Tech Column: Keyrings II

by Bill Adler

A couple of columns ago I wrote about the best thing you can have on your keyring: A mini-cable to charge your smartphone, http://amzn.to/P55swn. Because USB ports are everywhere, all you need is a cable to be able to add power to your power-hungry phone.

But what about second best? What else can you carry on your keyring? Inventors are coming up with ever more clever, even smaller ring-sized attachments that can be added to a keyring. I've been carrying the Swiss+Tech keychain multi-tool around with my housekeys for years. In addition to a small knife, it has a phillips screwdriver, flat screwdriver and micro-screwdriver on board. The latter is great for an on-the-go eyeglass repair. At $8, it falls under the "why not?" category: http://amzn.to/NyfC56.

Swiss+Tech also makes a slightly larger keychain multi-tool that has a flashlight built in: http://amzn.to/PJX3Q2. Now you can fix things anywhere, as well as see what you're fixing.

A recent addition to the keyring universe is a keyring tripod, the Tiltpod for the iPhone and iPhone 4S: http://bit.ly/RSV52z. Clever, isn't it?

For $6 you can get a pair of scissors that fit on your keyring from ThinkGeek, http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/eba8/?srp=1. They're small, but very handy.

Also in the handy department is an emergency money holder that you can attach to your keyring. It's great for those times when you need cash, open your wallet, and find nothing inside. Take a look at this at http://amzn.to/RhjBDS.

If you usually remember to take along money, but sometimes don't have a pen with you, consider getting a small (very small) pen that you can attach to your keyring. I like this one, another great product from ThinkGeek: http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/e7af/?srp=18.

Keys? They're good to have on a keychain, too, I guess.

---

Bill Adler is the co-publisher of the Cleveland Park Listserv, www.cleveland-park.com. He is the author of "Boys and Their Toys: Understanding Men by Understanding Their Relationship with Gadgets," http://amzn.to/rspOft. He tweets at @billadler.