Outdoorsy Bohemian
If you’re not one, you probably know one, or love one, or are forcibly required to spend time waiting for one to finish his meditations so you can start the holiday dinner, already. Mr. New Ager. The guy who loves organics, open air, hiking, and sunsets—or just has an appreciation for fine art, jazz, fine wine and maybe a little, er, hookah, every once in a while. Here’s how to make his tie-dyed heart beat like you’ve just mentioned Bonnaroo or a sale on Birkenstocks.
Hookah Lounge and Sales Hookahs $50-$100
FLASHBACK 1817 Cumberland Ave., 544-0254
This Cumberland Strip spot (near the Copper Cellar) hasn’t even had its one-month anniversary, but the Middle Eastern hookah tradition they offer has been around a long, long time. Here’s how it works: The lounge offers a full line of Romman Shisha tobacco, the highest quality you can buy—hand-cut, hand-cured, and with 25 flavors like nectarine, chocolate, and Sweet Tart. You can buy a hookah to take home, or try it out in a booth at the store, where $12 buys a hookah packed with your mix of flavors and one to three hoses that will burn for at least an hour. And no one has to sit on the floor!
Exotic Wood Box, Kaleidoscope $285 box, $275 kaleidoscope
HANSON GALLERY 5607 Kingston Pike, 584-6097, hansongallery.com
Soul-satisfying fine art that can still stow treasures, this box is soft, smooth maple burl with leopardwood and turquoise. The kaleidoscope offers a cascade of movable patterns within an elegant, patterned wood casing, the work of world-renowned kaleidoscope artist Mark Reynolds of Texas.
Arc’teryx Delta LT’s Zip Pullover $99
ROLF LANZ SKI & OUTDOORS 839 Ray Mears Blvd., 690-3200, rolflanzsports.com
Warmth high, weight low is the motto with this versatile Polartec Thermal Pro layer—the man who insists on venturing forth to hike, climb, or bring wood for the fire in the freezing outdoors can wear it right next to his skin, as a base layer, or as a mid-layer beneath an insulated jacket. Its gusseted underarms mean no riding up and maximum mobility, and they’re so soft one fan says he wears his to bed.
Kuat Alpha Three Bike Rack $350
FOUNTAIN CITY PEDALER 620 Old Broadway, Suite 102, 357-1580, FCPedaler.com
Ironic, but true—if you live in Knoxville, chances are you’ve got to drive to lots of the best places to bike. This rack makes that annoying part of the process much more manageable. The heat-treated aluminum construction easily totes three bikes, but at 14.2 pounds, it’s the lightest hitch rack made, and it folds up nice and narrow. The adjustable carriages helps the rack contour to different-width bike frames, and a tool-free wedge system and tighteners mean no slip-sliding once the rack’s on the car. Extras include a hideaway lock to keep bikes and rack together, a locking hitch pin that joins the entire investment to the car, and a bottle opener for a post-ride beverage.
Lib Tech Snowboard Package $800
PLUTO SPORTS 1723 Cumberland Ave #C, 523-0045
PLUTO SPORTS WEST 245 N Seven Oaks Dr., 693-8990, plutosports.com
Thrill your much-adored snowboarder with genuine Banana Technology featuring Magne-Traction, the latest evolution in snowboard geometry, all on a snowboard that’s rated Best All-Around by industry media. Package extras include “the Force” model Union bonding, comfy and strong, and a Thirtytwo boot with a BOA wire lacing that lets you do that pesky tightening one-handed. Who wouldn’t want to Skate Banana?
Lost and Found Records
LOST AND FOUND RECORDS 3714 Walker Blvd. (behind Fisher Tire on Broadway), 687-5556
Buy a gift certificate if you must, but half the fun is going to peruse record albums in a cool, warm spot operated by music- and earth-lovers extraordinaire—with vintage, not-for-sale posters of the Beatles lining the walls. You can buy most any artist who recorded on LPs at Lost and Found, from Nancy Sinatra to Jimi Hendrix, with lots of other discs in between, all quite reasonably priced. But the store also does a brisk business in reissues. Yes, companies are putting out old LPs once again—not on CD, but on vinyl. A few noteworthies include A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, Sheer Heart Attack by Queen, and OK Computer by Radiohead.
Stuff those stockings
- Pocket Buddha, $3.29, Disc Exchange
- honey stick, 30 cents, Mast General Store (maststoreonline.com)
