Innehållsförteckning för Summer 2017 från Overland Journal

During the last 30 years we’ve seen an onslaught of sport utility models flood the world’s automotive markets. In an era where age 50 is the new 30, family station wagons have been exchanged for vehicles that can ferry snowboards and skis to the slopes, kayaks to the river, and camping gear to the backcountry. The Willys wagon led the charge back in the ’50s, and Jeep has been on the forefront of the SUV’s evolution with the introduction of a plethora of models. With a continued push to expand its presence as a global brand, the company went back to the drawing board to develop a compact platform that not only possessed seven-slot grille capability, but also the fuel economy, comfort, and price point required to compete in the…

Professional soundman James Demer (pronounced Dee-Mur) raises the bar for backcountry tunes with his rugged Bluetooth speaker. In 2010, he devised a prototype while working on a film in the Arctic Circle. Over two dozen destroyed Pelican 1300 cases and 1,000 labor hours later, DemerBox emerged. James chose the American-made Pelican case for its proven rugged platform. All injection-molded parts, such as external speaker grills, an internal lithium-ion battery plate, and woofer plug are made in the USA, and the boxes themselves are constructed in Portland, Maine. As expected, stainless fasteners prevail, and the 20-watt audio amplifier circuit board is a proprietary design. The battery recharges in 4 hours, from 110-240V, and can charge other devices via an internal USB port. Expect 50-plus hours on one battery charge. In-house designed…

“ Eat! Is good…make you strong!” Mohamed asserted in a gravelly yet confident charge as he presented a pan containing chunks of meat swimming in an ocher sauce. Picking up a large slab, he dropped it in his mouth with a reassuring nod. This wasn’t my first rodeo with regard to sampling the flavor of a foreign culture, and I wouldn’t normally have reservations. However, the last time Mohamed had said, “Eat, make you strong,” I found myself savoring the spongy flesh of a sautéed camel testicle. Before me lay a shriveled up sausage-like thing that had the look, well, of one of those male appendages another guy just shouldn’t eat. He leaned forward to the community tagine bowl, carefully sliced off a chunk of the carrion, and slid it…

Painless has been around forever; my earliest memories of the brand being a fuse block and harness for my 1953 M38A1 Jeep. Their entire lineup is designed and made in America, and they have a long history of supplying harnesses for vintage vehicles and other applications. Their electronics are known for production quality and easy-to-identify wiring labeling and colors that improve serviceability and repair. This particular item is no different, and ships as a nearly complete kit. This was one of the more elementary systems, eschewing new technologies and even a basic display. It relies on a heavy-duty 250-amp mechanical solenoid/relay, harness, waterproof three-way switch, and two LEDs. Position one isolates the auxiliary battery and turns off the LEDs. Position two connects the auxiliary only when the ignition is on,…

Adventure doesn’t always look like what you would expect. It is not bound to the toughest trails or limited to foreign lands with unfamiliar cultures. Some journeys are about rediscovering the places we already know and seeing them in a new light. This was our goal with the Washington portion of the Pacific Crest Overland Route (PCOR)—to experience the unique beauty of its small towns and backroads, from the shores of Belling-ham to the Oregon border. In truth, we only had time to experience a fraction of the things we had hoped for, but if you choose to explore this route for yourself, it is easy to branch out and see more of the state’s many wonders. GENERAL INFORMATION Washington is the northwesternmost state in the contiguous U.S., and contains…

The Sahara in Mauritania is unbelievably hot, desiccated, barren, and unyielding—yet so astoundingly beautiful in its vastness. After many kilometres of nothing but sand and waves of hot, dry winds, I could just make out a town in the dusty haze ahead. On the side of a hill, small and square, flat-roofed earth houses jutted out and spilled down the side, sculpted into the environment. A narrow track led into the village. Whilst we were wondering whether the Gaz-66 would fit through the tiny earth path, the head of a white camel emerged. Behind it, a train of five more, so pale that they almost blended into the landscape. Two of the three men leading the group wore the black fabric of the desert dwellers around their heads, protection from…

Anxiety is not a word often associated with overlanding, but if you are adventurous enough to test the limit of your courage you will experience your fair share of angst. I am not merely referring to the pre-departure turmoil (particularly the intercontinental let’s sell it all and see what happens journey) but more specifically, the nonsense you will get yourself into when you are tightfisted and reluctant to admit your sporadic but persistent fear of the dark. And it is exactly the penny-pinching, long-term overlander mentality which tends to get us into the most precarious (or potentially precarious) positions.The eternal search for free camping can often yield the most wonderful results,but will often also lead to the most terrifying evenings. Particularly if you, like me, share an overactive imagination with…

