The Gear Journal – Every Day Carry Gear & Gadgets

September 16, 2021

Logitech Combo Touch

Ryan

Tech

Want to turn your iPad Pro into a laptop, but don’t want to spend the $350 Apple wants for the Magic Keyboard? Spend $100 less and get the Combo Touch instead… It’s not as trick looking, but it works better in almost every way.

Details.

September 15, 2021

Vaer D7

Ryan

Watches

“Hey Ryan… Question: I want a Rolex Submariner, but can’t afford one. And even if I could, that kind of money on a watch doesn’t make sense to me. Can you recommend a sub $1000 watch that might fill the void?”

Man… there are so many submariner “homages” on the market, that it’s tough to recommend just one. The being said, the watch world kind of freaked out on the Vaer D7 series when it was released and I’ve heard nothing but good things about it since.

Essentially, it’s a Swiss made watch featuring a Sellita SW200 movement. The SW200 is a ETA 2824 alternative that lots of watch makers are using these days and it seemingly does really well out in the world. More than that though, Vaer makes one hell of a watch case. The fit and finish of these is 90% as good as a Rolex at a tenth the cost.

I think the Vaer is a really safe bet for a guy like you.

Details here.

September 14, 2021

TAU Power Bank

Ryan

Tech

I got one of these sent to me blindly – no note, no explanation, no request, no nothing… Hell, at first I didn’t know what it was. A hard drive? A stash pod? Eventually, I figured out it was a tiny power bank for your keychain that provides 1400 mAh of power on the go. It’s also built really well… Pretty rad.

Details.

September 13, 2021

Dango Carry All Lite

Ryan

Bags & Wallets

I try not to show my age, so I never wear shit on my belt… but this is an interesting concept and given that it was made by Dango, it’s prolly made pretty well too.

Details.

September 10, 2021

Rocket Factory T-Shirt

Ryan

Clothing

If you hurry, you can pay too much for a t-shirt, save it, and then sell it for 100x what you paid for it in just a few months. But, you had better hurry… Cuz these won’t last long.

Details.

September 9, 2021

Randolph Military Heritage Collection

Ryan

Other Gear

Rayban wasn’t the only eyewear company to win a government military contract in the 1960’s. In fact, Randolph made more issued sunglasses than anyone else… And they are still at it.

Details.

September 8, 2021

Peak Design Slide Light

Ryan

Bags & Wallets, Other Gear

So yeah… I have a SL2-S now… Damnit. And that brings me to camera straps. Traditionally, I’ve always preferred very simple straps with no adjustment, no bells, no whistles… In fact, I usually just make my own out of a bit of leather. This gives me a custom and very sleek strap that fits perfectly.

The one problem with this is that to remove the strap, you have to go through the whole split ring fiasco with your fingernails. And if you like to move straps from camera to camera, this is a real pain in the ass.

Enter the Peak Design Slide. It’s not cool looking… at all… and it doesn’t feel right to put one on a classic rangefinder, but from a functionality standpoint, it’s really hard to beat.

Essentially, the slide is a quick release strap that can go from camera to camera in seconds with little effort. Plus, it’s actually exceptionally comfortable.

Details.

September 2, 2021

Leica SL2-S

Ryan

Tech

God, I hate Leica. No really… I do… The modern version of it anyway. But the thing is, I have a collection of vintage Leica lenses that I really want to shoot digital with. My Sony A7 body is a fantastic video/photo hybrid, but my old lenses just don’t shine through it. And I’ve tried various Digital M-bodies, but the value just isn’t there as I can’t afford both a still and a film setup… especially with the $8k price tag of an M10.

Enter the SL2-S. It’s $5,000. BUT, it’s a fantastic video platform and was literally made to shoot vintage glass.

Man… I hate Leica.

Details.

P.S. Just the battery is $300!