Thanks to all of our readers who have written in to notify us about malware warnings that the site has prompted in the past couple days. I wanted to update you that the malware was all removed by Thursday afternoon, although it took a bit longer for the warning messages to come down.

Please accept my apologies for not publishing this notice sooner. When we discovered the issue, we immediately and completely locked down site publishing for the clean-up and initial diagnosis, hence the silence on our end. I do want to address a couple of specific concerns you may have. The malware that the hackers injected onto the site was located in an invisible link -- this is not something you could have accidentally "clicked on." So visiting Cool Tools would not put you in any danger of malware. The reason these folks embed links in high-traffic sites like this in order to get higher page ranks from Google. Second, our sys admin has tested the site extensively on multiple machines, both Windows and OSX -- all of our machines remain uninfected.

We're continuing site updates this weekend and should be back to a normal publishing schedule Monday morning. You may notice some lag time in comment publication until then. Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience, and our thanks and appreciation for your concern.

-- CC

We need your input. Can you tell us about any of the following?

Online source for 3D table maps from around the world
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Pro-quality online photo printing service with poster-size print capabilities
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Best beginner's field guide to North American insects
Best guide to growing medicinal herbs

What do you use and love? Tell us about it. Tell me about it: elon {at} schoenholz.com

Keith Smith published Non-Adhesive Binding in 1990. At the time there were few other bookbinding manuals in print (and in comparison with other crafts, there still aren’t many). Books by Arthur Johnson, Edith Diehl and Douglas Cockerell offered instruction according to specific craft tradition. These manuals told how to bind a book with very little room for creativity other than decorative choices (what color would you like the leather on the spine to be?). The books were hard to find and contained long lists of tools and desirable equipment that a bookbinder should have.

Keith Smith’s book is completely different. He illustrates basic techniques that can be used to create a wide variety of bindings. He encourages the binder to explore how books move, how structural variations influence that movement, and how both movement and structure can lead the binder to fully engage the creative intent of the author’s work. He is even more enthusiastic about the possibilities for binders who are the creators of content or those who we now call book artists.

I started bookbinding in 1991 and Keith Smith’s Non-Adhesive Bookbinding was the first manual I ever bought. As Smith required very few tools and almost no equipment, I was able immediately to start making dozens of books based on his instructions. His drawings of often complex sewing patterns sometimes confused me (and sometimes still do!), but after having now tried to illustrate bookbinding or repair techniques of my own, I’m amazed at how much he conveys so clearly.

It has become more apparent to me with time and experience that his book is a deeper resource than it may first appear. While his methods are simple and often result in astonishingly modern looking bindings, his book is profoundly informed by historical methods and models. Unlike a bookbinding manual that represents a defined tradition, he uses the knowledge of earlier binders to encourage new binders to create their own paths.

Smith’s Non-Adhesive Binding may be almost 20 years old, but it remains a vital resource for bookbinders, book artists, and anyone who wants to creatively understand the book form.

Far and away the best travel mug I've used is the Contigo Autoseal Stainless Steel Mug. The Autoseal mechanism is the most leak-proof design I've found; it seals automatically when you're not actively drinking from it, so there's no worry about knocking it over with the top open. This is the only mug I'll use around my computers now.

I had a terrible experience with the Oxo mug. It was impossible to clean due to the enclosed design of the lid, and eventually accumulated way too much gunk inside for me to be comfortable using it. The lid on Contigo’s mug is fairly open and easy to clean, and the entire thing is dishwasher safe, though they also sell a model with a colored body that isn't. They sell replacement lids for $7 if you have a problem, but I've been using four of them for over a year in heavy rotation with no issues.

Contigo also makes plastic smaller containers for kids and larger water bottles (both of which are BPA-free) with the same Autoseal design.

One way to keep fingerprints off of a quality lens is to keep a filter on the lens at all times. If you prefer not to, or get a print on a lens while changing filters, this small tool will come in handy. The Lenspen offers two cleaning options. On one end, there’s a retractable dust brush. I just extend the brush, and sweep away any visible dust particles. I also use the brush every time I replace the lens. Dust particles almost always appear around the area where the lens and camera body meet. I make sure to clean up this area before removing and changing lenses, thus reducing the chance of getting dust on the sensor.

The Lenspen’s other end, has "a special non-liquid cleaning element" that can be used for more aggressive cleaning. Wipe it over the lens and magically watch fingerprints disappear. The manufacturer explains that there’s a carbon compound under the cap that cleans lenses much like the ink in newspaper works to clean glass. It does work. It can be used many times over, as long as every time you put the cap back on and rotate it, to clean and recharge the pad.

This has become my most used cleaning tool, second only to the Giottos Rocket Blaster. And the two complement each other: while the Lenspen works to clean the glass surfaces of the lens and the camera’s lens mount, I use the Rocket to remove dust from the sensor.

There are so many baby carriers on the market right now, and I've tried a good deal of them: various slings, the Ergo Baby (previously reviewed), Baby Bjorn, and the like all tend to put the bulk of the baby's weight on one part of the back. While there is some distribution with shoulder or hip straps, the weight is still focused primarily on one area (shoulder/hips). I had seen the Moby Wrap and had decidedly avoided trying it, as it looked complicated and uncomfortable. A friend finally convinced me to try one, and I fell in love.

