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“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.
Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing [email protected].
Royal Enfield Introduces the Electric Flying Flea
Royal Enfield is the oldest motorcycle brand to still be in production, with a long history of motorcycle production in Great Britain. The brand is now headquartered in India and is said to produce nearly a million motorcycles annually and has operations in more than 60 countries worldwide (with over 800 stores in India alone). In other words, they’re huge. And they’ve just launched a long awaited new product, the Flying Flea, the brand’s first electric motorcycle. There’s a huge demand for electric vehicles worldwide, so it was only a matter of time before Royal Enfield got involved. The name and the design of the bike pay homage to the motorcycles built by the brand during WWII, and were famously dropped from planes with parachutes for use on the ground. They were always conceived as lightweight, go-anywhere vehicles, and that seems to be the spirit with which Royal Enfield has approached this new modern version of the bike. The first Flying Fleas are expected in spring 2026. You can learn much more about them in Gear Junkie right here.
Interested in a Truly Massive Film Camera?
This is a fun one from PetaPixel. Earlier this week they reported on an unusual auction listing spotted on Reddit for a truly massive film camera for sale in Louisiana. The lage-scale copy camera (also known as a process or repro camera) shoots 20×24 film and is built into a wall in the print shop at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette and dates to the early 1970s. If you’re wondering what a camera like this is used for, the most common use case is to make large, high resolution images of artwork for archival or graphic arts use. They were common in a pre-digital era in universities and print shops for professional use, but have been largely irrelevant with advances in digital photography. The university was hoping to get around $300 for the camera, which seems like a small price to pay if you’re a serious hobbyist with a lot of space in a home studio.
Remembering Murray McCory, Founder of JanSport
We learned this week of the passing of Murray McCory, the founder of JanSport and the individual credited with bringing lightweight school backpacks to the masses. JanSport is an outdoor equipment company that makes a huge variety of products for all kinds of activities, but the classic JanSport backpack is what most people conjure when they hear the name of the brand. The influence of this one product can’t be underestimated – it created an entire industry unto itself and taught multiple generations how to carry their things with them day to day. You can read more about McCory’s life in this remembrance in the New York Times.
Tactile Turn’s Latest Seasonal Release
Our friends at Tactile Turn have unveiled their latest seasonal pen release, a creation they’ve dubbed the Buccaneer. The bolt action pen has a custom cerakote finish that evokes the deck of a pirate ship, and a clip with a laser engraving of a treasure map. The bolt is also 24kt gold plated, because why not? The pen is available in standard, short, and mini sizes, and carries a retail price of $149. Like other Tactile Turn seasonal releases, this isn’t a limited edition per se, but will be available only during a predefined ordering window. You can snag yours at the Tactile Turn website until December 31.
The Bristol Watch Show
Coming to the UK later this month, the inaugural Bristol Watch Show. Conceived as a celebration of the unique watchmaking heritage in England’s western region, the show will take place at the Clifton Club in Bristol’s Clifton Village. The show is sponsored by Fears, a Bristol based watch brand many readers will be familiar with, who traces their history all the way back to 1846. In addition to Fears, exhibiting brands include Geckota Watches, Drayton Watches, Maystone, and more. Additional information about the show, including a link to purchase tickets, can be found here.
