The Grey Nato - EP 17 - On Paper/On Wrist: The Doxa 50th Sub 300

Published on Tue, 13 Sep 2016 09:00:05 -0400

Synopsis

This podcast episode covers a variety of topics related to travel, adventure, diving, gear, and watches. The hosts discuss the new Doxa 50th Anniversary Sub 300 dive watch, with one host reviewing the watch in detail while the other provides commentary based on online information. They also talk about a new dive computer called the Deep Blue Cosmic that can log dive data and sync with a phone app. Additionally, they share their experiences with finding the perfect bag, watch bracelets, hammocks, and recommendations for books, movies, and articles related to adventure and exploration.

Transcript

Speaker
Jason Heaton Welcome to episode 17 of The Graynado, a loose discussion of travel, adventure, diving, gear, and most certainly watches. I'm Jason Heaton.
James Stacey And I'm James Stacy. Just a little housekeeping before we dig into the main part of this episode. First off, Jason and I want to thank everyone who sent in a design for our logo design giveaway. We got a ton of really great submissions, but ultimately we could only pick one. And so the time has come to announce our selected design and designer.
Jason Heaton And we'd like to congratulate Greg Behrens for his excellent logo design. Greg, we've been in touch with you and your Greynado prize pack is either in the mail or hopefully on your doorstep or in your hands by now. Greg's design incorporated many of the key tenets of the Greynado from watches to mountains, water, and even the lat long coordinates for Minneapolis and Vancouver, which was a really cool, cool little addition. Uh, we loved Greg's use of color and it's really easy for us to envision his design working well on stickers, patches, uh, pretty much anything that we've got in mind for, for cool stuff for the show.
James Stacey Yeah, for sure. That's a great work, Greg. Thanks so much for the cool design. We're absolutely thrilled that we have this great new logo and everybody listening should go and follow Just a reminder that if you're liking The Grey Nato, please, please take a moment to review the show on iTunes. Your view can help us grow, which should help us work on bigger and better things for you, the audience. So if you like the show, feel free to leave us a review. We would really appreciate it. And finally, please keep sending in your questions via email. We're working on separated Q and A episodes. In some cases, we're going to bring in experts to answer certain types of questions, and we hope to get through a lot of questions in the coming weeks. So hit us up at thegraynadoatgmail.com. Let's get on with the show.
Jason Heaton James and I often get watches that, um, the other guy hasn't seen. And so we're calling this new kind of series, On Paper, On Wrist, in which one of us will have the watch to talk about. And one of us just has the internet. Just has the internet, yeah. So on this episode, to kind of kick things off, we're going to be talking about a pretty cool watch. It's the Doxa 50th Anniversary Sub 300, which is a watch that I've got in for review and unfortunately James has only read about. I first learned about this watch, it was kind of just almost by happenstance, you know, it was at Baselworld back in the spring. And there's so much buzz around new releases and new launches of watches from, you know, Oris and Tudor and Rolex and everybody scrambles around to see this stuff. And I, I made a little appointment with, with Doxa, who's over in, in hall two, kind of up in a corner. And I just went to kind of chat with, with Rick, their, their marketing guy. And I was sitting there and he, he pulled out, um, he said, I've got something special to show you. And he pulled out, uh, a box or something, watch roll. And lo and behold, here are these three watches. One is the orange dial, the Professional, one is the silver dial Sea Rambler, and then of course the black dial Shark Hunter. And he said, you know, 2017 is the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first Sub 300. And they wanted to do this commemorative edition. And he swore me to secrecy, said he wasn't showing anybody else. And then, you know, I think within a day or two, I saw that watch time had published a little article on their website with lots of photos of the watches, and so the news was out. It kind of trickled, kind of went viral on kind of the small scale that Doxa kind of operates on, but it's slowly, I think, kind of built a buzz, but Doxa kind of has this weird, it's one of these companies that, you know, their following isn't based on kind of big marketing budgets and ambassadors or you know, fancy websites. It's really kind of a quirky little brand that kind of lives by the, uh, it's, it's online community of, of forum, uh, followers on, on watch you seek as well as their Instagram.
James Stacey And certainly their website isn't great. No, certainly not. I wouldn't call it the worst offender in the market. I'm far from it really, because it is functional, but like, it's very difficult to find out kind of what their current product lineup is. And then, At least when I checked in preparation for this and in the past, after you had mentioned the 50th anniversary sub 300, it's not mentioned on their actual website. Right. So you can find out about it on their Facebook. And if you Google the exact name of the watch or a derivative thereof, you'll get links to a couple posts about the watch and to their Facebook page, which is where they're pushing through for the order process. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, like, what do you think that even the best way to know something about Doxa is? Because I would say it's probably not their website.
Jason Heaton No, it's definitely their forum on WatchuSeek. They've operated this official forum for probably as long as the watch brand was relaunched back in the early 2000s. And, you know, when I started my forays into watches and got involved with WatchuSeek, you know, the doxa forum was one of the early ones that I visited and it was robust and active even back in the mid 2000s. And so they've got a really strong following. They've, they've kind of nurtured that and it's the way that they disseminate all their information. They've got a couple of longtime moderators that are pushing out information about new models. They're taking in feedback and suggestions from members and they've built a nice community. But I think, um, The forum model, I don't want to say it's outdated just yet, but there are a lot more people kind of going to social media these days, especially like Instagram, to a lesser degree, Twitter, and of course, Facebook. And Doxa has actually got a really nice Instagram feed now, which I think is, they've got a nice following. I think they've got about 11,000 followers now. And they do a nice job with sort of motivational kind of posts, sort of inspirational diving or adventure photos and sprinkled in with wrist shots provided by people and announcements of new watches. So I would say if you're looking for information about a Doxa watch, either go to the watchuseek forum or just check out their Instagram. And the guy who runs the Instagram is pretty responsive. And if you pop in a question or something, he is usually pretty quick to answer.
James Stacey That would be my suggestion. I think that would be the lowest stress method of keeping up with the brand because I think the website is perhaps a little outdated in terms of the speed of its response to whatever's actually happening with Doxa. It's not necessarily a bad website. I just think there are some better sources of information. And I think the pre-order process kind of highlights that because you find almost no mention of this watch. It's a limited edition watch. They're making, is it 300 of each version? Yeah. So it's 300 of each version, a total of 900 watches, and you can pre-order them through like a specific form that you can find on the Docs & Watches official page. And there's a form for the professional, which is the orange dial, the shark hunter, the black dial, or the sea rambler, which is the kind of silver dial. And then within the form, you're basically just filling out literally like a web form, paying a deposit of $500. And then that gets you, you know, your watch on hold. Right. And it's an interesting, a perfectly effective way of kind of pre working a pre-order for the watch. It's just surprising that it's not on their main website. Maybe that's by design. Maybe they want this to be very much something for their community. And I get the feeling that Doxer really loves that community, like you said, through Watch You Seek. I think it was just kind of an esoteric way to go about selling this model or even just promoting it, not just the actual, you know, mechanics of selling the watch. Yeah. But even just letting somebody know about it, you pretty, you pretty much had to go through their Facebook, which is a perfectly fine way to disseminate information, but you would think that they would also have something on their website. And, uh, and so for your $500 deposit, that brings your pre-order price down to $19.90. upon delivery. The total price for the watch is $2490. And, uh, you know, for that, I would say it's probably, probably difficult to find a really comparable watch as far as one that mixes in kind of that dive watch history along with the design. Like if you're in, if you're kind of on board for Doxa, this is a bit of a no brainer at that price point. I would assume being of this limited version, we've seen other LE docks hold their value fairly well.