Not only is my baby securely snuggled up against my body, but it is incredibly comfortable to wear. It looks to be about 20 feet of fabric that you wrap around your body and slip the baby into. No doubt based on some age-old method of carrying babies, it is by far the most comfortable and versatile carrier I've seen. Because it crosses around your body so many times in different locations, it distributes the weight of the child to a variety of places: shoulders, upper back, lower back and hips. Plus, the baby can face forwards, backwards or sideways when worn on your front, and she can be worn on your hips or back as well.

While it does require an introduction on how to put it on, once you have figured out how it works, it could not be simpler to use. The basic concept is that you create a cross of fabric on your body and slip the baby between you and the cross, with her legs hanging out between. Also, because of the criss-cross over your shoulders you can nestle the baby's head under the wrap, allowing full protection from the sun or, more importantly for the new parent, a quiet zone in which to nap, even at a bustling market. For all its simplicity this is simply the best baby carrier available.

There are several variations on this idea -- one with rings, one made of more stretchy material, one with fancy patterns -- from various manufacturers, but the basic design is all the same -- wrap the fabric around your body, slide the baby in and enjoy.

Shovels get stuck turning thick compost piles. A garden fork, known also as a compost or spading fork, moves more freely through the debris, and is my favorite means of turning compost, a task that, with this tool, I enjoy. I’ve seen devices such as the Compost Crank, designed solely for aerating a pile of decomposing organic matter, but they’re apparently not up for much else.

I value my garden fork because it’s also the best tool I have for aerating soil without tilling it. It’s good for lifting and moving stuff around the garden, some digging and uprooting, too. I bought mine from Seeds of Change a few years ago, recommended by a friend who’s had one for many years. It has a hearty ash handle and a head of four pointy sharp carbon steel tines. There surely are other worthy versions of this essential garden tool. I’m more than happy with this one.

What got me started on the Really Right Stuff products was just the idea of committing to a system that would work with everything. Their tripod head consists of three components: an L-bracket custom made for your camera model; a standardized Arca-Swiss-style quick-release clamping plate; and the ballhead base, itself. Committing to this system is a big expense. The fact that each new piece continually adds more value makes it easier to justify. This system’s advantages over something such as a simpler Manfrotto ballhead with a quick-release plate are increased stability and quicker changes from portrait to landscape mode.

RRS is big on system synergy. They are top-notch, beautifully made, perfect products. I have a BH-40 Ballhead on a Gitzo tripod as my main rig and a BH-25 on a Gitzo Traveler for an ultralight rig, perfect for backpacking. Each of my cameras -- Nikon D200 and Canon G9 -- has an RRS L-plate, which makes for a quick and solid connection atop both tripods, either in landscape or portrait mode.

Of the two ballheads, the BH-25 is my favorite for its super compactness. When I’m traveling or backpacking, I need a lightweight, minimal setup. The BH-25 paired with Gitzo’s Traveler is it.

I’ve been using the RRS products for about five years now, and I have to admit that part of the appeal is simply the joy of using perfectly made gear. Sometimes the tools can inspire us.

Traveling with my family, I prefer staying in houses to sterile hotel rooms. Eating out gets tired after a few nights, and I like to have a full kitchen to make a home-cooked meal. If we’re visiting a city where friends live, we’ll cook a meal and have them over. It’s more comfortable and feels homier.

VRBO.com is an excellent means of finding reasonably priced accommodations, in the U.S. and abroad, that are often larger and more comfortable than hotel rooms, at a lower price. I’ve used it to find great short-term vacation rentals in California, Michigan and Florida. Making arrangements with the homeowners or property managers is easily handled through e-mail, and a deposit is usually required. You do have to clean up after yourself a little more than you would in a hotel room, but the savings and access to a city’s residential neighborhoods rather than its commercial districts make it a worthwhile exchange.

My work includes design and fabrication for an antenna measurement systems company. For years we had used a modular building product that was very expensive and not adequately flexible. It was also limiting in its lack of accessories. Worse still was its 6-8 week lead time for parts orders. I started looking and discovered 80/20, which not only eliminated all of the negative aspects of the old product, but even provided many new benefits. It isn't cheap, but it is a great value. We all know that for the most part, you really do get what you pay for. Cheap products usually aren't good, and good products usually aren't cheap.

Firstly, its modular design is fantastic. It allows prototyping of fixtures, stands, bases and many other items we need to build for in-house use or bring to market very quickly. The number of accessories available is mind boggling. They have wheels, handles, latches, panels, leveling feet, linear slides, hinges and many more components. You can build some pretty slick items and it all just bolts together with a few simple hand tools. The finished product looks very professional, as all of the individual components are designed to work together.

All components are pre-finished. Our in-house fabricated and/or machined assemblies require outside processing (anodizing, cadmium plating, painting or powder coating), which means additional time and cost. With the 80/20, all structural extrusions and components already come painted, powder coated or anodized -- simply assemble and ship.

While 80/20 certainly will find more applications in an industrial environment, where the cost is also offset by the utility, the possibilities for home use are limited only by your imagination. You could build things such as a work bench, bicycle storage system, cabinets, stands or many other home items that will likely last a lifetime.

