Return to Rugged

The iPad 2? No, thank you. What real men want right now: hard-wearing goods with back-to-nature appeal

Blame the dozens of hours a week you spend staring at a screen. Blame the Droid that buzzes at your bedside all night long. Blame the return of the beard, or the Avett Brothers. Suddenly, everywhere — including our very own tech-saturated Main Line — guys aged 20 through 70 are tiring of shiny new toys and expressing their weariness by seeking out hand-crafted, American-made, meant-to-at-least-look-like-you’re-going-camping-this-weekend garments, accessories and gear. The best scores are “heritage,” a.k.a. small-maker-made, built to improve with wear and last forever—even if you never, ever wear them mountain climbing, fly-fishing, bear trapping…

Maine Guide Boots by Yuketen, $655 at Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, 116 North 3rd Street, 215-922-2600.