Jason Heaton Yeah, and to your point about, you know, disseminating information, it's, I mean, think about it. This is a pretty significant release for any brand. 50th anniversary is a big number. I mean, any brand doing anything for 50 years or commemorating something that's 50 years old, it's a big number. It's like 25, 50, 75, 100. And it's a significant watch for them. It's their original diving watch that they're commemorating. And you just think that they would be taking out full page ads in magazines or, you know, doing some sort of a splashy promo on their website. But like you said, there's just, there's nothing there. But I do think that it's because, I don't know if it's intentional, but the brand is so enigmatic that, you know, they, it's quirky that they, they really do nurture that community. And maybe they just think 300 of each it's maybe it's just something we just want to kind of keep in the family. you know, maybe they don't have any aspirations of being, you know, a giant sort of Tudor or a sized release, because I think when you look at what those brands are doing with, you know, the Black Bay is ubiquitous. I mean, you see it on every website and every banner ad.
James Stacey Yeah. Or think like with what Rolex did for their 50th anniversary of the sub, that's a specific sub that we all know as the Kermit, the 116610LV, I think. And, uh, and obviously they that expression turned into the Hulk later on. But, you know, that's an, even in the world of subs, that's one that like, if somebody's wearing it in a video on YouTube, you can tell. Yeah. That's, you know, that very distinctive green bezel and Rolex doesn't do things like the Kermit very often. And I, you know, they made a big deal about it when they did. Yeah. And I think there's something really charming, really kind of not of the watch world with how DOXA is going about this, which is we have this many to make, to sell, and we're going to do it this way. This is what we're kind of comfortable with. And I think that they've basically guaranteed that the however many of the 900 they sell via the pre-order, those are going to DOXA fans. Yeah. not somebody who's buying the watch because of hype, not somebody who's buying the watch because of the possible potential for one day, you know, seeing a large increase in value or any of these possibilities. Yeah. And it's also selling for, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, really right in the neighborhood of what an older one would cost, like a sub 300 from late sixties, early seventies.
Jason Heaton Yeah. And I think that's kind of the conundrum with doxes in general is whenever people say, should I get a vintage one or a new one? And what's for sale, I guess. I don't know, because I think they both have their merits. I mean, you and I both love vintage doxes, and there's something great about just wearing one around. They're beat up, but they're robust. They hold up really well. But if you're going to spend $2,500, the pricing is almost the same. Yeah. I mean, almost across the board, almost any modern doxa is around between $2,500 and you know, between $2,000 and $3,000, let's say, and you can also get some of the less rare vintage ones, you know, unless you're talking like a Teagraph or a... Diving Star. Diving Star or something, then you're going to kind of end up at the same price point. So it's always a bit of a dilemma. And, you know, I don't know, it just kind of comes down to what you want to use it for, I guess.
James Stacey But... So, I mean, let's say you get past all of that and you found the ordering form and you just You can't pick between the three. Personally, I think I would go Shark Hunter, although I have yet to see a photo of the Shark Hunter one. You know, I've only seen the photos of the professional. Yeah. Just super cool. I also think the Sea Rambler, I'm assuming it's going to have an orange minute hand. Yes. That would be pretty hard to say no to. So I think it's kind of tough to pick between the three. Yeah. At least at arm's length, I'm not buying any of them. Yeah. And then what are the kind of physical dimensions from the photos, you kind of get the impression that the dial is quite small and the lugs are kind of like big and shouldery. How is it in person? What kind of sizing are we looking at?
Jason Heaton Yeah. So the watch itself, first of all, you know, from the moment I saw it and what I was told by Rick at Doxa is that the watch was, you know, it literally, they took a 1967 sub 300 and duplicated the case dimensions, you know, to the half a millimeter. And, and indeed it's, it's 42 and a half millimeters across. It's 13.4 millimeters tall. And that includes this high domed bubble crystal. Oh, super wearable then. Yeah. And then the, the lugs are they're 20 millimeter lugs, just like they always were, but you're right. The dial, the dial is only 25 and a half millimeters across. So The most common comment I get whenever I wear this watch or when I've posted pictures and people come back and give feedback about it is they say, oh, that dial just looks so small. I don't think I could get used to that. But, you know, be that as it may, that that's what the original was and that that's exactly what they were trying to emulate. So to do anything different ends up being like, you know, pretty much any other Dockside you can buy, which it looks vintage, but it's They have a bigger dial. Yeah. But they have a bigger dial, which makes sense. I mean, you know, as watches have evolved, the bigger dial kind of makes sense, especially in a diving watch that you need to see it. I don't think, you know, when I wear the watch, it's, it's plenty visible. I mean, I, I've got it on the desk here. It's not even on my wrist. It's a little ways away and it's, uh, it's, it's, it's perfectly legible. I mean, it's fine, but it, I think what enhances or, or heightens that sense of tininess to the dial is the shape of the case. It's that flat tonneau, you know, barrel shaped case. And then the bezel, of course, is a steel bezel. And so you've got all of this metal, and then it's surrounding this little porthole, you know, this little dial. And I've got the professional version. I've got the orange dial. And then when you add that bubble crystal, the edge of that crystal, because it's domed, it sort of distorts the edge of the dial. So it seems like the dial's even smaller. So you've got all this metal surrounding the small dial with this bubble crystal. And so it does appear pretty tiny. But to me, that is... Some people are like, I couldn't live with that. For me, it absolutely makes the watch. I mean, I have, you've seen it, James, the Mission 31, you know, sub-professional. Yeah, yeah. Great watch. But when I put them side by side, that's a massive watch compared to this. It's perfectly, you know, comfortable and I like it. But this is just, it's so, it feels exactly like a vintage watch.
James Stacey And do you know what the lug-to-lug is on the 300?
Jason Heaton I don't actually. I'd have to measure that. I looked online and I didn't see that but I'd have to put a calipers on it, but it's it's it's pretty stubby I mean, you know, most docks is where pretty well because the lugs are pretty short. It's that that kind of barrel shape It's almost like a perfect Circle or square if you look at it.
James Stacey Yeah, it's probably it's gonna end You know the sweet spot for like around with it being 42.5 millimeters wide is probably around 48 millimeters something like that is gonna make it pretty much wearable on almost anybody's wrist those proportions just kind of work And it certainly doesn't look like it would suddenly be, you know, 50 or 51 millimeters, which is usually where you start to find watches too long. And then as far as the movement, it's a 28-24-2, correct?
Jason Heaton It's the 28-24-2, and they chose the Kosk grade, so it's the highest, I think it's the highest grade that ETA provides. I think that's the highest grade.
James Stacey Either way, it's COSC certified. So, you know, you're going to get proper timekeeping from it, which is great. Not a fancy movement, but I'm not sure that you could expect anything better, not only from DOXA, but really at that price point.
Jason Heaton Yeah. And DOXA's used, I mean, even the old ones used a 2784 at a, you know, back in the sixties. So it kind of is in keeping, I think, I think it would almost be a mistake to, you know, take this watch and say 50th anniversary, we're going to put a clear case back on it and fit it with our, you know, highly modified Le Joux Perret. overly decorated movement. It just wouldn't, it wouldn't fit at all.
James Stacey Well, I mean, even, even think with something like, uh, like the earlier versions of the Black Bay, I don't, they were drastically more than $2,500. Yeah. And use the same movement, you know, cost certified. So I, it doesn't bother me certainly that it's a 2824. I actually kind of like that it's a 2824 because it means that service isn't going to be an issue. Right. Right. Even if so many years down the road, there is no more DOXA. Yeah. anyone will service this movement.
Unknown Right.
James Stacey Right. Which I think like I think it's one of the kind of the big issues of in-house and it could be a whole episode and probably will be at some point. But there's something to be said for the 2824 for the Chev small block. Yeah. Of movements because sure it lacks some some of what you might get from another movement or the luster of really high-end watchmaking, but for a sports watch, especially a dive watch, I think it's a great choice and it certainly doesn't bother me at this price point, despite the fact that obviously we've seen 2824s, you know, a few years ago were in watches under $1,000, kind of before ETA started choking off supply.
