Favorite Things

On this page is a list of my favorite things broken out into a few different categories. While these are all things (or people) that I recommend, this is not a “sales page.” In reality, I just want to keep track of, and over time, update the things that have positively impacted my life.

Affiliate Disclosure Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that if you click them and purchase the product, I may get a little bit of commission.
I have not been sponsored by anyone to share a product. If I no longer use it, I will remove it from this list. I'm not bound by affiliation to these products.

💲 denotes an affiliate link

Books

Amazon Kindle

I love everything about physical books. I thought Kindles were a corruption of a perfectly good thing. I was so wrong. I read more, smarter, and with greater ease with the Amazon Kindle.

Into the Wild (Jon Krakauer)

The only book I read every single year. No matter what. For me, no book has better-provoked my own reflection on what the human experience can be than this one.

Start With Why (Simon Sinek)

Discovering my WHY, HOW, and WHAT was an important milestone in my personal growth journey and this book was what showed me the way.

Business

A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting is who I trust to keep my website up and running 24/7. For an entrepreneur such as myself, the cost is economical and the customer service is always reliable. 💲

Films

The Shawshank Redemption

A beautifully moving story that demonstrates how life can be unfair and cruel but having hope and a dream is a powerful weapon. Favorite quote: "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

The Truman Show

With each passing year it becomes a more valuable reminder of the dangers of in-authenticity and the importance of being true to ourselves. Favorite quote: "Somebody help me, I'm being spontaneous!"

Fitness

Coros Pace 2 (sport watch)

I knew that if I was going to wear a watch every day it had to be lightweight and simple to use. The Coros Pace 2 is both these things and also packs a ton of awesome features that are perfect for helping me track of my health and fitness activities.

Strava

Strava is the app I use to track my runs and bike rides and compare fitness progress over time. It syncs beautifully across all my devices and has so much awesome data if you are like me and geek out over that kind of thing. (free + paid options)

Trek Bikes

I'm still relatively new to the world of biking, but Shannon and I loving our Trek bikes so far.
Evan's Bike: Verve 1
Shannon's Bike: 820 WSB

Hiking

Merrell (shoes)

I've tried many hiking shoes over the years and Merrell is the winner when it comes to providing traction and comfort. My current pair are the Merrell Moab Speed.

Innotree (socks)

Socks are the difference maker for me when it comes to getting or preventing blisters during long hikes. Innotree makes a product that is both durable and has never given me a single blister.

prAna - Zion series (pants)

At long last I have found my perfect hiking pants. The Zion series from prAna looks nice, has all the right features, and lasts forever. I've put hundreds of miles of hiking into pairs of these pants in tough conditions, and they don't show any wear.

REI Trailbreak Trekking Poles

Once you try using trekking poles on a hike with varied terrain, you will never want to experience life without them. Plus, your knees will absolutely thank you. Other brands have more expensive options with extra features or superior materials, but I love what you get with this pair from REI. Simple to use, reliable, and at a not-so-unreasonable price.

Money

Personal Capital

Personal Capital brings my entire portfolio (loans + savings + investments) together in a easy to navigate, yet powerful dashboard. (free + paid options)

Public

A free-to-use investing app that prioritizes both the educational and community aspect of the stock market world. When you sign up via my link you even get some free stock to get started. 💲

Organization

Airtable

If you've ever had a lot of information and no ideal way of organizing it, Airtable might be for you. It's got the strengths of Excel merged with easier to use features and better sharing options. 💲

Joplin

I've tried so many different note-taking apps over the years that I've lost count. Joplin wins for me because it is open source, fully encrypted, available on all my devices, and isn't cluttered with unnecessary features. (free)

Workflowy

My brain processes information best when there are bolded words, bullet points, and headers and subheaders. Workflowy is a tool that provides me a simple way to organize my most complex projects. 💲

People

Shannon Nickel

My best friend, wife, and one of the most caring and spectacular humans that makes every day my favorite day.

Derek Sivers

A profoundly unique thinker and writer who has deeply contributed to how I view the world around me.

Tom Davies

An adventurer and YouTuber who puts out videos that encourage familiarizing ourselves with the wonderful world around us.

Beau Miles

An adventurer and YouTuber who explores the importance of connecting with our planet and the people around us in big and small ways.

Harry Chapin

A musician and songwriter whose words and actions always inspire me to do a better job of loving the people in my life.

Stephen King

My favorite author (The Stand, The Shining, IT). Over the years I have attempted to collect every one of his books.

Taylor Swift

One of my favorite musical artists (Blank Space, Out of the Woods, You Belong With Me).

Tim Urban

One of my favorite bloggers who explores big questions of humanity.

Brandon Leonard

An adventurer, writer, and creator who has directly influenced my love of running.

Conan O'Brien

My favorite comedian/late-night talk show host who I find most entertaining in his travel shows.

Taika Waititi

My favorite director (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows, Jojo Rabbit).

Jon Krakauer

The author of my #1 favorite book: Into the Wild and one of the great adventurers of my era.

Productivity

Google Calendar

I love having a good old fashioned calendar around. I'm a planner and I like being able to schedule my time at the daily, weekly, and monthly levels. Google Calendar can do just that AND sync across all my devices.

Travel

AllTrails

AllTrails is an app/website must for anyone who loves hiking. All hikes can be filtered by location, distance, altitude gained, popularity, etc. so chances are it can find your next favorite hike.

Gaia GPS

Anytime I go off the beaten path I rely on Gaia GPS for my map needs. It has the best collection of layers available to cover all my topographic, nautical, and historical needs.

Google Maps

When I need to find out the quickest way to get somewhere: Google Maps. When I need to find a vegetarian restaurant that has more than 4.5 stars: Google Maps. When I need to create a custom map for my next road trip: Google Maps. If I could only have one app on my smartphone: Google Maps.

Google Earth

It currently doesn't play a direct role in my travels, but there is no website I enjoy using more than Google Earth.

WikiTravel

An incredibly useful resource for learning about any destination. As it's crowdsourced from thousands of travelers, it has information that you won't find anywhere else.

Airbnb

The place to go if you want to find that one-of-a-kind lodging destination or local experience. Traditional hotels are nice, but sometimes you just want that something different. 💲