I use this tool for hand-to-root combat with weeds, but it does many other things, all very well. It's a weeding and digging tool with a serrated edge on one side for opening bags and cutting roots. The handle is wooden and fits nicely in the hand. The blade comes in two types, carbon steel and stainless. I have the carbon steel variety. It's beefy, easy to clean, slides through all matter of matter. Elegant.

I've been creating designs in Adobe Illustrator and executing them using shop tools. One problem with Illustrator is that it doesn't really support eighths, sixteenths, and smaller divide-by-two subdivisions of an inch. It uses decimal fractions of an inch.

So, I went looking for an inch ruler which is subdivided decimally. The best I found so far is the Alumicolor Engineer, which has six scales, including tenths and fiftieths, and is extremely well made.

Bioquip.com is the best supplier of professional grade entomology tools there is. Everything you could want to collect/examine insects and other small creatures.

As a teacher with a strong interest in science, I've owned two of their collapsible pocket butterfly nets for many years. The hoop rims are made of a narrow band of spring steel. When twisted, they result in three smaller loops which are secured with the net bag. A full 12 inch folding net thus fits nicely in my pants pocket while birding in the forest. I just cut a piece of bamboo to make a temporary handle.

-- Mike Brady

Pocket Net
$13
Available from Bioquip

Bioquip Catalog

Spirals. Vortices. Waves. Cyclones. Turbulence. Ripples. An engineer collected all the classic photographs of hydraulic movement he could find in old scientific volumes and self-published a reference book for engineering students. He's been surprised that mostly artists, animators and poets have been buying it. I'm not surprised.

I've been using these little micro headlamps for years, and thought I reviewed 'em long ago. But a check of my archives told me I hadn't mentioned them individually (they are reviewed in Stewart Brand's roundup of ultralight backpacking gear), so here's a chorus of recommendations by readers for this tiny, supremely hands-off light. I use them on my bike, or while exploring a camp at night; my daughter uses hers for reading in the car.

-- KK

It's small enough to fit easily in your pocket but bright enough to light up a dark garage. Its self contained headband (retracts into itself like a vacuum cleaner cord) can fasten the headlamp around your head or around your wrist. The LEDs promote long battery life out of the 3 AAA batteries. With a street price around $25 it's cheap enough to keep one in the car and the toolbox as well as making it a permanent part of your camping gear.

-- Mike Ditullio

A small torch to wear on your head, leaving your hands free. Beam is directed by where you are looking, which is great and allows you to fix a puncture or whatever (not so good having conversation around a campfire because you blind each other when you look at each other). Yet get 150 hours in only 70g. Enough light to be seen by, like if you are cycling. And just enough to see by, when walking around and fixing things. These are so useful I think they should be issued at birth!

-- Carl Myhill

You can't learn how to make friction fire by reading a book. Nor can you learn how to knap a stone edge from diagrams on a page. But you can learn what there is to learn. These two remarkable books collect what is known about primitive tool making skills. Both are compendiums of a research-intensive newsletter published by the Society of Primitive Technology. The depth of their investigations and re-discoveries are extraordinary. Using a recursive chain of simpler tools making the more complex, modern enthusiasts can create artifacts of astounding complexity and beauty entirely by hand. These hefty tomes collect recipes for stone-tool-made compound bows, razor sharp knives, bark canteens, pump drills and reed boats. I get more than survival skills from them; they are the first lessons in material hacking.

-- KK

Primitive Technology: A book of Earth Skills
Edited by David Wescott
1999, 248 pages
$24
Available from Amazon

Primitive Technology II: Ancestral Skills
Edited by David Westcott
2001, 248 pages
$17
Available from Amazon

It is difficult to saw stainless steel very precisely without discoloring it as a result of heat. A chop saw using an abrasive blade is not suitable. A band saw using a metal cutting blade (like a hacksaw) is insufficiently precise. What you need is the (relatively) new class of saws which run relatively slowly and use specially designed circular toothed blades. I opted for the DeWalt DW872 after watching the very nice QuickTime video on their web site.