Jason Heaton Yeah, and it's really in keeping with kind of the history of watches of this ilk that were, you know, the focus by the companies that made them was on the innovations to, especially with Adaxa, the case, the bezel, the clasp, the bracelet, the dial, the hands, and then, okay, you know, we're going with a tried and true movement. And I think- Movement was almost secondary. Yeah. You're going to a trusted supplier. So what, you know, what's wrong with that? And I, I, I kind of feel it's almost why I like the, the pre in-house Pelagos and, you know, Black Bays, you know, that's what kind of Tudor was all about, right? I mean, they had Rolex cases and, and ETA movements and it was kind of this-
James Stacey Get them serviced in town. Yeah, not no crazy shipping or waiting in the mail Yeah, take them to your local guy who's been around for a long time, right? He's gonna have seen this movement so many times before he's gonna have parts. Yeah, I think they're capable fantastic timekeeping I mean I think they get I think this by the 2024 much like the 7750 and even the 9015 from Miota They get a bit of a bum rap because of the price points that they exist within.
Unknown Yeah
James Stacey But they offer pretty much everything you need for a sport watch, while still guaranteeing that you're not going to get a four-figure repair bill at some point. And you're not going to get an issue where a problem with the movement is essentially a write-off of the watch. If you didn't have the money, the movements can be fully replaced for a very reasonable amount of money, let alone just doing something like your five to seven year service.
Jason Heaton You know, when I look at this watch, kind of, when you line it up, it's such a rich time these past few years. We had that episode on new vintage watches, and I think, you know, I think in that episode you kind of went back to, I don't remember what it was, 2006 or 2007 when Longines came out with the Legend Diver. Yeah. Kind of put a stake in the ground, like, you know, this is the new trend, and I think Longine did a great job with that watch, but if you look at the last year, maybe two years, at some of the launches that we've seen, the introductions, this watch, this Doxa, I think kind of lines up nicely next to watches like the Aorus Diver 65, the Zodiac Super Seawolf, the two versions, the one that kind of mimics the original Seawolf and then the actual Super Seawolf. And then most recently, the Seiko, the SRP 777, 775, et cetera, that came out this year. I think there are all these watches that have, in the past year or two, have looked back at those original designs, specifically with dive watches. And I would contend, at least just personal, my pure personal opinion is, my two favorite watch releases of 2016 have been The Seiko SRP777, which we both love, which everybody seems to love, and this watch, this Daxa. I mean, I feel that strongly about it, that it's the watch that piqued my interest, captured my attention at Basel amid all the other watches that I saw. And now that I have it in hand and I've had it for a few weeks and dived with it and used it, I still feel the same. And I think I wear this and the Seiko almost equally over the past couple of weeks. And I just think they both just did such a great job for very different reasons, you know?
James Stacey What do you think they did right with this watch? Because I think that they have, like, they have a pretty clear path to their aesthetic.
Unknown Yeah, yeah.
James Stacey But everything with a watch design comes down to these really tiny details. And for you, what kind of stands out? You've had it on wrist, you've had it on hand. I mean, it's been in front of a camera, you know, at your home. What kind of stands out as the sweet spots?
Jason Heaton Okay, I think the best example I can give to where they got things perfectly right with this watch is, first of all, that small dial. I'm so glad they stuck with it. I think it makes the watch. But I think even drilling down a level, the font that they used on the dial is, it's so perfectly vintage looking. And again, This opinion of mine comes from a real love of vintage watches. So if you're not a person that likes small dials and kind of quaint little retro-looking fonts, you know, that's not going to appeal to you. But I think that where they succeeded with mimicking this watch in a true 50th anniversary commemorative edition that is meant to replicate the original one as closely as possible, I think it's the details like the the font they used on the dial. It has this, uh, if you look at the modern doxes, it's a very blocky sort of, um, almost, I don't know if I'm using font terminology correct, but it's, it's, you know, it's a bold face sans serif font that looks very kind of stamped on very, I mean, it's, it's nice, but it compared to this one, which it's, it's almost done in a very light line, the words automatic and professional have these like little, little details, kind of little serifs at the end of the, the letters that are just, they're just a pleasure to kind of look at under a loop. And it just makes you feel like you're wearing a vintage watch. I mean, to the point where just wearing it around, I've also got the old T graph. And when I go from one to the other, the funny thing is, is that I think you commented the T graph, the bezel is just so good on that watch. And it's a 1969 watch. Awesome. And, and so then I wear that and I'm like, okay, that's an old watch that, that kind of feels new. I wear this watch and it's a new watch that feels old. Um, and I think a lot of that has to do with the bubble crystal, but you know, I have to kind of remind myself that this is, you know, this is, this is a capable watch. I can pretty much do anything I want with this watch. Um, even though it feels like it's, it's 50 years old. Yeah. But, so I think that font is one thing that I, I've really grown to appreciate. Um, and they also kept the dial markers slimmer. I, again, I, when I had posted a picture or two on, on, uh, the forum, the docks of forum, I, you know, there was some feedback, people saying, ah, you know, the, the, the loom stripes are, little too narrow on this well you know the point of this watch was to replicate the original so they weren't out for state-of-the-art 2016 they were out for a state-of-the-art 1967 and I think they got those elements right and it's what gives it the charm of essentially what feels like a 50 year old watch I think also when when I first saw it and I was talking to Rick from Doxa and he said at that time, this was back in March or April, he was saying, you know, we're debating whether or not we should use, you know, go all the way and go with an acrylic crystal or if we should go with Sapphire. And I said, you know, I'm a sucker for plastic crystals. I was like, go plastic, you know, go all the way. If you're going to go this far with the authenticity, put an acrylic crystal on it. But ultimately they opted for Sapphire, but it's, there's almost no compromise. I mean, in terms of that warmth that you get with acrylic, Aside from the perfect dome that they've managed to come up with on this Sapphire, it doesn't have that reflection that you get a lot of times with Sapphire. It's very, I don't want to say dull, it's very warm, you know?
James Stacey It looks amazing. I was really surprised in the photographs by just how small the reflection was. Yeah. Because certainly you look at other watches that have the box Sapphire, like the Diver 65, I found that you constantly kind of managing various amounts of reflection. And I thought it added to the charm of the watch. But then, you know, you're with your Instagram shots of the 300, the dial so clear, it's so it's very much protected by the crystal as far as its legibility. Yeah, I think it looks great.
Unknown Yeah.
Jason Heaton So with the diver 65, you know, since you had that watch for a while, the yeah, That watch, okay, so they've got a 42 millimeter version of it now, but the one that you had was the 40 millimeter, correct?
James Stacey Correct. Yeah. Black bezel with the kind of really awesome loomed font.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. So that watch, the watch that it pays tribute to from 65, presumably, that watch was originally 36 millimeters, I think, right? So it was a small, small watch.
James Stacey Yeah. 36, 37, something like that.
Jason Heaton I mean, I realized that these new vintage, quote-unquote, new vintage watches, these ones that harken back to an original from the 60s, oftentimes, same thing with the Seawolf from Zodiac, they've upped the case size to accommodate modern tastes. I mean, 36 is borderline too small for a lot of people.
James Stacey Yeah, it's pretty small for a sport watch.
Jason Heaton I think Dox's advantage was, in 67, they were making this watch at 42.5 millimeters, which must have been huge at that time.
James Stacey Yeah, they've got history on their side with that one. Having, you know, larger watches a while ago means that, yeah, it kind of translates better now. Yeah. And now you've had a chance to take it diving. We heard a bit about your trip on a previous episode. What was the watch itself like diving?
