Craziest Gadgets » Travel Gadgets

Yaktrax Traction Cleats for Shoes

Craziest Gadgets Jeff — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:17:54 +0000

With the forthcoming ice age, now is the time to stock up on traction devices. Just slip the Yaktrax Traction Cleats right over your sneakers or shoes and you can walk on ice and ice with less slippage. Safety first! They fold up really small so you can slip them into your bag, purse, or glove compartment for use whenever things get a little icy and dicey. The vertical coil design provides traction in 360 degrees while offering more stability than a spike based cleat (although less useful as a weapon but you can still use your ice pick if you need to fight off any Wampa or polar bears).

(Think Geek)

(Amazon)

Yaktrax Traction Cleats for Shoes

LugCup is a Go-Anywhere Cup Holder

Craziest Gadgets Jeff — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:51:13 +0000

Ever wished you could have a cup holder wherever you go? You can with the LugCup Drink Cup Holder, the portable cup holder. The LugCup adjusts to fit most cups and bottles:

It’s velcro straps attach to strollers, wheelchairs, luggage, shopping carts, bicycles, treadmills, and more. Non-slip rubber keeps your drink in place. Unlike other single-purpose cup holders (like those for a bicycle or stroller), the LugCup can be used in all sorts of different places. Why should you buy separate cup holders for all your different activities when you can just use an adjustable one like the LugCup everywhere?

The LugCup is small enough to make it a versatile travel gadget that you can use on a daily basis in many different applications. We dig it.

LugCup is a Go-Anywhere Cup Holder

Cool Jams iPod Ready Party Cooler

Craziest Gadgets Jeff — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:30:33 +0000

Take your tailgating to the next level with the Cool Jams iPod Ready Party Cooler. This foldable cooler has built in speakers. It can hold up to 72 cans of your favorite beverage (beer) plus ice. The 2 amplified speakers keep the party rockin’ while a drain plug at the bottom ensures the only liquids getting spilled in your car on the way home come from your cousin Chris with the weak bladder. Plus the cool thing about this cooler is that it’s raised up so you don’t have to bend down to get a beer. Because that would be considered exercise which is a definite no-no when drinking beer.

Cool Jams iPod Ready Party Cooler

Heated Ice Scraper

Craziest Gadgets Jeff — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:53:52 +0000

Nine out of ten meteorologists will agree that Winter is coming very soon and with it colder weather (the other meteorologist is drunk at the bar with the 10th dentist who says it’s ok to chew gum). Scraping the ice off your car’s windshield is a necessary and cold task. But you can make it easier on yourself with a Heated Ice Scraper and Lock Deicer Set. The lock deicer will let you get into the car to begin with (very important, I’ve been told).

Once inside, plug in your heated ice scraper into your car’s 12v outlet and extend the 15 foot long cord out the door and start scraping with ice melting heat. The cord is long enough to reach around to all windows of most cars (unless you’re driving a stretch limo, in which case maybe your butler can just scrape the ice for you). A built-in white LED light helps you see what you’re doing when it’s dark out. Save time and stay warmer by making quick work of your ice-covered windshield.

Heated Ice Scraper

9 Gifts That Will Fit Inside Your Wallet

Craziest Gadgets Jeff — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:57:48 +0000

This time of year everyone is looking for gifts that are light on the wallet but we’ve got gifts ideas for you that might be a bit heavy on the wallet- because they all actually fit inside your wallet. Great for people who travel light, stocking stuffers, and to keep an emergency gift handy in case you need to reciprocate in a flash. Be sure to check out the rest of our holiday gift guides for more ideas.

Credit Card Lightbulb – $8

It’s a real working lightbulb. This LED bulb pops up and lights up. Runs on a small battery (included). Maybe not the brightest light but certainly a bright idea. Comes in a pack of 5 for this price!

