This Gear & Beer Collab Stands Out for the Money (and Style)
If you’re looking for an excuse to load up on some outdoor essentials (for a bargain), the Shiner Bock line of fall gear might be just the ticket.
Looking cool is nowhere near as important as having the appropriate gear for the right occasion. That said, it certainly doesn’t hurt to be the unicorn with the most sparkles.
I’m not going to say people will think you look cool wearing the Shiner Bock x Magellan Outdoors gear, launched last week. But I am pretty sure everyone thinks I look cool wearing it.
More importantly, Magellan Outdoors — part of the Academy Sports & Outdoors company — makes a host of camp and adventure gear for a good bargain. We’ve tested some of the apparel and loved it, and the latest collab with the well-known Texas beer Shiner Bock offers a fun variety of outdoor essentials.
Who is it for? I don’t know; weirdos like me who think looking funny is better than looking smart, and who grew up with hand-me-down, duct-taped gear because all the brand-name stuff was too expensive.
I received a sampling of products from the new Shiner Bock collection and did not expect to actually review it. After all, we cover core, technical gear (most of the time). But core and technical make up just a small piece of the outdoor enthusiast pie.
And since adding a little fun to the gear mix can only do good, here I am, wearing a Shiner Bock synthetic puffy vest and happy about it.
In short: It is not for everyone. But for those with a “Who gives a damn!” attitude and a limited outdoor gear budget, the Shiner Bock collab has some well-priced essentials that will make casual campouts a little more fun.
Magellan Outdoors x Shiner Bock Gear
I won’t go through the whole lineup, since a good chunk of the products lie outside the scope of GearJunkie — think corn hole game, mini-mummy sleeping bag koozy, and the like.
But for some of the more necessary outdoor items, I’ll say that Magellan Outdoors has options that win on price. And in this limited edition line, they win on style, too.
Puffy Vest (Synthetic)
The key item I’ve been testing from this collection is the puffy vest. All the outerwear in this collection has a women’s and men’s line, so the fits are tailored to different bodies and styles.
This is not groundbreaking, but it’s a solid, synthetic puffy with a wind- and water-resistant nylon shell. It has two interior drop pockets and two zippered hand pockets.
There’s a reflective hit on the back, but most notably, it costs $50. And on close inspection, there are no loose stitches, errant strands of thread, or slightly off-center touches that are generally rampant on budget-focused pieces.
Again, it’s not breaking the mold here. But it’s not breaking the bank, either.
Hard Cooler
The marquee item — which I did not receive or test — appears to be the 45-quart Pro Explore Shiner Icebox. Ever since YETI came out swinging with heavier, ultra-durable (and not cheap) offerings, hard coolers have remained boutique outdoor products.
Of course, they’ve also been replicated and ripped off a thousand times over, so we’re all a little wary of new entrants to the market. However, Magellan Outdoors has some rock-solid features at a very attractive price.
The big sell here is a lid that not only can open from either direction, but it can also come off completely! This seems like a great idea to make loading up the cooler a lot easier. It also facilitates cleaning and drying to get rid of that oops-I-forgot-to-unload-the-cooler funk.
Camp Chair With Built-In Cooler
If there is one item in this whole capsule that I would really consider ordering — given that I already have a well-stocked gear closet — it would be the Tailgating XL Director’s Chair.
I have a few lightweight camp chairs, and they’re plenty comfy. This is not a lightweight camp chair. This is a 16-pound folding chair that doesn’t pack down all that small (though it folds up to about the size of a very large briefcase).
But on spec, it makes the cut for car camping, and the fact that it has a built-in mini cooler is simply genius. Get to camp, set up the chair, load the armrest with ice, and don’t get up again — until nature inevitably calls.
And for $70, it offers a lot of upside in the way of convenience (and kitsch appeal).
Other Goodies
There’s plenty of other stuff in this launch — some of it more for the average GearJunkie reader than others. For example, a $300 charcoal grill that’s shaped like a keg (!), a $50 40-degree mummy sleeping bag, and $15 leather gauntlets — which I have to say make ideal campfire log-movers.
Of course, there’s plenty of swag for swag’s sake, too. But if you need to round out your camp gear setup without spending the entire swear jar, take a peek. It’s fun and as I said, you’ll look cool.
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