“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear.
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Header Image Via: Bremont
It was only two weeks ago when Bremont Ambassador Kristin Harila completed Phase One of her Bremont 14 Peaks challenge. This in itself is an incredible feat considering she climbed (in order) Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Kanchenjunga, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu in just 29 days. Harila also broke her previous record that was set last year for the fastest female time to summit Everest and Lhotse in which she completed in a lightning quick 9 hours. In a recent interview with Explorersweb, Harila describes some of the challenges she encountered during Phase 1 of the challenge, “On Annapurna, you could feel the place was dangerous. On Dhaulagiri, loads and loads of snow to deal with. And on Makalu, the beginning of the summit push was terrifying.”
Harlia’s forays into the Himalayas may sound familiar as this is the same challenge Nimsdai Purja completed in 2019 with his “Project Possible”. Nims knocked out all 14 peaks in an astonishing 6 months and 6 days, breaking the previous record of 8 years. Harila will attempt to match Nim’s record and it already seems that she’s ahead of Nim’s pace (Nims completed the first 6 summits in 31 days) after her completion of Phase 1. Harila has been very open about her approach to the challenge and her use of climbing aids via supplemental O2 and helicopter transportation, as well as the assistance from her two highly experienced team members Dawa Wongchu Sherpa and Pasdawa Sherpa.
Accompanying Harila on wrist throughout her expeditions is the Bremont S300 which has already proved its reliability and durability in Himalayas. Harila’s main goal for the Bremont 14 Peak Challenge is to raise awareness for all female mountaineers and she looks to continue her success starting with Phase 2 and her attempt at summiting Nanga Parbat. Stay tuned to this space as at some point we’re looking to chat with Harila one on one about her experience, obstacles and all things gear during her Bremont 14 Peak challenge.
In 1955 (Only two years after Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first ones to summit Mount Everest), a group of young graduates from Oxford & Cambridge set out to attempt the first ever successful overland expedition from London to Singapore. They completed the 19,000 mile journey in 6 months, traversing various rugged terrain and trail blazing through the likes of the Iraqi desert and Thai jungle in two Land Rover Series 1 Defenders. The epic road trip inspired the book, “The First Overland”. In 2019 (Another coincidental mountaineering parallel here as Nimsdai Purja completed his record breaking Project Possible in 2019 as well), a group of 8 individuals looked to recreate the journey, but in reverse, driving from Singapore to London in just 100 days in the documentary aptly dubbed “The Last Overland”. “The Last Overland” has all the makings of a proper adventure as they take one of the original Land Rovers that made the trek in 1955 along with two newer LRs, and embark on the road trip of a life time through 23 countries back to London. Check out the documentary trailer by Grammar Productions here.
We’re big supporters of the Kerchief here at the Worn & Wound office. They’ve proved useful out in the field as a lens cloth, cleaning rag or neck covering. Heck, even as a new Dad, I’ve found them handy to wipe up the inevitable mess that’s bound to happen when taking care of a 3 month old on the go. This week, Cantonment announced the first of their Signature Series with a brand new Kerchief set that draws inspiration from the sport of fly fishing. Cantonment teamed up with fly fisher Kayla Lockhart on two newly designed everyday carry cloths. One Kerchief sports the Cantonment blueprint style graphic of a reel and spool while the other is adorned with a fly fishing hook pattern. The new set has all the features that we’ve come to expect from the Kerchief including perfect sizing, unlimited usability and durability after multiple washes. Head on over to Cantonment to snag a Kerchief set (or two).
Family getaways and grocery runs just got a lot more exciting. After 6 generations of (mostly) bangers, BMW finally granted the wish of enthusiasts the world over by introducing the M3 Touring this week, the very first wagon to wear the M3 badge. The good news? It’s a 510 horsepower wagon. The bad news? It’s still rocking that front grill, and even worse, it won’t be coming to the US (Merc doesn’t bring their C63 wagon here either, leaving the E63 as the only game in town when it comes to super wagons. The M5 hasn’t had an estate car since the E60). Still, it’s nice to see this car come to fruition, and from (nearly) every angle it looks the absolute business.
This isn’t the first time BMW have dabbled with a wagon frame in the M3 family. Engineers actually built a concept of an M3 Touring back in the E46 generation (side note, anyone else miss the Hofmeister kink?), but it never saw the light of day commercially, and wasn’t even publicly shown until midway through the F80 generation. This is a momentous occasion for the M3, and while it might be a bummer that it’s coming in the G80 generation, at least it’s a reality. And hey, it’s a 510 horsepower wagon.
Wristwatch Revival is a channel on YouTube that captures the whole process of bringing a watch back to life. There’s a hypnotizing aspect to watching a watch get taken apart piece by piece, repaired, cleaned and then reassembled back to its working ways. In the most recent episode, Marshall of Wristwatch Revival revives a Rolex 1016 that unfortunately got flooded by seawater when it submerged without the crown being screwed in. Marshall works his magic, showing us every step and diagnosing what potentially went wrong within the movement. In this case, rust, as you would expect, was the main culprit here. After some TLC, we’re treated at the end by watching the gears working in unison and the soothing sweep of the seconds hand. Check out the full restoration video and the rest of Marshall’s channel here.
Here’s a robust beauty that won’t break the bank. This 1967 Seiko Sportsmatic is fantastic, and in excellent condition. The large, 38mm stainless steel case looks unpolished, with nice crisp edges and still showing the original brushed finish. There is recessed crown at 4 o’clock, which gives the watch a nice sleek look. The charcoal dial is super clean, with nice bold applied steel markers, and a day/date window at 3 o’clock. The big, lume filled hands are the same style as the famous 62MAS diver, and look killer. Automatic movement is clean, and seller states the watch currently runs and keeps time. I’ve had several of the Sportsmatics over the years, and I can attest to the quality of build that these have, and the 6619 movement is a juggernaut that can run forever. These are chronically under-valued for the quality of watch you get for the money.
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