Dad Stuff: Uncrate
February 20, 2012, By Jack Heffron 0 comments
Guys like stuff. It's a fact of life. We do. Women like things—clothes, jewelry, furniture and various other decorative tidbits ranging from scented candles to scarves. Kids, of course, like toys and games and things they can play games with. Guys, however, like stuff.
And how is stuff different from things? Well, I don't think the typical guy needs to ask that question. He just knows. We're talking broad concepts here, Platonic ideals, generalizations. And stuffness and thingness simply are not the same. It's like jazz or The Three Stooges or vintage baseball hats—if you have to ask why they're cool then you'll never really 'get' it anyway.
If you're nodding your head right now, we can move on to Man of the House's recommendation for a website that celebrates Guy Stuff. It's called uncrate.com, and there you will find the most amazing array of stuff you can imagine. Uncrate draws from manufacturers all around the world to gather its collection of unique products—9,029 of them since 2005, according to the site—that appeal to guys.
Not that women aren't invited. The site is not the least bit exclusive or exclusionary. It just has a keen eye for unusual stuff guys tend to like. Then they organize the stuff into channels—gear, style, rides, body, vices, place, tech, movies, games, music, books and videos—that make it easier for you to find. Some guys love kitsch, others want gadgets, others crave outdoor equipment, still others geek about cars and motorcycles. All those guys will find plenty of stuff at Uncrate.
On their current "Most Wanted List": bacon frosting (for baking cookies and cupcakes), the Biolite portable stove/USB port with a phone charger (for rough-it guys who want to stay connected even in the wilderness), authentic Duff beer (Homer Simpson's preferred brand and imported from Germany), Mission Workshop Eiger waterproof field jacket (keeping you dry and looking like a spy), the Beardski (for ZZ Top wannabes), Cole Haan Air Rhone boot (cushiony comfort even in the toughest terrain), and hundreds of other really cool items. Not that you'd really pay the prices of some of this stuff, but it's a lot of fun to know that it exists.
Each item includes a capsule description with a link to the manufacturer's website. It's one of those sites that you settle into and look up to find an hour has passed. A site packed with stuff you'll want to share with your buddies, sending them links and suggesting they can't possibly live without Air Jordan 2012s or a $3,500 bulletproof polo shirt or the Mokai jet-propelled kayak.
The boys at Uncrate 'get' it. Yes, money's tight and the kids always need something, but here's a place to go to indulge a fantasy or two and maybe even start making a wish list of your own.
