Good morning, dear reader. I'll start with an apology for missing last week. I was out on a family gathering way up north in Vermont, teaching our little guy to be a lake dog.
Let's dig into what's new since last I visited your inbox!
Not quite Mario Kart IRL
I love any chance I get to bring my video game journalism roots to bear these days. In this exclusive for The Verge, I got to mix in my love for going fast, too, as I was first to experience RPM Raceway's new Kart Klash game.
It's basically the fundamental ruleset of Mario Kart applied to a real-life kart track, including simulated weapons, all suitably renamed and reimaged to avoid any copyright strikes.
I didn't really know what to expect from the thing, but I was blown away by just how much fun it is. It's far more manic than the video game, which is truly saying something, but it's a wildly good time.
The two bags I take everywhere
If you're a long-time reader, you know I'm quite fond of my Mission Workshop packs, so much so that when I had to send my last one off to meet its maker, I got a little misty-eyed.
The Guardian's product-minded site, The Filter, asked me if I wouldn't write about those bags I travel with most often, and I was happy to do just that. Given the state of the publishing world these days, I'm always super thankful to add a new outlet into the mix, especially one as prestigious as The Guardian, and it was really fun to dig into my travel expertise.
The best part? There's more to come.
A short-range king
As much as I love the roaring straight pipes on my classic BMW R69S and the triple-thrum of my (somewhat) more modern Triumph Speed Triple, I adore a silent blast over my favorite roads in the saddle of an electric motorcycle. And I really, really enjoyed my time with the Can-Am Origin.
It's an electric dual-sport that doesn't offer the bonkers acceleration or manic personality of the Stark Varg I wrote about a little while back. It's a much more chill, much more approachable, and frankly, far more well-rounded machine.
The only challenge? It's only rated for 90 road miles on a charge, and I couldn't even manage two-thirds of that in Eco mode. I only got about half when I really let it rip.
A delightfully copper compact SUV
Finally, this week is my review of the 2025 Lexus NX 350. This compact luxury SUV is playing in a challenging, constantly moving segment and doing so without any major updates since 2022. What does it have? A stunning new color and some solid fundamentals that left me surprisingly impressed despite its familiarity.
And with that, we're all caught up from my end. After a lovely week at home, a good portion of it spent wrenching on that aforementioned BMW, I'm off to the Pacific Northwest tomorrow to sample a pair of Subarus in their natural habitat.
More on that to come. Until then, do good and be well.