This saw, with a default general-purpose metal cutting blade, costs about $420. I also bought an accessory blade specifically for stainless steel. This set me back an additional $200.

It is, without doubt, the best way to make clean, precise cuts in metal.

One word of warning: Don't try to economize by using the special-purpose toothed metal-cutting blade in a regular chop saw, which runs significantly faster. This generates safety issues.

Zanfel is very expensive, it's true ($38/oz). But it's worth every penny to anyone suffering with a poison ivy (or oak) rash. Within 30 seconds of treatment, the itching stops. Really. It's the only product I know of that chemically binds the urishol which is causing the problem. Doesn't have to be used as soon after exposure as the previously-recommended Tecnu.

I commute 2 hours a day by train and also frequently fly coast-to-coast, so I'm always looking for a good portable entertainment device. My laptop is fine to use once in a while, but for my daily commute I just don't want to bother lugging it around. I have a portable DVD player and an iPod, but neither quite does the job...the iPod is great for music, but nothing else. Same for the DVD player and DVDs. Carrying them both at the same time is worse than having a laptop. I haven't been impressed enough with portable video players to actually buy one. Then I came across the Archos AV420. Now that I've had it, I'm surprised I don't hear more about them.

The AV420 is made for watching videos, playing music and viewing photos, and it's pretty good at all three. Music-wise it's primarily made for MP3s (and WMAs), which is fine by me since I'm not a fan of Apple's DRM on iTunes. For video it uses MPEG-4 SP, which is not my first choice but is serviceable. And it will store and view any size JPEG for photos.

Since the MP3 player part works like most others based on MusicMatch, I won't waste time on it, other than to say it's fine for what it is. Same for photo viewing and storage. Video is where it gets interesting, since the AV420 is really a pocket-sized VCR with some fledgling Tivo-like abilities. Hook it up to your TV and you can record whatever is on, and you can also schedule recordings, including having the AV420 change channels with its IR suction cup attachment. You can do some rudimentary Tivo-style scheduling through a My Yahoo! Account but, since I have a Tivo and can dump recorded files directly into the AV420, I haven't bothered with it. The AV420 has 20 GB of storage, enough for about 40 hours of video.

You can also record DVDs to the AV420 for playback on the built-in LCD screen, a brilliant 3.5 TFT. Unfortunately the AV420 will pick up macrovision encoding from standard DVD players, meaning you can't play recorded DVDs from the AV420 to an external device like a TV. Since I bought it to watch on the train, this isn't an issue for me, but could be a deal breaker for some. On the plus side, if you're only going to playback the video on the built-in LCD, you can record the file at a lower resolution to save space. It will still look great on the LCD, since the screen is lower resolution than a TV.

You connect the AV420 to your computer via USB2, and since an XP machine will see it as an external drive, you can store anything you want on it (though it will only display the previously mentioned files). Very handy. It also has a CF card reader that can take an adapter so it can read most digital camera storage cards. I plan to use this on vacation to free up my meager 256K SD card when it's full rather than carrying extra cards.

The AV420 has a docking cradle that is a bit of a nightmare in terms of design -- a total of six 2-foot-long composite cables and an S-video cable dangle out the back, in addition to the power cable -- but is perfectly functional otherwise, though I wish it had component inputs/outputs. That, aside from the macrovision, is the only real drawback for me. Battery life for video is 4 hours, but on the 20BG version the small rechargeable battery can be switched out so you can buy a second one for long trips. For me, 4 hours is fine for video, and that goes up to something like 12 for audio if you don't use the LCD screen.

The street price of the AV420 is $450, and it tends to get two reactions. Either, wow, that's pricey, I can buy a Mac Mini for that. Or, wow, that's only $100 more than a photo iPod -- what a bargain! I obviously fall in the latter category.

Manufactured by Archos

A spout ladle is the optimal tool for basting. I've tried spoons, suction basters, basting mops, and even those new silicone basting brushes. All but the first are less efficient at getting enough liquid out of the bottom of a pan.

