The head of these hex wrenches pivots, allowing you to get access into numerous tight places and achieve speedier running in for final tightening (with the same hex or via torque wrench). Unlike a standard hex that only gives you 90-degrees, the flex head can be quickly adjusted. You simply move the handle to the angle that works best in the situation then turn (it's like a tight, square drive U joint adapter; there is no screw to lock it). Often you can simply flip the handle for another turn without disengaging from the socket head. The short end or long end can be used as the driver. I start screws with the long end then simply flip the wrench for snugging down.

I bought mine after I saw a bicycle mechanic using one. I've used mine *hard* for bicycle maintenance for over a year with no appreciable wear (they're chrome-plated vanadium steel). While elegant looking, they have never failed to bust loose stuck bolts, especially stainless ones in aluminum or even steel threads. I gave a set to a Mechanical Engineer whose hobby is designing high-end racing recumbents for setting human powered vehicle records. He was also thrilled with them.

-- Fred Larimer

Pivot Head Hex Wrenches
$34
(metric or inches)
Available from Garrett Wade

I have other step stools, but none so handy, sturdy, easy to use, and simple to store away as this small, plastic folding step stool. One lives in the narrow crack between my refrigerator and wall—it breaks down to less than two inches flat, but pops out easily to give me the extra nine inches I need to root around in the back of the top cupboards. Very sturdy: rated for 300 pounds. Reasonably lightweight: less than 2.5 pounds. And it has a nice handle when folded, so it's great for use wherever, whenever. I'm belatedly realizing I should have brought mine to the Red Bull Soap Box Derby the other day; I would've seen something other than the backs of people's heads as the giant donut, belt sander, and Rubik's cube whizzed by. Live and learn.

I've used mine for five years, inside and outdoors, and it's not showing any signs of age; I just hose it off on occasion. Really good to have on hand anywhere space is at a premium -- apartments, boats, RV's, etc. They're also available in 6- and 12-inch heights, plus a two-step model (17 inches high), that folds to 4.5 inches (haven't tried those models myself, though). The stools also come in a variety of colors.

—Barbara Dace

E-Z Foldz Step Stool, 9-inch (aka "Turtle Stool")
$11-21
Available from Amazon

I planned my first trip to Japan six months out with every intention of studying basic language skills in advance. I subscribed to a podcast, looked into Rosetta Stone, and added a few foreign films to our Netflix queue. Easier said than done. After five months of procrastination (just being honest), I picked up this book as a last-ditch effort to learn at least a little as we traveled. For a two-week trip, we brought five guides, including the previously-reviewed Japan's Hidden Hot Springs. Survival Japanese is the only one I consulted everyday -- at least one-third of its pages are now dog-eared. Rather than overwhelm with long word lists or complex explanations of how to form unique sentences, the book is broken into scenarios with simple phrases listed in English, Japanese (Romanized), Japanese characters and, most importantly, spelled phonetically in English. You just flip to whatever situation you're prepping for or have found yourself in... in a taxi, greeting people, paying bills, apologizing, asking questions, at the station, in a bar, visiting a home, medical emergencies (thankfully, we had none) and more. Sure an extensive glossary with many more words would be nice; additional phrases for the same and other scenarios would also be useful. That's not the point with this one. If you're a true beginner, the book provides just enough in a package you won't mind stashing in a jacket pocket or tossing in a day bag. I still wish I'd learned more beforehand. Nevertheless, my new (and very polite) Japanese friends gave me an A for effort.

-- Steven Leckart

Survival Japanese
Boye Lafayette De Mente
160 pages, 2003 (revised ed.)
$7
Available from Amazon

If you want to save money and have the time to create a DIY pocketguide (I did not), this wikitravel phrasebook is a great resource; also, please note that below are just a few select phrases from a few sections -- SL

Traditional Japanese tools are not as esoteric as they once were. In part because for 35 years this venerable importer has been publicizing their virtues. Fine cabinet makers in particular have found Japanese-style saws, chisels, and wood shapers to be superior in many ways. But you don't need to be a cabinet maker to appreciate the tools featured in this catalog. I've bought some very reasonably-priced Japanese kitchen knives that we've maintained with razor edges for many years.

-- KK

The Japan Woodworker

Or visit the store in Alameda, California:

Mon. - Sat.: 9am - 5 pm PST, 1-800-537-7820

Unlike the previously-reviewed Starfrit Securimax, this opener is electric and sits on your counter, so it requires very little exertion or physical dexterity. Since the blade cuts along the side of the top, it never cuts or touches down into the can -- i.e. no dirty blade contaminating the can contents, no metal shavings fall in your food, and no contents oozing out over the dust covered can top. Also, since the cut top is slightly bigger than the body, no cut lids fall into the can -- and after opening, the top can easily be placed back on the can. For short term storage in the fridge, I use some tape to keep it in place.

