Support us! GearJunkie may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More “How long have you had this sleeping bag?” My wife’s query was innocent enough. But I should have seen where it was going. “Oh man, more than 20 years!” I beamed. I’d bought the Marmot Pinnacle back when I worked at Midwest Mountaineering in the mid-’90s. It was one of my first real gear purchases, scrounged together by scrimping, saving, and eating ramen noodles during college. It turned out to be a spectacular investment. I’d spent hundreds of nights in that bag. I was…
I woke up to one of the strongest wind gusts I’ve ever weathered in a tent. I looked at my watch: 2:43 a.m. Right when the forecast was predicting 50 mph gusts on the snowy 12,000-foot ridgeline, The North Face’s (TNF) Assault 2 AMK Tent ($1,850), and I were perched on. My headlamp had broken, and with it was my only hope for an escape until sunrise in the worst-case scenario. Lying there cold, alone, and in the dark, I hunkered down, hoping the sub–3-pound tent’s carbon fiber poles could hold on a few hours longer. It did. After hours of shaking and flexing,…
I remember when magazines like Esquire were about men’s style and the gentleman’s lifestyle. If you wanted to be the most well-dressed man in any room, you probably read it and its sister publication, GQ. They focused on what they focused on and they did it well for decades. But, like most publications these days, they seem to think they also need to cover politics to some degree, which I guess would be fine if they actually had anything intelligent to offer. Just like Vogue and its offshoots, though, they seem to find people who…
Iran has vowed to retaliate against the United States after it fired upon and seized a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. “Trump, by imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, seeks, in his view, to turn the negotiating table into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,” said Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Ghalibaf led the Iranian delegation in the failed talks with Vice President J.D. Vance in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 11th. Vance Fails In Iran: No Peace Deal According to state media, as reported by NBC News, the ministry called the Sunday night cargo…
Instructors at Vail Resorts are opting into a class-action lawsuit against the corporation, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Since it was filed, nearly 2,000 snow sports instructors have opted in, and if the judge extends the deadline at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, many more could join. The lawsuit, titled Quint et al. v. Vail Resorts, Inc., accuses the ski company of having failed to fairly compensate its instructors for “off-the-clock” job duties — including time traveling between employee parking lots, locker rooms, and worksites; time spent putting on gear and uniforms; and time in…
Despite the Ukrainian government putting rifles in the hands of some civilians in the early days of the country’s defense against Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s gun laws remain awfully restrictive. Those laws, however, didn’t prevent a mass shooting at a grocery store in Kyiv last Saturday, where a man killed seven shoppers and took several others hostage before he was shot and killed by police. In the wake of the attack, a growing number of Ukrainians are calling on the government to loosen the country’s tight gun controls and allow individuals to carry in self-defense. “If the…
For centuries, hunting blinds have been used to conceal hunters. Be it piling sticks, logs, and rocks together or using a modern-day pop-up blind, these things work. And we can assure you, they aren’t stopping anytime soon. We’ve been lucky enough to sit in our fair share of blinds and have taken away a few key ingredients in what makes a good blind. Our testers for this guide, Morgan Nowels and Josh Kirshner, are dedicated to chasing all manner of ungulates and birds throughout the year. Sometimes, that requires a blind. This year, our team spent over 20 days hunting…
If the Supreme Court was as zealous in overturning gun control laws as the anti-2A crowd claims it is, the justices would have granted cert to Schoenthal v. Raoul earlier this month so they could strike down the state of Illinois’ and the Chicago Transit Authority’s ban on concealed carry on public transportation. Instead, the Court denied cert and left the “gun-free zones” in place. Though plenty of violent offenders have disregarded those rules, it’s not often we see someone with a valid carry permit busted for having a gun on CTA property. My guess is…
The firearm industry is drawing a line in the sand over a new Maryland proposal that could ban a wide swath of commonly owned handguns. And a lawsuit may be coming next. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is vowing legal action if Gov. Wes Moore signs Senate Bill 334 and House Bill 557 into law, arguing the legislation would effectively ban some of the most popular striker-fired pistols in the country. At issue is how the bills define so-called “machine gun convertible pistols.” Under the proposed language, certain semiautomatic handguns (particularly those with a cruciform trigger bar design aka…
Springfield Armory has a lot of new products that they are delivering to us at this SHOT Show 2026, and it is going to take a minute to cover all of them, but in the coming days we’ll get you up to speed on everything. Another exciting announcement to come from their booth is the return of a .300 Blackout firearm in the SAINT Victor 300 BLK AR-15 Pistol. Springfield Armory SAINT Victor 300 BLK AR-15 Pistol The Springfield Armory SAINT Victor 300 BLK 9.5″ AR-15 Pistol (SKU: STV995300B-V2-SBA3) has an MSRP of $1,249, and for those who are really…
Skinning up Cameron Pass, the cool crisp air blew through the trees, and snow floated above me. The new Black Diamond Dawn Patrol Pack fit seamlessly on my back as I cut a skin track up the mountain. The pack carried all my gear, clothes, and food — it was almost an extension of myself, moving freely with me as I climbed. At the top of the run, I switched from uphill to downhill mode and sipped water from the insulated hose on my right shoulder. I removed my skins, stuck them easily into the pack’s interior, and then carved…
