The outdoor industry lost one of its pioneers last month. Rodney Johnson, who founded Minneapolis-based outdoor store Midwest Mountaineering, passed away at the age of 76 on October 26. Johnson operated the store for over 50 years, helping an untold number of folks enjoy the great outdoors. Who Was Rodney Johnson? Johnson was an avid outdoorsman, climber, hiker, and paddler. In emails with GearJunkie, longtime store manager and friend, Randy “Rudi” Hargesheimer, recounted that Johnson was a true outdoor fanatic. “Rod was a gear-head and an adrenaline junkie, like so many of us outdoor-loving adventurers. He did everything his way,…
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has quietly retreated from his planned special session on gun control, but he continues to push for a ban on so-called assault weapons when the state legislature begins its 2026 session next February. The odds of a gun ban bill getting through the Democrat-Farmer-Labor-controlled Senate were already fairly decent, but there are a couple of DFL senators who’d been quiet about whether or not they’d support a ban. Now one of them, a supposed moderate named Judy Seeberger, has decided to break her silence and come out in favor of a…
The U.S. Coast Guard is piggybacking on the news of its highest recruiting numbers in decades by soliciting a new potential location for a training center, Military.com has learned.The service announced Friday that its Fiscal Year 2025 accession numbers were the highest since 1991, with 5,204 active-duty enlisted service members–equivalent to hitting 121% of its target of 4,300 members for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, 2024, and concluded Sept. 30, 2025. It exceeded USCG expectations.USCG, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), today announced a Request for Information (RFI) and market research to identify prospective locations nationwide…
I grew up on a steady stream of books that contained not only really great information, but a lot of high-quality pictures. I could probably spend hours reading and looking at Stephen Biesty’s Incredible Cross-Sections. These days, however, I’ve come to really appreciate the more historically oriented coffee table books that Headstamp Publishing has been putting out. Their latest book, authored by Forgotten Weapons’ Ian McCollum, Forged in Snow: Finnish Small Arms 1917-2025, is available now through their Kickstarter campaign, which has already fulfilled its funding goal, a mere 6 hours into it. Forged in Snow: Finnish Small Arms 1917…
From dawn patrol corduroy to hidden powder stashes, the best women’s all-mountain skis are made for skiers who want to do it all. These quiver-of-one workhorses thrive on everything the mountain throws at you — smooth groomers, wind-buffed ridges, or surprise tree runs with friends. We tested the top contenders in everything from knee-deep powder to East Coast ice, skiing hard at Stowe in Vermont, Jackson Hole in Wyoming, Utah’s Powder Mountain, and more than half a dozen Idaho resorts. What follows is our A-List, the cream of the crop for women’s all-mountain skis. Whether you’re chasing the all-around excellence…
I’ve long said that if you want mandatory gun safety training for people to exercise their Second Amendment rights, rather than mandating it before a purchase, mandate it as part of the school curriculum so that everyone gets it that way, and it’s not a barrier to buying a firearm lawfully. Most of the states that want mandatory training, though, aren’t exactly the kind of states that will embrace gun training of any kind in public schools.But some other states looked at it rather differently.Now, three require it.This school year, students in elementary, middle and…
If you’re an avid whitewater kayaker, take note: Werner Paddles is recalling two of its latest kayak paddles. The paddles may break, posing a risk of drowning. On Nov. 9, Werner Paddles posted a notification that it’s recalling its Covert and Stealth downriver whitewater racing models of kayak paddles. The brand says, “We have identified an issue with the collar of the paddle where the blade meets the shaft.” Basically, the blade can break off from the shaft. GearJunkie confirmed with a Werner team paddler that this issue is due to a problem with the mold and is being addressed…
The Senate reached a tentative agreement to re-open the federal government late on Sunday evening, and if the House concurs with the package approved by the upper chamber the Schumer Shutdown could be over in a matter of days. Once the shutdown is over the House is expected to return to regular business, and that includes a potential floor vote on HR 38, the “Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025” that was placed on the House calendar just before the shutdown began. Under the bill, which currently has 189 sponsors, “a person who is not…
United States President Donald Trump has promised every single American, except those who are “high income”, a $2000 tariff dividend. This dividend would be funded by his tariff policies and is currently under review for “legality” by the Supreme Court. “A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to everyone,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday. “People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!” the ruler added, insisting that the policy is contributing “trillions of dollars” to the U.S. budget and will help reduce the nation’s $38 trillion national debt. The tariffs are also…
Whenever something awful happens, we’re hardwired to try to keep it from happening again. It’s probably a mechanism built into us to keep the species alive that has never really left. After all, when your village gets flooded and a lot of your tribe dies, you need to do something, or else the rest of the tribe will die in the next flood. But the desire to do something doesn’t inherently mean that what people think is a solution is a very good one.After all, one way various primitive cultures have tried to “do something”…
United States ruler Donald Trump has often claimed that the tariffs will boost the U.S. economy, while others have labeled it a trade war. Trump has now finally admitted that Washington and Beijing are embroiled in a trade war. While speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump was asked if a failure to reach a trade deal with China’s Xi Jinping would mean a prolonged trade war. Trump replied: “Well, you’re in one now… We have 100% tariff. If we didn’t have tariffs, we would be exposed as being a nothing… Tariffs are a very important tool for our defense, for…
