More of Look at Men's Lifestyles with an Outdoors Twist
Written: Dec 10 '03 (Updated Nov 04 '08)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Applicable to a wide variety of men and their pursuits
Cons: Could claim that the magazine lacks an identity of its own
The Bottom Line: The bottom line is raring to go now that it took some horny goat weed
|
|
|
| jps246's Full Review: Men's Journal Magazine |
What do men do during their free time?
If you believe Men’s Journal, we’re all outdoor enthusiasts, who enjoy fine foods and wines, and who are great in bed.
Men’s Journal tries to answer this question monthly and sometimes succeeds and sometimes doesn’t quite get it – but in general, it’s a enjoyable read and worth the time it takes to flip through the magazine.
Published 12 times a year, Men’s Journal will cost you $3.95 an issue at the newsstand or $9.95 for a 1 year subscription. Online you can find subscriptions even cheaper. Each issue runs about 150 pages and about a third to a half of the magazine is devoted to the departments and stories of the magazine, the rest is made up of various advertisements. Ads run the gambit, but mostly focus on typical: liquor, watches, cologne and sex enhancements.
Men’s Journal is broken up into the typical magazine sections that include: Features, Adventure, Health and Fitness, Agenda, Style, Tools and Toys and Misc.
Features includes all of the cover stories and main articles in the magazine. Each article or story is about 6 to 10 pages long. The most recent issue (December 03) includes stories on Kid Rock, climbing in China, 50 Great Guy Movies, DNA testing and how to be a ski bum. The stories are all well written and generally enjoyable (if you are interested in the topic) to read through. Personally, I have no interest in Kid Rock, but I did enjoy the climbing story in China.
Adventure includes short tidbits and stories on various adventure destinations throughout the world, along with news and notes on these areas.
Health and Fitness is a series of articles on various topics in the health and fitness world. The current issue includes a story on sleep, removing tattoos and how to avoid tendonitis. Health and Fitness also includes a short “news and notes” section about the latest news in the health and fitness world.
Agenda includes various stories and articles that generally, don’t fit into any of the other categories. This includes stories on vacation getaways, cars, food and news about various items.
Style is fairly self evident, and is generally one or two stories on various topics dealing with styling or clothing. This month they talk about high-tech underwear for outdoor activities (and I’ve still just got polypropylene long-johns).
Finally, the Misc. section includes a review of the contributors to the issue (short introductions/biographies), a letters to the editor section and on the last page, “Trade Secrets,” where various professions are quickly profiled. In December they talk with Nick Powell, on how to stage a fall in the movies.
Do I want Men’s Journal?
Compared to most of the other “men’s” magazines, Men’s Journal is near to the top of my heap when I choose to read one. It’s not as fitness focused or repetitive as Men’s Health or as slick as say, Details. Most of the stories, articles and news appeal to a wide range of men and most men will probably find something that they really enjoy in each article. For me, I tend to gravitate towards the outdoor articles and such, but in general, I do enjoy the whole magazine.
I do not have a subscription to Men’s Journal, but I do pick it up at the newsstand fairly frequently – probably around 4 or 5 times a year. Generally it’s when I see a cover that grabs my attention that I pick up an issue. At one time I did have a subscription (about 2 years ago), but I let it lapse, not because of the price ($9.95 is a pretty good deal), but because by getting it monthly, there was not enough personally to keep me interested. I think of this as a “once and a while” magazine nowadays and stick to picking it up at the newsstand when the mood grabs me.
And just one final thought, why does any men’s magazine, gay or straight have to include the prerequisite sexual enhancement and phone section advertising in the back? Are we all so insecure with our size that we need to add inches, or so desperate for some fun that we call a phone sex line? I don’t know the answer – but I know that I’m not and I would think that most of us are not – but who knows – if the advertisements are there, then someone must be taking advantage of them. I’m just not sure I could take something called “horny goat weed” and feel that safe taking it. But however the answer to this question falls, it does not take away from the fact that Men’s Journal is worth reading.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.