While the Bruen decision laid out some rather specific groundwork for what gun laws can be considered constitutional and which couldn’t, it’s obvious that lower court judges aren’t rational creatures, just rationalizing ones. After all, how many times have we seen courts completely ignore the requirement for a historic analog, despite the clear directives from the Court? Yes, Rahimi muddied the waters a bit and gave greater leeway to the lower courts as to what can be considered an analog; sometimes, they don’t even bother.Enter Illinois and its ban on concealed carry on public transit.Gun…
The United States House Committee has voted to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress with regard to the Estein probe. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify in its investigation into disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Clintons Refuse To Testify To Congress In Epstein Investigation According to a report by RT, nine Democrats joined Republicans in voting in favor of the resolution targeting Bill Clinton, while three Democrats backed the measure against Hillary Clinton. “By voting to hold the Clintons in contempt, the…
In the last year, the knife industry faced some challenges that could have had some long-lasting impacts. From the closing of a primary U.S. steel supplier to threats of tariffs that disrupted supply chains and pricing, 2025 was, in certain regards, a hot mess. During that time of unrest, rumors of a new super-premium knife steel started to float around the internet and in circles where knife nuts gathered. As political and economic factors around the industry have cooled somewhat, it’s time to see what MagnaMax steel is all about! Check out GearJunkie’s guide to Knife Steels. It Starts With…
A Maryland jury handed down a multi-million dollar judgment against Walmart this week, finding that the company was negligent in selling a shotgun to an employee who took his life with the firearm a few hours later. The family of 23-year-old Jacob Mace filed their lawsuit against Walmart in 2021, about two years after Mace’s death. The complaint alleged that the retailer violated Maryland gun laws and company policy by selling the arm after store management had been made aware of his mental health struggles, though it appears that the verdict was silent on whether…
The Canadian snowboarder Ryan James Wedding, who spent the last year on the run from the FBI, has finally been arrested. Wedding is accused of running a violent drug trafficking organization, having been involved with several murders, and ordering the killing of a federal witness. In November, the FBI raised Wedding’s bounty to $15 million — the highest on its Most Wanted list. “Make no mistake about it, Ryan Wedding is a modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar,” FBI Director Kash Patel said during a press conference announcing law enforcement action against Wedding. The drug trafficking ring he allegedly ran routinely imported…
One of the biggest announcements from Palmetto State Armory in 2026 was the resurrection of Advanced Armament Company (AAC) and their updated suppressor designs. With updated versions of iconic suppressors, AAC has also brought back its Multi Purpose Weapon (MPW). The original MPW was a collaborative effort between AAC and Knights Armament Company and was chambered in 300 Blackout / 7.62×35. The reintroduced MPW’s will be chambered in the original .300 Blackout, 5.56, 338ARC and 6mm ARC which seems to round out the product line and give more options to the end user. The most exciting options in the new…
Since its inception in 2020, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) gray wolf reintroduction program has been a hotbed of controversy. The plan to source wolves from Oregon and Canada and release them in Colorado has sparked criticism from livestock owners, as well as a split with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Now, the program has hit a major roadblock: CPW announced that it will not release additional wolves in 2026. The Gray Wolf in Colorado By the 1950s, the U.S. government helped eradicate the gray wolf in Colorado and much of the Lower 48 to protect livestock. Reintroduction…
Until a few months ago, I’d never heard of Saddleback Leather Company. But today, I’m looking at a $760 leather duffel bag that appears to be from another century. The Deep Pocket Leather Duffle shines with heavy hardware and sturdy stitching that could have been inspired by the 1800s. And frankly, barring some sort of over-the-top disaster, I expect it’ll still be going strong into the 2100s, well after I’ve moved on from this mortal plane. So, having had this overbuilt duffel bag for just a couple of months, approximately 0.17% of its 100-year warranty lifespan, I’m only slightly qualified…
The oral arguments in Wolford v. Lopez are over, but the complaints about the Supreme Court’s views on the Second Amendment from opponents of our right to keep and bear arms continues. Cincinnati attorney Jack Greiner, who represents Enquirer Media on First Amendment issues, penned a column for the Cincinnati Enquirer in the wake of the oral arguments held earlier this week, and though he apparently gleaned all of his information about the arguments from press accounts instead of listening to them or reading the transcript, he’s got some strong (and stupid) opinions about the case…
While attending SHOT Show 2026 and cruising the firing lines of Industry Day at the Range, we came across a familiar – but new looking – CZ handgun that we couldn’t quite put our finger on (metaphorically – of course we shot it). What it ended up being was an originally designed CZ Model 75 with slight, modern enhancements while retaining an ethos for the past. This new offering is called the CZ 75 Legend 9mm! CZ 75 Legend The CZ 75 Legend looks like a true throwback to the past with its iconic plastic grips and its overall aesthetic…
