Sister Clips

Sister Clips are simple attaching devices commonly used in boating for ropes but also interesting for keychains and EDC items.

Each clip has two holes, one of them with a small opening in the side, you can match the openings of two clips to attach them, once attached the clips will not dettach unless someone specifically moves the clip to make the holes match again. They are very easy to attach and dettach but very secure since accidental release is almost impossible.

The clips are made of grade 316 and 305 stainless steel the bigger one has a ferruled attaching hole, measures 1 7/16'' and weights just .4 oz, the eye diameter is 13/32 inch, this clip is able to resist up to 550lbs of weight. The small one is 15/16 inch with an eye of 9/32 inch and works up to 150lbs.

These clips are very practical to attach items to a keychain or other places, you just have to put one of the clips attached to your device and the other attached to the keychain, backpack or other attachment point.

You can get them for $2.10 (small one) or $3.40 (big one) from this site.

Trascend USB Drives

This is a new line of very thin and small USB drives, available in 1Gb, 2Gb and 4Gb of storage space.

The drive is 42.6 x 16mm and it's only 3.1mm thin. The total weight is less than 2gr so the drive is virtually weightless. The drive as many others connects directly to a USB 2.0 port without needing drivers in modern operating systems (XP, etc). It comes with a hole to attach a neck strap or lanyard.

It comes with some pre-installed software like PC-Lock, Zip, AES encryption, Email, Autologin and backup a good set of useful utilities for this type of drive. The transfer rate is 10Mb/sec reading and 2MB/sec writing, the manufacturer ensures data retention up to 10 years.

The 1gb model is $16, the 2gb model $25 and the 4gb model $43 and you can order from Trascend.

Microfix Personal PLB

The Microfix is a portable and small PLB, a PLB is a personal locator beacon, an emergency device to get located and rescued in case of emergency.

The PLB works transmitting a message in the 406Mhz frequency with a registered digital distress signal along with a 121.5MHZ SAR homing frequency. The signal can be picked up by satellites and transmited to a mission control center, the signal is then localized and a Search and rescue operation is organized. The SAR team use the 121.5mhz or the 406mhz signal to locate the PLB precisely.

As you can see a PLB is only to be used in real emergencies and not for any non-emergency purpose every time you activate the PLB a Search and Rescue operation will be organized spending time and money to save you.

Activation is easy, deploy the antenna to reveal on/off activation button and hold it for one second. The runtime is about 40 hours, more than enough to transmit the signal. The case is waterproof and built of highly resistant plastic to survive impacts.

For people that are frequently in risky locations or that need to work alone in the outdoors a PLB is the most effective way to get located and rescued in an emergency, some time ago PLBs were very bulky and expensive but today as we can see in this model they are getting to a very reasonable size. This unit is 1.25 x 5.81 x 2.31 in (3.71 x 14.75 x 5.8 cm) and weights 10oz (285gr) price is still expensive but this is a device that can certainly save your life.

You can read more at ACR's website.

PalmBlaze K2 Flashlight

This is a K2 luxeon LED flashlight powered by two C123 lithium batteries. The light is 4.8'' long with a 1'' diameter. It is quite slim for a two cell light, the body is made of anodized aluminium with a knurled body to aid the grip.

The switch is a clickie with momentary activation possible pressing lightly. The light uses a collimator lens to focus the beam in a very tight spot, this makes the beam appear like a square at close distances it is a light designed for throw with very little sidespill.

The runtime is about 1 hour at maximum brightness and then 3 or 4 extra hours at reduced brightness, how usable this dimmer light is depends on every user, after 4 hours the LED is still on but very dim so we wouldn't say it has any real use except as maybe a locator. If it is used in constant on mode the flashlight body will get very very hot after 10 or 15 minutes of use.

Advertised as a tactical flashlight with 130 lumen we have to say this is not a tactical light and it is not 130 lumen either, our calculations reach about 80 to 85 lumen. To be a tactical light the switch would have to be silent and turn off if the light is dropped, there will have to be an anti-roll mechanism and the body would have to be a stronger aluminium not just simple anodization. This doesn't mean we don't like the light, it is probably a very nice light and for $39 getting a 80 lumen light designed for throw is probably a good deal. It would be even nicer if it wasn't advertised as it is but manufacturers have a strange way to understand their public.

