NEWS – Do you remember the Man Ring? It was a multi-tool that you could wear on your finger. Well, the same person (Bruce Boone) who designed the Man Ring, has a new multi-tool that looks to be less of a novelty and more of a useable set of tools. It’s the ToolFob and it has 21 built-in functions!
The ToolFob is made of grade 5 Titanium and is sized small enough to fit on a key ring while still offering a ton of functionality including tweezers, pliers, blades, saws, a tiny ruler, a Ferrocerium fire starter, and the ability to use hex bits.
The ToolFob is priced at $85 and is available now from Boonerings.com
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But is it legal to bring on planes? As far as I can tell, this tool is no different than a swiss army knife. Not many of those getting sold these days, because of the TSA ban.
Thomas, I don’t believe that the sale of multi-tools is contingent on TSA bans. People don’t fly every day and there’s such a thing as leaving tools at home when you do 🙂
Sure, but this is advertised as potentially going on your key ring. And everyone takes their keys on planes. Yes, you can take it off – if you remember. And if you don’t remember until you’re standing in the security line, you’re left with the sickening feeling that you’re about to lose a $85 tool.
Sales of swiss army knives dried up pretty completely when the TSA ban came about. Victorinox survived only because it managed to pivot to other product lines (watches, backpacks, etc)
I have a travel check list. One item is to remove any small knives from my key chain. I lost one Swiss knife with a 1.5″ blade to TSA before. I can’t imagine hijacking a plane with a 1.5″ knife, but TSA thinks I can. I carry a Keyport, with a sharp box opener multitool, these days. It has been inspected by TSA agents at several airports, and none has given me any grief about it.
I have a design for a TSA compliant version in the works. It would do without the 5 blades and saws it has now, but would include a carrier for a #11 X-Acto type craft blade, so the blade could be taken out for air travel. They are common at craft stores and hobby shops, so if a blade were needed for work travel, they could be easily obtained at the destination. Or the tool could be in checked baggage.