Can your pooch jump through hoops? No matter--you can pass the Woof Washer 360® hoop over your dog, and Fido will come out clean as a whippet on the other side. Adjustable for dogs of various sizes, it connects to any garden hose and accepts any dog shampoo. The (30) jets spray soapy water and a rinse on all your puppy's parts, dorsal, ventral and nether. Folds for easy storage. For extra fun, try it on your cat.

Be More Vacuous! At least pack more vacuous, because vacuum packing isn't just for coffee, it's for saving storage space for anything soft and squooshable. We suggest this 5-pack of 20" x 28" medium vacuum-seal storage bags, into which you can stuff pillows and blankets and sweaters and overcoats and stuffed monkeys and any number of other things, then suck out all the air with the enclosed hand pump and watch it shrink by 80% so you can slide it under your bed and forget about it for mold and moth-free years. (OK, it's not a pump, because it sucks, so call it a handy little sucker.) Also dandy for travel because the little sucker doesn't take up much space, so you can shrink your return laundry too--and keep it hermetically sealed.

The little tyke appeared in 1952, a worried two-year-old looking for a little comfort in a cold world. With Lucy as a big sister, it's hard to blame him. The math never lies--Linus turned 70 this year, and he had to trade in his blue security blanket for a blue and white Social Security Card Blanket. Looks just like the card in your wallet (which you shouldn't carry in your wallet), and measures 68" x 34" in soft, comforting poly fleece. Even has your name on it: John Q. Public. All you add is a thumb.

Grip® brand water-resistant utility boxes are inspired by military ammo cans, but in a long-lasting polymer instead of steel, and in mini sizes. These are 8-1/2” long x 4-1/2” wide x 6-1/2” tall, hinged on a short side. They have a folding handle on top, a secure locking latch, and an O-ring gasket to make them water-resistant. Great for cell phones and other small electronics, wallets, cash, lunch, our Virgil Trucks rookie card—stuff like that.

Behold the first attractively designed electric pencil sharpener since Edward C. Hoffman’s 1943 art deco Electro-Pointer. (You could look it up.) The Spira from X-ACTO® is a rotated rectangular column, 5-3/4” tall x 2-3/4” square, in lipstick red plastic. Plugs in via a wall adapter, and has a hardened steel cutter inside plus a one-touch release on the bottom for emptying the shavings. We see a future classic.

OK, chicken plucking and how to build an igloo, but you could combine them if you needed to. How To is a book of wilderness skills with instructions on over (75) things you might need to know someday, including the two above, plus opening coconuts with a rock, sheep-shearing, crossing deserts (with the associated treating a snakebite), surviving bear attacks, starting fires in the rain, cleaning fish, tanning hides, and shoeing horses. Takes a nice, fun look at desperation in the woods. We've already used a bunch in the office.

Nobody's going to steal your lunch if you keep it in one of these 15” x 13” cotton totes with a giant, and very realistic (also slightly scary), gray and white pussycat head with 3-1/2” dia eyeballs on it. Tote has zipper closures, (2) inner pockets for keys and phone, and a second full-length zipper compartment inside. Already gift-wrapped for your convenience. Slide-on tag lists a $20 retail price, and you're welcome.

Clip this zoom lens on your smart phone and take a closer look. The telephoto and monocular lens will cover 1.2” x 3.8” lens configuration on your phone. Has a 20mm minimum focus to a distance of approx 9-1/2 feet. Paul, our lens expert, says it's not National Geographic TV Special-quality, but it's a dandy all the same, and it’ll cost you less than a chicken burrito would and it's fun to mess around with (unlike the burrito).

3-Layer disposable face mask in a big box of 50. Standard blue in color with elastic ear loops and metal nose bridge for a snug fit. Bonus! inside the box they are in bags of 10 so you can keep them handy. Great for working around the shop, garden, attic or any other dust filled areas. Not for medical use.

