When you go camping, you pretty much have to roast hot dogs and marshmallows over an open flame. What could be simpler than putting food on some sort of stick and lighting it on fire?  Over the years, I’ve impaled food on coat hangers, stainless steel implements, whittled tree limbs, and welding rods.  Now the FireFork aims to end those days of questionable cookware.

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Pitchforks work great for moving hay or threatening monsters, but they have limited use in turning up and aerating soil — the design just doesn’t give you a lot of leverage. If your soil’s too packed, plants have a harder time growing, and if you rely on a tiller, it can mix your built-up compost and topsoil with the lower soil too much. If you want a low-tech solution, look into a broadfork or U-bar.

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If there weren’t already enough ways to lose a digit, Superknife makes the UltraShear — an anvil-style cutter reminiscent of pruning shears. Unlike garden-variety pruning shears, when UltraShears dull, you can replace the blade with a standard utility blade.

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I’m looking to replace our old Grill Master with something a little better. It’s lasted 10 years, with a burner replacement about three years ago. But since the burner replacement, it’s never heated evenly — burning one side of a steak while the other’s barely warm. I’d like to spend my money on a grill that’s going to last and can heat evenly.

I’ve been looking around, and most of the grills tout stainless steel construction, but they’re 430 stainless steel — a lower grade of stainless steel that’s ferrous and rusts easily. I could see spots where the Home Depot employees had tried to scrub out the rust. I’ve determined that the larger grills in the $300 to $400 range are garbage, and I don’t want to pay $800 for a grill with real 304 stainless steel.

So I’m looking at a nice portable grill like the Weber Spirit E-210. Weber’s been around awhile, and parts are easy to find — unlike my Grill Master. Two stainless steel propane burners heat porcelain-enameled “Flavorizer” bars and 350 sq. in. cooking grates. The grates aren’t cast iron, but it can be retrofitted. It does have cheap stainless steel doors, but they really aren’t critical to the function of the grill, like the top or tables.

I’d like to tap into the vast pool of Toolmongers’ knowledge: Does anybody own a similar Weber model or have any suggestions for a quality portable grill? Let us know in the comments.

Spirit E-210 [Weber]
Review [about.com]

When you think Shakespeare, you usually think fishing rods and reels, but since 2005 they’ve sold a line of floating tools under the brand XTools — these high-visibility, lightweight tools are meant for fishermen and boaters alike. This year Shakespeare’s expanding the XTool line with five new tools and two new tool kits.

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There’s no getting around the fact that splitting wood is a chore. Swinging an axe or maul will leave you aching in the morning, and if you do it in the living room someone’s going to get hurt. Quality Craft makes the chore a little easier with their small and reasonably lightweight foot-operated log splitter — it’ll split small amounts of firewood for camping or just a night by the fire.

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What happens to our feathered friends in the icy winter months? They freeze their tails off like everyone else! But now you can give them a haven right in your backyard — and liven up the drab winter landscape at the same time. API (Allied Precision) makes a 20″ heated bird bath (read: hot tub) that’ll keep water from freezing in outdoor temperatures down to -20 F.

With the included hardware, you can attach the plastic basin to a separate stone or plastic pedestal, or to a wooden railing up to a foot wide. Since a fresh water supply in the winter is vital to the chilly critters’ survival, you can keep the birds coming back all year by providing the H20. Next DIY: Installing bubble jets.

Bird Bath [Allied Precision]
Bird Bath Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Mounting Bracket Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

“Bluebird Wax Stranger” isn’t some strange news headline from The Onion, but rather the name of a pocket-sized multi-tool from the attitude-laden snowboard accessory company Bluebird Wax. Okay, so it’s only four screwdriver tips (two Phillips, two flathead) that hook up to a fancy-blue ratcheting handle — but it retails for about half of most other ratcheting multi-screwdrivers. Check out the gnarly pitch from the folks at Backcountry.com:

Don’t let a loose screw or poorly adjusted binding ruin your day snowboarding. Be prepared with the Bluebird Wax Stranger Pocket Tool. You hardly notice this small ratcheting screwdriver in your pocket, and its Phillips and flat-head screwdriver bits fit about any binding out there. When your friend says “Dude, I think my binding is loose,” hit him with the Stranger Pocket Tool and get back to riding.

So, for half the cash you can keep your ride in good condition and help the less driven on the slopes — but I’d bet on this one being handy in the shop, too. Dude.

Bluebird Wax Stranger [Backcountry]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Though the ax is one of the first tools created by humans, practically no humans today even own one. Modern life has made them largely obsolete — that is, until you leave the city and have need of one. Luckily for us, Coleman makes some fine axes, like the Camp Axe pictured above, for cheap.

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If you work outdoors in the winter, you know keeping your head warm isn’t a big deal — until you’re freezing and can’t think about anything else. Hard hat liners from MSA Safety Works protect your head and neck from the elements, with hook and loop straps that secure to your hard hat suspension. If you don’t need one of the fancier variations — one with a mouth cover or a full-head pullover — you can find the simple design shown above for under $10 at the big box.

MSA [Corporate Site]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

When the temperature drops, blood vessels in our extremities constrict to redirect blood flow to vital organs like the brain and heart — that leaves hands and feet vulnerable to heat loss.  Working out in the cold becomes uncomfortable, difficult, and less productive — that is, unless you slide heating pads into your gloves.  Heat Treat Hand Warmers keep a temperature of 135-156 degrees F for up to seven hours. (You can wrap ‘em in cloth if they feel too warm, so you don’t end up like the villain in the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark.)

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If you’ve ever been unlucky enough to bruise your backside (or worse) after falling on a patch of ice, you know how important it is to keep walkways and stairs clear of the slippery stuff. Ice Buster’s walk-behind salt spreader provides a good mid-range solution for de-icing, with mittenfuls of kitty litter being at the low end and multi-thousand dollar hoppers attached to your truck bed at the high end.

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The folks over at ProblemSolvers claim their rolling snow shovel “clears snow faster and requires no bending or lifting, so you stand up straight while clearing snow from sidewalks or driveways.” Now, I can’t help but be suspicious when I’m told I can clear snow with no bending or lifting.

Admittedly, I was raised in an area where snow falls a foot at a time. But is it possible this thing really works? Or does it work in light, fluffy, just-fallen, dry snow, at depths only less than three inches? This thing’ll probably hold up in Houston, but can it take on Buffalo? Let us know what you think in comments!

Rolling Snow Shovel [ProblemSolvers]