Gear

What to buy, what to skip, and what the cheaper one actually costs you.

The BRO Gear GuideBuy once, fix it, pass it down: a cost-per-use calculator, a warranty decoder and a repairability checklist.Judge it before you buy

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Buy the tote for Tuesday, not for the vacation

One everyday bag, the spec profile that matters, and the features that are just there to make the price tag look reasonable.

GuideSurvival & Self-DefenseWes Dunbar10 Oct 20264 min

The bow drill set that makes smoke instead of excuses

Friction fire is a real skill with real steps. Here's how it actually goes, including the part where your first forty minutes produce a warm stick.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

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GuideCan You Fix ItWes Dunbar9 Oct 20265 min

The multimeter worth owning is rated CAT III 600V

One handheld meter, a few safety markings, and the checks it lets you make before you call an electrician or touch a wire.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

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Home5 min read

One good kitchen knife beats the block of twelve

You reach for the same blade every night. Spend your money on that one and let the other eleven go.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideSurvival & Self-DefenseSam Ortiz10 Oct 20266 min

Hand your teenager the map and then keep your mouth shut

A weekend hike, a $20 compass and one rule for you: let them be wrong while it's still safe. How to teach a teenager to read a topo map on the trail.

GuideBRO for HerNina Castellan9 Oct 20266 min

The handbag, coat and boots worth buying once

Three things you use every day, and the parts that decide whether they last ten winters or two. What to inspect, what to read, what to ask.

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GuideCan You Fix ItWes Dunbar9 Oct 20267 min

The mower you can fix yourself outlasts the one you can't

Most mowers die of a ten-dollar problem nobody could get a part for. Buy the one with a parts diagram and a socket set's worth of screws.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideSurvival & Self-DefenseDean Shaw10 Oct 20265 min

The Lighter Was Empty. It's Always the Lighter.

Gear rarely fails because it's cheap. It fails because nobody tested it since last season. A ten-minute check at the kitchen table fixes most of it.

GuideHomeNina Castellan9 Oct 20266 min

Buy the appliance somebody will still be able to fix

A stand mixer is the best test of a kitchen appliance's staying power. Here's how to judge the gearbox, the warranty and the parts catalog before you pay.

Ask BRO

Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

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StoryOld SchoolNina Castellan9 Oct 20264 min

Over or under, and the real crime on the roll

My wife and I have fought about the toilet paper for six years. Grandma heard both sides over pie and ruled in about forty seconds.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

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GuideSurvival & Self-DefenseCal Brennan10 Oct 20265 min

Can you carry a forty-pound kid two miles?

Survival fitness isn't sprinting or pull-ups. It's walking far with weight on you, and almost nobody trains for it.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideHomeWes Dunbar9 Oct 20266 min

The washer people fix is the one built to be opened

Every washing machine wears out something. The ones that last ten-plus years are the ones where that something is cheap, reachable and for sale.

StoryFamilySam Ortiz8 Oct 20265 min

One number, one schedule, and nobody touches the thermostat

He sets it to 66. She sets it to 72. The furnace is exhausted. Grandma has run a house for fifty years and she's had enough of this.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

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GuideSurvival & Self-DefenseCal Brennan10 Oct 20266 min

The eye burn you won't feel until midnight

Snow blindness is a sunburn on your corneas, and it shows up hours late. Here's how to keep your eyes and skin intact above the tree line.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

GuideHomeWes Dunbar9 Oct 20266 min

The vacuum that lasts is the one you can open

The motor gets the credit and the blame. The belt, the brush roll, the filter and the battery are what actually decide how long a vacuum stays in your house.

StoryOld SchoolNina Castellan8 Oct 20265 min