Full Featured Field Pant in Soft-Shell and Tailored Fit
Prometheus Design Werx introduces their best-selling Raider Field Pant in their cool weather weight, 9 oz Expedition Cloth soft-shell fabric and new tailored fit. Built as a fall/winter weight, rugged field pant, this style is a non-cargo design in a clean utility appearance with a trimmer fit. Designed for the outdoors and today’s active EDC user in mind. A total of 11 pockets to stash and organize as little or as many EDC items as needed. PDW’s Expedition Cloth is a technical, 2-layer soft-shell fabric with a wind blocking smooth face, brushed interior, DWR finish, and 4-way stretch. Dedicated EDC Tool Pockets, dual no-twist custom made delta rings for keychain-carabineer clip points, 4 welt pockets and double layer articulated reinforced knees round out these pant’s features. Produced with industrial grade triple needle stitching on all major seams. Built to last in California, USA.
The Raider Field Pant EC T-Fit will be available in All Terrain Brown, and Universal Field Gray.
The Design and R&D Team at PDW states:
“We took our bestselling pant, tuned it for fall/winter wear and are introducing a new tailored, trimmer fit. For those looking for fully capable field pant in a modern contemporary cut, these are for you. The Expedition Cloth is of a durable, heavier 9 oz weight and all the best technical properties of a soft-shell. Our Raider Pant has been worn on just about every continent, by all types of users, on the trail, off the trail, down range, overland, on the job and off the grid. One of the best and few, great American made, everyday field and utility pant“.
It’s obviously been a while since the Overland “Tribe” gathered in force and the excitement was palpable at Overland Expo West this year! Gone are the days of a few souls braving the elements to chat about their weird pastime. Today, Overlanding has come of age and the “Tribe” is significant with an insatiable desire to learn of new gear and a fervor to get outside and live life without a ceiling.
**** Editor’s note: Let’s make sure we all do it responsibly and Tread Lightly****
Here’s a quick photographic overview of some things, big and small that caught our eye!
The Aterra XL camper is an innovative lightweight fiber reinforced thermoplastic honeycomb composite camper design. Engineered by Tern Overland and collaboratively built with AT Overland Equipment, it combines the best available materials and technology with expert craftsmanship that yields an exquisitely comfortable and practical camper.
The ultimate in adventure travel vehicles, the TOURIG XDV is the pinnacle in self-contained, fully habitable, 4-season, off-grid and off the beaten path transportation. These rigs are for the most discerning adventure seeker planning for extended stays in the most remote areas of North America and beyond. Extra capacity, extra capable and extra rugged.
The LOKI Basecamp Falcon Series is a combination of modern engineering and top tier craftsmanship. Each unit is carefully hand built, from the aluminum frame to the interior finishes. Customers can select from a long list of options to configure their build. Options include : exterior colors / finishes, interior materials, interior components & interior / exterior accessories. Each LOKI Basecamp is unique and tailored to the end-users specific needs.
The CAMP-X is a lightweight composite slide in pop up camper designed specifically for the full size 1/2 or 3/4 ton truck with either a 5.5 foot or 6.5 foot bed. These campers are designed using our proprietary composite panel and aluminum extrusion system to keep weight extremely light, extremely tough, and extremely warm (or cool!).
The revolutionary design of the American Safari JXL™ allows for all of the convenient uses of everyday amenities including a complete Toilet, Sink, and Shower System. Explore in a true off road vehicle without losing comfort and convenience.
“The Drifter” and the “Nomad”. The all aluminum construction and lightweight campers built for whatever you can throw at them! They’re proportioned perfectly for mid-sized and full-sized trucks, providing space and comfort without compromising weight or drivability.
Mule Expedition Outfitters isn’t your typical overland vehicle outfitter. Mule has assembled a team with a combined 250+ years of off-roading and overlanding experience. With this kind of experiential knowledge, rest assured, product, and vehicle-outfitting will be recommended based on quality product and hands-on experience.
Escapodwas born out of necessity. A need to escape the daily grind at a moment’s notice, to be unbounded by terrain, free to roam. Every Escapod teardrop trailer is built with an obsessive focus on quality and manufactured right here in the USA. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a full-time vagabond, there is an Escapod for you.
The Redtail RTCis available in two sizes – the RT 90 and the RT 110, and three trim levels – the Basecamp, Ascent and Summit. Choose your trim level below, then select your RTC size and any additional options at checkout. Our lead time for the next available RTC can fluctuate but is generally around 10 months at this time.