As with anything, 80/20 has its limitations but they are far outweighed by its capabilities. I have discovered zero fault with this product. Many of our products require very large, product-specific and engineered weldments and machined assemblies. The 80/20 will never fulfill all of our needs, but for the smaller systems we frequently design and build this "Industrial Erector Set" is superb.

I live in a 112-year-old brick house. Brick lasts a long time. Mortar does not. Most of my house’s tuck pointing is in great condition, but a few isolated spots are almost completely devoid of mortar. Small spots, but bothersome. And bound to become bigger spots if I don’t take care of them soon. So today I decided to take care of them.

I assumed that I would mix mortar for the repairs, but the prospect of carrying a 60-pound bag of dry mix inspired a change of heart. Scrounging around Home Depot’s cement aisle I stumbled upon Quikrete Mortar Repair. It’s sold in tubes for use in a caulking gun, but it’s not caulking. It’s a sanded acrylic designed to do the job of mortar, without the mess of mixing and applying the real stuff by hand.

The square applicator tip is supposed to make finishing the surface easier, and in fact it worked well. Although a wet finger did an equally nice job. Water is key to patching mortar, and with this stuff a wet sponge was extra helpful not only for smoothing the mortar as it cured but for wiping excess off the face of the bricks.

The 10-ounce tube cost me about $4; still a premium over dry mix. (It’s also available in a 5.5-ounce hand-squeezable size.) But for the handful of single-brick-sized repairs I needed to make, I was very thankful to avoid the setup and cleanup that mortar mix would have required. Not to mention the hassle of effectively getting the mortar from my unskilled hands into the open joints.

It is neither practical nor advisable to use Quikrete Mortar Repair to cover a large area of wall. The acrylic isn’t designed for structural tuck pointing so much as it is intended to fill in the gaps and keep water out—which is crucial if you want your brick wall to last a long time.

A really great chef knife will be insanely sharp, yet retain its edge easily, and be well balanced and welcoming to hold. These days a decent high-grade chef knife can cost between $100-$200. Several cooking publications (including Cook's Illustrated) recently identified a bargain $27 chef knife that in their tests rated just about as good as the $100 plus knives. This is the one we use.

The Forschner Victorinox is a hybrid of a thin Japanese blade with its 15 degree edge (western knives have a 20 degree edge) but with the longer, broader blade of European knives. It is lightweight, nicely balanced, and lethally sharp. It has a comfortable very grippy handle that won't slip even when wet. We have 5 cooks at our household and this is the knife they all grab first. It may not be as super great as the chef knives previously reviewed, but for the $27 price it can't be beat.

Bicycle saddles, like beds, should be firm, with pressure mainly on the sit bones. Lying down on a bed, the pressure is spread throughout our bodies, but on a bike, a good percentage of our upper body weight is bearing down on the saddle area. The problem with a soft bike saddle is that it can create pressure in places where it's not healthy to have pressure. Numbness and other problems can stem from that. A padded short, combined with a firm saddle that fits your dimensions, puts targeted cushioning only where you need it, and minimizes pressure in sensitive areas.

I ride in different ways at different times. Slow, less slow, with groceries, out to dinner at a nice restaurant, for a three-hour stretch or for a quick 15 minutes away from my computer. It's been my experience that the longer I spend on a ride, and the harder I'm exerting myself, the more I appreciate highly technical clothing, commonly referred to as Lycra or a pro kit. The skintight stuff. The contoured, articulated padding (or chamois) in high-end cycling shorts by makers such as Pearl Izumi, Castelli and Assos, can go a long way toward increasing comfort for those who ride road and mountain bikes for hours at a time.

However, a lot of people don't like the look of Lycra, and not everyone can get away with skintight bike clothing. And not everyone needs to. Some riders like to have padded shorts, but also to appear civil when they dismount their bikes and enter a business or their office for the day's work. There are plenty of padded shorts intended to be worn under regular clothing, but I've found them to be generally flawed. They're designed as scaled-down versions of the aforementioned Lycra style and are uncomfortably underventilated.

Andiamo's garment design approaches the problem from the opposite, um, end. It's lightweight underwear, with a pad added. I wouldn't attempt a century in these, or even half that, but I've found them excellent for commutes, errands and other plainclothes spins, less likely to make me miserable if I don't get a chance to change as soon as I'm off my bike. They're more breathable and lightweight than anything similar I've tried.

I live in London, which is pretty rainy, and so the Knirps X1 I’ve had for many years has seen plenty of use. It’s both highly durable and extremely compact: it folds down to the size of a two D-cell Maglite (about 6 ½ inches). Folded, it’s much smaller than the GoLite umbrella previously reviewed on Cool Tools, which is 25.5 inches long and doesn’t collapse. The Knirps is just a few grams heavier, and its coverage radius (37 inches) is 16 inches wider than the GoLite’s.

It's an excellent compact umbrella, but the trade-off for its extreme portability is a too-small handle. The minimal size of the X1 leaves little room for a proper handle, and therefore the design incorporates a shallow cup into which the canopy tips slot when the umbrella is folded. The cup is about an inch and a half in diameter — too small and shallow to offer much purchase in windy weather.

This makes using the wrist-loop (which, to its credit, is strong and firmly attached to the cup) a must. I hold the cup low in my hand and grip the tube above it like a golf club — thumb pressed on the tube, with the first two fingers wrapped around it. This isn’t so comfortable for prolonged use, but it’s enough to hold the umbrella steady in gusty weather, although not steady enough to stop it being blown about a bit.