Everything about this tent exudes quality, from the welded and press-bent panels and recessed ladder storage, to the ultra-plush mattress. Everyone loves the idea of a tree house, and for the overlander, few things resonate as much with this concept as the roof top tent (RTT), a comfortable and elevated retreat from the creepy crawlies and uneven terrain below. I ordered my very first RTT from Eezi-Awn in South Africa in early 2004—a green canvas number. Now, over a decade later, these innovative Afrikaners have recently released their first hard-shell solution: a black aluminum model with angles reminiscent of a jet fighter. In the 30-year history of their brand, Jack and Jess Stuhler never fully embraced the idea of a hard-shell, flirting briefly with their Alu-Cap design, a hybrid folding…

Three decades ago, the first-generation Discovery was designed (codenamed Project Jay), the third vehicle for Land Rover and a significant attempt at reaching a broader audience. In 1989, the resulting model launched an entire segment of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and propelled the brand into the hearts of millions of buyers. My personal love for Discovery runs deep, having owned every single platform, including my first Land Rover, a 2001 Discovery II that I purchased new. From there, I found a 5-speed manual 1995 Series I which was featured for years in this publication. An LR4 followed that was extensively modified for overland travel. In the last few years we enjoyed a long-term loan of a Series II Trek Edition, and currently own a diesel 2003 Discovery, a partnership with Land…

Click, click, click. We all know the sound, as well as the feeling that comes from having a dead battery—the starter fighting against low voltage with limited amperage to turn the motor. If you are in the parking lot at work, the fix is usually a relatively painless jump or tow. However, when traveling in the remote destinations of the globe, a battery failure can have dire consequences. The least critical outcome would be some warm beer, the worst being a disabled vehicle. During my travels, the most common vehicle maladies have been battery, charging, and electrical issues, resulting in serious frustration and at times extensive repairs. In this modern age, we rely heavily on electronics; not only to run all of our overland systems, but also to operate the…

National Luna is a South African company that lives and breathes electronics made for severe-duty use. Known for their class-leading fridges, they also produce lighting and dual-battery products. We have used their 12-volt system on our own project vehicles, and they won the Editor’s Choice Award in our first dual-battery review (Winter 2008). This is the most comprehensive kit in the test, and includes every possible connection and terminal, along with over 20 feet of positive and negative cables. Thoughtful details include two high-amp fuses and a fully assembled controller harness. This kit is made with the overlander in mind, featuring a bright and easy-to-read display and manual override to combine the batteries. The controller logic is heavily biased toward the starting battery, including a 5-minute priority charge once 13.1…

Testing dual-battery systems may seem as exciting as a trip to the dentist, but this evaluation has shown that there are only a few leading contenders in the field. We considered over a dozen different units and ended up with five of the most popular on the market. For our Value Award, it came down to the National Luna and the Blue Sea ML-ACR systems. Both have their advantages. The NL is the most comprehensive DIY kit in the review with every last cable and part needed for installation. It is also feature rich with a remote-mounted monitor. The negatives are primarily focused on the limit amp capacity of the solenoid for winching and jump starts. The ML-ACR is not only high-capacity, but also has low draw with the magnetic…

There’s no debating the advantages of matching tire pressure to terrain. Decreasing psi is the most effective way to extract that last measure of traction from your tires. Doing so not only increases deformation and flotation, but also improves comfort over rough surfaces such as corrugated dirt tracks and rocky roads. A denture-rattling two-track can become virtually imperceptible with softer sidewalls. These benefits apply equally to sand, snow, dirt, rocks, and mud, with a significant reduction in the likelihood of getting stuck. We tested five tire deflators and weighed in on their various attributes. Ease of use, size, cost, and process of adjustment were all considered. STAUN $89/SET OF 4 The grand-daddy of tire deflators, the Staun is a simple, compact tool that can be set to a precise pressure,…

A passion for rock climbing took Geoff Tabin, co-founder and chairman of the Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP), to Asia and Africa where he witnessed the abysmal gap in healthcare between wealthy and poor countries. The jarring experience steered him to medical school and into the field of global health. After graduating, his love for the Himalayas brought him back to Nepal to work as a general physician at a rural clinic. Most of his patients suffered conditions preventable in the U.S. and other developed countries, such as infectious diseases caused by poor nutrition and lack of clean water, sanitation, and vaccinations. Another common condition was blindness from cataracts, a clouding of the eye lens very common in older people all over the world. “People would get old and their eyes…

SERVES 2 | PREP TIME 6-12 hours (to marinate) | COOK TIME 30 minutes EQUIPMENT Cast iron skillet, two large freezer bags, meat thermometer 2 Angus thick-cut, 8- to 10-ounce ribeye or strip steaks 4 large Hatch green chiles (fresh) 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tablespoon bacon fat or olive oil Salt and pepper Grated asadero or cotija crumbles (optional) MARINADE 1 large fresh Hatch green chile, destemmed and minced (with seeds) 1 small yellow onion, minced 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground red chile or cayenne pepper ¼ cup tequila 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice Years ago, near the borderland west of El Paso, I crossed paths with a group of vaqueros winding down a late-fall cattle drive. The boss, who I knew…