With more than 20 years of experience in off-road racing, suspension design, fabrication, and tuning, Agile Off-Road offers custom van suspension tuning “Ride Improvement Packages” and long travel 4×4 conversions.
With endlessly adjustable features to fit any cooking style, the Disco Series cooking system has you and your crew covered whether you’re relaxing in the backyard or exploring in the backcountry.
The Disco Series comes complete with the Disco Skillet, Disco Tripod, Disco Stove, and Disco Table.
With its wide and concave design, the Disco Skillet is the perfect companion for everything from scrambling eggs to sizzling steaks.
And to anchor this look at Overland Expo West (pun intended), let’s finish with the gear from Deadman Off-Road. They are a testament to a great idea, hard work and tenacity, that truly symbolize our world of Overlanding. Their yellow booth also brightened a rainy last day!
The Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska is a place of wonder from the 700 square miles of the Harding Icefield in Kenai Fjords National Park to the turquoise blue, salmon-filled Kenai River. The large peninsula is reached by driving southeast from Anchorage along the Turnagain Arm where a narrow piece of land connects the peninsula to the rest of Alaska. It is bordered by the Cook Inlet on the west, Gulf of Alaska on the South and Prince William Sound on the east, resulting in a lot of coastline and impressive fjords. While in Alaska for the summer, we spent about two weeks on the peninsula, broken up by returns to Anchorage and ventures farther north. It certainly isn’t necessary to have a van to explore the area, with most roads paved and in good condition. However, we found some of our favorite camp spots in Alaska just off the road where we often appreciated our ground clearance, 4×4 and short length. Below are 5 favorite places we camped on the peninsula and a little bit about what we did while there.
A camp spot under a bridge might not sound glamorous, but the views from this campsite were well worth a little bit of road noise. We came across this spot after trying several nearby spots along a river running from Portage Lake and finding them too busy. The spot was a quick walk from a visitor’s center with beautiful views of the lake, a water bottle fill station, restrooms and interesting exhibits. We originally visited this spot while towing a small trailer for a visiting friend and returned with other friends who were tent camping and looking to avoid a rainy evening. A bridge does have its perks when it comes to shelter! Portage Lake sits right next to the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, the longest highway tunnel in North America at 2.5 miles. The tunnel is a single lane and serves vehicles and trains, so it alternates directions of vehicle traffic on the half-hour and shuts down when a train comes through. We liked the tunnel so much we drove through it on three separate occasions. It leads to a beautiful little town called Whittier on the Prince William Sound.
Easily our top spot in Alaska, we returned several times to a large camping area on the shore of Kenai Lake. When we first visited the spot, we questioned whether our van could make it to the beach because of the low tree branches and possible scrapes. However, we decided the spot was too good to pass up. Why have a rugged van if you don’t use it? While short, the access road to the beach is steep with unavoidable deep holes. We even came to this beach with the trailer and the van made it out without any problems and only a little bit of struggle. Like the Kenai River, the color of Kenai Lake is a greenish blue due to the glacial silt in the water. On our last visit to Kenai Lake, we enjoyed an impressive fireworks display from a fellow camper, but otherwise we found the spot quiet and peaceful. Nearby, the Russian River flows into the Kenai River, and both rivers are known for their salmon fishing. While we don’t fish, we did enjoy seeing the salmon spawning in the river and jumping at the Russian River Falls.
After several years with our van and extensive traveling on the southeast coast of the United States, our first experience camping on a sandy beach wasn’t until the Kenai Peninsula. A special land use area at the mouth of the Kasilof River on the west coast of the Peninsula allows camping and is highly used for dipnetting in season. We camped on the beach after the fishing season and just before businesses and attractions closed for the year. We expected lots of other campers given the beautiful weather, but only saw a few other vehicles far in the distance. Given that our van weighs about 9,000 pounds, we were nervous about driving on the soft sand without taking the time to air down so we didn’t stray too far from the beach access. Earlier in the day, we chatted with a museum host in the town of Soldotna who spends her summer in an RV on the museum property looking after the grounds. What started as a quick hello turned into a long conversation and the woman gifting us three salmon fillets, with the excuse she had more than she could use. We have found such generosity here in Alaska, especially when it comes to sharing recommendations and fish. On the beach we set up our portable fire pit and enjoyed grilled salmon and s’mores. The next morning, we decided to try and reverse back up the beach to the access road, not wanting to risk turning around in sand without tracks. After backing up a few feet, we felt our tires starting to bury themselves and opted to air down the tires instead of risking getting stuck. After dropping the tire pressure significantly, the van reversed quickly, got traction and easily reversed off the beach. Lesson learned. It is worth the time to air down when driving on sand, even if it’s just for a short distance!
