In black textured rubber with red trim these gloves from Best® Glove are their Trapper™ brand, and are the grippiest buggers we’ve seen since Hector was a pup. They’re marked “Sanitized™” but we’re not sure what that means. Nitrile-coated with a felt lining. You pick size 9 or 10.

Special for bottlesquashers. This collapsible, non-toxic silicone water bottle (In assorted colors) is easily the cutest thing that ever held H2O. Starts out like a little squat barrel approx 5-1/2” x 2-3/4” dia, but pull up on the top and it rises to a full 9” tall. Flip cap has a screw-down lock, and there’s a carabiner near the neck to hang it from. Holds approx 17 oz, comes in four assorted water friendly colors and is rated for -40 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Great for camping, hiking, mom-ing and kid-ing. 

Light up your feet for safety’s sake with this pair of bike pedals with (8) red LEDs in each. Measure 4" x 2-3/4" x 1-1/4" with the standard threaded axles, and powered by internal dynamos (we really like saying “internal dynamos,” and now you can too) that will make the LEDs glow in either direction of rotation.Includes a free wrench for installation, and in case you weren’t paying attention in physics class, the left pedal is necessarily reverse-threaded.

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!)

We’re music-loving folk here at the surplus capital of America, so we like this high-quality, triangular, olive drab nylon case, originally intended to be a gun case, for toting your ukulele from luau to tiki bar. Padded, measures 22” long x 10” wide at the big end, narrowing to approx 4” at the bottom. Zipper on (3) sides, shoulder strap, outside 5” x 7-1/2” flapped pocket, and myriad slots on both sides. Also good for a junior fiddle, or some flutes and tin whistles.

Still good advice, no matter what you’ve heard. And much easier with this excellent 33-piece set of pointed brush-tip markers (black, brown, light and dark green, yellow, orange, light and deep purple and royal blue); 0.4mm fine-tip markers (light and dark green, yellow, orange, red, pink, sky blue, dark blue, brown and black); and (12) double-ended color pencils. The whole artistic shebang comes in a tray with a pencil sharpener. From our friends at Helix®.

From the U.S. Navy stock of unused Gob hats (no, we don’t know where that name comes from) or more familiarly “dixie cups,” in white cotton twill. We’ll pick from sizes 7 through 8-1/2 if you’re going for the Cracker Jack look, but if you turn the sides down like Gilligan, one size fits every noggin. Upright, it should be squared up for authenticity. Group discount available for drama teachers staging South Pacific.

It’s faux hurricane season here in Chicago, and time to break out our faux hurricane lantern. Regardless of the season, though, it’s great as an accent light in any room, back yard or camper. Stands approx 10” tall x 5” wide, in steel with an antiquey copper finish. Has a carrying/hanging handle, and a push-button turns on both a 25-lumen flickering LED flame and an 80-lumen bright-white LED. Comes with (4) “AAA” batteries.

This tall, straight, clear plastic bottle is a flaskish shape, measuring 8” tall x 4-3/8” wide x 2-3/8” at its thickest, in an elliptical profile. Holds 32 oz and it’s clear, so you can fill it with colored sand or make your own “find it” game. Comes with a gasketed screw cap on a 13/16” ID mouth.

What we have here are 96-sheet, white genuine Post-It  note pads, 4” wide x just shy of 3” tall with adhesive strips on the top edge. Plus, for mysterious reasons, the samples we received have (5) pink capital letter Fs strung across the top margin. Just ignore them, unless your name is Frances, Fiona, Frank, Felicity or Fanny--or Fogarty, Fletcher, Fox or Fernandez, but don’t ask for a discount because they’re already cheap. You will probably get some letters other than F, too. That’s why they call it surplus.

Sometimes you don’t want lead in your solder. You know this. Our each is a dispenser that feeds approx 109” of lead-free solder in 0.40” dia wire. Solder is 99.3” tin and 0.7% copper. No need to thank us for refraining from lead soldier puns.

Yeth, it’s just pithiful. These authentic-looking pith helmets have a woodland camo pattern that goes with everything. Inside is an adjustable head band so they all fit everybody. Brim measures a 14” x 11-3/4” oval. The name comes from the fact that these helmets were originally made from the pith, or spongy insides, of the stem of the shola plant. Use that trivia at your next dinner party--while you’re wearing one of these helmets. Made in Vietnam.

From Scientific Explorer®, the people who start kids off right, come these self-contained kits for kids 6+. You pick: the Amusin’ Illusions™ kit with (26) optical illusions, including eye monster, penrose triangle, hole in your hand, dancing cube, mobius strip and many more, and comes with 3D glasses and a 19-page manual; or Fingerprint Science™ for budding forensic scientists, which includes a bottle of fingerprint powder, dusting brush, acrylic magnifier, tape tabs, (32) fingerprint cards and a 29-page instruction manual.

