Petzl E-Lite

The e-lite is a very small headlamp from petzl, it weights only 30 grams including the batteries, the light comes with a headband and a protective case in red color.

This small headlamp has 3 white leds and one red led powered by two C2032 coin cell lithium batteries. The light has 5 modes of operation selected moving the red lever in order they are: white minium, white maximum, white strobe, red strobe and constant red. The runtime is 35 hours in maximum mode and 45 hours in white minimum, a lot longer in red mode.

The lamp can be used with the supplied headband or removed and clipped to a belt, backpack, a hat or other objects, it can be used as a marker or a beacon. As a headlamp it is fine for indoors use, use inside a tent or close works but certainly not suitable for exploring. The light Waterproof down to -1 m.

You can read more in Petzl's website. Or oder for $28.99 from TAD Gear.

Lee Valley Magnet Compass

This is a fun novelty item from Lee Valley. Basically it is a barrel shaped neodynium magnet, due to its shape when placed on top of a flat surface it will orient in the North - South direction.

Curiously the magnet does not have a marker to differentiate North from South but at least it points you to the NS direction. The magnet comes inside a small survival capsule with a mini lanyard for transportation. So basically you get a very small magnet and a survival capsule when you order this item.

It is not a compass you will use for navigation but it is a nice gift and a fun item and being just as small as the picture shows you can practically put it anywhere as long as the magnet will not affect other objects. The aluminium capsule is a nice one too.

You can get them for $4.50 following this link.

UrsaLite Carabiners

These are very small carabiners of excelent quality, they are just 1.5" long x 1.0" wide (4.0 cm x 2.5 cm) and are not intended for climbing or rescue operations but yet they can take up to 150lbs of weight without getting damaged or breaking.

Constructed in anodized aluminium the carabiners are really light they only weight: 0.11 oz (3.1 g) so they will be weightless when attached to your belt, backpack, tent or any kind of equipment.

They are very good for keychains or to attach objects to backpacks or bags, they won't break and won't be bulky or add extra weight to your equipment. You can use them to attach a radio, a hat, a flashlight and many other accesories to your belt or your backpack and they work very well for a keychain too.

A pack of six can be ordered for about $15 following this link.

The guardian light

The Guardian is a small clipable domed led light. It comes in five different colors: amber, aqua, blue, red and white. The light uses a couple of C2032 coin cell lithium batteries.

The light is turned on or off twisting the dome, if you keep untwisting the dome will open to change the batteries so don't untiwst a lot or you will risk losing parts of the light accidentally.

Depending on the position of the batteries the light will be turned on in constant mode or blinking mode, since you have to open the light and reverse the batteries to change the mode I would say that the light has only 1 mode of operation but can be selected among 2 when installing the batteries. The runtime is about 100 hours in constant mode and about 250 hours in blinking mode.

In the back of the light you can find a plastic clip to clip the light to a belt, hat, backpack and other objects.

The domed light is good as a beacon or a marker but probably not good enough as an area light or a flashlight, it is certainly a good and small marker for several needs.

You can read some extra info or get it for about $12 following this link.

Maxpedition Keyper

The Keyper is a solid keyring from maxpedition that can be used as a keyring or as an attachment point for several items in backpacks, bags and other items.

The keyper has double loop (3 straps) of cordura nylon with reinforced stitches that closes using strong velcro. The three straps allow your belt or attachment strap to remain isolated from the velcro and then the velcro closure has contact in 100% of its surface for a stronger result. Attached to the loop is a metallic spring clip, the clip has an "eye" that can be used to pass a splitring or some paracord if needed.

The belt/backpach attachment loop is extremely strong and resistant regardless of the weight the keyper will not dettach or fall. The metal clip is quite good but the spring might lose some tension with constant use but not enough to make splitrings fall.

Retailing for about $9 the keyper is a very solid keyring and attachment accesory for your backpacks. You can read more in Maxpedition website.

Wenger Evo Nail Clip

For many people a nail clipper is a lot better to trim nails than a pair of scissors, specially if your weak hand is a lot weaker than your strong hand; this multi-tool from Wenger features both: nail clippers and scissors along other tools in a very small package certainly suitable for keychains.

The tool is 65mm (2.5 in) long and 18mm both in width and depth (0.7 in), the total weight is 40gr (11 oz).

The Evo Nail Clip has a small blade letter-opener style, a toothpick, nail cleaner with file, scissors with micro teeth and the lever operated clippers. The clippers work flawlessly they are easy to deploy, easy to use and cut perfectly. The scissors with micro serrated edges are very good and will cut more than what the size suggests. The nail file, blade and toothpick are good complements.

The shape of the tool is attractive offering a good grip and it comes with a split ring for keychain. Certainly an interesting tool if you prefer nail clippers to scissors for your nails.
You can read more and order for about $20 following this link.

Inova 24/7

The 24/7 is an octagonal shaped flashlight from Inova featuring 8 5mm leds: 4 white, 2 amber and 2 red. The flashlight is powered by a single C123A lithium battery.

The flashlight is activated rotating the octagonal bezel where the leds are, it has nine modes of operation.

The first mode is low-intensity white, good for general use as a task light it has a runtime of 15 hours. The next mode is high intensity white runtime of 6 hours brighter for signaling and suitable for walks or hikes if you use the light attached to your backpack strap.

Mode number 3 is a white strobe that can run for 100 hours. The fourth mode is an SOS signal using the white leds. The fifth mode is a red&yellow wig-wag. Mode 6 is a white, red and yellow strobe. Mode #7 is just red suitable for preserving night vision. Mode #8 can be accessed putting the bezel in between any two of the regular settings, then the two red LEDs will flick on every 15-20 seconds, this can be used as a locator to find the flashlight at night. The runtime is 15.000 hours in this mode. If you ask a bout a ninth mode then mode nine is off.

There is a clip on the back of the light to clip it to a backpack, epaulet or belt. It also comes with a neck lanyard. The construction is solid and the flashlight is waterproof. The interface is very easy to operate but not very powerful, brightness can't be controled except high-low white and the amber leds are completely wasted being only used in one of the many signaling modes. The red leds have only one mode of operation and the strobe can't be regulated.

For about $40 it is probably a good signaling and backup light to hang from backpacks or belts, if the modes suit your needs it is certainly a great item. It is available in yellow and black, you can read more in Inova's product page. To order check this links.

Swisstech Bodygard

This is a 5 in 1 emergency tool primary intended for drivers. The tool is 3” x 1-3/4” x 5/8” in size and weights about an ounze.

The first of the five tools is a window glass breaker, basically a spring activated mechanism to break side windows in case of emergency. Then you have a seatbelt cutter, an alarm to attract attention, a red beacon and a white flashlight.

The device is powered by a single AA battery, it is small enough to be carried in almost any compartment or even in a keychain probably intended to be carried with the car keys. It relases from they keyring with a quick tug for fast emergency use leaving the seatbelt cutter exposed.

The construction in ABS plastic is solid and the device will be waterproof and impact proof. The color is probably not the best option for an emergency tool and a whistle might have been better than the electronic alarm because it doesn't depend on the battery.

A small and practical tool for road safety. You can read more about it or get it for $20 from SwissTech's website.