The Homer Spit is a narrow piece of land on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula extending about 4.5 miles into Kachemak Bay. It is a hot spot for fishing, with Homer nicknamed the “Halibut Capital of the World.” The end of the Spit is densely lined with shops, restaurants, charter fishing and sightseeing businesses, making it one of the most tourist-focused places we’ve been in Alaska. As far as we could find, there is no free, legal camping around Homer. We opted to embrace the tourist experience and stayed at two different city-run campgrounds on the Spit, which were basically just parking lots with picnic tables and fire rings. However, the sunny weather and mountain views more than made up for the lack of amenities. While on the Spit, we took a ferry to Seldovia, a small town located farther south and not accessible by road. Seldovia used to be bigger than Homer, a hub of activity with a large fish cannery and businesses along a boardwalk. Now the town is small and quiet, a great spot to relax and explore the coast. We stumbled upon an excellent blueberry picking spot and found the ferry ride reason enough to visit Seldovia.
Kenai Fjords National Park is located in the southern part of the Kenai Peninsula and is only accessed by road on the east side of the park, just outside Seward. Camping is allowed along much of the road, commonly called Exit Glacier Road as it leads to the Exit Glacier Nature Center and provides great views of the glaciers. One of our favorite hikes in Alaska is the eight-mile Harding Icefield Trail, which starts at the Exit Glacier Nature Center. We did the hike three times as we wanted all of our visitors to experience the incredible views of the Harding Icefield, which is 700 square miles with over thirty glaciers flowing out from the icefield. The road is a popular spot for camping, with numerous turnouts in the designated Special Use Area that allows camping for up to eight days. We didn’t start looking for a camp spot until late in the evening, after a full day hiking and dinner in Seward. After striking out at several occupied turnouts, we spied a narrow, steep short turnoff just before a bend in the road. We pulled over to assess the spot, and decided the descent to the spot would be challenging but doable. While we sometimes wish we had more space inside the van, our short length pays off when it comes to parallel parking and tricky camp spots. The turnoff led to numerous secluded camp spots with large fire pits and heavy tree cover. Given the hard to spot turnoff and challenging access, we had the spot to ourselves. Often we find our best camp spots after striking out with more popular spots and having to search a little harder. We are glad we have a vehicle up to the challenge of narrow roads, steep descents, and big rocks.
Our perfect Overland Rig: I grew up dreaming of dusty Baja roads, endless uncrowded beaches, fish tacos, hand pressed tortillas, and night skies filled with fireworks. I think I watched a few too many surf movies in the 80’s and 90’s but self contained traveling has always been something that has intrigued me.
Fast forward 30 years and I find myself owning the perfect overland rig that can accomplish everything I dreamed of and more. Allow me to introduce the Four Wheel Camper, Pop-up Camper, known as the Project M.
A quick back story, Kelly is my beautiful wife, and we’ve been married for over 30 years. I was fortunate enough to marry my high school sweetheart. We now have six children, and three grandchildren. When we met I was a competitive snowboarder, skateboarder, and surfer. We got married very young, started a family, and we owned owned a plumbing company for 15 years. I then became a golf professional, transitioned into event production and started event announcing for Iron Man Half Marathons, Paddleboard races, the Santa Cruz paddle fest, June Lake Triathlon, and more. Kelly and I also became addicted to kayak bass fishing, we now compete in some tournaments , and we started a line of hand printed Fish Sox. During all of this craziness, we always took our children with us wherever we went and everyone participated in every activity.
