cork grips

11/25/2011 · 11:19 am

Altadena Works

California based Altadena Works will be adding a couple new packs to their line this winter; the high volume Knapsack which can take lash-on side pockets and a smaller daypack called the Ventura Pack which is the only one of their packs that isn’t leather-bottomed. The Knapsack reminds me of an old Gerry pack I’ve seen before, but surely the Altadena version is more durable because it’s new and made with some serious materials. All four of Altadena’s packs are made with heavyweight cordura, Horween leather, military spec webbing, and metal hardware. Oldschool aesthetics with quality materials, what’s not to like?

Suggested reading: Klettersack & Shapes and Sizes

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Filed under gear

11/22/2011 · 9:36 am

Tweed Ride Philadelphia IV

This past weekend marked the fourth year of the annual Tweed Ride here in Philadelphia and the third year that I’ve participated, but the first that I was able to help organize and design various print components like flyers and spoke cards. I brought out my 4×5 field camera again this year but was having trouble getting the Polaroid film I had around for it to process evenly (the caustic paste wasn’t spreading right) but I did shoot a couple black and white plates which still need to be processed. Carrying the whole rig of 4×5 camera, film holders, polaroid back, 35mm camera, light meter, and U-lock proved to be a mighty test for my newly installed Nitto M-12 rack and bag made by Ruth Works SF (see third photo below, review to come) but it was very stable even without running a decaleur. The couple loosely cobbled blocks that we were forced to take due to construction closures had me a little nervous but it all held together.

Heres just a sample of some of what I saw, I’ll be posting more on my photo blog over the next couple of days so be sure to follow along there. The Tweed Ride Philadelphia website has also started linking to galleries of photos taken that day by camera-wielding participants so there’s plenty more there as well.

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Filed under bike, Philadelphia

11/15/2011 · 2:51 pm

On Track

Photographs by Tom Robertson, a Missoula, Montana based photographer and cyclist, found on the Hellgate Cyclery shop blog. Is it the weekend yet?

Field Report: Trove General Store

This weekend I got out of the city to visit my new sponsor Trove General Store out in Paoli, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. Trove carries a lot of rugged staple brands (Pendleton, Filson, Danner, etc) for both mens and women as well as housewares, obviously I was more focused on spotlighting the menswear offerings. Owners Foster and Charlotte did a great job on the shop which celebrates its first year of business next month. Read on for more details I caught during my visit.

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Filed under field report, Philadelphia

11/09/2011 · 11:22 am

Cabin Tunes

Videos from Logcabineer‘s youtube channel, enjoy some nice tunes played on a portable turntable (Numark?) set against some scenes I’d like to find myself in right about now. A couple more here.

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Filed under music

11/02/2011 · 11:00 am

Instagram

I’ve been enjoying Instagram since late summer taking square format snaps here and there. Sure, the selective focus functions are a little wonky but if you understand how depth of field works you can make some pretty believable images. Follow me if you’ve got an account or just use webstagram to view from your browser.

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Filed under mobile, photography

10/28/2011 · 1:24 pm

Hütte Magazine

I don’t exactly recall I how found this magazine, but I like it. After a little digging (a post on Ridge) I found out that it’s aimed at a female audience, that much is unclear from these spreads though. From what I can tell it seems a little less fashion driven than other Japanese outdoor magazines like Go Out but not by much. The major difference between Hütte, German for cabin, and Go Out seems to be that Hütte is less mountain street style and more mountain style on the mountain. Either way, the photography is very nice- that’s Kasane Nogawa on the cover issue 3 pictured at the top. Perhaps the writing is good too, but I can’t read Japanese. See some more sample spreads here.

Field Report: Indigo & Cotton

One humid August afternoon I found myself in the city of Charleston, South Carolina. Though I missed visiting the city’s well known menswear shops Billy Reid and Ben Silver I was really more interested in stopping by Indigo & Cotton. Located a little ways from the downtown shopping district, Indigo & Cotton is nestled on a fairly quiet residential area which seems like an appropriate location for such a shop. I think being located in the heart of a chain store shopping district would really kill the vibe that owner Brett Carron has clearly taken some care to establish with antique furnishings and vegetation. I can’t say that I’ve been to many stores with plants in them, nor such ample natural light- whose presence made these photographs possible.

As for the merchandise, Brett only stocks quality goods: Quoddy moccasins, various Hill-Side accessories, LVC denim, Gitman Vintage shirts, and so on. Check out Indigo & Cotton’s blog where you can also see some quality photos of their current goods and pay them a visit them if you’re in town.

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Filed under field report, photography