This quote just about sums everything up.

It’s not about the end of the world. It's not about surviving a hypothetical plane crash.
It’s about the satisfaction you get knowing you can take care of yourself, friends and family in ANY SITUATION, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE!

That would probably explain my obsession with go anywhere vehicles, outfitting them with go anywhere accesories and stocking them with supplies, tools and weapons for anything i can think of.

Ps... I'm also hoping that zombies will be our demise.... that would be right up my alley :)

New Jacket, boots and Helmet Review

So i just recently purchased some new motorcycle gear and decided to review it all for you.

The first and most important item is the Airoh S4 hooligan helmet. It is a cross breed between a MX style open faced visor'd helmet and a Closed faced, shielded street bike helmet.

The result? A very different style and a very distinct performance advantage. This helmet has it all, and can be set up in multiple ways. Mx with a visor and no sheild, street bike with no visor and a sheild, or neither.

The helmet is VERY comfy, although tight on my cheeks (which all good helmets seem to be) It has removable pads that can be washed, and seem to be well made and easy to remove. The strap is a clip type which is something i hated at first, but have learned to love. It makes taking the helmet on and off with gloves easy as ever. No more fussing with buckles and straps.

The fit and finish isn't bad at all for the price. My only complaints are as follows: the visor does not open more then about 4-5".. i wish it opened all the way up to the visor. The shield also does not seal very well against the helmet and gives a VERY atrocious whistle at speed if fully shut. If i open in even a mm, the whistle is gone and it still deflects 99% of the wind away.

The gripes are minor and i would easily recommend it.. if i wanted anyone else to have such a cool looking helmet as me! (note that my helmet has been modified with a red mohowak down the top to allow it to have more visibility, plus look EVEN more hooligan.


The next gear on review is the Joe Rocket Touring boots that i purchased on closeout for nearly 70% off. They are waterproof, side zippered with a huge velcro flap and are very light. The other nice thing is that they have a very aggressive yet comfy tread on them and allow walking in slippery mud with little traction loss. There is also reflective piping and panels located in strategic locations to provide protection to the bike's frame where boots typically rub.

They are VERY comfy, well made and are almost so light that i forget that they are on. After about 1000 miles on them, i was figuring that the boot would look like crap from the shifter rubbing on the toe, but it has NO wear whatsoever on it.

It seems like they are great for touring or adventure riding. They are warm in the cold weather and cool in the warm weather. So far i love them.


Last but not least, we have the Hein Gericke Timbuktu Camo Air jacket. This jacket i got for nearly 80% off due to its...... less then becoming looks. It honestly isn't as bad as i thought it would look, but it sure ain't the prettiest. I hope i have enough time to write up all the features of this jacket, i seem to find a new pocket or interesting feature EVERY time i put it on. (in the pic, mine looks like the lower right)

The coolest feature of the jacket is its versatility. With the waterproof and windproof THICK inner liner removed (which is held by no less then 10 snaps and 2 zippers) the outer jacket is so cool, that i walked around in the middle of an 85 degree day in the sun and felt as if i was wearing a t-shirt (not an exaggeration AT all), on the same day while riding, the wind just goes right thru it and cools you completely. On the other hand, this evening it was 45 degrees and chilllllly. I snapped the liner back in and went for a ride. Almost INSTANTLY after suiting up in the house, i was SMOLDERING hot. I started to sweat before i even made it a whole 60 seconds. Outside in the cool air, on the bike, i was completely warm, and could have ridden all night in such conditions. I felt no air thru the liners and it was so toasty that i could have halfway unzipped it to get cooled off a bit. with a heated vest liner, i think i could use this jacket from the arctic circle to the sahara comfortably.

It has all the armor you would expect (shoulders, elbows, back) and the material and jacket are very heavy duty feeling and thick. Overall quality is fantastic and couldn't find even one flaw in the jacket in build quality or construction.

This jacket has pockets ontop of pockets inside of pockets. There are so many pockets, i swear i haven't found them all. They are also pretty easy to open up with gloves on and they are also very large as well. The liner and jacket have seperate pockets so you can hold a lot of things, some on the outside, and some inside the waterproof area as well.

The other cool feature is that it is set up to accept a camel back H20 setup. It has straps, holes for hoses to sneak thru and a pocket on the inner/lower back of the jacket for the bladder.

For the price i paid, i would easily consider paying the retail price for the jacket if i ever replace it. The versatility of the jacket makes it worth the purchase alone. This jacket does all seasons well and is comfy, useful and actually the looks of it are growing on me. Honestly, i have gone over about 10% of the crap it does/has. It is absolutely an amazing jacket and is extremly comfy and i will be wearing it on my alaska trip. Although i will be taking a heated vest to go under (just in case)

I can EASILY recommend these products above, they are fantastic and i would purchase them all again if i needed to replace them.

