I almost never wear short sleeve shirts when I’m working outside. Long sleeve shirts prevent sunburn as well as contact with poison ivy and other noxious plants that can cause an allergic reaction on your skin. They also provide a modicum of protection against thorns from the wild black raspberries that like to snag my arms while I’m mowing up against the treeline. I like to come in from spending the day working outside without the foreboding knowledge that I got too much sun, that I will have a rash that is going to last for weeks, or pulling thorns out of my forearms.

The BALEAF UPF 50+ shirts are perfect for fishing, hiking, sailing, running, hanging out by the pool, and working outdoors. Did you read “UPF” and wonder whether I meant to write “SPF”? UPF stands for Ultraviolet Protective Factor and indicates how much of the sun’s radiation (both UVA and UVB) penetrates the fabric and reaches the skin. A fabric with a UPF of 50 (like these shirts) will only let 1/50 of the sun’s radiation pass through to the skin. SPF is used to rate effectiveness of sunscreens, and only takes UVB rays into account. The bottom line is that the fabric in these BALEAF shirts are very effective in preventing sunburn, premature skin aging, and even skin cancer.

After owning and extensively wearing both, I can say that these BALEAF shirts are comparable to the long-sleeve Colombia UPF fishing shirts that cost three times as much. I have switched from the Colombia shirts to these for their price and versatility. The Columbia shirts are nice and do have a more “outdoors” feel to them, but I wouldn’t wear one to the pool and couldn’t imagine running in one because the don’t have the range of motion or the fit that the BALEAF shirts do.

The non-see-through fabric wicks away moisture and actually keeps you cooler than if you were wearing a short sleeve shirt because it’s so effective in keeping the direct sun off of your skin. These shirts breathe effectively and dry out quickly when they get wet.

These shirts are available in many different attractive colors. Some colors are available in a short sleeve version as well. I stay away from darker colors for my outdoor clothing, specifically blue, as it attracts more deer flies, which are a real challenge where we live during June and July. The lighter colors do show more dirt, but they also keep you cooler.

In addition to wearing long pants and these shirts, I also wear a boonie hat and these UV/dust face shields, which I reviewed in detail here.

This rod/reel combo is right in the sweet spot in which a casual fisherman can get great performance without spending too much money.

This is the reel to put in the hands of a novice-level fisherman, young or old. Most serious fishermen move up to open-face reels for their increased line capacity and smoother operation, but there is no better way to start off than with a decent spincast rod and reel like the Zebco 33, especially for younger children. If you want to spend more time with your line in the water and making memories catching fish (or at least trying to) than untangling a spaghetti bowl of line in your child’s or your own reel, then start with something like this.

I grew up fishing with a cheap Zebco closed-face reel and later got a Zebco Rhino reel. Zebco is known for making some lower-end equipment, but I think they got it right with this combo. The 33 gives you upgraded internal components and an overall higher build quality versus their cheaper models.

The Zebco 33 Rhino Tough is a two-piece rod. While one-piece rods are stronger and cannot separate (unless the rod itself breaks), they really aren’t a necessity for casual fishing. It’s hard to beat the convenience of being able to quickly break down your rod into two piece to stow it in your back seat or trunk for those who don’t drive pickups.

This is considered a lower speed reel, which in my opinion, is better for beginners or even seasoned fishermen who prefer a slower presentation of their bait. I prefer the 4.1:1 gear ratio of this reel to maximize torque while I slow roll big, heavy baits for largemouth bass over higher speed reels that give you faster performance yet often overwork the lure in the hands of a novice fisherman.

Overall, this rod/reel combo is a fine choice for someone who wants to get into fishing but wants something a notch above an entry-level model.

I love the outdoors, but sometimes the outdoors doesn’t love me back. When I’m lying in bed and thinking about all the progress I made on my outdoor projects, I want to think about how much my family and I enjoy our trails and our woods, not how many bug bites I received.

DEET-based insect repellents don’t work particularly well on me. Mosquitoes will still land (but won’t bite) when I apply OFF! or something similar, even within the first several minutes of applying it. Repellents containing picaridin discourage them from landing in the first place and seem to remain effective far longer. I’m not saying that Sawyer repellent smells great, but in my opinion it’s far less noxious than an off-putting dousing of DEET.

I wish I had known about Sawyer repellent during my time in the service. I grew up using OFF!, so I just assumed that it was the best thing out there, but I still got my share of bites during training and when we went to the field. I definitely would have had my friends and family send me cans of this during my deployment had I known about it. The mosquitoes that hung out in the palm groves and along the Euphrates River were malicious once the sun went down.

Sawyer is extremely effective against mosquitoes, ticks, and gnats, but only about 80% so against deer flies during their peak activity. With that being said, it still does better than other formulations that I have tried – and trust me, I have searched long and hard for a product that will keep these persistent buggers away.

The company also makes this formulation in a lotion, which purportedly lasts longer, although I haven’t noticed much of a difference. I prefer the spray because it’s more convenient to reapply it on the move and it’s less messy, especially if there is nowhere to wash your hands.

You already know that I talk extensively about the importance of preparedness on my podcast. There are certain things that I always keep in each of my vehicles (fire extinguisher, first aid kit, etc.) and bug spray happens to be one of them even though it’s not something we keep for emergencies. I’ve saved the day on several occasions by being the only guy at the picnic or the hike who brought bug spray and had enough for everyone to keep from being miserable.

Coleman has made great coolers for many years, but their Achilles heel is the cheap plastic hinges that they use. My family still uses a Coleman Extreme 100-quart cooler that I bought while I was in college. It’s great for cookouts, fishing trips, and bringing my produce to the farmer’s market. It was relatively inexpensive, holds a ton of cans and bottles, and keeps things cold for at least a couple of days.

One day, the wind blew it over, causing both of the plastic hinges to break. The cooler itself was fine, but the lid no longer stayed propped up when you opened it. It also made me nervous to have this in the bed of my truck, as the lid could have flown off while I was driving.

This stainless steel hinge and screw kit is everything you need to replace the original cheap plastic hinges. It takes less than five minutes to remove the old ones and install the new. Don’t waste your time with plastic replacement hinges. You’ll be right back in the same situation a couple of years from now. Once you go to metal hinges, you will have a cooler that is going to last for decades unless something unspeakable happens to it.

This hinge/screw combo is a name-brand Coleman part, which begs the question of why they didn’t use this much more durable part from the factory on all of their coolers. It’s disheartening to think of how many plastic hulks of former coolers will sit in landfills for thousands of years simply when we could be engineering products that last.

Igloo also produces great coolers, but like Coleman’s, their plastic hinges are destined to fail after several years. Here is a set of hybrid stainless/plastic hinges that are much more durable than the originals.