Jason Heaton Yeah. So, you know, when I got the watch, it was within, I don't know, a few days. Even though the bracelet that it was sent on was too short for my wrist, I quickly put it on Actually, I put it on one of Erica's originals, the MN elastic parachute strap originally. Oh, yeah. And I took it up to Lake Superior and did a wreck dive up there with the watch over my, you know, dry suit glove. And it was great. And then more recently, I was in Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean, and had the watch. I had gotten extra links for the bracelet and took it diving there. And, you know, I've taken DOCSIS diving. In fact, I had my mission 31 when we went diving in Vancouver and it feels much the same. I mean, that, that small dial doesn't make it any bit of difference. It's perfectly legible underwater. Um, and as we know, things kind of look up here, larger, they get magnified when you're underwater anyway. Um, but I think diving is where DOCSIS really shine because they were so purpose designed and purpose built from the very beginning. Um, you know, as a bottom timer. I mean, with that giant minute hand, um, and that big grippy bezel, it's just, you know, that's really all you need. And it works really well. Now, the irony of docks is fame for introducing an orange dial is that orange is a color that disappears fairly quickly as you descend when you're diving. And so, you know, you get to about 15 or 20 feet deep and that beautiful orange dial turns to kind of a dull gray. But, uh, you know, that certainly doesn't diminish the, the legibility of it, and it doesn't take away from the attraction to the orange dial. I think, you know, you've stated before that you kind of prefer the Shark Hunter variety of this, and I can see where that comes from. I also like the Shark Hunter, but I don't know. In this particular watch, maybe it's because of the smaller dial. I think the orange, personally, I think it's the one to get.
James Stacey I'd be scared that it would feel too different from my normal kind of reserve white or black dials. Yeah. And then I wouldn't wear it as much. Maybe that makes me like the right candidate for a Sea Rambler because it's just kind of one step away from the black dial. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And you get some color and you get I love that metal dial on your T graph. I mean, it's just just about as cool a dial as there is. Yeah. I mean, all three, just assuming from your photos of the professional, but all and obviously we know what a shark Shark Hunter and the Sea Rambler look like in other models. Yeah. All three are going to be really winning, really capable designs. And obviously, if you have a taste for an orange dial, you can't really beat a Doxa at all.
Jason Heaton Yeah. With the Shark Hunter 2, I think you get that, you know, last week or last episode, we talked about the old Cousteau films. For sure. And, you know, in a lot of those he wears and his cronies, you know, his crew wear I think mainly they wear Shark Hunters. And it does have, the Shark Hunter definitely has a much more sort of tactical, serious look. You know, it feels a little more, I don't know, rugged or, I don't want to say military necessarily, but you know, just sort of all business.
James Stacey And there's a certain appeal to that. Yeah, I would agree. I think, yeah, it looks, it looks a little bit more tool-ish. There's something a little bit less kind of whimsical.
Unknown Yeah.
James Stacey Yeah. And with the orange, the orange does feel like. Beachy. Yeah, exactly. I guess beachy. Yeah, I guess, I guess that's kind of almost like the same way I feel about the markers on the Diver 65. Yeah. It's just a little bit wilder than the Safer Choice, which is what they went with at the 42. Right. The circular markers. Right, right. Yeah. I think it's one of those things where I would, if I could talk myself into buying the Professional, it would just take me a short amount of time to warm up to it. And then I would, I would not think that I wasn't an Orange Dial guy anymore. Yeah. Yeah. And overall on wrist, on the bracelet, you found it pretty comfortable, pretty wearable, not too heavy.
Jason Heaton Well, if the watch has one flaw, and it's a fairly minor one, it's the bracelet. And the reason I say that is because if you look at a vintage Doxa, whether it's the original Sub 300 or the Teagraph that I have, those old bracelets were the beads of rice style, where it was kind of too wide, or two outer rows of sort of normal outer links. And then in the middle, it had these crimped little sections of wire that were kind of made up this almost like chain mail section. And they called it the beads of rice. And it was this really nice drapey, soft feel on the wrist. And then of course, Doxa innovated this really cool diver's clasp that when you shut it down on your wrist, you squeeze it to ratchet it in increments to size it for your wrist. And then on the outsides of that clasp, it has two spring loaded flexi expanding sections that will take up or give slack if you're pulling it on over a wetsuit and maybe the wetsuit compresses underwater. It was very innovative in its day and I think still is actually. But the bracelet, those old bracelets were super comfortable and I think they fit the watch just beautifully. Like a lot of old bracelets, I think old bracelets on whether it's a Rolex or an Omega, those old hollow link crimped link bracelets were just so drapey and comfortable. And what they've done with the new, you know, this 50th anniversary edition is it was a bit of a compromise. They fitted it with the bracelet that's also used on the sub 1200T, which it's a perfectly fine bracelet. It's still, I guess you could call it a beads of rice, but instead of those crimped little wire sections, it's actual little links that all tie together. And I think what happens is it sort of adds up to just a heavier bracelet, which takes, it's slightly, I don't want to say it's uncomfortable. The watch is, it's very comfortable, but I've actually, what's, what's kind of cool about this watch is that it, because it's built to those old dimensions, it actually fits the old bracelet perfectly, whether using the old crimped end links, but I was actually able to fit the vintage bracelet on the solid end links from the new watch and that fits just fine. But I don't know, I would say that the bracelet is a slight compromise. It looks good on the watch. It has a 22 millimeter outer dimension where it meets the watch, so it almost looks like an integrated bracelet. And then it tapers down to 20, whereas the old ones, they had a narrower taper. And then I think they narrowed down to probably 18 at the clasp. So I think it just kind of balanced the watch a little bit better.
James Stacey For sure. And then before we wrap up this, you know, on paper, on wrist, how is it on a NATO?
Jason Heaton Oh, well, I think a Doxa, you know, the beads of rice is kind of a love or hate aesthetic, I think. But I think the watch I think any DOXA just looks, it takes it to a new level to kind of put it on like an old tropic strap or definitely, you know, like a grey NATO, which is how I've worn it most of the time actually.
James Stacey Grey and orange is a great combo.
Jason Heaton It just looks just right. So that would be my recommendation.
James Stacey Alright, well that's on paper on wrist for the DOXA 50th Anniversary Sub 300. We'll be back in just a minute with new business.
Jason Heaton I want to hear a little bit about your recent trip to Germany. You were there for a Porsche test drive. Is that correct? How did that go?
James Stacey Yeah, I went to Munich for, man, maybe 50 hours to drive the new Panamera. So that's Porsche's sedan. And it's now going to be in two versions for 2017, the 4S and the Turbo. Both are all-wheel drive. The 4S is a twin-turbo V6. and the turbo is a twin turbo V8, a four liter V8. Mostly a new car, certainly a new aesthetic. I mean, I think it's a little cliche now to say that the last generation of the Panamera, like the original Panamera was, was not the prettiest car.
Jason Heaton I must be in the minority because I always, I always kind of liked the Panamera. I don't know what it was, but it appealed to me, but the new one is, takes it to a new level from what the pictures I saw.
James Stacey The previous generation, maybe I didn't like every angle, but I actually thought the car itself was a cool concept and it definitely looked like a Porsche and you got a great interior and, you know, many different versions, all of which were fast. You know, they all go from fast to really fast. And as far as a GT car goes, it's simply a better package than the Aston Martin four-door, or even, you know, maybe I guess you could compare it to cars like the four-door version of the BMW 6 Series. Oh, sure. The 6 Series Grand Coupe. You know, I think with the new model, I think they realized that they had maybe some proportion issues specifically with the tail. And they've kind of given it a new tail, which is much closer to a 911 in terms of its overall shape. And it's a better match for the roofline. Oh, sure. and kind of the spirit line of the car.
Jason Heaton Yeah, the old one had kind of a big butt, didn't it? This one?
