2024 Gift Guide - Week 1

Outbound Portal

We're big fans of Outbound lights, and several of us run their Trail Evo and Hangover lights on our bars and helmets and haven't looked back. Some of Outbound's customers asked for a helmet light with a bit more oomph that could double as a bar light in a pinch. Cue the Portal, which Outbound released only a few weeks ago.

The Portal has a similar profile to the Hangover, but a different reflector design and a wider beam pattern. It has a peak output of 1,650 lumens compared to the Hangover's 1,000 and similar run times, but that requires a larger battery which comes at a weight penalty of 70 grams and 50 greenbacks (or 71 CAD).

A lot of design and care goes into high quality light design, and Outbound is setting a new standard. Their lights are rugged and reliable, and backed up by a 3-year warranty as well as the fierce pride of the people behind them. They want you to be happy with your light and will make sure that's the case.

Like other Outbound lights, the Portal is designed, engineered, assembled, and shipped from Chicago, after lots of R&D time at their satellite location in Bellingham and elsewhere.

• Mounting Location: Helmet & Handlebar (with separate handlebar mount)
• Application: Helmet light for all biking types (Mountain, Commuting, Road, Gravel)
• Self-contained 21700 lithium ion cell. No wires.
• Lumens: 1650 Lumens on High, 500 on Medium, and 250 on Low.
• Battery Capacity: 3.6V 5000mah (18.0Wh)
• Mode (Runtime): Adaptive (150 mins), High (65 mins), Medium (240 mins), Low (480 mins), Daytime Strobe (600 mins), Nighttime Flash (270 mins)
• USB-C quick charging
• Simple user interface
• Backed by a 3-year warranty
• Weight: Lighthead = 170g, Action Camera Mount = 20g

Outbound Light Portal Bike Light: 263 CAD / 185 USD

Daysaver Essential8 Multi-Tool

Daysaver is a Swiss brand that has been around for a few years now, but after a bit of reorganizing, they're gearing up to expand, so expect to see more from them in the near future. They just wrapped up a successful Kickstarter for a pump, and they have other plans in the works.

There are a lot of clever multitools out there. None I can think of combine more functions within such a compact package as Daysaver's Essential8. Weighing just 33 grams, it gives you all of these functions: Hex 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8mm, and Torx 25.

Nesting bits are held in place by magnets on both ends of an L-shaped Allen key. You can put it in just about any pocket, although if go that route, you should pick up the $7 Hug (I promise that link is safe for work), because otherwise an awkward fall could lead to a puncture wound. Thankfully, the Essential8's small size means there are lots of pairing options with other Daysaver tools, and they also make the Carrier - a nice little housing for your tool that allows you to affix it to water bottle bosses and let it ride shotgun, virtually unseen beneath your bottle.

In use, the Essential8 has some distinct advantages over some other compact tools. The L-shape means you can use the bit you need on one end for more leverage, or the other if you need to access a small or awkward space. Selecting the right bit is both fast and easy - sometimes tools with replaceable bits make this process a bit cumbersome, not so with this sucker.

Made of plasma coated steel that resists corrosion, with nifty laser branding and Neodymium magnets, Daysaver did not skimp on the details. The Essential8 costs $49 US, but the unique combination of quality, function, speed, and integration mean you can use it on its own or pair it with with current and future tools from Daysaver to build a great on-board system that'll cover most mechanicals.

The Essential8 combines perfectly with these products: Coworking5, Carrier, Hug (and more coming soon). You can order spare bits and other parts for the Essential8 and other Daysaver tools.

Daysaver Essential 8 Multi-Tool: $49 USD. Free worldwide shipping through the end of November.

Fidlock TWIST Bottles

The tried and true bottle and cage is simple and effective, but Fidlock has produced a worthy alternative that uses strong magnets and a mechanical latch to secure bottles to your bike without the need for a cage. AJ reviewed Fidlock bottles several years ago, and Mike recently sang their praises. Transition likes the system so much that a Fidlock mounting plate is included with the new Sentinel. Most people's first reaction is doubt about whether the system will hold up under 'real' mountain biking. And then they wonder if it's hard to get the bottle back on the mount? Well, my experience over the last little while has mirrored that of AJ and Mike: the bottles do stay on the bike, and after a short acclimation period, they're intuitive to remove and replace.

One of the main advantages to the Fidlock TWIST system is that it allows bottles to be made in different shapes and sizes. That's especially important when trying to fit a bottle into frames that are small or that have unconventional shock and linkage placements. Enter the TWIST 750 Compact Bottle. The compact design fits more bike frames in a package that's the same length as the more conventionally-sized TWIST 590. How much water you need on a ride is situational, but 750ml for me is as much as I need for most rides under 2 hours in all but summer, including a bit for Gordie, my four-legged trail buddy.

To use a Fidlock bottle, you need the TWIST system mounting plate, which is included in their bottle packages. The standard is a right-side release, but you can buy a Left Turn Bottle Connector (which also changes a seat tube-mounted bottle to right-hand release). Fidlock bottles come with dust caps, which also do a nice job of keeping mud or loam off of your drinking surface. On Deniz and Karin's recent Stone King Rally Adventure, several of their trip companions got sick after drinking from bottles that had cow shit on their spouts. So, yeah...a cover is a nice to have.

Fidlock TWIST 750 Compact Bottle and Bike Base: 49 USD

Misspent Summers Downhill and Enduro Yearbooks

I try to feature at least one book in every year's gift guide. Unfortunately, there aren't as many books released each year from writers in our business as I'd love to see (paging MIKE FERRENTINO). But we still love a good print mag, too. This is not your average glossy mag.

Misspent Summers has been documenting the DH race circuit since 2016 (and the EWS/EDR circuit since 2017). That year they released the first Hurly Burly - a beautiful coffee table worthy book that documented the Downhill World Cup and World Championships - and they've done so every year since.

They just dropped Hurly Burly 8 and The World Stage 7 (the Enduro version of Hurly Burly) and while I'm still waiting for my copies to arrive, I've no doubt they'll be as amazing as in past years.

Misspent Summers is an international group of journalists, photographers, designers and dropouts producing mountain biker stuff positively and responsibly. Visit them online at misspentsummers.com or in person at Finale Work Space (Deniz recently dropped in on them and said their space is great).

Hurly Burly 2024 - the Downhill Yearbook: £24
The World Stage 2024 - the Enduro Yearbook: £24