March 2008
Staedtler Leadholder
I always snap the point off regular pencils and mechanical pencils, so this is the pencil I've always wanted. Commonplace among draftsmen and technical drawers, the Staedtler holds 2mm leads, which do not break under pressure. I use mine all day. It's simple to retract and the recess in the removable push button also doubles as a sharpener (see below image). Remove the push button and there is a hole you stick the lead into. The lead gets very sharp and you can sharpen anywhere, anytime without having to remember to bring along a sharpener.
It has become my everyday pencil -- the only thing I write with unless I am behind a keyboard or must use a pen. I don't do any drafting or fine art applications, though I do sometimes sketch network diagrams (I am an intermediate-level sys admin). I also use the pencil for journal writing. The size of the lead really allows for a lot of flexibility in the line width. The pencil never fails, has a good weight, and I find I can hold it very precisely. The texture of the barrel is rough, almost like a nail file or cheese grater. Some people might not like the feel, but the pencil doesn't slip when wet.
I use a soft lead generally and find it needs sharpening one or more times a day. The sharpening can be a bit messy, but tapping it against a wastepaper basket takes care of the extra graphite dust. I still inevitably get graphite powder on my shirt, but it washes out without staining, so I don't really care. Also, it takes some practice to get comfortable with the system. At first the lead comes flying out, so you have to get used to holding the pencil a few centimeters above the paper and releasing the lead to the right amount. It works really well once you get it.
I've looked at other leadholders. If I saw a nicer designed one (i.e. a Parker or a Schaeffer) I might be tempted to get one. Part of what I like about the Staedler is the price and durability. One pencil and a year's supply of lead costs me about $10 at Utrecht art supply. I've lost and given away a few but haven't had any break or wear out.
-- Michael Bubb
Staedtler Leadholder
$5
Available from Amazon
Staedtler Refill Leads
$2
Available from Utrecht
Manufactured by Staedtler
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Favorite (15)The Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health
The Merck Veterinary Manual has long been the standard guide found in most veterinarian's back offices. Vets are required to serve the needs of many animals, not just one, and so this venerable book is their operating manual for lesser known species. It also serves as a reminder for uncommon ailments in the common species of pets. Recently Merck/Merial has published a one-volume paper-bound home edition of the Vet Manual. It is less technical, but still remarkably deep, and by far the best pan-species health guide for pets. It is often even better than many single pet health guides.
Besides the expected dogs, cats, and horses, it covers the health needs of rabbits, rodents, ferrets, birds, reptiles, and exotics such as pot-bellied pigs and sugar gliders. At 1,300 pages, it's an old-fashioned book, but intelligently designed, and easy to browse and study.
This book won't eliminate visits to the vet, but it will reduce their number, and make you smarter when you do visit. The real value of a pan-animal tome like this is when you take charge of an unfamiliar animal. It also gave us confidence to adopt pets we hitherto knew little about.
-- KK
The Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health
1300 pages, 2007
$16
Available from Amazon
Sample excerpts:
Ear mange mites cause inflammation of the ear canal and skin disease in cats.
Hunched posture or fluffed fur in a hamster may be signs of illness.
Scale rot (ulcerative or necrotic dermatitis) is seen in snakes and lizards. Humidity and unclean environments appear to be the main factors that cause this condition. Moist, unclean bedding allows bacteria and fungi to multiply. When coupled with exposure to animal droppings, this can cause small skin sores. Secondary infection with other bacteria may result in septicemia and death if untreated. Reddening of the skin, death of the skin tissue, slow-healing sores on the skin, and a skin discharge are common.
Bacteria often cause shell disease in turtles and scale rot in lizards and snakes.
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Swobo Merino 6 Panel Beanie
I'm all about wool these days. It's the new polypropylene. Never stinks. Never. All my fancy high-tech fabrics smell like the bottom of a pond when I come in from a ride, but I can ride for days in my old-school wool cycling jersey and wool undershirt and they both smell about as fresh as, well, a lamb, which I can only assume doesn't smell (I live in the city). Recently, I picked up this Swobo cycling hat with fold-down earflaps. It's warm, lightweight, doesn't get stanky and is thin enough to fit comfortably under a helmet. It also looks good to boot. The ear flaps fold away in the heat or can be flipped down when it gets cold -- perfect for SF/Marin foggy to sunny rides.
