Really beautiful goods from Whiskeyjack Paddles and Meriwether Field Gear.

Korean outfit General Idea (great name) Fall 2011 collection. Definitely like those nylon scarves, the boots and of course the short/long.

Some shots from the VNM Manual of Rendering with Pen and Ink that was lying around the MAWOI office. Buy it here.

Even though I now think shipping containers don’t make great building materials, I’m still taken by the idea. Just seems like such a great re-use and so, so close. Here’s a recent example forwarded from our friends at Housefish, the Meka series. And I tend to agree, how are they including all that for the small one at 39k?
C’mon someone, enter your credit card info and let us know!

Bits and pieces of the fall palette. Lost track of nearly all the sources for these, sorry for the thievery and thanks for the inspiration.

The A-frame is the epic combo of modern meets mountain meets retro. Putting it on the life to-do list. Click the images for sources and further goodness.

A few highlights from the restored vintage tractor exhibit at the County Fair this weekend. Anyone showing there really had to bring their a-game to compete with the Ham Bone Express pig race and the pygmy goats.

No reel, no guides, no fly line, just a simple telescopic rod with a short furled line attached to the tip. Tenkara takes minimalism to a new level in the fly-fishing world, seems like the perfect backpacking rig. I’d definitely miss double hauling but the one-handed casting technique would be a nice respite on a high mountain lake.

From the Tenkara site:

Tenkara is the traditional Japanese method of fly-fishing, which uses only a rod, line and fly.

Tenkara is a category of fly-fishing particularly well-suited for fishing streams and for fishing while backpacking. It’s a very effective, simple and enjoyable method of fly-fishing small streams.

Tenkara is primarily used for stream fishing. It is particularly effective for fishing pocket water and faster flowing streams. Some of the main advantages are its simplicity, the very delicate presentations with the light line, the ability to hold the line off the water and a fly in place over difficult currents, precise casting, and greater control of the fly.

Only rod, line and fly are used. The line is attached directly to the tip of the rod using a girth hitch, and tippet is attached to the end of the tenkara line (total line length will be about 1 – 2 ft longer than the rod) . Like in western fly-fishing the line propels the weightless fly foward and there is a fly-casting technique involved (just a bit slower, and with a shorter casting stroke). Landing a fish is very intuitive and similar to any type of fishing with a rod: one simply raises the rod high, and reaches for the fish.

The handiwork of Scott Roush (apprentice blacksmith, woodworker and photographer), Big Rock Forge knives and tools based in northern Wisconsin.