We have always had a work rig in our family but for a time we started building a one ton conversion van into the ultimate travel vehicle. Every year we would travel off-road down into Baja and make camp at Estero Beach, then we would take short trips further down the coast exploring the waves and small fishing villages. One summer on our way down Interstate 5 we were in a head on collision with a young man that had stolen a vehicle and was in a high speed chase with the highway patrol. His vehicle became airborne as he entered the freeway and Kelly navigated our van to safety after hitting his Jeep Charokee full speed. We were pretty shaken up but our children were all fine, so we rented a van, transferred our gear, and went on with our Mexican Vacation. Probably not the smartest thing, but hey, we had places to see, fish tacos were calling, and soaking up some sun was a great way to heal. My ribs never felt right when I was paddling my surfboard, and Kelly’s wrist hurts whenever she would press down to get up on her board, it all made sense when we got x-rays following the trip and found out I has a few broken ribs and Kelly’s wrist was fractured at impact. We healed, but our van was totaled.
As our event production company grew I found myself always towing our 28’ trailer filled with all of our event equipment using a Ford F-350. I also used the back of my truck at the events delivering water aid station supplies on the race courses, and picking up deliveries from Costco. I really wanted to rebuild a new conversion van so I could sleep at the event sites, but a van doesn’t have the needed towing capacity for our 12,000lb trailer. We started looking at the Four Wheel Camper models but the slide in units eliminated the function of the truck bed. We were stuck needing our truck, and at a serious crossroad as we admired so many friends sleeping in their sprinter vans at events.
I’m not sure exactly sure how it all happened or if a messenger came from heaven but enter the “Project M”. A custom built popup style off-road camper that simply clamps to the back of our Ford F-350. Instantly we have an overland rig I can stand in, this is no easy feat as I’m 6’5” tall, a custom queen size organic bed from Sage Sleep to sink into following work or play, we still have the use of our truck bed as needed with normal tailgate operation, and most importantly, our tow capacity hasn’t changed as the camper weighs under 500lbs. Goodbye van life with a side order of work truck, hello the best of both worlds.
The camper is always mounted on our truck and we don’t even notice it’s there in normal operation. A trip down to the grocery store or Home Depot, no problem. Standard parking works just fine, drive through restaurants, you bet, but if you ever want to pause and take about three minutes, flip the six easy reach clamps, you instantly have a home away from home wherever you park. During covid when everyone was stuck eating in their cars, we would purchase our food, pop up the camper, stretch out and enjoy our meal. Remember when every bathroom was closed, we always have a lug-able loo with liners in the back so my wife and our daughter were never inconvenienced.
Having the Project M on our 4×4 rig, we’ve ventured to places we never could reach in a van, and if equipment and gear is muddy or wet, it’s so convenient to still have a normal operating truck bed. Kelly has outfitted the camper with cozy blankets, endless throw pillows, and all the comforts of home, but at its core, it still functions like a work truck. We have a Mr. Heater on demand shower unit we bring with us wherever we go, a water filter for drinking water, first aid supplies, a small camp stove, some freeze dried meals, some drinking water, and a few basic camp essentials. We are big believers in having a family 72hour emergency kit ready, I guess our permanent mobile 72 hour kit could accommodate us for a few months if needed.
A huge benefit with the Four Wheel Camper Project M, is I can still lower the tailgate and slide in my pedal drive kayak and transport my boat to fishing tournaments. I can pre-fish the day before, sleep right at the boat launch in some areas, saving precious moments of sleep not wasting time driving to a hotel. We’ve even used it for recent wildfire emergency evacuations, no need to load up a trailer for an emergency bug-out, the Four Wheel Camper is always ready.
We’ve taken the rig on so many overnight adventures it’s been a great asset, but the instant convenience is where this unit really shines. We just ventured to Santa Cruz for our son’s 14th birthday and he wanted to play disc golf, skateboard, and go surfing all in the same day. We slept in the rig in the redwoods, then went to the disc golf course where we popped up the camper. Kelly and our daughter stayed in the camper enjoying the morning while we played disc golf. Next was a quick stop at the skatepark, pop top popped again, windows open for a cool breeze, and then we finished the day off surfing. That’s right, you guessed it, our rig, gave us ocean front parking, and a perfect spot to enjoy the view post surf.
We have always tried to maximize every opportunity of adventure, participated in endless activities, and this camper has proven itself over and over again. When we burn all the daylight playing a little too long, and can’t make it back home to our home beds, no problem, we simply find a safe and legal location to park, and we have an instant hotel. I could go on and on about the advantages of this unit, but we’ve got fish to catch, the sun is going down, and soon we need to plan our return to Baja. If you ever spot us out and about and want to see the rig and how easy it is to pop up and camp, don’t be shy, we’re happy to show you one of our favorite things.
The Project M, from Four Wheel Camper is always ready.