-- Mathew Honan
Swobo Merino 6 Panel Beanie
(black, black/blue, charcoal)
$35
Available from Skates On Haight
Manufactured by Swobo
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TheraTherm Digital Heating Pad
Finally a digital heating pad that can maintain a temperature you set -- not just one of three arbitrary settings. This heating pad has a range from 86 to 166 degrees F that can be adjusted in 2-degree increments. I don't have any particular injury or ailment, other than occasional mild back pain, but I use this unit daily (actually nightly). This is probably not recommended use, but I have developed the habit of sleeping with a heating pad. Instead of running all the time like older units, though, this one has an auto-off function that lets you set it to stay on up to 60 minutes at a time. Also it only turns on the heating coils to bring it up to temp and when it falls below temp. Once it reaches the desired temp, it shuts off. The heat generally continues to rise 2-3 degrees, peaks, then starts to fall, then kicks back on. And so it cycles for the amount of time you program into it (the default is 30 minutes). I prefer 118°, which seems to work best for me. You can also switch the display to a 'monitor mode' and see the actual temp it's reading from the pad instead of what you've set the thermostat to. I have no idea about the "moist" aspect of the heating pad, since I only use it as a dry heating pad. At about $60, it is a bit expensive if you're used to the $20 pads. Also the cord to the controls could be longer and there's no back-light on the controls, so it's harder to use in total darkness. But once it's set at night, I don't have to fiddle with it or remember to turn it off anyway. The pads come in various sizes. The one I have is the 14"x14" blanket pad.
-- Jay Harrison
TheraTherm Digital Heating Pad
$51
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Chattanooga Group
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Microfiber Cleaning Towels in Bulk
Microfiber towels are listed in Cool Tools as great for drying and travel and camping, but have you used them for everyday cleaning, dusting and wiping? I buy my 16x16-inch towels in bulk. I've used the previously-reviewed MysticMaid cleaning towels and, personally, have seen no difference in cleaning power. Of course, mine may not last as long in the end, but they are are a heck of lot cheaper, so I'm more inclined to use them for everything and anything. And they really are holding their own so far. I've washed my current kitchen cleaner over 50 times with no loss in cleaning power (the packaging says good for over 100 washes). Dampen with water and you can clean the kitchen top to bottom without leaving a streak. It removes grease, grime, and the odd stuff on the stove top. Around the house it cleans glass without leaving a streak, removes the haze from inside of your auto windshield, cleans the car interior and removes all the muck the kids have built up on the plastic, doors and even car seats. Around the desk it cleans up coffee spills and rings. I've also used mine for cleaning monitor screens, brass, cameras (I collect Minolta 16 mm and Minox cameras), jewels, coins, glass objet d'art, lexan screens, fine wood carvings, some photos, and find no scratches or wearing away of labels, paint, or important stuff -- and I've looked hard with my loupes. Cleaning wood work is easy and quick, as well. And in the wood shop it does wonders in getting dust off surfaces before staining or painting. A bonus for ribs lovers -- it's better than any napkin or moist towelette.
-- Patrick J. Meyer
Microfiber Cleaning Towels in Bulk
(12 towels -- 16 x 16 inch)
$14
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Clean-Rite
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StrechCordz Short Resistance Training Belt
The StrechCordz resistance training belt makes expensive, complex, "endless" pools obsolete. At one end of a 4-foot, black rubber tube is a nylon belt with a simple plastic snap-clip that slips around my waist. On the other end is a loop I attach to the deep-end ladder of our modest home pool. That's it... just tether up and start swimming. Swim as hard and fast as you like yet stay in place.
I'm able to do backstroke, crawl, butterfly (well, I try to butterfly), even frog-kick with no interference. Stop swimming and the belt gently pulls me back to the ladder. And, no, my legs don't get tangled in the line! The rubber tube is just stretchy enough to allow a good resistance for natural swimming feel, but I hardly notice the belt at all. Significantly, I even forget I'm wearing it. It's completely comfortable for long bouts of swimming. The one I own has been in almost daily use for one swimming season in a relatively mild salt-water home pool. Not any sign of wear at all on the belt, but I do put it away out of sunlight between uses.
I wasn't sure I'd need the belt, frankly, since our pool is big enough for actual swimming. In practice, however, even though our pool is 32 feet long, it's not really enough to be comfortable for laps. The belt is an elegant solution. There's no more constantly calculating the strokes left till the next turn. Swimming in place allows a steady, relaxed rhythm that would otherwise be impossible. I find I can swim longer on the belt and get more of a workout. Our pool is 18 feet from side to side. The short belt (4 ft.) is plenty long enough for me, but there's a longer version for larger pools.