Best of all, the opener leaves a lid and can that have no sharp edges -- even with a pop-top. I don't know about the rest of the country, but most communities in New York State require recycling, and all recycled food containers must be clean. Our household goes through many cans in a week, and washing out cans opened with a traditional can opener can be treacherous because of the sharp edges.

Hamilton Beach sells almost a dozen models of can openers, but only one uses the "Smooth Touch technology." I'm baffled, since after using this one it's hard to imagine why anyone would want to return to a traditional style opener. You operate it, more or less, as you would any electric counter-top opener. Just wedge the can between the two rotating discs and push down on the lever to grip the can. Press the lever a little more to rotate and cut the can. You do have to hold the lever down throughout the operation, which can be mildly annoying for a large diameter can. Some time-pressed people will also miss the automatic shutoff of other electric can openers. Certain brands, notably College Inn tend to require up to two revolutions to open. But the time, effort and caution it saves when we're cleaning the cans is certainly worth it.

-- David King

Hamilton Beach Smooth Touch Can Opener
$31
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Hamilton Beach

Spray-On Cooking Oil As Expedient Wetsuit Remover

As a triathlete, I practice the transition during every training session, meaning I try to remove my wetsuit in super fast time.

Every Friday last summer I swam in a lake in my Promotion triathlon wetsuit. I spent the whole summer struggling to get off my wetsuit. I tried slopping some water down the front before getting out of the water, Superglide and all kinds of things. My Ironman friend swears by Pam Spray On Cooking Oil. He's used it for 17 years and has had no damage to his wetsuits. You can't buy Pam in the UK (at least not cheaply). All I could find was Frys spray on oil. I bought a pump-action one since this is more eco-friendly.

I got to the lake one Friday and sprayed a generous coating on my legs. I was sure the oil would come off during my hour-long swim so I didn't really expect it to work. As I clambered out of the water I unzipped my wetsuit, ripped it down to my waist and then pulled it off my legs. I couldn't believe how effective this is. Triathletes normally try to pull a wetsuit down enough that they can tred on it to pull the rest of it off. I hadn't managed to do this all summer, but on my first attempt using cooking oil, I was instantly able to get the wetsuit down. Absolutely perfect!

-- Carl Myhill

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Chopsticks for Whisking

On one of my trips to Asia, I noticed an omelet chef at breakfast using a pair of chopsticks to whisk the eggs. Since then I have kept several pairs of good quality chopsticks in my kitchen for whisking and stirring jobs where a traditional balloon whisk is simply too big and also doesn't get into the corners if the container or pot does not have a rounded bottom. For this use, simply grasp the chopsticks as if they were a pair of pencils; only holding towards the thick (far) end. For better whisking power, slightly separate the two thin ends. As with a balloon whisk, most of the power should come from moving your forearm from the elbow, with your wrist just giving the 'whip'-like follow through. -- Aryeh Abramovitz

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Tie Wraps in a Bike Repair Kit

I would strongly suggest adding tie-wraps or zip ties to any bicycle repair set. They can hold a whole lot of things in place when screws get lost... I'm speaking here as an avid cyclist (I do about 2 to 3000 kilometers every year, most in vacations). -- Michiel Kemeling

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Prevent Flat Bike/Motorcycle Tires

Here's an easier way to flat-proof your bicycle: make a flap of stiff plastic that extends in front of the back wheel until it nearly touches the pavement. Then glue or rivet a rubber flap to the lower edge that brushes against the pavement. A bleach bottle is a particularly good source of plastic since you can gain some stiffness from curve to the neck, and depending on your bicycle design, you might even profit from the neck itself. I learned this many years ago when I was a motorcycle mechanic and discovered that perhaps 90 percent of all flats are on the back wheel. The reason: the front wheel stands the object up, the back wheel runs into it. All the flap does is knock the object back down, and that's all that's necessary. I put one these on my motorcycles and have never again had a flat in more than thirty years and hundreds of thousands of miles of riding. I put them on my bicycles too, and never have flats. -- Bill Babcock

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Quick Ways To Open a Shrinkwrapped CD

I got my start writing about music, so I received review copies of a lot of CDs. Since the days of physical, shrinkwrapped CDs are numbered, I feel compelled to share the two solutions I picked up. 1) To cut the shrinkwrap, vigorously rub one side of the disc on the corner or leg of a desk (preferably a metal one). Don't rub the face of the case, otherwise you'll scratch it. 2) To remove the barcode sticker binding the edge of the case: pry open the case at the hinges, then use the leverage to pull the sticker off in one long, quick movement.