I've been using Storus' simple wallet/money clip for four years now, and highly recommend it. It's just enough wallet to qualify as one, but no more: light, simple, minimalist. The money clip is great, and the other side can hold five credit cards. The cards are wedged in there -- the channel gets narrower as the card slides in. I carry my ID facing out, plus four credit cards. It's a bit tight like that, but it works. As few as one or two cards still works fine, though, and they won’t slide out.

-- Luke Kanies

I have used the smart money clip for six years. No more wallet, just the five cards I use all the time, and a little bit of cash if someone doesn’t want to take my MasterCard. It keeps my pockets free, and I have never seen anything else like it.

-- Jeremy Sluyters

Look on the hands of the person wrangling chairs or patrolling at your local ski hill. You'll probably see an old-school insulated leather glove made by workwear supplier Kinco. Now, there are slightly warmer and more dexterous technical gloves out there made specifically for skiing, but would you change your oil or weld with $100 Hestra Army gloves? I haven't found a more durable, warm, or better value work glove than Kinco’s for the cold and snow.

The pair I have so far has lasted through four years of welding, skiing, snow shoveling and carpentry. They've been drenched in motor oil, covered in antifreeze, and nearly frozen solid in an ice storm while I was skiing. My hands have stayed happy.

The most care they require is a coat or two of Sno-Seal every season. Unlike synthetic gloves, they aren't fazed by heat and flame. I've found that the Kinco 901 gloves paired with some cheap silk liners is enough to keep my hands warm until it gets below 5F or so.

I am always looking for offbeat educational places to visit on my travels. The Geek Atlas has rounded up 128 great candidates from around the world. The Atlas calls them "places where science and technology come alive." I think of these destinations as places that make you think. The possibilities run the gamut from birthplaces of famous inventors and scientists (yawn) to really cool tours of working technological systems (a nuclear power plant, a dam turbine, a solar furnace) to a spectrum of interesting but little known museums, to just cool places like the prime meridian. A lot of these destinations are in the US and UK, but a fair number hail elsewhere. In addition to a description of a destination, author Graham-Cumming writes up a page explaining the key concept behind each spot. I've visited a dozen of these science hot spots and they are well worth a short detour, or in some cases a trip just for the purpose. You could probably fill another volume of brainy tourist traps missed by this book: I predict a sequel.

Artful Sentences has increased my understanding as to how syntax creates and conveys meaning. Virginia Tufte guides the reader through more than a thousand sentences she’s culled from some of the best writing of the 20th and 21st centuries. Her commentaries highlight the (easily overlooked) contribution of syntax to the expressive success of a well-crafted sentence.

This book is unlike any other on writing I’ve seen. It is not about basic rules. It is not a standardized style guide to be used as a reference manual. Artful Sentences is divided up into 14 chapters; each chapter covers a different concept related to syntax. Tufte provides her analysis first and then follows with an example. Sometimes she quotes an entire paragraph to demonstrate the impact the chosen sentence has within its original context.

Don’t let dry chapter titles such as “Short Sentences,” “Noun Phrases,” “Prepositions,” etc., deter you; the content is highly academic and at times dense, but it's a pleasurable read in proper doses. I prefer to explore Artful Sentences in short spurts. The sample sentences often catch my attention first and then I dig in to see what Tufte says about them. (You can also use the index to choose a favorite author and then search out his/her quotes.) I process what I’ve read and return to the book at a later time -- opening it up to any one of its 14 chapters and starting again. Reading Tufte’s book gives me the immediate pleasure of saying, “Damn, that’s a good sentence!” often followed by, “Now how do I create one of my own?” The experience is similar to learning about visual art or playing music.

I haven't tried the Thermapen, but I still think I'd prefer the Polder timer/thermometer because of the 43-inch cord that runs from the thermometer to the probe. It allows me to place the thermometer outside of the oven, magnetically attached to the oven’s side. I like being able to hold the thermometer in my hands and adjust the cook time, or reset the finish temperature while the dish I’m preparing is still in the oven and the thermometer is actively taking a reading. The Polder thermometer also allows me to preset a desired temperature (one high and one low, simultaneously), so when that temperature is reached, the unit’s beeping alarm sounds. I use it to check the temperature of liquids and meats, and my 8-year-old son has even used it to check the temperature outside -- you can insert the metal probe underneath your window, and it's quite accurate.

The timer function (which counts up or down) is very handy, not only for setting my cook time, but for a range of household uses (such as, "You have three minutes to pick up your room before I come in with a trash bag that's headed for Goodwill!"). Best of all, we’ve had ours for at least four years, have dropped it many times, and the thing is amazingly durable. A final handy feature is that I can set it to display in Celsius or Fahrenheit, which proved to be a huge help when we spent some time living in Ireland. I had my American recipe books and was able to use the Polder thermometer to convert temperatures for our Celsius-based oven.

I used to use dish soap to clean oil paint from my brushes and my hands, but it didn’t do a great job. My brushes didn’t get perfectly clean and didn’t last long. My hands were raw because I had to use a wire scrub brush with the dish soap, removing not only the paint but the top layer of my skin, too. A friend told me about The Masters brush cleaner and hand soap, both of which work better than anything else I’ve seen.