I would kick the SHIT outta some 5 year olds...

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77%

Grand Cherokee ZJ: ARB Safari Snorkel Install Review

Imagine you are out on a backcountry camping trip in your fully equipped (or so you think) off road rig. As you are enjoying your day cruising the wooded ORV park, you sit, feeling mighty, without worry as you climb over boulders the size of Honda Civics and crawl up muddy/rocky inclines that would make mountain goats cringe. Your rig can do it all, you think to yourself. Suddenly, a bad storm comes in, much worse then what was mentioned earlier as you entered the park, talking to your buddies on the CB. As you try to get back to camp, the dry creek beds that you easily crawled thru earlier are now raging rapids, seemingly a few feet deep (at least). You start to cross without much thought or worry, knowing how capable your rig is. You put your front tires down the bank and dip your hood in to hear the unmistakable gurgle of your air intake slurping down gallons of water… Your truck stalls, and you are STUCK there with a hydro locked motor.

This situation may sound unlikely (or you are too man to admit that even the best of us run into big problems), but for the people that it has happened to, with and without warning, they would tell you otherwise. The way you can solve this problem is with a snorkel kit. A snorkel for a vehicle is the same idea as a snorkel for a person swimming. It keeps the air intake of your off-road truck above the roof, that way you can clear river crossings, the occasional mud hole your buddies dare you to cross (and don’t tell you that its actually 4 feet deep) or any other water situation you encounter. There are also other benefits to it. (besides looking absolutely awesome) They can provide you with cleaner air in dusty environments, cooler air with a ram type effect for better combustion and sometimes fuel efficiency and also it looks ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. (When something on an off-road vehicle makes a 65 year old woman in a car in the next lane at a traffic light, roll her window down and ask you what it does, You KNOW it’s pretty cool.)

If you are like me, and own a ZJ bodied Jeep Grand Cherokee, you may be surprised to find out that no one has designed a snorkel kit for them. Until now! (January 2008). For the last few years, many people including myself have been following the ARB press releases closely, awaiting the arrival of the Safari Snorkel Release for the 1993-1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Unfortunately the release was pushed back many times due to problems with ARB Australia actually finding a ZJ to get in their shop to get the product designed (apparently they aren’t very common over there). I sent many an email to ARB’s US division, asking for updates and information on the product’s release, pictures, pricings and info I could get my grubby paws on. Eventually I was in contact with Jim Jackson, the President of the US division of ARB. I exchanged emails with Mr. Jackson, and he updated me as he got information on the product. He also was kind enough to show support for the ZJ wheelers by sending me one of the first ARB Safari Snorkel kits to land on US shores, to demo on my own personal trail vehicle. He also put me into touch with his Tech Manager Marc Bowers. After going through the install process with Mark, I felt confident that my crack squad of mechanics and I could get the job done with no hiccups. Mark Also mentioned to me about the design and production process, telling me that every Safari Snorkel kit made is flow tested, and dyno’d to make sure that has no reductions in performance (and typically yields added performance). This alone shows the dedication to quality that ARB is known for.

After receiving the kit, I inspected the contents. Impressed to find a VERY thorough instruction and install manual, templates for drilling and all modifications to the factory airbox, and all the necessary parts to install. The only things I needed to install this kit were a 4 ¾” hole saw for making the large hole in the fender for the snorkel tube to pass thru. I actually found out that a 5” hole saw was MUCH cheaper (about 5 dollars) and worked just as well. The extra 1/8” of diameter was covered up by the snorkel assembly just fine. I also purchased a pop rivet gun because the install required the use of pop rivets for the windshield bracket and the airbox blank off plate for the existing air inlet. The last purchased item was some black automotive silicon sealant made by GE that was waterproof, flexible yet strong, UV resistant, oil/grease/dirt resistant and also resistant to varying changes in temperatures.

I was initially going to walk through the install step by step, but afterwards I feel that the install went more smoothly than ANY other modification I have EVER performed on ANY vehicle. This kit is so complete and the instructions are so detailed, that you’d have to be doing something very wrong to mess it up. Overall the fit and finish of the kit is Top notch and worth every penny that it costs. The installation took about 3 ½ - 4 hours with basic tools (drill, ratchet, sockets, air saw, tin snips, hole saw, pop rivets, silicon sealant). The kit looks like it was an OEM component and uses the factory parts making sure that you can continue to use either you OEM air filter, or an aftermarket drop in replacement like a K&N. Here are some pictures of the process throughout the installation. If you have any questions regarding the installation, either email me or you can view a PDF copy of the installation instructions here.

