There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
After returning home I told my girlfriend all about the trip, about the spectacular views and walking through more spiderwebs than I can count, about the boar that visited our campsite in the middle of the night, and about what a wonderful feeling it is to wake up after a good night's sleep with aching legs. She isn't a huge camper; she couldn't remember the last time she slept in a tent. However, she expressed interest in backpacking and in possibly doing this sort of thing together in the future. The issue is this: as a male backpacker who has always traveled with other members of the male species, I don't know how to recommend backpacking gear to her. I'm talking about boots, packs, and hiking wear, gear that is very sensitive to the body of the individual user.
If anyone has suggestions for anything from backpacks to rain gear, I'm open to anything. Recommend your favorite brands and I'll be glad to take a look.