Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

Normally I wouldn’t consider a hose reel to be OhGizmo! fodder, but this one has a clever trick up its sleeve that easily passes the “hey that’s nifty!” test. The NO-CRANK reel uses a patented water piston engine and the water pressure from your outdoor tap to automatically rewind your garden hose by simply flicking a lever to the ‘rewind’ position. And while I have my doubts that rewinding a hose is actually “one of the most stressful parts of maintaining your lawn and garden” like their PR material claims, I still think it’s a clever idea. And it’s just $39.99 from Buy.com, though I have my doubts it will arrive in time for Father’s Day.

[ NO CRANK Hose Reel ] VIA [ GadgetGrid ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Designed by Clifford Couvillon, the Playnetix Tumbler 1.0 is a modern take on playground equipment, with some pretty lofty goals. You see, getting the younger set (like kids 6 and under) to go outside and play usually doesn’t take much more than a swingset and a slide. But those pesky tweens are a different story. Tearing them away from their video games and cellular phones for a little physical activity isn’t so easy. But Clifford is hoping the Tumbler 1.0 will do just that.

It’s a 3D triangular structure that constantly moves and pivots thanks to a special ball joint that’s anchored to the ground with a strong coil spring. As someone climbs on the Tumbler their added weight causes it to tip and sway which in theory encourages them to keep moving around and exploring the structure. At the least, it does look like a lot more fun than a set of monkey bars.

[ Yanko Design - New Play In The Playground ] VIA [ cribcandy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

What better way is there to keep the kids occupied on a warm Summer day than with a healthy dose of sibling rivalry? But what parent wants to spend the afternoon playing official timekeeper while their kids swim laps in the pool? Enter the Swimways ESPN Swimming Challenge which not only comes with an ESPN decal on the side, but a couple of mountable touch pads that can be used by two swimmers to start and stop the timers on the waterproof (hopefully) clock. There’s also a set of LED displays that show the current time, winning time and number of laps if you’re just in it for the exercise. $43.95 at SwimOutlet.com.

[ Swimways ESPN Swimming Challenge ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Umbrellas are fairly simple contraptions. You press a little button (or move a slider) and out pops a uniformly shaped piece of fabric that works to keep you dry. Sure, some umbrellas might have a few more sides than others, but they still keep that roundish shape. Well regardless of whether yours is an octagon, decagon or some other ‘gon, it’s still not the most efficient shape out there.

I’m sure that at some point most people have been out in the pouring rain, only to have their umbrella buckle under the pressure of high winds. There are only two good ways to prevent this. The first is to just stay inside where it’s dry, and the other is to get an umbrella that’s a bit more angular. The SENZ umbrella takes advantage of its unusual shape to withstand 70mph winds. If this thing starts to give way, you’d better get your ass inside, lest you be physically carried away by the wind. You can currently pick one of these up in three sizes ($55, $69, and $83) and a variety of colors.

[ SENZ Umbrellas ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Every time I go swimming somewhere, I think to myself “wouldn’t this be more fun if I were just climbing out of the water, instead of swimming?” I mean, what’s the fun in swimming if you’re actually in the water most of the time? I’m totally not being sarcastic in the least. That’s why I have to get one of these Floating Iceberg Climbing Walls.

Rock climbing walls are fun on land, so why not drop $5400 on getting one for the water? Sure, you have to worry less about falling and breaking your neck in the water, but aren’t there enough fun things to do while swimming? To paraphrase a young jedi in training “I could almost buy my own boat for that!” I do see two rather fun uses for this. One involves scaring the hell out of people boating in the middle of the night. The other would be sneaking over to someone’s house and inflating this sucker in someone’s pool.

[ Overstock ] VIA [ GearFuse ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I’ve never read the rule book, but I assume the addition of an electric motor to your bike during the Tour de France is not allowed. But if you opt to cheat using the Gruber Assist, no one will know you didn’t really earn that yellow jersey. That’s because the Gruber Assist’s electric motor is designed to hide inside a bike’s seat tube (minimal diameter of 31.6mm required) and provide a bit of extra help with the pedaling, instead of powering the back wheel. So not only is it almost impossible to tell it’s installed, but the Gruber Assist can be retrofitted to any bike, as long as the seat tube is large enough.

However, I say “almost impossible to tell it’s installed” since you’ll still have to carry a set of NiMH or LiON batteries (good for about 1.5 hours) which are somewhat hidden inside a saddlebag. So if someone starts poking around your ride, your secret might not be safe. But lying and cheating aside, the Gruber Assist is definitely a very clever way to retrofit your bike with an electric motor, even if the complete NiMH version will set you back about $2,400.

[ Gruber Assist ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Wristbands designed to monitor your exposure to harmful UVA and UVB rays are nothing new, but I particularly like the UVSunSense bands because they’ll also let you know when it’s time to re-apply your sunscreen. You see, when you first apply sunscreen, you actually apply it to the UVSunSense band as well. Once you step outside the band will turn purple in the sunlight letting you know it’s been activated, and when the purple color fades, you’ll know it’s time to re-apply.

There’s also an “APPLY SUNSCREEN TO THIS SIDE” note on the band, and when those words are no longer visible, it’s actually recommended that you get out of the sun completely. Now unfortunately the bands are one time use only, but a 7-pack from Amazon is just $5.87.

[ UVSunSense Wristbands ] VIA [ Cool Hunting ]

By Evan Ackerman

Those damn squirrels. Every time they eat a nut, they keep a tree from growing, which is pretty much exactly the same as cutting down a tree with a chainsaw, setting fire to it, and then injecting the ashes directly into the ozone layer. So, it’s good to see that the old fashioned nut-powered squirrel has been replaced with a much more eco-friendly version that runs on solar power. Just stick him outside somewhere that gets sun during the day, and at night, you’ll have yourself a glowing squirrel. And having a glowing squirrel is very, very important, for a truly marvelous reason which this margin is too narrow to contain.

The Solar Illuminated Squirrel is $55.

[ Eco-Lights ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Water-pressure powered rockets just don’t have the same ‘oomph’ as their solid-fuel powered Estes counterparts, but the Titan Blast more than makes up for it by being 7 feet tall. Now in order to be light enough to make it off the launch pad the Titan’s body is mostly inflatable, but from a distance your neighbors won’t know the truth. So not only is it safe to operate in your backyard (if it’s big enough) but it’s apparently capable of reaching an altitude of about 100 feet before succumbing to gravity and returning to Earth.

The Titan Blast is available from Walmart for a somewhat pricey, $49.96, so here’s to hoping it doesn’t end up stuck in a tree.

[ Titan Blast Inflatable Rocket ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]