FIELD JOURNAL 11: Plan 2025 in 56 Minutes, Welcome to Family Center, My Top Packable Backpack, and More...

Style & Gear News, Outifts, & Inroads for the adventure-seeking man.

Dec 31, 2024

Every year, the days between Christmas and New Year's always feel the same—like a slow and lazy Sunday. I call it “Dead Week”, as in the term used in sports where there are no games happening, just resting up.

Dead Week is a good thing. It gives me time to be curious. Time to break out of my regular scheduled routines.

POST OVERVIEW

STYLE & GEAR
OUTFIT
INROADS
LIVE A LITTLE

In this FIELD JOURNAL, I’ve got a few STYLE & GEAR updates from my own wandering during Dead Week, followed by an OUTFIT fit for a dive bar on New Year’s Eve. Last, a few INROADS to chew on—featuring topics on self growth, cars, and watches.

Cheers to Dead Week, where every day feels like Sunday.

STYLE & GEAR

Welcome to Family Center

While I was home in Missouri this past week for the holidays, I visited my local farm store, Family Center, with my parents and our family dog. (Yes, Family Center allows dogs inside, which tells you how homegrown it really is around those parts.)

Above are some of my favorite finds from my wandering. Most notable is the beer hat and Levi’s Sherpa Jacket I bought. There was also a sweet Carhart Detroit Jacket in a color called “Sand Dune”. I would’ve bought that jacket, but my size was out of stock.

Farm stores like Family Center are great because they are inherently function first, especially when it comes to apparel and footwear. Does the product serve a purpose? Damn right it does. Will it actually hold up to real jobs that require hard labor? Damn right it will.

Walking Mount Bonnell in Austin

When I got back in town from Missouri, I spent the next day walking the trails at Mount Bonnell.

The trails are just 20 minutes west of downtown Austin, and all along the trail paths are breathtaking views of the Colorado River. It’s not the most intense “hike”, but it did get me eager to explore more trails around the area.

As far as gear goes, the MVP of the day was my Mystery Ranch In and Out 19 pack. I love how lightweight and packable it is (the pack is no bigger than a small football when rolled up). The last time I used it was this summer, when I was still living in NYC. I’d break it out for visits to see my friends in Brooklyn and for hangs in Central Park.

New REI Co-op CTY 1:1 Bike

Austin is a biking city. There are tons of trails to ride, and the city is doing a good job of continuing to install bike lanes. The thought of riding my bike to the coffee shop, or riding park trails on the weekends, led me to check out the bikes at REI.

When it comes to brand, REI Co-op bikes are great value for the money. A friend told me the CTY would be the perfect hybrid bike to start. Normally $599, I found a sweet matte gray model (called “Shale”) and applied a 15% off coupon from my REI rewards membership to make it an even better deal.

I’m a sucker for impulse purchases, but this buy felt like it was eventually going to happen. I’m stoked I bought this bike, and I plan to put heavy miles on it in 2025.