The Grey NATO - Ep 117 - Summer EDC With Kyle Snarr
Published on Thu, 09 Jul 2020 06:00:14 -0400
Synopsis
This episode features a discussion with guest Kyle Snarr about summer everyday carry (EDC) items like kerchiefs, pocket knives, headwear, and bags. Kyle shares details about his new company Contonement which makes kerchiefs designed for various uses. The hosts and Kyle also discuss their favorite dive watches, shirts, shoes, and other summer gear preferences. They share recommendations on books, TV shows, and podcasts as well.
Links
Transcript
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| James Stacey | Hello and welcome to another episode of the Graynado, a Hodinkee podcast. It's a loose discussion of travel, diving, driving gear, and most certainly watches. This is episode 117 and we thank you for listening. Jason, how are you doing? Keeping cool? Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | You know, we go to this weekly, weekly episodes and our, our episode count just Goes up faster, doesn't it? 117. |
| James Stacey | It sure does. Yeah. I mean, we took last week off happily. Um, and you, you had a, you had a kind of like a cabin getaway during, during that time off. How was that? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Yeah. It was much, much needed, much needed. We, um, we went up last week for I think four days and rented a cabin way up on what's called the Gunflint trail, which is what used to be an old, I suppose, logging or, uh, back country dirt road that went up close to the border with your country, and there's just a lot of lakes. It's up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and there's kind of a lot of cabins on lakes, and so we rented a place, had a private dock, and just kind of a normal, you know, no frills cabin, probably built in the 30s or 40s, and had a potbelly stove, which we didn't need to use, obviously, but we just spent a lot of time on the dock. read books on the dock. We took naps on the dock. We had evening gin and tonics on the dock. Um, I finished a novel and then every day I went for, I went for a swim. I had my, my dive mask and some swim fins and I just, you know, jumped off and the water was really, really clear. I mean, it was nice up there. I think their, their ice out date is sometime in late May, you know, so that the vegetation doesn't, doesn't grow, uh, probably till late summer. And so it's a lot of kind of underwater boulders and, So it's really clear water and there were a lot of bass swimming around, really friendly fish, kind of curious about who I was and what I was up to and practiced a little freshwater free diving and kicked around a bit. And then we rented some kayaks from the owners of the place and did about a three-hour paddle up and down the length of the lake and went for a short hike on the day that we left. And as always happens on these trips, which I've forgotten about, we go five hours north of here and it's, it's nice and cool. And then as we head back home, it progressively gets hotter and hotter. And now we've been above 90 degrees Fahrenheit here for, you know, days and days. So, uh, it was, it was good. It was, it was well needed. Um, and you know, you and I have been talking about jumping off docks for, for several weeks now. And, and I finally got a chance to do that. And I think, you know, you did too. I mean, you just did yesterday, right? |
| James Stacey | Yep. Yeah. Yeah. I went, I went back up to, uh, kind of the family cottage. Um, and, and did another day trip up there. The, the facilities aren't, are, you know, in need of some repair and not something that I could kind of deal with in a one day scenario. |
| No label provided | Yeah. |
| James Stacey | It's about two hours out of Toronto for me. And I've really grown to adore driving, uh, over quarantine. And then now with the Jeep, which I'm quite happy with. Uh, so yeah, we took a spin up there, brought masks and fins, did some, uh, I wouldn't call it free diving. I really, I found my lungs to be less cooperative than I thought. So we threw on some snorkels and just kind of floated around in the, in the, you know, I'm also in, uh, my West coast diving gear. So I've got five mil wet boots and then big steel spring loaded V 16 oceanic fins. Yeah. Right. So I could, I could motor around for sure. Um, you know, it's, it's one of those things that it's funny cause it's been years since I prepped a mask, a new mask. Yeah. And I did the toothpaste treatment a couple of times. These are just like some simple Cressy Pano masks. I think they're like the best value in masks out there. I paid, I don't know, maybe $40 a mask. Yeah. Really simple, super adaptable to most people's faces. I bought a pair of them. I bought some fans and then I used mine. And just a really, really nice thing to jump off a dock. The water was cooler, quite a few degrees cooler this weekend than it was two weeks ago when I was up there. And so I got that cold snap when you jump in the water, which is what I wanted. And then we finned around for a bit and saw some sunfish, some rock bass, some smallmouth, crayfish, simple stuff. It was nice. You could be in five, six feet of water. It was beautiful. And I'm really excited to go back up, maybe with a weight belt and do something a little bit deeper. Yeah. You have to go pretty far out. So I'll need a signal, which I have for boats. There's a lot of boat traffic on this lake. But yeah, it's isn't it just the best? Like just even even like mask and fins are one thing, but just like you're hot and you go like, I'm going to jump out of the dock. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Yeah, it's perfect. And it's funny. And the cool thing about lakes is the surface of the lake heats up pretty quickly. So, you know, we arrived on, I guess it was last Sunday at about, you know, five o'clock and checked in and kind of got settled. And then I went down to the dock at, you know, it's light until 10 o'clock and, uh, I got in the water and, you know, the top foot of water has been warming by the sun all day. And then I free dive down about 10 feet and it's like this thermal climb that's, uh, you know, downright chilly. And it's, I don't know, it's just something. I've missed that. I've really missed that. I think over the years, taking so many dive trips and going to exotic places, going to the Caribbean and stuff, I've forgotten the beauty of just swimming in a lake here in this part of the world. It's so nice. If there's been a silver lining to all of this kind of staying closer to home stuff, I think a renewed appreciation of kind of cabin life and going up north and just doing the simpler stuff is definitely part of it. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. No, I agree. It's been super nice. It's also like it's a little bit of a, of a ability to scratch the itch to dive. And, uh, and, and man, I, I, it's been a long time for me since I dove, you know, it was Clipperton was the last time I was in earnest, like underwater, like actually diving. And that's years and years at this point. And it feels bad for me to be the guy that says the, you know, the, the tagline at the top of the show, I haven't dove in a few years. Yeah. Uh, between, you know, two kids and then work got crazy. It's still work is still crazy. Like everything gets crazy. And it's one of those things where like diving takes, you have to actively cut other things out of your life to make room to dive. Right. Right. And now I'm at the point where like, as soon as the whole scenario kind of wrapped up around COVID allows that it makes sense. I'm going to have, I'll have my reg service. I'd like to get back in the water this summer. |
| No label provided | Yeah. |
| James Stacey | uh, for a dive, maybe head up to Tobermory or something like that. We'll see. But, uh, I, I miss it a lot. And it was so nice just to even have a little taste of it with the mask and the fins and, and getting into the water. But it was kind of like that double-edged sword where like, I got a little bit of what I wanted, but I also got reminded of how much I didn't have. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. I think, I think that experience, it's something that having, you know, done so much scuba diving in the past, 10 years or so that I've forgotten the joy of snorkeling. I think the lack of the weight of having, you know, to prep tanks and regulators and haul heavy gear around and even wear a weight belt is like non-existent and it's just this beauty. We discovered that last fall when we took that trip to Jamaica and just went snorkeling every day. And I rediscovered that on this cabin trip. And just putting your head underwater with a mask on, you still get a glimpse into that underwater world. But speaking of diving, here I live in the state that they call the state the land of 10,000 lakes and I really have no excuse for not jumping in the water. So today I got some tanks filled and there's a few lakes about an hour from here that are renowned for being fairly clear and having some interesting underwater topography. And so Ghoshani and I are going to try to Go get our feet wet. I, I turned my Garmin descent dive computer on today for the first time in a long time. And it told me my surface interval was 285 days, which was pretty painful. I think that was our actually our Tobermory trip last, I guess, September. |
| James Stacey | And, um, I really wish I had dove during that trip. Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | I mean, you, you know, I think for us with, with the great lakes in our backyards, like, like you and I have, uh, it's, it's a great opportunity to, to get up and do stuff like that. So I, I, you know, I'm hoping that. you know, getting some bottom time, no matter how, you know, more, I guess, simple and, and shallow it might be, I think it's going to kind of scratch an itch. And, um, so I'm looking forward to that, that next week, maybe take a few watches and dabble with some underwater photography again, and just, just fit around a bit. So we'll see. I guess I'll check in next week. Yeah. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. I can't wait to hear how that plays out as, as far as dive watches go. I have all the watches. Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. You've got a quiver of watches there. |
| James Stacey | You know, the crazy thing is that it'll look like they all like it all. I asked for them all at the same time, these loaners that I've got from several different brands. But it really is like. The span of two months of asking for this watch or that watch, and then lo and behold, they all get delivered within about three days of each other. Yeah. So, yeah, sitting on the desk in front of me here, I have my which I bought Seiko was not able to provide any sort of a sample, which I found to be unacceptable, so I bought one. The SPB 143, I was going to buy one either way if it had been faster to get a sample. Awesome. If not, I don't really care. I bought it from Seiya Japan, which is, you know, a legacy JDM retailer out of Japan. So technically, it's an SBDC 101. I'm absolutely blown away that I have trouble taking it off my wrist. I took it off my wrist so that I would have something different to talk about and wrist check in a few moments. But this is just the exact watch that I wanted Seiko to make for so many years. It is like a really elevated SKX. And it's just the right size. It's simple in its design. The bezel is really good. The crown is really good. The loom is really good. It's got drilled lugs. I love it. I will save a kind of full review. Maybe you and I do a seen unseen, on paper, on wrist sort of scenario in the future. Yeah. With this one, that's fine. Next up, I got the Zen U50, which is so cool. Oh, yeah. It's such a cool watch. Now we have a U-series diver at 41 millimeters. It has Zen's crystal that is flat and just impossible to see. Yeah. I mean, it's the easiest thing to photograph that like they're up there with Braymont as far as the way they treat crystals. And they also, Zen is, is, you know, being, uh, the, the U-series divers are so like wantonly modern that they have no interest in having a domed crystal. Right. So you get a flat crystal with this really high grade AR and the result is a crystal that's just never there. Yeah. You can see it in every photograph, even a watch like the crystal on the Seiko is relatively flat. But it's nothing like what's on the Zen. You know, they just nail every single little bit of what they do so well. The U50 is one we will also talk about in the future. Another one I got in was the new AORUS Holstein LE. So this is the bronze case, bronze bracelet diver chrono. Yeah. It is just so cool. It wears like rose gold. Um, I think it's limited to 500 pieces. It's a little thick, it's a little big, but like as soon as it's on your wrist, it makes sense. Um, it's a really, as, as a 65 owner, I have a diver 65, a 40 millimeter. It, it is this really, really fun expression branch off of the, of the kind of aesthetic. And that's another one we'll talk about in the future. As you can see, I'm kind of staging these watches. I'm going to try and talk about them as their reviews come out on Hodinkee. So the one we can actually talk about a little bit more in depth right now is the new Tudor Black Bay 58 Navy Blue. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, everybody's talking about that now. |