Around the turn of the last century I was standing on the edge of the Batoka Gorge in Zimbabwe, witnessing one of the miracles of geological formation, Mosi-oa-Tunya, better know as Victoria Falls. Similar to Iguazú Falls, which lies between Argentina and Brazil, and Niagara Falls, shared by Canada and the United States, Victoria Falls creates its own weather system—one that blankets the area in a perpetual state of mist. Beyond my boots, the algae-covered layer of basalt that forms the cataract dropped some 300 feet into a tumultuous collection of house-sized boulders. In contrast to Niagara, there wasn’t a manicured walkway, triple-slat guardrails, or boundary between visitors to prevent them from slipping to certain death. Rather, a simple sign read, “If you fall from here, you will die.” A…

Back in the fall of 2014 I spent 3 days in Baja, Mexico, testing the newest iteration of the BFGoodrich All-terrain, the KO2. The region was being hammered by the tail end of a hurricane, which allowed us to put the KO2 through a variety of terrain ranging from sloppy mud and sandy beaches to rocky hill climbs and high-speed drifts on hard-pack two-tracks. I was impressed with the tire and within a few months had a set on my long-term Tacoma. Since that time the odometer has clicked off 35,000 miles and the KO2s have carried me back to Baja numerous times, as well as on dozens of backcountry treks around the West. The company’s tagline for the new All-terrain was Traction, Toughness, and Tread Life, and I can…

The Power-Gate is a MOSFET dual rectifier designed specifically for extreme military and field work. Perfect Switch was founded by Scott Stolper, a Land Cruiser enthusiast and backcountry explorer; his time in the field inspired the product. Years of R&D resulted in this offering, the most innovative in this review. Essentially a giant diode, the system controls the input to the alternator anode and the output to the main and auxiliary cathodes. The presence of charging voltage opens the arrays and allows for minimal voltage loss as both batteries receive full current. Being a dual rectifier, the batteries are never connected unless the manual override is activated. This item also differs from the rest in that it is integrated to the vehicle, the input coming from the alternator, and the…

I keyed the mic and the radio crackled, “Doña Ana County Airport, this is Cessna triple five delta delta, departing runway two eight.” Jake Quiñones gave a confident two-thumbs up from the passenger’s seat. I advanced the throttle and we were airborne, the runway centerline slipping below us and into darkness. Moments later, the first morning sunlight peeked over the horizon, and the green banks of the Río Grande Valley lay in contrast to the brown desert which stretched to either side. Our flight plan was simple: fly low and slow over New Mexico and look for the Butterfield Trail. One hundred and fifty years ago, Waterman L. Ormsby and William Tallack traveled separately as passengers aboard the Butterfield Overland Mail Company’s (OMC) stagecoach route. While most of the passengers…

Sulfur. It is the acrid aroma of Iceland, and like the raven-hued soil covering the entirety of the island, it is an omnipresent reminder of its volcanic origins. Eons in the making, yet a mere blip in the arc of geologic time, Iceland is––brand new. This explains why the tiny country’s landscapes are so unspoiled, exotic, even otherworldly. After spending several weeks exploring its many fjords, glaciers, beaches, and desolate black sand deserts, I struggled to put my finger on the quintessence of what makes this island in the North Atlantic so vastly different from all other places on the planet. Then it hit me. The more time I spent exploring the country’s remote corners, the more I began to notice subtle things like how the pebbles on the beaches…

Photographers are reactive beings. They see something and react by raising their camera and firing away. It seems to me that while many fine photos are made this way, images I tend to spend time with are those that embody a lucky combination of thought and emotion. Our camera is an extension of ourselves that can be a powerful way to communicate. Yet, it’s just a tool. And like any tool, mastering it requires an understanding of available features and their outcome on a photograph. It also requires practice, once coming to grips with the camera’s potential. Today’s digital single lens reflex cameras have made quality image making accessible to the masses. The CPU inside the camera, however, can’t perform the single most important aspect of photography: determining the subject.…

Armchair historians have always found the clandestine operations of the Soviet Union fascinating. Masters of espionage, Russian subterfuge is the stuff of novels and movies, providing fanciful fodder for an entire counterculture. It has even been leveraged for unusual gains, like for example, the marketing of a product. While researching the inception of the Russian Ural sidecar, I uncovered a recurring story, albeit one with many different riffs and imaginative embellishments. The essence of the narrative is one of treachery, including the theft of state property and the betrayal of a wartime ally. It describes the early years of World War II when Soviet agents slipped into Germany, secretly purloined five BMW motorcycles, and brought them back to the Motherland where they were reverse-engineered and rushed into production as the…