There is one piece of gear we all need out on the trail and that’s a good knife. That can be a fixed blade or the more convenient EVERYDAY CARRY FOLDER. Here’s a look at 6 great options for your next adventure.
This Everyday Carry knife is designed for outdoor users, Aegis AT features rapid assisted opening with SOG’s innovative ambidextrous AT-XR Lock with an ergonomic handle and grip pattern for comfortable use. Aegis AT is easy to carry, with a highly functional 3.1″ cryogenically heat-treated D2 steel blade. Its powerful XR locking mechanism also features solid built-in blade locking safety and spine-mounted safety system. The next evolution of the legendary Aegis. TAP Value Choice
Reliability done right. The new 275 Adamas® tactical everyday carry folding knife brings in-hand comfort to the forefront with a tank-like construction you can trust your life with. Carefully redesigned to lighten your load, while continuing to deliver unrivaled performance throughout hard-use applications; the toughest just got tougher. TAP EDITOR’S CHOICE
The Chasm folding knife was designed as an everyday carry companion that has a much smaller footprint. This version features a blade made from premium CPM 154 steel, with a natural stone finish. The iconic recurve edge allows for multiple cutting points with smooth transitions, creating a seamless razor edge. The Chasm rides on phosphor bronze washers for a smooth, controlled action.
The handles, hardware, and ambidextrous pocket clip on this midsize frame lock folding knife are all constructed from 6al-4v titanium to ensure longevity and toughness. A standard 1/4” hole at the rear of the knife allows you to add your favorite lanyard or bead. Every component of this blade is made in-house at Toor Knives, here in San Diego, CA.
Leggaro means light in Italian. High performance car makers went to Italy to fine tune their high performance cars, but we were already there. Our famous hard use folder engineered, tweaked, tuned and perfected into an ultra light, ultra strong, all Titanium alloy flipper.L
The blade steel is Bohler Uddenholm M390 Clean Steel. The bearings are specifically tuned IKBS, the hardware is DPx Gear’s exclusive American 7/64 hex.
Imagine everything you wanted in a hard use folder, but lighter, faster, and, well…sexier. When your EDC needs to be ultra light, ultra strong and DPx Gear.
The Terrain 365 Otter Flip-AT is a fast, flipper action, compact, framelock folder featuring our rustproof, edge-holding Terravantium™ blade. “AT” means this folder is built for “All Terrains” and impervious to rust. Like its animal namesake, this pocket knife is equally at home in the water or on land. Available with titanium handles. With a similar profile as our Otter Slipjoint, the Otter Flip-AT uses a contemporary flipper tab to quickly open the blade and a 100% rustproof, nonferrous, nonmagnetic All Terrain construction with a billet titanium contoured framelock handle, titanium hardware, pocket clip, and ceramic bearings. Editor’s Comment: Beautifully made knife
This everyday carry pocket knife is built for utility with a cleaver blade in a folding application. The FlatIron pocket folder features a robust 3.6 inch blade, a textured micarta handle, and a sturdy frame lock design. The reverse curvature of the knife’s spine keeps knuckles away from the cutting surface, allowing the user to cut and chop with precision.
67 Designs remains one of the most innovative and imaginative design and manufacturing companies in the vehicle based adventure industry. Even in the face of relentless competition and some extremely blatant imported knock-offs, the company constantly re-invests and expands its portfolio with cleanly executed mounting systems.
This fall we see the launch of two different products that are the result of continuing to be close to their customers with a mainly direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales model. The company is very quick to respond to suggestions, requests and when they see gaps in the market.
The new Large Universal that was first previewed at Expo Mountain West in August, is a big brother to their #1 selling Universal for Phones G2. Capable of expanding to the size of an iPad Pro 11 this is a minimalist execution for an iPad holder already proven on the trails. It totally fits the design ethos and continues their Made in America mantra.
In a sea of black device holder arms it’s refreshing to see how 67 Designs has introduced color matte carbon fiber arms.
“As the only bonafide US manufacturer of carbon fiber arms mounting systems this was an easy extension to our portfolio in our new production facility. We are starting with blue, red, silver and camo. Again, the response to our Expo Mountain West debut made it an no-brainer to start selling these as fast as we can make them.” noted owner of 67 Designs, Gavin Stener. The company will supply from their manufacturing facility in Dallas, Texas and it will be in small batches and only available as they put it on the shelf for sale.
