The Antidote!
I find it fitting that Halloween comes right before November. All Hallows Eve is hyped as being the spookiest day of the year. It’s a day of scary movies, costumes, tricks, and frights. To the average Joe this day looks like it’s the most terrifying day on our calendar but to me it’s not. Halloween is just a last reprieve, a ghoulish celebration that distracts us from what is coming. It gives us one last chance to smile and party carelessly before the real horror begins; the holiday shopping season.
Every day, starting November 1st until Christmas Eve, becomes exponentially more ghastly as throngs of people clog the malls and shops, snarling traffic and growing more and more anxious as they try and find something for the relatives and friends that they barely see or talk to anyway. The for those two long months the all normal people disappear and the world becomes infested with clueless shoppers, aimlessly rambling about looking for a bargain or, at minimum, an item that they can buy in bulk for multiple aunts, uncles, and so on.
Coming to a Mall Near You!
These are the days I most fear because I, like everyone else, get caught up in the frenzy and inevitably turn into one of them.
Not this year. No, not this year.
At my desk, here at Moteng Headquarters, I have the antidote to the disease. I am looking at the Holy Grail of gifts. The gift that will significantly cut down on shopping time. The gift that can be proudly sent to almost anyone on my list and will actually get a positive response. The Leatherman Gift Tin.
It Has More Gadgets than MacGyver!
Before I even got to look inside the packaging I knew this item was going to be good. I took the only sample we had from our Sales Manager Dave’s office and before I even sat down at my desk I saw an email from him giving me a hard time about swooping it. After chiming back to his message I started to check out the new product and it looked pretty legit. First off, it comes in a really nice metal box with a felt insert holding all the items snugly in place (ooh la la!). On the inside there is a Leatherman Charge Multi-Tool and a Serac S1 Light. That’s pretty cool. I thought that was it but the box still felt heavy. My spidey senses tingled. I pulled out the felt liner and JACKPOT! Nite-ize smuggled in their Inka Pen and a nylon case!
The Charge Tool is pretty cool. It is simple in design and functions in the normal multi-tool way but it is packed with usable components. Two great knives, a file, a saw, a big screwdriver set, a small one, a chisel, scissors, and a ton more. The thing even has a ruler. It’s pretty nutty. I like that the knives, file, and saw are all accessible from the outside and that the other gadgets on it have locks and releases that are very functional. The Charge is awesome. On it’s own it would be a great Christmas present.
The Serac light is small and I would love to say that it has a strong light but in all honesty the battery in mine is dead (Dave was playing with it for a long, long time before I got to it). I know it works great, it’s a Leatherman. It comes with a nice pocket clip that keeps the light secured in the nylon pack.
The carrying case has room for all the components as well as extra space for a cell phone or whatever you want. The elastic dividers keep everything organized and the large Velcro flap holds everything in nicely. It also is equipped with a strong belt clip. Personally, I am not a fan of clipping stuff on my waist. I never got a degree in Engineering or work in construction so I just feel really awkward with anything that reminds me of a fanny pack. That being said, I do love the case because it clips onto my trucks visor perfectly and won’t budge until I want it to. Having these tools right there in my truck is perfect.
The smallest item in the group is one of the coolest. The Inka Pen is deceptively awesome. Super tiny, it fits right into the case and takes up almost no space at all. It also has a key ring to stick it on your car keys (that’s how I have mine). What’s cool about it is that when you take it apart it can be reassembled as a full size pen. It’s really clever. If you want to jot down a quick note just open it up. If you have a longer letter to write, like a long apology letter to an ex girlfriend while sitting in a movie theatre parking lot in Riverside (a completely hypothetical situation, of course), you just transform that sucker into a full on essay writing implement.
The Pen Is Mightier!
Individually, these items all are great gifts. Together, they are a wrecking ball. The set is varied enough that all sorts of people will love it. It’s a real deal. So this year, thanks to Leatherman’s Gift Tin, I will be able to keep my sanity during the holiday season and avoid becoming a mindless shopping zombie. I can just sit back and think about how great of a Christmas it will be when that gift is unwrapped and I look over at my brother’s face and see the shear disappointment in his eyes as he realizes my gift to dad is waaay cooler than his.
Great group of products. I actually have one of the Inka Pens and use it all the time. Combining all these items into one package is a great idea.