| James Stacey | You caught this one. You happen to see this one somewhere on the internet at some point. So yeah, this watch, unfortunately, you know, was the subject of some leaks. uh, on watch you seek. And then a handful of, uh, kind of watch outlets of, of different sorts also decided to jump on that. So the, the, the launch itself was not really respected from an embargo standpoint. Of course it was by major outlets, including Hodinkee. Uh, but yeah, what, what we basically, the, the easy thing, if you're not sure what it is, is it's a, it's literally a blue dial blue bezel version of the, um, of the Black Bay 58 from 2018 which came out of course alongside the Black Bay GMT. It's a 39 millimeter dive watch, 200 meters water resistant, has a lovely like aluminum bezel. The blue is great. You can see my entire review. I did a full hands-on, kind of probably wrote more words than I needed to on Hodinkee now. It should have come out a couple days before this episode. But I Suffice it to say, if you don't feel like reading a couple thousand words about the watch, I absolutely love it. It's instantly at the top of my kind of want list from Tudor. I love the blue, whereas I really didn't have any sort of emotional connection to the black gilt standard 58 version. I think it's just the right size. It kind of wears really well. It looks really good. And then it nails all the kind of tool-ish aspects. The bezel works really well. The crown works really well. The water resistance is great. It makes a lot of sense in the water. The loom is excellent. The legibility is really strong. I have it on like an MN style, like a sewn elastic strap. and it just looks the absolute business. It's the same one you'll see in the photos from the hands-on. So yeah, I would say go check that out if you have more questions about this watch. Otherwise, if you have questions about some of the other watches that I've mentioned, the Zinn, the Seiko, the Aorus, you can always send them to thegrenadoatgmail.com and we can kind of address them in the eventual chats about those watches. But I don't want to spend like an hour trying to recap these watches when I'm trying to compartmentalize them. Yeah, I mean I can't write about them all at once. |
| Jason Heaton | I think all of these are interestingly timely for TGN because we've kind of talked about, at least tangentially, about all of these brands at least. We had our big Challenge Seiko episode and this is the SPB 143 was one of your A few days later, I bought it. Yeah. And, uh, we talked a little bit about the sin and we had a whole tutor episode a while back. And then just last week or sorry, our last episode, a couple of weeks ago, I was wearing the, the Oris diver 65 chronograph. So then not the full bronze version that you have in the Holstein edition, but that, and then I also, um, was able to review the Carries Fort Reef steel version for a couple of weeks ago. And, um, so it's, you know, it's a, it's a, it's a, It's kind of fun to circle back and revisit these brands that are very much in TGN's wheelhouse, and I think all of those that you have in the house. We commented that this has been an incredibly good year for dive watches. I mean, all the ones you just listed and a few others that have come out, the Carbon Doxa that we talked about a while ago. I mean, this is one of those years that's like, if you're a dive watch fan, it's an embarrassment of riches. |
| James Stacey | especially if you're in the market for a dive watch around 40 millimeters. Yeah. I mean, if you if you include, I put a photo up on Instagram recently that was like the the horseman of the 40 ish millimeter dive watch, you know, hot dive watch summer. Yeah. And I think if you include in this something like the Aura 65 diver, then you have something that kind of like you can jump to every price point. Right. You have the Seiko, which is, you know, around let's call it a thousand or twelve hundred dollars. The 65 is a little bit more than that. The Zen starts at something like $2,200, but I think most people are going to spend more like 26, $2,800. And then you have the Tudor at about 33 to $3,700, depending on how you outfit it. And make no mistake, if you're asking my opinion, I can save you the DM, uh, buy the watch in his cheapest possible version, unless you love bracelets. and then just put it on a NATO or whatever strap you love. Every single strap I put on a watch, and this is inherent to watches that are around 40 millimeters and also have 20 millimeter lugs. They work on everything. I can't find any strap where this Seiko, the SPB 143 slash SBDC 101, I need to find a different name for it. I can't find any strap where it doesn't just work. Right now I have it on a green UTE Watchko NATO, which is just, it's so fun and feels so right, but a tan is great, gray is great, the tropic straps are great, a mesh, kind of like shark mesh is super fun. Even the included bracelet, I will give Seiko some credit because I don't give them any credit for their bracelets generally, but If you're going to spend four figure on a bracelet, let's be fair, exceedingly low for figure a thousand to say $1,500 for a Seiko with a bracelet, they do a much better job with this SPB line than they have with any other watch I've come across. Granted, those are all vastly cheaper watches, but like there's no comparable element between the bracelet that comes on this SPB with something like an SKX or an SRP. It's solid end links. It has a much more refined sort of tolerance to all of the links. It's all really nice. It's really good on the bracelet, and I don't even like bracelets, but it is really quite nice on the bracelet. I would love them to offer a lighter bracelet, like a Jubilee that maybe tapers or something like that, but I know they won't, but the secondary market might, who knows? And yeah, I've just been kind of blown away by what's available on the market right now at 40 millimeters. I feel like it's You and I and people who feel the same way have been begging for the same thing for a while to have more options at, yeah, 39 to 41 millimeters, you know, to get back to where we were before Panerai kind of blew up the size space. Right. And no fault to Panerai. I think that if you're going to wear a big watch, like Panerais look awesome big. They really do. They look awesome big. They look awesome small. You can't fault Panerai for it, but they are the impetus, I think, for that. And then a lot of brands followed suit with these really big dive watches. Yeah. And now we're seeing this kind of like renaissance of like essentially Submariner sized watches that are also nice and thin and super wearable. The Zen is super thin. The Seiko is only 13 millimeters. The Tudor is less than 12. So it wears like a 2254 Seamaster. I'm really impressed by these watches, and I honestly think of all of them. You just kind of pick how much money you want to put into the field. If you have the money for the Tudor, you are not going to be let down. If you want one that feels super modern rather than kind of referential to the past, the Zen is worth every penny. And if you've got, like me, $1,000 burning a hole in your pocket or $1,200 burning a hole in your pocket, you're not going to go wrong with the SPB. Um, any of the versions, uh, I'm not in any huge rush for some of these reviews because some of these aren't even on the market yet. Like I don't want to, I don't want to write a review about an SPB and then have most people say like, yeah, but you can't buy it anywhere yet. Right. I had to, I had to buy mine out of Japan. I'm sure that costs a little bit more money than people might want to spend. It's also means that you can't buy from a U S retailer. That's having a sale, which is a great way to buy a Seiko. Yeah. Um, because usually those sales are, indiscriminate of the popularity of that watch. And Seiko's when a new Seiko comes out, they're hot for like really hot for like a year and then they cool off. Yeah. So, yeah, I'll get to all of these. We have some kind of bigger review plans for the Seiko that we're working through some technical challenges. It's a lot harder to do things like video when none of the video people are in Canada. Oh, sure. So we're working through those challenges, but I want to make sure that we give these watches their fair shake. So I would say check out the Tudor. hands on. I think I did a decent job with it, kind of gave the watch its fair shake, but I absolutely love it. And I think if you don't like it, the fun thing is, is they made kind of the other side, the other flavor two years ago. It's still hard to find for sure, but it exists. Yeah. And personally, if it's my money, it's the blue. And should I ever be in the position to spend that kind of money on a watch and really feel like I need one, this one would absolutely be up my alley because I think it's just, it's an absolutely sweet, sweet piece and the blue is so nice. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, it looks great. I mean, the Black Bay 58 is a classic example of small details making a difference. I mean, initially, even with the gilt dial version that they first came out with, you know, it's like, oh, okay, it's another Black Bay, but the size difference, the thinness, made all the difference to people. And then now with the blue, I mean, it's like, okay, another, other black Bay, another black Bay 58. But yeah, that, that blue immediately, um, lit me up as well. I think it looks great. And it's definitely a different blue than like a Pelagos blue, which has more of a, a brighter blue. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. The Pelagos blue is super saturated. Yeah. Is how I describe it. It has a purplish tone that I really love, um, that works super well with the titanium. It's it's to say it's purple, it would be wrong, but it has that, Whereas the BB 58 blue, instead of the purple element, it's kind of gray. Oh, yeah. So the blue is super matte. And then if you already own a Black Bay 41 with the midnight blue bezel, it's nothing like that. It doesn't have a metallic finish. It's a matte finish like the bezel on the BB GMT, but it's a richer blue than the GMT. It's a different blue is how I would describe it. It's more gray and matte than It's much less metallic than what you'd see in previous BB-41s with the bezel, the blue bezel. And it's much less saturated than what you get in the Pelagos. It really is this kind of like even middle of the road, nicely gradient. It responds to light really well. Like blue is a good color for a watch dial for sure, especially when you already have a black one. Yeah. I think it makes a lot of sense. And their manner of matching the color between the dial and the bezel is also very strong, which is what you'd expect from a brand like Tudor. Yeah. Where there's not a big difference, but take a look at the photos. I think the photos in the review, in the hands-on on Hodinkee are pretty accurate to how that watch actually looks. |
| Jason Heaton | And meanwhile, you're wearing something completely different today, right? |
| James Stacey | Yeah. Yeah. Let's, let's jump into risk check. So, um, we spoke about this watch a few weeks ago on the show and, and I wanted to get it in because it really just genuinely piqued my interest. And I am now like such a Garmin fan, uh, that I want to experience more of their watches to understand how they differentiate across so many different SKUs. |
| No label provided | Yeah. |