James Stacey Yeah, for sure. It's a little bit more tucked in. The car itself is wider and it's taller. And it's something you notice when I've been editing the photos I took. So it's definitely a big car and you get inside and it's like you're in a limousine crossed with a 911, basically. You have this fantastic chair, this amazing cockpit. Giant screens aplenty. I think, you know, the center stack screen is something like 12.3 inches. Ultra high res, really responsive touchscreen, like an iPad. And then your driver's gauge cluster is like a center analog tack. And then you have two big color screens on either side that can mimic the other four gauges. So, you know, in a photograph, you'd think there's five gauges, the screens are quite high res, they're very bright. But then depending on what's happening, like, you know, if your GPS feeds you a new coordinate, that'll come up, suddenly two gauges turn into one map on the right side. Oh, okay. Just an unbelievable amount of tech packed into one car. Obviously, all the easy stuff like radar cruise control, heated and cooled seats, the car will maintain its lane without your hands on the wheel. And it'll do the full stop and start in traffic. All that kind of stuff that like modern luxury sedans have to do now, especially when you're talking about a car that's probably somewhere around, I think US starts at a hundred and the turbo pushes like 130 ish. I didn't get the exact prices cause I'm still waiting for the Canadian prices. I'm writing it for a new magazine here in Vancouver. But we, uh, I flew in and, uh, I was kind of paired up with another guy Corbin from Toronto from Pure Luxury. And we got a midnight metallic blue 4S with all the bells and whistles. So you're looking at it's a 440 horse, I believe three liter V6, twin turbo V6, all wheel drive. And both cars use an eight speed new version of Porsche's PDK dual clutch transmission. And I mean, with the car in comfort, You're just in the smoothest, most coddling 911 ever. You know, it's very quiet. The stereo is very nice. The seats are very comfortable. The driving position is great. I feel you sit more in the car. The car is just viciously fast, the 4S.
Jason Heaton So the 4S, you said the 4S has a twin turbo, but they don't call it the turbo. What does the turbo have then?
James Stacey A twin turbo V8. Oh, okay. Turbo now for Porsche is just trim level. So it denotes the fastest model of the car before you get to GT versions. I see. So as of this, as of the 20, I'm going to get this wrong. As of either the 2016 or 2017 Carrera, all the Carreras are turbocharged. So you used to buy the last generation of the Carrera, the 991.1. Sorry for people who don't care. The 991.1 Carreras, you know, had your normal 3.4 or 3.6 in the S. Yeah. Now they go to a three liter turboed in all the versions for the 991.2 part of the generation. And then subsequent versions of the car will be turbocharged. So the GTS will be turboed and the Targa eventually and all those sorts of things.
Jason Heaton All right. So I think, I think the number that everybody wants to know is the top speed that you hit while you were there.
James Stacey So the second day coming back from the stop-off location, we begged our way into a turbo. And by begged, I mean, I borrowed it while everybody else was having breakfast. Oh. And then didn't really give it back until most people had already gotten in the car and left. So then I got the turbo for the day. Uh, the turbo is 550 horsepower. Wow. The car doesn't communicate much through the steering. It's electronic steering. But you have an insane amount of grip and this really torquey V8. You get power from a 2,000, you get a lot of boost by three, three and a half. And then you have eight gears. And I mean, you can, sure, you can hit the paddles and pick, but really it doesn't matter. Yeah. Put it in Sport Plus and jump on it and it drops three, four gears and you're off and instantaneously you're over the speed limit, which I experienced. And thankfully there was some, um, German police officers to slow me down and make sure I paid a sizable fine to the German people. But on that second day, we did get a chance to run unrestricted on the Autobahn coming back to the airport. And we were in the turbo and just because there were people coming into that far left lane, we had to kind of hold back from our, my original goal would have been 300k. Yeah. And, and I got it to maybe 285, 288, somewhere in there, around 177 miles an hour. Oof. Wow. And the car at that speed felt like any of the junk sedans I've owned in my life at a hundred K. I mean, it's just, it's rock solid. It's quiet. I mean, you definitely know you're going fast, but the car is not stressed. Yeah. Um, it didn't feel sketchy. The nose doesn't get light. It feels like you have a lot of grip and you have some amazing brakes to slow you down. uh, when that truck does pull into your lane kind of at the last second. Yeah. Uh, but yeah, that's just an absolute rocket. Uh, I wouldn't call it a sports car, but I would call it maybe one of the most competent GT cars I've ever driven. Yeah. And just power and power and power and power. I mean, with the turbo, you're looking at a car that this is a four, a four door sedan that they put a roll cage in and a racing seat. They actually increased the weight of the car over stock. and then ran seven minutes, 38 seconds around the Nuremberg ring. Wow. Which is not a small statement. That's saying a lot about its overall characteristics. The chassis is fantastic. It's very stiff. And then you put it in comfort and you're just in this really wonderful usable interior. It has the center stacks, uh, mostly touch interface. Oh yeah. Which should to most people listening be like terrible. but it actually worked. It worked beautifully. Everything works really well. I found the auto, some of the auto drive features to be intrusive, especially on some of the really tight roads where you might want to put a tire on an outside white line. Yeah. And the car doesn't want you to do that, but all of it can be disabled or not purchased in the first place. I mean, with Porsche, you, you option the car from base. This felt like, um, very much like an M six, you know, low, fast, very capable of covering huge amounts of distance. Yeah. But we, yeah, fantastic trip with Porsche, great roads, just best roads I've ever driven.
Jason Heaton You wore a very fitting watch on this trip, right? You wore a German watch, I think.
James Stacey Chronograph? Yeah, I took the Zinn, my 144. If you don't mind, that'll actually lead me right into my next new business, if you don't mind me stepping on yours. No, go for it. I recently bought a bracelet for my 144, so if any of you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen it on kind of a bracelet pretty similar to what's on the new Omega Mark II. So kind of a three-link motorsport style bracelet, not unlike the old Porsche design bracelets, or more accurately the Orfina rolled steel bracelets, but the links are a little bit bulkier. I think the aesthetic's perfect for the watch. And I actually hunted for a long time. The Orfina, when you buy it and get it to Canada and pay the exchange, you're pushing into $600. Yeah. And I mean, that's like more than 50% of what I paid for the watch originally. Yeah. And I hunted around for a while. I don't really love the Zinn bracelet, which has this kind of a circular center link. Yeah, I don't care for those either. Around 2H shaped kind of link. Yeah. It's very space age. Yes. And what I wanted specifically was like a motor sports looking watch where maybe you wear one or two micro positions too big. And, you know, I just, you know, kind of give it a race day sort of vibe. Yeah. So after some searching, it turns out I took a chance with one from eBay that was just crazy cheap and I really like it. So this watch, go to the info in SoundCloud and you'll see, or the show notes, the description. And you'll see a link to the actual eBay page, uh, to the, the bracelet that I bought. So this is a solid stainless steel watch bracelet. It's brushed. It's 20 millimeters at the lugs. And then it tapers down to 18 at the clasp and it costs me $14. Oh, wow. Geez. I didn't know it was that cheap. And it's a, yeah. So total on wrist was, um, $18, the 3 cents shy of $18 Canadian. Geez. because they're shipping, or sorry, I guess I paid another four bucks shipping. Huh. So let's call it 25 Canadian. Yeah. And the bracelet is absolutely perfect. It looks perfect in the photos. I mean, it's just the right size for the watch. I'm going to get it blasted, then it'll match perfectly. But honestly, you can really only tell in certain types of light. Yeah. That the finish isn't the same. And then it has a very, like a simple stamped, just like a Seiko bracelet, a stamped clasp. a fold over clasp, but then it has, let's see here, it has seven micro adjust positions. So you can get, you've got two removable links on each side. Yeah. So four, four, four removable links, and then you have a seven micro adjust. So you can get it to fit perfectly. And then it's even one of those things where in the summer, if in the, at the end of the day, your wrist a little, you know, little chunkier, you could, you could back it off a notch pretty simply with a pin or whatever.
