Cross Ion

The "Ion" is a small pen from Cross that can be carried in a keychain or a neck lanyard if needed. Some of the models actually include the lanyard.

The Ion is a gel ink pen, this means the writing will be dark, smooth (very smooth) and will flow easily. It writes really well but the gel ink takes some time to dry so you have to avoid smears being careful not to run your hand over your writing.

The pen is opened pulling the ends and closed snapping the ends it extends just an inch or so. The grip is very nice and the style is very suitable for pocket carry since it won't leak and you can't get stabbed because the pen is quite stubby. It's a thick and short pen so you will have to check it you like it for writing, not everybody likes the same style of pens and grips.

You can get it in several different colors and styles and with several different ink colors from almost any office supplies store, you can read more about it in Cross website.

Hidden Money Belts

Belts with a hidden compartment are recommended to travelers to keep some money or valuable items in a secure way. As we all can realize they can also be used to carry some EDC items.

This version in black has a zippered compartment in the inside of the belt that goes for about half the belt length so can be used to store a lot of things as long as they are flat. You can keep some money, bandaids, tablets or pills, a card sized multi-tool, a card sized knife, mini glow stickies, a very slim flashlight and many other items. It can be a good idea for a small emergency kit that you will only use in case of need.

The model in the picture costs just $6 and can be ordered from this website. Cabelas has other models one in simil leather for more formal clothes for $25 and yet another model for $16.

TAD Gear's Tactical Impact Caps (TIC)

The TIC (Tactical Impact Cap) is an accesory bezel crown for some popular flashlights intended to add a defensive purpose to a traditional flashlight.

Surefire created this niche of flashlights with the E2D "defender" model, the idea is that you can use the flashlight to blind or disorient an attacker but you can also use it as an impact weapon in case of extreme need. When all this is not an issue the TIC is a nice decorative bezel and in some modesl is helpful to know if the light is on or off when you put it bezel down on a flat surface.

The bezels are constructed in HA-III aluminium with a matte finish and a knurled body, they are attached to the bezel of a flashlight using 3 small screws, the screws might leave marks on your flashlight so have that in mind when trying.

There are models for Fenix flashlights, Maglites and Surefire flashlights. Some of the caps work as well with other brands, for example in the picture you can see it in a Nuwai TM301X5 and the end result is great.

You can order the caps starting at $25 from TAD gear.

Nuwai TM-301X-5

The TM301X5 is a 5 watt luxeon led flashlight from chinese manufacturer Nuwai. The light is powered by 2 C123A lithium cells.

The body of the light is grade II anodized aluminium, not as strong as HA-III but strong enough to resist bumps, impacts and scratches.

The bezel is slightly crenelated and can be used to know if the light is on or off when standing on a flat surface. The switch is a normal reverse clickie in the tailcap. The flashlight features a pocket clip located aproximately in the middle of the body and it can be used to carry the flashlight bezel-up.

The light has a strong flood-type beam this means a lot of sidespill instead of a long throw. It won't be very useful to point at distanct objects but can turn a room into daylight.

The runtime is about 2 hours to 2 hours and a half with a fresh set of batteries and the light is really really bright, it may not look as bright as others because of the beam type but the amount of light it produces is really great. Point it to the ceiling in a dark room and compare it with other lights to understand the concept of "amount of light" vs "throw".

This model can be get with a holder and batteries for about $65, check for availability at Lighthound.

Special Feature: On LEDs and Colors

When choosing a LED flashlight many times you are offered a choice of colors for the LEDs, there are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, cyan and many other colors for LEDs; the big question is how should you choose? When do you need an orange LED? What can be a good scenario for using a green LED?

In this small article we present the basic properties of the different LED colors and suggest some scenarios where that particular color can be useful. From Infra Red LEDs to the UV LEDs seen on CSI TV shows.

You can read this article in our special featured article following this link.

Black Diamond Small Micron Funbiner

The funbiners are small carabiners made of light aluminium from Black Diamond. They are smaller than climbing carabiners and are totally unsuitable for climbing.

Black diamond sells the funbiners as connections between carabiners, flasks, tools and other items to your backpack or bag.

As keychains they are much stronger than the normal aluminium carabiners and the spring is a lot better so they can be a nice improvement in your keychain while keeping the same size and look than the regular keychain carabiners.

You can read more in the product page and you can order them in different colors and two sizes from $3 from REI.

Highgear SmartLatch Panic Strobe Keychain

This keychain provides a splitring for your keys or items and two additional functions: A personal alarm and a safety strobe light.

The unit is powered by a C2032 lithium coin cell which is very popular and easy to get, to activate the unit you have to open the battery compartment and remove a plastic tab, something that the instructions don't mention because there are no instructions supplied.

The strobe is activated pressing the red button, the red light will start flashing, press again and it is off. To activate the personal alarm you have to press the gray button and then pull the body of the device away from the red button, the alarm will activate; to deactivate it you have to press the button and then push the body. This is intended to make deactivation of the alarm difficult for people not familiar with the device, in my opinion this is fine but the activation should have been more easy in case of emergency. The alarm is about 80db loud enough to attract attention but not enough to be harmful to the ears of an attacker.

The SmartLatch costs $15 and can be ordered from REI.

Bison Designs Air Hook Caddie

The Air Hook Caddie is a keyring that combines a carabiner-style clip with quick-release mini keyrings.

The Caddie is made in aluminium and can be ordered in 3 different colors: black, purple or blue. The carabiner is strong and can be clipped to belt loops or other attachment points without serious risk of losing it.

The quick release keyrings feature small splitrings that can be released from the keyring using a sliding button on one side. You have to place the splitring you want to remove below the button, slide it and then pull, they item will sepparate from the body of the caddie. With this system you can quickly remove a keychain flashlight, pen or knife from your keychain in case of need without the need of operating a splitring. The caddie costs $10 and can be ordered from REI.