59 out of 59 people found this review helpful.
Don't look for Maxim or FHM here.
Date of Review: Apr 2, 2001
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a magazine with substance that you can actually read and not just look at pictures, then you've come to the right place.
Yep, an avid Maxim or FHM reader probably wouldn't check out another issue of Men's Journal after reading their first copy. (Even though I've been a Maxim subscriber as well for some time now). It's definitely not a magazine for some guys out there. Here's what you can expect from an issue:
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There are several main areas of each Men's Journal issue:
1. Features
2. Agenda
3. Adventure
4. Health & Fitness
5. Fashion
6. Equipment
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1. FEATURES:
These are the featured articles, interviews, and stories of each issue. There are usually 5-6 of them in a wide variety of topics. For example, some of the features from the April 2001 issue included:
- "Driving Crazy:" This was an article by Carl Hoffman who was one of the drivers in the Baja 2000, a grueling 1,680 mile off-road race from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. I was glued to reading this article as the author described some of the both the history and background of the race as well as some of his own racing trials and tribulations.
- "Scott Boras Saves Baseball:" This was an article about Scott Boras, one of the world's most powerful sports agents out there. I actually haven't gotten around to reading this one yet.....I usually save a few articles to read later and not read them all at once.
- "Forty-Seven Seconds in a Fifty-Year War:" This was a riveting article about the fate of two Israeli soldiers who took a wrong turn and found themselves amidst a Palestinian funeral.
The featured articles are definitely finely written. If you were into reading the articles from the magazine, Esquire, then you'll surely enjoy reading these from Men's Journal. I usually read one and then read the others later, but in this issue I was so interested in the subject matter that I read most of them non-stop.
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2. AGENDA:
The Agenda features (either a 1/2 or up to 2 page) articles on that particular month's main events. The topics vary slightly from issue to issue, and the April 2001 issue featured:
- Television: Talks about Chris Isaak's new Showtime show.
- Drink: Highlights a new single-malt whisky called "Old Course Hotel."
- Racing: Gives you a "crash course" in the Paris-Roubaix race.
- Books: Features the new book, The Shadow of the Sun, by Ryszard Kapuscinski.
- Technology: Talks about Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio.
- Cars: Gives you the skinny on the new Subaru WRX, a road-ready rally car to debut in the US.
- Food: It's crawfish season in N'Awlins.
- Baseball: Two new baseball parks are featured, Pittsburgh's PNC Park and Milwaukee's Miller Park.
- The List: Miscellaneous short paragraph articles from Johnny Depp's new movie - Blow, the Boston Marathon, house pet taxidermists, freeboarding, and etc.
The best part of the Agenda is that the articles are on current events to keep you up to date, and that they are very short. So, it's enough for you to wet your teeth on, but not too much to bore you.
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3. ADVENTURE:
In each month's issue, the Adventure section has several articles on sporting in the outdoors. So, Men's Journal keeps you up-to-date on the latest ways to have fun out there! For the April 2001, that included:
- Angling: Care to fish in the Bahamas?
- Trends: Going mountain biking, how about doing it without touching the ground?
- Classics: How about kayaking in the Potomac?
- Openings: Snowboarding this season? AJAX is the newest resort to open up to snowboarders.
- Trouble: Your quick guide to surviving in the wilderness if you get lost.
- Field Notes: There are several short paragraph articles here from surfing in the Maldives, rafting in the Zambezi, the Marathon Des Sables, and etc.
I've always liked the Adventure section of Men's Journal. If you're a fan of adventure travel or racing, you'd find it interesting too. It's not about pro-baseball, football, basketball, or hockey. It's for the adventure spirit in all of us that wants to get outdoors and try new things.
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4. HEALTH & FITNESS:
If you're looking for all the news to make you fit, then you've come to the right place. This isn't just the section with workout tips and guidelines. (Actually, there weren't any workout tips in this section as one of the articles in FEATURES highlighted workout tips for rock climbing, surfing, biking, kayaking, and off-road running, so there wasn't a need for any more tips in the HEALTH & FITNESS section for the April 2001 issue). But this month's issue featured a few good health topics for guys to be concerned and informed about:
- Second Opinion: Lasik eye surgery.
- Nutrition: A new sports drink, GU20.
- Problem Man: Hirsute got you down?
- Dispatches: Quick health articles about aspirin, mad-cow in Europe, and etc.
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5. FASHION:
Ok, so Men's Journal isn't going to be like GQ with tons of pages on fashion and the newest trends. It usually only has about 5-15 pages worth of new looks for the modern man. I've noticed that most of this fashion is in a prep style (good for me). But if you're looking for tons of babes in bikinis, you'll be disappointed......try reading Maxim or FHM.
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6. EQUIPMENT:
Men's Journal features the newest equipment and gadgets for us guys out there. The new equipment featured may be various sporting gear for a snorkeling, various sunblock for the face & body, the latest in portable music players, GPS devices, watches, or etc. For April 2001, it was all about Home Theater and Motorcycles.
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So, who's it for?
So, if you haven't figured it out yet, Men's Journal isn't for everyone. I've guessed that the typical reader is a 25-45 year old male with a college degree. It's for the renaissance man with a variety of interests in current events, adventure, health, and etc. but not really for high schoolers or those just starting out in college. It's for those with some discretionary income who can go to the Bahamas to fish, Canada to mountain bike, and etc.
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If you'd like to check out some of the articles on Men's Journal, go to their website at:
http://www.mensjournal.com
From there, you can look up the current and back issues of the magazine with most of the articles online (except for the FEATURES section). You can also subscribe to the magazine there as well which currently costs $9.97 for 12 issues.
