SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1168911
HEADING OUT Adventure Gear For Overlanding By Dan Sanchez For more than 50-years, racers and fans have traveled to Mexico’s Baja Peninsula to experience SCORE races and become absorbed in the off-road motorsports culture there. The area, however, is much more than a location for SCORE International races. Ask anyone who’s been there, and it’s no doubt why racers regard Baja as one of the most beautiful and serene places on earth, often coming back simply to experience the beauty and explore the vast open wilderness, from the seat of their off-road vehicles. Aside from the ability to travel over challenging terrain, one of the advantages of owning an off-road vehicle is that it is also the best way to experience nature’s hidden beauty. Camping along beaches, on top of mountain ranges, and in desert locations that are miles away from the tourist areas is something that needs to be experienced. To do this, however, requires adventure seekers to bring everything they need within their vehicles. To begin traveling this way requires several pieces of basic gear such as cargo carriers to secure your gear, sleeping accommodations, packs to carry your clothes and essentials so they won’t get wet or full of dust, and handy tools that you can carry in your pocket or daypack. While we’re only scratching the surface with this overlanding gear guide, there’s many more categories of gear and tools we’ll investigate in later editions. For now, we spoke with several outdoor gear manufacturers who offered some insight into the gear you need to get started camping. HAULING IT Overlanding in Baja, or anywhere else for that matter, requires a way to carry all your gear on your truck or SUV. The most popular is with an accessory roof rack or platform that can be adjusted to carry a multitude of items from a roof-mounted tent to extra fuel and water. Yakima LockNLoad Platform Rack This low profile rack system hauls everything from rooftop tents to jerry cans and offers a multitude of options for maximizing off-road capacity. The Yakima LockNLoad rack can be used with additional accessories, sold separately, such as an LED light bar bracket, spare wheel restraint, Hi-Lift Jack holder and more. Available in three sizes with load raging s from 165 to 440 lbs. the rack can fit a multitude of trucks and SUVs. MSRP $729-$979 Yakima OutPost HD Yakima’s mid-height designed truck rack offers a low center of gravity with easy access to gear. The platform on the OutPost HD can carry a maximum capacity of 500 lbs. and is a great foundation for a fully-loaded overland rack system. Available in various length Yakima HD Bar cross bars (sold separately) and an available SideBar, to mount accessories. MSRP $500 KEEPING YOUR COOL A heavy-duty ice chest is one of the essentials for any desert camping and overland travel adventure. Modern coolers need to be extremely tough and insulated enough to keep your food cold for five to 10-days without replacing the ice. Pelican 45QW Elite With heavy-duty wheels to get it across difficult terrain the Pelican Elite 45 quart cooler is heavy duty enough for any outdoor expedition. The cooler features press & Pull latches, molded-in tie-downs, a sloped drain and stainless hardware. IGBC Bear Resistant, the cooler holds ice up to 10-days. MSRP $379 Titan Deep Freeze Cooler The Titan Deep Freeze cooler from California Innovations is IGBC Bear Certified and heavy-duty for any overland trip. This 55 quart cooler features durable T-handle latches, heavy-duty handles, and an oversized drain. This roto-molded cooler is the only one on the market that features antimicrobial protection (Microban) molded into its construction that prevents mold and bacteria from forming inside the cooler, and will last the life of the product. MSRP $245 Yeti Tundra 45 Yeti’s durable rotomolded 45 quart cooler features T-Rex lid latches and an interlock lid system. Anchor point tie-down slots and large Double Haul handles make it overlanding ready and the pressure-injected, commercial grade polyurethane foam insulation keeps food cold for days. MSRP $399 ACCOMMODATIONS Having a place to rest your head at night requires something light, portable, and easy to put up and take down. Lightweight pop-up trailers, roof-rack and ground tents, are very popular with the overlanding