6-in-1 Utilikey from SwissTechTools.com

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 Opener

It locks and unlock easily, seems quite sturdy and precisely machined, and there’s enough dull surface area to grab with the blades open that it can be held securely and used with some force.

There’s an 8-in-1 model which includes a wire cutter and wire stripper, but we haven’t seen or tested a sample.

If you’re carrying just house keys, it’s still small and light enough not to be in the way. This one looks like a must-have, and perhaps a good item for bulk purchase by community-based preparedness organization.

Note: we assume that you’re all already carrying portable flashlights.

Available at The Container Store, but not, apparently, on their website.

On Amazon, Swiss Tech UKTBS Utili-Key 6-in-1 Polished Stainless Steel Key Ring Multi-Tool.

Conflict of interest disclosure: we receive, in theory, a small commission on any sales via Amazon.

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.

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 – but I change batteries about once a year.

They’ve got a number of variations on the same idea – if you’re going to carry one, though, I’d recommend The Safe-Light Super Bright With Coloured LED- in red – as the best way to see and

maintain your night vision in an emergency.

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 interested readers enough to find them.

Thanks to Benjamen Johnson of Toolmonger.

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 at night and I am awake for hours, and I’ll itch for days. They’ll always find me, too. I’ve learned to ignore what natives say; there are mosquitoes around, and they do bite. When I travel in any remotely warm place, I pack my own mosquito netting. It weighs only a few ounces and can scrunch up small. It’s cheap, and lasts forever. I’m still using one I bought 30 years ago for $2. I like the boxy four-cornered variety to fit over a bed or sleeping bag. I tie a 6-foot long string to each corner; that usually enables me to attach the string somewhere to keep the net elevated at night. I tie it to trees if I am camping without a tent.

I haven’t figured out why more people don’t pack their own. Mine has saved my life more than once. Mostly by allowing me to sleep soundly, but also because with it I avoid mosquito-borne diseases in areas they are common. Studies have shown that sleeping in a net is more effective at preventing malaria than taking prophylactic drugs. I insist my family use netting while we travel in the heat overseas. A quick search led me to Coleman as the least expensive source for a one-person camp-style box net.

I’m afraid that mosquito netting may be added to the list of things that FEMA won’t provide – although if FEMA puts itself out of business by zeroing out that list, we’ll be forced to address the issue – federally and otherwise.

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 – and whether its reflectivity would be affected by polyurethane or other transparent protective sealants.

[Show as slideshow]

The elegance of reflective materials, of course, is that they’re not dependent on electricity, and, wherever placed, they work when/as needed.

Via Toolmonger

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The Atlas Ascender – is a powered rope or cable ascender/descender capable of, for instance,

• equipment hauling
• military special operations (rapidly and quietly scaling a building
• rescue operations (capable of retrieving casualty in litter and rescuer)

This image doesn’t do it justice. There’s a video clip on the Atlas site .  The inventor was an MIT student when he developed this – reportedly as an entry in a DOD-sponsored competition.