| James Stacey | And, you know, I've been wearing and loving and still love. It's no loss of that of that factor. The Garmin Fenix 6S, the 42 millimeter version, which I think is literally a perfect high end kind of digital multi sports watch. But they launched this model called the Venu or Venu. I'm not sure. I apologize, Garmin. It's one or the other. It's it's kind of imagine it's positioned somewhere between an Instinct and a Fenix. but it's less of a hiking, um, back country mapping sort of watch than it is a urban sports kind of lifestyle fitness watch. |
| No label provided | Yeah. |
| James Stacey | And what you might give up in the ability to say, track hiking and other things. And there might be a way even to add those onto the watch. I'm not sure I haven't gotten that deep into it. I haven't, I've had it for a few days and it might be a, you might And you might be able to add those into the watch. I'm not really sure, but by default, it has your kind of standard sports running, walking, swimming, biking, that sort of thing. There's maybe 20 sports loaded into the watch, but otherwise it offers a very similar feature set to a Phoenix at a lesser price point. It's a 43 millimeter watch. It does not wear anything like 43 millimeters because it weighs literally nothing. It's so, so light. but they class it as a fitness watch. This has to be their Apple Watch competitor is how I see it. It's currently selling for $350 USD. But the thing that sets it apart from an Instinct, which is less money, and a Phoenix, which is more money, is this has an OLED touchscreen. So whereas it's a huge change, and honestly, it's so legible, it's really spoiling me. The normal screen on the Fenix 6 is great, but it is a kind of TFT style backlit display. And that's a whole world apart from something like OLED where each pixel is illuminated. And it means that you have these really rich blacks and these really bright text and white elements. I really like it. It definitely... I'd have to weigh them to tell the difference, but it feels like it weighs less. It still has the quick change straps. Uh, the 43 millimeter suits my wrist really well. I don't notice it being any bigger because it's thinner than the, uh, than the Phoenix six. Uh, I'm absolutely in love with it. And, and the other thing is it's OLED and it's a touch screen. Huh? Uh, so you have the ability to kind of cycle through all of your various data points just by swiping on the screen and it works really well. You know, there's so many things where I don't expect a company to be able to keep up with Apple. |
| No label provided | Yeah. |
| James Stacey | And it offers everything from I'm looking at hydration tracking and heart rate monitoring and notifications and stress level and body battery. And I've used it for a couple of workouts. It has, you know, obviously full time heart rate, which is super nice. It'll connect to your phone and get the weather and get all of your notifications. And now the resolution of the screen And it's just general, even if the resolution isn't better, the general manner in which your eye interacts with an OLED is so nice, especially in a really bright environment that like getting a notification while I'm driving and like, I can't deal with it, but it's important to know what's coming in and what's going on is really nice because it's so readable. It's so easy to interact with as far as like being able to read a chunk of text on your wrist. |
| No label provided | Yeah. |
| James Stacey | Uh, so I think this is definitely their play towards the more successful Google, uh, devices like where OS devices and, uh, some of the Apple devices. And so far I've been absolutely, uh, like thrilled by it. It's really good. Um, I think you would still want something like a Phoenix if you're going hiking and you want to do the track back and the, and the rest of it, unless there's a way to load that on. But I assume that's not the way it works. Uh, but for the price point, which is really does kind of sit in the middle between a Phoenix and a, uh, an instinct which instincts still such a good deal. I'm really impressed by the venue. Huh? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I mean, Garmin continues to amaze me. I mean, the quality of the products that I've experienced from instinct to descent to Phoenix, I mean, it's like, even the, you know, the tactical kind of aspect of the tactile aspect of it, just the finishing of the case, the straps are just superb. Yeah, I agree. And to be able to just put it on and fire it up and know what to do with it is not an easy task and they do such a good job with it. We probably sound long since many episodes ago like we're shilling for Garmin and I suppose to a certain degree we are, but we just love their products. |
| James Stacey | Hey, I mean, let's let's be clear. They've supported episodes in the past. If you like TGN, it's because brands like Garmin have stepped up and see the value in what we're putting out into the world. But they didn't pay for this. I wrote them and asked for a sample. They sent me one and I didn't even tell them that I got it yet. Yeah, they don't know I'm going to be talking about it. I'm just really impressed. And I think while I might normally recommend the average TGN listener to go for an instinct, if you want to watch where Maybe you have a really nice watch that you wear on the weekends or you wear when you go out to dinner in the evenings, but you want something that keeps you connected and, and dialed in on, on things like your, your kind of health metrics and your steps and the rest of it, and also your emails and your text messages, and you can control Spotify and the rest of it from one platform. Maybe that's how your office scenario that's more valuable to you. They're making a really strong case with this. They just are. I've had it in the water. Uh, you know, it has swimming features. It's, it's just a kind of a nicely made, um, I would call it like a lifestyle tool watch. Uh, it's not the same as the dive watches that I mentioned previously. Uh, but I'll tell you, it really makes a case for just raw functionality. |
| Jason Heaton | Huh? Nice. Uh, I I've gone, uh, kind of similar, but opposite direction. So I I'm waiting for my, uh, Seiko Safari. to come in, I think it's sometime this month, hopefully. So I've been trying to scratch the itch of the analog digital watch, and I've gone back to 1985 with the Citizen Aqualand that I pull out every now and then. So talk about multifunction, talk about Garmin circa 1985. For sure. You know, I fired up my Descent Garmin today, the dive computer, which is the state-of-the-art smartwatch connected dive incredible dive tool. Well, this was the Aqualand back in the 80s. And mine was, I pulled it out of the box after months and months of not wearing it and still taking perfect time. The date was correct on the digital screen, so I just strapped it on. I love that. I just love that about quartz watches. |
| James Stacey | What's the reference on this? Because people are going to want to know. |
| Jason Heaton | CO-23 is what it went by. There was the I don't remember what they called. I think the CO-22 was the two-tone. So there was one that had sort of gold accents. |
| James Stacey | And these are like precursor to the J-2000s? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. So they made the JP-2000 was the replacement for this that looked identical. It had slightly different functionality and then it had a screw-off case back that had one battery that powered both the analog and the digital functionality. This one has a shaped case back that has like eight little tiny screws that you have to take out. So it's a real pain to change the batteries. And it has three tiny little batteries in it that don't have a very good battery life. So, you know, the curse of this is that a lot of people would get fed up with having to take it in every nine months to get serviced. And then they try to do it themselves like my, my buddy did back in the nineties. And then he lost one of the little screws and used like super glue to hold the back on. I mean, it was just, you know, they would leak, et cetera. So, um, But, you know, I love these things and it's just such a classic look. So I, you know, I used the stopwatch feature today and it's just great to see kind of the sweet secondhand sync up with the digital seconds. I mean, you know, this was the kind of watch that we geeked out about before the watches like the Garmin Vinu and... For sure. ...Suntos and those things came along. So, yeah, I'm enjoying it. And it's a great summer watch too. |
| James Stacey | Yeah, that's great. Yeah. So for the main topic of the show this week, we're going to actually talk about EDC, specifically like our summer EDC, our kind of favorite things, because a lot of the stuff that we list, things like, you know, Heaton and I often talk about nano puff jackets. They're not as applicable when it's a hundred degrees out, except as maybe as a pillow. So we thought it might be fun to kind of readdress the whole sort of everyday carry sort of concept. But we also admit that at this point, a lot of you have listened to every episode and you could probably guess, uh, 75, 80% of the things that we would recommend as your summer EDC. So we thought we'd bring in an EDC professional. And, uh, now on the line via zoom with us is one Kyle Snarr and Kyle is a gear patrol alum. Uh, definitely a guy that's dialed on all sorts of different things. If you follow his Instagram and then recently actually endeavored to create his own sort of product into the EDC sphere. So we thought it might be really fun to have. Kyle on and Kyle, where, where are you calling from and how you doing? |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Hey, thanks for having me on guys. I'm doing great. I am calling you from my home just right outside New York city in my daughter's closet to keep it extra quiet in here. Recording studio in our apartment. Yes. He says, but you know, big fan, long, long, long time listener, as you guys know, and very stoked to be on. Thanks for inviting me. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. We met you, uh, we met at a, at a, at our one and only get together, uh, a couple of years ago now in New York. |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's, that's right. That's where we kind of all shook hands for the first time, but yeah, prior to that, you know, lots of emails back and forth about topics that you guys covered on the show, you know, movie, especially, and, and, um, and lots of gear. So cool. |
