Guides & Field Manuals

Field manuals for the gear a dad actually buys. We do the research so you can spend less time scrolling and more time using the good stuff.

VeteransGift GuidesSupplement StacksEDC BasicsSetupsChecklists and Kits

Veterans

Everything for veterans
Does the VA Cover a Sauna or Cold Plunge? What Whole Health Actually Pays For
Guide

Does the VA Cover a Sauna or Cold Plunge? What Whole Health Actually Pays For

The VA covers more recovery care than most veterans know about, and a sauna is not on the list. Here is what Whole Health actually pays for, what changed with copays, and what a home setup costs if you buy it yourself.

FitnessRead Guide
Will the VA Pay for a Standing Desk? The Rumor Is True
Guide

Will the VA Pay for a Standing Desk? The Rumor Is True

Rumor has it the VA will buy you a standing desk. The rumor is true, but only through one program, only on paper, and never by phone. Here is the map, with the actual forms and links.

FitnessRead Guide
Gifts for the Veteran Dad, From One
Guide

Gifts for the Veteran Dad, From One

I am a combat vet and a dad, and every item in this guide is gear I actually kept, not gear about my service.

Everyday CarryRead Guide
Bad Back, Desk Job: A Disabled Veteran's Honest Guide
Guide

Bad Back, Desk Job: A Disabled Veteran's Honest Guide

I'm a combat vet on the shortlist for back surgery, and I coach strength for a living. Here's what actually helps a wrecked back survive desk life.

FitnessRead Guide

Gift Guides

The Audiobook Gift That Isn't a Guess
Guide

The Audiobook Gift That Isn't a Guess

Buying someone a book means betting on their taste. A gift membership hands them the pick instead, and it still works if they already have Audible.

Everyday CarryRead Guide
EDC Gifts for Dad: The 2026 Guide
Guide

EDC Gifts for Dad: The 2026 Guide

The only gift guide I trust is one built entirely from my own house, so I went ahead and wrote it.

Everyday CarryRead Guide
EDC Stocking Stuffers Dads Actually Use
Guide

EDC Stocking Stuffers Dads Actually Use

Stockings are where gift junk goes to die, so I built this list from the small gear in my own pockets that survives to daily use.

Everyday CarryRead Guide
Gifts for the Veteran Dad, From One
Guide

Gifts for the Veteran Dad, From One

I am a combat vet and a dad, and every item in this guide is gear I actually kept, not gear about my service.

Everyday CarryRead Guide

Supplement Stacks

1st Phorm at the Front Desk
Guide

1st Phorm at the Front Desk

A member walked up to the front desk with his phone out and asked what to buy from 1st Phorm, and in what order. Here is the answer I gave him, with the labels pulled up.

FitnessRead Guide
Swolverine at the Front Desk
Guide

Swolverine at the Front Desk

Four Swolverine products are headed for the front desk at my gym. Here is the coach's label read before the tubs even land: verified doses, published COAs, and who each one is for.

FitnessRead Guide
Thorne vs Transparent Labs vs Swolverine: The Creatine Ranking
Guide

Thorne vs Transparent Labs vs Swolverine: The Creatine Ranking

A gym owner ranks three third party tested creatines the same way he answers the question at the front desk: form first, testing second, then price.

FitnessRead Guide
Thorne vs Transparent Labs vs Swolverine: Whey Protein Isolate Comparison
Guide

Thorne vs Transparent Labs vs Swolverine: Whey Protein Isolate Comparison

Three third-party tested whey isolates, one table, and a straight answer on which tub earns a spot next to the coffee maker.

FitnessRead Guide
Transparent Labs: A Coach's Label Read
Guide

Transparent Labs: A Coach's Label Read

A gym owner reads the Transparent Labs labels line by line: published doses, real COAs, and who each tub is actually for.

FitnessRead Guide
Why Every Dad Should Carry Travel Creatine
Guide

Why Every Dad Should Carry Travel Creatine

There's real research on creatine and sleep-deprived brains. Here's the honest version, and why a few packets live in my truck.

FitnessRead Guide
The Dad Sleep Stack: Rebuild Your Sleep Without the Morning Fog
Guide

The Dad Sleep Stack: Rebuild Your Sleep Without the Morning Fog

Habits first, magnesium second, botanicals third. A gym owner's honest protocol for the most under-slept demographic alive.

FitnessRead Guide
The Dad Stack: The Only 5 Supplements Most Guys Actually Need
Guide

The Dad Stack: The Only 5 Supplements Most Guys Actually Need

A gym owner's no-BS supplement protocol for guys over 30. Five products, under $4 a day, zero fairy dust.

FitnessRead Guide

EDC Basics

Best EDC Multitools for Dads, Sorted by Job
Guide

Best EDC Multitools for Dads, Sorted by Job

Full size, compact, keychain or utility knife: pick the best EDC multitool for the jobs a dad actually runs into, then stop shopping.

Everyday CarryRead Guide
Olight vs NITECORE vs Fenix: The EDC Flashlight Guide, Sorted By Job
Guide

Olight vs NITECORE vs Fenix: The EDC Flashlight Guide, Sorted By Job

All three brands pay this site the same 10 percent, so here are ten lights sorted by job, starting with the fact that a 2,500 lumen claim with no runtime behind it is not a 2,500 lumen light.

Everyday CarryRead Guide
Best EDC for Dads: What I Actually Carry
Guide

Best EDC for Dads: What I Actually Carry

This is the best EDC for dads I can vouch for, carried through one real day, from the dresser at 0515 to the dopp kit after bedtime stories.

