No matter how prepared you might be when you go camping, you’re still vulnerable in a tent, camper, or van. Hungry bears, hostile humans, and even flesh-eating zombies could be lurking. And a thin nylon wall or plywood siding isn’t going to stop them if they’re intent on getting to you. Camping shelters protect you from the elements, and that’s about it. Except for the Mammoth Overland Xtinction Level Escape (XLE) camper. This 18-foot, 4.2-inch, 4,300-pound behemoth tow-along trailer is complete with bulletproof glass, deployable flare guns, remote-activated “sonic defense” and “quad bear defense” systems, 360-degree night-vision CCTV, and much,…
Democrats in Massachusetts are scrambling for political cover after a repeat, violent felon managed to evade the state’s restrictive gun control laws and get his hands on a rifle this week, using it to fire dozens of rounds at motorists in Cambridge before he was stopped by an armed citizen and a Massachusetts state trooper. As the Gun Owners Action League reports, some Democrats are demanding new laws in response; not to make it easier for lawful citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights, but to make violent crime even more illegal. “The only law that…
Everybody knows Call of Duty, Halo, Half-Life 2, and Bad Company 2, but plenty of great FPS games have become forgotten over time, destined to only appear in these types of articles as memories by someone who loves to track down gems from yesteryear. There are many reasons a video game masterpiece might never attract the attention it deserves or slip through the cracks in time, and quite a few of these titles have not been properly preserved and made easily accessible to a modern audience. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay One Of The Greatest FPS Movie…
Hitch bike racks are arguably the easiest, safest way to transport bikes to a trailhead or campout. Based in Colorado, lead tester Eric Phillips has spent hundreds of hours testing five hitch racks with a variety of mountain bikes and electric bikes over the past six months including local circuits and a road trip to Utah. After thousands of hours of testing on racks since 2022, it’s clear that the 2-bike Küat Piston Pro X sets the bar among plush designs, with hydraulically actuated wheel clamps, LED lights, and robust security features. Meanwhile, the 2-bike Küat Piston Ion offers a 100-pound…
BEIJING (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump’s comments on Taiwan — a self-ruled island that China claims as its own territory — came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing U.S.-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump…
We reported recently how the proposed new “Revised Mailing Standards for Firearms” rule, which would permit the mailing of handguns through the U.S. Postal Service, is being opposed by the head law enforcement officials in 23 anti-gun states, including New Jersey.Earlier this month, attorneys general from 22 states sent a letter to the USPS asking leaders to withdraw the Final Rule, arguing: “The federal government’s refusal to follow a century-old commonsense firearm safety law threatens the rule of law and public safety. Turning the Postal Service into a tool to ship guns into our states, in violation of our laws,…
Armed Forces Day falls on the third Saturday of May every year, and it is the one day on the American calendar specifically set aside to honor the men and women currently serving in uniform — not veterans who have come home, not the fallen who gave everything, but the approximately 1.34 million active-duty service members on duty right now, stationed across six continents, doing the work while most of the country goes about its Saturday. For 2026, Armed Forces Day is Saturday, May 16. Most people could not tell you that. Armed Forces Day gets lost in the shadow…
This article was originally published by Justin M. Ptak at The Mises Institute. There is something almost absurd about a government minting money at a loss. A coin—the most basic unit—becomes instead a confession, not just of inefficiency, but of a deeper fracture between what money is supposed to represent and what it has become. The American penny collapsed under that weight—3.69 cents for every penny minted. Thus, it cost multiples of its face value to produce—a financial contradiction sustained for years out of habit and political inertia. Now the nickel stands in the same position, costing far more to…
I grew up listening to my doctor. I wasn’t always great at doing what he told me, but since I was young, it wasn’t usually that big of a deal. I wish my mother had been better at listening to them, because she might still be around if she had. On some things, you absolutely should listen, such as the need to lose some weight if you’re obese. But one of the problems with that is that many physicians are eroding the public’s trust in them by weighing in on stuff they really shouldn’t, such…
