Streamlight Sidewinder

The sidewinder is a strange looking utility flashlight, the body is shaped in a rectangular form with an articulated head that can rotate, in the head we can find a white .5W white LED and three 5mm LEDs, the 3mm LEDS are red, blue and the third one can be either green or IR depending on the model.

The light uses a rotating knob to select the LED to use and a switch to select the mode for the LED being used, it has 4 brightness levels 5%, 20%, 50% and 100% that can be rotated keeping the on/off button pressed. With a double click in the switch from Off a strobe function is activated.

The sidewinder uses two AA batteries and the runtime on maximum brightness is 7 hours for the white led, 10 for the green, 12 for blue and 14 for the red one. In minimum brightness it can go for over 100 hours. The white high mode is about 20 lumen.

The beam of the white led is a floody warm white excellent for a tasklight, the color leds have artifacts. We liked the user interface and the ability to use 4 levels or a strobe on the 4 LED colors. The body made of polycarbonate plastic is extremely strong featuring a very good clip at the back. The head can be rotated 180 degrees to point where you want if you use the light attached to a vest or pack. We found the rectangular body very compact and useful for pockets, straps and even belt carry and the light is strongly built and very useful as a tasklight or utility light.

You can read more from Streamlight's website or order for $50 from BrightGuy, available in coyote tan and olive green bodies with blue-red-IR or blue-red-green leds.

GripMaster

The Gripmaster is a small device to train the muscles in your hand and forearm increasing your strength and dexterity.

The device has individual springs for each of the four fingers in your hand excluding your thumb, since each finger is related to its own set of muscles and tendons the Grimaster ensures that all, or most of your muscles are trained.

The strength of each finger or the whole device can't be adjusted so the Gripmaster is sold in three versions offering different tensions, blue is the lightest, red medium and black the strongest.

After using the gripmaster for a while you will quickly notice a burn in your hand and forearm that means that your muscles are working, the less used to work the muscle is the sooner it will burn so with time you will be able to train for longer periods and evenatually increase your hand strength, this can be useful in several activities from sports such as golf or rock climbing to tennis and martial arts.

We found the device good to relax and discharge stress and it definitively works with your hand and arm muscles, the thumb not being used is a question mark about how the real improvementin your grip and a second criticism is that it is certainly boring to use it.

You can read more at the Official site and order for $14 from Brigade Quatermasters.

UltraPod Mini Tripod

The UltraPod is a minimalistic ultralight tripod for digital cameras and other devices with a tripod mount like some flashlights.

It has three foldable translucent polycarbonate legs with a metal cap in the end, the legs can't be adjusted in length. The head has a ball-joint adjustable camera attachment, that is used to point the camera in the right direction and angle.

The Ultrapod comes with a velcro strap that can be used to attach the tripod to a tree limb, a chair, a pole, a rock etc. The idea is that you fold the legs, attach the folded legs and then attach the folded legs to the anchor point using the velcro strap.

This is a tripod that works very well with the small digital cameras but is probably not a good idea with big SLR or SLR-like cameras, if you have one of the small and light cameras having one of these in your kit can always be a good idea for those long exposure night shots or to take a group picture without leaving someone behind.

The total size when folded is 5'' and it's extremely light, it can be carried in any bag or backpack without risk of damage since the construction is solid.

You can order from Thinkgeek for $12.

Steri Pen Water Purifier

For those that frequently camp or like to do adventure hikes water is a top priority and since you can't carry unlimited amounts of water a water purification device is an useful tool.

The SteriPen uses UV light to purify water, it destroys bacteria, viruses and protozoa making the water safe to drink without leaving any chemical residue or odor in the water.

Using the device is simple, just press the button and agitate the water with a gentle stir. 16 oz of water can be purified in less than a minute and it takes a minute and a half to purify 32 oz of water.

The device works using four AA batteries, with alkaline batteries you can purify 20 to 40 16 oz glasses of water, using lithium AA batteries this can go up to 100 glasses so lithiums are strongly recomended.

The total weight of the steri pen with batteries is 8oz (6.4 with lithiums), it comes with a carrying pouch so it's simple an easy to carry. We found it simple to use and effective and safe to carry, no chemicals involved. Since it uses UV light to purify the water needs to be clean for the steripen to be effective, if the water is not clean you have to filter the water first so you need to carry some kind of filtering device to make sure you will be able to use the steripen.

There is a kit that comes with a solar charger for long trips and camping and the company also sells a filtering device. You can read about the different models and products from the company website. The version tested here can be ordered from REI for $100.

