It's that magical time of year again when people start doing home DIY projects. Whether you're painting the house or cleaning the gutters, you'll probably be spending a lot of time on a ladder. To make your life easier, use a LadderLimb to hold your work materials securely. The rubberized end fits snugly into the hollow rungs of most ladders, giving you…
The Travelmate Kit by Buck Knives is a portable toolset for preparing and eating food while traveling or out on the trail. It includes a wide, serrated butter knife, a fork—with integrated bottle opener, can opener, flathead screwdriver and even grill scraper—and an injection-molded sheath to hold it all together when you're not using it. It's a bit of a novelty item,…
The Leatherman Mako Ti Bike Tool, made from aerospace-grade titanium, packs several bike repair tools into a small, light package. It comes with everything listed below: A variety of box wrenches: 8mm, 9mm, 10mm, 15mm, and 16mm 14 and 15g spoke wrenches 5mm and 6mm Allen heads 2 Phillips head T25 Torx Bottle opener (it's not exactly a bike repair tool, but…
As any seasoned traveler knows, it isn't always easy to find enough power outlets to charge your various devices. It's also not very economical to carry an entire power strip around in your bag. This is where the Monster Outlets to Go 4-Outlet Power Strip comes in handy, despite it's overly long name. It sports four outlets (two on each side) in…
The next time you plan on packing some boxes, you might consider using this neat bookshelf masking tape. Made by Etsy shop LightLife, this tape will add a (dare I say) bookish flair to your stuff. Dimensions are 20mm x 5m, and a roll costs $6.75 + shipping from Taiwan.
One of the most important things you can have on a camping trip is a way to start a fire. The Sanborn Firestarter Kit ($16) fits the bill nicely, and includes the following: Eight cedar firestarters A match safe Some cedar kindling A small burlap bag to hold everything Sanborn is a company that makes great canoe paddles, and the scrap cedar…
From the department of things that are both tools and toys: ToolChess is a handsome, handmade chess set with pieces fashioned from everyday nuts and bolts. The sets are crafted by a father-son duo, and the proceeds help sponsor kids at one of their local chess schools. These guys put some great presentation into their product—every chess piece is finished with a…
It's a standard metric ruler on one edge (20cm), and a detailed city skyline stencil on the other. There's not a whole lot else I can say, other than that it looks awesome. They've got stencils for London (my favorite), Paris, New York, Berlin, Amsterdam, Toronto, and Jerusalem. Each one goes for $9.
When I was a kid, my dad was always stressing the importance of carrying a multitool. "You just never know when you're going to need one," he would say. He was often right too, but the habit never really stuck with me for whatever reason. But maybe that could change if I had something like the In1Case. It's an iPhone case that…
FiftyThree has just made another leap into the world of physical goods with a gadget called Pencil. Pencil is essentially an iPad stylus, but one with special features designed for use with their popular sketching app, Paper. Simply touch the stylus tip to the screen while Paper is open, and it will automatically pair via Bluetooth. From there, the app will be…
The PocketPlug is an iPhone case that comes with a built-in set of power prongs on the back, allowing you to charge your phone without having to carry an extra cable around with you. When not in use, the prongs fold flat and the PowerPlug acts as a normal case, providing some protection for your iPhone. Available in black for the 5/5s…
In early 2012 ,the original Capture Camera Clip System became an interesting and very popular alternative to wearing a camera strap. The company behind the project, Peak Design, has taken their success and ingenuity and poured them into creating a new version of the product: the Capture Camera Clip System v2. Like the original model, the Capture is a two-piece system: A…
Sure, there's something to be said about living alone out in the wilderness*, where no one will ever see you lugging firewood around — but that doesn't mean you can't still do it in style. The Felt Firewood Holder allows you to do just that, with a thick 100% wool construction that looks awesome (and is also very durable). There are nice…
These days, it feels like I'm one of the few people on the internet who hasn't yet started a podcast. Since my personal site runs on Squarespace, it would be a trivial matter to have a show hosted there, but I've never been one to put all my eggs in one basket. For example: the images are hosted off-site, my RSS feed…
One of our longtime favorite camera tripods has been the Joby GorillaPod, which has flexible legs for customizing your shooting setup — even if it means hanging the thing from a tree. If you've ever found yourself wishing for a similar setup for your smartphone, you're in luck because now the Joby people have released the MPod Mini Stand. With the original…
Readers of this site, being aficionados of fine technology, are likely no strangers to running out of charge when they need it most. Until battery tech improves such that it only takes one charge to power a smartphone for a week, most of us will need a backup plan at some point. Enter the Dark Energy Reservoir. This portable, rechargeable unit can…
What if you could somehow take the accessibility of a smartphone and pair it with the power of a point-and-shoot camera? Sony's new 'Smart Lens' QX series of cameras aims to do just that. Available for pre-order in two flavors – the smaller QX10 ($248) and the larger QX100 ($498) – these cameras essentially look like zoom lenses that you attach to…
The Black+Blum Heavy-Weight Tape Dispenser is exactly what the name implies. Weighing in at 2.2lbs, the heavy-duty body is made from aluminum and contains a cast iron core, while the blade itself is made from stainless steel and is quite sharp. Combined, this makes for a tape dispenser with a handsome industrial look that won't fly off the desk during one-handed use.…
If you do a lot of camping or hiking, you should check out the Exotac Matchcap waterproof match case. It's made of aircraft-grade aluminum and can hold quite a few strike-anywhere matches. It also has several types of built-in striker surfaces and a lanyard loop for convenience. This thing is very durable, will keep your matches dry, and it even floats on…
The Nomad Key Ring Lightning Cable ($25) is a miniature cable with a lightning adapter on one end and a USB plug on the other. It attaches to your key ring so you'll always have it with you when you need it. If you don't carry keys very often but do carry a bag everywhere you go, the Nomad fits quite nicely…