There are other products for resistance swimming, but I haven't needed to try them. For one, the Super Swim -- a suspension apparatus -- is 10 times the price and needlessly complex. I can see the theory behind it, but it would entail major pool-side visual and actual clutter, and would be a bother to store away. With the StrechCordz it'd be easy to raise the point of the tether if necessary, but I hook it at the deck level and it's fine. At only three-times the price of the Strechcordz unit, the RipTide's a relative bargain. It's a belt with shoes you slip on. I just don't think I'd want shoes on in the water... just something funny about having my feet tethered. And then there's having a size suitable for everyone. The StrechCordz belt is easily adjustable to basically any size. It's very simple to use, safe (one snap of the belt and it's on or off), and compact enough one could easily travel with it. Packing it really is a non-issue.
My office overlooks the pool and a swim workout is a good mid-afternoon tonic for neck and shoulders after hours of computer work. Looking forward to getting back to it now that the weather's warming up!
-- Bill Womack
StrechCordz
(model: S119)
$27
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by NZ Manufacturing, Inc.
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21st Century Vinyl
I'm an iPod boom box guy, so I haven't owned a proper stereo in six years. Just don't tell that to the boxes of LPs and 7 inches stashed in my closet. I've always intended on revisiting my lonely analog collection, but what little I knew about properly using and maintaining a turntable has kept me at bay. Changing a cartridge? Setting horizontal geometry? Overhang? Zenith geometry? This DVD confirms how intricate it can get, but proves that a little bit of knowledge, practice and zen-like patience goes a long way. Michael Fremer, a writer for Stereophile magazine (and a former comedian), does everything step by step in real time without skipping the minute details or sugarcoating: "When they show this in the book, it takes up one paragraph. When you do it in real life, it takes a little more time..." Among the thorough, user-friendly segments are how to change a cartridge (tip #1: be in a good mood; tip #2: beginners should use an inexpensive cartridge just in case anything goes awry). There's also a solid rundown of which tools you need and why (tip: go for hex screwdrivers rather than keys because they're longer and easier to maneuver), and why or why not to opt for that top of the line pressure gauge. Fremer keeps things pretty lively, too, with the occasional Julia Child impersonation or self-deprecating, light-hearted quip: "It's more fun watching paint chip isn't it?" or "It's not like watching Terminator 2." I'm still shopping around for my new table, but as soon as I get it, I'll be re-watching and copying his every move.
-- Steven Leckart
21st Century Vinyl: Michael Fremer's Practical Guide to Turntable Set-Up
2006,
$23
Available from Insound
Or $27 from Amazon
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Lemnis Pharox LED Bulb
I have been dutifully buying the various LED bulbs being marketed as home incandescent replacements for a year or two. Up until now, all have had that weird, blue flickery LED light, and all have been expensive. The Lemnis Pharox is the first one that actually delivers as a home bulb replacement. It sips electricity pulling down a mere 4 watts, will last for 35 years, and replaces the light of a 40 watt incandescent. I installed one in our recessed home lighting adjacent to normal bulbs, and asked my wife to pick out which one was the LED and she couldn't tell which one it was. The only thing I am disappointed about is that they don't have higher output ones yet available (such as a 60 or 75 watt replacement). I can only assume they are in the works. While you pay an early adopter premium on these ($50-60), they are excellent for places where it's too much trouble to replace bulbs, or if you have a solar system on your roof and you want those watts to go further.
-- Alexander Rose
Lemnis Pharox LED Bulb
$33
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Lemnis Lighting
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Teeny Turner
The small size and stubby shape of this cheap driver allows me to reach tight spaces and still apply considerable torque. I've used it to adjust tension on folding knives and my SOG PowerLock multi-tool, and to open cases on remote controls, my PDA and cell phones. I have a set of jeweler's screwdrivers, Wiha Precision Tech screwdrivers and a Craftsman All-in-One screwdriver (overall length: 8.75 inches) with captive bits that store in the handle. The 2.5-inch Teeny Turner fits easily in a pocket; it's made of aircraft alloy shank, has a magnetic bit holder and the included bits (Phillips 00, Phillips 0, Torx 5,6 & 8, Flat 2mm and 3mm) are generally smaller and much easier to change out than my Craftsman. One small negative is the Teeny Turner has one more bit than storage positions, so you have to choose the least pointy bit to keep in the drive shaft if you carry it in your pocket. That said, the portability really is key. Plus, I do like the name.
-- Chris Jacobs
$6
Available from FireHawk Technology
Or $164 for a jar of 36!
