Products of the Week: Watches, Danner Boots and Leicas

The 6 best pieces of garb and gear that crossed our desks this week

November 15, 2024 1:19 pm
From Danner to The James Brand this is the best stuff to cross our desks (and inboxes) this week.
From Danner to The James Brand this is the best stuff to cross our desks (and inboxes) this week.
Danner, The James Brand, Leica, Seelbach's, J.Press

Nota bene: All products in this article are independently selected and vetted by InsideHook editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Each week, our inbox runneth over with news of gear, apparel and tech releases from around the world. In this feature, we’ll parse through the best of it. Today: A stunning watch drop forged by The James Brand and Timex, lovely loafers from J.Press and a compact Leica camera you’ll want to check out.

And just when you thought the penny loafer couldn’t get any preppier. Ivy boyz, rejoice — Sebago has teamed up with iconic trad retailer J.Press for a pair of poppy, repp-stripped footwear and knits so collegiate you actually earn acceptance into Yale with your purchase. (Okay, not really, but a man can dream, right?) The loafers are the standout item by far — the beefroll stitching and decorative finish across the penny slot and footbed, they’re the perfect cap off to any navy blazer-approved fit.

The camera and lens perfectionists at Leica entered the home cinema market in 2023 with the release of the Cine 1, a laser TV setup with a current entry price of $9,000. The new Cine Play 1 adds a compact projector to the lineup, with plug-and-play functionality that’s as easy to use as something from Anker, but with Leica’s no-compromise attention to detail and performance. There’s a lot to delve into here, but the specs that stand out to us include the triple RGB laser technology that enables a 4K image from 65 inches up to 300 inches, the DTS Virtual:X surround sound and the ability to stream directly from the internet-connected projector (the remote has dedicated buttons for Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video and Disney+). Oh, and it’s gorgeous. Of course.

This titanium-cased wonder from the James Brand and Timex is essentially a budget GMT that, thanks to the EDC company’s deft design hand, feels like a watch worth twice its price. Instead of overloading the watch with double branding, the James Brand opted to keep the emerald dial super clean with their geometric logo balancing out the Timex name up top — the circle in place of “24” on the unidirectional rotating bezel and the lime green dot on the reflector ring are two other in-the-know nods to their brand. The Miyota 9075 movement is a “true” automatic GMT movement, meaning you can adjust the hour hand independently from the minute hand. And the first grey/black version of this GMT, which was launched this summer, is totally sold out — so don’t sleep on this colorful release, which is limited to 750 pieces (250 less than the first model).

Danner is the gold standard of boots. Madhappy is the gold standard of cool. Smash them both together, and you get…a hot pink hiking boot, apparently. Two collaborative versions of Danner’s iconic Mountain Light silo — featuring a hand-tooled suede upper and benchmark techs like Vibram Outsoles and GORE-TEX —liners are somehow still available after dropping last week, including an especially killer “punch” colorway. This is your cosmic sign to cop a pair before they disappear forever.

Independent bottlers Rolling Fork earned its rep on aging good rums in unique and often great ex-whiskey barrels. Now, they’re actually producing a whiskey, and one that ties into co-founder Turner Wathen’s family background. Turns out Bourbon de Luxe was once in Watham’s family over a century ago and, through various company sales, was even a part of the Jim Beam portfolio until the early 2000s.  For the relaunch, the now independent brand is releasing an eight-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon in fairly limited quantities — only three barrels are available, or about 500+ bottles. Initial tasting notes suggest hints of caramel, vanilla, cream and orange peel. 

That’s that me espresso. Literally. The famed pop singer of the summer, Sabrina Carpenter, has teamed up with Absolut Vodka and Kahlúa to bring you the very best at-home espresso martini kit. It comes with two bottles of Absolut and Kahlúa, a can of Owens Espresso Martini Mix and Miss Carpenters’ signature bowed coupe glass and kiss mark edible topper. We, for one, cannot wait to give this kit a go.

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