Innehållsförteckning för Spring 2017 från Overland Journal

Giant Loop Round the World Panniers Soft bag benefits with hard case convenience. Hard or soft luggage? Giant Loop has a solution for that conundrum with their Round the World panniers, offering all of the advantages of both systems without any compromises. Like soft-sided bags, this system is lightweight, compressible, and considerably less expensive than most hard-sided boxes. Whereas many fabric pannier systems attach with a tangled mess of straps, the RTWs are backed with an internal HDPE frame sheet allowing them to mount to almost any standard luggage rack. Each 90-liter bag is made with the company’s Bombshell reinforced ballistic nylon with a roll-top closure for weather resistance. The two included waterproof Dry Pods keep internal contents bone dry and large compression panels hold the load snug to the…

When sorting through the overlander’s toy chest, most items can be clearly divided into categories of need or want. Although the portable fridge/freezer typically falls within the latter group, it remains a popular gear acquisition, and for good reason. Who doesn’t love a cold beverage at the end of a long day without the headache of sourcing ice? In the early months of Overland Journal, going back to our second issue in the summer of 2007, we set out to test the leading refrigerators of the day. That feature was so well received we conducted a reprise evaluation 3 years later in the summer of 2010. In the time since, the fridge market has continued to evolve with enough new technologies, models, and manufacturers entering the mix that we felt…

PROS Reliability Durable all-metal construction Several useful accessories available Removable lid for easy loading High-placed vents Low peak amp draw Most energy efficient at constant temperature CONS No temp gauge Difficult to precisely regulate temperature Weight (64 pounds) No internal light In contrast to the latest crop of portable refrigerators festooned with high-tech bells and whistles, the 45-liter Engel MT45F seems almost antiquated. In place of a multi-faceted control panel it has a humble dial with vague settings ranging from off to freeze. There are no low-voltage protections and it lacks basics like an internal light or temperature gauge. With a dearth of features, some might ask why it is still relevant and worthy of inclusion in this test. This is its fourth appearance in Overland Journal. The MT45F earned…

PROS All-metal construction Excellent cooling and insulation performance Front control panel Large buttons and display readout Lid open alarm Interior light Included wireless remote/ display Superb value CONS Small handles Front opening only Power cord placement Not as energy efficient as some Another newcomer in this test with a decidedly similar design to the National Luna is the 42-liter SnoMaster Traveler. Like its fellow South African counterpart, this unit is made of stainless steel with highly insulated walls, and has several features shared with the more expensive Weekender 50 Twin and 52 single-compartment units. A near clone of the National Luna fridges, there are a few notable differences, some for the better, a few for the worse. During our cooldown test, the SnoMaster was only bested by the Indel B…

Anza–Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP) is a remote moonscape that beckons the adventurer with technical terrain, expansive geology, and the solitude of desert campsites. It is named for the Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and borrego (bighorn sheep). At 600,000 acres it is the largest park in California, featuring over 500 miles of dirt roads, 110 miles of hiking trails, and 12 wilderness areas. In the early 1930s, a group of influential San Diegans identified the Anza–Borrego area, which includes a wide array of geological and ecological diversity, as being uniquely untouched. Several donated land and many more provided money to help establish the park. The original goal was for a million acres of multi-use land to be preserved from development, but the County of San Diego quickly stepped…

As the editor of Overland Journal I am often posed with the question of how I landed the “dream job” of traveling around the country and the world with a camera and laptop, taking photos and spinning yarns. While I have my own story and feel blessed to do what I do, the truth is that I spend much of my time reviewing images of other people’s travels and editing their tales of far-off lands. I live vicariously, as you may, through their adventures and often wonder about the paths they forged to create such amazing lifestyles. Some, such as Gary and Monika Wescott of The Turtle Expedition, crafted a business around travel and international media exposure. Brad and Sheena Van Orden saved their money, bought a VW bus, and…

Years ago on a cold and rainy night we were travelling down the Mojave Road. Everyone was miserable and starving. The easiest meal I had planned for our weekend was a basic yellow curry—and I mean basic. It was nothing more than a box of instant white rice, canned chicken, yellow curry paste, a bit of coconut milk, and those cans of soggy stir-fry vegetables. Warm and filling, it got us through the night but wasn’t anything special. As time passed, people that had been on the trip started to ask me for the recipe of that “amazing Mojave Desert curry.” Reluctantly, I told them. While the circumstances made that dinner seem great in memory, I had to set the record straight by giving my curry a new twist that…

