Krill Lights

The Krill lights are en electronic alternative to chemical glow sticks commonly used in the military, camping and many other areas. The light is generated by electroluminiscence, no bulbs no leds, in the same way that a watch display glows. This means the lights provide a smooth 360 degrees ambient illumination without any beams or patterns.

They are available in different configurations, you can get them in 360 degrees or 180 degrees beam, there is a "Extreme" version that is brighter than the regular one with a shorter runtime and there is also a shorter version called "mini". The regular version can run for about 120 hours with one set of batteries while the extreme version runs for about 50 hours. The available colors are red, yellow, orange, blue, white and green.

The polycarbonate case with o-rings for sealing is extremely resistant and waterproof, the lights can be used up to 50 feet and will resist serious impacts and abuse. Compared to the chemical sticks the krill lights are less fragile and have longer runtimes but they are not as bright as the regular green light sticks, to our observes they were aproximately 75% of the chemical ones.

At a price of $25 to $30 the Krill lights are great tools as markers and soft illumination devices and require less care than the chemical lights, for normal use the "extreme" version is probably the best while the regular version becomes an option when you need extremely long runtimes.

You can read more and check for dealres at the official website.

Gear Keepers

Retractors are normally used for badges but they are very useful to carry all kind of items that might be quickly needed without the risk of losing them; the only problem is that finding hight quality retractors for gear is not easy, the badge retractors are not strong enough and the construction is often unreliable.

These retractors from GearKeeper are top quality general purpose retractors that can be used for different objects, keys, flashlights, guns, knives, tools, etc. They offer 2 different tension strengths and several options for the attachment point.

The two tensions are 6oz and 12oz. For small items the 6oz is more than enough, for big D cell flashlights or heavy objects you may need the 12oz version. One of the ends of the retractor is a quick release plastic clip with a splitring, the other end or main attachment point can be one of four different options: A plastic clip, a pin mount, a velcro strap mount or a belt clip mount.

The retractor is made of coated stainless steel cable with a stainless steel spring inside a plastic case, they can take up to 60lbs of weight without breaking the spring mechanism. So if you are looking for a good retractor for your gear then pick a tension, pick an attachment system and you have your gear keeper.

You can read more in the official website. Check the dealers at the page because the items are frequently out of stock and are not very easy to get. The cost is about $10 to $20 depending on the attachment option, strength and vendor.

Spyderco Cricket

The cricket is a very small and interesting knife from Spyderco. It's smaller than most pocket folders and certainly stranger.

starting with the basics the Cricket is a linerlock liner made out of the backside scale of the handle this kind of lock makes the cricket not only small in length but very thin too. The blade made of VG10 steel is shaped ending in a point allows precision cutting jobs so it is a very nice knife for hobbysts (and hobbits too!) .

The pocket clip carries the cricket tip-down in your pocket and since it is quite small you can use it as a pocket clip too. The best thing about the cricket is probably the discrete look it has, it doesn't look as a weapon to people's eyes so you won't get in trouble with authorities or scared looks if you carry it around in your pocket or as a money clip.

Certainly a very nice and curious knife that deserves a serious look among EDC options. The cricket costs $50 and you can check several options here. More information in Spyderco's website.

Boker Rescom Folder

The Rescom is a Rescue-style knife from Boker USA and while it is intended as a rescue knife, it is also very usable as a cutting tool in general, specially for rope.

There are two cutting surfaces in the Rescom, a serrated edge and a cutting hook with micro dentations. The edges are designed to cut seatbelts, rope and clothes in rescue situations. Our tests showed that both the hook and the serrated edge are great for general rope cutting performing very clean cuts, the hook is good to untangle cord, open boxes, cut knots and other tasks.

Weighting just 2 and half onzes with a blade of 1 7/8" and overall length 4 1/2" the rescom is very pocketable and goes completely unnoticed. It can even be used as a money clip that will be ready to do the job in case of emergencies. The blade is AUS-8 steel. The scale is textured G10 on one side and bare metal in the other side (where the pocket clip is). The grip is very good, non slippery and for the size of the knife more than confortable to hold the big curved place for your index finger makes the knife safe to use even if you have to use force. The pocket clip is very strong so it might be difficult to clip but once clipped the knife won't get lost.

As a rescue tool it is only missing some tip to break glass windows in case of need, as a cutting tool for rope and others it is certainly great. After the tests I liked to have it around to open boxes and cut cord, the non-knife looking is also very safe for urban carry and events where a folding knife would not be welcomed.

You can get it from $25 to $40 (varies) from different sites, check froogle's links. For more information you can visit Boker Website and search for "Rescom", product code is BO587.

Surefire Kroma

The Kroma is the first surefire model to offer multiple led colors in the same flashlight (the A2 aviator combined leds with an incadescent lamp).

The Kroma has a principal 3w luxeon white led and surrounding that led it has sixteen 5mm leds, 8 of them blue and 8 of them red. The flashlight is powered by 2 C123 lithium cells.

