Binoculars are the simplest upgrade you can carry that actually changes what you see. Get them set right and a distant ridge, a bird on the wing, or a marker across the water resolves into something useful instead of a tired blur. Most folks treat them like they’re just one knob and a wild guess — twist the center wheel, squint, and keep turning until frustration wins. That’s backward. Binoculars are a time-proven, compact, mechanical instrument that performs perfectly when the parts are tuned to you.
Binoculars are a handful of simple systems that do very specific jobs. Know what each part does, and you won’t be fiddling when the bird, marker, or Bigfoot shows up. Continue reading

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t find Adventure16 early on in my “adventuring” days. I did the flannel shirt / jeans heavy hiking book wandering that resulted in great weight management (because I was sweating so damned much carrying the ridiculously oversized / overweight rigid frame canvas backpack), and did most of my shopping at the local Grant Boys in Costa Mesa or the Army/Navy Surplus stores in Huntington Beach or Old Town Orange. Coleman is a great (and heavy!) brand!
The Overland Cook
And it’s about damned time!