, come two all-new autumnal shirts loaded with thoughtful technical features (inner pockets, a ventilated front flap, snap-closure Mother of Pearl buttons) yet balanced with an unmistakeable Japanese minimalism. The selvedge chambray option is $199; the wool is $318. — Michael Finn

Rancourt x American Trench Ventile Sneakers
This Vans-esque sneaker from Rancourt and American Trench may cost four times the amount of its Californian cousin, but it’s got some very cool specs. Made in Maine from Ventile Dry fabric, it is very durable and also water repellent. It features a Vibram sole, brass eyelets and leather laces. There’s nothing overtly flashy, but that’s just the point. — John Zientek

Retro Games C64 Mini
Following in the wake of Nintendo’s SNES Classic, the C64 Mini is a charming resurrection of the best-selling ’80s home computer, the Commodore C64. It plugs into any modern TV’s HDMI port, includes a joystick and comes with 64 classic games pre-installed. It’s expected to drop in early 2018, at a suggested retail price of $70. — Michael Finn

Café du Cycliste Albertine Jacket
Café du Cycliste’s freshly updated Albertine is perfect for fall; its windproof front face is stuffed with PrimaLoft active insulation that’s both warm and, breathable but the back panel is made with a merino-blend fleece to prevent overheating. But this isn’t your standard outdoor puffy; it’s tailored for racing and cut with colors that impart the style that serious cycling is known for. — Tanner Bowden

Belkin 3.5mm Audio + Charge Rockstar
Apple has caved (slightly) and started selling an iPhone adapter with a Lightning port and a traditional headphone jack; if you own an iPhone 7 or iPhone 8, you’ll be able to charge your phone and listen to music on your favorite wired headphones at the same time. It should be noted that Belkin makes this adaptor, not Apple, but its availability at Apple Stores should put skeptical minds at ease. — Tucker Bowe

Knog PWR Bike Lights
Based in Australia, Knog is a brand known for creating design-forward bicycle accessories. Its latest release, PWR, is a series of modular bike lights that double as power banks. Customize your light output with four bulb heads that range from 450 to 1,850 lumens and can be secured to your bike or body with three different mounts. The system is built to be expanded upon, so look out for upgrades — think lanterns and Bluetooth speakers — on a rolling basis. — Tanner Bowden

GROW Duo Smart Planter
A garden is great in theory, but often a nightmare in practice. The new GROW Duo, available for preorder now, is a cousin to existing indoor gardening kits, but built explicitly for outdoor use. Built-in sensors monitor environmental conditions like rainfall, historical weather data and local climate, and the system provides data-driven status updates in an accompanying app. It’s about as hands-off as gardening gets. — Emily Singer

Helly Hansen ULLR Powder Suit
One-pieces are often thought of as “throwback” when it comes to winter outerwear, the stuff of thrift shops. Helly Hansen is out to change that with its new suit. Built with a three-layer fabric construction and fully taped seams, the ULLR is a solid piece of technical outerwear in its own right. The suit is extra roomy, which is great for freeriding, but it also means that there was space for some nice features like a pocket specifically designed to keep your phone from dying during sub-zero days on the mountain. — Tanner Bowden

Fender ’64 Custom Deluxe Reverb Amplifier
The mid-‘60s Deluxe Reverb is something of a gold standard in the amp world, a moderately powered tone machine used on countless hit recordings over the past half-century. This reissue from Fender features all-tube hand-wired AB763 circuitry (which sets it apart from the more common Blackface ’65 Deluxe Reverb), tube-driven spring reverb and tremolo, and a Jensen C-12Q speaker. It’s a 20-watt workhorse that’ll give you some of the warmest clean tones and moderate breakup imaginable without actually going vintage. — John Zientek

Smith Lowdown Focus Sunglasses
Smith calls this the “first brain-sensing eyewear.” Within the side-frames are advanced sensors that monitor brain activity and transmit data to your phone via Bluetooth. Then, on the Smith Focus app, the brainwave data is translated into “guiding sounds” that help you focus on breathing, unperturbed relaxation, sports performance and a host of other things. — Michael Finn

Google Pixelbook
From the ashes of the Google Chromebook Pixel rises the Pixelbook. Weighing just 2.2 pounds and measuring 10mm thick, it’s Google’s lightest and thinnest laptop yet — and arguably its most luxurious. It’s the first Chromebook to offer built-in Google Assistant support; the new touchscreen-friendly Pixelbook Pen stylus ($99) is sold separately. A 360-degree hinge allows the aluminum-body laptop to morph into a tablet. Available for preorder now, the Pixelbook officially launches October 31. Prices start at $999 for 128GB of storage and climb up to $1,649 for 512GB. — Emily Singer

