Author: news

There’s a lot more to skiing than sliding around on snow. The culture of lodge life, travel elements, misadventures, impulsive strike missions, and moments of sillyness all define a winter. They fill in the space between runs with a special dopamine-fueled energy you can’t get from any other sport. It’s a hard thing to define — and it’s the subject of Head’s latest installment of its Freeskiing film series, Out of the Ordinary. The feature-length film highlights Head’s ski team. It explores the moments that make skiing so addictive, and reminds us why we chase it so fervently year after…

By Wayne van Zwoll Posted in #Gear In 1943 Fred Huntington, Jr. decided he’d rather make bullets than take over his father’s laundry in California. Just out of high school, he was swaging .22 lead cores in Vickery dies and jacketing them with spent rimfire cases. He peddled enough to cover expenses. But soon a more profitable idea came to mind: making dies. Grosvenor Wotkyns, a shooter credited with designing the .22 Hornet, bought a set of Fred’s dies. “They need a name,” he said, and suggested “Rock Chuck Bullet Swage,” a nod to the West’s rock-slide-dwelling yellow-bellied marmot.…

After a rather slow year in multitools that saw us bring knives into the mix in 2024, 2025 saw more multitool debuts than we could keep up with. Many of them were rather underwhelming – limited utility, weird forms, copycats and other subpar debuts – but a few stood tall above the pack. Our favorites of 2025 included a sharper, sweeter reimagining of Leatherman’s most popular tool ever, a distinctively skeletal aluminum Swiss Army knife, a flat tool that goes 3D, and a Gerber campsite classic that starts fires. Take a look at all of the best of the year.…

Aegis Kinetic Group Vertex 2.0 Plate Carrier Aegis Kinetic Group is proud to announce the long-awaited release of our Vertex 2.0 Plate Carrier and Operating System. Since the release of Vertex 1.5 two years ago, we have been focused on optimizing our design approach and our manufacturing processes to create a product that strikes an effective balance between affordable production cost and a professional feature set. Initially designed for maritime applications, the Vertex has also shown its performance across various environments, including during professional deployments to the Arctic and Ukraine. Made from water-resistant 500D Cordura laminate and weighing 15.2 oz,…

Maybe it’s because my first lightweight Spyderco was a blue Delica 3, but I just really like the C223 Lightweight Para 3 platform. I carried one variation of this wonderful lightweight lil’ big folder throughout the summer. The form factor on the Para 3 just works. If you love the Paramilitary 2, then you’ll at least ‘like’ the Para 3. The cockpit area (opening hole, choil area) is the same, so you’ll have no trouble deploying the Para 3, compared to the Paramilitary 2. The C223 offers a full ‘large knife’ grip, when using the choil, but in a shorter…

Martin Tuason 1974-2025 Martin Tuason, president and CEO of Rock Island Armory and Armscor, passed away unexpectedly on Nov. 19. He assumed the helm of both firms in 2012 and continued a family legacy that began more than a century ago when his grandfather, Celso Tuason, transformed a small retail sporting-goods store into Arms Corporation of the Philippines (Armscor) in 1952. Under Martin’s leadership, Armscor and Rock Island Armory expanded their global reach, established operations across six continents and became one of the top 10 firearm manufacturers in the world. His sharp business acumen was widely recognized, as well as…

Outdoor communication keeps getting smarter, smaller, and, like all thing, more expensive. Garmin’s new inReach Mini 3 Plus ($499) adds a touchscreen, voice messaging, and photo sharing to a device that once prided itself on being almost stubbornly simple. The new version jumps from a tiny grayscale screen and a handful of buttons to something closer to a stripped-down phone. It sends voice messages, supports photo viewing, allows photo sharing when paired with the Messenger app, and uses a touchscreen for faster navigation. It’s a sharp turn for a device best known for blunt practicality. The core inReach pieces are…

Noctu is a company founded out of necessity. Years of wear and tear on the body under the weight of body armor and packs led to the desire to look at load carriage from a completely different angle. From that, the Flex System was born. Designed to carry loads from 60-80 lbs, the Flex System allows you to shift the burden from your shoulders to your hips, on-the-fly. It’s offered as a full system complete with flex belt (which is recommended for full load carriage support) or as the Thoracic Flex which is essentially that back panel alone. Due to…

Looking for a new iron or piece of kit to enhance the one you already own? Check out these 7 new bits of guns and gear to grow your firearms wish list.The New Guns And Gear:GForce Arms Jawbone PCCIf you don’t already own a pistol-caliber carbine, you need to be asking yourself why not. From range toy to home defense, and from competition shooting to truck guns, large-format AR pistols in 9mm are as fun as they are practical. GForce Arms’ Jawbone is one of the latest models worth considering. The PCC is compatible with 9mm Glock-pattern magazines, features a…

FORT BENNING, Ga. — The U.S. Army Ranger Course has served as the Army’s crucible for developing the functional skills and mental toughness required of platoon and squad leaders in close combat for three-quarters of a century. The course marked its 75th anniversary on Nov. 25, 2025, affirming its vital, continuing role in creating adaptive and decisive leaders for the modern force. Honoring the Legacy The celebration, hosted by the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, began with the dedication of the Col. Ralph Puckett Jr. Memorial, marking the official kickoff of the anniversary observance. This statue now resides near Hurley…