Many, many thanks to the charter subscribers and advertisers, our team past and present, Hudson Printing for their patience and kindness, and most of all to Scott. I have been blessed to share this life with you. It was August 2006. I was working in real estate and my husband, Scott, was working in higher education computer systems. Scott had started a business called Expeditions West several years prior, which he ran in his free time, that allowed him to pursue his passions of travel and writing. We had been living in Prescott, Arizona, for a year and were coming back from a 4WD day trip with friends. Scott was beginning to grow restless with his job and as we drove we talked about various options for him. We had…

PROS Convenient lid design Strong built-in handles Shallow depth Front-placed control panel Many available accessories Lightweight CONS Average performance Plastic lid Large footprint relative to internal volume In our 2010 test, the nascent ARB fridge introduced a brand-new set of user features in a contemporary package, but it was a relative unknown at the time. Since then, four members of our Overland Journal team, myself included, have acquired units and put them to hard use over the span of hundreds of combined travel days. I would be remiss to not mention a few hiccups in those early production months.Two of the four needed warranty replacement for the same malfunctioning component, but once remedied through ARB’s superb customer service department, have performed flawlessly. The recipient of the Value Award in our…

PROS Excellent technical performance Unbeatable value Compact overall size relative to capacity Three-level low-voltage cutoff Digital readout atop the unit CONS Control panel is backwards Crisper may be too large for some users Tall exterior height and deep interior Predominantly plastic construction Indel B has been an innovator in the portable refrigeration industry for more than 45 years. In 1982 they were commissioned to produce a refrigerator for one of the most well-known adventure vehicles of all time: NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia. That pedigree is evident in their 50-liter Travel Box. The first thing to catch our attention was the unusually low asking price, reason enough to consider it for our Value Award. After testing it thoroughly and putting it through our battery of subjective and objective evaluations, it had…

It’s a tiresome but accurate cliché: numbers do not lie. Equally true is that raw data doesn’t tell the whole story and is only helpful within context. Despite our predilection for controlled and objective assessments, we also place equal importance on real-world user experience. Long before we compiled our latest batch of spreadsheets, graphs, and scorecards, we put these refrigerators to use. While the numeric results might indicate winners and losers, we don’t think there is a bad choice in the bunch. In our last review, Graham lamented Engel’s insistence that we test their tried and true MT45F and not the newly released MR40. I’m glad we chose to omit the MR40 this time around as well. I liken the classic Engel to an FJ40 Land Cruiser, and it almost…

It’s one of the world’s great wonders and so immense I had to crane my neck just to take it all in.Towering over me, colored in emerald green and framed by an azure sky, were the steep escarpments of Huayna Picchu. At the mountain’s feet and stretching in all directions were the terraced ledges and stone walls of Peru’s most recognized ruin, Machu Picchu. I paused for a moment to enjoy the view, then grabbed my bag and continued my walk through the terminal to the taxis waiting outside. Unlike thousands of visitors to Peru, I had not come to see the country’s star attraction. My only glimpse of the famous In-can citadel was on a digitized billboard near the baggage claim in Jorge Chávez International Airport. Although I hope…

One of my fondest travel memories is snaking up the old mining roads near Ouray, Colorado, in our Defender 110. Now and then, the trail cut through a snowdrift as tall as our roof rack. Clearly, somebody had put a huge effort into the road’s maintenance. Trails are essential for most outdoor activities, yet the work required to keep them open is often overlooked. Rain and snow erode paths, wildfires may completely eliminate them, and trees fall down—not to mention damage caused by careless humans. Depending on location, trails and recreation facilities are maintained by counties, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), or state and national park administrations. However, dwindling budgets have strained agencies’ efforts. This is where volunteers can step in to offer support. In…

“This is a forgery!” A huge Soviet-style cap, set at an impossibly jaunty angle clung to the head of the stern Moldovan border guard who was meticulously scrutinising our documents. Of course we knew the document was a fake—the real one was floating around an Israeli customs office somewhere over a thousand miles away and long lost to us. “Forgery?” I stuttered, trying to feign shock, “W-w-what do you mean? After spending the last 14 months driving our London black cab around the world through over 40 countries, we had our fair share of visa and documents issues—from incorrectly issued permits in Tibet to shakedowns by Russian police in the far north. My teammate and friend Paul had even been deported from Iran after an ill-fated run-in with the secret…

Starting any business is an adventure, complete with thrills and spills and rewards. Our team has not only survived the corporate landscape as a media company, we have endured the most extreme of travel experiences, from an attempted carjacking in Central Asia to whiteouts in Antarctica. For our 10-year anniversary we have made a few changes to the magazine, more evolutionary than revolutionary, adjusting some of the content to our readers’ interests and refining our design to include a beautiful new logo and cover layout. Our circulation has more than tripled and we have recently added a German language version, managed by Michael Brailey. Overland Journal’s original charter was to be a literary authority in the vehicle-dependent travel community by exploring the world. As competition has entered the space, I…