crowd. Depending on how you set-up your 4x4, there are various ways you can make the best accommodations in the middle of nowhere. SylvanSport GO Camper The compact and lightweight SylvanSport Go Camper is a mobile adventure trailer and tent system. It features two-bed/table panels and can be configured in six different ways. It can carry lots of gear when closed, and then open up to provide a spacious and comfortable tent. Made from a proprietary aluminum extruded frame, the GO is corrosion-free and rides on cast aluminum wheels and Dexter Torsion Axles. The tent is made from 220-denier ripstop nylon and is completely waterproof, seam sealed and sleeps four. A control-tilt deck allows for ramp free loading of ATVs and more. MSRP $10,995 Yakima SkyRise HD Tent A mobile base camp requires a roof-rack mounted tent. The Yakima SkyRise HD tent is made with 600D Ripstop polyester fabric and a 300mm waterproof PU coating. Large windows and doors provide easy entry and ventilation. The tent attaches to the Yakima LockNLoad or OutPost HD racks and is available in two sizes. The tent folds and deploys easily and comes with an auto-closing ladder and 2.5-inch thick foam mattress. MSRP $1749- $2199 Kelty Tallboy Tent For those overland campers who like a traditional tent, Kelty is introducing its Tallboy Tent that offers a quick set-up and a dome ceiling to eliminate having to crouch inside. Lightweight fiberglass poles and duffel are included for easy take-down and storage in your vehicle. The Kelty Tallboy comes in a four person and six person sizes. Availalbe March 2020. MSRP $149.95-$229.95 Kelty Kush Sleeping Bag Knowing that versatility is essential for spontaneous road trips and van life adventures, the Kush Sleeping Bag may be used as a traditional sleeping bag, as a comforter or as a pillow. Two Kush Sleeping Bags may be zipped together to create a double-wide blanket or sleeping bag for two. The Cozy CloudLoft™️ Insulation and spacious foot box mean users have a greater degree of comfort. The unique pin-tuck design keeps beds looking like the comforts of home. Available March 2020. MSRP N/A Kelty Bestie BFF Blanket The warmth and comfort of a sleeping bag but with the versatility of a blanket, the Bestie BFF Blanket is perfect to keep stored in your vehicle for cool nights or anytime you need lightweight warmth. The blanket has a built-in zipper pocket for car keys or phones, and features a loop-and-stake system to secure it to the ground if you’re using it for a ground blanket. The Bestie also has a water resistant bottom and comes with its own stuff sack. MSRP $24.95 GEAR PACKS It’s one thing to throw all your clothes and gear into the back of your truck or SUV, but having it all stored nicely in a gear bag is key to making the most efficient use of space. Overlanding gear packs allow you to neatly store everything in the back of your truck or SUV and are tough enough to resist moisture, dirt and trail debris from getting into your stuff. 5:11 Load Ready Haul Bag Designed for organizing, the 5:11 Load Ready Haul Bag can be stacked together, eliminating flimsy plastic bins. The Haul Pack sorts, separates, and simplifies accessing essentials with the use of side pockets, front and rear pockets with hook and loop closures, and an internal zippered mesh pocket. The external lash loops with webbing offer attachment possibilities, too. For open access, unzip, roll up and store the top lid with toggle/loop. Each pack in the Load Ready line is protected on the bottom by a dual layer, waterproof panel. The Load Ready Haul Pack is sewn with extra heavy duty thread and reinforced with extra bartacks. MSRP: $59 - $99 Available Spring 2020 Watershed Animas Dry Pack When wade through streams or miles of dust and dirt, you need more than just a backpack. The Watershed Animas Dry Pak can hold two-day’s worth of gear (40L) and uses military grade fabric to be completely water tight and 100% submersible. The Animas comes with removable, padded shoulder straps and a durable top lug handle. The waist belt can also be removed and is available in a variety of colors. MSRP $159 POCKET KNIVES & MULTI-TOOLS When you’re in the middle of nowhere you can bet something will go wrong. Having a pocket multi-tool and multi-purpose knife are essential items that can help make minor repairs, without adding bulk and fit in your pocket or