This blog is a review of my keychain tools.
This keychain is something that you can carry around every day in your pocket. It can be used as a backup for your main larger gear. Even when you don't have anything with you, these small tools can become handy when you quickly need a tool or find yourself in a survival situation.
This keychain consists of 8 items. The main element is the True Utility KeyRing system. It can connect up to 5 keys in the correct order and it includes 4 quick-release clips. All of the items are hooked into it. It works really well to attach items by using these tiny clips. I have paid €8 for it. Let's cover all the items that I have gathered and connected to this keyring system.
The first item is this Rubitec Kao Baby Swing. It is a solar and crank-up flashlight. It's a pretty solid item and the handle works well. You can crank it up really smoothly without any effort. According to specs, a full minute of cranking gives you 3 minutes of bright light. I have noticed that the light shines longer than that. You can also leave it to charge using the solar battery which is less efficient. It costs €7.
The second item is the button compass. It is made by a company called Sun. It's luminous, liquid-filled and is cushion-mounted. The housing is optical grade acrylic and has small centimetres and inches ruler on both sides. I must say that the compass works really well, it has hardly any trouble to acquire the correct direction. It can be custom-imprinted. Mine has the imprint of a Dutch outdoor store called Bever, where I obviously have bought it. The price was €8.
This is a Telepen which is also from True Utility. It is a telescopic pen which you can pull by just giving a tug. It's made from stainless steel and connects nicely to the key ring. You can replace the refill just by unscrewing the top. It is included with 3 free refills of black ink. It snaps back to the cap very firmly. It costs around €7.
The 4th item that I'm going to cover is the Clip Tool from True Utility. In the picture, it is opened. As you can see it includes needle nose pliers. On one side it has a serrated edge knife and a bottle opener; on the other, it has a fine small knife which is really hard to unfold. It doesn't have any proper nail-nick. The knife itself is sharpened evenly on both sides. On the top, there is a small Phillips head screwdriver, which you can use by unfolding on the arms of the pliers. The price of it is €10.
The next item is the True Utility Firestash. It is a liquid fuel refillable lighter. It has this nice shiny look which is given by the coating of Dark Chrome Plated Zinc Alloy. It's lightweight and small. This O ring allows it to be waterproof. As you can see by unscrewing this screw you can replace the flint and the wick is also replaceable. The price is around €10.
I have connected this small Swiss army knife to the keychain using a carbine, which by itself can come in handy. It has nice camo colors and it is produced by Victorinox. It includes a fine small blade which is also sharpened on both sides just like the knife on the Clip Tool, only this knife is thinner and a bit longer than the other one. A nail file with a screwdriver and on the other side it has scissors. It also includes tweezers and on the opposite side to it a plastic toothpick. I like this knife a lot and could not miss it on this keyring. It is a bit expensive. I have paid €17 for it.
The last item I have connected is the KeyTool which is also from True Utility. It comes with its own clip, which is the same as the other clips from the key ring. It has a bottle opener, and a small eyeglass screwdriver. On the other side, there is a medium and a large screwdriver. On top, there is a nail file and it includes a tip that can be used as a fingernail cleaner. Also, a handy thread cutter is included on it and when you take the key out you can use it as tweezers by squeezing it. I have paid €5 for it.
The total price of all items is around €70. It makes for me a very nice and handy keychain ring system. It could probably be stripped down with a few items, but it's more sturdy to have more items on it. :-) I could recommend it to anyone. If you have some tips for me about which other items to put or maybe replace on this keychain please put it in the comments. Below I have included links to all of the products and you can also see this blog on my Youtube channel.
Keyring System: http://www.trueutility.com/pocket-tools-store/true-utility-tu45-keyring-system.html
FireStash - Miniature Waterproof Lighter: http://www.trueutility.com/pocket-tools-store/lighter_waterproof.html
Keytool: http://www.trueutility.com/pocket-tools-store/true-utility-key-tool-tu47.html
Telepen: http://www.trueutility.com/pocket-tools-store/telepen.html
Clip Tool: http://www.trueutility.com/pocket-tools-store/true-utility-multitool-carabineer-TU92.html
Rubytec - Kao Baby Swing Solar Flashlight: http://www.rubytec.com/eng/smart-energy-solar-flashlights.php
Sun MiniComp: http://www.suncompany.net/productDetail.php?stockNumber=808
Victorinox Classic Camo: http://www.outdoortac.com/victorinox-classic-camo-multitool-58mm