Awesome Tools

We’re geeking out over Reekon’s pro measuring gadget: a tape measure with a digital readout and laser alignment for precise measurements. Its OLED display shows the current measurement in real-time, while an E-ink screen in its handle shows the last few at a glance. Data is also synced to your smartphone via Bluetooth.

Gerber’s ultra-compact, snub-nosed knife is perfect for cutting open packages and also small scraping tasks. It opens easily with either the nail nick or the starter hump on its back edge. It’s got anodized aluminum scales, a removable keychain loop, and a pocket clip. Comes in black/silver or brown/black combos.

This ultra-compact flashlight is a minimalist’s dream. Rather than waste materials on a case, it uses its 9-volt power source as its handle. Connect a battery to its head unit, and it’ll provide up to 60 lumens from its six LEDs. It runs for up to 60 hours per battery and has a two-LED flashing mode.

One of the main benefits of a pocket knife is that it fits in your pocket. That didn’t stop The Q from making a folding knife big enough for Paul Bunyon. The enormous knife measures more than 47″ long when opened and has a hefty steel blade and a rather terrifying automatic mechanism.

Gerber’s mini multitool combines a pry bar, nail puller, wire cutter, large flathead driver, small flathead driver, and a bottle opener. It has a deep pocket clip and a lanyard hole for carrying versatility and is available with an aluminum or Micarta scale. Each one has a unique laser-etched pattern, so no two are alike.

This tiny metal capsule puts a multitool on your keychain. Its stackable modules include a slotted screwdriver/pry tool, a Phillips screwdriver, a cutting blade, and a curved metal tip for pushing buttons without touching them with your fingertip. It comes in natural or black stainless steel and natural or rainbow titanium.

This pocket-friendly folding knife features a ceramic blade that’s sharp enough to slice through cardboard, clamshell packaging, paper, tape, and string, but less likely to cut skin. It has an ambidextrous design and is compatible with both rounded- and pointed-tip blades, which last about 11x longer than steel blades.

Mgear’s handmade gadget holster carries a small flashlight, a magnetically-attached multitool, and a key ring. It’s made from leather over a strong polymer core and includes both the adjustable-focus flashlight and folding steel multitool. Available in black or tan leather.

This limited-edition variant of Olight’s i3T Plus pocket flashlight features a copper body that’s textured to look like a stalk of bamboo. Each one is hand-aged with fire and water, so no two lights are identical. It has 15-lumen, 100-lumen, and 250-lumen turbo modes and runs for up to 28 hours.

This set of camping tools and accessories is an outstanding value. It includes a hunting knife, a multi-function axe, and a machete, each with one-piece steel construction and a sheath. There’s also a 250-lumen flashlight, 50 feet of paracord, a stone blade sharpener, a flint firestarter stick, and five carabiner clips.

Go inside of Italy’s Beta Utensili factory, where they take pieces of raw steel, heat them, hot roll, and machine hammer them into their rough shapes, before cutting them out, sand blasting, grinding, tumbling, and refining their openings before hardening and plating each piece into a finished combination wrench.

RovyVon’s palm-sized flashlight offers two options for power – a built-in rechargeable LiPo battery or a replaceable AAA battery. It comes in 400-lumen, 550-lumen, and 700-lumen models in various combinations of cool, warm, or red LEDs. Choose from aqua, orange, green, black, or gunmetal IPX7 waterproof aluminum cases.

Grim Workshop’s wallet card includes a useful array of tools to help you start a campfire. In addition to its scraper bar, its thick, high-carbon steel card can be struck against its ferrocerium bar to get sparks going. It also packs a magnesium bar to increase heat, a choice of three different blades, a file, and a saw.

Do you have lots of hex bits, drill bits, and sockets scattered around your workshop? These 3D-printed holders have hundreds of 1/4″ hexagons for holding onto your bits. Each tray can store up to 400 bits, and their design means you can place multiples snugly against each other. JackofAll3D sells them in nine different colors.

This folding knife is ideal for outdoor meal prep. Its 2.45″ Sandvik 12c27 steel blade slices meats and veggies for your campsite cookouts with ease and holds closed with a friction fold mechanism. It’s also available with titanium handle scales, though we prefer the classic style of the rosewood.

Never smash a finger again when hammering in nails. These safety pliers have unique grooves designed for steadying various nail sizes, so you can get them started without having to hold them between your fingertips. They’re made from sturdy plastic and lay flat against horizontal or vertical surfaces.

A very special pocket multitool from Swiss Army knife and watchmaker Victorinox. The SwissTool BS is murdered-out in black oxide steel and includes 29 useful functions in one, including pliers, screwdrivers, saws, wire tools, openers, knives, rulers, a file, punch tool, and more.

Built in the USA by the great bootmakers at Danner, this leather tool belt is a good looker and a good worker. It’s made to last, constructed from thick suede and natural leather. Features two large and three small pockets, a full-grain leather hammer loop and tape holder, and an adjustable web belt for waists 29”-46.”

A heavy-duty, compact axe designed for outdoor living as well as throwing. Its 12 inch head and 2.75″ blade is constructed from long-lasting 8Cr13Mov stainless steel, attached to a sturdy glass-reinforced nylon handle. It weighs just 23.1 oz., and comes with a ballistic nylon sheath.

Measuring 4.8″ long, the TC15 packs a punch for its size, kicking out a max 2300 lumens with a beam distance of 807 feet. It has a CREE XHP 35 LED light source, and is powered by a rechargeable 18650 battery. It offers five brightness levels and a strobe mode, and comes in black or military tan with cool or neutral white light.

Designer and knifemaker Anthony “Ant” Richards takes inspiration from the classic No. 11 scalpel and updates it into a contemporary style. The slimline Crow Peck Scalpel is made from a billet of hollow ground D2 tool steel. They’re available in a stonewashed grey or black finish and include a matching Kydex sheath.

Do you like your birthday cake with lots of layers? Then you need a proper tool to cut through all that cake and icing. Fred’s handsaw-shaped cake cutter should do the trick quite nicely while adding a fun new item to your kitchen toolbox. Its gently-serrated edge also makes quick work of heads of lettuce.

Clamps are readily available at your local hardware store, but if you’re industrious, you could always make your own. Pask Makes shows off a square clamp he made from steel, and walks through the process of building one with handheld tools, then ramping up production with professional workbench tools.