This soap’s not cheap. I paint a lot, and therefore go through tubs quickly. Still, the brush soap’s a great product, and it has allowed me to continue to use the same $.99 brush for the past year, if not longer.

The pumice-like brush soap has a little grit to it, and I’ve found it leaves a bit of residue on the towel I use to dry my brush. I can wipe my hands on the towel afterwards, and get them mostly clean. I keep The Masters hand soap bar around for the finishing touches.

Naturalist David Sibley, like Tory Peterson before him, made his reputation painting and annotating birds before expanding to other biological realms. Sibley's guides to birds and bird behavior (recommended on Cool Tools) are the best all-around guides to the birds of North America. Sibley's beats out Peterson's, and the dozens of others published today. Sibley's newest book, also written and illustrated by him, is the best all-around guide to the trees of North America, again displacing the many other field guides to trees in print.

Sibley's illustrations are clear, crisp, and accurate. He manages to maintain distinctions in tree types where species get fuzzy, like in the oaks, or firs. His maps are specific. He includes more parts of the tree than most guides -- buds, bark, branches, seeds, silhouettes, flowers, cones, etc. -- which really help in identification. And he includes not only native trees but many feral varieties, and even widely planted ornamentals. One detail I appreciate: he lists alternative common names to trees, since trees seem to have local names.

With Sibley's guide I've been able to identify more trees than with other guides. However the book is big, not at all pocketable, or the kind of thing you are likely to take with you into the field on a hike. Perhaps future editions might remedy this. I use this quality softcover edition (a delight to browse) by taking samples and photos outside and returning home to identify.

While the need for a two-legged kickstand on a large tandem is fairly obvious, it’s not as clear why you’d need one for smaller bikes -- until you start riding with children aboard. Whether you’re using a front-mounted Kangaroo WeeRide or a traditional rear-mounted child seat, preventing the bike from falling over when a child is strapped into the seat is a serious safety concern.

I first saw this Pletscher kickstand about seven years ago, when it came on our Bike Friday Family Triple. It’s an aluminum kickstand with two legs; the second pivots via a cam mechanism, so that it stows alongside the first leg. Made in Switzerland, it’s a cool piece of hardware for the folding design alone. Stowed, it looks like a standard Greenfield kickstand, with an extra leg.

The double-legged stand makes a big or heavily loaded bike far more stable when you dismount, and it can also double as a makeshift workstand for back-end fixes, as it lifts the rear wheel off the ground. We now have two bikes outfitted with this kickstand, and with our youngest still 17 months old, we’re considering a third.

I’ve had this coffee mug for about five years (coincidentally the length of the warranty), and it’s held up very well. It keeps stuff hot, and is usually on-hand thanks to the included carabiner.

I haven’t tried the OXO Liquiseal Travel Mug for comparison, but my Thermos Nissan mug is very easy to keep clean. It’s dishwasher safe; the OXO mug isn’t. The lid on my mug can be popped apart with a small coin for cleaning, and its silicone O-ring is also easily removed if it needs a wash. The bottom rubber cap can also be pulled off to be cleaned, and the black silicone hand grip around the mug can be removed, too.

I am never worried about leaks in my car, on my camera bag or inside my backpack. I love the handle-ring combination because the handle fits into my pocket while the mug remains outside; though not the most secure way to carry the mug, it is a great option when my hands are full. When I lose or destroy this mug I'm going to get the exact same one because it is the ultimate on-the-go coffee cup.

There are few chores I remember from my years growing up on my family’s Missouri farm more thankless, backbreaking, low paying and messier than picking up black walnuts. Our yards had numerous walnut trees, which every autumn produced as many walnuts as there were large whirring cicadas in their giant canopies. Picking them up, however, wasn't just done for the pocket change my brother and I earned as much as it was necessary to get them off the ground and out of the lawnmower's path. As walnuts lay in the grass their soft pulpy shells quickly turn mushy and black, oozing a dark staining juice that makes them unpleasant to handle.

Enter the most effective tool I've come across in a long time, the Nut Wizard. My brother discovered this tool on the Internet and brought one over to our farm during a recent family reunion, amazing everyone with its utility. So simple and elegant, the Nut Wizard is a wire basket reminiscent of an egg whisk, attached to rotating hubs on either end with a long wooden pole handle. You roll the wire basket around on the ground and walnuts or other similarly sized objects just pop right into it. When it's full, you simply lower the wire basket onto a heavy wire spreader (included) that clips onto the top of any five-gallon bucket and, voila, the gathered contents are quickly dumped!

I was impressed that it succeeds in picking up walnuts that have embedded themselves deep in the grass, as well as those that have lost their outer soft shell. Gooey walnuts are picked right up, and sometimes if the outer shells are really rotten, the messy parts get left behind and the rotating basket picks up just the more woody inner shell. By far the most impressive feat of the Nut Wizard is how it can get kids arguing over who gets to push it around the yard.

This tool is available in three sizes, collectively capable of picking up a wide range of items: acorns, pecans, hickory nuts, chestnuts, marbles, apples, baseballs, tennis balls, golf balls. And there's also now an even smaller version, the Ammo Wizard, that will pick up spent bullet casings.