| James Stacey | Yeah, no, I'm, I'm thrilled to have you on. And I think this is a fun topic because it's the kind of thing that, you know, Heaton and I have this, uh, gray NATO slack that kind of bounces back and forth with our various topics. And a lot of it kind of falls into EDC, whether it's the normal stuff that we talk about a lot, and even stuff that we've directly interfaced with you when you were with Gear Patrol, things like topo bags and the rest. But we thought it might be fun just to branch out a little bit, like I said, and bring in at least one other perspective when it comes to some of these things, because I think you might have some stuff that we've never heard of or didn't know about. And certainly on the newer side of the option, there's this new company that you started. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that? Because I think this could be kind of an interesting thing and something that Heaton and I have been messing around with for the last few weeks. Totally. |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Yeah. So, you know, I, just to that EDC point, training into Grand Central everyday, hoofing it down to the office, especially in the heat of summer in New York city. I, I dunno, I just got really, I was constantly getting hot and, and really started carrying with me a standard bandana and That bandana was great for, you know, you know, mopping my brow or tying it around my neck to keep like a shirt collar from getting sweaty. But when I tried to put that thing in my pocket, it just felt a little too big, a little too bulky, kind of, kind of drove me crazy. And so a good friend of mine that I grew up with, I've known him since I was seven years old. Um, he's a product guy and he wanted to start kind of a little, you know, everyday carry company. This is like literally four years ago. Oh wow. Started concepting, um, a utility cloth, a tool cloth that is smaller than a bandana, but bigger than a handkerchief. So something that you could easily fit in your pocket. It disappears when you put it in there, but that you could get some utility out of because it's still big enough to tie around your forehead or tie around your neck or use in a variety of ways. And it just wasn't there on the market. And so, you know, it was interesting. we found ourselves with a lot of time on our hands mid quarantine. And we just said, let's resurrect this idea and get it back out on the market. And, you know, we had, we already had designs. We already had the concept, we already had packaging, but the, but this moment of quarantine gave us like that, that push and oomph to get something out there. And we launched a product under the company name, contonement, and it's what we call a kerchief. And it's this product that we had dreamt of, and it's a little, Perfectly sized tool cloth. Again, not as big as a standard bandana, but definitely not as small as a little handkerchief, but something you get a lot of use out of. And we were able to source a fabric that was 100% cotton, that super absorbent, super soft. We used a kind of a stitch on the side called a marrowed edge, which is like almost like the edge of a patch, like that really kind of tight weave. But we found a really good little thread that was like not abrasive on your skin. So, you know, it's just something that really soft and friendly to use, but something that was also functional. And to kind of take it a step further, we put a couple of designs on it that we love because we're product enthusiasts. So we put kind of, you know, some of our favorite, um, illustrations, architectural illustrations. Um, another friend of ours kind of joined the team and he is an architect. So he, he used his skills to illustrate, you know, some of our favorite watches, some of our favorite, you know, pieces of, of cool cars that we love and even some camera themed items just to give us some cool graphics. And then my buddy who is a product guy took it one notch further. Um, he said, why don't we, create some little device to kind of give some more usage out of this. So what we ended up doing was putting a reinforced buttonhole in each of the four corners and gave you a little kind of strap that came with it. And all of a sudden it kind of multiplied the uses of this little thing. And you have this fun little product now. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. I think it's an interesting thing because I know I've talked to Heaton about this before and he also tends to carry one of these, especially when in scenarios where you're going to get pretty hot and kind of sweaty. Yeah. and I think there's a multitude of uses for them, but certainly that was my experiences. I would carry a normal bandana and the one that I was used to previously and that I have in almost every color is the one that you could get from Best Made. They have an office in New York or had a store in New York and they were your standard run of the mill, the type of thing you'd expect someone to have tucked into the pocket of a Levi Sure. A jean jacket or something like that. But if you put them under your hat or you could soak them in a cool stream and then put them under your hat on a hike, you could... I became a fan because of Robert Spangle, 1000yardstyle on Instagram, of wearing one around my neck under a collar so that you didn't... Yeah, get like... If you were traveling and you only had three shirts, it's kind of a pain if you get that collar really dirty on a hot day, especially when you have a camera strap maybe on the other side of the collar. And I got used to it that way. And you were kind enough to send me kind of the watch themed kit from Contonement. And it's awesome. There's kind of a blue-yellow one, which I've had on my Instagram, that has sort of a chronograph theme to it. And it's one of these, the smart things with the design, and I would, you know, commend your designer, is that if you fold it up, it's actually kind of hard to tell what the design is. You have to see the whole picture, like it's in fragment and it's interesting visually, but it's not overpowering. And the blue, yellow, and then there's kind of a green, red coloring as well for another one. And yeah, I'm absolutely a fan. They're super handy. They are definitely the right size. You can fold them kind of four times and they fit into a back pocket, which is nice. And Heaton, you've had some use of them out in the, quote, out in the field as well, eh? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah I mean I think this is this is one of those products that I remember there was some paraphrase quote from I think it was Steve Jobs or somebody referring to Apple who said you know what Apple gives you is is a product that you didn't think you needed but you do you know and I think a bandana or as you're calling it a kerchief specifically is one of those products that I've carried, you know, since, uh, I was about 20 years old and I've always put it around my head as a headband or the neck where that you guys are talking about. And, um, you know, I didn't think I needed more. I mean, I had two or three that I would always just kind of get sweaty and wash and they've gotten really faded and it's that classic Paisley design. And I think when you sent, uh, some examples over for us to try out, uh, the first, the first impression for me was that the cotton's a lot softer, but I also appreciate the, the different colors to it, because suddenly it goes from just being this sort of anonymous, you know, run of the mill thing that you, you know, pull out of your overalls pocket, um, to, you know, something that people actually comment on, which I've had happen a couple of times. And, uh, especially nowadays, I don't know if this was planned, but the timeliness of having something that you can put over your face in this day of wearing masks, um, is, It was genius. I mean, I've used it in that way, you know, just I'll have it down around my neck and then it's, uh, Oh, I got to run and, you know, get something in the gas station or, or, you know, pop in and drop something off at wherever I'm going and the grocery store or something. And I can just cinch it up around my face and kind of tuck it into my collar and it works perfectly that way. So, um, yeah, hats off. I think it's, I think it's a, it's a cool product. I haven't used, I'll admit I have not used the woggle. That's what you're calling the, uh, It looks like a mini NATO strap, but I've got it right here on my desk and it's fun to play with so far. |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Yeah, it comes with this little neckerchief slide, which the traditional English name for neckerchief slide is a woggle. So we just adopted that name as the name of this particular part of the product. And it comes, you know, the kit comes with two kerchiefs. You need two because you're going to either be using one and one's in the wash or one's in your pocket and one's to sneeze in or something like that, but always comes with two and it has this little woggle and yes, my buddy is a leather worker. So he built the first prototype in leather, but then we quickly realized that's going to be cost prohibitive for our launch. And so I looked down at my strap and sure enough, I was wearing at the time, a gray NATO. And I thought, what if we made it out of this? And so we made, we made it reminiscent of a gray NATO strap and it's a gray NATO loggle. And yeah, I agree. I wear it on when I, especially when I'm trail running or riding my bike on a trail where there's going to potentially be close quarters to a passerby, I'll wear it around my neck and just, it's got It's the fabric is also has just enough little stretch in it that you can just pull it up and almost like, like, like spandex over your nose, you know, but it's not a medical grade, not a medical grade mask by any stretch of the imagination, but it is that respectful kind of courteous let's put a face covering on if you're, you know, flying by someone on your bike. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. Right. And before we dig deeper into other EDC and whatnot, this has definitely become part of my kit for the last few weeks, whether it be attempting not to, you know, to limit sunburn with the top down on the Jeep or sweating as I worked on something to keep running or something like that. But it comes in three versions, which you have on your website, and you have a series of retailers and it retails for what 40 bucks? |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Correct. Yeah, 40 bucks for two plus the woggle, which I think is pretty good value based on the competition out there. And Those retailers are the warning wound wind up shop. So definitely go check those out there. And they've done an amazing job of demonstrating how it's a great backdrop for school watches. As many people have on online, including yourself, uh, Jason and Jay. Yeah. And James. And then also, uh, we just got into Huckberry last week, which is really cool. Oh, very cool. Yeah. Yeah. |
| James Stacey | That's great. So there's a, there's an automotive set, which is kind of a green orange, which I think is gorgeous. There's the Chrono set, which is like a blue and a green one, which is the watch themed. And then there's a really cool Opti set, which is kind of a camera theme, which is a red one and a gray one. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. I love the blue. It has an orange. What do you call the edge? A marrowed edge. Has a, uh, sorry, a yellow marrowed edge, which I think just looks really good. And again, it's one of those things where there's enough design where if you're used to something like what Heaton described, the kind of Paisley or, or, um, kind of you know, listens to this and orders it and they get it in. Is there anything they need to do before they start wearing it? Does it need to, is it sand fries? Does it need to be washed? |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | I would wash it just for good measure. Just cause you know, we, we, we really did some cool packaging. It's just got a basic sleeve on it. We try to reduce any sort of plastic waste associated with the packaging. So we are just using just a paper recycled sleeve on it and just give it a wash beforehand and you can wash these things and dry them as many times as you want. They get better. Machine dry? |
| No label provided | Yep. Yep. |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | And they get better every time. Yeah. Just rock it. |
| James Stacey | It was just air drying them. I'm so I'm so fearful of the wash with anything I care about or the dryer with anything I care about. |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Yeah, go for it. It's they hold up really, really well. And yeah, a lot of fun. |
| James Stacey | So and and we'll put this in the show notes, of course. But if you want to see more, you want to check it out. I think at forty dollars, it's an it's a complete no brainer. If you have kids, it's the kind of thing you can have in your back pocket. And if they get a scrape or knee or runny nose or something like that, yeah, you can manage that really easily. It's great for actual bandana uses. And then if you're the type who has to spend whether whatever your job is, whatever your, your kind of scenario is where you, you might spend some time outside in the heat. The, the wrapping it around your neck is like a legitimately useful thing or heating you or yours under, under your bike helmet, which I have to imagine is kind of nice as well. Especially again, if you throw some cold water on it at some point during the bike ride. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. I mean, I've, I've used mine in a few different ways. I used it that way. Um, and then I did soak it in a stream and kind of roll it up and use it as a headband, which. which gave me a bit of a green sheen on my forehead. And I sent that photo to you, Kyle. And, um, so I did a little wear testing, so that would be another, probably good reason to wash it before you wear it. Um, but then I was just at a cabin, uh, last weekend actually with my wife way up North here. And, um, we went kayaking and there were some black flies and, and, you know, hot sun beating down and whatever. And I just wore it as a, as a kind of across my face, almost, uh, you know, sort of bandit style. Um, and then down, pulled it down around my neck when I didn't need it. So, you know, I I've kind of worn it, I guess, in all configurations short of, you know, clipping it to my belt. Like I've seen some photos on, on your website, but, um, you know, I think that that sort of all around use and, and kind of taking it biking or up to the cabin or hiking is, is kind of what this episode is about too. And I think this was a good sort of launch point to talk about EDC in general. |
