…or, looking for tips on stuff that are useful to have that most people don’t think about.
A handheld 2 way radio. The cell network is the first to go even before a disaster since the lines saturate with people calling out.
I happen to have a handheld maritime emergency radio around, mostly because I got my hands on it for free* a few years back. It could serve the same function, provided someone else is using the same frequencies. I live in a coastal environment, so there’s always someone around that are legally required to listen on Ch16.
*: I used to work with maritime electronics, and one day we had a recall order from one of our suppliers. Turned out one batch of this one particular handheld radio had a potential minor problem with the squelch, so they were no longer IMO approved for emergency use. We were to throw them away and a refund would be issued. I took one home and just paid for a battery and charger. It’s now sitting in my kitchen.
A handheld calculator and a slide rule. If the power goes out for a long time, I’ll still be doing math while the rest of you chumps will be using your fingers to count to 10.
Joke’s on you, I can get to 20 because I also use my toes!
Jokes on you, I can count to 21 all by myself. I still need to call my buddies for anything above that tho
I have a roll of dental floss in my hike bag. It’s small, super strong, and there’s one pile of it in a roll. Could be used for replacement shoelace, laundry line, tying wood together for a shelter, etc.
Stick a sewing needle in it. Find one that fits inside with the spool of floss. I’ve carried one in my bag for decades at this point.
highly recommend! i sew all my patches and pockets onto my outfits and shit with waxed dental floss. never had anything break ever even after years
examples: https://vanta.diy/
I like yr jurse, my friend.
I keep a bowling ball in my car. It doesn’t make sense to have it at home.
Be warned: if it gets below freezing or just changes temps wildly it’ll crack
LEGO brick separator.
I have a field transfusion kit as part of my first aid kit in my vehicle, as well as in my bike kit.
So far, it hasn’t been useful at all, and hopefully never will be.
Paracord. I use it in the house as well as with my SCUBA diving gear. If you need to tie something it’s tough stuff, fairly cheap, and can be doubled up to deal with heavier loads. With SCUBA gear you can use it to create tethers for just about anything and if you have one of the camera floats that comes with a cheap little keeper strap save yourself some heartache and replace it with paracord.
An assortment of screws, bolts, nuts, and washers. Always worth having around. Some little thing breaks or you can’t find one you dropped maybe the new thing you are putting together was missing one. Bonus tip, buy them at a place that sells by the pound and not the individual item. Atwoods is a place in the US that still does this that I know of but I’m sure there are a few others. Estate sales will also often have a person who will have jars of random stuff for cheap.
I keep a Windows 11 installer USB on my person almost at all times. I’ve had to perform an impromptu utilman.exe trick (consensually) multiple times. (Replacing the ease of access menu EXE with a command prompt somehow still allows you to get an administrator CMD window on the lock screen, even in 2026).
I have something similar but with a Ventoy USB with different Linux distros in case I need to do an emergency reinstall or need a live USB
Replacing the ease of access menu EXE with a command prompt somehow still allows you to get an administrator CMD window on the lock screen, even in 2026
What the fuck
Flashlights - I am never without one within reach.
I also usually have my phone within arms reach
The piddly light on my phone is no match for a real flashlight, though.
I mean idk, mine gets pretty fucking bright. So much so that I keep it on the lowest of like 4 or 5 settings by default. What are you having to illuminate regularly? I guess I might be biased as I like the dark and don’t even really turn on lights if I’m home alone, but seriously why do you need a crazy bright flashlight all the time? I think they’re cool but I actually can’t think of a single use case where my phone wouldn’t be good enough, outside of like actual camping or night hiking or something.
Not who you’re replying to, but I carry a good flashlight for use when it’s light, not when it’s dark.
Dropping something small on the carpet or a floor in a lit room can still be super hard to find, but take a bright beam and shine it sideways and you’ll catch the shadow immediately (just an example)
It’s crazy how much I use it. Super underrated tool.
Not unusual, but surprising how many times it has come handy in group gatherings.
I always have a lighter on me, so I never need to find a bottle opener.
.
Jam the bottom of the lighter flat against the bottom of the bottle cap. With your other hand grab the neck of the bottle as high as you can. Your hand should be pushing the lighter up against the cap hard enough that you don’t need to hold the lighter with your other hand. Squeeze the neck of the bottle to flex those finger muscles, and push down on the lighter like you would any other bottle opener. Enjoy your beverage!
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I might as well go first:
Scalpels!
They have a myriad of uses. And since they’re sterile, they can be used for cooking. I use them for slicing the skin on pork bellys for that nicely diced crackling - It’s almost like they were made for cutting skin, or something. Besides that, they’re excellent for cleaning up 3d prints. Just remember that they’re supposed to be single use. While your 3d print doesn’t care, your food definitely does care about how much you use the same one.
I always make sure I have a 10 pack in my kitchen.
This is exceedingly wasteful… Just get a good knife (set) and learn to sharpen it
I didn’t know a potato casserole could be used with such utility.
A tissue box and hand lotion: because i have serious allergies and always need a tissue and have horribly dry skin that splits open painfully, get your mind out of the gutter
I drive with a collapsible baton in the car, just in case I have to reach something in the backseat.
Keep in mind,if you’re in the US, that it’s likely illegal to do that. If you care about that sort of thing.
Just keep a baseball bat and a glove in your car. It’s not a weapon, I just keep it around in case I get the chance to play…😉
I carry an M60E1 light machine gun loaded at all times. You never know when you will be needed as an infantryman against a Viet Cong attack. The streets are mean.
“for duck hunting”
It’s not considered a deadly weapon (lol) in my state. You can even open carry it, but I’d rather not.
It’s either the shitty swamp state, the shitty cowboy state, or the worst state of all…Ohio.
No matter what time of the year, we’re in the news a lot.
Swamp State
Gas jet lighter. I do not smoke. But when people ask for a lighter and I pull my lighter out, they always ask “How come YOU have a lighter?” Funny every time.
Nail clippers. Small but powerful penlights.