Sleep-deprived nursing mothers need to be aware of time, specifically when a middle-of-the-night feeding begins and how long it lasts. Projection clocks make keeping track of time easier. Another mother told me about these clocks, and I bought one for each of the rooms I spent late-night/early-morning dazed hours with my newborn daughter.

Like the previously reviewed Analog Atomic Wall Clock, this is an atomic self-setting timekeeper, so Daylight Saving changes occur automatically. While the clock’s face is visible from a fair distance, the unobtrusive projected red readout measures about 10 inches across when the clock’s placed at a distance of about 6 feet from the ceiling, so it’s legible from any point in a small- to medium-sized room. It doesn’t, however, show up at all in a bright room. Oregon Scientific makes a projection clock that’s bright enough to read during daylight hours, but it costs significantly more.

Projection aside, Oregon Scientific’s Projection Clock functions reliably as a user-friendly and intuitively simple alarm clock. It also displays room temperature. My daughter’s older now and I’m no longer nursing, but I still enjoy being able to just open my eyes in bed and see the time displayed on the ceiling, without having to roll over or contort my neck or body in any way to check the clock.

For the longest time I was one of those motorcyclists you see walking along the street carrying his helmet everywhere he goes. I didn’t trust the flimsy D-ring lock that came with my motorcycle: it wasn’t strong enough, and it left my helmet strap vulnerable to being cut. I wasn’t interested in carrying a cable lock in my pocket, in case I crashed and landed right on it.

The solution I found, and have been using for seven months now, is the HelmetSecure. It attaches to my handlebars, and stays there, using hidden bolts that are only accessible if you have the key. I arrive at my destination, loop the 15in.-long integral steel cable through the face of my helmet (and the D-ring of a second helmet too, if I have a passenger) and leave it behind.

And the lock looks great. It’s show-quality chrome, and I get plenty of questions about it. It fits the round handlebars on my Ducati, but it also comes with rubber spacers to fit Harleys and a range of different handlebars.

When I bought my refrigerator it wasn’t until it had been delivered that I realized there was no light in the freezer compartment. It wasn’t enough of a pain to go through exchanging refrigerators, but for the past 15 or so years, it’s been a minor annoyance, requiring me to turn on a kitchen light to see what’s in there. Until I remembered these motion-sensing LED lights I’d already placed in about a dozen spots throughout my house. Who says I can’t put one of those in the freezer compartment, such that the motion of opening the door turns on the light? So I did just that and darned if it doesn’t work beautifully. Better 15 years late than never.

These small Philips lights (3.1 x 2.7 x 0.8 in ) automatically go on when something in their motion-sensing field moves, give a nice bright light, and automatically turn off after 15-20 seconds without detectable motion. I’ve found them great for closets, cupboards and cabinets -- much better than those press-to-turn-on iterations that automatically go off but require you to first find them in the dark to turn them on.

You have three ways to mount them if you choose that option: included double-sided adhesive pad; included magnets; screws/nails through the pre-drilled holes in the back panel. Battery replacements are simple and don’t require dismounting. The one change I’d like to see would be an off switch to disable them during daylight hours.

- Place that will print your own custom-designed wallpaper in small runs
- Best (cheapest/most efficient) dimmable replacement for a 60-watt tungsten bulb
- Ideal backpacking tripod, sufficient for an SLR
- Best super-compact folding umbrella that won't fall apart in a week
- Best projection clock

Is there a tool you use and love, not on this list and not in the archive? Tell us about it. We look forward to hearing from you.

-- es (elon {at} schoenholz dot com)

The MountainSmith Day Pack is a cool tool that I've been using continuously for eight years now, and can't imagine how I lived without it prior to that. It can be carried with the shoulder strap like a messenger or shoulder bag, by the handles like a normal utility bag or using the comfortable lumbar waistbelt.

The size of this pack is ideal for me, with enough room for a 12" PowerBook and a couple of books or a full-size DSLR with spare lenses and room left over. The two water bottle pockets give easy access to water when hiking or walking. The bag’s exterior has multiple points to strap or clip to (extending carrying capacity) and the elastic rigging adds flexibility as well. The main compartment has an additional hanging pocket that is a great place to keep a few pens, a small Moleskine and more.

After seven years using my original Day Pack, I upgraded to the new model last year, which has some design improvements and is made from 100% recycled PET plastics.

--Mark Helberg

You can carry a Mountainsmith over one shoulder, two shoulders, in your hand or clipped onto your hips -- like a fannypack but not a fannypack. The belt cinches the pack into you; properly adjusted, it's as close to you as your own skin. No sway, no shift, no rub.

Buy a Day or Tour pack with Strapettes, to convert it into a daypack, and your grandkids will inherit it and take it to space camp on the moon.

-- Jeff Pulice

I set out to replace the boards on our backyard deck this summer, and initially tried removing the old boards with a three-foot crowbar. The main problem was getting it between the deck board and the joist, so I could start prying. This required a hammer to drive it under the board. Then with a lot of effort, time and hammering I eventually removed one board. Clearly not the way to do the entire deck.

After some searching I discovered the Duckbill Deck Wrecker. This thing is a monster. It sits on the joist and has two legs that straddle the joist and slip under the board you’re removing. With almost 4 1/2 feet of leverage it’s easy to pry up the board, progressing along its length every one or two joists. You stand on the old section of deck and push the handle of the Duckbill up, thus prying up the old board in front of you. As far as other tools go, Mayhew’s Cats Paw functions with a similar design, though without the rotating head. The Cats Paw has a little less leverage and costs a little more.