| James Stacey | Absolutely. So yeah, you can hit the show notes. It's cantonment.co. to see more, to get some images. And then there's a handful of retailers which Kyle described previously, all of which are excellent. And yeah, I think from there we can kind of launch into other EDC. I'm just going to kind of pick up random kind of polls. What do you guys like to wear on your feet during the summer? Because I haven't figured this out yet because I hate sandals. |
| No label provided | Really? Wow. |
| James Stacey | Yeah, yeah. I have a thing about like men's feet in public. It's weird. And I know it doesn't like it's not it's not like there's no there's no like logic behind it. I just for whatever reason, I think I went through a phase in my teens of wearing Birkenstocks. |
| No label provided | Yeah. |
| James Stacey | And then decided like my feet are always dirty. I got it. So I just wear like I've been wearing. I have those heat and I think you've seen these actually maybe at one point or they've definitely been on Instagram at one point. My million mile Clarks. So yeah, it's a pair of Clark desert boots that I've had resold twice. Um, and like probably they don't have a million miles certainly, but I wore them as like my normal shoes for a 10 K walk every day in Vancouver for several years. Um, and then, so they're on their third set of souls. And of course, if anyone listening to this is saying you can't resole, uh, Clark's, you can have the soul shaved off and another one glued on and then have it profiled. It's really a decent shoemaker could certainly make that happen for you. But it's gotten to the point where I've had to do like active sutures to various parts of the leather. And I wear those sometimes and otherwise I just wear like Converse or Vans or something like that. But what do you guys dig for like summertime footwear? Because I don't think I can make my way all the way to Crocs or something like that. |
| Jason Heaton | Well, I'll dive in here. I mean, I think To me, it's summer when I don't have to even open my sock drawer. You know, I love not having to choose socks. I love shedding that one kind of piece of finicky clothing unless I'm doing something involving hiking, running, walking, in which case I usually put on a pair of socks and like those Scarpa hiking shoes. Those are kind of my go-to. Oh, those are great. For everything, but sort of more casual stuff. But I'm a big Birkenstock guy around the house. I don't think they're great for, you know, anything too active. So, um, for instance, last weekend when we were up at the cabin, I brought up just a pair of Tevas. I've loved Tevas and Chacos kind of the sports sandal model for a long time. I think those work really well. Um, and then just kind of slide on flip flops, which I bought from, I was at the GoPro mountain games out in Colorado a few summers ago and there was a booth Um, that I stopped in, I don't know if you're familiar with the brand super feet, but they make insoles, orthotic insoles for athletic shoes. And they started making like flip-flops, um, that are nicely contoured. So they actually give some decent support, unlike most of the cheapies. And I've been wearing those a lot too. Um, but yeah, I just love not having to wear socks in the summer. |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Kyle, what about you? I am kind of with you there, Jason. I am a venture sandal guy. I will definitely have no shame about like pairing on socks with sandals like throughout the year I get tons of hate for it but I love it and I think you can do it right you can do it right you know and um but in you know obviously in the in the summer no socks um you know I I have worn Chaco's most of my adult life in terms of being an outside for adventure um just they had vibram soles for years they make their own soles now But they, they seem to hold up the best for me in and out of water situations into, you know, and just gotta be careful out East when you're talking about hiking through kind of anything like fields or grass, the tick situation. So then I'll, I'll change it up in that scenario, but you know, I'll just say like, we were, uh, went on a little fishing trip with my kids just last weekend. And we were like in the water and scrambling over rocks and trying all kinds of things and just having a pair of good adventure sandals is a must in that scenario. Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. What about, um, where do you guys land on, on shirts? I've changed over the years. I used to be kind of a cotton t-shirt guy all summer long. And, um, maybe as, as the climate continues to warm up, I don't know. I just, it's the summer seemed to be hotter and hotter. And I, so then I kind of moved to more technical shirts and now I've, I kind of go to, I wear a lot of like long sleeve, lightweight stuff, you know, the Eddie Bauer hiking shirts or kind of with the roll up sleeves or something from Howler brothers or something. What, what about you guys? What do you wear in the summer? |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm a, I think I kind of a cotton t-shirt dudes like you used to be. I, you know, I probably am just going through the most amount of, of t-shirts, but then, you know, when I'm hiking or camping, I should say I bring with me, I've got like a go-to flannel that I keep with me at all times. And that I can use as a pillow when I'm camping, I can just tie it around my waist to sit on. So I don't, you know, if I need a little extra, you know, padding or whatever, but it's just kind of a handy kind of tool to have at that point. But I kind of have a flannel shirt. That's part of my kind of summertime hiking kit. Rarely worn if it's too hot, but it's useful in other ways. Sure. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. And in my case, I'm still like I'm wearing one now. I own maybe I've got to be up to about eight or nine of them, but there is just those simple washed teas from kill hubris. |
| No label provided | Oh, yeah. |
| James Stacey | So they have a pocket for my sunglasses because I get this extreme frustration when my sunglasses keep falling on the ground, when I lean over to pick something up and I have very sensitive eyes. So I take my sunglasses on and off. I know some people like can kind of put them on and just leave them on. I find that weirdly distracting. So I really like having the pocket and these, they wash so well. Again, speaking to what I mentioned previously, I'm so fearful of the dryer. These have never been dried, so clothes last a lot longer if you air dry them. So I'll hang them to dry, which is super easy, and I like them because they have a nice kind of boxy shape, so they're not tight in the manner that you're constantly pulling it away from your skin, but they're also not too big. They're kind of neither, which I like. I think they still look pretty good. And then beyond that, I have one or two of those Eddie Bauer, those synthetic shirts that have the kind of vent in the back and the passport pocket in the front. And I really like those, especially when you realize like, oh, I'm going to be standing in the sun for a little while and I'm going to be hot either way. But if I put this on, I won't get like a near purple sunburn. And so like I wore one of those yesterday when I was kicking around by a lake. And it's just really handy because once Once your skin kind of adapts to having that layer on, it's no warmer. Um, and it's the exact same thing I used to, uh, in some ways successfully and not successfully stave off extreme sunburn when I was on Clipperton was the exact same shirt. Um, I, I forgot to put enough sunscreen on the backs of my hands and the palms of my hands. You know, that white, that white sand really got my hands pretty well in my neck. Um, but the shirt is beautiful. Any shirt that's like super light. And Eddie Bauer, we always talk about Eddie Bauer because it's like, I don't even like, they have a lot of trouble staying in business, but I don't understand how they offer things for this cheap sometimes. And it's a really good shirt for the money. It's super packable. I generally, it's like in my car, I have kind of a change of clothes for almost everyone in my family, whether it be like a spare shirt or, you know, I've got little kids, so like a full outfit for them. And I just keep it in this kind of expanding container in the back of the Jeep. And I went and grabbed it yesterday and threw it on. And it's nice because it's not uncomfortable. It doesn't weigh enough to be warmer. And they don't cost that much. So you could buy a couple of them on sale and just kind of have them. And they even make them. And it's a weird look. It's a different sort of look, but they make them like in white. Oh, yeah. Yeah. or near white. And that's going to really help with heat as well. The ones I have are kind of a dull green color, which I, which I find quite nice, but they make a nice stuff. And otherwise they're just the other one, if I'm running or doing something more active than you know, the usual stuff we talk about the icebreaker stuff is amazing there. I think it's a hundred or maybe even 60 weight. Marino shirts are really nice. They're expensive, but I've had mine for seven or eight years. again, take care of them, wash them correctly, et cetera. And then I found recently that in trying to find an outfit that would allow me to run properly in Toronto's heat, I found that Uniqlo has a bunch of really nice sort of sportswear. I don't remember the exact name. They have like an active line, but they make a really great pair of shorts and some really nice running shirts and tank tops and that sort of thing for when you're doing that kind of thing. And they're legitimately like I can be vastly cooler in that than in a regular T-shirt, which is which makes a difference considering the heat. And have you ever had it where the Garmin tells you that you're not ready to deal with this level of heat? |
| Jason Heaton | No, I haven't. |
| James Stacey | I had it the other day. I went for a run. I didn't sleep that well. I went for a run like 5K run. I didn't sleep that well. I haven't eaten in maybe 24 hours. Like I was kind of in the middle of a small fast. Yeah. And I went for a run. It was a terrible run. I went maybe two kilometers gassed out, started over again, gassed out. And then finally, like I was doing kind of little cycles. Um, it was so hot. It was, uh, you know, 35, 36 Celsius. So over a hundred, um, and, uh, and the, where I run in high park in Toronto has kind of an elevation change. So if you're on the lower side, it's a bit cooler and you can get your steam going again, but then you run uphill into the hotter part, uh, which is, you know, as somebody who's so used to running at sea level in Vancouver, where like 30 degrees is crazy hot. Uh, it's, it's been an adjustment and I finished the run and they always give you that after the first kilometer, the Phoenix always gives you the little meter to say whether you were like, like plus or minus. |
| No label provided | Yeah. |
| James Stacey | But then on top of that, when I finished and saved the run, it gave me another notification saying like, you are not adapted to run at this temperature. And I was like, Yeah, you were, you're not wrong, but like I didn't, this was not the right time to kind of hit my ego after a bad ride. Uh, but yeah, so then, then I, then I made the decision to, uh, yeah, to start, to start maybe considering things like, uh, tank tops or something like something, something, you know, it's such a short run. It's not the kind of run where you need water or anything like that, but I just, I'm not used to the heat here at all. You know, this is the first summer I've spent, you know, in earnest in Toronto and yeah. over a decade. |
| Jason Heaton | The heat sink of urban environments. |
