Buyer’s Guide: Getting Into Gear

Our Choice Products That Fit The UTV Lifestyle

There are so many steps before jumping into the driver’s seat of that UTV to hit the trails, from mechanical prep to first aid, we just can’t cut corners to feel like we’re ready. If you live, breathe eat the lifestyle, then there’s requirements for everyday departures too. We all have those staple items that we can’t leave the house without, your EDC (Every Day Carry) items. Whether it’s a wallet, keys on a specific key chain, cell phone, particular pocket knife, or even that favorite hat we all have those specific items that we can’t imagine living without and use on a daily basis. Taking it one step further, we found ourselves packing the same set of items for nearly everything we go do. It didn’t matter if it was a 20-mile ride, a 5-day excursion into remote places or a long day at the office, we are always prepared with our ERK (Every Ride Kit). These are all the products that we find helpful on the trail and in life, to make our ride experience better and just plain cool.

AO Coolers Keeping Your Beverages Cool

Adventure waits for no one. That’s often what we think about when gearing up for a ride. Always on the go and trying to get to our next destination, we often don’t have a lot of time to spend taking care of the essentials: food and beverage. In fact, it’s usually the last thing we think about because we’re too distracted prepping everything else. By the time we remember, we’re scavenging what we can bring and where we can fit it. Luckily enough, AO Coolers has our back. They have a variety of cooler options depending on your needs. To us, the best thing is having a cooler that stays well insulated, easy to secure and molds to where we need to put it. We take a lot of items with us and these coolers are conveniently sized to fit virtually anywhere. AO Coolers are lightweight, simple, and just work. Perfect for any circumstance we may run into.

More Info: https://www.aocoolers.com/

Alpinestars Is More Than Just Comfortably Stylish

Believe it or not, most of our line of work isn’t riding, it’s crunching keyboards at the office. Being at a desk for hours on end is uncomfortable enough, so finding the right line of clothing to give us that little extra comfort is greatly valued. Thankfully, Alpinestars has full line of casual wear options to choose from. For the times we are railing trails, and that means suiting up. If you’ve ever been out on a ride, you know suiting up means more than looking good. It’s also about practicality. Most Alpinestar gear sets are flexible, durable and weather resistant. So whether we’re firmly planted on an office stool or christening the cockpit with some drive time, it’s easier to find solace with the right gear.

More Info: https://www.alpinestars.com/products/casual

Dome Protection Thanks To Bell Helmets

There is nothing more important than the thing that rest atop your shoulders. If your melon gets damaged, the outlook won’t be good. Putting on a helmet is something that is so easy yet so many seem to complain about it. We have searched high and low for helmets that are not only strong, light and affordable, but comfortable for the long haul. Bell Helmets is one of the few companies that has hit all of our criteria. For dusty group rides Bell now offers two side-by-side friendly products, the Eliminator and the Qualifier. Both are fairly light and extremely comfortable, and have forced air inlets to keep you cool and clean. For the slow going trails the Custom 500 helmet is the ticket. Open face design allows your face to feel the breeze and makes communication with a passenger or other riders much easier. We have come to love them all so much, that it is now second nature to put them on before strapping in.

More info on the Bell Custom 500 open face: https://www.bellhelmets.com/p/custom-500-cruiser-motorcycle-helmet

More info on the Bell Qualifier: https://www.bellhelmets.com/p/qualifier-forced-air-side-by-side-helmet

More info on the Bell Eliminator: https://www.bellhelmets.com/p/eliminator-forced-air-side-by-side-helmet

Never Miss A Moment With GoPro

There’s nothing better than showing off some pictures and videos to back your stories of rad adventures. You won’t catch us tackling any journey without our GoPro for on the fly footage. After all, our favorite ERK items are ones that are efficient, light to carry, and easy to use. GoPros are strong and durable. Plus, the versatility of the device balancing image quality is immeasurable. With a long list of accessories and mounts available built for any application, the GoPro is a must. It’s the do-it-all-in-one tool that never gets left behind. Whether we’re storing it, strapping it, wearing it, flinging it, or running it. It fits anywhere and everywhere we ask it to. Get more info in our Tips and Tricks For Capturing Your Adventure back in the February 2019: Volume 6 Issue 2.