Regular spoons, even so-called "basting spoons," aren't the right shape for getting down deep into the pan while simultaneously letting you scoop up enough liquid without having to tilt the pan too much. Enter the spout ladle, which is the perfect shape for this. The angles line up; The tilt is right; And it's long enough you don't run the risk of burning yourself on the pan or the rack while doing it.

I got mine in Chinatown, which is the only place I've ever seen this exact shape. You want a slight angle, not a 90-degree between spoon and handle as in most serving ladles. You can get one close to, but not exactly, that design online.

I have been keeping my eye out for a way in which to mount my cell phone in my car, where it would be both easy to see and to reach. Most of the options required drilling into the interior, gluing something to the dashboard, and/or great expense for both purchase and installation. None of these options suited me. I stumbled across a review of the ProClip Mounting System for the iPod. When I went to the ProClip web site, I happily discovered that the system was available for almost any car/portable device combination. Relatively inexpensive and super easy to install. I have since installed a mount for my cell phone and a mount for my iPod and I could not be happier with the setup. Some vehicles are better suited for the system than others, but overall it is a great product at a great price.

-- David Cullinan

The device is in two parts. The mount for the holder is vehicle-specific. You then clip a device-specific holder to the mount.

Mount + Clip
Around $50
Available from ProClip

The Icebox tool lets you build an igloo out of any type snow. I made 4 igloos last winter - all with different types of snow: one with heavy, wet, "packing" snow, two with new powder, and one with "sugar snow" - ice crystals that pour like white sugar. No problems. But this is definitely not a kid's toy. You need to shovel snow fairly high -- the 8 foot diameter igloos that I've made stand about 8 feet tall when completed. It took me (and a helper), approximately 4 hours to build each igloo. The whole igloo is free standing. The post device is used during construction to assure a circular igloo and to properly position the blocks. It works fine, although I did need to take my gloves off to extend and shorten the pole. The only difficulty that I've had is properly angling the first course of blocks -- if you don't get the box lined up properly, you have difficulty aligning the second course of blocks.

I'm not into winter camping but the system does fold up and pack. It weighs two kilos. The guy that introduced me to the Icebox has used it for camping in the Adirondack mountains. The igloos are really quiet inside, and noticeably warmer than being outside. If you want to make igloos, this is an awesome cool (no pun intended) tool.

A macerated foot resulting from exposure to moisture.

Your feet uphold you. They're easy to abuse, hard to repair. This book is considered the authority on maintaining feet by those who most depend on them: athletes, dancers, soldiers, runners and hikers. Keep 'em happy with the great advice and proven remedies in this portable foot hospital. No other source is as reliable and complete, or more recommended by pros.

This black nylon strap is used to carry hefty and unwieldy loads. It has a handle, a d-ring, and a lot of velcro on it, allowing you to cinch a load together and comfortably carry it. It's rated for 50 pounds, but I've used it for maybe 10 pounds more than that. I use it to carry stuff all in one trip which I'd never been able to managed without the strap. It's six feet long and 2 inches wide, and most of it is velcro, so I've not yet run out of strap or had so much extra I couldn't use it. It's great for things that are in bunches or are otherwise unwieldy. (It also allows you to say "unwieldy" a lot.) I actually got a load of packages at work today, and wished I'd had mine with me; I might go grab another one.

-- Jeremy Gllissen

Velstrap
2" x 6 feet
$6
Available from Amazon

Or $7 from Ace Hardware

I've been a reader for 35 years, and I'm finding it pretty useful these days. This old hippie magazine is the only place to keep current with back-to-the-land news. The old dream of thriving on a few acres of land is still serviced with enthusiasm here. Familiar subjects like backyard animals and all-year gardens are reliably addressed, but they also have solid reporting on the such technological innovations as the latest in modern cabin toilets, microgenerators, the best chain saws and solar panels, and so on. However, since a lot of homesteading chores haven't changed much, their website offers 35 years of back issues online -- some of the best stuff they published was written in the 1970s. (You can also get the archive on CDs).

