Backcountry Puffy Blanket is cozy enough for home, rugged enough for overlanding

The new Arc’teryx x BEAMS collection celebrates the brands’ 25-year collaboration and the blending of technical function with street-savvy style. The line highlights a re-creation of the 1998 Arc’teryx Theta hardshell, a Gamma softshell jacket, and Jogen bouldering pants. All come in the signature Kōyō color palette, modeled after Japan’s autumn leaves. 

I wore the Gamma Jacket and Jogen pants during the fall changeover in Virginia’s picturesque Shenandoah Valley, testing for warmth, wind resistance, and style. Here’s my take.

From the time I was a little man, I excitedly tugged at the shirt tails of my father and grandfather every time they left the house to do anything relatively outdoorsy. They would leave the house hauling gun cases, fishing poles, camping gear, hiking packs. The men of my life loved everything adventurous, and they would do it every chance they could. When I was big enough, I would be allowed to come with them. I got my own boots. I procured my own active wear that could resist the weather. I opened my own parka for Christmas. Not only was I now in the same boat with them, in the same tent with them, and in the same deer stand with them. I also wore the same brand as them. Eddie Bauer was their go-to, and it had become my go-to.

But what was it about that brand? What was it about the man behind the brand that became the man’s best friend in the wilderness? Well, here is what you need to know about the guy who ditched the work world to open an outdoor brand simply so he could go outdoors all the time. And made it possible for my grandfather, my father, and then me.

Austrian motorcycle company KTM’s dirt bikes have a reputation for ripping horsepower and world-title-winning performance. Across the world’s motocross tracks and enduro courses, the brand’s orange bikes win titles and provide the thrill of riding off-road. But for the most part, those bikes use 2-stroke and 4-stroke combustion engines. 

Now, looking toward the future, the organization’s latest electric off-roader, the 2027 Freeride E, optimizes power, handling, and range, with a variety of improvements over prior versions. Here’s the rundown on the bike’s improved specs.