Manufactured by Picquic
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HP OfficeJet Pro K5400 Printer
As everyone knows, manufactures give away printers almost free in exchange for the steady revenue of expensive, tiny ink cartridges. That's the "give the razor, sell the blades" strategy for the new economy, and it works. I use my printer less and less, but I still print enough pages in a year to go through an alarming number of high-priced disposable ink cartridges. The pain is not just overpriced cartridges; the machines rarely allow cartridges to fully empty, vastly decreasing their actual efficiency. (See this PC World article which says as much as 60% of the ink is wasted.)
I'm sick of surrendering to this economically and environmentally costly habit, so I set out to find the most cost-effective inkjet printer I could find.
Printer models are on a fast cycle of obsolescence, so there is little across-the-board comprehensive testing for ink cartridge efficiency. Based on manufacturer's specs and the comparative testing by PC World magazine, my research points to the HP Officejet K5400 as having the most cost-efficient ink supply right now. The estimated cost per page of black ink for the K5400 is 1.4 cents, and color is 5.9 cents per page. My previous printer ran 10 times that. I have not been able to find a lower page rate for any other desktop machine.
The bulkier the ink container the more likely the cost per page will be lower. In my studio I have a workhorse of a printer, the Epson 3000, now 15 years old, that uses big fat bulk ink cartridges. I use this industrial printer for printing large scale photographs, but I can print a decade's worth of office printing on a single cartridge -- and have. You can buy one of these venerable machines used, and still get cartridges, but the beast is the size of one-yard steamer trunk. It's overkill for most folks. Alternatively, there are kits which you can purchase to modify your desktop printer using fine capillary tubes connected to exterior ink bottles to drastically lower ink costs. Yeah, it works, but it's a messy hack, and you'd need to be printing a real lot to warrant it.
The Officejet K5400 is a decent compromise. It costs $130. I've been using it for three months now and am delighted with its performance. It prints extremely fast, faster than any desktop printer I've seen. It runs reliably, and prints with near laser-quality for office stuff. It's not the ideal photo printer, but does okay. Most importantly, judging from the ink status box, after 3 months I still have 80% of the ink in the first set of cartridges left. But this unit is not small. It's about the size of a roller carry-on luggage. I expect to get 10 years out of it.
A true evaluation of printing costs should include the cost of the printer, amortized over the number of pages printed in its lifetime. For some people with very minimal printing needs, the price of expensive ink cartridges is canceled by the zero cost of a free printer. Go for it! For those who need to print more, such as contracts, manuscripts, maps and other currently unavoidable paper copies, the HP Officejet 5400 is the most cost-efficient way to deal with ink.
-- KK
HP OfficeJet Pro K5400 Printer
$130
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by HP
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Natural Goat Care
On my little homestead near downtown Oakland, CA, I've dabbled in chickens, bees, turkeys, rabbits, and pigs (i.e. eggs, honey, meat, fur pelts, and wonderful manure for the garden). Recently the dabbling got a little more serious: two Nigerian Dwarf goats named Bilbo and Bebe (the one thing missing was milk; And I love milk. And goat cheese). Trouble was, I didn't know anything about goats, what they eat, how they behave. Luckily, a goat herder told me about this guide published in Australia. It put my fears to rest.
With all of the other farm animals (including the pigs!), it's mostly a matter of throwing down some food, making sure everyone has water and enough space, and we're all good. Goats turned out to be way more complicated than any other animal on the farm. They have psychological needs. They have a rumen for digesting food. They can get sexually transmitted diseases. They have hooves that need to be trimmed. They are a long-term relationship, which --- from day one -- kept me up late at night worrying. With this guide, I'm far less worried. And now that Bebe is pregnant, in a few weeks we'll have milk!
Bonus tip: I order all manner of goat-related items from Hoegger's. Recently, I ordered a natural de-wormer, made with Worm Wood, Gentian, Fennel, Psyllium, & Quassia; buckets of goat minerals--calcium, phosphorus, salt and magnesium, selenium, and vitamin E; a kid bottle and some colostrum (in case Bebe has a million babies); and a bag of kelp in bulk (I've noticed the goats love wakame, but at $5 a bag, it was breaking me, so this should do the trick).
-- Novella Carpenter
Natural Goat Care
Pat Coleby
2001, 372 pages
$17
Available from Amazon
Sample excerpts:
Homeopathic methods...
Cider vinegar maintains correct pH in the body, which is probably one of the reasons it is so useful. Because of its potassium content, it is invaluable for all animals coming up to breeding.
