I receive a lot of email from people asking about solar chargers. I haven’t reviewed them previously because they generally only useful if you are going to very remote locations. Portable solar chargers tend to be pricey and they can take a while to get things charged. The best portable charge are flexible, thin-film solar cells. These cells can be folded and packed away easily.

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Brunton makes a range of flexible solar cells they call SolarRolls. These weather-proof solar cells can be rolled up quite tightly, and attached to a backpack. Seen here is a 14W model — it produces DC power even during low light conditions. SolarRolls come with a range of plugs, including a standard car lighter socket. They can also be attached together if you need more power. See a review and more photos of the SolarRoll at RainyDay Magazine. It’s available from Amazon for $399.

At first glance, this keyring tool looks just like any other key. When you open it up, you’ll find that it’s actually 6 tools in 1. Here’s what it contains:

• straight knife blade
• a serrated cutting surface
• a micro-sized screwdriver
• a Phillips screwdriver
• an eyeglass screwdriver
• bottle opener

The whole thing weighs in at only 0.5 oz, so you won’t notice it among your other keys. While well made, the Utili-Key is not suitable for heavy duty tasks. Swiss Tech also offers an 8 in 1 keyring tool.

It’s available from Amazon for $6.29.

Via: Survival Today

These are the best pocket-sized “survival kits” we’ve seen. They are a collection of minimalist survival tools packed into a tiny case — handy to have during wilderness travel or any other time a emergency situation could arise. They also include “Survival Instructions” with 33 illustrations printed on waterproof paper. The packs were designed by Doug Ritter who runs the Equipped to Survive website.There’s a detailed explanation of these packs here, and you can see a close-up of the contents of the kit on this page.

Available from Amazon for $27.