Stuff Geeks Want

A knife is one of the most practical tools you can carry on you at all times, but you seldom need anything as extreme as Leatherman’s Skeletool CX when you’re in the office or just around the house.

That’s why we like Gerber’s Trendy Folding Clip Knife with Pear Wood Onlay.

This pint-size fine edge blade measures just 2.5-inches long when closed and is barely noticeable in your pocket. A built-in clip can secure some loose bills, or make sure that the knife stays clipped to your pocket and doesn’t fall out.

Pick one up from Amazon for around $23, it normally sells for closer to $30.

Here’s a discreet way to stash the power to open any beer bottle, anytime.

Sure, they make shoes and rings with built-in bottle openers these days, but only this one won’t gross people out when you rub your hands or feet all over their brew.

It’s a bit spendy and hard to find, but you can get it for $22.70 shipped from Unbeatable Sale.

Until x-ray goggles become a reality, the SeeSnake Micro is the closest thing you’ll get to being able to see inside your pipes.

And while it’s really made for plumbers and those in construction, we can think of some other great uses, too, like peeking around a corner. Even if it’s a really expensive peek at $182.84 shipped from Amazon (save 25%).

It also comes with mirror, hook, and magnet attachments, just a couple short of the superhero minimum!

I have a few naked drives with some data on them that I need to access once a year or so.  I hate having to put them into an external case to access that data.

Do you have a few naked drives yourself?

If so, look no further than the USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter from NewerTech. It’s a complete solution that allows any 2.5″, 3.5″, or 5.25″ hard drive or optical drive (you know you have some old 5.25″ drives around) with any standard IDE/ATA/ATAPI 40 pin or SATA interface to be connected via USB with ease.

Works with Maxtor, Seagate, IBM, Hitachi, Samsung, Western Digital, Iomega Zip, etc… As they put it: The “Swiss Army Knife” of Disk Connectivity.

Buy from Other World Computing for $30.

This has got to be one of the nerdiest things we’ve ever seen.

Presenting the Connect-a-Desk:

And while the Connect-a-Desk promo video is pretty horrible, we have to believe that the product could actually be pretty useful in the right circumstances.

Like, if you want to look like a complete dork, you definitely need one.

And you can buy it from Amazon… can you believe that? Yes, for $40 or so, this thing can be yours.

Man I love innovation.

Every true geek needs a way to power his or her gadgets in their car, but why buy something that is just a power inverter, when that geek could own a power inverter with three AC outlets, a DC outlet, radio, a light, an emergency power source that can also be used to jump start your car?

The Duracell DPP-600HD is totally the thing you need in your trunk, or, if you’re like me, you need it plugged into your cigarette lighter to power your laptop and portable DVD players for the kids when you’re on a long road trip.

It will also come in very handy if you make a quick trip up into the mountains, get lost, and get buried by an avalanche, and need a power supply for a few days while they send the rescue helicopters out to look for you. Remember, the bottom of a MacBook Pro can get pretty hot if you use it a lot. With this baby all you need is your MacBook and a copy of Photoshop and some wicked PS Actions to heat you up when you get cold… and the radio will keep your mind off the ice forming on the insides of the windows, I’m sure.

Price: $99.99 from Amazon.com

CorkPops Cork Popper is by far the coolest way to open a bottle of wine. The handheld device punctures the cork and uses the pressure from a C02 cartridge to effortless lift the cork out of place.

It’s also priced in line with most moderate wine openers, at around $27 shipped from myGearStore (via Amazon).

Each cartridge is good for roughly 80-100 bottles of wine and run around $5 each.

Here’s a clever idea: a mini-tool for your keychain… that looks like a key.

Why would want something that could easily be confused for just another key on? “To get a knife passed airport security” is a valid answer, but it’s really much simpler: because it looks cool.

Here’s what the Utili-Key gets you (or just look at the photo to the right):

• #1 flat screwdriver
• #1 Phillips screwdriver
• bottle opener
• serrated and straight knife blade
• micro eyeglass screwdriver

Retail price is around $11, or $13 in a gift box. But Yugster has the Utili-Key for $5.95 plus $3 shipping today. Each additional one you buy costs just another dollar to ship.

If I could have only one power tool, it would be this one. While any ordinary electric drill can put together an IKEA table for you, if you plan on tackling any larger jobs you’ll want a tool that will make it through with flying colors, like the Bosch PS40-2 Impact Driver.

The feature list is as near-perfect as you could get:

• advanced Litheon battery
• delivers 60% more torque than an 18-volt drill/driver (800 in/lbs)
• 1,800 RPM and 3,000 BPM for lighting fast fastening
  
• 3 LED ring
• instantly change from drill bits to driving bits
• just 2.2 pounds, and perfectly balanced

Simply put, if drills were hand guns, the PS40-2 would be a Desert Eagle, except an ultralight versions of it.

Retail price is an astounding $357, but you can pick it up new from Amazon for $148.48.

Or if you want to save a bit of money, Amazon also sells a factory-recondition unit for $122.17 (it carries the same one-year warranty).

Make sure you pick up a good set of bits too, like the Bosch CC2130 Clic-Change 27 piece kit for $32.93.

We like knives. They’re compact and useful. Typically, the more compact, the more useful they end up being, since the small ones you can have in your pocket all the time.

The 4.5-inch, 7-ounce Leatherman k502x and k503x knives fits the bill perfectly with some clever features:

• sweet blade (straight on the k502x, straight/serrated on the k503x)
• interchangeable bit driver
• 3 double-sided bits can be stored in the handle
• Phillips #1 and #2; 1/4″, 3/8″, and 1/4″ flathead; #15 torx included (more can be purchased)
• can opener
• combination carabiner/bottle opener
• pocket clip

Granted, you don’t get a saw, magnifying glass, or corkscrew like you might with a similarly-sized Swiss Army Knife, but how often would you use those things, anyway?

Grab the k503x for $67.19 from Amazon, or spring for the k502x for $70.98. Both prices represent solid savings compared to the $90 suggested price.