And they’ll save you considerable drawer space. Our 4-piece set of stainless steel nesting measuring cups from Superb Chef have short handles to save space. They’re the usual 1, 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 cup sizes but with added smaller increments (incl 1/3) on the sides. They also have small spouts for pouring, and holes for hanging or stringing together if you’re into that.

Cases for mounting butterflies, bugs, rocks, fossils or any other three dimensional collectibles. Known as Riker mounts, these are sturdy cardboard boxes 7/8" deep, with glass glued into the front cover for viewing. They are filled with a fairly firm, white, expanded, synthetic, cotton–like material. The cushiony filler holds the three–dimensional viewee in place without pins or glue. Very handy for the proud trophy hunter. Our smaller is 8” x 12” and the larger 12” x 16–1/2”.

Might be a slight exaggeration, but Pierre Vernier was born in 1580 and people were really short then. In any case, our aluminum Vernier caliper is 29” long and will measure up to 24” (61cm) in 1/16” (1mm) increments. Has 2-3/4” long jaws and a lock screw. The resolution on the Vernier scale is 1/128” - 0.05mm. Please Note: Your entire order will ship standard ground when purchasing this item. Contact us for expedited shipping information. Thanks!

These black rubber-treaded wheels are as smooth as a baby’s bottom--if you’re talking about a rubber baby. Measure 8” x 29/32" wide with (8) plastic spokes. Bearings are 7/16” ID to take a 7/16” shaft, but they come separate and will need to be tapped into the center bore. Should make for a ride as smooth as a baby buggy.

That flat-screen TV you paid a fortune for has been sitting on a coffee table long enough. Time to wall-mount it like all the television sets on television shows. Our full-motion mount fits standard LED wall mounts, holds sets from 23” to 50” and up to 44 lbs, can pull away from the wall up to 13-1/2”, tilts 5-15 degrees, and swivels 90 degrees right or left.

You need this keychain with a handy 3” long x 1-1/8” wide white plastic compass/thermometer combo on a 7/8” slip-ring. From the “Keychains With Purpose” line of products (our new favorite name), it’s made for folks devoted to being prepared. You know who you are, and so do we.

The biggest doggie don’t is: don’t leave the do-do behind. To that end, here’s a cute little plastic bone-shaped carrier for the bags, with a clip. Hook it on the leash and fill it with the included (80) standard-size dog-do plastic bags. The bags are printed with dog-related patterns--bones, paw prints, etc., which your dog will find funny. (Yes, dogs have a sense of humor; you just don’t get their jokes.)

Turn the knob on this battery-powered lantern and watch the trio of 12-element COB LEDs go from nothing to 600 lumens. Measures 8-7/8" tall x 4-1/2" dia with a clear 4-1/8” tall window around the light, which has a folding handle and a bonus compass on top. You add (3) “D” cell batteries and you’re good for approx (6) hours, or more if you dim the light. We’ll pick one in red, blue or green because it doesn’t matter.

Those long boring nights spent recharging your rope lights are finally at an end. This 16-1/2 foot rope light is 3/8" dia with (50) white LEDs inside. Mount the 2" x 1-5/8" solar cell in the yard or on the deck, plug the rope in and (8) hours of sunlight will give you up to 12 hours of glowing rope when the sun goes down. Includes the rechargeable NimMH battery, ground stake and hardware. Has standard on/off or auto modes. Water & weather resistant and rated to last more than 100K hours.

Who says it’s a law? This dandy kit from Thames & Kosmos uses a ripcord-activated gyroscope approx 2” dia, and a 1” dia flywheel in an 87-piece kit that lets you create (20) gravity-defying experiments, including tops, robots, break-dancers and motorcycles. Call it fun with physics. Kit includes tracks and a 32-page manual. For ages 8+.

Voted most likely to attract by the judges, this magnet has the relative strength of 10 men. A shiny silver 1/2" cube of neodymium magnetism, it packs approx a 15-lb pull. If our boss Pat were that strong he could lift 2,160 lbs! Besides its superpower strength, this beautiful cube also would improve the looks of your fridge or bulletin board to no end.

at the house of blue light. Little Richard Penniman said so. But good golly, now you can turn your car into the house of blue light with this pair of 3-1/2” long CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) tubes connected via a 28” lead to a control unit, and then to a cigarette plug. Has a 2A fuse with a power switch, and includes self-adhesive mounts for the tubes and control box.

No, it won’t ruin the grass, as long as you flood it with light. Try this rechargeable Solar LED floodlight from iZOOM® with (60) LEDs casting (300) lumens for 164 feet x 120 degrees. Measures 5-3/8" x 3-3/4" x 3" in a waterproof aluminum housing with a pivoting, keyed 4" x 3" mounting bracket and a 19-foot cord, plus a 6” x 5” solar panel with an internal storage battery and mounting stake, hardware and screws. Auto shut-off in ambient light and an 8-hour charge time for a 4-hour cycle.