Buy Credit Card Lightbulb at Amazon for $8

Bottle Mate Bottle Opener – $7.95

Thin and strong bottle opener that slides right into your wallet. No need to bulk up your pockets with a keychain bottle opener, this stainless steel one will do the trick.

Buy Bottle Mate Bottle Opener at Amazon for $7.95

DJ Scratch Pad – $3

From the great product designer Art Lebedev comes Plastinkuzz, the DJ Scratch Pad. Just scratch your fingernails along it to make cool DJ scratching sounds. Check the shipping on this if you need it in a hurry since it ships from his store in Russia I believe.

Buy DJ Scratch Pad at Art Lebedev for $3

Boker Credit Card Knife – $29.99

The Boker Credit Card Knife is a solid pocket knife the folds up to fit in your wallet. It also has a clip to put it on your shirt or use as a money clip. It’s made of a titanium liner and high performance 440C stainless steel blade.

Buy Boker Credit Card Knife at ThinkGeek for $29.99

Ultra Thin 16GB USB Flash Drive – $24.99

Take all your important data with you with this high speed USB 2.0 flash drive. It’s ultra thin at just 1mm thick and holds a beefy 16GB of files.

Buy Ultra Thin 16GB USB Flash Drive at Amazon for $24.99

Light Up Magnifier – $14.98

This 3x magnifier with 4.5x inset slides out and lights up to help you see things up close. There’s no more need to carry around a giant flashlight and Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass everywhere you go (although that is a very fashionable look for next Spring I’ve been told).

Buy Light Up Magnifier at Amazon for $14.98

Key Finder – $19.99

Never lose your keys again. Just attach the key ring fob to your keys and put the credit card sized transmitter in your wallet. When you lose your keys press the button on the transmitter and the key ring will start beeping loudly and flashing it’s LED light. Works up to 120 feet away with RF technology to go through walls, drawers, beds, and anywhere else you might have misplaced your keys.

Buy Key Finder at Perpetual Kid for $19.99

Credit Card Size Multi-Tool – $18

The Tool Logic Credit Card Companion is a multifunction tool card with ten features including a blade, scissors, compass, screwdriver, tweezers, and more. Weighs just 1.3 ounces so it’s easy to take all that functionality with you because you never know when you’re going to need it.

Buy Credit Card Size Multi-Tool at Amazon for $18

Amazon Gift Cards

When all else fails, you can always keep a stack of Amazon Gift Cards in your wallet to give out. Since they sell almost anything, it’s a great gift for anyone. They come in a variety of designs too, not just the plain one shown above. The best part about Amazon gift cards is that if you end up not giving them out, you can always use them yourself.

Buy Gift Cards at Amazon

Didn’t find what you were looking for? Try one of our other holiday gift guides here. If you like this list, please share this page. Thanks!

9 Gifts That Will Fit Inside Your Wallet

Talking Digital Tire Pressure Gauge

Craziest Gadgets Jeff — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:53:59 +0000

Maintaining proper tire pressure in your car is important for both gas mileage, ride comfort, handling, and traction. As cold weather sinks in, your tire’s pressure will change, so you need to check it or you will get that annoying exclamation point warning light triangle on your dashboard if it’s too low. With the Accutire MS-4441GB Talking Digital Tire Pressure Gauge, measuring your tire pressure is a snap since it speaks it out loud in either English or Spanish. You can also use the easy-to-read LCD display. It shuts off automatically to ensure a long battery (included!) life.

Talking Digital Tire Pressure Gauge

Keychain Sized Scissors

Craziest Gadgets Jeff — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:52:56 +0000

You really never know when you’re going to need to cut something so it’s wise to always keep a pair of scissors with you. The problem is that if you carry around a full sized pair of scissors you constantly run into problems like: stabbing yourself, losing your keys due to holes in your pockets, being unable to board airplanes, and of course castration.

Well no more! With Scixors Keychain Scissors, you can always have a pair on you. These tiny stainless steel scissors are TSA approved! Great for crafting and knitting on those long plane rides. Just $7.99 too.

