"Do you suppose they will choose to make war against lean, solid dogs rather than against fat and tender sheep?"
The D-Day Heavy Challenge is in the record books. Before I publish my AAR, this is what I packed. Feet: Rocky S2V boots. I got these on Sgt. Šileika’s advice, and they were champs.Originally I was planning on wearing my GORUCK MACV-1s, figuring “what could be better for an event than a boot made specifically for that... Continue Reading →
I am 20 days out from the “GORUCK Heavy” event. Normally I reserve this blog for content that I think will have general interest, not “training log” entries. But this month will be a little different, as I leave a sort of memo for my future self, and this post is a snapshot of my... Continue Reading →
When Lars Grebnev at Survival Russia talks, I listen. First he got me into jackboots, which I like more all the time because they're weather- and terrain-proof. On slippery rocks, in muck, over a gravelly boulder-scape, in a calf-high stream, the jackboots keep you stable and dry. This time I tried them with snowshoes. My... Continue Reading →
To the tune of "My Favorite Things"* East German jackboots and green Czech suspenders,Norwegian trousers for snowy weekenders,Bundeswehr base layer, Steppentarn scarf,On French army snow shoes I'll hike til I barf! Finnish boot grease!Swedish rucksack!From your grandfather's day.For ten lousy bucks you can buy it all upAnd head for the hills to play! *Acknowledgement to... Continue Reading →
Rigert is said to have inspired the sport's governing body to change their rule requiring a uniform of a single color so that he could wear the striped t-shirt on the platform. Soviet weightlifter David Rigert was famous for his signature telnyashka, the blue and white striped t-shirt. Originally part of the Russian naval uniform in... Continue Reading →
Julien, a lean, solid dog in Canada, asks: I've been thinking of buying a used rucksack (something like https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/british-patrol-backpack-30-litres-black-surplus/3779). Any advice you'd have for someone starting? Also, I saw that you seem to endorse the original RKC book for kettlebells. I got a 16 kg bell, and some extra money, was thinking of buying a... Continue Reading →
From Sgt. Sileika, a lean, solid dog in Vilnius who serves as our resident subject-matter expert in ruck marching and sentence diagramming. Living in the Baltics, he is located at the intersection (to use a fashionable word) of three of our favorite things: kvass, kettlebells, and Varusteleka. Power to you, sir!
Finally, someone who understands why they're called "shorts." At the GORUCK Heavy Challenge, after some refreshing PT, you start the 24 hours with a twelve-mile timed ruck. You need to walk it in 3½ hours or you can be disqualified. Lauren Four Boots and I were discussing this menacing prospect in the middle of a... Continue Reading →
https://www.varusteleka.com/en I was ordering camping gear from Varusteleka, a Finnish company with a winning sense of humor. Typical product descriptions are "This is hands down the ugliest motherfucking hat ever made" and "smells starkly of old mould, might be incomplete/damaged and is overall very nasty. You don't want to touch this without a full [hazmat]... Continue Reading →
Volodya surveys the valley after earning his blue-and-white David Rigert tel'nyashka To initiate Volodya the 28kg Kettlebell, I suitcase-carried him with the Backpack of Bricks up the summit. Today's game was that I could set him down when needed, but for the whole hike I had to hold my chest and head upright. No hunched backs.... Continue Reading →