Both the 5mm leds and the central white led have dual output levels (low and high), the color leds are selected by a selection ring near the bezel as in the U2 while the main led is acitvated o deactivated using the tailcap switch. In total you can get the following combinations:
Low red, High red, Low blue, High Blue, Low white, High White, Low red + High white, High red + High White, Low Blue + High White, High Blue + High White. Combining blue or red with the white central led produces white hotspot with a blue or red corona. We are not sure about a scenario where this could be useful. At maximum level with the high white on the Kroma runs for 1.5 hours while on the red or blue low level it can run for about 80 hours.

The red leds are good to preserve night vision, white on low is good for map reading since red marks in a map won't be visible using a red led, blue is good for blood tracing and other specific tasks,blue generates a lot of contrasts so it's nice to search for fallen items to the floor, blue is generally not very good for the eyes so in my personal taste a green/red combo would have been a lot better than red/blue because green is very helpful to attract attention due to its high visibility. The maximum white level is about 50 lumen not as bright as many other 3watt flashlights in the market and certainly not enough for tactical purposes.

The Kroma features a TIR lens as in the E1L to tighten the focus of the central led, at close range this means the beam will be square and not a circle. The TIR system makes the led able to throw the beam at further objects but it sacrifices sidespill. This is not a big problem since for close tasks or ambien illumination you can fall back on the 5mm LEDs.

As usual in Surefires the construction in HA-III aluminium is excellent, the lens and body will resist hits and impacts without breaking, o-rings make the light waterproof.

The Kroma is certainly a very cool light but it has some drawbacks, it is expensive and for most users you will not need all the modes and you may not need one set of leds at all. The total brightness is subpar for a modern flashlight so I would say that it is good as long as you have a practical use for many of the modes it has.

The Kroma retails for $300 you can read more in Surefire's website. You can order it form OpticsHQ.

Victorinox Swiss Tool Spirit

The "Spirit" is one of the most popular multi-tools from SAK manufacturer Victorinox.

The list of tools the Spirit has includes needle nose pliers which are very good with soft wire cutters and hard wire cutters. It has 2, 3 and 6mm flat screwdrivers and phillips screwdrivers. Scissors of very good quality with plain edges. Can opener, chisel, bottle opener, wire stripper, metal saw, wood saw, awl and a file.

There is no knife in the Spirit, the serrated saw can be considered a serrated knife and it is very sharp but serrated as it is works better as a saw than as a knife. All the tools in the spirit lock with a slide-release mechanism in the handles and as seen in the picture all the tools but the pliers can be opened without opening the tool.

Some of the tools in the spirit are very unique and particular, the chisel/wire stripper is certainly a very nice tool that you will probably use a lot, combined with the prytool you have a lot of options for prying and scrapping. The screwdrivers are very good with the nice detail of the long neck in the philips one to reach screws embedded in holes.

The slightly curved handles are ergonomic, maybe a little slippery being made of metal without any knurling the tool has a very sleek look and feel that will automatically trigger a love or hate feeling from the user, there are no middle points.

The spirit offers innovative design and a very interesting set of tools, the absence of a knive can be great for those that already carry a knife of their preference enjoying the extra set of tools the spirit has. A complete package with excellent quality and a nice design for a very affordable price make the Spirit one of our top choices along with the Leatherman Charge Ti for a multi-tool.

The Spirit comes in a leather pouch and can be ordered from Amazon for $60.

Powerball Signature Edition

The "signature" is a special edition of the Neon Pro Powerball.

If you are new to powerballs or you haven't read the Neon Pro mini review then we will tell you that powerballs are gyroscopes that can be used to excercise your upper body, specially your arms and they are a great fun to use too.

You spin the ball using very short circular wrist movements and as you spin the rotor will start spinning inside creating an opposing force, this resistance will make your muscles work harder and harder as you spin the ball faster and faster. The end result is a constant search for new speed records and a lot of fun while at the same time excercising your forearms, biceps and triceps.

This special edition comes in a translucent gray case with a gray rubber band around and shines white LEDs when activated.

As well as the Neon Pro the signature edition comes with the counter at the top that can keep track of your rpm records and endurance results. The performance is similar to the Neon Pro with just a different look and feel, the special edition comes with a wrist lanyard, a DVD with movies and training videos and a couple of extra starter strings.

You can read more at the official website and order one for $50 from Powerballs.com e-store.

LifeHammer ResqMe Keychain Tool

The ResqMe tools is a dual purpose safety tool mainly intended for drivers but can also be used in other vehicles and for people working in emergencies like doctors, paramedics, policemen and firemen.

The first function in the tool is a spring-loaded head that can break side and rear automotive windows, you press the head against the window and after applying some pressure a spring activates a pin that punches the window breaking it. It won't break laminated windshields but normally works with side or rear windows. The activation is easy and will work underwater if needed.

The second tool is a seatbelt cutter blade, the blade is protected by a plastic cover that can be removed pulling the splitring that comes with the tool. You may need both hands to remove the plastic cover of the blade so it may be safer to keep the blade uncovered if the tool is not in your keychain.

The ResqMe is an affordable emergency tool, keeping one in your car is probably a good idea if you don't have something similar.

You can get it for $8.95 from EDCdepot.