My first seat-of-the-pants driving impression is that you can hear the snarl of the intake when you step on the gas hard. It sounds like any other upgraded intake system, except this one uses about 4 feet more tubing to get the job done. Day to day driving, I have noticed that my MPG has slightly increased, by about .5-1.5 MPG better. I also noticed better throttle response and slightly more oomph on the hwy. It seems like the Jeep doesn't have to downshift on every slight uphill grade that I come to. I wouldn’t add this part just for performance benefits, but the benefits are welcomed.

Last weekend, I was able to attend a Maryland Jeep Club meeting at Rausch Creek Off-Road Park in Pennsylvania. Upon arrival, I noticed the weather was not in our favor. It was cold, rainy and foggy. Although these weren’t perfect conditions for rockcrawling, they could make a good test bed for the ARB Safari Snorkel kit. As our group aired down our tires and went over the game plan for the day, went over safety regulations and all synchronized cb’s. Everyone joked about seeing the snorkel in action. The mention of “Hummer Hole” and “Frog pond” kept getting tossed about, i guess trying to talk me into creating some sort of entertainment through carnage.

To make this post somewhat dial-up friendly, i have added links to some videos for the day.

In the woods

Rock Garden

Cresting a Good sized Hill

Runaway Rubicon

CJ playing + Hillybilly Fender Fixins

Fast forward a few hours, as we stumble across “Hummer Hole” I was delighted to see that someone else had already tried it for the day (without a snorkel, or good results). Their jeep wrangler sat helpless in the hole, sunk nearly to the hood on the drivers side. We lent a hand and after a while managed to scoop them out to safety. While their jeep was not hydro locked, it was damaged. They managed to rip off the evap canister, fry some wiring, and get water in the differentials. After seeing the hole (which was mostly a 2” layer of ice at the top of a mud hole that was 4 feet deep at least), we all decided it was a pretty sloppy hole and that nothing good was going to come of it, and wasn’t worth damaging the jeep just to try out the snorkel. We decided to look for a river crossing that may have cleaner conditions and allow for a little dip for the hood to sink under on the approach. Unfortunately, we were unable to find such a crossing (at least deep enough to realize the full potential of the snorkel) even though we did get to find some water crossings and puddles that were decent to splash around in.

Video Compilation From JKForums Member

Rausch Creek Impressions

Though I haven’t had the ability to go thru hood deep water to try out the kit in real life situations, I do know that the snorkel is fully sealed. After the install, before I put the top angled intake tube on, I was able to start the jeep, put my hand over the hole and was able to choke the motor out by doing so (which means no air is going to the engine from anywhere else) So basically I know the kit will do its job when the time comes.

The bottom line is this: If you want to protect your engine from water, you can do no better then the ARB Safari Snorkel kit. The quality, fit and finish is some of the best around and you will not be left with a bad taste in your mouth. The money spent on this system can save you LOTS of money down the road if you happen to catch yourself in deeper water than you should be in.

I would like to thank my Crack squad of installers as well as Jim Jackson and Marc from ARB USA for the snorkel kit for the review, the Maryland Jeep Club for the great offroading and my girlfriend for taking the pictures and video (and putting up with my ZJ obsession).

And for a closing picture, a playful pose from Sandy the ZJ.

New motorcycle!!!!

So As of March 27th, i now own a 2008 Kawasaki KLR650. I was able to get the price down to a reasonable deal of $5800 Out the door with all fees, taxes and registration covered.

So far i LOVE the bike, its fantastic. Very decent amount of power (not going to impress anyone that owns a crotch rocket) It has a plush ride and you can literally hit speed bumps at 20-40 mph and it feels like rolling over a pencil. It will happily cruise 80mph all day on the slab, but will also be just as happy riding dirt roads, wooded trails, or playing in mud.


To make the bike more "me" i have added some goodies that i think make the bike more useful day to day. I have installed crash bars around the lower plastics, that will allow the bike to fall over without damaging anything important. The crash bars also have Highway pegs that allow you to strech out on long rides. I have also added HID headlights to the bike, which turn night into day.... Literally.


Before Shot with stock headlights:
After Shot with HID's installed:


I also added LED piaa bulbs to the guages to make them light up the same color as the headlights (blue/white)

Before:
After:
I purchased some luggage to put on the bike so i can carry things without a backpack all the time. I got a Dowco Soft luggage set. It has a tank bag, tail bag, saddle bags, all with built in raincovers. The tank bag has a map/directions pocket on the front to keep info visible and safe, has wire entrance holes to run power into it for lighting or charging up cell phones or laptops/cameras. The saddle bags have aluminum heat reflective sheilds that keep them safe from the exhaust. The tailbag also has shoulder straps that can make it into a makeshift backpack and can hold a full sized helmet!
I also ordered a rain suit for riding in... well.. rain. Exciting i know.

