![Titanium Key Shackle 922cb82c12217938b20a9de8f2ed9153_large[1]](http://rossrubin.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Titanium-Key-Shackle-922cb82c12217938b20a9de8f2ed9153_large1-300x168.jpg)
There are few things more annoying than fumbling to find the right key when you’re in a hurry. Titanium Key Shackle not only holds and organizes your keys, but it also holds USB drives, keycards and other small items that people often like to have at their fingertips. While Kickstarter has seen other similar products, one nice thing about this particular key organizer is that it seems easy to set up and no modification of the keys is needed. For $18, a backer gets one product with an expected delivery of July 2014.
Category: Tools
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Rock your lock with the Croc-Clip
![Croc-Clip 20140324020120-_stan_clip[1]](http://rossrubin.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Croc-Clip-20140324020120-_stan_clip1-300x139.jpg)
Here is an item that is a must-have for every James Bond wanna-be. Who knew that a paper clip, when bent in just the right places, can pick locks. So whether you’ve lost your key to your lock box, are in a precarious situation in which you’ve been handcuffed, or you have some other need to pick a simple wafer or pin and tumbler lock, the Croc-Clip campaign has you covered. There are also a couple Croc-Clip items that are capable of more, but for $10, backers get a most basic version with an estimated delivery of April 14.
Home improvement could use some improvement with more universal solutions to everyday problems. U-Hook offers backers the chance to hang up their clotheslines, suits, picture frames, and more with one simple product. With several different mounting options including a peg or hook option, this nifty, albeit slightly unattractive, product comes with dozens of hanging possibilities. One of these German-made household items goes for a steep £49 on Kickstarter with an estimated delivery date of June 2014. U-Hook’s creators hope to raise a very low £1,000 in their 31-day campaign.
![My Task ea84c5b59044ec2838e7e8201bd06ca5_large[1]](http://rossrubin.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/My-Task-ea84c5b59044ec2838e7e8201bd06ca5_large1-300x200.png)
With the cycling enthusiast and computer savvy in mind, My Task adds additional practicality to your phone case. Trading a wee bit of girth for the convenience of a multitoo, the iPhone 5/5 case has a built-in sliding tray that holds tools that assist you with typical tasks that you might encounter on a day-to-day basis associated with cycling and computers, perhaps for a quick repair if someone doesn’t hear our Trigger Bell in time . However, the tools can be changed out so that the tray could hold other items such as change, a few business cards, spare key, jewelry or whatever suits your fancy. It’s made of polycarbonate and covered with a black or red soft-touch coating. For $50, a backer gets their choice of a black My Task Urban or My Task Bike and Jet and an expected delivery of June 2014.
The Premise. Twist ties that come with bread, chips or other bag-packaged foods tend to get lost in the shuffle. These tiny but essential bag securers are necessary to keep the foods we love fresh. Their size and disposability, however, means that they go missing a lot.
The Product. The Twist-Tie Pod gets its inspiration from tape dispensers. The small white device holds a 65’ foot roll of twist ties and cuts and dispenses them accordingly. Magnets on the back as well as screw holes make it possible to secure the Pod to refrigerators or to the inside of cabinets.
The Pitch. Twist-Tie Pod’s adorable Hawaiian creator and ukuleleist Milton Wheeler chooses a dorky but charming video to feature on his Kickstarter campaign. This video is a must-see and does one of the best jobs of selling a crowdfunded product in recent memory. The dramatization of frustration from a missing twist tie, the twist tie jingle played on a ukulele, and the hilarious faces of Wheeler all deserve an Oscar, or at least props for such great entertainment value. The rest of the campaign shows the standard progression of prototypes, the back story for the product’s idea, as well as insight into the cutting device that chops the ties (spoiler alert: Wheeler uses modified toenail clippers). Wheeler hopes to raise $10,000 in his 36-day campaign.
The Perks. Lower reward tiers offer only spools of twist ties while higher tiers offer spools and the Twist-Tie Pod. For $18, early backers get the ties as well as the dispenser which go for $20 at a regular price. Tiers go up to $250 which offers a pod decorated by a Hawaiin artist. The standard Twist-Tie Pod has an estimated delivery date of May 2014.
The Potential. The Twist-Tie Pod is one of those little kitchen accessories that has the potential to make life a whole lot easier. The only bad news is that twist tie dispensers already exist, but are mostly marketed to be used in the garden and not the kitchen. For example, Bond’s Twist Tie Dispenser uses 66’ of twist tie with a blade to deliver the same results as the pod outside and only costs $3. The Twist-Tie Pod’s design with the kitchen in mind is great, however the price will need to come down in order to get backers to hop on board.
For lots of ladies on the go, hair can be a
bear to maintain. Mini Sleek offers portable hair care as a wireless straightening iron. The battery plugs into the wall and, when done, offers 30-45 minutes of life while heating up to 375 degrees. This hair tool is compact enough to fit in a purse and comes with a heat resistant box cover so that waiting for the straightener to cool down isn’t an issue. One Mini Sleek goes for $85 on Indiegogo. The creator hopes to raise $50,000 in her 60 day campaign.
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Aaah yes! The beauty and peace and quiet of the great outdoors. Nothing like a good hike on a gorgeous, sunny day. And for those times when you find you need to go off the beaten path to take care of a bit of business, The Deuce of Spades lets you pair up with any tree in the forest. The 0.6 ounce aluminum latrine digger is much lighter than other trowels, and is touted as able to break most types of soil with ease. But it doesn’t have sharp edges, so hard ground may render it ineffective. For $14, backers can choose from shiny red, yellow, green or blue- and an expected delivery of May 2014.
Scrapers come in handy for all sorts of chores around the house, but aren’t always as precise as needed. BLADRNR is a small scraper run by an electric motor. Its extra power makes scraping gook off of any surface much easier and certainly more efficient. The video in the campaign shows this scraper on steroids working its magic on a variety of surfaces. One BLADRNR goes for $65 with an estimated delivery date of August 2014. For more slow-mo footage of the tool in action, visit the Web site. BLADRNR hopes to raise $45,000 in its 30-day Kickstarter run.
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For those of you who have decided that a Swiss Army Knife is too bulky to carry around, Quickey Multi-Tool may be the multi-tool for which you have been longing. It’s about the size of a standard key and you can even attach it to your key ring. Quickey boasts of having five functions: a file, flathead screwdriver, scorer, bottle opener. and serrated edge that functions like a pocket knife. While not the first key-like multitool, the Quickey could certainly come in handy to backers, who can pick one up for $9 with an estimated delivery of April 2014.
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Screener Thing won’t let your garden down
For green thumbers who have a rocky time working in their gardens, Screener Thing offers a solution. This nifty, sifty garden tool is basically a screen framed by wood planks that sits on top of wheelbarrows or buckets. When pouring dirt into the receptacle, the screen catches all of the unwanted rocky or chunky material that lives in the dirt. For $45, backers can rock out with the Screener Thing. The money, rather than the play, is the Thing as it needs to raise $45,000 on Kickstarter in its 45-day campaign.