daypack. Gerber Armbar Cork The Armbar Cork is a compact tool made to be more than a single-blade, everyday carry knife EDC), but less cumbersome than a multi-tool or a bulky multi-function knife. The Gerber Armbar Cork offers a sturdy corkscrew, a leverage arm, and a foil cutter for opening a wine bottle, in addition to a full size, fine edge blade, scissors, can opener and bottle opener that can handle your next dinner party, car camping expedition, and anything in between. MSRP: $36. Available February 2020 Gerber Lockdown Drive No bigger than your EDC knife, the Lockdown Drive offers more with full size tools including a 2.5” blade with frame lock, a driver with replaceable 2-sided 1/4 “ bits, an awl, a replaceable #11 utility hobby blade, file and chisel edge. MSRP: $45. Available February 2020 Buck Knife 738 Bow TRX Originally made for Bow hunters, the Benchmade Bow Tool can be a handy, lightweight tool for fixing gear when outdoors. The 738 Bow TRX comes with eight Torx drivers, a Phillips #2 screwdriver, a scissors, a 2” blade and a separate broadhead wrench tool. MSRP $55 CRKT Technician Oregon knife maker Glenn Klecker, designed the Columbia River Knife & Tool CRKT Technician multi-tool as an automotive technician’s daily carry. The Technician features a one hand opening 2.584” knife blade with a standard 1/4” bit driver, and a folding chisel/scraper. MSRP $89.99 CRKT Twist & Fix Socket Tool This multi-tool takes a basic metric and SAW socket set and puts it into a compact tool that is held together with a glass reinforced nylon handle. The Twist & Fix comes with 1/4, 5/16, 7/16 SAE and 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, Metric sockets. MSRP $34.99 Benchmade 591 BK Boost Designed with a 3.43” pry tip blade and made from strong CPM-3V steel, the Benchmade 591BK Book is made for anyone who wrenches on their rigs. The full-length liners add the rigidity needed for the prying, scraping and cutting, and a quick action, Axis-assist opening mechanism, allows for ambidextrous access. MSRP $190. Benchmade 365K Outlast Rescue situations require the right tool, so the Benchmade 365K Outlast features two blades, giving you the flexibility needed to get the job done. The S30V 3.59” drop-point blade opens with a traditional thumb stud. A thicker, fully serrated, opposing bevel 3V blade uses an integrated O2 wrench for rapid deployment. A carbide-tipped glass breaker and integrated rescue hook are also included. MSRP $300 Buck Compadre 104 Made for doing everything from preparing tinder to meal prep, the Buck Compadre 104 features a 4.5” blade with a Cerakote Cobalt coated blade for added durability and corrosion resistance. The Micarta natural canvas handle provides a superior grip. Included is a genuine black leather sheath with belt loop attachment. MSRP $125. CKRT Seismic Built to be outrageously strong, the CKRT Seismic pocket knife features the company’s Deadbolt locking mechanism that is strong, yet simple to use. The knife features flipper opening with an IKBS ball bearing pivot system that deploys the 3.969” stainless steel blade smoothly and quickly. A G10 handle provide exdeption grip in all weather conditions. MSRP $150. FIRST AID Safety should always be a priority anytime you’re in a vehicle and especially when you’re miles from professional medical attention. A First Aid Kit and basic survival gear can help if someone is injured or if your vehicle breaks down miles from help. Adventure Medical Kits Sportsman Series The Sportsman Series kit from Adventure Medical Kits is new for 2019 and has everything necessary to handle everything from a headache to a full field trauma kit when you’re in the backcountry. The Sportsman Series Kit has various compartments that are organized by compartments for specific injuries so it’s easy to find what you need. Each kit includes instructions and comes with hospital-quality first aid essentials. Available in a variety of sizes to accommodate number of persons and days. MSRP- N/A SOL Survive Outdoors Longer SOL survival products are individual pieces of gear that you can carry in your overlanding vehicle while on adventures.. just in case. Some of the items introduced to us at the 2019 Outdoor Retailer Show was the SOL Heat Reflective Poncho, All-Season Blanket, and All-Weather Fire Cubes. MSRP SOL Poncho $7.99, SOL Blanket $16.99, SOL Fire Cubes $9.99