Mistletoe. This parasitic plant is a great tonic for goats, ell or ill. I pull it down from trees and feed it directly to my animals. Be warned, it turns the urine bright red for the next 24 hours--the goats have not developed bleeding kidneys.
*
Kidding...
The legs appear first and the kid's nose will be level with its knees. If the head is turned back, it is a good idea to scrub up (short nails, clean hands and plastic gloves if the farmer's hands are cut or scratched) and pull the head forward. The kid can be born with the head turned back, but it is not easy. Ease the kid out as the doe contracts and give it to her to wash and suckle or use whatever system of rearing has been planned. Each kid must have its ration of colostrum, the first thick milk that contains the antibodies for that kid.
*
Psychological needs...
All goats, particularly the older ones, should have names--ones that do not sound too similar. Goats soon learn to recognize their names hen called or reprimanded.
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Stumble Upon
Stumble Upon is a community-based website recommendation engine that serves up fantastic random websites. Completely addictive, it still does that. But now that they have added search (including video and image search), it has moved from frivolous to useful, and Stumble Upon is beginning to replace Google as my primary search engine. You cannot yet add Stumble Search as the primary search engine in your browser, but the Stumble Upon tool bar makes it nearly as convenient.
Let's say you are looking for a new dining room table. If you put "dining table" into Google you get a gazillion crappy tables. If you put the same search entry into Stumble Upon you get 100 of the coolest tables on the net. The same is true in its video and image search engine. For instance, when I wanted to find a video for my wife who was learning Roller Derby, I searched You Tube and got thousands of results, almost all of them below mediocre. But when I searched Stumble Upon Video I got only 10 results, and all of them were awesome.
The key to the system is that for every site that you "stumble upon" in your web surfing, you can give it a thumbs up or down (or tag or comment it). Really cool content propagates through the network fast, yet people trying to game the system to give their pages high stumble ranks get voted down very quickly. When I met the founders of Stumble Upon recently I asked how they managed to do this so well, and they said that they did not write a single line of code until they had worked out the anti-spam strategy. While there are several recommendation engines on the web like Digg, Delicious, and Reddit, Stumble Upon's interface, huge active community, and easy tools make it the one that always delivers the highest level of cool stuff. It is basically how I find everything that I blog about.
-- Alexander Rose
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En Route 3-in-1 Travel Purse
You've previously reviewed wallets on Cool Tools, so let's have equal time, guys ;-) .This travel purse is actually the best everyday purse I've ever found. I've used and abused it for four years, and the purse still looks great. Its polyester microfiber sheds dirt and is machine washable. Best of all, the easy-to-open strap clips (satin brushed metal which continue looking good indefinitely) allow me to convert it to a waist pack in seconds. Worn as a waist pack, the front zippered section (with your money & credit cards) is easily accessible without removing the purse. It’s great for shopping and errand running. You can keep your hands free. You don't have to hold onto it or shove it out of the way. You can't put it down and forget it somewhere. Wearing it as a waist pack also helps deter pick-pockets and purse-snatchers, too. And, whenever necessary, you can convert right back to shoulder use in five seconds.
Here's a rundown of the interior: flat pocket under Velcro flap in front (good for receipts). Unzipping the front compartment reveals two flat pockets and one zippered pocket (cash), then two more flat pockets (checks in one), one fronted by 8 card pockets (each can easily hold 5+ cards), and a pen loop. The back zipper reveals a large compartment -- mine holds keys, cell phone, PDA, camera, folding brush, comb, lip gloss, sewing kit, mini first aid kit, tape measure, etc., I enhanced the inside of the back pocket by adding a Velcro strip, so small items don't vanish below.
I originally bought mine to improve my posture -- no matter how big a purse I get, over time I'll overfill it and gradually tilt sideways. Even the "healthy back" bags didn't work. This one's big enough to hold what I need, but small enough so it won't get too heavy. It's astonishing how much it can hold, but it's small enough that if you really must carry a designer purse for a night on the town, you can drop this little beauty inside.