Terralux Ministar5 Extreme for C and D Maglites

The Terralux Ministar5 is a dropin module for C and D cell Maglites, there are two versions: the TLE-6EX for 3 to 5 cell lights and the TEL-6EXB optimized for 2 or 3 cell lights.

The dropin changes the incandescent bulb in the Maglite to a SSC P4 LED, a very efficient and bright led capable of producig 140 lumen of output. Runtime is variable depending on the number and type of cells of the original light.

The module is regulated so the light output will be constant regardless of the state of the batteries, when the batteries are almost depleted output will decrease to offer some useful light for some hours, this avoids getting no output at all suddenly and is a good idea because carrying spare C or D batteries is heavy.

The beam is excelent and retains the original Maglite focusability, the throw is as good as in the incandescent beam or longer and the sidespill is useful. The overall brigtness of the dropin greatly exceeds the incandescent version so brightness, runtime and lifetime are improved at the same time making the upgrade an option to consider if you already have a C or D Maglite in your kit.

You can get it for $25 from Lighthound.

Byrd Meadowlark

The Meadowlark is small folding line produced by Spyderco for its child brand Byrd.

The Meadowlark is 6 7/8'' long overall, the blade measuring 3'' (76mm). The total weight is 4 oz (116gr).

The blade is made of 8Cr13MoV steel, it is very sharp from the factory and cuts very well, sharpening and edge retention are very good for this kind of steel.

The lock mechanism is a backlock the dent in the handle acting as an extra safety feature that makes almost impossible to accidentally release the lock while handling the knife firmly. As tested in other Spyderco/Byrd knives this kind of lock works very well.

The handles are made of steel, they are nice to handle but can get slippery in humid environments or if your hands are greasy, the comet shaped hole is used to open the knife with one hand operation, the hole works well and it is larger than other similar thumbholes.

The Meadowlark has a steel clip to carry the knife either tip up or tip down, the clip is firm but not very hard to clip and unclip the knife, it may have a little play after several months of use but can easily be readjusted.

The Meadowlark is a nice EDC knife without outstanding features but serviceable and very affordable, the excellent lock makes it safe to use and the construction should last many years.

You can read more and order for $28 from Spyderco.

Spec Ops Pocket Organizer

The Pocket Organizer is a general purpose organizer that is perfect to organize cargo pockets and can also be used as a belt pouch or as an organizer inside a bag or backpack.

The organizer is 7'' x 4.75'' and 1 inch thick. Outside the pocket there is an external mesh pocket in one side for loose items and the belt loops with an integrated handle in the other. The handle is useful to retrieve the organizer from your cargo pocket if you use it in that way.

The organizer is opened using a clamshell style zipper, once opened the interior is organized in two panels. The left panel has five elastic loops useful for pens, knives, flashlights etc; this panel has a yellow background for extra contrast when you need to find something. There's also a strap with a plastic clip that can be used for a keychain , a photon style flashlight or other items.

The right panel has two internal pockets that can be used for items or to attach a notepad, the 4'' by 6'' rite in the rain notepads fit perfectly. Since the organizer opens completely you can use it to write notes if you put a notepad in the right panel.

The construction in cordura nylon is very strong, the zippers are very silent and run very well and the belt loops are extremely strong, you can use the organizer for heavy items without problems and it is surprising the number of things you can neatly organize inside the pouch.

Available in ACU gray, black, coyote brown, olive and tan. Can be ordered for $25 from Spec Ops website.

Swiss Wallet

The swiss wallet is a thin and stylish minimalistic credit card holder with a money clip.

The wallet is made of anodized aluminium and can hold up to five credit cards in the slot, it can also be used for business cards. One of the sides features a sliding button that is used to pop the cards from the wallet, the activation is smooth and the mechanism works well.

The othe side of the swiss wallet, the one that is not in the picture has a stainless steel clip, the clip can be used as a money clip for bills or to clip the wallet to a belt, pocket or other places. It makes sense for us to use the clip for bills so you can have both cash and your credit cards in the same place.

The swisswallet is stylish and very thin, it only weights 2oz. The aluminium finish is strong and does not get scratched easily. The wallet is available in red, salmon, yellow, green, blue, silver and black colors; the money clip is not painted.

For the ones that like to use a money clip the swiss wallet is a great idea so you can also have some cards with minimum weight and volume.

You can read more at the product page or order from Amazon for about $28.