With the new Cree LED lights in the market the PalmBlaze K2 is probably a little outdated it is good thrower light designed to illuminate distant objects with aceptable runtime and a reasonable price but for just a few extra dollars you can get something brighter and with multiple brightness levels.

You can order for $39 from Battery Junction.

Atwood's Mini Son of PryThing

This is a very small tool that can be used as a knife, a pry bar, bottle opener, scraper and nail remover, other uses are possible depending on your imagination.

The MSOPT is about 3 inches long and it's made of S30V steel with a satin finish. As the picture shows the tool is really very small and cute. The blade is sharp and can be used to open boxes, cut wire and other jobs. The bottle opener works perfectly and the front of the tool can be used to pry, scrape, clean and remove nails. The only small detail to remember is not to put your thumb over the blade when you use the bottle opener, unless your thumb is very thick or the blade very dull but the blade comes very sharp from Peter's shop.

The MSOPT comes with a cord handle, either rubber or paracord and it has a hole that can be used for a lanyard. They come with a kydex sheath that is setup for neck carry but can also be used in your keychain, in your backpack or dropped inside one of your pockets.

The blade being sharp means you need to store your MSOPT in the kydex sheath to carry it and while the tool is really small it is not so small with the sheath so it may be a little bulky for your keychain.

In short words this is a very very nice and useful little tool that is not only beautiful and cute but also very strong and does many things very well.

You can read more and order for $80 from Peter Atwood's website.

Scuba Capsule

These are spy/survival capsules with a shape similar to a scuba oxygen tank. They are wider than other capsules being 2'' long with a 3/4'' diameter.

As other capsules this one can be used to store cash, pills, thread and other small items, they are very common for small items when geocaching; the wide body makes them useful for pills that won't fit other capsules and for other round items with a diameter as big as 3/4''.

They are made of aluminium with a rubber o-ring for sealing, so they will be water proof and dunkable. The capsule wall is quite thick so impacts and falls won't damage the capsule and its contents. They are slightly bulky for a keyring but that depends on personal preferences. They come with a split ring and a couple of extra o-rings, if you are going to take them underwater using two o-rings instead of one might be a good idea for extra safety.

If you think about using them as C123 battery holders please check some of the capsules fit a 123 battery and others don't due to minimal finishing details. One detail we liked is that since the capsule is opened near the bottom you can use almost all the volume of the capsule to store mini kits without anything dropping when you open it.

You can order them in red, blue or gun metal silver for $5 each from this website.

Spyderco Spin

The spin is a very small keychain/EDC knife by Spyderco it measures 2 7/16'' (63mm) when closed and it has a 5/8'' (41mm) blade, the total length when opened being 4 1/8'' (105 mm). The total weight is 1.35oz (38gr).

The blade is VG-10 steel with a wharncliff profile maximizing cutting surface for its size. The slightly rounded tip is good for precision cutting and can even work to clean small places or fingernails.

The handle is stainless steel with a laser engraved spider web, grip is good due to the very ergonomic shape of the handle your fingers will be safe from the blade even if you have to put some pressure in the knife. The lock is called an Integral Lock. This is basically a Liner Lock with a twist created by Chris Reeve it uses the the handle scale as the lock’s liner in this way the back of the handle is used as the lock removing the need for internal liners and making the knife very very slim.

The Spin comes with a stainless steel pocket clip that is used to clip the knife tip-down to your pockets and can also work as a money clip if you prefer to use it in that way. There is also a lanyard hole for a wrist lanyard or neck carrying.

A very small knife with an excelent design, solid construction and a surprising ability to cut the spin is a great little knife with a low profile that won't scare anyone. It can look like a stylish accesory or money clip and be used as a serious cutting tool when needed.

You can read more or order for $80 from Spyderco's website.

Titanium Key Tool

This is a very small tool made of Titanium, it is shaped as a door key measuring 2 1/2 inches in length and about 1 inch wide.

The tool can be used as a flat head screwdriver, as a bottle opener and to bend wire. The screwdriver works well. Since the top side of the bottle opener is the screwdriver the suface in contact with the bottle cap will be thin so a little extra force is needed compared to other bottle openers but of course this is not an issue since opening a bottle isn't a task that demans a lot of strength.

Made of titanium the tool is very light and stronger than steel with incredible resistance to corrosion. This property makes this a good tool for boating or environments near the sea where corrosion due to salt water may be a big problem. You can put this tool in your keychain and it won't get rusty. It is a little pricey but Titanium is not a cheap material.

You can order for $25 from this site.