New Gear! Part 1

I've managed to pick up a lot of new toys over the past month and I thought I'd take a few minutes to tell you about it.  Maybe you'll find something that you didn't know you needed like I did.

The first thing I picked up was a portable battery supply.  This little device will provide me with an additional charge to my cell phone, camera, or mp3 player while I'm out camping or away from other power sources.

Initially, I really wanted it to keep my cell phone alive for the three days I'll be backpacking next month, but I have now realized that I can get more use out of it than I originally thought.

There are a lot of choices when looking for these portable battery devices.  I saw a lot of solar options to go with, but ended up not choosing one because they seemed very sensitive to having DIRECT sunlight for a long time.  I purchased the Tekkeon MP1800.  It has a larger capacity battery than some others, is lightweight, and small.

On my tests with my Motorola Droid I was able to get about one and half charges from the Tekkeon.  That was after having the Tekkeon sitting for a week in a closet and I also left it on overnight one night.  I'm not sure how that effected the battery, but it was part of my test.  I charged my phone with it and went to bed.  I didn't turn it off until I got up in the morning, but the phone should stop drawing power when it is full.  There may be opportunity to get closer to two full charges out of the Tekkeon.  Either way, I have been pleased with the power that it holds.


The second item I want to tell you about today is another item that I initially purchased for hiking.  This is a multi-tool.  I've always wanted one of these but couldn't justify the price for the good ones for my limited use of it.  The cheap ones just don't seem worth it because I don't believe they'll always perform when you need them to.

For this I went with the Victorinox Swiss Tool.

I found it to be rated just as good as the equivalent Leatherman tool, and sometimes rated higher.  The main reason I went with this was because it was free.  I had earned a certain number of points in a reward program that I participate in and this was one of the available items.  I don't regret choosing this over another item and I haven't even had a great chance to use it yet.

Anyway, pliers, multiple knives, a wood saw, wire cutters, a file, and a chisel.  I think I'll make good use of it while camping, or at least I'll have it around if an emergency comes up.   It's a bit heavy, but feels very solid as you open and close the various tools.   Did I mention how shiny it is?

If you have any thoughts or comments or questions on these items, I'd be interested to hear from you.  I've got a few more items to show you so watch for part 2 coming soon.