The Grillslinger Braai Utility Belt

Think of the Grillslinger Braai Utility Belt as your braai toolkit. Never again will you waste precious beer drinking minutes with your mates digging around your kitchen drawers for those essential yet missing pieces of your braai kit. Just strap on this belt and you’re armed with every self-respecting South African man’s idea of the perfect braai tool kit.

The belt holds a set of high-quality Stainless Steel tools (tongs, spatula and knife) with each being easily accessible and easy to put away in assigned slots. It even has room for a bottle of oil and salt and pepper shakers, and if you’ve got the tongs in hand there’s a free space for your beer.

It’s all very Wild Wild West and Butch Cassidy.

The belt is machine washable and fully adjustable and retails at R790.

Black & Decker 36V Mower

Now here’s a mower you can toot your horn and brag to your mates about…

Battery-electric mowers are just as heavy as their gasoline counterparts, but the new Black & Decker 36V version weighs only 32,6 kg and has powered rear wheels which makes the pushing effortless. You can adjust the speed via a sliding lever, and the separate motor supplies plenty of torque to the wheels. The rechargeable mower also has a bigger battery, which means more power to the mower, so even the thickest grass won’t bog this baby down.

Other cool features include a frame which extends and collapses making storage much easier, and a battery in the top-end model that can be removed for charging and replacement, which is super for extending the mower’s range and life span.

This mower also has a new look from the previous model, which was streamlined and compact. The new sleek design is quite macho and wicked-looking and screams, “I mean business!”

The Black & Decker 36V mower retails at R3329.25, and the cheaper 45,7cm mower costs R2958.50, but doesn’t have a removable battery. A spare battery for the top-end model retails at R1482.95.

The U-socket USB outlet

Almost everything can be charged by USB these days, and while it’s really convenient to power up your favourite gadgets while working on your laptop, it’s a bit of a problem when your laptop is out of reach and you can’t find the wall socket adapter plug or don’t have one?

Kill your dependency on your computer to charge your gadgets and say hello to the U-socket USB outlet. The U-Socket replaces your standard wall socket with a socket that features two 2.1 amp USB ports. Not only can you charge your USB gadgets wherever you are in the house but now you can do it without giving up that valuable power plug, because the U-Socket still has 2 ports for your typical plug.

You do need to know a little bit about electricity and basic wiring to replace your old wall socket with the U-Socket but it’s a fairly simple DIY project.

The U-socket is perfect for the guy with too many gizmos and not enough USB outlets at hand. Unfortunately it’s not available in SA as yet but is bound to hit the shelves soon.

TomTom Go LIVE Service

TomTom has introduced new, driver-friendly versions of popular social networking and online travel services.

Their new Search & Go LIVE Services – which include Expedia, TripAdvisor and Yelp – allow users to access trusted online reviews and offers them the best route to get to their destination by working with TomTom’s map and routing technology.

The Twitter functionality in TomTom devices will feature an option to tweet the driver’s destination to their followers with the ETA. The Twitter message is pre-set by the user before they take off, so they can concentrate on the road ahead without trying to type and drive. The estimated time of arrival will be updated before the actual arrival to give more accuracy. All Twitter functionalities are optional, so if you want it off, so it shall be.

Within the Search & Go LIVE Services portfolio, the Expedia feature allows people to compare accommodation in their vicinity. Trip Advisor and Yelp give drivers access to live, impartial reviews for restaurants, hotels, spas and theatres, so travelling becomes a whole lot easier!
This service is set to be available in South Africa from 2012.

R2-D2 Peppermill

If you’re a die-hard Star Wars fan, why not add some spice to your kitchen with the R2-D2 Peppermill - the pepper grinder that looks like R2-D2?

Simply twist R2-D2’s head and - voila! - instantly ground pepper. It makes a great gift for a friend who is just as geek-crazy over Star Wars as you are, and is also bound to inspire a fair amount of conversation around the dinner table. All the Wookies on Tatooine are using it, what’s your reason not to?

This cute little gadget stands at a height of about 12cm and retails at about R145.

Cirrus Ice Ball Press

Many of us love a glass of painstakingly aged scotch, but you know you’re doing it wrong when you hectically dilute it with plain old ice cubes that melt too quickly. Luckily help is at hand.

The Cirrus Ice Ball Press chills your drink in the most delicate way possible. “How?” you may ask. Well, by using its single, oversized spherical-shaped ice ball it minimises surface area and therefore the water that makes its way into your drink. A sphere has the least surface area of any solid, which means slower dilution, and a single large sphere works best as it melts slower.

To create your own ice balls with the Cirrus Ice Ball Press simply set a chunk of ice between the two halves, place the top half on the guide rails and let gravity work its magic. In no time at all you’ll have a perfect 70mm ice ball with which to enjoy your drink.

The Cirrus Ice Ball Press retails at R6000.

Handpresso Wild Instant Expresso Maker

We know how important coffee is, and we know how important it is to be able to grab a coffee on the go. Well, this little gadget will make satisfying your craving a lot easier.

The Handpresso Wild Instant Espresso Maker is a lightweight, portable espresso maker that is compatible with all E.S.E pods, which are readily available in the coffee section of all major stores and coffee shops. So whether you're in the bush or half way up the Sani Pass and in need of a shot, this doohickey allows you to easily brew up the perfect espresso in minutes. Simply pump up the handle to 16 bar (a gauge ensures you hit the perfect pressure every time), add water from your thermos to the mini reservoir, slip in a coffee pod and fire off your espresso. Voila!

The Handpresso Wild retails at R1600.