Awesome Carbon Fiber

Panerai’s dramatic black watch features a Carbotech composite case, giving it textured, matte finish, and a lightweight feel for its hefty 47mm size. It’s powered by a precise automatic-mechanical Swiss movement, has luminous markers, a day indicator, and a small seconds dial.

Hypnotic video footage of a rocket propellant tank being made by wrapping and weaving layers of carbon composite filament around an aluminum form. The custom-built machine and software were engineered by the literal rocket scientists at Interorbital Systems.

Carbon fiber is used mostly because it combines light weight and strength. While neither of those are prerequisites for a pen holder, we’d still love one of these Niama-Reisser pen cups on our desk just because it looks totally awesome.

We love the minimal look of this lightweight carbon fiber pencil, which is designed to suspend a 2mm lead in its center. The lead can be released by pressing on the body of the pencil. Each one includes 12 graphite leads, a red lead, a mini sharpener, and an eraser.

A look inside the McPherson Guitars‘ factory, where talented artisans use a mix of high tech materials and traditional finishing techniques to create lightweight, durable, and visually striking musical instruments. The Carbon Series guitars range in price from $2999 to $3299.

The ultimate backpack for carbon fiber fans. Tumi’s highly structured urban pack is made using a combination of lightweight woven carbon fiber and premium leather, providing a stylish, modern, and extravagant home for your gear. Also available as a briefcase.

Blademaker Kiwami Japan continues to hone his skills and add to his collection of unusual knives. This time, he takes advantage of the properties of carbon fiber to make an extremely sharp, strong, and lightweight kitchen knife. There’s something so soothing about his videos.

Hicks Holsters‘ bold and manly wallet is made from Kydex – the same thermoplastic material used to make gun and knife holsters. This lightweight wallet features The Punisher’s iconic skull logo, holds 14 to 16 cards, and has a money/pocket clip on its rear.

This beautiful flashlight from Lumintop features a case made from real brass or copper, and a center section adorned with carbon fiber. It has a bright 1000 lumen Cree XM-L2 U2 LED light source, and is IPX-8 waterproof. Measures 4.49″ long, and comes with a powerful 18650 battery.

Italian design studio BorromeodeSilva presents an absolutely stunning one-of-a-kind canoe. Its hull is made from carbon fiber with shimmery copper thread woven in, and ample quantities of beautiful teak wood, inlaid into a herringbone pattern.

A superbly slim and compact wallet for holding up to 8 payment or ID cards. It’s made from sculpted carbon fiber for both durability and flexibility, plus it blocks RFID scanning. An add-on money clip ($8) lets you carry cash too.

We love the technical look of these aviator-style sunglasses made from real carbon fiber. Unlike most carbon fiber, they’re formulated to have some springiness for comfort. They come with polarized lenses in a couple of different colors, though the blue ones are currently sold out.

VETR’s flat desktop speakers use 1.3mm thick panels of real carbon fiber to produce an open and airy soundstage. Combined with the bundled compact subwoofer with dual 48-watt amps, they push out great volume too. Read our review of the prototypes over on Technabob.

Jewelry designer Patrick Adair wanted to see if he could make a chess piece from a block of carbon fiber, so he set about carefully carving one on his lathe. Now we want a full set of pieces made from the stuff.

This handy pocket tool is made from lightweight and durable 0.125″ thick carbon fiber, and not only pops open bottles with ease, but has 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″ and 7/16″ wrench cutouts, and a 1/4″ hex bit holder, making it more versatile than your average bottle opener.

San Diego’s Upsidedownpyramid handmakes superb surfboards such as this beautiful model made with a durable, lightweight Marko foam eco core, wrapped in a carbon fiber skin with wood veneers, and sealed with a long-lasting, UV-resistant clear epoxy resin.

HillsideComposites‘ carbon fiber coasters are the perfect gift for gearheads and petrolheads. Each one features an engraved, ink-filled tachometer graphic, and is made from a 1/4″ thick hunk of real carbon fiber, backed with soft cork to protect tabletops.

A cool spin on Swiss Army style key organizers, this one is made from durable, lightweight carbon fiber. It provides quick and easy access, and includes all the screws and spacers needed to handle between 1 and 16 flat keys. Also doubles as a stand for smartphones.

Stuff built from carbon fiber looks cool, but what makes it so amazing is its incredible ability to be manipulated to serve a variety of lightweight structural needs. Real Engineering takes a look at this awesome woven material and explains what makes it so work so well.

We have a saying here in The Awesomer offices: “Carbon fiber all the things.” But we can’t decide if this hat made from the lightweight black weave is the coolest hat ever, or if it’s gone too far. You be the judge.

Carbon fiber is used in auto racing and aerospace industries because of its strength and lightweight properties. But can this stuff that’s basically made from woven material and resin stand up to the mighty hydraulic press? Tune in and find out.

Always be prepared with this slim bottle opener that’s thin enough to fit in your wallet. It’s as slim as two credit cards, but is strong thanks to its carbon fiber construction. As an added bonus, it won’t set off metal detectors.

This awesome looking tactical knife is made from a mix of carbon fiber and titanium that appear to seamlessly blend from the handle to the blade. Tungsten carbide enhances cutting ability, and its handle comes wrapped in 550 paracord. Includes a KYDEX molded sheath.