by jonathansoroko on January 24, 2010
Shear Thickening Fluids (STFs) may be "liquid" in a strict sense - but they're used in fabrics. Developed by Professor Norman Wagner and his research team, including students, of the University of Delaware, as a joint project between the University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials and the United States Army Research Lab. They're amazing [...]
Tagged as:
Gear,
headwear
by jonathansoroko on October 17, 2009
Picked up this Utilikey 6-in-1 tool at one of the local outlets of the Container Store. It weighs half an ounce (0.5 oz; 14 mg.) and has six features:- Flat Screwdriver- Phillips Screwdriver- Micro Eyeglass Screwdriver- Straight Blade Knife- Serrated Blade Knife- Bottle OpenerIt locks and unlock easily, seems quite sturdy [...]
Tagged as:
Gear,
go-bag,
personal gear,
tools
by jonathansoroko on August 20, 2009
Handled garden tarp from Cool Tools . While the primary purpose is for gardening, these strike me as useful for many types of improvised hauling common in disasters. Not least dirt, sand and gravel for sandbags in floods.via Cool Tools: Burden Cloth.
Tagged as:
Gear,
hauling,
Logistics,
sandbags
by Jon on December 7, 2008
Unplggd has a flashlight roundup- several are plugin-constant standby - one solar powered, one hand-cranked. All worth a look. However, I'm not giving away my Safe-Light anytime soon , and in fact have been considering purchasing them in bulk. Have done some stupid things - like drive long distances without a flashlight or jumper cables [...]
Tagged as:
Flashlight,
Gear,
Night vision
by Jon on August 18, 2008
Their focus, of course, is different from ours, but Toolmonger is an incredible site - often showing emergency response/reconstruction tools we'd never hear of otherwise. Here's one the Rol-La-Tank: (or Fol-Da-Tank, which might be the company name, or the name of the product line). They've got both URL's Foldatank.com and Fol-Da-Tank - this should give [...]
Tagged as:
Gear,
water
In watching the deluge in the Midwest, I'm remembering a description of the post-Katrina proliferation of dragonflies - a fortuitous turn that stopped the mosquito population from getting out of control. One robust response is mosquito netting, and this piece is from his excellent blog Cool Tools:I hate mosquitoes. Serious gut-tightening allergic aversion. One bite [...]
Tagged as:
Gear,
mosquito,
netting
Liquid Reflector is a reflective paint - available in five colors and a clear version, and, according to the manufacturer, yields a fine surface and high reflectivity. (Note: the reflected light is white, regardless of the visible color on the surface). We'd like to test some of this - see how it holds up - [...]
Tagged as:
conspicuity,
Gear,
hazard markings,
reflective