| James Stacey | Yeah, yeah, yeah. So beyond shirts, what about just kind of like the stuff that you put in your pocket? Knives, flashlights, maybe keys or key chain sort of devices. Some people like those sorts of things. You guys have any feelings there? |
| Jason Heaton | Boy, I'm real minimalist. I'm just throwing my keys in my pocket. I occasionally carry a pocket knife. You sent me that really cool buck knives. Knife. Yeah. I love that. If I know I'm going to be like hiking with an apple or something. I don't know. There's something I like about using a pocket knife to, to cut an apple, even though I'm a bit clumsy with it. And I always end up nicking my finger, but, uh, that's about it for me. I don't know. I'm not a big, not a big pocket guy, I guess. Uh, other than the phone and the keys. |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | What do you think? Yeah. I, you know, I have a little, uh, James brand knife, the Elko. Yup. And that's just super handy. I have a little bit of paracord tied to my key chain, not that I've ever used it, but it's nice thing to grab onto and you want to grab and go. But I do have one little item that is becomes kind of like a sits in my pocket, especially on the weekends, especially if we're going to go camping or hiking or even like, you know, in, in quarantine conditions, you know, lighten up a campfire in our backyard. And that is a harmonica. Oh, wow. Okay. That is something I guess, a little bit to the chagrin of my kids because I'll just whip it out in like, whatever kind of moments and I don't know many songs, if any, but you don't really need to know songs, but it's just this great thing to especially if you've got some, you know, s'mores going to just whip out a harmonica and start, you know, huffing away on it and it really does create atmosphere and fun and brings a smile to people's face, at least for a little while and then they get annoyed, but Yeah, I just love having a harmonica in my pocket in the summertime. It's just one of those things that, um, I had as a kid and just kind of like as a dad, just kind of stuck around. I love that. |
| Jason Heaton | It's so old school. It's like, it's perfect for a guy who started a company that makes kerchiefs. I love it. I mean, a harmonic is the perfect accompaniment for that. That's a great idea. It's the world's smallest musical instrument. Yeah. |
| James Stacey | That's also like exactly what I was looking for when we asked you to come on. That's perfect. The funny thing is, is that's the kind of thing we're like in, however many years, 10 or 15 or 20 years, your kids will look back and be like, we rolled our eyes, but that was like something we really love now that dad had a, uh, had a harmonica. I love that. Uh, for me, I, you know, as far as my keys, I've talked about this on the show, but probably not in man, Jason, maybe a hundred episodes. It's the, um, the big I design TPC titanium pocket clip. |
| No label provided | Oh yeah. Right. |
| James Stacey | And I've used this always. I hate that. keys and I only like I really refuse to carry. I have two keys on my keychain and a little Blackbird SR-71 that I got in London at the War Museum. But other than that, I have this clip and it's one of these things that it's just meant to keep your keys towards the top of your pocket rather than, you know, down at the bottom where they bunch up and scrape against everything else that's down there. Um, and, and if I leave the house, I always have that. And those are, that's great. I'll put that in the show notes. They make a version with a little flashlight on the end, which I like quite a bit, uh, in a pinch. If you need to find something, you drop next to your car or something like that. Um, as far as flashlights, I mean, it's a broken record when it comes to, but there's a reason they're the absolute best. I, I still, I maintain, I still carry, uh, my Moshant flashlight, the Aeon, uh, in, uh, in sort of a titanium. build, I absolutely adore it. And it's one of those things where like, I wouldn't say I use it every day. But like like I was saying, when you go camping or something, or I'm outside the house, it's, it's almost ridiculous how often I once I know it's in my pocket that I will reach for it. Or if I know it's in the little holder that hangs in the top of the tent, the kind of suspended pocket, it becomes such a reliable light source. And you know, that thing's been absolutely beaten to hell in my bag for a long time and it's held up really nicely. And then as far as a knife, it's actually one that you got to play with before I did. It's this new, new one from the Finch knife co. We spoke about it a few episodes back, uh, because I bought it and had it shipped to you and then you muled it up to me. Uh, or I guess it's not muleing. If you shipped it, you shipped it to me. Uh, but the, uh, the, it's incredible. I really like it. Um, Kyle, have you seen these, the Finch Knife Co stuff? |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think it was off a recommendation that you made on one of the shows. I checked it out. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. So this is the, it's called the, the, the Runtly, but this is the yellow belly version. So it's, it has yellow scales and, uh, and it's, it's just so fun. And I've handed it to a few people that you wouldn't think would have any positive reaction to a knife ever. And they're just kind of like, Oh, the yellow is so cool. And then you can show them with the logo is luminous. in the scale on the side of the knife. And I've been thrilled with this. People who listen to the show constantly will remember that I lost my kind of go-to pocket knife to TSA due to my own stupidity, my Benchmade 556S, the mini grip. And this kind of replaces that. It can be opened easily with one hand, and it also has a pocket clip, a deep carry pocket clip. I really like that it's kind of a bright and disarming color. Uh, so if you do take it out of your pocket and put it on a table, if someone's around you who like hasn't, didn't grow up around people who carried pocket knives, it can be kind of a weird thing. I don't know if you guys have, have crossed the, uh, beyond that, but, uh, I'm absolutely blown away by the quality of this, uh, this Finch. It's a, it's a nice piece for sure. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, that was, uh, it was fun to play with. It has, that has that sort of chunkiness to it. The scales are made of, I don't know what it's made out of, but it's, it looks like it was like cut, you know, like just kind of hewn out of something. Um, Yeah, it feels great. |
| James Stacey | Three dimensional. Yeah. How about how about we do watches? Kyle, what do you what's your do you have a go to summer watch? |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Yeah, I have a couple. I'm a big Seiko fan. And so, yeah, I, I love my little SKX 013. Oh, great. I oftentimes toss it on the orange NATO in the summertime. Yep. And that is just, you know, it's just kind of that that vibe that you want, you know, whether it's, you know, just jumping in a pool with the kids or, you know, we have some friends that, that take us out on their boat out into the ocean. And, you know, that's kind of a crazy thing to get out there about a mile out from the shore and turn off the engine and the water's just pure black. And it was like, all right, who's going in first, you know? And so, you know, I just remember the first time we did that, looking down at my, at that, you know, that little SKX and literally I felt like I heard it say, do you know, and I just went and left off the bow of the boat and landed into literally millions of teeny tiny, like, like maybe dime sized jellyfish, just like falling into, like a vat of caviar almost. And, and, you know, without before I could even say anything, you know, my oldest daughter and my son, they both dive into and then also we're like swimming around in this like little vat of caviar jellyfish and you know, my daughter joked about, joked around later. We got home that night and she was, you know, found a jellyfish inside her bathing suit. You know, it's just like, but that's a memory that's attached to this watch and it makes it an amazing, amazing watch. I was, I've been told that I should get it inscribed on the back. It just says jump into jellyfish or something like that. That's a good idea. Yeah, it is a good idea. That's my summertime watch. |
| James Stacey | How about you, Jason? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I think Safari's not in yet, I guess. No, no, I think we're going to come down similarly on this one between the three of us. I think summer has always been kind of Seiko time for me. I kind of feel like for some reason Swiss watches other than maybe a colorful Doxa or something is just a little too serious for summer. So Seiko on a NATO or even on the original kind of Seiko rubber is, I don't know, it's just kind of up for anything. And it's just like, it feels like the watch you wear when you jump off a dock or something. So lately, like when I was up at the cabin last weekend, it was the Turtle, the SRP. But yeah, when the Sepharni comes, I'm sure that'll get plenty of wear this summer too. And then you've got your new Seiko. I'm sure you're loving it. |
| James Stacey | I do, yeah. We talked about this earlier on the show, but I've got a stack of watches in. It's one of those things where I worked for two months to try and get a few things in hands-on and they all were delivered within a few days of each other. So yeah, as far as what I bought and what I kind of can't take off my wrist is the, it's the SPB 143. It's this new, it's a more expensive sort of evolution of the Seiko, but it's the one that in my opinion is the right size. It's 40.5 millimeters. And obviously the SKX 013 that Kyle mentioned is a lovely size as well. But I'm head over heels for this Seiko. I absolutely love it. And then the other one that I get to a lot is, as I mentioned with it telling me that I shouldn't be running when it's that hot, is the Garmin. It's just such a great tool for fitness, which is, you know, getting out and doing stuff is a great part of summer, whether you're hiking or swimming or running or whatever you can do. You can kind of track all of it in that manner. So that's probably my kind of summer EDC. And I don't think you have to spend You know, this is a $1,200 Seiko. You can get an S. Kyle, what do you figure an SKX173 goes for these days? Or a 013 goes for these days? |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Oh my gosh. I've seen them all over the place. I was lucky to snag mine when they're still like a little under 200 bucks, but they're getting, they're creeping up. They're creeping up there. Should be 200 or 300 bucks. Yeah. It's going to, it's not going to be 300, but it's going to be in there somewhere. Yeah. |
| James Stacey | I mean, that's a lot of watch for that money. And of course we have the kind of ever present SRP 777. It's long, the champion, if you're willing to go with the kind of larger case size. And certainly you can see it on a seven, seven and a half inch wrist on Jason's Instagram. It's a killer watch. And the fun thing about all of these is they really say like, yeah, go out and use them, jump into the jellyfish, like you said. |
| Jason Heaton | Which I like. How about, uh, how about maybe two more things? Maybe we talk about headwear and maybe kind of a secret, not secret, but, uh, you know, surprise choice or, or kind of your secret. Yeah, for sure. |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Kyle, where are you at for a hat? Yeah. Yeah. I'm a, I'm a bald yet beautiful man. Um, and so, you know, hats are, are absolutely necessary, uh, for me and I am a go-to to the Topo five panel camper hat. That's just, I have, pretty much one of those in every color. And I'm the type of guy who does kind of like match, you know, my head gear and my kerchief and my NATO strap and my adventure sandal type of guy. And so having that in nearly every color is just kind of awesome. It has that little clip on the back. So if it does get too hot or you're in some shade and you can take it off and clip it to your belt loop or things like that. So yeah, that's my go-to is the Topo five panel camper. |