Jason Heaton Oh, I mean, can I just say right now that For all the fancy clasps that brands are coming out with these days, I still prefer that clasp, that stamped, tinny, flimsy clasp with a billion micro-adjusts on it. I still think that is... I love that bracelet more than anything, you know, that style.
James Stacey Yeah, for me, there's only... For a clasp, I think you either go the cheap, cheap route, like this one. Yeah. Or go the route with a built-in micro-adjust. Sure. If you can't achieve a decent built-in micro adjust with your bracelet, just go the other direction where I have to use a pin and a small tool, a pusher tool. If you can do something like what the Pelagos has, or there's a couple of watches that have an internal ratcheting system in the clasp that allows you to change it a millimeter or two with the watch on your wrist, that's awesome. That's great. And I will pay extra for that. If you're a micro brand that's listening, people will pay you extra for a functioning micro just uh tool-less micro just yeah but if you can't do it or it's too expensive or it's too bulky because when it tapers down and then you have this big chunk of metal there then just don't and do this i'm sure this clasp costs pennies i mean they sold me the whole bracelet for 13 us and it's great it's as good as it's it's definitely better than like if you if we want to talk quality it's better quality than the jubilee bracelet that comes with an skx oh yeah Like it's just simply the brushing is finer, the overall finishing is finer, the underside of the links are profiled, so they don't pull any hairs, like they're flat on the side that goes against your wrist. So how does it compare to the bracelet that came on your Explorer 2? Really similar. I mean like the Explorer 2 has a very nice, mine has the solid end links. So this steel band is push pin, whereas the Rolex bracelet is a single sided screwed link and it's polished on the side. So there's more finishing that goes into the Rolex. Yeah. But the clasp is exceedingly similar. It's stamped metal. Yeah. And obviously the Rolex one says Rolex and but otherwise it's the same. It's a little fold over. Sure. And it has a similar release mechanism. You know, you kind of grab it with a fingernail and it pops open. Yeah. It's not as nice, but it's also not. I mean, you'd pay several hundred dollars. to replace the Rolex bracelet, probably around $600 or $700. And the difference in money there isn't equal. So if you have a watch that has hooded lugs or you don't mind that kind of ranger look where you have a straight end link into a watch with traditional lugs, try this bracelet. It's really great. Especially if you have something with hooded lugs. I think it looks really cool on the 144 case. And it was really comfortable when traveling. It didn't pull any hairs. I was expecting very little, so maybe that's why I'm kind of rambling on about this bracelet, because it was $14, but I'm really happy with it. I think it looks just the way I wanted it to, and it really gives me the overall aesthetic for that 144 that I wanted.
Jason Heaton Well, I'll follow up on a related note. I'm going to follow that up with a similar story. I guess the moral of the story here is the right bracelet or the right band on a watch can just make such a difference. And I had a similar experience recently where I picked up a steel mesh bracelet from our friend Watchsteez, who's a Milwaukee-based vintage watch dealer. A good dude. Good guy, Justin. Yeah, he's got a great Instagram feed. He's always teasing with some really cool watches. And I've bought a couple of old kind of affordable vintage stuff from him. But he also sells these cool new steel mesh bands that are made by Citizen, actually. And it's kind of that chunky chain mail sort of woven mesh. He actually has two different kinds. He has a 20 millimeter one that's kind of a finer, what I would term more like a Milanese style mesh bracelet. You'd find it maybe on like the closest thing I can think of is like an IWC Portofino, you know, kind of a dressier mesh. But the one I got is a 22 millimeter, kind of a thicker, beefier mesh. with kind of a funky little finicky clasp, but you know, once it's on your wrist, it's very comfortable and secure. And I put it on this Squala 2002 model that I have that I really just wasn't wearing much because I could never get the right look that I wanted with a strap. I tried it on rubber, I tried it on NATO, I even tried it on leather. And it's one of those early 70s style hooded lug, kind of, I don't even know how you describe the shape of these watches, You know, if you know like the Super Seawolf or any of the, these Squalas that I'm talking about, you know the case shape. And once I put it on this mesh, and I don't remember what I paid for it. I think he sells it for 40, 50 bucks. You can, you can check it out in the show notes. We'll put a link, but it made all the difference. The watch looks fantastic. And I, as you were talking about your bracelet for the Sin, I was thinking to myself, you know, for that price and the fact that the Squala has hooded lugs and sodas, I've got a Zodiac Super Seawolf as well. Oh, right, yeah. Yeah. It's a very similar case on that. It is, and I might just pick up one of these bracelets you're talking about and try it because... You certainly don't have much to lose. Totally, yeah. The only issue is, well, it would probably work better on the Super Seawolf because that has a brushed case, so it would match better. The Squalla is more of a high polish, so I'd have to do a little fiddling with either the watch case or the bracelet, which I don't want to do. Yeah. But yeah, that's pretty awesome. But yeah, I totally agree that the right You know, the right band can just give you the right vibe. And that mesh that I got from Watchsteez looks just killer on the Squalor.
James Stacey Yeah, he posts watches, like various watches, on his feed with that mesh. So you can kind of get an idea of how it would look with different case shapes or different kind of styles of watches. Yeah. Swing by, we'll throw a link to his Instagram because I think he has a personal one that's awesome and also the Watchsteez one. Yeah, definitely. It's great. It's just, it feels like a completely different watch to have that bracelet option. Yeah. It's super. Yeah. Yeah. And you got in a new watch, but it's kind of a... Yeah, exactly.
Jason Heaton So, you know, we were talking about the Doxa earlier, which was kind of, with that no deco bezel, was kind of a very old school version of a diving computer. And I just happened, actually just today, I got in the mail an actual dive computer, a modern dive computer. from a small company based in Taiwan. They're called Deep Blue, all one word with no E on the end of blue. And the dive computer itself is called- Not that Deep Blue, a different Deep Blue. Exactly. Not Deep Blue like the watch brand, the dive watch brand, but a different Deep Blue. And this dive computer is called the Cosmic. I guess they've got a thing for kind of quirky spellings because it's spelled C-O-S-M-I-Q, the Cosmic, Deep Blue Cosmic. And it intrigued me because I had seen it Kind of advertised, I don't remember where, maybe in a dive magazine or on Facebook or something. But it kind of has the same aesthetic as like, oh, I don't know, like a larger version of like the Apple Watch or something. It's rectangular. It definitely sits.
James Stacey It kind of looks like a bigger version of that first Pebble watch. Yes. For anyone who's into the kind of the early days of the smartwatch, that Pebble, which is, you know, had a little bit more plastic or case around it than an Apple Watch.
Jason Heaton Right, exactly. Big, you know, flat, screen, high resolution screen, kind of sits over your wrist. I mean, a dive computer, you know, you want it big, you want it legible. And then they fitted it with, um, like, I guess kind of like a NATO style, but it's Velcro and it kind of wraps around. It's plenty long to wear it over a thick wetsuit. I'm not sure if it's going to work on a, on a dry suit, but I could just swap it out for a longer NATO. But what's cool about this and what, what kind of sets it apart from kind of your typical dive computers and James, you and I both use Suunto's and I've always sworn by Suunto. Their interface is great. Their algorithm is very safe. and they're very intuitive to use. But what's kind of cool about the Cosmic is I'm one of these guys who's kind of lazy about logging my dives. You know, when you're done with a dive, you typically want to kind of make note of where you went and how deep you were and how cold the water was and what sort of exposure protection you wore in terms of thickness of wetsuit, maybe how much weight you used, all of this stuff that can be relevant if you encounter those same variables in the future. And what's really What's cool about the Cosmic is it kind of takes the busy work out of that logging process because the watch records all of your dive data as you're diving and then it syncs via Bluetooth to a phone app where you create logs in the phone app by just syncing it with the watch, with the dive computer. And it pulls all of that information and plugs it into a log entry where you can add additional details. Additionally, what's kind of neat about it is that you can load photos that you took on the dive. So if you're an underwater photographer, like I do occasionally, you can actually pull your photos from your dive and insert it into the actual log entry so that in three years, when I wanted to look back at our dive at Kelvin Grove in Vancouver, if I'd had this computer and my camera on that dive, I could actually look back and see what weight I wore, our dive profile as well as, you know, some cool photos from the trip. So I'm pretty jazzed about getting this one in and giving it a shot. I don't know that it'll replace my Suunto because I'm kind of faithful to something that works and kind of from a tried and true brand, but I could totally see wearing it as a second dive computer just simply for this logging function.
