Today in Gear: Close Out Your Week with News to Know

There’s a changing of the guard at Johnnie Walker: Jim Beveridge, Master Blender for the last 20 years, will be handing the reins over to Emma Walker at the start of 2022. Beveridge’s contributions to the brand (and, broadly speaking, the Diageo portfolio) are many, but often center around making Johnnie Walker more relevant in the late-20th, early-21st century — focusing on upscaling the quality, options and connotations of the Johnnie Walker brand. Emma Walker, who joined Diageo in 2008, began as a project scientist. Her first tasks will include figuring out how to manage global demand and scaling production, while carrying forward Beveridge’s legacy. While time will tell how Emma Walker fills her predecessor’s metaphorical shoes, it’s clear that her understanding of modern palates and penchant for innovation will keep Johnnie Walker comfortably in the spotlight.

ASYSTEM’s Hot Toddy Sleep Gummies are the season’s best nightcap.

One of the most advanced sleep supplements on the market, ASYSTEM’s gummies help users fall asleep quickly and wake up refreshed. CBD-free, the gummies are powered by Safr’Inside™, which is extracted from the most bioavailable compound of saffron. Even better, saffron’s sleep-improving qualities have been supported by a peer-reviewed clinical study. Perfect for the holiday season, the limited-edition Hot Toddy flavor is a cold-weather nightcap that won’t leave you sluggish the next morning.

Keep the cold at bay and the fire roaring with Pit Command’s tools.

Courtesy

Rooted in a love of fire pits (and the community that springs up around them), Pit Commander is dedicated to creating the best possible gear to make enjoying a fire as easy as possible. Its key products are the Ranger and Commander pit tools (for medium and large pits respectively). These made-in-USA tools are built from carbon steel and incorporate a hook, a jabber and chopping axe in a single tool to make moving and maintaining logs as seamless as possible.

Our Legacy and Satisfy Running drop final activewear collection of 2021.

Satisfy

Our Legacy has been on nothing short of a roll this past year, using its Work Shop platform to drop major collaborations with brands like Stussy. Running brand Satisfy is another such partner, and the pair are dropping their final suite of gear (for 2021 at least) today. This drop includes pieces with the world’s lightest merino wool, CloudMerino, Polartec Alpha and ColdBlack — a fabric that prevents heat build-up and offers protection from sunlight on long runs.

Ford F-150 Lightning pre-orders will kick off in January 2022 (good luck).

Ford

After doing a live reveal of the truck earlier this year, the Ford F-150 Lightning is opening up for reservations in January 2022. Giving the Ford Bronco a run for its money when it comes to sheer demand, even though production kicks off this spring, there’s a good chance that Lightning reservation holders still won’t see a truck in the 2022 model year. (This will depend on what configuration is ordered, as well as a few other factors). Take a look at the materials sent to dealers in advance of the pre-order rush, down below.

At least you can look well-read going into the new year.

Knickerbocker

New York-based label Knickerbocker has teamed with The New York Times on a tight collection featuring “the paper of record’s” signature “T” logo. Consisting of an intarsia knitted, Italian wool sweater and 100 percent wool logo baseball cap, the collection is a continuation of an ongoing partnership between two brands that call the Big Apple home. This capsule may be dropping for the holiday season, but it’s something you’ll likely be flexing well after New Years Day.

Ask an Expert

Gear Patrol Studios

A Gear Patrol reader asks: “As we get closer to Christmas, I was wondering if you had any suggestions for any great last-minute gift ideas?”
The Expert(s): We cover a ton of different topics here at Gear Patrol, which makes this question hard to answer with a single suggestion. We’ve got an article (that we’ve updated recently) that should give you some gift-giving inspirations across the spectrum. That said, a few of our team members chimed in with some great ideas. Check out their recommendations below.