The manufacturer calls this a SWAT Survival Kit and it’s a wonder of emergency compactness at 4” x 6” x 2-1/2”. Tucked inside the heavy-duty black plastic case is a bright LED flashlight, multifunction leatherguyish tool, survival compass, whistle, emergency foil blanket, credit-card size multitool with (10) functions, flint fire starter and steel wire saw.

First and foremost, it’s an iZoom® lantern--a really handy, collapsible, dual-mode, battery-operated lantern. But it’s also a magic trick because to turn it on, you pull it open, like a pirate’s spy glass. Open it once and its 80-lumen LEDs glow bright-white, constant-on. Close it and pull it open again, and the light is an amber 25-lumen, flame-mimicking flicker. Open it again and it’s back to white. At 3-1/2” dia, it stands approx 5” tall when closed, and a max of approx 7-1/2” when open. Has (2) handles that fold down for storage or up for hanging and carrying. Comes in black or gun-metal gray, and we’ll pick because that’s how we roll. Adding to the magic, the whole shebang runs on (3) “AA” batteries. (Not Included)

They don’t give them away in bars anymore, so you’d better buy this Matchstick Fire Starter. Has a 1-1/2" x 1-1/8" x 3/8" flint housing and a 1” striker with a small cotton wick around the end. Fill it with a little lighter fluid and you’re ready to start something. Includes a 1/2” clip to hang it on something. A must for camping.

Put these on your feet, and stay on your feet. We use these here in the frozen heartland, and so should you if you’re anywhere where the snow flies and ice coats the sidewalks. Measure 9” long in black silicone rubber, and they stretch over the toe and heel of pretty much any size shoe, men’s or women’s, with rubber pads that have (5) 5-pointed steel cleats on each sole. Easy on, easy off for your winter-walking convenience. For you folks in the warmer climes, you can use them to turn any pair of shoes into cleats for pick-up games of football.

Newly manufactured P-38 Can Opener from the same folks who supply them to Uncle. It folds! into 1-1/2" x 5/8" flat piece which is easily carried and lost. Reportedly works much better than the Asian knockoffs for those who really want to gain entry to the Spam!

Walking sticks have moved into the space age! This walker's/hiker's friend has futuristic features and the look of an inter-galactic weapon. The high-quality collapsible aluminum stick extends from a packable 27" to a full 43", and has a carbide tip with a rubber cover, a removable 2" dia disk to keep the stick from sinking into soft ground, and an internal shock absorber that can be turned on or off. At the top, a 5-LED flashlight with a 90° pivot is embedded in a molded-plastic cane-style handle to light your way. For mountain trekking, lengthen the stick, slip the adjustable canvas wrist strap over your hand, and clutch the stick by the padded foam section below the cane handle. Directions, diagrams, and 1100mm to 1350mm gradations are marked clearly on the 3-draw pole. We'll pick a black or anodized red, green, blue, silver or purple version for you.

An exhausted physicist. Also this 3-1/4" dia camping lantern. Stands 5” tall with fold-down handles, but pull up those handles and reveal the super-bright, a whopping 600 lumen COB LED light inside. Turns on when you open it, and has a small compass on top so you can see where you’re going. Measures approx 7” open and will shine for approx (6) hours with a trio of “AA” batteries, which are included. In utilitarian gray ABS plastic.

Once upon a time, tweeting is what birds did, and also what people calling birds did. Return with us now to those trilling days of yesteryear with this little hand-held Audubon bird call. Measures 2-1/4" long with a cast-aluminum shaft inside a birch barrel. Twist it to tweet, and there’s no limit to how long you go on.

Daytime, too, or whenever you need to start a fire, especially outdoors. These pressed resinous-pine tinder sticks measure 4" long x 1/2" square, and our each is a box of a dozen. Marked as being from the “Survivor Series,” they’re water-resistant and slow burning, lasting approx five minutes each. 

C'mon baby, light someone's fire with this magnesium and flint fire-starter kit. The 3" steel hack-saw-type blade and a 3-1/8" x 3/8" x 1-1/8" hunk of magnesium, with a rod of flint embedded in one long side, are on a keychain for carrying but are easily removed from it. With the serrated edge of the blade, shave some Mg into a small pile of tinder. Strike the flint with the opposite edge to spark the tinder-Mg's interest, and you're Prometheus.