11 Unconventional Looking Tools And Gadgets That Work Surprisingly Well – SlashGear

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There’s always that one tool or gadget that looks a bit unusual at first, and you wonder whether it’s just a gimmick. Of course some might be, but there are many that do a pretty good job in solving familiar problems in smarter ways. We’ve rounded up some of these useful tools, and each of our selections see tweaks in design to make a particular task more comfortable, easier, or more efficient over time.

Here are 11 unconventional looking tools and gadgets that work surprisingly well for their specific task. Each of these items highlight functional design choices that make them more productive. The tasks range from drilling to desk workflows like typing and everything in between. For some of the items we’ll look at, there’s a short learning curve if you choose to try them but that would be a small price to pay given how effective they may end up being for your DIY projects or everyday workflow. Methodology below explains how we selected them.

Trackball mice have been around for decades but they aren’t as popular as their sliding motion counterparts. Unlike the latter, a trackball mouse works while fixed in place and has a ball that you roll with just your thumb or fingers to move your pointer around. The fact that you don’t have to drag the mouse around your desk means one thing — less strain on your arm and shoulder during long working sessions.

Besides reducing strain, a trackball mouse comes in handy if you have little desk space to work with. It’s rooted in place and all you have to do is flick or nudge the ball for large movements or use smaller rolls for precision pointing. There are many models out there for the taking, but one we’d recommend is the Logitech MX Ergo S, which is one of the most loved Apple Magic Mouse alternatives. If you’re left-handed, the likes of the Kensington Orbit may come in handy. You can use your index finger rather than your thumb.

Beside the obvious ergonomic and functionality benefits, the MX Ergo S comes with a total of eight quiet buttons, is rechargeable and provides three connection options; Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, and wired USB. There’s a learning curve with this device especially if you’ve been using standard mice all your life. Another quirk worth noting is that this mouse isn’t ideal for gaming (subjective) but should work fine for most other tasks.

An ergonomic mouse would go well with an ergonomic keyboard. Alice-style and split keyboards fall into this category, but they aren’t the same thing. An Alice layout like the Kenychron Q8 has all keys in a single body but they curve in the middle to create a distinct left and right side. For a keyboard such as the Kinesis Freestyle 2, it is physically split right through the middle into two separate modules that you can move however you want to your most comfortable position or angle.

Both designs have the same benefit — they minimize strain by letting you rest your arms in a more natural position. Standard keyboards tend to force you to push your arms inwards. For this reason, shifting to an Alice keyboard can ease wrist discomfort if it’s something you struggle with during long typing sessions. Same for the split keyboard on top of the fact that having separate halves means you can align them with each of your shoulders for a more comfortable typing experience.

One thing to note is that Alice and split keyboards are niche products and may have a steep learning curve. However, they are still worth giving a shot, as how quickly you can grasp either is subjective. If you type everyday, you should be able to get up to speed in no time.

Unlike standard in-ear earbuds, clip-on earbuds leave your ear canal open. They are basically tiny speakers that sit outside your ear and angled in such a way that you can hear clearly without sealing your ears. They stay in place thanks to an ear-cuff style hook that clips onto your ear with the rest of the buds’ parts behind your ear making the look a little bit more like jewelry.

I recently switched to clip-on earbuds as my daily carry, and I have no plans to go back to standard buds for many good reasons. First of all, I have sensitive ears and wear glasses which always make in-ear buds uncomfortable and irritating during extended use. Once I made the switch to clip-ons, these issues disappeared — the longest I have been able to have them on without any discomfort has been eight hours.

You may think that sound quality, especially bass is subpar due to the open-ear design, but that’s not the case. I own the SoundPeats UU2 clip-on earbuds and they deliver great quality sound, complete with clear instrument separation, and punchy bass. Most importantly, the fact that I can always hear what’s going around me while enjoying my music is a potentially life-saving feature — making them great for cycling or walking down busy streets.

A standard drill usually comes in the shape of a pistol tailored for straight ahead drilling. The right angle drill on the other hand is straight with the chuck attached to the body at a 90-degree angle. This design allows you to tuck the drill into tight spaces like under vehicle dashboards, between joists, or inside cabinets and similar areas that a pistol-shaped drill won’t fit. Of course, you can get away with a right angle drill attachment on a standard drill — but such extensions may suffer from flex in turn compromises stability.

Depending on the kind of job you want done, there are both low-profile and heavy-duty right angle drill options available. For instance, if you’re looking for something to fix small things like drawers, you can go for the Milwaukee 2415-20 M12 drill. For heavy duty tasks, the Flex Compact will do the trick, and we found it to be one of the best right angle drills you can buy according to users. If you find yourself regularly fighting with tight corners while drilling, a right angle drill might be one of the most critical odd-looking tools in your kit.

I’d call the vertical stand an upgrade over traditional laptop stands especially if your setup involves leaving your laptop in clamshell mode when connected to your monitor. The most notable area it beats other types of stands is saving valuable desk space by holding your laptop upright like a bookshelf would hold a book. For perspective, imagine the amount of space a 17.3-inch laptop would consume if laid flat — now imagine it standing on its edge — that’s enough space for a whole keyboard and possibly a mouse.

Ugreen’s Vertical Stand Holder is a popular choice if you want to take advantage of this type of accessory’s compact footprint. The adjustable slot where your computer goes is silicone padded to serve two functions — holding your device in place and preventing scratches. What I really love about this type of stand as a person with a shallow desk is how low-tech it is yet delivers big results. It simply tweaks your machine’s placement and you suddenly have acres of space on your desk.

