Awesome Living

Ever been working on a repair or assembly project and dropped a screw into a spot where you can’t reach it? This unique tool is perfect for the recovery job, with its flexible telescoping head, a super-strong magnetic tip, and a built-in LED flashlight. Extends from 6.69″ to 21.65″.

This rugged duffel bag from Prometheus Design Werx maximizes storage space with its squared-off shape. It’s great for carrying all kinds of supplies for overlanding and camping. It has a rain flap around its zipper, mesh organizer pockets, and two removable EDCO panels. It also has a spot for optional content identification patches.

We’re loving Mezcal Amaras Verde’s label series by artists from Chicago, LA (our pal Chaz), Seattle, Berlin, Argentina, and Mexico. Even better is the naturally fermented mezcal, and the distiller’s initiatives to pay 20% over market for labor and materials, and to reforest Oaxaca with 10 agave plants for every one harvested.

An impressive and substantial grill for the true barbeque enthusiast, the handcrafted Kalamazoo Shokunin Kamado Grill is designed for perfect airflow and fire control. It has a 24″ x 18″ flip-up grilling surface and a three-level fire grate for grilling, roasting, or smoking. 2″ thick insulation minimizes heat loss.

Most of the time when you see a leather bag, it’s stitched and maybe glued together. But builder Jimmy Diresta is used to working with more substantial hardware than that, so he set about handcrafting a rugged, squared-off bag using metal rivets to hold it together.

Columbia River Knife and Tool, aka CRKT makes some of the best EDC knives and pocket tools out there. Our friends at Everyday Carry take a look at three new knives which dropped for Fall 2021 with three very different styles and features. We really dig the folding karambit style of the Provoke Compact.

These pocket-sized key organizers hold a mix of flat keys and optional blades that add tools like a knife, screwdriver, flashlight, and bottle opener. They come in a variety of materials like steel, titanium, carbon fiber, and micarta, as well as anodized and patterned aluminum.

Unlike other gaming chairs designed to sit at a desk, the Respawn-900 is meant for your game room. It offers a racing-style bolstered back, reclining leg support, wide armrests, and a drink holder. It reclines up to 135º, swivels 360º, and holds adults up to 275 lb. Though we wish it included a lumbar support pillow.

Sandgrain Studio creates minimal posters inspired by classic motion pictures and TV shows. Using a clean and contained color palette of muted greens and oranges, they bring a quiet sophistication to everything from Robocop to The Big Lebowski to Back to the Future. They also make Star Wars, Avengers, and Lord of the Rings sets.

For the ninth year, thousands of bars, restaurants, retailers and Negroni fans will celebrate the popular three-ingredient cocktail to raise funds for charities. Campari – Italy’s iconic red aperitif – kicks off Negroni Week 2021 (Sept. 13-19) with a $100,000 donation, joined by MiniBar, Shaker & Spoon , and Imbibe Magazine.

This bolt-action tactical pen features a bold aesthetic, highlighted by a textured finger grip, deep engravings on its body, and precision threading on its rear. It’s made from 6AL4V titanium, and accepts a Schmidt Megaline P950M or similar refill. Available in anodized green or raw metal finishes.

The most important ingredient in Brazil’s beloved Caipirinha cocktail is Cachaça, a rum-like spirit made from fermented sugar cane. Novo Fogo has perfected Cachaça distilling with an array of rested and barrel-aged expressions, all of which are USDA organic and carbon neutral, absorbing more CO2 than the process emits.

Before visitors reach your doorbell, get right to the point with the original Beastie Boys welcome mat by Happy Matz. The flocked coir mat asks the musical question “So, what‘cha, what’cha, what’cha want?” Or opt for another Beasties lyric for frequent deliveries: “mmmmm… DROP (unless it says fragile).”

Motor City Candle Co.’s tins look like vintage motor oil cans, but the only oil inside is a blend of essentials oils to scent vegan-friendly soy wax. The masculine fragrances – such as leather (Detroit Muscle); cedar, sandalwood, and patchouli (Tiger); and amber and moss (Victory) – can pimp any man cave. Handmade in Detroit.

Usually, if you need to get a wheelchair upstairs, you have to take the elevator or a ramp. But at Seattle’s Space Needle they have a special set of stairs that transform into an ADA-compliant wheelchair lift with the push of a button. The retractable lift was engineered by UK outfit Sesame.

Halloween candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker. No bones about it, this mouth-blown Glass Skull Decanter from Pottery Barn is ideal for serving spirits – and ghoulish guests – at Halloween parties. Molded of clear borosilicate, it’s BPA/lead-free and dishwasher safe, so there’s nothing to worry your little head about.

Mixing objects in resin holds them together so they can be worked like a block of wood. Preston Miller shows how he took a pound of Peet’s coffee beans, soaked them in epoxy resin, and then turned the block into a truly unique coffee mug. If you like how it turned out, he’s selling them on his Etsy store.

Every month, our friends at Everyday Carry tally up the most popular gear featured on their site, based on viewership. The selection from August 2021 includes some great tools like the Leatherman Skeletool CX, the CRKT Pilar pocket knife, and the Olight i3T EOS Ti flashlight, each of which we’d be happy to have in our daily loadout.

This super-bright lantern sits atop an extendable pole, illuminating your entire campsite with its 360º light. It can output up to 1600 lumens and adjusts from 39″ to 104″ tall. At ground level, its battery can be used to recharge other gadgets.

Office supply and organization shop MochiThings sells these unique sticky notes which have grid patterns printed on them. They’re ideal for doodling technical drawings, graphs, floorplans, and wireframes. They come in eight different patterns, and are sold individually, or in two collections of four note pads.

Run by firefighters and veterans, Fire Dept. Coffee donates 10% of its net profits to help support injured and disabled first responders. They also make these sweet and aromatic brews inspired by donut flavors like vanilla sprinkle, red velvet, blueberry cake, and double chocolate. Dip your favorite donut for bonus points.

This ultra-compact multitool packs nine useful functions into a palm-sized form factor. It includes spring-loaded pliers, flat and Phillips screwdrivers, a file, a bolt/nut gripper, a file, a straight blade, and a bottle opener. It’s also got a pocket clip and a loop for attaching to a keychain.

Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce, bathroom orders don’t upset us. These playful bars from Snows Cut Soaps look just like a real burger, stacking a not-all-beef patty, lettuce, and tomato between sesame seed buns, and finishing them off with a pickle. They don’t smell the part, though, instead packing a pleasant honey almond scent.