From the mid-20th-century German military, this is a fully functional field phone. Weighs in at 8.2 lbs, and comes self-contained in a 10-1/4" x 6-3/4" x 4-1/4" dark brown Bakelite case with a handset on a 4-foot cord, a 52” 2-pin jumper, 25” TT plug cord, ringer crank and a battery holder for the pair of D-cells you’ll need to add. Side has slots for the carrying cord that we don’t have, and the inside lid has a full schematic. Should work with standard stereo speaker wire, and we’d get a pair of these phones if we were you. Small quantity available. These are surplus and have wear and tear on them. We will pick the nicest of the lot. 

What's a backwards light socket? A socket light. This vanadium steel socket adapter for 1/2" and 3/8" drives has a bright white LED that shines through your sockets, so you never have to ask someone to hold the flashlight. Runs on (3) AG-13 batteries, included along with a spare set of (3) more.

The smartest among us in these days of closed bars and bites as far as the eye can see will carry a little hip flask for emergencies. This one is a standard 7-ouncer in stainless steel with a matte black finish. Measures 4" x 3-1/2" x 1" thick, and given the number of emergencies you could encounter, we recommend a pair because, after all, you do have two hips.

Beats us why this little Hobby Hammer, as it calls itself, has a camo pattern. Could be for woodland crafters, could be a really good reason for surplus-ness. Either way, it's a nice little 7-1/2” long claw hammer with a magnetic pickup, straight-blade screwdriver and Phillips screwdrivers all collapsed inside the handle. Go tack sequins on a hollow tree.

Why bathe with a rubber cliché when you can share your tub with a plastic turtle, clown fish, frog, stingray, dory (blue tang), seal, blue alligator, or shark? Each measures approx 3” long, so there's room for several in the tub at once, and when you wind them up, they'll swim along in the suds. We'll pick (3) bath buddies for you, so you'll never soak or swim alone.

Nobody's going to steal your lunch if you keep it in one of these 15” x 13” cotton totes with a giant and very realistic pouting pug on both sides, so real you'll expect it to drool. Has zipper closures, (2) inner pockets for keys and phone, and a second full-length zipper compartment inside. Already gift-wrapped for your convenience. Slide-on tag lists a $20 retail price, and you're welcome.

This programmable digital timer from Velleman® plugs into a standard wall outlet and has a max load of 1800 watts/15 amps. Has a large LCD display, (10) daily or weekly on/off programs with a minimum time interval of (1) minute, 12- and 24-hour modes and a daylight savings function. In understated white plastic with black buttons, it measures 5” x 2-1/2” x 3”. Comes with instructions, and the internal rechargeable battery that keeps the display on will need about a 8 hour charge, so just leave it plugged in.

Just like all the fashionable coroners wear, this clear plastic face shield is approx 10-3/4” tall x 6” deep, and wraps around your face and the front half of your head. The shield features thumbscrews to adjust the forehead strap and angle of the face guard for superior comfort. Not impact or heat resistant, so pay heed to the “antispray mask” on the tape at the top, and don’t use it like safety glasses or a bump cap.

Not really just for voodoo. They’re from Voodoo Tactical™ in 100% nylon designed for the rigorous demands of, well, tactical stuff. Stretch material will fit most hands from Medium to Large. Durable and reliable, they’re black with pink skeleton bones on top, along with a logo. Wrists close with hook-and-loop straps.

Keep the skeeters out with this 2-part black nylon mesh curtain. Measures 78” long and hangs from a spring-loaded curtain rod that compresses to 25” and decompresses up to 46”. Curtain halves are 19-5/8” wide  held together by rubber-coated magnets, and with hook-n-loop pads at each corner for mounting to door frame.

This forest-camo sleeping bag is made for kids or adults as skinny as Pat, the Surplus King, who's six feet x 175 pounds and fits like a camper in this bag. Measures 70” x 27” closed (the bag, not Pat) and unzips to 70” x 54” in quick-drying polyester. Rolls up to an eminently tote-able 7” dia x 14” long in its own camo drawstring bag, and weighs just 2 lbs. Keeps toes toasty down to 40 degrees.