| James Stacey | And you Jason? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. You know, as you know, I've long searched for just the right boonie hat. So boonie hat is kind of the full-brimmed hat that was, I suppose, found fame during the Vietnam War. And, you know, you look at Army-Navy surplus and it just isn't quite the right fit, etc. So I finally ordered one from Triple Aute Design or TAD. They have one, I think it's called their Recon Hat or something. It fits great. It's wonderful. It's got a chin strap so it doesn't blow off when you're out paddling or something. Not too high profile. The brim is the right size. So I've been wearing that for kind of hiking and paddling stuff. And then just in terms of like a more of a baseball style cap, there's this company called Quaker Marine that's based out of I think Brooklyn. But the company name goes way back and they still make all their stuff in the U.S. and they make these really cool really long brimmed cotton brimmed hats. So kind of if you picture like Ernest Hemingway with the super long brim from Old Man and the Sea. I have two of those. One's called the Swordfish and the other's the Oysterman. And they're just kind of a soft khaki cotton. And the brim is so long that, you know, you kind of, you make enough shade for a couple of people when you wear it. So it's, those are, those have been my go-tos this year. Nice. |
| James Stacey | Okay. Well, I mean, if you, yeah, if you'd asked me last summer, I would have said like, I don't wear a hat. I've never found a hat that really suited me or, or seemed to fit my head or didn't make me feel self-conscious about wearing a hat. I have a big head, uh, kind of a weirdly shaped head at, at, at that. But we've, we've actually talked about this again on, on the podcast before it's this Pedro and Taylor hat. Uh, they make it, it just, I love it. Uh, you know, Josh, I've worked with Josh. He was the guy that, We've had him, we've had Josh on the show. You can of course listen to his episode. I'll put it in the show notes. But we, I met Josh in West Virginia when we shot the McLaren shoot for a previous volume of the Hooded Key Magazine. He's a very talented photographer, but one of his endeavors is this clothing company, Pedro and Taylor. And part of that is that one of their launch products was a hat. And so he was kind enough to send me a hat. And I certainly own a few kind of baseball style hats, five piece hats or whatever. it's not really the kind of thing I want to wear out in public normally. And then I got this one and it just kind of fit and I kind of don't take it off now. You know, I've, I've got a quarantine hair. Uh, my hair is about as long as it's been in, uh, the better part of a decade. And this, this kind of keeps it together. And then now I've got a, I I'm a proud owner of a convertible. Uh, so I need to keep the sun off my face when I'm out for a drive in the Jeep. And, uh, this has been perfect. So for the money, I think, I think you can't go better. Uh, as far as a non helpful sample group, my brother, who is a similar large, weirdly shaped head. He also bought the hat and loves it and wears it all the time. I can concur. I have it as well. Yeah, there you go. So I really like this hat. I think it's a really solid, nicely made of a simple piece and the branding is nice and light, which I like. I don't typically wear anything with branding on it. You know, the Kill Huber shirts have a little tag down at the hem, which is kind of light enough that it doesn't bother me, but typically if you, you know, if it has the brand splashed across it, I won't, I won't wear it. You know, even, even the, the, a brand that I absolutely adore, like the, the Patagonia logo on a, on a nano puff is at times seems like a lot of branding when everybody knows what the product is anyways, you know what I mean? Yeah. So with, I like these because they're, they're, they're kind of chill. They kind of have like a laid back appeal. They're very like dad vibe. sort of hats or maybe I'm, maybe I'm projecting that onto the hat. I'm not sure. But, uh, yeah, I, I like that, that quite a bit. It's been, uh, it's been basically I wear it almost every day, uh, most of the time. |
| Jason Heaton | Well, I mean, maybe we bring it home with kind of one thing that I, you know, Kyle, I kind of, I kind of feel like your harmonica was the secret, secret weapon of summer. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm really sold on that. I'd run out and get one, but do you have any, do you have anything else in your bag of tricks there? |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Well, speaking of bags of tricks, I'll just go with the bag. Um, I I'm a big fan of, um, a lumbar sack slash fanny pack, whatever you want to call them. Yeah. Yeah. But with, and I, I, I use the belt, you know, so like I'll belt it up. It does have a strap that goes over, you know, you typically my left shoulder cross carry style, but I just use those. I've used a mountain Smith one way back in the day. Oh yeah. Yeah. Totally. And mine, mine still exists. It's like very rough shape, but I kind of upgraded since then, but you know, it's great for, you know, biking and adventuring when you just need something small. You're obviously not packing a laptop with you, but you need something. Mine is kind of padded and, um, yeah, I just, I'm a big fan of the lumbar sack. Cause you know, you just don't have that like cumbersome weight literally on your shoulders slash something smashed up against your back and you can just Go fast. |
| Jason Heaton | Those have really, those have really ebbed and flowed in terms of popularity. I think if you stick with something, but it's always been so functional. I think if you stick with it long enough, it'll come back into, into fashion if that's what you care about. But, uh, yeah, there it's, it's seriously, I mean, like a backpack, you know, you're right. You're back. It's all sweaty and yeah. So good, good pick. I mean, for me, I think, uh, You know, it's something I learned years ago. It's like, just, it's so small that I just always throw a dive mask into, into whatever bag, wherever I'm going, whether it's a road trip or cabin or, or even overseas or whatever. I mean, you can use it as a swim mask. If you're at a hotel with a pool and you want to do some laps or, um, you drop something off the dock and you need to dive down and get it underwater. Or if you just want to snorkel around, I think, uh, You know, as long as you have swim trunks and a dive mask, you can, you can kind of make adventure anywhere you go. And I think, uh, you know, jumping off a boat into, into jellyfish, if you had a dive mask, you could scope them out underwater and that sort of thing. So that's, that's, that's kind of my, my pro tip for, for travel gear. Um, EDC. Yeah. Cool. I like that. |
| James Stacey | That's a good one. And for me, mine, um, mine, as far as like, if you're, if you want to go full summer, I think if you're, if you're talking about having a harmonica, you also need to consider a hammock. Hmm. I think they kind of like play in the same space. And certainly this is another product, this is weird, you know, that we probably haven't talked about in like about 100 episodes. But the hammock, they were kind of the first folks that really hit hard on the ultralight packable hammock. Yeah. But the secret so much for me isn't so much their hammock as much as it is these python straps that they make to go around trees that give you this kind of laddered strap It's like a NATO strap, but imagine if there's two layers and they've got stages. So you can really fine tune how high and the balance between two points. I'm not sure I care one way or another about the hammock. I mean, it's largely like a known quantity, but these Python straps are absolutely worth the 28 bucks or whatever it is they charge for them. Because you can strap them and they're designed to be tree friendly, which is of course absolutely important. But Yeah, you take one of these hammocks, get one that could support you and another person, and then you can sit on them like a couch. And then you can go kind of anywhere you want, and you have somewhere to sit that's not on the ground. And if you want to take a nap, you get not only the ability to kind of rock back and forth, but again, you're not on the ground. It's just nice. The cost of these things have come way down when it comes to the actual hammock part. I remember back in the day, I spent more money on the premium option with the Kamek, and I've been very happy with it, and I continue to use it whenever the weather's nice. It's just super flexible, really nice. I think it's a lot nicer than your average camping chair or packable chair. Even a packable chair is still gonna be the size of a tent, whereas these, the Kamek one, is maybe the size of an orange when it's all packed down, and then you have another little package for these Python straps. I really, really like the product. And that's the one where, like, if I know I'm going to go spend a day anywhere, especially somewhere, you know, with trees and whatnot, where you could kind of ad hoc your connection, I'm going to at least make sure I put that in my bag. If I don't use it, that's one thing, but it's going to be there because if I decide I want to have an app or something, that's definitely the way to go. |
| Jason Heaton | Cool. I think that's a good kind of a good summer EDC list. I mean, we left a few things off, I suppose. I mean, everybody's got their Diversions, whether it's books or shooting film or, or, um, whatever it might be a Frisbee or something. Yeah. |
| James Stacey | Uh, but yeah, whatever you've got, whatever your ideas are, be sure to send them to the great NATO at gmail.com. And of course, if you have an EDC question for us, you can package that up in a voice memo on your phone and then email it to the great NATO at gmail.com. We would love to hear from you. And Jason and I continue to respond to every single email that comes into the account. Other than that, I hope everyone has a really fantastic summer and I hope this kind of spurs on not so much the need to buy one thing or another thing, although I think everybody could probably use a good kerchief and now you know where to get one. Beyond that, just go outside and try and enjoy some summer and some sun and maybe some cool water and the rest of it. It's definitely been kind of the biggest thing for me over the past few months is being able to jump off a dock, which I did just yesterday. And it was lovely. I had a mask with me and I was able to scope out a few smallmouth bass and sunfish and that sort of thing. It was great. So that's basically the message. And anything from Kyle, anything from you before we let you go? |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | No, just keep up the great work, you guys. Honestly, I'm sure I'm echoing the sentiments of a lot of folks out there, but, um, we look forward to your shows, man. And so thank you so much for both of you for putting these on for us. Thank you. |
| James Stacey | Yeah, no problem. And where can everyone find you on Instagram? |
| Kyle Snarr (guest) | Yeah, I'm at kiality personally. And then, uh, we're at containment co, uh, is the Instagram handle for the company. |
| James Stacey | Super. And if you're driving or running or cutting the lawn or whatever you're doing while listening to this, don't worry. It's all in the show notes. We got you covered. Kyle, thank you so much for coming on. Jason, I really appreciate it. And best of luck with Contonement. I think the product is solid and really well-priced. Cool. |
| Jason Heaton | Thanks. Thanks, Kyle. Have a good summer. You got it. All right. Yeah. So, you know, great to chat with Kyle Snarr from Contonement. You know, Kyle's a longtime listener, old fellow Gear Patrol alum from way back. And, you know, it's just, I think it was really fun to have a third party on here to talk about, uh, kind of summer and the getaways and the gear that we use. |
| James Stacey | So, yeah, I think it's good. I think we're going to try and have as many guests on the show, you know, moving forward simply because, you know, the weekly episodes require weekly things to talk about. And, uh, and at a certain point it's nice to have more people on. So we have some, uh, I think next week's going to be a really fun one. Uh, you know, we have the, uh, the results from the Rolex for EJI. uh, auction with Sam, uh, in his, uh, his beautiful OP, uh, there was some drama or dramas overstating it. I don't want to make this too click baity, but there was some, some fallout with some of the bidders and, and we actually have the high bidder is a buddy of ours, uh, and, and a guy that I've wanted to have on the show for a while. So I'm pretty excited about that, but no need to tease, uh, episode one 18 too heavily. Uh, how about we get into some final notes? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I've got one. You've got two. Why don't you hit it first? |