At ten bucks per year, this magazine is essential reading for anyone attempting to homestead in the country, or to live self-reliantly in a town. But I also find it a great bargain for anyone with a do-it-yourself mentality. Despite the glossy sheen, the pages radiate with reports of reader's hands-on, can-do, think-different attitude.

Why I subscribe: Most magazines are about consuming. This one is about producing.

Lots of people visiting my house comment on all the different gadgets I have, but the only one they ask me about -- where can they get their own? -- is my double draft stopper. Sometimes the simple and cheap is more impressive than the complex and expensive. It's just two long cylinders of styrofoam that slide into a cloth cover which is then slid under the door and holds the foam in placed to stop drafts. The foam can be trimmed to fit your door and the extra fabric folds back and fastens with velcro. The whole thing moves with the door, is easily removed, and the cover is machine washable. They're available all over the web for less than $10.

Cube-dwellers have grown increasingly accustomed to capturing their mental state on whiteboard surfaces, but whiteboard access at home, unfortunately, is not as common as at work. I picked up a Quartet "Portable Presentation Easel" to alleviate this problem. It's a heavy-duty whiteboard that is height- and angle-adjustable. It's also double-sided to maximize the available writing surface. When you want to transport it, the entire assembly folds up to approximately 42" x 32". I found this tool so useful in my home office that I have since added two traditional "fixed" whiteboards, but the Quartet easel remains the most used whiteboard in the house.

-- Dhiren Patel

More and more companies wisely retreat to an offsite to brainstorm in order to remove themselves from the urgencies and habits of their offices. Problem is, these charming retreats often contain minimal hardware (by design). Easels like the Quartet will work, but lack the large space real brainstorming requires. The creative pros will bring in mobile dry erase boards like the Nomad II, which can be rented and shipped to site. They rent for about $110 per panel per day (not including shipping). My facilitator friends rave that "the stuff goes together like IKEA furniture... just a single allen wrench tool is required." I've used these and they are very handsome in the permanent office as well. Since they move easily they can second as a divider or room barrier and then be rolled into place when needed.

--KK

Nomad II
Available for rent from Kinetic Energies

Quartet Portable Presentation Easel
40" x 29" writing surface
$190
Available from Staples

Turns out that brainstorming is an epigraphic activity -- something best done on walls. Reading and writing on walls is a different function than reading a book. A broad wall-view is an ideal approach for collaborative design -- multiple views in a single glance. Thus the tremendous interest in flip charts, graphic capture, doodling, giant post-its, whiteboards, and all the electronic equivalents of those. By far the cheapest and easiest epigraphic display is a large whiteboard. And when it comes to whiteboards, you can't be too big.

The Cheapest:
I was able to get a magnificently large -- 4 by 8 feet --and fabulously cheap whiteboard for all of $13 at Home Depot. What you want is the Solid White Tileboard (sometimes called Melamine tile wall panel) used as a tile substitute in bathrooms. Some know it as showerboard because a couple of sheets of this and you have a nice waterproof shower stall. You'll need a $1 tube of panel adhesive to glue this 1/8 inch surface to the wall or a piece of plywood. Melamine is the same stuff official whiteboards are made from. These huge sheets are slick and work perfectly well with dry-erase markers. You can cover an entire wall for $50. You can also cut it into smaller pieces with a regular circular saw.

The Best:
Upscale from the tileboard guerrilla wall, the premium epigraphic surface is ceramic coated metal. When I built my office/studio I covered an entire wall with this material. It takes a dry-erase marker with ease, but it also accept magnets, so it can double as a pin board. I layout books in progress, hang blueprints, charts, maps, or use it as an art galley -- whatever. When using markers on it there is zero ghosting after erasing (sometimes a slight problem with Melamine). This ceramic coated steel also comes in eye-saving low-gloss light gray color, so the blazing white of a whole wall is significantly muted, yet it has plenty of contrast for any marker color.

This stuff is called P3 Ceramicsteel, and it is not cheap (at least when covering a whole wall). You can get them as an unadorned sheet (a special order), without frames or mounting, but they usuallly come mounted on particle board with an alumium backing. These now cost about $200 per 4 x 8 foot sheet. I used the same material for small magnetic boards near my desk.

