Propane container handle.

We are all surrounded with smart gadgets and inventions that we often take for granted and never think much about. When we were going to exchange our propane tank recently, it struck us we were actually holding one such invention in our hand. We have used this combined valve cover and carrying handle lots of times without thinking about its actual smartness. Instead of the ordinary valve cover you attach this handle and get a cover and a carrying handle all in one. We have no idea who the inventor is, but we want to extend our congratulations and thanks for a smart and useful invention.brbr

Smartest beach chair?

The post on this pretty cool and clever beach chair is courtesy of a tip from Smart Stuff reader Rauz L. (thanks!) who found them on the Gadling travel blog. The two sticks or posts on the chair, or rather backrest, is pushed into the sand and that’s it, folks! Consider the amount of unprintable language and injured hands you could safe by not having a folding chair. It should be easier to bring along to the beach, too. The chair is made of plastic, designed by Lawrence Laske, and available from Design Within Reach for USD 30:- a piece or 2 for USD 50:-.brbr

Hammock with integrated tent.

I think we’ve always wanted something like this. Ever since we learned about how the British SAS rigged their campsites during the colonial fighting in the jungles of Malaya, we have tried to do the same thing ourselves. First the hammock, the an extra rope above it, and finally a mozzie net and a rain cover. Sometimes it has even worked. Now everything is available in one neat package from Swiss Tammock. Hammock, mozzie net and tent. 2 kilos. EUR 250:- (approx. USD 335:-) from Tammock.brbr

Remote controlled front door locks.

A few years back there was a show on Swedish TV featuring where the British design firm SeymorPowell attempted to solve various everyday problems by applying industrial design knowledge. Unless we are completely mistaken one of the programs was about remote controlled locks and alarms for ordinary homes. We liked the idea, but unfortunately the program ended in uncertainty wether the ideas would be produced or not. We cannot remember the name of the company involved, but the other day we stumbled upon the remote controlled locks from British Locca. These locks open via remote from up to 50 meters distance, and you do not even have to remember locking it again since they re-lock after a programmable time, from 1 to 120 seconds. The Locca locks are supposed to mount on almost any existing door, and they are sold through British locksmiths and D-I-Y stores BQ. Locca are planning a launch in Sweden and they will be starting at about SEK SEK 1.200:- (approx. GBP 88:-).brbr

Grocery bag grips #13 and #14!

This may seem strange, but without any really conscious effort we seem to have become collectors of grocery grips. You know, the little handles that lets you carry grocery bags without cramping your hands. Here are two new for the collection; # 13 and # 14. The one on top is the Helping Hands from Helping Hands. It is USD 19:95 for two. The other one is the One Grip from Space Savers and it is USD 5:- a piece. Link to all 14 grocery grips on the site!brbr

Wanted! Information on Chaino, the chainless bike.

We spotted one of these Chaino bicycles with a flat in a bike stand yesterday afternoon, and we must admit we had not heard of them before. As far as we could see, instead of an ordinary chain, it had a drive-shaft sort of arrangement, much like BMW motorcycles. It also seemed to have some gear shift arrangement. We vaguely remember a bike a bit like this for sale in a Muji shop in London in the eighties, but other than that we have not seen anything like it. Now we want to know more. Do you know anything about these bicycles? Were they nice bikes or disasters? Do you own one, or have you owned one? If you have any information, we’d love to hear from you!brbr

Forget jumper cables. Here’s the car battery power backup.

They call it Simple Start and it is a car battery power backup for those unfortunate moments when you have forgot to turn the lights off or left the radio on or something else that has sucked the power out of your car’s battery. The Simple Start can sit patiently waiting in a large-ish glove compartment, charged from your home power or from any 12V power source. The moment you find yourself out of juice, you connect the thing to your cigarette lighter 12V socket and just sit back and wait until the light goes green and you can start up and be on your way. This will take some 10-20 minutes. And once you get the car running, you can spend the drive re-charging the Simple Start, so that it is ready the next time… From Black Decker, it is USD 49:99 on Amazon.brbr

The perfect hard-boiled egg.

Just as all previous Easters, we have been cooking and eating a lot of eggs. And just as all previous Easters we have discussed the same thing; how to boil the perfect egg. We have tried a lot of ways over the years, but this year’s best (and probably all-time best as well) is a method attributed to all-american housewife Martha Stewart. Here are Martha’s egg boiling tip: Place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, and cover with one inch of cold water. Bring the water to a boil, cover, and pull the saucepan from the burner. Let the eggs rest for about 1.5 to 2 minutes for soft-boiled, 2 to 2.5 minutes for medium-boiled, and 12 to 13 minutes for hard-boiled. Then remove the eggs from the water. Soft- and medium-boiled eggs should be served immediately, while hard-boiled eggs should be plunged into a bowl of ice cold water, to prevent the yolk from discoloring. Why the hand boiled eggs should rest in the hot water for so much longer than the medium ones, we have no idea. But as long as it works…brbr

The world’s best taxi vehicle.

This is not going to be a car blog, but while we are on the subject of London and road transport, we cannot but mention the classic London taxis. They are, at least from a passenger’s point of view, in our opinion the best taxi vehicles ever designed. They are easily accessible, even for disabled persons, they are roomy, comfortable and have lots of space for luggage. The classic London cab has reportedly been made in over 100,000 examples since the first FX series was introduced right after WWII. The taxis are manufactured by LTI – London Taxis International, and the model we are most familiar with is the Fairway, introduced in 1981. The TX I and TX II came in 1997 and 2002 respectively. The brand new TX4 (there is no information as to what happened to the # III) is the latest addition. Interestingly, during our few days in London recently, we saw several examples of all the three latest incarnations. That would mean that the Fairways we saw in the street could be 25 years old and still running. That is quite impressive given that a London taxi averages some 70,000 miles a year. LTI is reportedly experiencing a growing demand from other parts of the world, and sales are reported to increase. There is even a US sales company. A new TX4 Driver sells in England from GBP 26.995:- (about USD 53,000:-) with a stick shift. The TX4 Gold is GBP 35,880:- (about USD 70,000:-) with an automatic at Mann Overton. If that is too steep, you can always get the beautiful 18th scale model Fairway taxi for USD 96:- or EUR 84:30. More on the history of London taxis here and here.brbr

G-Wiz. The electric car that’s actually in use.

We spent a few days in London recently. We had not been there for some time, so there were quite a few new things to discover. Among them we spotted these little city cars, that kept popping up all over the place. At first we thought they were a version of a EU moped car, but a closer look revealed they are smarter than that. They are electric. The car is called G-Wiz and it is available in two versions. The budget version comes in black only and has a little lower top speed and a little less range. It is GBP 6.998:- inc. VAT (approx. USD 14.000:-). The cheapest Smart Fortwo is GBP 6.770:- or about USD 13.300:-, but then you will have to add the cost of gas. The slightly up-market G-Wiz at USD 16.300:- has a range of 48 miles on a charge, can be coerced up to 45 mph, is available in any number of colors and with options like leather upholstery, AC, alloy rims, carpets, cup holder and a lot of other goodies. At GoinGreen who markets the G-Wiz, they claim to have sold more than 850 of them in London alone. And they have a few pretty good sales points: Apart from the actual cash, they are exempt from road tax and congestion tax, gets free parking and free charging in London and the lowest rate if you should decide to get one as a company car.brbr