James Stacey I think it's a really compelling idea because I think there's lots of people who don't necessarily need a smartwatch for every day. But for specific activities, like I've had a Garmin Fenix 3 in for review for a long time, like over a year. Yeah. And the review just keeps getting longer and longer and longer. And they keep, they've introduced two further editions of the watch and I'll eventually finish it, but I've taken it up mountains. I've taken it on various types of sporting activities. And I think I don't want to wear that watch all day. It's not going to be the watch I wear to work. But when I come home and I take off the SKX or the 144 or whatever and I know I'm going to go for a run or on a Saturday morning I'm leaving for a hike, that's the one that I'm going to grab because it gives me a certain metric that like I can use. And I think for, I think this takes the idea that you're going to have a dive computer for safety, like if you're diving without one that seems a little crazy by today's standards. this gives you one that that I think adds a nerdy element that divers are going to like. Most divers are also kind of gear heads. Yeah. And as long as the technology doesn't get in the way of itself, as far as syncing with your phone and doing the photos and adding in this information or that. Right. I think it could be a really successful concept. And, you know, hopefully they can they can deliver kind of a solution that fits within the concept really well. But you've got a picture on your Instagram and the display looks really cool and I think it would be fun to a fun sort of tech to have and then to be able to share a dive with a friend on the other side of the world because they're traveling there when you're not around or right. You know, like if I was going to go dive somewhere where you had been, you could be like, well, here's my profile and my weight and all that.
Jason Heaton Yeah, right. And they do have this community element built into it. They're trying to kind of also promote it as a sharing tool to build diving communities, like you said, around the world. I'm not sure that I'll use that function, but I certainly like the idea of kind of capturing all of the data from a dive in one place. I think it is kind of a parallel, sort of an underwater parallel to what you can do with the Garmin Fenix.
James Stacey Presumably it geotags your dive with the app? I think so, yeah. So like if you found an interesting new shore dive, it would have that kind of stored for you? Exactly, right. That's cool, I like that idea. What was the price point on it again?
Jason Heaton I don't know the price, actually. I've got it in for review, so it's a review sample.
James Stacey We'll be sure to mention the review when it goes up, and that'll have the price in it. I think it's a cool-looking piece of kit, and I like that kind of development to kind of give you more tool, more features in something that you're going to be carrying along anyways.
Jason Heaton Yeah, and I think it's one of these small brands, too. I think a lot of what you and I talk about and what we're, we get excited about are these smaller brands. And I think one of them that we had talked about on our last show, totally different than a dive computer, but was, we were looking for the ultimate bag and you had put down some money on the, on the Peak Design Everyday Tote. What's the, what's the latest with that? I think I know the answer, but tell the, tell our listeners.
James Stacey Yeah. So unfortunately I canceled my order for the Peak Design Tote just shortly before the the Kickstarter finished. I think the bag looks fantastic, but going back over the specs, I must have misread something at some point because I believed I'd be able to put a 15-inch MacBook Pro in the tote, and it turns out the tops was 13. So for something like SIHH or Basel, it's absolutely key that my gear bag can fit a 15-inch laptop. So I regrettably, and with sadness in every click, had to cancel that order because I was excited to see that bag and kind of try it out. I thought it looked like a fairly innovative design. And for everyone who listened to the episode where we spoke about it, I was pretty excited about it. So when I went in back in there and scrolled down and saw that it was a 13 inch and like did a double take and I was like, well, I can't use this. So I'm back to hunting and I found a couple of bags that will do camera, ancillary gear and the 15 with a little bit of space left for other stuff. Sure, which might be a good option, but none of them look as good as the peak design, which is a bummer. So yeah, it is what it is. But yeah, and unfortunately, I had to cancel my order. You know, I think I think there's a couple of their items in my future. I definitely need to buy one of those clips because I keep looking at them and then not buying them and I should I'll just wait for a sale, but that kind of stuff. But unfortunately, no, no, you know, peak design everyday tote for me.
Jason Heaton Yeah, I'm starting to think this bag search is kind of like the quest for the Holy Grail for you and I. I think we're never going to find it.
James Stacey We may just have to end up making, like, our own bag. Yeah, right. We'll have to find somebody who's done one of these Kickstarters and make our own bag that would be perfect. We could do a perfect backpack and a perfect, like, trade show bag. Yeah. And then we would have it. And I'm sure it would just be an unbelievable amount of work. Right. For each of us to essentially get one bag. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. Who knows, maybe that's how it would end up. We'll find one one way or another. Stay tuned for our eventual Kickstarter. Right, yeah. And how are you feeling about final notes?
Jason Heaton Yeah, let's jump into our final notes here. Do you want to kick it off? Yeah, so a few weeks ago I came across this article in the New York Times, or actually on their mobile site, and it was called From Montreal to Minnesota by Inland Sea. Minnesota, of course, is where I live and the inland sea is referring to the Great Lakes, which is near and dear to my heart. If you've followed me or listened to any of our shows, you know that I've done a fair amount of travel and diving around the Great Lakes. And it was really a cool article. It was actually an article I was kind of jealous. I wish it was one that I had written because the writer essentially jumped on a lake freighter, you know, big thousand foot steel ship in Montreal and then sailed with the crew in kind of guest quarters on the ship through all of the Great Lakes, ultimately ending up in Duluth, which is the terminus, you know, the endpoint of Lake Superior, just a couple hours north of where I live. And he kind of came at it from the perspective, I don't know where he's from, but I gathered from New York or somewhere on the East Coast, I kind of gathered that he didn't really understand before this trip, kind of the breadth of the Great Lakes and how amazing it is that you can get from the Atlantic Ocean to Duluth, Minnesota, you know, on a boat without, you know, touching land essentially. Yeah, for sure. And, you know, there's some nice photos in the article, but it was kind of all about this slow journey that he was taking and kind of the stops along the way and all of these towns where they were either offloading or taking on cargo to go on to the next port of call. And I don't remember the exact cities that he went in, but you know, some bigger cities. I mean, you stop in places like Cleveland or Detroit, but then they're also like these little sort of mining towns or ports where they load concrete or grain or cement on the, on the boats. And it was, it was, it was just a nice piece. Again, it was, it wasn't really anything that was new to me. I kind of knew about this, but it was, it was neat to see it from somebody else's perspective that was really getting excited about the whole prospect of this. So I highly recommend that. It's called From Montreal to Minnesota by Inland Sea, and we'll post a link in the show notes.
James Stacey Yeah, I've added that to my pocket. I'm going to give that a read tomorrow morning. It looks really cool. It sounds like a great journey, certainly. Yeah, I'd love to do it someday.
Unknown Yeah.
