The Opera Poker Set ($499)

LET’S FACE IT, men like to go all in. Whether it’s their clothes, their cars or their women — they want the best. When a man invites his buddies over for the weekly poker game, the same applies. Nobody wants to go to the guy’s house who brings out the plastic chips from the supermarket and the flimsy cards.

If a man is to host poker night, he must do it right. And that starts with the poker set.

A good poker set — complete with clay chips and playing cards that actually shuffle correctly — can making playing even at the kitchen table seem as good as Vegas (or Atlantic City, for you East coasters). And if you’re going to drop some coin on a poker set, you might as well go for the best.

We recommend The Opera Poker Set, available at Christopher’s Games of Quality and Distinction. This set will set (pardon the pun) you back a cool $500 … but practice your craft, and you’ll win that cash back in no time.

For something of an alternative, yet classic, set … try the River Boat Casino Poker Set ($210). Its Monte Carlo-style chips will add a bit of flair to your otherwise mundane breakfast nook.

For an added bonus, set up the card table in the garage with the door open. Let the breeze in and the smoke out.

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Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramberto/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

REI Flash65/Wikipedia Commons photo

If you’re looking for a new but inexpensive backpack for overnight trips, the REI Flash65 could be your best bet. After using it for a two-location camping/kayak trip, it carried everything I needed it to.

I packed it the night before, and I was surprised at how little room the “essentials” took up. I started to load in some extra things that I usually pack in a separate bag. In all, I loaded it down with about 45 pounds of gear. When I put it on, it felt like all the weight was on my hips, which was great for moving around. It felt amazingly light. The shoulder straps at that point felt like they were just stabilizing the pack — which is how a good pack is meant to be worn.

It has a place for a water sack, but I didn’t use one this time. I’m old fashioned … I prefer the old round canteen with the strap you throw over your shoulder. I might get a hydration sack to go in it one day, who knows.

Another great thing was the amount of storage on the outside. It has, of course, the top pocket (which removes), and a nicely sized outside pocked on the back (or front, depending on which way you’re holding the pack). There are also four mesh pockets (two on either side), where you can store a few items you need ready access to on the trails (like a water bottle, PowerBar or something like that). There is also a small zipper pocket on the waist belt that I didn’t even use because I’d already found a home for all my other gear and gadgets. It’s a good place to put your keys I guess if you’re just doing a park-n-hike for an afternoon. If my multi-tool didn’t have a belt clip, I’d probably put it in there.

There are also plenty of tie-downs, straps and clips to secure some of your more bulky gear to the outside of the pack. There are two straps on the bottom that are perfect for a sleeping pad or a bag if you just roll it up without folding it length-wize down the center. I have a Therm-a-Rest Trail Lite, and if I roll the sleeping back and pad together without folding, the straps still go all the way around.

In all, for the price, I’d definitely recommend this pack. It’s at REI for about $150. Good deal.

Menage a Singe Black IPA

BevMo now is like a candy store was to me 20 years ago. When I go now, I always try to walk out with something new. This time, that new beer was Menage a Singe Black IPA brewed by TiedHouse in San Jose, Calif. As you may know, I’m a massive fan of the IPA, and I’ll try almost any variation.

When I got the wine-bottle-sized beer home, the corked and caged bottle (like a bottle of champagne) should have been a clue. This bottle of beer is a gusher! Of course, I opened it while I was working … well, I had a little computer cleanup to do. That, my friends, was my fault. I should have known to open any corked and caged bottle well away from the keyboard. On a very, very, very slow pour, I still had about a 60-50 ratio of beer to foam. Yeah, I said 60-50 … the other 10 sat over the glass’ edge in a very firm, foamy head.

The color is perhaps the most interesting part of this brew. It’s almost midnight black at the thickest part of the glass. But near the bottom at the edges and when you tip the glass, you can see that reddish brown, cloudy color associated with the IPA. As for the aroma, there’s not much to talk about here. The Menage a Singe doesn’t have a faint smoke scent, but barely even a hint of hops.

Once the beer had a chance the settle, the first taste was a surprise. Let me just say, it says right on the bottle “India Pale Ale” right at the bottom. Of course, that’s below the Black IPA text. Now, a black IPA is a brew that mixed flavors that one would usually find in a porter (smoky, chocolate, coffee, pine, oak, you get the idea) with the rich hoppy flavor of the India Pale Ale. But for my taste, the Menage a Singe is a little too much porter and not enough IPA. The first thing you get when you take a sip is the smoky flavor followed immediately by the faint taste of hops that IPAs are known for. The aftertaste is all porter.