The first, outermost, board(s) must be removed some other way to expose enough joist so that the Duckbill can fit under a board. As you make your way closer to the house -- putting down new boards as you take old ones up -- eventually there isn’t room to stand behind the Duckbill. At this point you remove the Duckbill head (it’s pinned to the shaft and can be rotated 180°), turn it around and now you are standing on the new decking and pulling the handle of the Duckbill to remove the last few old boards.

I’m sure I will find some other uses for this thing, but even if it’s only good for decks, it was well worth the money.

We’ve been using this book for nearly two years. We bought it because we were tired of having to resort to Tylenol and/or Ibuprofen for all of our now three-year-old son’s ailments. It’s written by a practitioner of natural medicine, a medical doctor and a pediatric nurse. Since the three authors each contribute her/his respective specialties, Smart Medicine offers remedies in various forms, from conventional treatments to more holistic ones such as homeopathy and acupressure.

Its excellent content paired with Smart Medicine’s practical organization is what makes it better than similar books. The entire volume is a concise A-to-Z reference guide for common childhood illnesses and symptoms, broken down into sections of treatments, supplements, homeopathy, general recommendations and prevention. Dosage charts are clearly laid out and simple to follow. (It’s even become our go-to book for ourselves because the age-appropriate dosage guideline makes it easy to calculate for all ages.)

It’s such a great all-in-one guide, we don't need any other books on the subject. We love this book so much, we give or recommend it to new parents who are looking for alternative choices and ways to play a greater, more informed role, in their child’s healthcare.

I often carry far too much stuff in my pockets, and these pants allow me to do so without showing it. They’re durable, and I have not been able to find any other pants that do what these do. I wear these and Scottevest’s Ultimate cargo pants almost exclusively, because after wearing each type a few times, standard pants with standard pockets feel awkward.

The Hidden Cargo Pants are more formal than the Ultimate Cargos, or 5.11 Tactical Pants. The Hidden Cargos feel more like dress pants. The main difference between the Ultimate and Hidden is that the Ultimate have a rougher fabric, cargo pockets, and zip-off lower legs. The main pocket suspension is the same.

Access to pockets is excellent in the Hidden Cargos. The main pockets on each side of the front consist of three pockets in one. There’s a magnetic clasp to access the outer pockets, which are very large (they come down almost to the knee) and are divided into front and back sections.

As long as you’re wearing a good belt it doesn’t really get too heavy. The design of the pockets means it is far less cumbersome than standard pants, but it can, of course, get cumbersome if you really stuff them full-- which would be a feat. Without a good belt, however, the pants can get a bit heavy and slide down if they are loaded with stuff.

What do I fill my pockets with? I always carry around a large wallet, pen, comb, Chapstick, rosary, large thumb drive, Leatherman, phone, palm tungsten T5 (in large metal case) and a handkerchief. I carry it all in the front pockets, as I feel uncomfortable sitting with stuff in my back pockets. These are enough large items to produce a noticeable bulge in standard pants; in the Hidden Cargo Pants, there’s no noticeable bulge most of the time.

I like to have a few essential tools with me at all times: my Swiss Army knife, a keychain LED flashlight, a pocket notebook and a pen for scribbling notes whenever inspiration strikes.

I’d searched a long time for a pen that was small enough to carry around in my pocket, yet comfortable to write with and reliable enough to work every time I needed it. I finally found it with the Fisher Space Pen.

Everyone has heard of the legendary Space Pen, which was developed for the space program and writes upside down, under water and in extreme temperatures. They make many different varieties of the Space Pen, but the most useful and elegant is the Bullet (pictured alongside Uniball).

The Fisher Bullet is in two pieces: the actual pen, and a cap that fits on the back of the pen to make a full-size writing instrument. When closed, it makes a compact, tight-fitting, gasket-sealed capsule that easily fits in your pocket. It comes with a shirt pocket clip that can be removed, so it’s less obtrusive in your pants pocket.

You can get it in chrome, but the matte black finish is so much cooler.

-- Curtis Galloway

I needed a pen that would fit comfortably with my pocket-sized Moleskine. I tried a few different things, but this was the one that worked best. It’s compact, durable, writes well, doubles in size for writing, looks stylish and even writes upside down.

-- Scott Berkun

Fisher Stowaway Space Pen

After losing two (expensive) Fisher Bullet Space Pens, I stumbled across their significantly less expensive Stowaway. They're small, available in three styles, with or without a clip on the cap, and with a stylus on the opposite end of the tip. Three colors, too: black, red and blue.

--Eric Rosenberg

I always liked the idea of Paul Fisher’s bullet-shaped Space Pens but at around $20 always felt they were not worth the benefits (writing anywhere, upside down, any temperature, under water, over grease, etc.). Now they sell a tiny (4 x 0.4 x 0.4 in.; 5.1 in. in writing mode) pretty-much-weightless tube pen called the Stowaway with the famous ink refill, for about half the price of the Bullet. I bought a mess of them and threw one in every jacket.