These are so simple, I was able to do both in a minute with my left hand (I'm right-handed).

-- Steven Leckart

Shrinkwrap removal...

Sticker removal...

I'm a chart hound. I love the way one large intelligently designed single image can open up a world. My studio walls are covered with such portals. (For previously-reviewed cool charts see the Histomap of World History and A Correlated History of Earth). Recently I've add to my walls the 2009 "Death & Taxes" poster. In one large sheet this chart shows how your federal (US) taxes are currently divvied up among various agencies and programs. No matter what we claim our values are, how we spend our hard earned money speaks a thousand times louder and more truthfully about our real priorities. The immensity of military spending is made plain in this chart; the paucity of science funding equally vivid. But there are lots of other surprises: The size of health related spending, and highway funding. The numerous large sums for things you've never heard of.

A democracy needs informed citizens. This chart can quickly educate you about your government in a new way, a way in which a long list of incomprehensible budget numbers can not. The brilliance of this chart is Tuftian way it diagrams quick sense out of the complexity of a superpower's government and yet rewards close scrutiny.

You can scroll through this chart at close quarters via the online version, but you'll miss the punch of the big picture. Before you vote this election, spend some time with this guide to see how our national priorities shape up.

-- KK

Death & Taxes: 2009
24 x 36 inches
$30
Available from Wallstats

While most tankless water heaters require expensive permanent installation, the Ecotemp L5 water heater provides hot water anywhere there is a water spigot and a garden hose. The L5 comes with a propane hose and a telephone-style shower nozzle. To set up the L5, you hang it on nail, attach the water hose, and connect the propane hose to a standard portable propane tank. The burner starts automatically when you turn on the water using the control on the shower nozzle.

My wife and I have a tiny cabin on a piece of mountain land that has a water supply, in the form of a frost-free water spigot, but no other utilities. We bought the L5 two years ago when we got tired of heating water for washing and showers in a pan on our Coleman stove. The L5 makes this glorified camping spot feel luxurious. The heater weighs about 12 pounds, making it easy to move back and forth between the spot where we wash dishes and a small enclosure I built for taking showers. When we leave, we disconnect it, drain it, and store it the cabin.

The heater uses two D-cell batteries to run its automatic igniter. In two years of summer-weekend use, we've not yet had to replace the batteries. The heater has two controls: a water-flow dial and a gas-flow dial. In practice, you just turn the gas dial to "max" and adjust the temperature by varying the water flow. When adjusted to a decent temperature for a hot shower, the flow is perfectly adequate.

The heater must be used outdoors. Conceivably, you could mount it to the outside of a cabin and pipe the hot water inside. The water outlet accepts the same kind of flexible water supply hose you use to connect a sink's faucet to your household water supply.

The L5 is not the only on-demand portable water heater. Coleman's table-top unit uses small, disposable propane canisters, and has a built in pump, allowing it to be used without a pressurized water supply. The pump's battery must be recharged every 40 gallons. Available accessories for the Coleman include a shower handset and adapters for bulk propane containers and pressurized water supplies. The Coleman unit's built-in spigot makes washing hands and dishes more convenient than the L5's shower handset, and it has a special mode for producing 160 (F) degree water for hot drinks. However, it has 20% less heating capacity than the L5 (which is rated at 37,500 BTUs) and costs substantially more, especially with accessories. Another option, the Zodi travel shower, also uses a battery-powered pump, but provides only 10,000 BTUs and lacks the instant-on feature of the L5 and Coleman heaters. Both the Coleman and the Zodi are free-standing, and do not require a place to hang them. The Coleman costs about $185 (plus $30 for the bulk propane adapter, $25 for the water supply adapter, and $15 for the shower handset), the Zodi $130, and the L5 $120.

In the two years we've had the L5, we've had a couple small problems. We had to replace the short hose that connects the heater to the shower handset. More recently, the handset itself broke when we left it outside on a very cold night and the water in it froze. Occasionally, the burner will go out in a high wind. On the whole, however, the L5 has been very reliable and convenient. Besides luxury camping, I could see the L5 being useful in a potting shed or an outdoor kitchen.

-- Tom Sackett

EccoTemp L5 Portable Tankless Water Heater
$120
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by EccoTemp