Canadian journalist Coleman
Molnar has spent the last year
travelling North America in a vin-
tage Volkswagen Westfalia with
his partner in life and business.
Check out the adventure at
LietCo.com.
Suddenly, all possessions considered for entry into our lives were
vetted by size, weight and utility. If it isn’t compact, reliable and abso-
lutely necessary, it probably won’t make the cut.
Here are five items that do make the cut and have improved our
lives more than any number of mugs--and you definitely don’t need to
live in a van to enjoy them.
BRV-X WATERPROOF SPEAKER
The tunes are non-negotiable, as is the charge on our devices. This
compact, durable speaker/charging station keeps the rock rolling and
your phone full of juice. Plus, it’s waterproof, so, you know, feel free to
spill shit on it. Braven.com
HELIO PRESSURE
SHOWER
No matter how tiny your tiny
home, one thing we guarantee
you won’t be willing to sacrifice
is hygeine. Staying clean is
a big part of staying human.
Adventure gear producers
Nemo Equipment have created
a solution in their Helio Pres-
sure Showers that pack down
into the size of a tupperware
container and expand to hold
enough water to clean your
body and your dishes - both
of which smell pretty bad, you
dirty hippy. Nemo.com
ENO HAMMOCK
A solid hammock elevates your
naps. No, literally, you can take
naps up in trees now. Eagles
Nest Outfitters’ (ENO) line of
nests for humans conveniently
pack up into pint-sized bags
and can fit in, say, a glove box.
Eaglesnestoutfitters.com
SULLY WONG NOMAD BACKPACK
Now you’ve got all your indisposable and portable gear, you need a
bag to carry it in. Sully Wong’s simple all-black styling combined with
a flap top means you can fit it all in there and look like you belong -
whether you’re on the banks of a river, or at a bank on the corner.
Sullywong.com
A note on minimalism from a man who
lives in a van.
Vandwelling is no small feat.
Well, technically, it is a small feat.
(And beneficial to those with
small feet--all those shoes have
to go somewhere.)
The fact is, it’s remarkably
complex to live with such sim-
plicity. Imagine: everything you
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own, folded, rolled and stuffed
into a vehicle no bigger than a
minivan. Step one, as you might
guess, is to own less. The Great
Shoe Cull of 2016 truly was
something to behold, and we
did have to discard a bunch of
mugs (why did we have so many
mugs?). But ultimately, we pared
it down, eventually stuffing all
footwear into one cupboard,
closeable now only by hipcheck.
To this day, all clothing is limited
to a one-in one-out policy-sure,
you can buy those flip flops, but
something else has got to go.
VICTORINOX SWISSTOOL
Victorinox (AKA Swiss Army)
understands minimalism. All
of their gear and most of their
products are made for the ad-
venture set-and the adventure
set doesn’t have the time or the
aforementioned space for frills.
Just give us the good stuff. Their
Swisstool Spirit XBS in black
oxide steel is a tactical tool that’s
way more stylish than McGyver
ever was. Victorinox.ca
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