Looking back on this 4-year project I don’t think I would have changed a thing. Back in 2012 the odometer on my ’02 Tacoma was creeping up on 180,000 miles (hard miles) and things were beginning to get creaky. Because I have a tendency to keep things around rather than dump them every few years for the latest and greatest, I began a slow makeover. The base platform and drivetrain are well suited for the Tacoma’s size and weight, so I skipped any plans for an LS1 V8 and Sports-mobile-style home on wheels. But I did need to address longterm maintenance, tires, power systems, the aging suspension, and various utility options. THE ABODE I’ve never been one to own a separate vehicle for camping, another for hauling my motorcycle, and…

When I stepped off the plane in Alice, her warm afternoon air smelled of red dirt and rich eucalyptus, permeating my senses like a firm handshake from an old friend. “You hungry? I’ve got a pocket PB&J.” As the facetious host of Dirt Every Day, Fred Williams has a warped sense of humor. It was around midnight and we had been getting dragged on a tow strap for the previous 12 hours. An electrical issue that morning had left the motor of our FJ40 as functional as a 300-pound parachute. We’d dug ourselves out of several mud bogs and from the knees down my bare legs and feet were covered in mud, which had dried like cement in the frigid desert air. The lights and heater were kaput and we…

PROS Well-placed control panel Multiple low-voltage cutoffs Large handles Left/right lid configurations Available accessories Lightweight CONS Poor insulation performance Large external size Almost entirely made of plastic Although omitted from our last test, our 2007 review included a popular fridge wearing the Waeco badge. Newly redesigned, rebranded, and sold under the Dometic name, the 52-liter CFX-50 is now one of the better values in portable refrigeration. Drawing on 4 decades of cooling technology, it was engineered specifically for vehicle use. Like the ARB which was also designed for that application, the CFX-50 has nearly identical features. The Dometic has a large digital control panel located on the upper front portion of the unit. The soft-touch buttons access temperature settings, voltage cutoff levels, and in future units slated for release as…

PROS Optional freezer compartment (50-liter model) Solid construction Multi-level low-voltage cutoffs with audible alarm Front or side opening Superb cooling and insulation properties Legendary reliability Best internal basket system CONS Side-mounted control panel Buttons and labels on the control panel are small Dark interior color With their extensive catalog of products, selecting a particular National Luna sample to evaluate was surprisingly nuanced. Their 40-liter fridge with thick 60-millimeter walls would have likely bested every other contender in our performance tests. The Weekender 52, with slightly thinner 45-millimeter walls, is most similar to the others in our roundup with a main refrigerated compartment and a smaller shelf above the compressor. Also meeting our size requirements is the Weekender 50 Twin. Its unique design directs maximum cooling power to the small 10-liter…

Kenya stretched out before us. We moved slowly and deliberately along a rogue track through the rugged and sparsely vegetated area near Sogwass Mountain in Northern Uganda. We were not convinced that this rarely used smugglers’ route was even passable, let alone legal for access to the border—then we got caught. The tribal militia met us with a combination of crooked smiles and blank stares; two of the men unslung their HK G3 rifles, coming to the low ready. Walking toward the G-Wagen the leader’s grin broadened, his eyes shielded by mirrored aviators and a baseball cap emblazoned with “Disobey” above the bill. Bryon and I continued to take stock of the approaching party, a mix of camouflage and traditional cloaks, some even gripping wooden staffs and bows and arrows.…

For the few of us in the know, Elspeth Beard has long been regarded as a living legend. But in recent years she has transcended her underground status and is finally getting the recognition she deserves—for being the first British woman to ride a motorcycle around the world. I first met Elspeth in 2009 when I interviewed her for a documentary I was making about women adventure riders. Her wry humour, coupled with a warm welcome and typically British understated sensibility regarding her impressive life story, made for fascinating conversation. We met at her home, a self-converted water tower in Surrey, just southwest of London where she has lived since returning from her epic ride in the mid-1980s. Her willingness to take on a derelict Victorian structure and turn it…

Images that touch the senses are rarely created by accident. They are the result of a collection of considerations, decisions, and actions leading up to the moment the shutter button is pressed. From its inception in 2007, Overland Journal has taken pride in presenting compelling imagery of the world around us. Although it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, a photograph should do more than tell a story. Whether generated from a single transparency or a few million pixels, it should not only draw the viewer in on a visual level, but also let them smell the rich aroma of a Cuban cigar factory, feel the torrid air of a tropical rainforest, or savor the woody notes of a fine añejo tequila. Images that touch the…