This is the magazine for us -- the enthusiasts of the world. For smart users and amateur technologists. For basement tinkerers, garage hackers, tabletop experimenters, and backyard do-it-yourselfers. Empowered hands-on fans is where it is at, and that is where Make is. It's not about picnic benches made from 2x4s, but aerial kite photography, and homemade mag stripe readers. And thankfully it's not about things that look cool or hip, but things that look dorky and are amazing. Published by O'Reilly the tech book publisher, Make is a fat quarterly in cheerful full color, stuffed with step-by-step instructions, overviews, hints and cool tool reviews. Based on the premier issue, it promises to be an unforgettable ride.

This is a two part epoxy plastic used for sculpting. It works like clay, but dries rock hard. You can add water to soften it or to smooth out the surface while you are forming it. Yet it is very hard when dry. Comes in a few colors. About four years ago, I cut the back of the cab of my Toyota 4x4 out to make more room and attached the steel camper shell directly to the back of the open cab. I used Magic-Sculp to form all of the bodywork after I made the attachment. Four years later, the whole job still looks perfect and still has the durability of hard plastic. It is great stuff, and I recommend it highly.

-- Robert Janca

I lived in Zimbabwe from 1997-99, teaching high school math for the Peace Corps. The local equivalent of Magic-Sculp was used for everything. The standard fix for a cracked plastic bucket was to suture the crack with copper wire and then press Magic-Sculp into the crack from both sides: cheap, waterproof, and stronger than the rest of the bucket.

-- Ian Taylor

Original Sculpture in Magic-Sculp by Greg Brenden, Tucson, Arizona

Because Lego blocks are machined to extremely high tolerances, you can use them for quick, cheap but very accurate jigs, perfect for gluing, squaring, molding, etc. Here is an example of how Jef Raskin, who taught me the trick, used them. (Sadly Jef died of cancer last week). He built up the exact jig positions by stacking bricks of various thicknesses. In the case shown below he built up a jig to square up wings on his radio control model airplanes. All you need is the large Lego baseplate glued to a heavy duty flat foundation.

Most bicycle panniers work well for touring, but don't meet the needs of people who use their bikes for commuting or shopping everyday. The typical pannier has a main compartment sealed with a zipper or flap, plus a few smaller pockets. The tourist packs it like a hiker would pack a backpack. However, these bags don't easily hold the urban cyclists' cargo of shopping bags, daypacks, and laptop computers. An open-topped pannier that works more like a basket than a backpack provides a better way of carrying this kind of gear. These large bags, usually called grocery bag panniers, or shopping panniers, allow you to carry all kinds of oddly-shaped loads and fold flat when not in use. The key to using shopping bag panniers is to keep your gear in a separate bag that you can drop into the pannier. Day packs or book bags work well. I've used dry bags when it rains, but have found that plastic garbage bags are easier and cheaper. Having an open-topped bag also gives you a quick place to toss your bike lock, and the convenient access makes it easier to shed clothing layers as you warm up.

Several companies make them. The Jandd grocery bag pannier seems to be the sturdiest, but is also the most expensive, at around US$45 for a single pannier. REI sells a similar, but less refined, bag for US$80 per pair. My favorites, which I use everyday, are the Nashbar Townie baskets, which cost US$17 each. Unlike the other grocery bag panniers, they don't use a rectangular metal frame to reinforce the top of the bag. This means that they don't hold their shape quite as well as the others, but it lets the opening at the top adjust to different shaped cargo, like a bulky laptop bag. They're cheap enough that I leave them on the bike all the time, but they remove quickly enough that I can conveniently take one with me to carry stuff while the bike is parked.

For the true urban bike guerilla, Cobbworks* takes used 4-gallon food service containers and turns them into hard-shell, waterproof panniers. I rode with one of these before I got the Nashbar Townies. I prefer the Townies because they fold, and because they're less bulky off the bike, but I miss being able to use the Cobbworks bucket as a stool when I have to fix a flat.