-- Barbara Dace
En Route 3-in-1 Travel Purse
$35
Available from PackingLight
Or $40 from Amazon
Manufactured by En Route Travelware
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Korg Kaossilator Synthesizer
For a number of years I've been into sound art and electronics, but never had the cash and space for an ARP 2600. I recently acquired a Korg Kaossilator, a fabulous little dynamic phrase synthesizer, which, for all intents and purposes, now serves as my main musical device. Pocket-sized and touch-operated, the Kaossilator is comprised of 100 sounds: electronic beats, synth chords and pads, squelchy bass tones and the odd acoustic instruments. The Theremin sounds alone are worth the $200 price tag. The fun part is creating 8-beat loops in which you can control the tempo and the scales of the instruments selected. I've already "composed" a few pieces using just the Korg and will most likely start incorporating it into GarageBand or, perhaps, Max/MSP once my visual programming chops get happening. My only complaint is you can't edit or remove instruments/sounds as you layer them or control individual volumes. Still, I highly recommend the Korg for beginners and semi-pros that haven't got a cache of gear and/or software. For standalone equipment, I don't think there's anything really comparable to the Kaossilator, except it's cousin, the Mini Kaoss Pad, which is more for effects.
A hobbyist that was a session drummer in another life (before children), it's limiting to how often I can make music. Drummers have to deal with the confines of noise volumes (the neighbors), the amount of space required and the portability of your gear. Plus, your output is restricted to mainly the rhythmic aspects of music as well as performing in the more traditional acoustic genres. With two small children, I don't get to play with the Kaossilator as often as I'd like, but the one-year-old loves to see and hear it in action. While you can use the sounds to record with in your audio software, you can also just plug in headphones and experience your public transit commuting time diminish exponentially. I've taken it out of the house a few times. It runs on either a 4.5V adapter (not included) or 4 AA batteries (included). I have yet to really clock the amount of time used with just the batteries, but it's been a lot longer than you'd get on a laptop.
-- Gord Fynes
Korg Kaossilator
$190
Available from DJDeals
Periodically available from Amazon
Manufactured by Korg
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Weller Portasol Portable Butane Soldering Kit
I have used butane-powered soldering irons for about 17 years. This one is compact, well made and lighter than most other butane type irons I have used. It is made of a thermal plastic resistant to high temp and the cap is vented so you can put it back on while the head is still hot. The exterior is textured slightly, which makes it easier to hold. It gives a sharp, well-defined flame front with a very efficient burn. The torch has enough power to tin the ends of large cables and shrink large diameter heat shrink insulation. Unlike the cheaper ones from Weller, it comes with inter-changeable tips, including a hot knife tip, so I can use it occasionally on close pitch SM components. There's a wire rack in the case that allows you to set up the torch with a platform so you can use both hands. The fuel window is a nice feature, too. The run time is advertised at 90 minutes -- of course it depends a lot on how hot you run it. I usually use it at 50% or less. I always refill the butane whenever I store the torch in its case, so I have only run out once in 17 years of using this type of soldering iron (I was 35 feet in the air and that was the last time).
The lab I work in is busy and crowded, so I work outside of the lab a lot. I can tuck this soldering iron in my lab coat pocket and forget about until I need it. I use it two to three times a week. The iron is great for soldering crimped pins on a new cable and the torch is good for heat shrink when I don't want to go get the heat gun. I have yet to use it to cut poly rope, but it is nice to know I can. It is also great for lighting fireworks. I have not used the hot knife yet but I gave one of the kits to our mechanical engineer and he, being a sailor, thought it had real potential. The only draw back I have found is the TSA will not let you carry it on a plane.
Hint: I put the cap on the iron in the case and dropped a Leatherman E4 in the cap holder cut-out to create a more complete kit. You still need some flux cored solder, but one can tuck a small coil in the sponge can or carry a small tube separately.
-- Gary K.
Weller Portasol Portable Butane Soldering Kit
(model: P2KC)
$45
Available from Tool Barn
Or $53 from Amazon
Manufactured by Cooper Hand Tools
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Single Handed Docking and Sail Trim with Captain Jack Klang
I have been on the water in one fashion or another for over 40 years and this is the first comprehensive presentation I have seen on how to dock in all types of conditions and situations. Captain Jack, in a mere 53 minutes, covers the main topics that drive sailors nuts: docking and sail trim, especially spinnakers. First he uses models to describe the maneuvers and then we see him on his own boat demonstrating in real time. He shows how to maintain control of your boat with the wind on the bow, on the beam or aft. He covers situations with adverse currents. What I found most intriguing is how he backs his boat into a slip to keep the bow into the wind. He demonstrates a few basic concepts, like prop-walk and spring-lines, and shows how to use a single spring line (a line attached slightly midship) to control the boat's movements. He does this not only single handedly, but without jumping off the boat. Much safer.