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Quebracho Charcoal
Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, known for making some of the finest grills on the planet, now makes what may be the best lump charcoal, too. Its Quebracho Charcoal is made from dense Quebracho Blanco wood harvested in the Chaco region of South America. The company claims that it burns hotter and is denser than most hardwood lump charcoal while generating very little ash. — Jack Seemer

Todd Snyder + New Era Baseball Caps
Your favorite team’s hat may have just gotten a stylish upgrade from Todd Snyder. In collaboration with New Era, the New York–based menswear designer is offering caps made from British lambswool milled at Abraham Moon & Sons. The fall-weight fabrics, ranging from herringbone to glen plaid, provide the base to rep the NY Yankees, the NY Mets, the LA Dodgers, the Boston Red Sox, the SF Giants, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs. — John Zientek

Authenticity 50 Pacific Blue Sheets
Hot on the heels of its Carolina Gray sheets, Authenticity 50, a Gear Patrol favorite, has added a Pacific Blue to its family of American-made bedding. While available as a set, pillowcases and sheets can also be purchased individually to mix and match with the brand’s other offerings. — Emily Singer

This Week on Gear Patrol

Joshua + Vela

The Best Gym Bags to Buy Now
Our pick for best all-around gym bag is Topo Design’s Classic Duffel. But not everyone needs an all-around gym bag.

The Ducati Monster 797 Is Just a More Refined, Mature Scrambler
How can two bikes with identical engines end up so wildly different?

Nebia

If Apple Made a Shower Head, This Would Be It
An outrageously high-tech shower system that turns bathrooms into steam rooms.

Google

Google Clips Is a $249 Wearable Camera That Captures 7-Second Videos
It’s not a GoPro. And it’s not a security camera.

Canada

You Can Now Buy Technical Sweaters From Canada Goose
Ultra-fine merino, made for the adventure-minded urbanite.

Bowers & Wilkins Launches Its First Noise-Canceling Headphones
And they’re more adaptable than absolute noise-canceling headphones.

FILSON

Filson and Danner Are a Match Made in Heaven. Their New Boots Prove It
Two historic companies with deep roots in the Pacific Northwest and a shared mastery of American manufacturing.

The Extreme, $178,500 Rezvani Tank Is the Overlander Batman Would Build
Well, here’s the craziest thing on wheels you can buy today.

These Are Google’s $159 Answer to AirPods
They can fast-pair with Androids and translate different languages in real time.

Uniqlo

Get a Custom Button-Up Shirt for Only $30
Choose fit, collar, color and measurements.

Photo by Henry Phillips for Gear Patrol

How to Reset the Touch Bar on Your MacBook Pro
It only takes a few seconds.

This Tastefully Modified Defender Can Be Yours with a $10,000 Deposit
In the world of custom off-roaders, reserved modifications are a welcome respite.

The 9 Best Small Outdoor Brands from Across the Globe
It only takes a few seconds.

Why this Ultra-Rare Camera Lens Is Worth Hunting Down
Jeff Taylor, a Director of Photography at Lonelyleap, explains.

hudiemm

What Will Make Insulated Jackets of the Future Special? We Weigh In
Think waterproof down is cool? You ain’t seen nothing yet.

CRKT

The 5 Best Knives from CRKT’s 2018 Collection
Washing your clothes by hand is friendly on fabric — and easy on the wallet.

Photo by Hunter Kelley for Gear Patrol

Seiko Finally Brings One of Its Most Coveted JDM Watches Stateside
Seiko’s endearingly flashy dress watch continues to shine even after seven years.

How to Make Your Clothes Look Better and Last Longer
Washing your clothes by hand is friendly on fabric — and easy on the wallet.

Google

The Most Important Things to Know about Google’s New iPhone Rival, the Pixel 2 & Pixel 2 XL
The newest flagships Android devices from Google may be pragmatic, but there’s still a ton to love about them.

Meet the Google Home Mini, a $49 Amazon Echo Dot Alternative
It’s cheaper than ever to get Google Assistant into your home.

Google

The $399 Google Home Max Is a Sonos and Apple HomePod Competitor

It also supports Bluetooth and boasts a 3.5mm audio jack.

Sonos

This Is the New Sonos. It’s $199 and Works with Alexa (and Google, Siri and Spotify)
The most popular multi-room speakers can now be controlled by the most popular virtual assistant.

The New Range Rover Sport SVR Is as Quick as a Porsche Boxster S
The relevant numbers: 575 horsepower, 4.3 seconds, $114K.

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