There are a couple more doo-dads i would like to install on the bike including a power outlet for a heated vest. Maybe look into a custom exhaust that will make the bike sound meaner, while adding some HP to it as well. Otherwise the bike is fantastic, after reading one rave review after another in the motorcycle publications, i really feel like this bike was hyped up, but the bike lives up to its expectations. I am VERY happy with my purchase. These bikes are known to go to 100,000 miles before needing a rebuild, the marines use them for covert ops and scouting missions all over the world (including the arctic) These bikes have even been used for adventure riders to cirumnavigate the globe on.... Pretty amazing for a bike that has an engine as simple as a lawnmower and anyone who can pick up a basic hand tool can probably fix a broken one of these bikes. They are simple, haven't changed much in over 20 years and parts are aplenty.

You would be hard pressed to find another bike with such a following, with such charisma, and such usefullness for under 10,000. I could buy 2 of these bikes for the price of the BMW competitor, and the Bimmer won't be easy (or cheap) to fix.

I will be adding more to this post as time goes on. :)

Le Hungover.....

So i visited my local ACE Hardware yesterday... never going to home depot again.. ACE has EVERYTHINGGGGGGG.. they have an aisle completely of bins with fasteners/bolts/hardware/clips/little cool things that i don't know what they do....

I went in there to get the parts to make my camcorder mount, after talking to a couple dudes about it, i came up with 2 approaches to make it. One involves pvc and it literally fits the flashlight great, i need to do some minor trimming to make it work.

The other was using a pipe clamp, and running a bolt thru it, i had the flashlight mounted on the camcorder before i left the store.. so far it works brilliantly.

I will make the other one just because i got the parts to make it, plus i like building things.

Total cost for parts to make both mounts, with all stainless steel bolts and washers: 4.97 would have been about 2 bux to use the one that i current am... i am VERY impressed so far with how it worked out. Will post pictures to the blog soon to show you how it looks, with video of it in action to follow that. Maybe later today, for now i am SLEEEEEEEEEPY.

Some upgrades to the Sanyo Xacti digital camcorder.

So i have been LOVING this new camcorder, its small enough to keep with me at all times (for catching pesky ufo's, or in case of major disaster in progress), with my sd card it will hold up to like 10 hours of video, i have 4 batteries for it, 3 of them are extended run time. It takes really decent photos and videos for the size, its completely waterproof.... i really have no dislikes about it... except for nighttime. This camera is small and pretty much seems like it was designed to be used for snorkeling, the beach, kayakers, canoe'rs, boaters etc.. it is almost like this is not intended to be used for night time at all.

The dillema is this: the camera is marvelous in the day time. As soon as the light level drops, the video and picture images get really grainy and when the sun goes down, the camera is almost completely useless besides the mic. This camera doesn't have a night light for the camcorder, it was left out to keep the size of the unit down. So i have been on a quest and have been playing around with settings, options, etc, to alleviate this problem.

My idea is this: The camera has a tripod mount on the bottom, in the same horizontal/vertical plane as the lens. I think that i may be able to take a led flashlight and create a mount to have it be able to thread into the bottom of the camcorder so that i can take night footage. I found a small gerber brand tactical flashlight that fits the bill. Its very small (3 1/2" x3/4"), uses 1 AA battery, yet gets approx 100 hours of light. It has 4 modes of illumination (red- keeps your nightvision(doesn't blind your friends while camping), not easy to spot from a distance if hiding. Green, good for reading maps, documents, or if you want to be seen with high visibility. Blue, good for fluid identification (did anyone think semen???) White, lights the area up bright as day. I figure i can build the mount using the included belt clip of the flashlight. All i have to do is make sure to use jamb nuts to allow the whole setup to be screwed into the bottom of the camera and it will stop where it should to be aimed correctly in relation to the lens of the camera (kinda like a scope on a gun). It will be something that should work FANTASTIC for camping or whatever tactical situations arise. (sounds crazy right? what is a crappy lil led flashlight going to do for this camcorder at nighttime?) In this video, i am going to show you the difference between no light, and different color lights while taping the results on the camcorder. you should see a remarkable difference. I do not have the Gerber Recon flashlight yet, so this is a video using another flashlight that i have which is not nearly as kick ass as the new Gerber.


Ps. I didn't bother editing this video.. it's me.. in all the rambling glory that i am known for.(plus i have been drinking wifebeater for a few hours) I still think the video does what is intended, and its just plain REAL. So enjoy and if you have a problem with my laziness for not editing this.. F off.. you didn't think up a cool idea which may in fact be immeasurably useful to hundreds or even thousands of people in the future. (i am pretty sure that this idea would work with any camera/camcorder that has a tripod mounting bolt in the base.) Oh and don't try to pull a P diddy and steal my cash flow, this shit is patented(pat# 3255145005, So suck it) Expect to see this shit on ebay in like 3 months.. lol.