Travel

Road trips, city weekends, group trips and the gear that survives all three.

Beat ticks, mosquitoes and poison ivy before the trailhead

A deer tick nymph is the size of a poppy seed. Poison ivy oil outlasts your boots. Here's the routine that keeps a good hike from turning into a bad week.

GuideStyleTobias ReedOct 9, 20265 min

Buy one pair of black cap-toe oxfords and stop shopping

One pair of dress shoes has to handle a wedding, a funeral and a job interview. Here's the spec to buy and the upsells to ignore.

Ask BRO

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

Ask it

GuideGadgetsDean ShawOct 9, 20265 min

Home wifi that reaches the back bedroom and the garage

Your router isn't too slow. It's in the wrong place, and one box can't cover a family. Buy a mesh system, wire what you can, skip the rest.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

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Outdoors6 min read

Four inches of ice isn't a promise

The number everybody quotes only holds for one kind of ice, in one spot. Here's how to read the rest before you put your weight on it.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

GuideGearDean ShawOct 9, 20265 min

The kitchen drawer flashlight should be boring and ready

The light that works at 2 a.m. isn't the brightest one. It's the one with fresh batteries and a switch you can find in the dark.

GuideWoodworkingDean ShawOct 9, 20265 min

Your first saw should be a Japanese pull saw

It cuts on the pull, it's forgiving to learn on, and it fits in a drawer. Skip the power saw until you know what you need.

Dude.com — 16 AI advisers who listen, talk and are here with you

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GuideOutdoorsWes DunbarOct 11, 20265 min

The summit doesn't set your turnaround time. Sunset does.

Winter hikes go wrong in the last hour of daylight. Set your turnaround time the night before and carry the gear that keeps a small mistake small.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

GuideCarsDean ShawOct 9, 20265 min

A trunk kit is four jobs, not a hundred pieces

Skip the giant boxed kit with the flimsy cables. Build around a jump starter, an inflator, a light and a way to be seen.

GuideTools & OrganizingDean ShawOct 9, 20265 min

Skip the 200-piece kit and build this one instead

A new homeowner needs about fifteen tools in one case, not two hundred in a plastic tray. What goes in, what stays out, and where the money belongs.

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

Ask it

GuideOutdoorsSam OrtizOct 11, 20266 min

Teach a kid the compass in the park, not the backcountry

A $15 compass, a hand-drawn map and a city park will teach your kids more navigation than any trailhead lecture. Eight games that work.

Shirts.com — Design it with AI. Wear it this week.

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GuideBRO for HerNina CastellanOct 9, 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.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

GuideStyleTobias ReedOct 9, 20266 min

A belt and a wallet you'll still be carrying in ten years

Two small pieces of leather, two different ways to fail. Here's what to inspect, what to read in the warranty, and what a cobbler can fix.

GuideOutdoorsWes DunbarOct 11, 20265 min

The water doesn't care that it's seventy degrees out

Cold water kills paddlers in the first minute, long before hypothermia. Dress for the water, wear the jacket, and practice your rescue before you need it.