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Making high-stakes decisions and dealing with the rules of engagement hits differently for U.S. service members who were exposed to human suffering and sanctioned lethal force. For some, experiences that deeply conflicted with moral beliefs left them with what we now call moral injury. The concept of moral injury came to light through the work of psychiatrist Jonathan Shay with Vietnam Veterans back in the 1990s. Today, an estimated 955,000 military veterans experience moral injury and more than 1 million have a service-connected disability for PTSD. While the two may have similarities, they are different. According to the Journal of…
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Modern navigation systems assume satellites will always be available. TERN, an Austin-based technology company, believes that assumption is becoming increasingly dangerous. In an interview, TERN co-founders Brett Harrison and Shaun Moore described how the company developed its Independently Derived Positioning System (IDPS™), a navigation platform designed to continue functioning even when GPS, cellular service, and connectivity fail. The technology recently expanded into off-road navigation, allowing vehicles to maintain turn-by-turn guidance in remote terrain and GPS-denied environments. The expansion, which TERN formally announced on May 12, 2026, brings continuous positioning and waypoint-based routing to trails, unpaved roads, and other off-road environments…
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From steep crag trails to slabby scrambles, the best approach shoes blend hiking comfort with sticky rubber. We also look for climbing precision and enough durability for repeated abuse on rock. For this update, GearJunkie editor Chris Kassar and lead tester Ryan Kempfer tested five new approach shoes over a three-month cycle. From the Tetons to Moab, we logged rocky approaches, desert scrambles, crag days, and mixed trail miles to see how each shoe handled grip, fit, stiffness, support, and durability. After further testing, we awarded our top spot to the La Sportiva TX4 EVO for its unmatched mix of…
The Belgian troopship SS Léopoldville had already begun sinking into the English Channel after a German torpedo struck. Gerald Howard went down with it. The 23-year-old rifleman was dragged beneath the freezing water alongside hundreds of fellow soldiers, narrowly escaping the same fate. Somehow, he made it back to the surface. “I stayed on that ship until it went under,” Howard recalled decades later. “It pulled me down, and when I came back up, I spotted a life raft. They told me, ‘You can’t get on.’ I said, ‘Like hell I can’t.’” Howard regained consciousness around midnight in a hospital…
The sun’s blazing overhead, you’ve got miles to go, and there’s not much shade in sight. The best sun hats protect your head, face, ears, and neck from harsh UV while staying breathable, secure, and comfortable enough to wear all day. For this update, GearJunkie Editor Chris Kassar tested four new sun hats over nine months while sweating through trail runs, scrambling exposed routes above the tree line, paddleboarding, and logging long days out photographing wildlife. While none of the new contenders unseated our current favorites, the process reinforced the strength of our existing selection. This guide has been shaped…
Sgt. Ross F. Gray carried a satchel charge through a minefield while under heavy Japanese fire. The explosive weighed 24 pounds and left no room for a rifle. He went in unarmed anyway. Behind him, three Marines provided cover. Ahead, a fortified Japanese bunker anchored one end of a network of gun emplacements that had stopped his platoon cold on Feb. 21, 1945, two days into the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history. Gray had already mapped a route through the field on foot, under fire, without triggering a single mine. Now he was going back in to finish what…
A climbing rope is your literal lifeline. The best options strike a perfect balance between smooth handling, reliable fall-catching, and the durability to withstand seasons of abrasion. For this update, GearJunkie contributor Miya Tsudome spent three months evaluating two new ropes, tying into each cord for three to five separate climbs on the sharp granite of Pine Creek Canyon and the welded tuff of the Owens River Gorge. The Mammut Alpine Core Protect takes the top spot as our favorite overall rope thanks to an innovative cut-resistant core that provides unparalleled safety on sharp edges, while the Edelrid Tommy Caldwell…
Kentucky, despite a Democratic governor and a fairly lengthy history of electing Democrats to that office, is a pretty pro-gun state. I mean, while Rand Paul and Thomas Massie aren’t exactly as beloved as they were a couple of years ago by most gun owners, they’re both from the state and both solidly pro-gun. But Louisville was always going to be an exception. As a relatively large city, its sensibilities are more akin to those of other large urban centers, as opposed to the more rural parts of the Bluegrass State.And now they’re asking the…
