Hasta La Gadget!

Wrex’s wrench is more multi-er than most multitools

The name of Wrex’s Titanium Adjustable Pocket Wrench just about sums it up, bit it’s the details that make this stand out. After all, at $180, why would you use this instead of just stowing a regular adjustable wrench in your pocket?

The wrench part is adjusted by a thumb trigger: press it in and slide the ratcheted T-section out, release the trigger to lock. The range runs from 0.1 inches to 0.805 inches, or 2.54 – 20.447 mm. That’s enough for any bolt on your bike, although getting enough leverage with the short handle may make it tricky to get those wheel nuts off.

If you pop the T-section out all the way, you’ll get a sharp surprise — there’s a knife in there, which is removable for replacement and TSA compliance. Also in the body is a flat/Philips screwdriver bit and the ever-essential bottle opener. The whole thing dangles from a cord, making it the most manly necklace available.

the CNC-machined tool is made from titanium and stainless steel, and weighs in at a pocket (and neck) friendly 2.9 ounces (82g). Available May.

Wrex Titanium [Pocket Tool X via Uncrate]

See Also:

• Tools: Is That a Piranha in Your Pocket?
• 85 Tool Swiss Army Knife: Giant, Useless, Amazing
• Bionic Wrench Replaces Whole Kit with Single Tool
• Hands-On: Surly Jethro Tule Bike Wrench and Beer Opener
• Finger Wrench: Plastic Wearable Spanner

‘Continuance’ tries to combine AA and USB into one

Continuance is a battery that can power pretty much anything. It’s a rechargeable, AA-sized cell with a USB port in the side. The concept — designed by Haimo Bao, Hailong Piao, Yuancheng Liu and Xiameng Hu — is meant to make it easy to power any device, whether it takes batteries or has its own USB port.

But can USB and AA exist side-by-side? Leaving out the fact that the extra circuitry takes up precious power-storing space inside the cylinder, can a 1.5 volt cell provide the 5 volts needed to ive up to USB spec?

I don’t know. I guess you could certainly transform the output by upping the voltage and lowering the current — V=IR, after all. But then, P=IV, which may leave us struggling to get the 5 watts of power needed for many USB devices to function.

But what do I know? I’m no electrical engineer — I use my “soddering” iron to brand grill-marks into my microwaved chicken dinners, for God’s sake. Maybe this is a fantastic invention.

The Power Play Continues [Yanko]

See Also:

• Hack Turns Netbook Battery into USB Charger
• Philips Power2Go: Universal USB Charger with Battery Pack
• USB AA batteries tested
• Run Your iPod on a Single AA Battery

Quick question: What is this device?

A An interstellar alien spacecraft

B A steam-punk version of the classic game Simon

C A $5,000 laser-level

The answer is “C” (although “B” would also be very cool). It’s called the Cornerstone Classic, and its gorgeously made body contains lasers, tilt-sensors and motors that let it work as a level to an accuracy of 1/32 inch over 100 feet.

Clearly this isn’t for you or me, unless you are a construction professional. The Cornerstone self-levels (although you can level it manually), and projects lasers in three planes without any moving parts in the optical system. This, says Origin Laser Tools, keeps the device smaller and lighter, and easier on the batteries.

Speaking of batteries, the Cornerstone uses li-ion calls, and the body is made from “7075 aircraft aluminum, 360 brass and 440c surgical stainless steel.”

It is utterly gorgeous to look at. And re-reading the post above, with talk of lasers and aircraft aluminum, maybe an “A”, an interstellar alien spacecraft, isn’t so far off the mark. After all, who says that extraterrestrials should be as big as us? Maybe they’d easily fit an entire crew inside this little 3.5 pound vessel.

Available for pre-order now.

Cornerstone Classic [Origin Laser Tools via Tool Snob]

See Also:

• 'Stud' Utility-Belt Hides Six Handy Tools
• Lasers
• 'Darkfield' Lasers Let Mice Track On Glass
• Sniper-Busting Lasers Catch Shooters Before They Fire

Mad Catz’s Airdrives sit outside your canal and let ambient sound in

This next sentence is going to drive some of you crazy: bike friendly headphones. But before you scroll past the rest of this post and start writing angry comments about road safety and how listening to music means cyclists deserve to die (whilst forgetting that you regularly balance a hot cup of Starbucks on your paunch while texting and driving), read a little longer.

The Airdrives are from Mad Catz, and they don’t block your ears at all. Unlike earbuds or over-ear designs, the Airdrives sit on that little cartilaginous nodule at the front of your ear-hole. The speaker is held there by the cord, which hooks over your ear and cinches tight. This also helps keep them in place, which is essential when doing sporting activities.

Because the sound is sent in from the outside, it’s no different from listening to the radio in your car. You can still hear ambient sounds, and identify the direction they come from. The design also combats listening fatigue, letting your ear shape and process the sound from the ‘buds as it would any other external sound.

I’m interested to try these out. Too-loud music will of course still be too loud, and drivers will still hate you for wearing them, but for podcasts they may just be ideal. The Airdrives also have inline controls and will answer your compatible phone. This last is probably a terrible idea, though. It’s one thing distracting yourself with a phone-call when you’re in a two-ton cage and can only kill others. When you’re on a bike, you can only kill yourself.

Still want to write a nasty comment? Go ahead. Just don’t say I deserve to die because I don’t use the same environmentally destructive form of transport as you do. From $15. Pictured model $50.

Airdrives product page [Mad Catz via London Cyclist]

Airdrives on Amazon [Amazon]

See Also:

• Budfits Keep Earbuds Where You Want Them
• Headphone Hat For Stealth Listening
• Awareness App Pipes Outside Sounds to Your Headphones
• Tunebug Turns Your Bike Helmet into a Speaker
• Bike Speakers Rock Your Commute
• Wireless Bike Speaker Beams Tunes From iPod To Handlebars
• Podio Bike Speakers Turn Cycling into “Enjoyable Melodious Tour …

Normincies’ laptop bag looks great, and packs some clever features

I’m sorry. I’m about to write about yet another bag, but you’ll love this one. I promise. Not only is it hot-looking, it has some very clever design details. Also, it’s from Finland, which somehow makes it seem even better.

The laptop bag comes from a company named Normincies, and is available in either nylon or Alcantara, a suede-like artificial fabric, and comes sized for 15 or 13 inch laptops. All models have plenty of pockets and storage inside, but its what’s on the outside that makes these bags so different. They have a fat aluminum strip running around the outside, and the bag is strung inside this handle, offering rigidity and protection.

That’s neat enough, but take a look at how the shoulder-strap joins the bag. Those odd-looking slots and holes at either side are in fact anchor points for the strap, a strip of webbing which terminates in two metal torpedoes that hook into these holes.

The only problem is the same one you get with almost any laptop bag: weight. At 4.6 to 5.1 pounds (depending on size) these bags may weight more than the computer you’re putting into them.

Normincies aluminum laptop bags [Normincies]

See Also:

• Classic Finnish Casserole Still Amazing today
• Helsinki Hovercraft Runs On The Sun From Start to Finnish …
• Finnish population structure won't persist much longer
• Laptop Bag Transforms into Desk and Chair