Link for Bold Text: https://www.utvsportsmag.com/issues/february-2019/#page=108

More Info: https://gopro.com/en/us/homepage-v3

Looking Good Through Those Heat Wave Visuals

Being outside on the norm means we’re staring at sunny days more often than not. We can’t really say you get used to it, but we can tell you there are ways to be prepared for it. Until science and technology advance to a point that we can decrease UV exposure to our blinders, we’re going to have to stick with sunglasses. Which is why next on our ERK list of items are Heat Wave sunglasses. These specs are lightweight, comfy, stylish, and do what they’re supposed to do, protect your peepers from the flaming ball in the sky. Here in the great state of Arizona, UTVs are legal to drive on the street IF you have eye protection. Heatwave Visual to the rescue! Sun protection is key for most of their lineup, but we also take advantage of those for safety and protection. Clear lenses for night rides, blue light blockers for screen time, and ANSI safety lenses… One source for it all. With an array of styles, there will be a pair for you to fall in love with.

More Info: https://heatwavevisual.com/

Hydrating Your Inner Monster

It takes serious energy to live this UTV life, early mornings, late nights, and hard days. At the end of it all, we’re famished in more ways than one. Energy levels and thirst run deep, and water just doesn’t always do the justice. We need more! We choose Monster Hydro to take care of the job and taste buds aren’t the only thing the Hydro fancies to arouse. With plenty of vitamins and caffeine, the drink invigorates the body so we’re not feeling fatigued. It helps our minds stay concentrated and leaving us feeling refreshed. Thirst quenching, energy packed, flavor filled goodness in every bottle and get our bodies back to revving at full throttle. Our personal favorite is the Zero Sugar (frost white, zero calories), but we recommend any of the non-carbonated, lightly sweetened beverages to get you ready for battle and unleash your beast!

More Info: https://www.monsterenergy.com/us/en/products/monster-hydro

Personal Audio Lets You Feel The Beat

Music is one thing in life that can directly affect everyone’s mood. Sometimes it rallies us and gets us pumped, sometimes it keeps us calm, or maybe it’s so distasteful it just grinds our gears. Either way, we all have a playlist in mind when we want to set a tone for what we’re doing. Something about having that background noise just adds to the experience. In today’s world, there’s an innumerable amount of personal audio items we can use to jam out to. We’ve found great luck in the Kicker Personal Audio products, including the Kicker Bullfrog BF400. Whether you’re parked off-trail hanging out, wrenching in the garage, or posted by the campfire, it’s nice having that go everywhere-do everything audio blaster to set the mood… So of course, we add portable sound speakers to our ERK list. With so many out there, it’s good knowing what capabilities these speakers might have. Looking at speakers that are more than sound, we look for features like weatherproof, waterproof, sand or dirtproof, shock resistant, Bluetooth capable, and even have dual audio connectivity. Also falling into those categories is the feature packed product line from Nyne Audio. This cost effective platform offers systems like the Nyne Rumble and Nyne Racer, offering a full solution for tunes to keep the good times rolling!

More Info On Kicker Personal Audio: https://www.kicker.com/indoor-outdoor-speakers

More Info On Nyne Portable Speakers: https://nyne.com/shop/

The Mighty Lil Rugged Geek Is A Lifesaver

We have all those ride or die partners, always there, always down for whatever, and never skips a beat when you need them. That’s Rugged Geek! Always on board with us everywhere. Thankfully it is rarely used, but when it is, it saves our backside. We always have one person in the ride group that likes to bump their SSV Works stereo while hanging out on the side of a trail. As everybody gets to talking and the stories are deepening, time goes on and minutes start passing like seconds. The battery is slowly drained by the thud of the subwoofer. Next thing you know it’s time to roll, and the UTV won’t start. Here comes Rugged Geek RG 1000 Safety Plus to the rescue with a 1000 amps of battery jumping power. An added air compressor for emergency tire fills is slow, but in a pinch, it gets the job done while taking up very little space. For times when things go wrong in the dead of night, the built-in 100 lumen flashlight guides you to the fix. The versatility, small size, shelf life, and quality of the Rugged Geek make it one of those don’t leave home without it items or you might not make it back!

More Info: http://chuckdempseymotorsports.com/product-category/power-supply/

Spot X Connects You Anywhere In The World

We are bombarded with gizmos and gadgets these days, in an all out attempt to make our lives just a little bit easier. Some work, most don’t. It’s hard to determine what to buy and what to chuckle at. Getting lost or stranded however is no laughing matter. Riding in remote spots and heading out on multi-day excursions leaves us in a position where cell service shouldn’t be relied on. Spot X acknowledged this problem is fairly common and set out to create a solution. The Spot X 2-way satellite messenger bypasses earth-level communication and goes directly to the stars to make sure you are connected at all times. Send family and friends location updates from anywhere in the world. This comes in particularly handy when there is a mechanical or medical emergency, you know you are connected and can reach help quickly while being able to pinpoint your exact location. ANother small, compact, lightweight tool that isn’t needed frequently, but when you need it, it’s invaluable to all those involved.