This new take-out analog/ballistic meter, a genuine science device, was intended to measure electrodermal activity in humans, if you're into that kind of thing. (We make no judgments here at the home office, lest we be judged.) Has a clear acrylic elliptical face, 6-1/8" x 4" with a 2-1/4" x 2" x 1-1/4" housing for the mechanism on the rear bottom, along with a pair of screw terminals. No scale, but full deflection is at 125uA.

Use this pumice-like stone on your grill, and forget about having to check your burgers for little shards of wire that snapped off of your brush. This stone will scour porcelain, stainless steel or iron grills and can be used on hot or cold surfaces. Made of 95% recycled material. Easy to clean, but will eventually wear out, as will everything else, so you may want to grab two. Measures approx 4-1/2” x 3” x 2” and is mounted in a plastic frame with a 6” handle.

Originally a fire safety escape kit, you'll get a headlamp (which is the meat and potatoes of the kit) with (8) white LEDs on a pivoting bracket with adjustable elastic straps that are nominally approx 8" across and powered by (3) included “AAA” batteries. Also comes with a screw hook, a suction cup child locator, and (10) reflective 2" arrow stickers. But it’s the LED lamp, at our great price, that makes this one so attractive.

What's afoot? It's the thing at the end of your leg, with the toes on it. But the games that are afoot here are all updates on the classics you grew up with. We'll pick a pair from our collection that includes Frustration!, Who's There?, Naval Command, Inline and Ooops!, which is our favorite based on name alone. All for ages pretty-little and up, this electronics-free family fun is for folks hunkering down and running out of things to amuse themselves with. When the hunkering is over, though, the amusement continues with these timeless games.

You could be, and you don’t even need electricity. These extremely old-school pinball games use just (6) little steel balls and gravity, which is pretty much everywhere, as we’ve discovered. Measure 9-7/8" x 5-1/4" under clear plastic with a spring-loaded plunger and 15 ways to score. No electricity means no TILT light, so you can tilt to your heart’s content if things aren’t bouncing your way. You pick the Hi-Score traditional game or the Treasure Hunt game with undersea creatures.

A honey of a little digital scale, the techies in the back room say. This improved Triton T2® scale is pocket-sized (5-7/8" x 3-1/8" x 3/4" thick), and measures up to 300g x 0.1g, 10.5 oz x .005 oz, 190 pennyweight x 0.1 dwt, and 9.6 Troy ounces x .001 ozt. Has a zero/tare button and a cover that can be removed for use as a larger tray. Comes with (3) "AAA" batteries.

SPECIAL NEWS ALERT! WINTER IS COMING! Avoid those hip-cracking amateur sidewalk double-axels with TREX™ slip-ons, extra-aggressive traction spikes. It regularly ices up here at the home office, and we stay on our feet with these. The chains and spikes are stainless steel, with both sole and heel coverage, and the stretchable rubber tops are high-visibility orange for added safety. You pick small (men’s 5-7, women’s 6-1/2 to 8-1/2 ); Medium (men’s 7-9,women’s 8-1/2 to 10-1/2 ); or large (men’s 9 to 11,women’s 10-1/2 to 12-1/2 ). The rubber uppers are uber-flexible, so they’re likely to fit larger sizes than suggested. (Pat stretched the small over his size 11 boots!)

Or giraffe, zebra, tiger or leopard. We’ll send you (3) of our animal-skin print aluminum carabiners, 3-1/8” long x 1-3/4” with a 5/8” mouth, in whatever critter-prints run to the door when we open the cage. Not for climbing. (Think: keys.)

No need to spin dials when you have this nifty mobile-phone-activated combination lock kit from Madlab©. Phone tones activate a relay switch with a programmable combination of up to (10) digits and an activation cycle up to (10) seconds. You add a case, a 9V battery and medium-level soldering skills. dimensions: 100 x 50 x 17 mm / 3.4 x 1.9 x 0.7"

who's got the button? You do, which means you don't have to go the drugstore when your watch, calculator, camera, radio or nearly anything else stops. Be prepared for electronic quitters with this 30-pack of button cell batteries in the most popular sizes. Our each is (6) AG1, (6) AG3, (6) AG4, (3) AG5, (3) AG12, and (6) AG13 batteries. (Some devices may call these G1, G2, etc., or have other arcane codes for these same sizes.) Brand new!

