..or, looking for tips on stuff that are useful to have that most people don't think about.

I might as well go first:

Scalpels!

They have a myriad of uses. And since they're sterile, they can be used for cooking. I use them for slicing the skin on pork bellys for that nicely diced crackling - It's almost like they were made for cutting skin, or something. Besides that, they're excellent for cleaning up 3d prints. Just remember that they're supposed to be single use. While your 3d print doesn't care, your food definitely does care about how much you use the same one.

I always make sure I have a 10 pack in my kitchen.

Always keep your surveilance camera damaging laser on you at all times.

I drive with a collapsible baton in the car, just in case I have to reach something in the backseat.

I keep a bowling ball in my car. It doesn't make sense to have it at home.

Is this a thing? I need

A tissue box and hand lotion: because i have serious allergies and always need a tissue and have horribly dry skin that splits open painfully, get your mind out of the gutter

A T Wrench set, Standard and Metric. Allen wrenches suck ass, they hurt my fingers and can never get a good turn on the screws. T wrenches give you something you can actually use without hurting your hand.

Furniture slides. They have two types one for use on carpeted floors and one for hardwood floors. It makes moving furniture around so much easier.

I also keep a furniture jack. That makes it easier to lift up the furniture to put the slides in place.

Put a battery operated water alarm in the pan your hot water heater sits in, and change the batteries when you change out your smoke alarm batteries (whenever there is a clock change). TRUST ME DO THIS

LEGO brick separator.

A handheld calculator and a slide rule. If the power goes out for a long time, I'll still be doing math while the rest of you chumps will be using your fingers to count to 10.

I happen to have a handheld maritime emergency radio around, mostly because I got my hands on it for free* a few years back. It could serve the same function, provided someone else is using the same frequencies. I live in a coastal environment, so there's always someone around that are legally required to listen on Ch16.

*: I used to work with maritime electronics, and one day we had a recall order from one of our suppliers. Turned out one batch of this one particular handheld radio had a potential minor problem with the squelch, so they were no longer IMO approved for emergency use. We were to throw them away and a refund would be issued. I took one home and just paid for a battery and charger. It's now sitting in my kitchen.

Got tips for someone who just got a lot of flock in their neighborhood?

Radiator bleed-screw tool on my keyring.

I'm a plumber by training.

Makes sense. I have a full set of torx, hex, Philips and flathead keyrings with me, because whatever server rack I have been summoned to molest - You can bet that it's a random mix of head types.

I've yet to figure out a good way to carry a bit driver with me but if I had one I'd use it a ton. Just like I do flashlight now.

Just keep a baseball bat and a glove in your car. It’s not a weapon, I just keep it around in case I get the chance to play…😉

Keep a solar power calculator in case of apocalypse.

Flashlights - I am never without one within reach.

Add to those one of those personal massager devices, because your neck and shoulders can get sore from sneezing all the time.

Yeah, don't go vandalizing shit.

No lie, my calculator is solar.

Don't listen to AmidFear@fedia.io your privacy is being illegally invaded and your every move tracked. Sanwu Lasers dot net. Get a 3w one with the focusing lens at the least. But you'll need safety goggles to operate a 3w focused beam and anything higher. DO NOT shine these where they could intercept with a person.

Would I be right in thinking that viewing the beam alone isn't damaging, but looking at the lens is? Presumably then, unintended viewing could be limited if not eliminated by shining it through a tube?

I didn't know a potato casserole could be used with such utility.

No one should be viewing any of it without goggles. It will damage your vision after just a few seconds of indirect exposure, direct exposure (pointing it at your eyes) will blind you.

I have a field transfusion kit as part of my first aid kit in my vehicle, as well as in my bike kit.

So far, it hasn't been useful at all, and hopefully never will be.

Which is hilarious because a loaded gun is more broadly legal in the US than a collapsible baton or a long knife.

Glad to know I was quite wrong. Thank you for potentially saving my vision.

Not knowing much about lasers myself obviously, is a welding helmet be sufficient protection from indirect exposure?

Yes, with my 3w, I can use it periodically without goggles but I cannot look at the beam for more than a few seconds. A welding helmet will protect you completely. It does make it hard to use with precision at night tho.

Not unusual, but surprising how many times it has come handy in group gatherings.

Good to know, thank you.

I have an old coffee mug in a cabinet with the radiator bleed-screw tool attached to it with a short, beaded chain.

I'm not a plumber, I just have an old house.

"for duck hunting"

I have a roll of dental floss in my hike bag. It's small, super strong, and there's one pile of it in a roll. Could be used for replacement shoelace, laundry line, tying wood together for a shelter, etc.

I always have a lighter on me, so I never need to find a bottle opener.

Yeah, lasers can damage ccd sensors. But IIRC you need like 5w or more to be effective.

This is actually a good tip! An uncle of mine always used scalpels for wood carving.

I keep a Windows 11 installer USB on my person almost at all times. I've had to perform an impromptu utilman.exe trick (consensually) multiple times. (Replacing the ease of access menu EXE with a command prompt somehow still allows you to get an administrator CMD window on the lock screen, even in 2026).

I would never! I'm simply asking how the woke antifa gays are doing it so I don't accidentally order the exact thing they are.

I've done something similar in windows 10 when it decided to shit itself and lock me into safe mode. Interesting that it's still a thing in windows 11. You can use Ventoy and keep a couple of Linux images too on that usb.

These small wire things that keep cables tidy inside packaging. You can also buy a big roll of it but you usually don't need more than a few centimeters so why not keep what would usually be thrown away? It's got so many uses and takes almost no space.

Need to check amazon, my thinks

Stick a sewing needle in it. Find one that fits inside with the spool of floss. I've carried one in my bag for decades at this point.

Paracord. I use it in the house as well as with my SCUBA diving gear. If you need to tie something it's tough stuff, fairly cheap, and can be doubled up to deal with heavier loads. With SCUBA gear you can use it to create tethers for just about anything and if you have one of the camera floats that comes with a cheap little keeper strap save yourself some heartache and replace it with paracord.

An assortment of screws, bolts, nuts, and washers. Always worth having around. Some little thing breaks or you can't find one you dropped maybe the new thing you are putting together was missing one. Bonus tip, buy them at a place that sells by the pound and not the individual item. Atwoods is a place in the US that still does this that I know of but I'm sure there are a few others. Estate sales will also often have a person who will have jars of random stuff for cheap.

I can’t be the first person to say this, but a poop-knife.

You'll shoot your eye out, kid.

I also usually have my phone within arms reach

This is exceedingly wasteful... Just get a good knife (set) and learn to sharpen it