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Win $1,300 of Adventure Gear With the TAKE A BREAK Summer Giveaway

By TJ Carter Jun 12, 2015 10:11 PM

When you were a kid, summer was a grand time of exploration and adventure. What’s changed? Sure, you have a job, and sure, indoor screens are more captivating than ever — but deep down you’re still a little kid looking to get out there and enjoy the sunshine. The epic Take a Break Summer Giveaway may just provide the tools you need to rediscover your taste for adventure.

UBB — Image used with permission by copyright holder

What’s in the Take a Break Summer Giveaway? Lots, as it turns out. United By Blue, one of our favorite brands, is contributing a set of camping mugs, two t-shirts, a hoodie, and matching backpack, duffle bag, and travel case. These alone are worth the few moments and clicks it takes to enter the giveaway.

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But that’s not all — oh, no, not even close. The giveaway also includes not one, not two, not a thousand, but five pairs of sunglasses from Sunski — the Originals, Headlands, Madronas, Dipseas, and Taravals, to be precise. You can either keep the sunglasses yourself and switch up your style, or you can dole them out to your buds.

Related: Sunskis are the perfect surf shades for summer

Summer requires a nice pair of kicks, right? How about two pairs? Thankfully, shoemaker Forsake has thrown its shoes into the ring, with one pair each of The Pilot and The Mack. Forsake makes strong and stylish shoes that we love, and we bet you will, too.

Peak Design has included some excellent accessories for adventurous photographers: the Slide Peak Edition strap, Leash strap, Cuff wrist strap, CapturePRO camera clip, and Clutch hand strap. With all these straps, you’re bound to keep a firm grip on your camera and capture some breathtaking shots.

conscious — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The giveaway will also extend far beyond the summer, thanks to a 12-month subscription to Conscious Box. For those who don’t know, Conscious Box is a service that sends a boxful of environmentally responsible foodstuffs, skincare products, and more to your door every month.

The giveaway is 100% free. Well not quite — it might take about 30 seconds to enter your email, name, and birthday. Still, a few seconds for $1,344 in outstanding summer goodies? Worth it! You have until June 22 to enter. Good luck.

TJ Carter wears many hats, both figuratively and literally. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2011 with a degree… Read Full Bio

Elevate your elegance: Choosing your first cigar

Face, Head, Person

Earlier this year, I was strolling the streets of New York and ended up sitting in the Carnegie Club with an Old Fashioned in one hand and a cigar in the other while My Way by Frank Sinatra played from a speaker flanking leather-bound books behind the couch I had been using as my perch. It was my first cigar, but it led to a slight obsession that recently found me on the back deck of a lodge in Kenya, staring at Mount Kilimanjaro and smoking a stick while giraffes meandered by. Admittedly, there has been no intention in my budding hobby; I am aimlessly choosing the cigars that look good (the ones that look like those smoked by Arnold or Stallone in the movies, obviously). But I have decided to approach these in a new way, with a little help from my friends over at La Aurora, who graciously decided to navigate my ignorance with some info compiled by Brand Manager John Gaglio, with input from Master Blender Manuel Ynoa, CEO Ed McKenna, and Brand Manager Elvis Batista.

What to look for in your first cigar

FIFA’s Gianni Infantino Is Uglifying the Beautiful Game With $20 Billion Plot — But the Global Soccer Community’s Punching Back

People, Person, Crowd

For the better part of two decades, perhaps even more, corruption has allegedly run rampant within FIFA. Sepp Blatter, in particular, became the face of alleged extortion schemes, and he operated with impunity while at the helm of the organization for 17 years, from 1998 until his forced resignation in 2015 amid an FBI corruption probe. He’s banned for life from all football-related FIFA activities. If you’re new to the organization’s alleged deep connection to corruption, Netflix offers a brilliant 2022 documentary, FIFA Uncovered. In that documentary, Gianni Infantino appears in his previous capacity as Secretary General of UEFA (2009-2016) and later as the newly elected FIFA president, who vowed to root out corruption and hand the beautiful game back to the people where it belongs.

That, as it turns out, was all wishful thinking.

Escobar Cigars, Co-Owned by Nas, Drops Four-Profile Robusto House Blend Collection

Blade, Knife, Weapon

Imagine that, Nas is getting closer to ruling the cigar world. The legendary rapper’s Escobar Cigars, which he co-owns, is making waves with the launch of a new four-profile House Blend collection. The launch is in partnership with Cigar Chief, one of North America’s largest premium cigar retailers.

The Manual has not yet had the chance to do a taste review (a pack is on the way), but Escobar Cigars says the four-profile House Blend collection (Maduro, Premium Blend Connecticut, Habano, and Connecticut Robusto) “has its own distinct wrapper, filler, and strength profile,” and that “all four are rolled in 5 x 52 Robusto format using classic Cubano entubado construction.”