Keychain Sized Scissors

Review: MiPow Powertube 3000

Craziest Gadgets Jeff — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:04:49 +0000

For people on the go looking for an easy-to-take-with-you portable charging solution for your mobile phone, there’s the MiPow Power Tube 3000. We have been using our review unit for a few days and have found this to be a very well designed product. The Power Tube is solid metal charger with an internal 3000mAh battery (enough to fully charge an iPhone4 one and half times). The top flips off to reveal the USB dongle to charge the Power Tube up from any USB port:

Inside the Power Tube is a glowing LED that cycles through a series of colors to let you know how much charge is left in the tube. On the attached top that you’ve flipped off is a 30pin Apple connector which allows you to directly connect the device to your iPhone or iPod to power them up:

On the top side is a button you can press to light up the indicator to see how much power is left (below, the blue means close to full, while green would be 30-70% and red means less than 30%). There’s also a USB port on the top (and included USB wire) for plugging in virtually any non-Apple device as well. Size comparison with everyday household objects? Here ya go:

Now why do we like the MiPow Power Tube 3000 over other portable charging options? The biggest reason is that you can do everything WITHOUT CORDS. The tube is entirely self-contained, you can both charge it via USB and charge up your iPhone without any wires. That makes it so much easier to travel with. Just toss it in the bottom of your bag and go; no tangle of wires or lost or damaged cords. It comes with the plush drawstring bag shown above too.

This is an intelligently thought out portable charger and the build quality feels solid. As you can see from our size comparison shot, it’s not much larger than other common objects you might have in your bag and it holds a beefy 3000mAh which is about enough to charge an iPhone from 25% to full power twice (or from empty to full 1.5x). While it can be used for most portable devices, it’s strength is clearly when paired with an iPhone as the built-in 30pin connector is it’s hugest advantage (and it is “Made for iPod” & “Made for iPhone” certified).

The MiPow Power Tube 3000 comes in 10 different colors for about $49 from MiPow directly. 4000mAh and 5500mAh versions are available as well.

Review: MiPow Powertube 3000

KidCo GoPod Portable Activity Seat

Craziest Gadgets Jeff — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:57:39 +0000

We know how difficult it is to travel with kids (especially during our brief time married to the Octomom) and how hard it is to keep the young ones in one place and occupied. The KidCo GoPod Portable Activity Seat does just that- keeps your kid in one spot and entertained. This lightweight activity seat has 5 nylon loops to hold toys, a drink and snack holder, and a floor pad to keep your baby’s feet off the dirty floor.

The seat easily folds up into a small carry bag weighing just 7 pounds. It has 4 adjustable seat positions to grow with babies ages 4 months and up (12 to 26 pounds recommended). While ideal for traveling (and the inevitable airport delays during the holiday season), it’s portability is also great for around the house in ways that a full sized activity center can’t handle- set it up while you do laundry, dishes, shower, use the bathroom, barbecue- anywhere you need a quick spot to secure your child for a little while.

KidCo GoPod Portable Activity Seat

Car Interior Pre-Heater

Craziest Gadgets Jeff — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:13:17 +0000

Warm up the inside of your car and defrost the windshield without starting the engine! This is incredible- imagine stepping into a warm car with a clear windshield this Winter. The Car Interior Preheater from Hammacher is a battery powered programmable heater that sits on your car’s dashboard. Unlike a remote engine starter, this car gadget doesn’t require professional installation and can be used in an enclosed garage.

Two tiltable heat vents work to heat your windshield and/or car interior up to 20 minutes before you get in the car. The heater is powered by an internal battery that doesn’t drain your car’s battery- it can be recharged in four hours via AC outlet or your car’s 12v outlet. A remote works from up to 200 feet away. Measures 19″ by 4″ and weighs only 6 pounds. Just $119.

Car Interior Pre-Heater