I had seen Captain Jack many times at boat shows and was actually looking for a book by him so I could review the information he provides during his condensed presentations -- I was pleasantly surprised to find the DVD. I wish I would have had this video when I was a beginner. It would have saved a lot of hard knocks while docking and would have saved my having to unlearn many of the bad habits I picked up trimming sails.The interface between the land and sea is often the most challenging aspect of boating. This is especially true as marinas get tighter and tighter as they pack more and more boats into them. I still sail, but four years ago sold my sailboat and bought a Nordic Tug. Docking has always been a challenge and is even more so with the tug. The tug idles much faster, so everything happens faster. It is also much less maneuverable. Even if you are a power boater, the first half of the DVD concerning docking is still well worth the price. Just fast forward through the sail-handling parts or watch it and be inspired to go sailing.
-- Dean Raffaelli
Singlehanded Docking and Sail Trim with Captain Jack Klang
$25
Available from Captain Jack Klang
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Cinch Belts
Last Chance Heavy Duty Belt
I've never been a fan of notches. But most cinch belts just don't do the job. Inspired by the belts worn by smokejumpers, this one's made of two nylon strips sewn together with a foot-long strip of Velcro running along one side. Once it's on and the Velcro touches, I never have to re-cinch it. Though the nylon is substantial, much thicker than a seatbelt, the aluminum buckle is very light; I hardly notice it. Ideal for everyday casual wear, the belt is plain and quite handsome. I've worn it with a tie and blazer. It didn't fly under the radar -- it looked great. Never again will I hole-punch another post-holiday notch.
-- Steven Leckart
Last Chance Heavy Duty Belt
$23
(small - xl)
Available from Bison Designs
Also available from Amazon
(only med. - xl)
*
Tech Web Belt
Better than the smoke jumper belt (I've tried it) is Patagonia's Tech Web Belt. It's lighter and handsomer, comes in colors, and you don't have the noise and debris-collection of Velcro. I've worn mine for six months at all occasions from dressy to sweaty. Trim your new belt to the exact convenient size you want, flame-melt the cut end so it doesn't fray, and you've got the perfect custom belt.
-- Stewart Brand
Tech Web Belt
$26
Available from Patagonia
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Popcorn Popper as Coffee Roaster
I wanted to try roasting my own coffee but was reluctant to plunk down $100 just to try it. The solution: a hot-air popcorn popper. Sweet Maria's web site has detailed instructions on how to use a popcorn popper to dry roast coffee beans. I already had a popper (a $3 "Presto" I got at a thrift store), so I ordered a pound of green beans. Turns out it's very easy. No tinkering, hacking or rewiring necessary.
Measure the beans as you would popcorn. Same amount.
Tilt back the popper a little so the beans won't bounce out.
As the beans roast, the chaff separates, so it's important to point the popper towards a sink or garbage can. You can also do it outside and the chaff just floats away in a slight breeze.
Time it for 6-8 minutes, depending on how dark you like your roast. I usually timed mine about 7-7.5 minutes, but a few trials will get you to a place where you like it. Experiment! Roasting doesn't produce a lot of smoke, but does produce enough to set off a smoke detector. Be sure to disable it while you're roasting inside.
Half a cup of fresh-roasted coffee (above) is enough for two days in our house; I store it in a tight-sealing mason-type jar to keeps it fresh.
Sweet Maria's recommends cooling off the beans so they stop roasting. I do this by shaking them in this jelly-making collander, but really, for my simple tastes, it's not completely necessary.
It's best to wait 12 hours or so before brewing. This allows all the gasses from the roasting process to escape. Again, to my simple taste, it tastes the same. In the photo below, the beans look like they are different colors. This batch (below) was from a blend of different beans. Normally, if the beans are the same, they will all be the same tone of brown.
As you can see, it's a bit of work and requires clean up, but for me, it's well worth it. Coffee roasters have to be cleaned as well, so either way, the process is not for someone in a hurry. Once I figured out that I was going to stick with roasting (who wouldn't? it tastes so much better), I bought the previously-reviewed Fresh Roast Plus Coffee Roaster. It's quieter and has it's own chaff collector. Sweet Maria's has more elaborate roasters. They even have one with a catalytic converter so no smoke comes out. If I had more money, I might buy a better one. But for under a $100, the FreshRoast Plus 8 is great. If I hadn't been able to afford it, though, I'd still be roasting with my popcorn maker. It worked great and tasted great. It fills the house with the lovely aroma of coffee. It also makes for a great conversation piece for people who never have ventured beyond their local coffee house in search of that excellent cup.