As for recommending this beer, I’d offer it to the drinker who is more likely to pick out a porter. The slight IPA flavor would do more for the porter fan. Overall, I’d grade the Menage a Singe as a solid B- with a slight deduction for the overabundance of foam.

Burt's Bees Citrus & Ginger Body Bar

Whether you’re camping or using it at home, the Burt’s Bees Citrus & Ginger Root body bar is an interesting way to start your day.

While it’s not my favorite bar of soap out there, the natural smell of the ginger mixed with citrus fills my nose with an invigorating aroma. It’s also great to know you’re bathing with a bar of soap that’s almost completely all natural (99.72%).

The smell doesn’t last on your skin after the shower, but that’s a good thing. It’s such a strong aroma that I don’t think you’d want to smell like it all day long. The experience of the smell seems like it’s just for you while you’re in the shower. Afterward, you just smell clean.

It’s a little pricey at some places. At REI, for instance, it’s $4.50 a bar for 4 ounces. At Safeway (and this is in pricey California), it’s actually $7.99. There are bars that are equally as natural and as aromatic sold by a brand called Kiss My Face, for example, that are sold in 8-ounce bars for about $4.

For the Burt’s Bees bar, I’d say pick one up if you see it and try it out for the unique experience. Perhaps just pick one up for an occasional camping trip to use in an outdoor shower, but I wouldn’t make it my go-to bar for showers. Keep looking, there are all-natural bars out there that are a better deal.

Ozark Trail Multi-Tool

There are two things Les Stroud of Survivorman never left behind when he went out into the wilderness — his trusty harmonica and a handy multi-tool.

Almost everyone here will agree, a good multi-tool is a must — not only for every camping trip, but for even a day hike or picnic. But for those who are on a budget, the $50-$100 models sold by Leatherman and Gerber might be a tad out of reach.

Personally, I had an incident involving a raging river … well, let’s just say I had to replace all my gear at once before my next trip. In doing so with just my “fun money” from one paycheck, I had to pick out items based more on a tight budget than anything else. The $10 multi-tool made by Ozark Trail and sold at Wal-Mart was just one of those items.

There are only a few things on this $10 model that are in the “less than” range when compared to the more expensive models. In every other way, this inexpensive option more than does the trick, and is still the multi-tool I carry on camping trips. The first thing I was surprised at was how much I used the plier function. The most important thing for me when using the pliers is the strength of the grip and the comfort of the handle. In both instances, the Ozark Trail succeeds. Secondly, the knife is extremely sharp, and it has all the auxiliary tools necessary for almost any job around the campsite. I’ve used both the bottle opener and can opener with ease. The screwdrivers have come in handy on several occasions, and the saw is strong and sharp enough to cut through branches and sticks about the width of a broom handle with relative ease.

About the only drawbacks are the wire cutters and the smallest flat screwdriver. The cutters simply aren’t strong enough to cut through anything other than stereo wires. I’ve only had the occasion to use them once, so I don’t notice this drawback. Without getting into too much detail, I had to cut through a chain-link fence. They did the job. But I’m quite strong, and it took all my strength to cut through, and the damage done to the cutters has rendered them useless for the same job in the future. The smallest screwdriver just isn’t thin enough to fit the size screws I think it was meant for.

Aside from those two drawbacks, the Ozark Trail multi-tool sold at Wal-Mart gets a passing grade from me. For $10, it a no-brainer if you’re on a budget or perhaps getting the young outdoors enthusiast in your life his or her first multi-tool.

Light My Fire Firesteel Scout

On my recent camping trip, I used my Light My Fire Firesteel Scout to light everything for the weekend.

For lighting fires, I used it once with magnesium shavings and once without. With the shavings, the fire went up in two strikes. But the shavings took about 15 minutes to make, and it sure is a good way to dull a knife quickly. The second night, I worked more on my tinder bundle. Making sure it was soft and packed correctly took away the need for the magnesium. The second fire took about 10 or 15 strikes, but I still saved time by not having to create the shavings from the mag stick.

I also used it to light my stove for coffee each morning — one strike each time.

In all, I’d say this little device does everything it’s supposed to. It spits out a nice, bright, hot spark on every strike. With a little patience and a proper tinder bundle and kindling, I’d say the Light My Fire Firesteel Scout will work for you too.