Parachute Cord

Impromptu Road Trip!

Road trip across the southwest

In both of our families, September and I are known as adventurers – up for just about anything, the crazier the better. So when September’s aunt & uncle needed their car and dog (the fluffy, enthusiastic pup Raffles) delivered from Sarasota, FL to San Francisco, CA, they called US to make the road trip!

On Saturday, Sep, Raffles and I will spend 6 days driving across the southwest U.S. The trip alone is nearly 3,000 miles and takes over 41 hours… excluding pit stops, detours and must-see sites (which I am a sucker for).

Our itinerary:

  • Day 1: Tampa –> Gulfport, Mississippi (588 miles; 8.5 hours) – Point B on the map above
  • Day 2: Gulfport –> San Antonio, Texas (600 miles; 9 hours) – C
  • Day 3: San Antonio –> Tucson, Arizona (870 miles; 12.5 hours) – D
  • Day 4: Tucson –> Kingman, Arizona (300 miles; 4.5 hours) – E
  • Day 5: Kingman –> Yosemite Village, California (520 miles; 8 hours) – F
  • Day 6: Yosemite –> San Francisco, California (200 miles; 4 hours) – G

We’re stopping at things like the Alamo, Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park (and if we have extra time, Joshua Tree National Park) but we’ve got some 30 other sites that are off-the-beaten-path…. sites like the world’s largest rocking chair, a 25-ton tiki head and a house made completely of beer cans, that are just too wild to pass up. At Roadside America, we searched for cities on the various legs of our trip to see what bizarre, strangely awesome, roadside sites we’ll pass. There are TONS!

Time will surely be a limiting factor on this trip but we hope to move quickly (seeing as much as we can along the way), so we can gain some free time at the end of our journey to enjoy the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. Neither one of us has traveled the southwest U.S. before and we’re so excited and grateful for this amazing adventure!

Be sure to follow along – we’ll be posting regularly with pictures, videos and fun updates! (Thank goodness for the mobile WordPress app).

ROAD TRIP!

Photo courtesy of DiscoverAmerica.com

Please note: Our online shop, Top Knotch Gear, will be “on vacation” and we will not be processing orders until we return. If you have any questions/requests regarding gear, please direct them to us via email. Thanks!

Categories: Adventure, Backpacking, Extreme Vacation/Adventures, Family, Florida, Hiking, Landscape Photograph, Mountains, Nature, Outdoors, Packing, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Photography, Planning vacation, Rock Climbing, RTW, Survival gear, Top Knotch Gear, Tourist Site, Trails, Transportation, Travel, Travel Photography, Trip planning, Uncategorized, UNESCO World Heritage, World's Largest | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NEW Gear for Spring & Summer!

Did you think we forgot about you?  Sorry for the infrequent posts, it’s just that we’ve been hard at work tying knew gear for the Spring/Summer 2012 season. Check out some of our latest designs! All of our gear can be found at our online store Top Knotch Gear on Etsy.

New for pups:
A dog collar where the paracord is integrated into the nylon collar.  Not just tied over, the paracord is woven right into the collar, making it strong, reliable and fully customizable.  It’s got a heavyweight metal buckle and welded d-ring, and comes in all of your favorite colors.

Adjustable paracord and nylon dog collar tied in custom colors!

Part of our new ladies line:
This is a slip-on bracelet tied from a 2mm (thin) black cord.  The black part is stretchy, so one size fits most, and it’s got a double silver chain that dresses it up a bit.  Below that is another bracelet tied in the same style, but with yellow flecked cord.

Our black slip-on knot and silver chain bracelet is tied in 2 mm nylon cord. We like to call it "rugged sophistication."

Same as above but tied in 1.5 mm black- and yellow-flecked cord!

Categories: Accessories, Bracelet, Etsy, Gear, Jewelry, Outdoors, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Paracord Dog Collar, Paracord Pet Gear, Paracord Pet Supplies, Pets, Photography, Pinterest, Survival Bracelet, Survival gear, Top Knotch Gear, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Travel Tip Tuesday!

It’s Travel Tip Tuesday today! And the theme today is light & smart packing.

The following tips are geared more toward backpackers and hikers but general travelers could definitely apply some of these, too. Below are 7 tips for smart packing:

  1. DON’T pack when you’re hungry – just like don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry. You’ll pack more and spend more.
  2.  Don’t waste space on bringing items in their original packaging. If they are loose and have to be stored in something, downsize to smaller containers that aren’t as bulky.
  3. Small bottles, big help – Tiny bottles (like eye-drop bottles) make great storage containers for small amounts of soap, disinfectant, even hot sauce if you can’t live without it… which I can’t.
  4. No redundancy – if you’re traveling or hiking with a group, check to see what the others are bringing so you don’t bring any duplicates. Why carry 2 of something when you only need 1?
  5. Multitask – bring items that have multiple uses. Double-duty = more space and lighter pack.
  6. The essentials: Fire starter, food, clean water, shelter/rain gear, and sleeping bag.
  7. Don’t forget it gets DARK in nature – so pack things like your flashlight, headlamp, etc. either in the brain of your pack so you know exactly where they are or with glow-in-the-dark tape so you can find them when the lights go out. (Or you can use our GLOW paracord to help with this!)