-- Bingo Wright
More info available from Sweet Maria's
How to tell if your popper can be a roaster
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Topeak Mini 6
This incredibly compact, bike-oriented multi-tool has five different sizes of Allen wrench plus a Phillips screwdriver head, all of which folds up into a little pod about the size of a walnut. Sometimes I'll carry it in my pocket or toss it in shoulder bag; mostly I keep it in the under-seat pouch of my bike. It really comes in handy for quick adjustments: raising the seat height, tightening the rear view mirror, adding and removing accessories, etc. Because it's so small it doesn't give enough leverage for really tight nuts (you can't remove a handlebar stem with it), but by extending the tools on the opposite side of the one you're using you can get a handle that's effectively 2.5 inches long, which is enough for small jobs. It also works well as a keychain fob, though at 58g it's slightly on the heavy side.
-- Dylan Tweney
Topeak Mini 6
$12
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Topeak
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Montane Featherlite Smock
When folded into its stuff sack, this Pertex windshirt is the size of a small apple and weighs only about 100g. Unlike a "real" coat, the smock can disappear into a jacket pocket or cargo pocket of your combat pants or it can lurk, weightlessly, for weeks in a backpack until needed. Other than being a carry-all-the-time item allowing minimal bulk, it's extremely versatile. It blocks the wind, preventing windchill, while still feeling as breathable as a lightweight cotton t-shirt. Pull up the neck zip and the smock will trap a layer of air around your body. Because the smock keeps this air dry instead of letting it saturate with sweat, it's a superb insulator: the ground outside has been white with frost recently, but I've been quite happy walking around with the smock over my sweater (about 0 Centigrade). Shower resistant, but not waterproof, it's much more breathable than anything I've tried that is waterproof -- while Goretex may transmit about 25% of water vapour in even ideal circumstances, Pertex scores closer to 100%. As such, the windshirt is a great outer layer for hikers, cyclists and runners to wear in all conditions where real rain wear isn't essential. It's also terrific for commuting and tourism, especially when added to a light umbrella, which allows you to leave heavier-to-carry and sweatier-to-wear just-in-case clothes at home. I have read that if you soup up the water resistance with Nikwax DWR, it makes an acceptable waterproof, but I haven't tested this. Serious outdoor adventurers in serious conditions might want to look at the Featherlite's grown-up, bulkier, heavier cousins like the Montane Extreme, Paramo, and especially various Buffalo products. These combine Pertex with insulating material to provide single-layer high performance clothing for skiing and mountaineering in very harsh conditions. Other brands like Paramo and Marmot offer products similar to the Featherlite. I went with Montane because of their reputation. They're the kings of ultralight, which is what this type of windshirt should be about.
-- Jonathan Coupe
Montane Featherlite Smock
$76
Available from ProLite Gear
Manufactured by Montane Outdoor Clothing
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Aladdin Lamps
Aladdin lamps have been around for 100 years. At their brightest, they're about as radiant as a 60W incandescent light bulb, so you can easily read by them. They burn kerosene or lamp oil, and employ a cylindrical wick that heats a Welsbach mantle (it's bright incandescence comes from thorium and cerium oxides). Similar to a lantern, but without the pumping and compressed air hissing. As such, the Aladdins are perfectly silent. They're also more fuel-efficient than a pressure lantern, yet provide almost the same amount of light. Though they're not more fuel-efficient than an average oil lamp, they can make a typical oil lamp look like a nightlight.
The lamp on the right (above) does not use a mantle, just a wick. They are both using the same fuel; I use Klean-Strip's "Klean-Heat" which is a purified kerosene substitute usable anywhere kerosene is specified. A bowl of fuel can put out a lot more lumen-hours than a battery-operated lamp, making the Aladdins perfect for off-grid use or in the event of a power failure. I have an off-grid cabin in San Benito County south of the Pinnacles National Monument. Though I spend most of my time at my on-the-grid home, I'm partial to using an Aladdin at both residences. After trying other lamps, including a basic oil lamp I bought at Wal-Mart, I finally got Aladdin's Genie III shelf lamp, the basic no frills version.
When properly adjusted they are essentially odourless and smokeless (the only time there is a slight smell is right after extinguishing the flame). By raising and lowering the wick, you can dim the lamp, too. If you raise the wick too high, though the fuel/air mixture becomes too rich and they start to soot/smoke, just like any other oil lamp. Properly adjusted, the wicked fuel creates a blue flame that heats the mantle. An optional chimney extender creates more updraft allowing you to operate the wick higher and get even more light. They recommend this for high-altitude (5000-ft.) operation.
-- Bruce Bowen
Aladdin Genie III Lamp
$85
(brass)
Available from Aladdin Lamps
Or $90 (clear), also from Aladdin Lamps
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