James Stacey So my first pick is also kind of water-based, and this is a story from OutsideOnline.com in which Logan Ward writes why you should introduce your child to dangerous sports. And I'm not necessarily prepared to say that this is only of interest to people who have kids. But I have a young kid and it's something that I've kind of thought about. And in this story, Ward explains that his daughter developed a serious form of arthritis and kind of backed away from all sorts of her sporting intentions. And in that process, they learned that she was most comfortable in water. So he started to take her into greater and greater scenarios of free diving. Oh, wow. Which is typically considered a very dangerous sport or can be very dangerous sport.
Unknown Yeah.
James Stacey And it's a really, really well-written, beautifully told story about this guy's experience as a dad with a daughter that obviously he loves and cares for experiencing something that gave her freedom and this sort of edge of a performance sport. Yeah, I really, really enjoyed this article. I've read it twice. And I think whether you have a kid or not, there's a lot in there. It's like I said, it's very well written. And I would definitely check that. Check that out. There'll be obviously a link in the show notes. It's accompanied by some some great photography. And just a just a nice long form story about this kind of interesting experience where, you know, he was able to find an outlet for his daughter who where he thought maybe they had lost, lost that sort of Ability for her, huh?
Jason Heaton I'll have to check that out. Yeah for sure. Yeah, so I've got my second pick for for this week is It's not new but it'll be new to you know, a lot of people and it was a movie I actually haven't seen it Yeah, it was it was a cool movie that was I think it was underwritten by the outdoor clothing brand Patagonia and it was a movie called 180 degrees south and there was also actually a companion book that went along with it kind of that was largely made up of Some really beautiful photography But the concept of the – it's a documentary and it was done by a guy named Jeff Johnson who was kind of a – what I think he would call himself a dirtbag in the best sense of the word in terms of a guy who kind of lives to have adventures. He works odd jobs as a waiter or as a – I think he worked on a cruise ship or something like that to kind of make money to fund his – adventures, his surfing or his climbing or whatever he was doing. And he lived in California and he had seen this old movie from the late 60s in which Yvon Chouinard, who was this, you know, he's the founder of the Patagonia Clothing Company, but in his earlier years, he was a very well-renowned rock climber, put up some first route, you know, first ascents in the Yosemite Valley, ended up kind of innovating a lot of climbing gear and then founding this company. But back in the late 60s, he and a couple of his buddies, in fact, one of the buddies was Doug Tompkins, who founded the North Face, another big outdoor brand, and a couple of other friends, they loaded up a van with their surfboards and their climbing gear. And they drove from Southern California, down through Mexico and Central America, all the way down through South America, to the southern tip to Patagonia, because they wanted to climb a specific peak there. old grainy movie from the 60s was seen by this guy, Jeff Johnson. And he decided that he needed to do a similar adventure in his life. It just really appealed to him. And it appeals to me, frankly. So he, he did it a little differently. He actually caught a sailboat from, I think it was in California or somewhere just in Mexico and ended up sailing down to South America. And along the way they have some issues, let's just put it that way. And they ended up over in Easter Island. Oh wow.
Unknown Yeah.
Jason Heaton To, to make some repairs. They actually end up in Patagonia where they meet up with Yvon Chouinard, who is visiting with Doug Tompkins, who actually died last year kayaking in Patagonia, unfortunately. And the movie is kind of this back and forth between this old film and this adventure that Chouinard had with Jeff Johnson's modern adventure. And it's kind of interspersed with this environmental sensibility, kind of the state of the earth, the nature of adventure.
James Stacey Man, I can't wait to watch this. It sounds great. I don't know.
Jason Heaton It was just, it's, it's a, it's a, it's a beautiful movie. It's kind of, it's kind of a road trip movie. And, and Jeff Johnson's kind of narrates the whole thing and there's some kind of, you know, folky music playing over it and everybody's a little bit too kitted out with Patagonia clothing, but hey, that's, you know, that's what you get. I mean, you get a movie made. Yeah, exactly. But, um, I want, you know, I'm not gonna tell you how it ends, but it's, uh, it's a proper adventure movie and it's, it definitely is right. It should be in the canon of gray NATO. Literature in terms of film and books because it's uh, it's a it's a proper I could see, you know I don't know about now But you know I could see a few years ago or maybe a few years in the future James you and I doing a trip like this It's pretty it's it's a great get it on the books.
James Stacey Yeah, right. But hey at least now we've all got something to watch this weekend Which is excellent. Yeah, and I did double check this afternoon before recording 180 south is on Netflix and we also have a YouTube link So you've got two options there. I think Netflix, you could watch it in HD. I think the YouTube link is, uh, not HD. That may claim your Saturday or Sunday night watching 180 South. Here's a little, little idea for something to do with your sunny afternoon. However many of those we have left in the year. Fewer, fewer in Vancouver, unfortunately, but I recently bought a, um, a hammock. So, uh, as it turns out, you know, we spoke about how I canceled my peak design order. While I was a backer for Peak Design, they were sending emails that often had like promo codes for other companies that they like, which is a really cool idea. And one of them is this company Kammok, K-A-M-M-O-K, out of Austin, Texas, I believe. And Kammok had recently launched a really tiny packable hammock. So it's called the Wallaby and packed it is 10 ounces. And maybe it's about half the size of my Marmot rain jacket, you know, like those ones that pack into their pocket. Oh, sure. So it's maybe the size of a really big kind of oddly shaped orange. Yeah. Like navel orange, but kind of taller. And so it's not very big. They're not hugely expensive. They, you know, they had a promo code running, but even without the, the hammock sells for 65 US and holds 400 pounds. Like I said, it's very packable, comes in a few different colors. And then they recommend you buy these things called python straps, which are these two long nylon ladder loop straps that allow you to attach the hammock to pretty much anything, but certainly to a tree without damaging the bark and that sort of thing. And between the two, you end up with two kind of small bags because the python straps are heavier than the hammock. Yeah. And and maybe not quite as bulky. But certainly there's not enough there that you couldn't put it in a day bag when you're hiking. And with the Python straps, you can set this thing. Like I set it up in the courtyard near my home with one strap in a tree branch and one around like a railing to a walkway. Oh, sure. And it took about two or three minutes and I was connected. Like it was very balanced. I had to make one little adjustment with a carabiner on the ladder strap. And my, uh, you know, other people around my condo were trying it out and You know, you can be very comfortable. You can use it kind of like a couch, like you can sit sideways on it. And to have it just around for a hike, I think is great. Total costs, barring any sales or discounts, which they seem to offer with some frequency, is 95 US, which seems really reasonable. I'm really happy with mine. I'm going to get a lot of use out of it. I think anytime where you're hiking and you plan to have a lunch, you now have a spot to put your backpack and to sit that's not on the ground. Yeah. It's certainly smaller than a camp chair. And I really like it. I highly recommend it. It's a little on the more expensive side of what we would normally recommend in final notes around, you know, we're floating around $100. But if you like to go out, or maybe you like to spend Saturdays at the parks with your kids, or, you know, this is very quickly string it up between two trees or two posts or whatever you've got around you and you've got a place to sit in there. It's kind of cool. And I really like it. I find it kind of fun, charming product. Looking forward to get more use out of it over the next little while.
Jason Heaton Sounds like the perfect accompaniment for a road trip to Patagonia.
James Stacey Yeah, it would be perfect. Just in case you needed a place to sit in that wasn't your car, or I guess a boat. Exactly. Wouldn't work too well on a boat, certainly. Right, right. As always, thanks so much for listening. Please hit the show notes for more details. You can follow us on Instagram, at Jason Heaton and at J.E. Stacey, and you can follow the show at The Graynado. If you have any questions, please feel free to write us, thegraynado at gmail.com. I read all the emails, I reply to all the emails, so send away. Please subscribe and review the show wherever you find your podcasts, or you can grab the feed directly from thegraynado.com. Music throughout is Siesta by Jazzar via the Free Music Archive.
Jason Heaton And until next time, we leave you with this quote from Mark Twain. Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.