Novatac EDC 120P

The Novatac EDC is the sequel to the HDS EDC line of flashlights, the light uses a SSC P4 LED capable of up to 120 lumen and has different levels of brightness that can be programmed. It uses a single 123 battery.

The light has four modes of operation, each mode can be programmed to a selected brightness level or a signaling function. From Off you can go to primary mode pressing the tailcap switch or to max mode doing a click-press. Once on you can change primary/secondary with 2 clicks, you can go to minimum mode via 3 clicks or to maximum doing a click-press. Each of this four modes can be programmed so we call them maximum or minimum just because it is the factory default.

To program enter the mode you want to change and do a click-click-press, you will be able to change the brighness level with 22 levels available, if you continue past the maximum level you will be able to assign a disorienting strobe, emergency strobe or SOS to the mode. This means that if one of your modes is the strobe then you have only 3 brightness levels to set. Since you can program and reprogram the light on the fly quickly this is not a big problem. From an options menu you can also program a locator beacon and other settings that can be set on or off depending on your preferences. Programming is very flexible and simple to do without a manual.

The light is bright reaching 120 lumen but is not as bright as other single cell Cree LEDs in the market. It can run for about 20 minutes in maximum before dropping to a lower level, all the brightness levels are regulated so the intensity won't change as the battery gets depleted. It can use any type of C123 batteries. This is good if you find a level that is perfect for your activities since it will keep constant.

The beam is a good compromise between throw and flood, the tint of the LED in our test model was blueish / purple. The interface is very easy to use but can be a little annoying with the click, double click, triple click and click press getting confused sometimes.

The body is constructed in HA-III aluminum resitant to scratches and impacts, the lens is polycarbonate glued to a bezel with slight crenelations to know if the flashlight is on or off. The light comes with an optional pocket clip that to our taste wasn't very good, it didn't seem to be very solid and it was too bulky and protruded a lot from the light body.

We found the Novatac 120P and excellent EDC light very flexible and easy to set to your own personal preferences, the maximum brightness is not incredible and the runtime is a little short, the tint was poor and the pocket clip is not very good, for the price we think it is either a love or hate flashlight that will be very good for those that like programmable lights with many options, other users that focus more on the output and performance than a list features might be disappointed.

You can order from LightHound for $150.

EDC Magnets

Magnets can be useful in several scenarios and while it is not common to see someone carrying a magnet just in case it may be a good idea to add a few to your EDC kit.

Modern magnets today are made of rare earth aleations, mainly neodymium, they are incredibly strong and if used without care they may pinch your skin.

Magnets can be used to hold EDC items such as flashlights to metal surfaces, hollow disc magnets can be added to a pen to clip it to a metal surface, slim discs can be used as buttons with your clothes, they can also be used to attach a light to baseball cap, collect small screws and other metallic objects and a myriad of applications.

The collection featured in this picture shows a wide variety of neodymium magnets, including rods, spheres, cubes, discs and rings. As long as you keep them away from any electronic device they can be surprinsingly useful in many situations.

You can order in different shapes and sizes from Amazing Magnets.

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.