-- Vince Crisci

This rubber rocket doesn’t provide as much pressure as Dust-Off, but it exhales a forceful-enough blast for dusting photo/electronic gear, and standing upright on its base sidelines as playful desk dressing/stress-relief toy. I squeeze the oblong bladder (the rocket’s body) and a burst of air entering through a hole at the bottom exits the narrow hard plastic red nozzle. I can't compare their relative dusting power, but unlike the ReAir Duster, the Rocket Blaster doesn't require refilling. Mine’s been in regular use in the office and on location for a couple of years without any noticeable wear.

The general consensus is that products like Dust-Off should be kept away from digital camera sensors, either because the pressure can be too high around delicate internal mechanisms or the potential for harmful residue. Giottos Rocket Blaster is the best alternative I’ve seen -- an inexpensive low-tech tool for maintaining expensive high-tech tools.

For weight- and space-conscious backpackers or car campers, the squishy bowls offer an alternative to old-school non-collapsible aluminum/stainless steel/titanium bowls. And while these food-grade silicone bowls won't stand up to direct fire, they are oven safe up to 500° F. They can be baked, boiled and frozen without ill effect, making them more versatile than the previously reviewed Orikaso campware and the newer Fozzils' take on that design.

Guyot’s bowls are entirely pliable, and eating out of a bowl without structural rigidity can be a strange experience the first time. Their flexing and bulging when holding liquids does take some getting used to. But I’ve never had a problem eating out of them. This amorphousness comes in handy when you want to slurp back the rest of your milk or finish off the end of your camp stew, as you can squish the side of the bowl into a convenient spout. It also means they sit solidly. They hold hot liquids well, and are insulated enough to prevent you from burning your hands when you hold them as commonly happens with a traditional metal bowl.

I recommend the Lincoln for arc welding for one simple reason: It always works. I’ve used this welder for farm equipment repair and fabrication for more than 35 years with absolutely no problems. It’s ideal for any light-duty work and just right for a weekend welder.

Its range is 40 to 225 amps, and for 85% of my work, I use it at 90 amps; there’s plenty of range available. It’s not cheap, but you’ll likely end up disappointed in anything less. Wire feeds in this price range are almost useless. It does require 220 volt power, but welders that will operate on 110 power are generally a disappointment. You won't regret buying this one and your grandchildren won’t wear it out.

The author covers both traditional and modern sail materials and sailmaking skills. He's not so much about design as technique. I particularly liked the associations with the history and self-sufficiency aspects of learning a skill like sailmaking. The book talks you through a simple version of making a ditty bag while giving you the skills to do it up to your liking. I've made two. One's served me well everywhere including at the top of my boat's mast. Get the book and then buy the materials and tools from SailRite.com and make your own.

Parachute cord isn’t only light and strong (550lb. rating) for its size (5/32” diameter), it’s also more versatile than other types of rope because it can be dissected and parted out, cut and used for its braided nylon sleeve and/or seven separate core strands.

I first learned about parachute cord while doing fieldwork in Venezuela, where we used it to hang our hammocks, and also cut open pieces of it to utilize the inner strands individually for fastening wires to frames in order to sift soil. I saw paracord strands used as fishing line, too.

You can get enhanced grip and a little added padding by using paracord to wrap tool handles. It's also used for making lanyards. I recently inserted a length of ball chain into parachute cord sleeve to make a hands-free flashlight for late-night dog walks. The nylon is a lot more comfortable around my neck than ball chain, and the fit is perfect.

By far the best air rifle for a kid. There is nothing to break and it has a 650 BB capacity. You can fill it once and wander around in the woods all afternoon. All of my nieces and nephews get one when I think they are old enough.

-- K.G.

I recommend the Daisy Red Ryder. They're inexpensive and don't break.

-- Dale C Snyder

Every child should have one.

-- Dave Culp

If you take gardening seriously, then you know it all starts with soil health. But you can’t just look down and analyze it. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst offers cheap soil tests that will provide you with a comprehensive rundown of what your soil contains and what it needs.

I first had the soil test done back in 2001, and it showed low phosphorous, and very low levels of heavy metals. It gave specific instructions for adding nitrogen, phosphorous and limestone. For $9 they perform a standard soil test resulting in the following information: pH level, buffer pH, extractable nutrients (P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B), extractable heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr), and extractable aluminum, cation exchange capacity, percent base saturation. For $13 you get everything in the standard soil test and the amount of organic matter in your soil.

One of the most vital tests is the extractable heavy metals. Anyone planning to grow food near an old house that may have been painted with lead-based paints should perform this test to make sure you’re not growing your organic veggies in poisoned soil, which pretty much defeats the purpose.

The soil test also provides specific fertilization recommendations, based on what you're growing. This helps you customize your fertilizing practices, by letting you know what you need to add to make your soils more fertile. More importantly, you can use that soil test to cut back on the stuff your soil doesn’t need.

These are some of the cheapest soil tests available anywhere, and they provide immensely useful information. I first heard about them during my Master Gardener training a couple of decades ago. My only caveat is that the test is only as good as the sample provided. Make sure you follow their directions carefully.

I'm planning to redo the soil test, since I had raised beds added recently. The raised beds were filled with topsoil from a local company that composts yard and food waste. Now that I have good raised beds and drip irrigation, I'm gardening on a much larger scale and need better information. I took half a dozen large plastic sacks full of lettuce and spinach to the local food bank last year, and am hoping I'll be able to do that again next year.