Everyday CarryRead Guide

Setups

How to Have the Best Christmas Lights on the Block
Guide

How to Have the Best Christmas Lights on the Block

One ladder day, once, and then ten years of running the whole display from your phone. Plus what to put on the lawn underneath it.

Outdoor GearRead Guide
How to Have the Best Halloween House on the Street
Guide

How to Have the Best Halloween House on the Street

You do not need a haunted-attraction budget. You need height, fog, and light, in that order, and about four hours of a Saturday.

Outdoor GearRead Guide
Standing Desk Accessories That Make Standing Easier
Guide

Standing Desk Accessories That Make Standing Easier

The desk gets you on your feet. The upgrades around it decide whether you stay there. Mats, footrests, lighting, cables, laptop stands, and the walking pad, in a sensible order.

Tech & GadgetsRead Guide
UPLIFT V3 2-Leg vs 4-Leg
Guide

UPLIFT V3 2-Leg vs 4-Leg

I bought the 2-leg with my own money and called it life changing. Then UPLIFT Desk sent the 4-leg free, and it made the desk I loved feel like the starter version. Here is who should buy which.

Tech & GadgetsRead Guide
The Battle Station: My Complete Desk Setup
Guide

The Battle Station: My Complete Desk Setup

The whole office in one tour: the UPLIFT Desk foundation and storage, the screens, the sound, and the studio. What each piece is, why it earned the spot, and what it costs.

Tech & GadgetsRead Guide

Checklists and Kits

Is Audible Worth It? The Honest Math for People Who Drive and Train
Guide

Is Audible Worth It? The Honest Math for People Who Drive and Train

A membership is worth it at roughly two books a month. Below that you are better off buying the ones you want.

Everyday CarryRead Guide
Camping With Kids Checklist: The Car Camping List for Little Kids
Guide

Camping With Kids Checklist: The Car Camping List for Little Kids

A car camping checklist for dads with little kids: what to pack, what to skip, and the gear that earns its spot when the truck is the base camp.

Outdoor GearRead Guide
Tools Every New Homeowner Needs: A First Garage Kit for Dads
Guide

Tools Every New Homeowner Needs: A First Garage Kit for Dads

The tools every new homeowner needs, in the order you will actually reach for them, from move-in weekend to the first dead battery in the driveway.

Everyday CarryRead Guide
Winter Car Emergency Kit for Texas Ice Storms: What Dads Should Carry
Guide

Winter Car Emergency Kit for Texas Ice Storms: What Dads Should Carry

What to keep in the truck or the family car when North Texas roads glaze over, and the driving calls that matter more than any gear you pack.

Everyday CarryRead Guide
Winter Storm Power Outage Kit: A Texas Family Checklist
Guide

Winter Storm Power Outage Kit: A Texas Family Checklist

How a Texas family stays warm, fed, lit and informed at home when an ice storm takes the power out for days, and what to set up before the forecast turns.

Outdoor GearRead Guide
Truck Emergency Kit Checklist for Dads: Breakdowns, Kids, Bad Weather
Guide

Truck Emergency Kit Checklist for Dads: Breakdowns, Kids, Bad Weather

What to keep in your truck so a dead battery, a flat, a scraped knee or a surprise storm stays a small story instead of a long night.

Everyday CarryRead Guide
Cold Plunge Benefits: What the Research Supports, and the One Time You Should Not Plunge
Guide

Cold Plunge Benefits: What the Research Supports, and the One Time You Should Not Plunge

Cold water reliably makes you feel better and can quietly cost you strength and muscle if you time it wrong. A strength coach's read on what cold plunging is actually for.

FitnessRead Guide
Sauna Benefits: What Twenty Years of Finnish Data Actually Shows
Guide

Sauna Benefits: What Twenty Years of Finnish Data Actually Shows

The sauna has the strongest evidence of anything in a recovery room, and it comes from decades of Finnish cohort research rather than marketing. What the numbers say, what they cannot say, and how often you have to go.

FitnessRead Guide
Weighted Blankets and Cooling Pads: What the Research Says About Anxiety and Sleep
Guide

Weighted Blankets and Cooling Pads: What the Research Says About Anxiety and Sleep

A weighted blanket has better trial evidence behind it than most things in a recovery room, and it will make you hot. Here is what the research supports, how to pick a weight, and how to fix the heat problem.

FitnessRead Guide
Taking a Kid Hunting the First Time: Gear and Ground Rules
Guide

Taking a Kid Hunting the First Time: Gear and Ground Rules

The first sit is not about killing anything. It is about whether they ask to come back. Here is the gear, the timing and the rules that decide it.

Outdoor GearRead Guide
Ground Blind Buying Guide: How to Pick One That Works With Kids
Guide

Ground Blind Buying Guide: How to Pick One That Works With Kids

Window height, floor size and packed weight decide whether a ground blind works for a dad hunting with kids. Here is how to read the spec sheet before you spend.

Outdoor GearRead Guide
Waders Buying Guide: Duck Hunting and Wading With Kids
Guide

Waders Buying Guide: Duck Hunting and Wading With Kids

Neoprene or breathable, chest or waist, and how much boot insulation you actually need. The four decisions that separate waders you wear from waders you regret.

Outdoor GearRead Guide
Backyard Summer Night Ideas: Games, Lights, Bugs and Fire
Guide

Backyard Summer Night Ideas: Games, Lights, Bugs and Fire

A backyard summer night plan for the whole family: one fire, a few lights, a game that runs until dark, and a real answer for the mosquitoes.

Outdoor GearRead Guide