These punch-out, coated-card-stock bookmarks are approx 8" long, with happy, cartoonish beastie heads on top and small graduated rulers on the back. Could be nice little stick puppets, too. You get a total of (12) cards with a lion, tiger, zebra, hippo, elephant and koala.  For a total of 36 bookmarks. Enough for the whole class, or every kid at the zoo-themed party.

Nice big, 60cc/2+ oz, polypropylene syringe is graduated in 5cc and 1/2 oz increments. Plunger has a black rubber gasket and a thumb ring at the top. Measures 6-1/2" long overall with a 1-7/16" x 5/32" ID nozzle with a cap. Handy in the shop, kitchen or craft room for gluing or decorating.

These clear plastic test tubes hold 10ml and measure 101mm (4") long x 16mm (5/8") dia and come with matching #5 corks. You'll receive a handy package of (10) which is enough for a ROY G. BIV optical display which includes the lesser known colors of not-quite-right green, Monday-morning-blue and plaid. Made in USA.

Stainless steel mortar and pestle set. Mortar measures 5-1/4” dia x 3” on a 4” dia attached saucer-like base. Holds approx 250ml. Pestle is 6-3/4” long with 1-1/4” and 2” dia heads. Nice for the lab, or for folks who want everything in their stainless steel kitchen to be stainless steel. You know who you are. And we salute you.

Nice little chunky 12VDC 1.5A wall adapter. Has a 6-foot cord, and a right-angle 5.5mm (2.5mm) center-positive female plug. UL.

No, no, wait--this is good, but it’s literally not so hot. It’s a battery-operated low-temp glue gun, like Martha would use for crafting on airplanes. No, wait, that’s probably not a good idea, either. Look, it’s a really good quality glue gun, takes (4) “AA” batteries, uses 1/4” x 4” glue sticks and measures a portable 5-3/8" long with a 4" handle. Runs approx 170F, perfect for Coffee Shop Crafters (which should be an HGTV series if it’s not already). No plugs! No cords! Great for hobbyists, tinkers, DIYers, teachers, model-makers, crafters and a bunch of other folks. Sticks are not included but try our 4" long low temp sticks. Works on wood, metal, glass, cardboard, paper, card stock, synthetic materials and more. Non toxic, clear drying and non yellowing. Bonds in less than 30 seconds...just ask Billy.

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when people could gauge your mood just by looking at your fingers. Our mood rings are tasteful, simple metal bands with mood-indicating stuff on the outside. We'll send you a trio from our bins of assorted sizes, and chances are they'll fit one or the other of your fingers or thumbs. (Or toes, which can get quite moody, too.)

These microfiber pouches are exactly right for carrying glasses, plus their microfiberness means you can polish those plastic lenses without scratching them. Measure 4” x 7” with a drawstring on top. They come in gray, maroon, black, lavender, green and blue, and we’ll pick the colors for you because glasses don’t care what color they’re stored in and you shouldn’t either.

Our medium-gray closed-cell foam comes in 14-1/8" x 3-3/4" x 1/4" thick slices with self-adhesive backing. You get two slabs, the better to pad something with.

These momentary SPST push-button switches are normally open and measure 11/16" dia x just over 3/16" thick and have a 15/32" shaft with a steel lock-washer & nut plus a pair of 1/8" solder terminals on the bottom. Rated 3A at 125VAC or 1A at 250VAC. You pick red, green or yellow.

This take-out solenoid valve is a simple open/closed solenoid valve that is normally closed. It draws 100mA at 12VDC. Has 3/16" OD inlet and outlet at right angles to each other. Housing measures 1-3/16" long x 15/16" dia with terminals at the back end.

You’re bound to be able to read through one of the lenses on this triple-lens hand-held magnifier. You pick. There’s a large, 5-1/4” acrylic lens at 1.5X with a 1” dia bifocal on the left at approx 2X and a doublet in the handle at approx 7X. (Ignore the surplus-inducing mis-marked lens powers; we tested ’em and the powers listed here are accurate.) Has (3) white LEDs under the main lens for your viewing pleasure and measures 10-3/4” long . The other is the same thing in a slightly smaller size, 8-3/4” long overall with a 3-3/8” x 1.5X main lens with a 1” dia bifocal on the left at approx 3X and a doublet in the handle at approx 7X. You add (3) “AAA” batteries for the LEDs.

What do rotary tools have in common with fashionistas? Yes, it really is all about accessorizing. This set includes (20) shading bands, (10) fiberglass cut-off wheels, (21) assorted grinding stones, (3) polishing wheels, (45) woolen wheels and points, (36) silicone cut-off wheels, (60) sanding discs, (6) brushes, (5) diamond burrs, (8) high-speed steel burrs and drills, (3) mandrels and some polishing paste, all have a 1/8" shaft and come in a dandy wooden case. Case measures approximately 12-3/8" x 5-3/8" x 1-3/4".  Check out our best selling rotary tool here. Click!

You will survive with this Survival Candle, a 3-wick burner made of soy and palm wax in a 3-1/8" dia 2-3/8" tin can with a lid. Rated to last up to 36 hours.