Converts (1) grounded outlet to (3) outlets, oriented so that the plugs you add run along the wall, not perpendicular to it. In dark green, with a 15A maximum. Indoor use only. UL.

…stays in the can. This 5-1/2" dia x 4” tall fiber drum with a lid has a 3-1/4” dia rubber-coated magnet with a 9-lb pull on the bottom to hold all of those pieces and parts that would otherwise get lost before you can put them back into whatever you’re taking apart. Also sticks to your toolbox while you’re at the hardware store.

It’s cheaper just to buy your own messenger bag. This one is light beige polyester canvas, 10" x 13-1/2" x 3-1/2" with a front flap with a magnetic clasp and side zipper that opens a 10" x 7" outside pocket. Inside is a 7-1/2" x 10" pocket with another the same size on the back. Two 5-1/2” deep open pockets on the inside, plus another zippered 7-1/2" x 12-1/2" pocket on the inside back. And of course it comes with an attached shoulder strap, 70” long and adjustable, with a sliding shoulder pad.

Dirt-cheap fun for the kids--at home and at school. Attach the (3) 5-1/2" long plastic blades to the whistling nozzle, blow up the little balloon and watch the world's cheapest helicopter fly away. Paul says it demonstrates Newton's third law, but he says a lot things. Great for classroom demos. Paul not included.

Good things come in (2) different small packages. Our pocket microscopes are compact and perfect for a clear, close look at stamps, coins, flora, insects or assorted minutiae. The 30X version measures 5-3/4" x 1-5/8" x 3/4" in black plastic with a focus knob, on/off switch, small LED for illumination, and a vinyl carrying case. Requires (2) "AA"s. The 60X version is a microscopic 3-1/4" x 1-3/16" x 3/4" and has a built-in white LED illuminator powered by (3) coin-cell batteries that are included. Magnifies from 60-100X, with coarse- and fine-focus knobs, and has a vinyl carrying case.

We’ll send you (2) different modeling clay kits from our selection of clay-based toy models, including (3) cars with styro bodies and pull-back wheel action, (3) planes and (3) ambulatory zombies. All will measure approx 3” -3-1/2” when complete, and come with clay in (4) colors, a sculpting tool and stickers.

InkJoy is the Paper Mate® name for a particularly smooth ink, but it’s the medium 1mm points that make these so pleasant to write with. Measure 6” long with black ink and pocket-clip caps. Our each is a pack of (8) pens.

And you’ll get found again, and you’ll also know what time it is. This 1-3/4” dia x 1/2” thick device has a pull-up pointer flap that makes it a working sundial positioned above a compass. Folds flat and has a ring that’s attached to a lobster clip, so you can hang it on your belt or pocket clip. A handy companion for traveling through time and space, if that’s your thing.

This isn’t something you stand on in late March to see how much weight you gained over the holidays and New Year’s Eve. This is a scale that uses a spring to measure 0-5000g in 100g increments, and 0-50 Newtons. The thing itself is 6-3/8" long x 7/8" dia with a 1-3/8" top hook, and an adjusting nut to zero it out. Has a 1-3/4" J-hook on the bottom, from which to hang what you’re weighing. Clearly marked as not legal for trade. Made in Canada. Wait a second, isn’t it always winter up there?

Riffler files are most prized by sculptors, wood carvers, model makers and similar fashioners of precision objects. They come in a variety of flat, round and triangular shapes. They are usually pointed and always have a delicate curve toward the point which makes them particularly useful for working in tight and curvy spots. We have a set of (10) in an attractive red plastic case. They are 3 x 180 mm size (about 7"), and were made in China for the King Manufacturing Co. Very nice quality at a very nice price. They can cost as much as $4.00-$5.00 apiece in regular outlets.