Gear Review: Minus 33 Kodiak Expedition Hoody

I have been testing out and shooting for Minus 33 for several years now. One of the products I've been wanting to get my hands on is the Kodiak Expedition Wool Hoody. Earlier this month I got a box from Minus 33 and lo and behold there was the hoody! What better way to break it in then take it up to Mount Rainier and see how it holds up to the cold. 

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Podcasts: Sam Harris #104 - The Lessons of Death (with Frank Ostaseski)

I realized recently that I haven't written at all about my love for podcasts, which is strange because they are a huge part of my life. Some days I wonder if I'm actually a little too obsessed with them, because I can easily clock 9 or 10 hours of listening a day sometimes. My point here isn't to question if I'm addicted to podcast though, my point is to share an interesting one I listened to recently.

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Travel Tips: Checking A Bag VS Carry-On

Wherever, whenever and however we travel, we always bring a bag. One of the main things people worry about when planning a vacation is what to put in their bag, and although I could write 10 different posts about that, it's not what I'm worried about today. What I'm focused on isn't the items inside the bag, but the bag itself!

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Destinations: Da Lat, Vietnam.

On January 1, 2017 Laura and I hopped onto an Asiana Airlines flight from Seattle to Hanoi, a large city in north Vietnam. We bought a 150cc SYM motorbike, strapped our two 70L North Face Base Camp Duffels to the back and rode south. Our goal was to spend as much time as we wanted in each city, and slowly make our way through the entire country. Now as of yet, I haven't written a single word about the trip. I'm still not sure that I'm ready to cover the entire 66 day adventure in full detail yet, but I figured I should write something about my favorite place on the entire trip. 

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Gear Review: Liberty 24 & 32 oz Bottles

I discovered Liberty Bottleworks several years back when I was perusing the internet looking at blogs, review sites and top 10 lists dedicated to products Made in the USA. They are the only metal water bottle manufacturer that is produced fully in the USA, and better yet, they make them right here in my home state of Washington. The take pride in making the bottles here because they get to provide living-wage jobs, use quality US suppliers, and make everything in an ethical, responsible way at a safe factory.

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Living Better: How I Found Yoga

I've had a lot of jobs throughout my life. I've done roofing, washed dishes, did concrete, worked at a skatepark, general construction, landscaping... I could keep going, but I wont. You get the point. I've also skateboarded since I was 12 years old. Combine all those jobs with a lifetime of slamming into the concrete on my skateboard and my body has taken a beating.

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Gear Review: Enlightened Equipment Revelation Quilt

As a stomach and side sleeper I've always struggled with sleeping bags for camping or backpacking. I've tried almost every type from old school car camping sleeping bags to mummy bags and even the new spoon shapes, but up until I got this EE Revelation I had never tried a quilt before.

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Gear Review: SOG Tomcat 3.0

The SOG Tomcat 3.0 is the third generation of the award winning Tomcat series. The original Tomcat folder was released back in the 1980's and was met with widespread love. The newest version of this awesome knife resembles a bit of the original look but adds modern features and updated styling. The Tomcat 3.0 is a beast that anybody will love from the hardcore knife enthusiasts to the amateur knife consumer (like myself).

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Travel Tips: Free Airline Upgrades

The theme of this blog is that I'm not an expert. There's a lot of stuff I like to do and lot of stuff I'm interested in, but in general I'm amateur at best with most things I do. With that said it's still worth noting that I am by no means am I a frequent flyer. There's plenty of business travelers who would laugh at how infrequently I fly by their standards. What is probably true though, is that I fly more than the average Joe and I have picked up my fair share of tricks of the trade.

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Gear Review: Sony E 10-18mm f/4 OSS Lens

Lets just address the main complaint first, price. Yes, it's expensive. All of the good Sony lenses designed for APS-C-format E-mount cameras are expensive. Why? Sony wants to make money of course. While I'm not happy about it, can you blame them?! In my opinion though, using a cheaper Sony mirrorless camera body like the a6500, a6300 (or even cheaper a6000) with expensive glass like the 10-18mm delivers beautiful images that can hang with any full frame camera body and lens combo. The only noticeable difference is the extra few thousand dollars you will have in your bank account to go do fun shit 😊.

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Watch: Devoted

If you don't know by now, skateboarding is a big part of my life. It's also mostly responsible for inspiring me to shoot photos in the first place. I've been staring at photos in skate magazines since I was 12 years old, studying the tricks, the angles and the skaters. At one point in my teenage years, every single available inch of wall in my bedroom was completely covered in skate photos that I had clipped out of Transworld, Skateboarder, Big Brother, Slap and Thrasher. This documentary "Devoted" is all about those magazines that played such a huge role in my life. 

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