Most power banks are a cool and useful gadget to have with you, but in most cases, it means having to carry a separate cable. Cables will tangle in your bag and are easy to forget or lose. To avoid these inconveniences, you can always go for a power bank with a built-in retractable cable like Anker’s Nano Power Bank 10K. This particular model packs a 10,000mAh battery and delivers up to 45W to your devices.

This compact power bank has a small display to show you important charging info and most importantly hides a long cable that reels in and out on demand. Here’s how it works — whenever you want to charge your phone or any other device — just pull the integrated USB-C lead to the desired length and plug it in. The cable will lock in place, and once you’re done, unplug it, and pull on it gently, and it’ll retract back into the Anker Nano power bank.

The fact that this particular power bank and most other models already have a built-in cable doesn’t mean you miss out on ports. You still get USB-C and USB-A outputs in case you want to charge more than one device on the go. In terms of durability for the Nano in particular — the retractable cable has been tested against thousands of pulls and bends and should be durable enough for everyday use.

One of the most annoying things about everyday gadgets like TV remotes is the AA or AAA batteries dying without warning. You then have to find a store to get replacements. Fortunately, there are modern versions that come with a charging dock and cooler ones with a USB-C charging port on each. We’ll focus on the latter, which work and fit just like any ordinary AA or AAA batteries.

The only difference is that they allow you to charge them hundreds of times with a standard USB-C cable, eliminating the need to send them to a landfill when they run out of juice. On top of that, using rechargeable batteries also means fewer trips to the store and less raw materials consumed to produce them. As a result, a single unit basically replaces hundreds of disposables. For the charger, you could always use the one you already own — another positive for the environment.

USB-rechargeables do have a couple of tradeoffs like being more expensive than standard cells, and taking a while to fully charge — which can be an inconvenience if you forget to top them up. They also lose capacity over time just like phone batteries. However, the benefits outweigh these concerns by far especially if you go for Statik’s Rechargeable AA/AAA Batteries which come in packs of four or eight pieces.

Manual tape measures just work but you might find yourself wrestling with one when measuring large spaces, resulting in inaccurate readings. A laser distance meter makes things easier by giving you quick and precise readings with minimal movement. You just place the device on the starting surface and then point it to the target point, and press a button. The device then instantly shoots a visible beam which is used to calculate the distance based on the time the laser took to hit the target. It’s instantaneous, and the measured distance shows up on the screen.

Laser meters are usually pretty accurate. For instance, the Bosch GLM100‑23 Blaze can record up to a 100-foot range accurate to a sixteenth of an inch — give or take. If you have a little bit more to spend, we recommend Milwaukee laser distance meters as they are known to be durable. One more thing, these digital meters also eliminate the need for a second person unlike manual measurements that need one — just press the button, and you have your number.

Your PC, keyboard, Play Station 5, or any other electronics that sit in open spaces can accumulate a lot of dust. You could buy a high-pressure cans that last a few seconds or use a handheld vacuum but none of these solutions can beat an electric air duster. This device features a high-speed fan which blasts air through a nozzle. Air dusters usually come bundled with several differently-shaped nozzles effective for dusting specific areas.

The Wolfbox MF100 Electric Air Duster is a good example of how effective and strong some gadgets can be. This small unit blows wind of up to 185 MPH which should easily clean that desktop tower you allowed to gather dust for months. It comes with five nozzle designs as well as a couple of brushes and will set you back around $90. If you’re on a tight budget you can get the less powerful but still effective Wolfbox MF50 for about half the price.

The magnetic wristband is arguably the simplest and most unusual-looking of all the items we’ve mentioned on this list. At first glance, it’s just a fabric strap without much going on, but it houses powerful magnets on the inside — strong enough to firmly hold small metal parts in place on your wrist. What this does is keep your hands free to continue working by holding stuff like nails, screws, washers, drill bits, bolts, etc. for you.

MagnoGrip’s Magnetic Wristband is one example with powerful neodymium magnets. Just wrap it around your wrist (using Velcro) and start sticking all the important, tiny, metal parts you need for a DIY project. Unlike using cups or trays, you can keep working on your ladder or under the car without having to move around to grab a tiny piece that you could just stick on your wrist. You get to be more efficient and minimize the chances of losing those tiny metal parts that always seem to disappear once they drop.

A neck fan is a very effective tool if you need to stay cool. Unlike a handheld fan, it’s a wearable, hands-free, curved band that you place around your neck and it blows air upwards directly onto your neck and head. The curved band typically has air vents along the sides and is designed in such a way that it stays in place as you commute or walk outside. Neck bands are meant to keep you comfortable when it gets too hot, but you still need to get stuff done.

There are many decent neck fan models to choose from, and a particular one we can recommend is the Jisulife Portable Neck Fan. The fan comes with multiple speed settings and is powered by a 4,000mAh battery. The fit is adjustable and it never gets in the way of what you’re doing — you can jog, drive, or hike with it and stay cool for up to 16 hours depending on your speed settings. This is a fan, and like all fans, there is some level of noise — still, it’s relatively low for most outdoor environments at around 25 dB.

This list is based on a simple premise — each selection is an everyday tool or gadget with noticeable adjustments. These adjustments should be able to achieve a given outcome more efficiently than standard tools or gadgets or be able deliver similar results using a different approach. For example, using a mouse with a thumb-controlled trackball instead of sliding it over a surface or a right angle drill which makes it possible to reach tight and confined areas.