Since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1, many national parks and historic sites have remained open — but with severely reduced staff. Entrance fees are going uncollected, visitor centers are closed, and illegal activities abound in popular parks like Yosemite. In response to these challenges, local organizations and groups have stepped up to help visitors, maintain facilities, and preserve their hometown parks. The 2019 shutdown had many negative impacts on national parks, and it’s important to make sure that doesn’t happen again, said Jason Nelson, YMCA of the Rockies’ marketing and communications director. “For us in the area that…
A New Hampshire teenager is suing officials in his local school district, including the superintendent and principal of his high school, alleging that he was singled out for a “coercive interrogation” without his parents or an attorney present earlier this year where officials demanded they be allowed to search his vehicle for weapons based solely on the fact that he’s a lawful gun owner. Jack Harrington’s lawsuit is being supported by the Second Amendment Foundation, with SAF Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack noting that “being public about exercising your private rights cannot be grounds…
The good people over at Angstadt Arms have just dropped the Vanquish AR-22, and it’s packed with the same great features that other Vanquish barrels come with, but this time meant to work directly with the CMMG Banshee and other 22LR dedicated firearms from CMMG. Priced at $599, this purpose-built upper isn’t just about quiet shooting—it’s designed to be reliable, low-maintenance, and of course full-auto rated for some serious 22LR fun. Product Link: https://angstadtarms.com/product/vanquish-ar22/ One of the coolest features, I think, that is showcased here with the AR-22 barrel is Angstadt Arms’ patented baffle-free integrally suppressed design. As Rich Angstadt,…
When a pair of pants has been worn a few times and returned to a retailer, what happens? The answer is complicated and varied, but for a small but growing percentage of these products, a second life begins in a large, nondescript building in Denver. Inside the Tersus Solutions headquarters in an industrial complex just south of Denver, something revolutionary is happening. Any given day, thousands of used garments lie sorted into 4-foot-tall bins. Dozens of employees work at sewing machines, tidying up small imperfections and tears in used apparel. Nearby, pressurized chambers containing CO₂ and proprietary machines that look…
Some terms shouldn’t be cheapened by being used where they don’t apply. Calling everyone “racist” or “Nazi,” for example, cheapens the word to the point that people who are actual racists or Nazis can fly under the radar, simply because the term was applied to someone who didn’t want some dude who just claimed he was really a woman going to the bathroom with his middle school-aged daughter. “Mass shooting” is another term that’s been cheapened by applying it to many things that aren’t what people tend to think of as mass shootings. People think…
REI Outlet Items: 50% Off (Photo/REI Co-op) REI is offering deals on deals this week, with 50% off select fall Outlet items. Co-op members get early access to the sale with code OUTEARLY25. On Oct. 17, deals on items like Patagonia fleece and Gregory daypacks will become available to all customers. Shop REI Sale Shop Fleece Mountain Hardwear Nevadan Down Parka: Up to 40% Off (Photo/Shannon Bruckbauer) If you’re looking for an everyday winter puffer, one of Mountain Hardwear’s warmest jackets is on sale for less than $300. The Nevadan Down Parka is made with 650-fill down and has a…
The website Snopes has a reputation, at least among conservatives, for skewing liberal, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised at some of its gun-relate coverage in recent months. Last year, for example, it covered Kamala Harris’ boast while serving as San Francisco D.A. that law enforcement would go into people’s homes to check and see if gun owners were storing firearms in accordance with local ordinances. Snopes also claimed, however, that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s demands for a ban on “assault weapons” wasn’t really a “gun ban”, since they weren’t calling for a ban on…
After a few years of using almost entirely canister, white gas, alcohol, or wood stoves, I’d forgotten the ease of just plugging a propane canister into a burner and scrambling up breakfast in a full-sized pan. That approachability is the very reason that Coleman’s Classic two-burner stoves are as popular as they are: open, plug in the propane, and get to cheffing it up. Coleman’s Cascade 18 does forgo its predecessor’s built-in windscreens — a bold move. That shield is a large part of what has long made the old ones so easy to use. It also lowers the BTUs…
The White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention was a short-lived project that was always a problem. It wasn’t so much an effort to reduce violence as it was a federal jobs program for anti-gun activists. I figure we’ll see it again, absent Congress taking some kind of action to prevent it, just as soon as a Democrat returns to the Oval Office. But while it wasn’t around long, it still was a thing.Recently, the deputy director of that office spoke to Congress, and his comments were, well, interesting.And by “interesting,” I mean they were…
Sometimes, you’ve got to get through a little bit of bad luck to find your fortune. While making their first-ever Level 1 ski film, RIFF, Dillon Flinders and Alex Lundstrom learned that firsthand. After a late start, weird snowpack, and unplanned hurdles challenged their ski season, the two Dynastar athletes struck white gold in Alaska. Filmed in locations throughout Utah and Alaska, RIFF is a hard-stomping, big-sending ski edit. It’s just enough to stoke anyone’s fire for the impending ski season. Flinders, Lundstrom, and other athletes rip huge mountain slopes, tear down couloirs, kick booters, throw backflips and corks, and…