| James Stacey | For sure. So on a recent episode, I spoke about Donut Media and their Up to Speed series on YouTube. I've now been through all 151 or whatever it is of those and absolutely adore it. It's been a complete obsession. I've now moved my obsession. I watched their entire series of something called High Low, where they bought two similar used Nissan 370 or 350 Z's. and one car got high-end upgrades and the other car got like eBay cheap upgrades. That was excellent and it was very easy to watch like in a few hours because it was just a few episodes that it's something that they're kind of doing season by season but it's like a build show and was super fun but I'd recently just on the drive back from my cottage yesterday dug into their podcast called Past Gas and they assure you at the top of the episode that is a podcast about cars and car history and not about farts. And it's really good. It's kind of irreverent and funny, but it's a history lesson kind of presented in a silly and entirely entertaining manner. So I listened, they did a four part series of something that we've talked about on the show before, which is the Ford versus Ferrari in the late 60s at Le Mans. And then I've moved on to kind of later episodes but they're these kind of well-researched but presented in sort of a conversational fashion. I love it. I listened to a bunch while I was shooting the photos for the tutor and really, really thrilled by it. A great podcast, really, really funny guys, really likable guys, and it's fun to hear them kind of they've kind of produced these research elements and then have little commentaries on the side about it. And I love it a lot. |
| Jason Heaton | Man, they're like a media empire. I mean, you were raving about the YouTube channel and now this is a podcast. I don't know how they have time to do anything else. It's incredible. |
| James Stacey | Man, they have one episode of something every day of the week. Unbelievable. I don't know their overall scheme well enough to list all seven episodes, but of course, Up To Speed has one episode a week. There's a science-based episode that has an episode a week. The podcast has one a week. But if you want something and you don't want to have to sit and stare at your screen, you want to do the same sort of stuff you do when you listen to the Grenado, be sure to check out Donut Media's Past Gas. I'm really impressed by these guys. I would love to have James or Nolan on the show at some point, even just to talk about creating something from nothing. They've literally approached something something being the automotive industry, but they've approached it from an angle that's just entirely their own. And even when they do something that some of their peers are doing, it's different because it's from them. And I'm sure I'm attributing a lot to those two guys and they have a whole staff of editors and writers and the rest of it, but really, really great stuff. I can't speak highly enough about it. And the nice thing about the past gas series is for those of you who listen to TGN, and we get emails, so I know this is a thing, those of you who listen to TGN and appreciate the fact that we don't swear, the swears are blanked out on Pass Gas. So you could probably listen to this with at least a kid with some awareness of this type of thing. And this is something that I never really think about, because a lot of the podcasts I listen to have a lot of vulgar language and the rest. And it's not something that, Jason, I don't think we ever set out to not swear. Yeah. I just don't do it much. Yeah. I think I probably do often, but as soon as the microphone's on, I kind of have my like parents voice on when I'm around my parents, I don't swear so much. But it's something that I really should work out of my vocabulary. And I've been thrilled by getting a chance to work on that. But we've received a lot of messages from friends and from listeners, even people who we don't know directly saying that they appreciate the fact that they can put this on in the car or whatever with their family. and not have to worry about, you know, just, just having to explain. Sure. Yeah. Uh, to a kid, not, not saying that that language is bad, but why, why be the impetus to that for that conversation? If it didn't have to happen yet. Yeah. Um, which, which I feel so, uh, uh, if, if you appreciate that kind of thing, check out past gas, don't immediate. They're dope. |
| Jason Heaton | Well, they've set the bar high. I think we've got, we've got things to aspire to once we, the TGN empire goes, yeah, we'll need, we'll need, we'll need a show every day of the week. |
| James Stacey | Goodness sakes. If you want to apply to a job. |
| Jason Heaton | Please don't write us, we're not hiring. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. So my final note came via a listener, Jonathan Byer, who was kind enough to send this into our email inbox. And it's an article from GQ by a really good writer. I've read a few of his things over the years, Joshua Hammer, who wrote a story called The Eruption of Instagram Island. And this is about the horrible volcano eruption that was on New Zealand's White Island, which was in the news last year. There were some tourists that had docked there. And it's kind of a popular tourist destination for cruise ships that are stopping off in New Zealand and just coming over from the mainland. And you can visit this volcano and hike up to the crater and look at the fumaroles and the hot springs and the steam coming out of the holes in the ground and things. Lo and behold, it actually erupted while people were on the island and it was just a horrible scenario. I remember when it was in the news and it was just, it was horrifying to kind of see the footage and hear about this. And this article is a really great long form piece, well researched. Hammer went over there at some point during his research and did a flyover and interviewed a lot of the people that were there. It just kind of takes a look at the story from different perspectives, from a volcanologist and from an emergency room physician and from an airplane pilot who helped with some of the rescues and some of the actual tourists that had just gotten off the island before it erupted. It's really a sobering and well-researched, amazing story about what happens when we get too close to something like an active volcano. Yeah, thanks Jonathan for sending that over. It's definitely worth the time to scroll through and read this whole piece. Again, it's on GQ and it's The Eruption of Instagram Island. |
| James Stacey | Yeah, it's a wild story and well produced by both the author and then good on GQ for publishing that kind of work. Just really, really interesting stuff. I saw that as well when it came through the email. Speaking of interesting, my, uh, second final notes, uh, I had two this week, uh, he hadn't had one is, uh, a new or new ish. It's actually not that new. I got to it, uh, recently, uh, Hulu mini series called devs. That's D E V S. And this is from, um, Alex Garland, who we spoke about, um, who we've chatted about previously on the show. Alex Garland is the director and, you know, uh, creative mind behind things like Ex Machina and Annihilation, two, I think, really, really excellent pseudo sci-fi sort of films that deal with very tight sort of looks at sci-fi, like experiences versus galaxies. And Devs is this, it's hard to explain without giving anything away, but it's about an employee of a kind of Apple-esque, you know, avant-garde, edge of technology, sort of Silicon Valley company, where her boyfriend gets invited to be part of their most elite wing of the company. And then when he dies, there's a lot of questions about his death. I'm not really giving anything away that you wouldn't see directly in the trailer. There's actually more in the trailer that I'm mentioning now. And it's about kind of the edge, the metaphysical edge of technology and where it meets things like time and space and relativity and interdimensional concepts. I really can't speak about this highly enough. It's a mini series, so I know that all of you could get to it at some point. There's not gonna be more. It's eight episodes. The acting is really incredible. Nick Offerman, who played Ron on Parks and Rec, uh, plays the kind of figurehead of this, uh, hypothetical Silicon Valley company. So it's, it's, it's to see Nick Offerman flexing an entirely different muscle. He is such a hilarious human being. And then to see him play this kind of serious, um, grief stricken human, uh, it's, it's, uh, it's really a remarkable thing. And if you've seen any of Garland's other work, you'll understand why I'm kind of being cagey about details. I really just want people to give this a try. Like all of Garland's stuff, it's a complete head trip. It's a complete travel into pain and the way that the human mind processes experiences. I'm a massive Garland fan. I think that I would love to see more stuff from him. I thought that Ex Machina was such a treat visually and mentally and then perhaps on the flip, the effect of Annihilation, especially once I saw it about maybe three times. The first time, I thought it was this incredible sci-fi. The second time, a lot of the concepts kind of hit me a lot harder, and it had a much deeper emotional reaction. And then the third time, I think I saw it at more of a bird's eye view. He makes these very dense films that might have seemingly simple concepts, but they're relayed in ways that are so complicated. And I really, really like his work. And, you know, kudos to Hulu for putting some money on the table and getting this made. And I think he pulled it off. It was a really, really delightful show. Delightful is maybe the wrong word, but I delight at the product. It's a very heavy show as far as its concepts and the way in which it kind of reflects its own math onto the world. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I've rarely heard you rave about a miniseries as much as you did this one, so my finger's itching closer to the purchase button. I think it's streaming on Amazon Prime. We don't have a Hulu account, but I might... Oh, it's on Amazon as well. |
| James Stacey | Okay. |
| Jason Heaton | Might give it a try. I think it was. Yeah, I think you can order it through Amazon or something, but yeah. Cool. We'll check it out. |
| James Stacey | Well, I think it's certainly worth, uh, worth the eight episodes and, uh, and just, uh, another, a huge departure from the sort of stuff I've been watching lately, which is great. This is closer to, uh, like, yeah, just kind of deep, heavy sci-fi that also doesn't have laser beams or science guns or anything like that. So, uh, lots of fun. |
| Jason Heaton | Cool. Well, a very summary episode. I liked it. We had some good talk, dive watches and, uh, EDC and some good, good, uh, good reading. Good, good miniseries. Escapist stuff. Yeah. |
| James Stacey | Yet another episode where we simply suggest maybe, maybe go jump off a dock. Yeah. Find a dock and jump off it for sure. Oh, totally. Yeah. It's good for the soul. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Cool. Well, as always, thanks so much for listening. Hit the show notes via Hodinkee.com or the feed for more details. You can follow us on Instagram at Jason Heaton and at J.E. Stacey and follow the show at The Graynado. If you have any questions for us, please write thegraynado at gmail.com and Please keep sending those voice memos. We continue to pile them up in the inbox and we'll get those into our end of July Q&A episode. Please subscribe and review wherever you find your podcasts. And thanks to those who followed up on James's request last time and did just that for us. Music Throughout is siestaed by Jazzar via the Free Music Archive. |
| James Stacey | And we leave you with this quote, which I'm sure I've referenced before, but it is simply one of my favorites from Isaac Dennison. The cure for anything is saltwater, sweat, tears, or the ocean. |