Outside Magazine Between the Lines
11.New insulated jackets from The Mother of Comfort
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bigagnes.comWalker Mackey at camp during a Christmas Day ascent of
14,259’ Longs Peak, Colorado. Photo: Max Seigalguaranteed you have
more fun when warm
COURTESYOF^ ROBERT^HUTCHINSThis Is Not a Game
David Kushner has been
writing about digital culture
for more than two decades,
covering everything from
hackers to bitcoin mag-
nates. For “Total Immersion”
(page 94), he dove into the
topic of video games, with
an Outside twist: reporting
on a new rehab facility that
uses nature therapies to
treat addicted gamers.OUTSIDE:What led
you to write about this
rehab center?
KUSHNER: I wanted to
explore how today’s games
are fulfi lling a need we have
for adventure. It turned out
that some of the best an-
swers came from looking at
people who have gotten so
into gaming that they need
an intensive nature retreat
to regain their footing.Did you play any of the
games you wrote about?
I went out to a park in
Pennsylvania to play the
augmented-reality game
Ingress with a group. It was
ironic—an onlooker would
think that we should’ve
been enjoying the outdoors
and not staring at our
phones, when really it was
the phones that got us
outside in the fi rst place.Our gear guide for
the new millennium
included two CD
players that “might
outlive you” and seven
pages of in-line skates.R.I.P. THE LINE HERE TO STAYIn 1999, we profi led
“a startup with
everything stacked
against it”: GoLite. It
shut down in 2014 but
was reborn last year.A 1996 Buyer’s Guide
recommended clip-
in biking sandals.
“They’re cycling
shoes alfresco.”In May 1987, we de-
tailed the practice of
“self-hypnosis,” which
sounds pretty similar
to something we call
mindfulness today.“GPS on a
wristwatch? It
had to happen.” A
2000 Buyer’s Guide
highlighted one of the
fi rst smartwatches.Next Big Things—Or Not
Grading Outside’s decades-long effort to spot innovationMan
Overboard
“Here’s the truth:
I assigned myself
a story about
crazy new ocean
technologies
because I thought it
would get me inside a
cool submarine or at
least a cruise on an
awesome research
ship. Instead I got
one short outing
on a chartered
fi shing boat and
spent almost a
year interviewing
entrepreneurs,
oceanographers,
and philanthropists.
Next time I’m
sending myself to
Fiji for a travelogue!”
—Executive editor
Michael Roberts on
the origins of his
feature “The Age of
Aquarius” (page 80)THE LINE