Categories: Backpacking, Camping, Gear, Hiking, Nature, Outdoors, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Survival Bracelet, Survival gear, Top Knotch Gear, Trails, Travel, Travel help, Travel Tips | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

New Designs, New Colors, Same Awesomeness

We’ve been playing with some new knots and bracelet styles over the past week and here’s some of what we came up with!

The Piranha - 550 paracord survival bracelet in custom colors

Categories: Accessories, Adventure, Backpacking, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Survival gear, Top Knotch Gear, Travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More New Paracord Bracelets!

We’ve been busy experimenting with new designs, new knots and new color combos. Below are a couple more new bracelets we’ve just debuted at our online store. All of them can be custom sized with your choice of color(s)! And don’t forget to ‘Like’ Top Knotch Gear on Facebook!

The Czech - Paracord Survival Bracelet

The Hammock - Paracord Survival Bracelet

Categories: Accessories, Adventure, Asia, Backpacking, Black and Blue, Bracelet, Bright colors, Camping, Caves, Czech Republic, Etsy, Europe, Explore, Gear, Hiking, Kayaking, Knots, Nature, Outdoors, Packing, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Paracord Dog Collar, Paracord Pet Gear, Paracord Pet Supplies, Paracord Watch, Pinterest, Rock Climbing, Survival Bracelet, Survival gear, Top Knotch Gear, Travel, Trek | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Bracelet!

Here is one of our new paracord bracelets! It’s tied with a square knot (similar to our good luck knot) and isn’t as thick as a standard survival bracelet… making it ideal for smaller wrists and ladies – although, we can made dude-ish ones, too! We have a couple more knots we’ll debut over the course of the week, so stay tuned!

Want to see what other cool stuff we make? Visit our online store!

Categories: Adventure, Asia, Backpacking, Bracelet, Camping, Circumnavigation, Etsy, Explore, Gear, Globetrotting, Hiking, Jewelry, Knots, Mountains, Nature, Outdoors, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Paracord Pet Gear, Paracord Watch, Summer, Top Knotch Gear, Trails, Travel, Trek | Leave a comment

TKG on Pinterest!

So Pinterest is the new rave online. If you don’t know what it is, you should check it out! It’s like an online pinboard where you can bookmark all kinds of cool things and share them with others. (Think online photo galleries meets Craigslist… for free). Want to find a great recipe for vegetarian Philly cheesesteaks? Check Pinterest! Want to share your bucket list pictures? Do it on Pinterest! You can search anything, click the pictures and be taken directly to the linked websites. You can also re-pin anything you’d like to share with other people, even “like” something (i.e.: give it a thumbs up) and make a bunch of pin boards dedicated to things that you dig.

Top Knotch Gear has a Pinterest page, so check it out! If you don’t already have an account, shoot us a message and we’ll send you an invite (yes, it’s a little snobby in that you need an “invitation” to join – but set up is super easy!).

Happy pinning!

Top Knotch Gear is on Pinterest!

Categories: Adventure, Jewelry, Knots, Nature, Outdoors, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Paracord Dog Collar, Paracord Pet Gear, Paracord Pet Supplies, Paracord Watch, Photography, Pinterest, Survival gear, Top Knotch Gear, Travel, Travel Photography | Leave a comment

Essential Packing List for India

Travel Tip Tuesday: If you’re traveling to India (or would like to in the future), check out Candace Rardon’s Essential Packing List on Matador. It’s full of helpful tips, things to expect and gear to bring on your journey. While your own packing list may vary depending on the places you’ll visit and activities on your itinerary, Rardon’s list gives a great breakdown on some of the most important items. But don’t forget the #1 item we recommend bringing… your CAMERA!!

Picture courtesy of Vagabondish

Categories: Adventure, Asia, Backpacking, Beach, Bright colors, Camping, Circumnavigation, Explore, Gear, Globetrotting, India, Mountains, Nature, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Photography, Planning vacation, Rock Climbing, Survival gear, Top Knotch Gear, Tourist Site, Trails, Travel, Travel help, Travel Tips, Trip planning | Leave a comment

Customized Paracord Watch Band

Check out one of our recent custom orders! It’s a black & blue watch band made out of 550 paracord!

Get a custom watch band from TKG!

Have a favorite watch that needs a new band? Have TKG customize a design made from paracord or utility cords that looks both trendy and rugged. Click the picture to visit the TKG online store.

Categories: Accessories, Backpacking, Black and Blue, Bright colors, Customized, Etsy, Jewelry, Knots, Outdoors, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Paracord Watch, Top Knotch Gear, Watch Band | Leave a comment

GLOWING Paracord!

We call this bracelet the Full Moon Party. The epic Full Moon Party in Ko Pha Ngan takes place every month under the bright light of the full moon. We can’t wait to crash this party when we travel to Thailand on our trip around the world and this glow-in-the-dark paracord bracelet gets us excited for the ultimate party experience!

It’s tied with black paracord that’s flecked with white glow pieces that glow bright green in the dark! It’s the newest addition to our survival bracelet collection.

Categories: Accessories, Adventure, Asia, Backpacking, Beach, Beer, Bracelet, Bright colors, Circumnavigation, Drink, Etsy, Explore, Gear, Globetrotting, Hiking, Jewelry, Knots, Parachute Cord, Paracord, Photography, Rock Climbing, Survival gear, Thailand, Top Knotch Gear, Tourist Site, Travel | Leave a comment

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