H20n
Firefly Lantern Bottle Lid
$22 guyotdesigns.com
An outdoorsman’s two best friends
are his flashlight and his water bottle, so wouldn’t it be great if the two
could be combined?
The Firefly by Guyot Designs does
just that. Built-in LEDs on the inside
of this replaceable lid illuminate your
transparent, wide-mouth bottle when
activated, transforming it into a
portable lantern. It can also be used
as a directional beam, making it a
worthwhile piece of equipment that
I highly recommend.
—Alex Sugg
Mag-Blok
$27–$40 benchcrafted.com
This thing goes way beyond the average magnetic kitchen knife
strip. Instead of a couple of metal strips that may ding and
scratch, there is only wood to touch my beloved tools. The
Mag-Blok looks like a single block of wood, thanks to its nearly
invisible seam where the magnets are hidden inside. Installation
is simple — just drill anchors for the two provided brass screws,
then screw them through the countersunk mounts.
The magnets inside are pretty darned strong. Even living in
earthquake-prone Southern California, I have no worries about
my tools falling. Now I hang wire cutters, a flashlight, X-Acto knife,
wire stripper, screwdrivers, pliers, and more. For my home office
project area, this is a great way to stay organized.
—John Edgar Park
Tri-Bot
$100 wowwee.com
Tri-Bot caught my eye because each wheel has ten
free-turning rollers perpendicular to the rotational
axis, so a wheel can glide sideways while the other two
turn. Tri-Bot can navigate tight, cluttered quarters that
traditional robots can only dream of.
He’s got IR sensors to prevent him from bumping
into walls, although they’re mounted too high in his
chest to see some obstacles, like shoes and cats. In
free-roaming mode, he’s like a wisecracking Roomba.
As with many robot toys, the novelty can wear off
quickly; I’m already scheming about hacking him.
There’s a rich history of modifying Wow Wee’s Robo-sapien, so I can’t wait to see what people will do with
the Tri-Bot. Highly mobile wi-fi stun gun, anyone?
—John Edgar Park
Make: 173
