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.

Pro-Light SMJLED keychain light

This is a keychain light with the same size, case and interface as the common chinese Fauxtons. The difference is that these lights have an improved SMJLed as the led.

The SMJled is a lot brighter than the regular 5mm leds found in similar keychain lights, it is comparable to the output of an ARC-AAA premium.

The lights are powered by CR2032 lithium coin cell batteries they are splash proof but not water proof. Both the led and the case will resist wear from keychain use and impacts.

To activate you just squeeze the light for momentary activation or use a small sliding switch for constant on-off operation.

An improvement over the common keychain lights with extra brightness but without any extra features as those found in the Photon Freedom.

You can get them for $7 from Light Hound.

AG Russell Titanium Lockback folder.

This is a top quality keychain knife from AG Russell, the handles are made of titanium and the blade is VG-10 steel.

The knife is only 2.5 inches long with a 1-7/8'' satin finished blade. It weights just 0.5oz.
The locking mechanism is a lockback located in the middle of the handle, it is very solid.

This little knife can be carried in a keychain, a pocket, a coin pocket or inside any pouch, it is really small and thin. When opened the blade is good to do most typical cutting jobs, rope, cardboard, nylon, plastic and other common materials can be handled without damaging the blade. There is no hole for a split ring or attachment the knife comes with a small and nice real-leather pouch that has no holes either!, so the carrying options are inside a pocket or drilling a hole through the leather pouch and inserting a rivet. It fits great inside coin pockets of jeans if that is an option to you.

If you are looking for an excellent and very small titanium knife this is a great option.
It costs $25 and you can read more or order from AG Russell's website.

TAD Gear's OS Sheath

These sheaths from TAD gear have the nice characteristic of being able to be carried either in vertical or horizontal position. They are about 5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide with a velcro closure in a very long flap.

To carry them in vertical position you use the belt loop in the back; to carry horizontally you use two smaller velcro loops across the main loop you can then attach the sheath to your belt in horizontal position and it will be more confortable.

They are useful for flashlights, multitools such as the leatherman juice, SAKs, lighters, Survival capsules and other uses.

Made of strong nylon with reiforced stitches the sheaths will resist every day usage bumps and scratches without breaking, the closures are solid. The main flap is so big that accidental opening is almost impossible.

They are available in both green and black from TAD gear for $17.

Princeton Tec Apex Headlamp

The Apex (and the upcoming Apex pro) are the top of the line headlamps from Priceton Tech. The headlamp has a Luxeon III LED as the main illumination source and four 5mm LEDs surrounding the luxeon, two on each side.

Both the luxeon and the 4mm leds have 2 levels of brightness, high and low, the 4mm leds have a third mode for blinking. The idea is to use the 4mm leds for close works and long runtime and the luxeon led for distance. The leds are regulated offering flat light output regardless of the battery status.

The batteries are 4AA batteries located in a carrier at the back of the straps. It can use akaline, rechargeable or lithium batteries indistinctly. Using alkaline batteries the Apex can run for 24 hours (1 hour of regulation) in its brightest mode and up to 108 hours (5o of regulation) using the 4mm leds in low mode. There is a battery life indicator to know the status of the batteries.

To activate the leds there are two independant switches in the headlamp, turning one set of leds on will turn the other off, so it is not possible to use the luxeon and the 4mm leds at the same time, you have to choose depending on what you need. The luxeon throws really nicely and can reach long distances, the 4mm leds are fine for operation indoors or for close inspections.

The light is waterproof and impact resistant, it is a little heavy and bulky for every day carry but can be packed in a bag or backpack for outdoor activities. If you need a dependable headlamp powerful enough to rival incandescent headlamps with the versatility and durability of leds the Apex is a great option.

Available in black, olive green and orange. More information in the product page. You can get it for $64 from Lighthound.

Leatherman Juice XE6

The leatherman Juice is a multi-tool that is smaller than the Charge, Wave and other big tools but larger than the Micra, Squirt and other keychain tools; a middle-sized multi-tool. The XE6 is the most complete model in this line.

When opened the tool is a needle nose set of pliers, with wire cutters and hard-wire cutters. Without the need of opening the tool you can access the external tools from the handles: large, medium and small screwdriver. Extra small screwdriver. Phillips Screwdriver, lanyard attachment, can and bottle opener, corkscrew with assist, scissors, saw, awl, diamond file, a serrated knife and a plain blade.

All the tools are non locking and very good in quality, the scissors and the can opener are particularly good. The can opener can be used to open boxes and other minor cutting jobs. The awl is useful whenever you neeed a pointy object.

The corkscrew might be useless but can be used to attach a small eyeglass screwdriver accesory from Victorinox (idea).

Made of stainless steel with anodized aluminium scales de XE6 is 3.2 inches long when closed (8.25cm) and weights 6.8 ounces (190 grams). The size of this tool makes it good for either pocket carry or a sheath, it is a very useful tool in a very convenient size.

You can check the product page for more information. It is available in purple and gray for $72 from LightHound.

Victorinox OH Trekker

The "Trekker" is one of the multi-tools created by Victorinox for outdoor enthusiasts, this line has a bigger and better blade than the popular swiss champ and similar models.

The most important tool in the trekker is a one-handed locking 3.5 inches blade. The lock is a liner lock and works fine. This blade is a lot better than the smaller blades in other SAKs but is probably not as good as the blade in a good quality folding knife.

The rest of the tools are a bottle opener with large locking screwdriver & wire stripper, can opener with small screwdriver,
phillips screwdriver, key ring, toothpick,tweezers ,reamer and wood saw. The tools are good quality and combine to be a good combo outdoors.

Being larger than the other SAKs the Trekker is probably missing a pocket clip to keep the knife securely attached to a pocket, it is probably too heavy to be inside the pocket or hanging from a keychain or a belt loop so amazingly there seems to be no good solution to carry it besides using a sheath. An horizontal sheath would probably be ideal since the knife is large to be carried in vertical position.

You can read more and order for $47 from Victorinox's website. Other dealers may have special prices so you can do some research.