Don't be in the dark: New led flash right at hand

If you're like some of us, you find yourself in the dark more often than you like--and usually without the benefit of a flashlight. We've got them stashed everywhere--in the glove box, the "junk drawer" and in the tool box. But none of them ever seem to be in reach when we need it. We've learned to take to flipping open a cell phone and allowing that feeble bit of light to help out.

Finally someone came up with a lightweight, small, but BRIGHT light that works. Mayfair Lane, an Internet retailer, brings forth Light Ups. These tiny (inch and a third by two and half inch) devices come on a clip that will stick to your belt loop, purse, or just in your pocket. No fumbling with a switch, just grab the Light Up and pull it away from the clip. The light divides into two pieces--a small portion staying with the clip--by way of magnetic attraction. Mayfair sent us a "Palm Tree" version of their Light Up and we've been using it for a few weeks.

The business end of the Light Up, as soon as it's parted from the clip, illuminates by way of three strong LED lights. These are bright lights, and they'll shine your path, help you spot the dog after it took off on your midnight walk, or brilliantly illuminate the keyhole on your RV. Once you're done with it, just move the light back into the vicinity of the clip and the strong magnet will "grab" the light, pull it home to its (if you will) docking port, and shut the rig off.

Unlike small, "toss it" flashlights, the Light Up is equipped with replaceable, long-lasting Lithium batteries, so if you get to like your Light Up as much as your tester does, you won't have to part with it. They also come in a wide variety of motifs. From pirate to palm tree, with a 23 other choices in between, you'll probably find a Light Up decorated to your taste. The company says they make a "fashionable key ring" but we're a bit more inclined not to add that extra weight to an already overloaded ignition switch.

Priced at $10 each, you can order them direct from mayfairlane.com.

"Pocket Disc" great for grandkids, safe for the RV

Taking the grandkids on an RV outing is great fun, but it's not always easy to keep them entertained. Enter PHD's Pocket Disc. Handcrafted from wool by Mayan women in Guatemala, think of Pocket Disc as the "safe" version of your old favorite Frisbee.

Pocket Disc is, if you'll pardon the pun, "catching on" with folks across a variety of lifestyles. At first glance you might mistake it as some sort of colorful, albeit oddball head wear for folks with smaller heads. Indeed, it could be donned as a headpiece, should you have the nerve. But it's a bit more fun to pick it up, and give it a flip. Caught by winds, you may wind up running a fur piece to catch up with it. But since it's made of wool, Pocket Disc will not endanger the windows or siding of your RV, and theoretically should be safe for indoor use.

Since the average RVer doesn't have a lot of knick-knack laden shelves, tossing Pocket Disc around the motorhome while en route to the next vista should be safe. Just keep the kids locked in their seatbelts--it should be a challenge to see how long they can toss it to one another before somebody goofs and lands it in some kind of out of bounds zone. Once in camp, send them outdoors to help relieve your nerves.

A Quartzsite area Frisbee dog specialist, Piney, volunteered herself and her Frisbee fetching Fido, Miss Dixie to act as test specialists for us. After a half hour of work, we determined that Miss Dix will need a bit more practice to adapt over to the Pocket Disc. Maybe it's the smell of the wool, but granted, Dixie was plenty happy to chase after (and catch) the marvelous toy, she was unwilling to bring it back for a further toss-out, preferring instead to abscond with the woolly creation and head under the nearest travel trailer with it. To be sure, Pocket Disc is sure to be a whole lot easier on canine teeth than the standard plastic flying disc--just be prepared to spend a little time making the transition. Maybe it's like switching from whole milk to non-fat.

The lightweight Pocket Disc is completely compactable, making it a natural for stuffing it into a daybag when taking off on a sight-seeing adventure. It comes with some rather "different" suggestions on games to be played, including this writer's favorite: Ceiling Fan 500. Say the directions, "Spread out around the room, toss a Phd (Pocket Disc) into the spinning fan and hope it zings your way so you can snag it before your opponent does." Loosely translated: Toss it in the operating ceiling fan and see how fast you can run away from your yelling "better half"!

Get your own Pocket Disc from Phd Productions or at one of over 500 specialty toy or outdoor retailers. The Classic Edition will set you back $9.99, or the heavier Sports Edition runs $14.99. Get more information or buy your own at www.pocketdisc.com. And remember, these discs are hand crocheted in Guatemala, helping local mothers send their kids to school.

Maxxair's back--with more lid stability

If you've ever tried the Maxxair vent system, you probably love it in a lot of ways. Maxxair provides a powered roof vent system, that definitely moves a high volume of air through your rig without chewing up a lot of battery power. The fancier systems even provide thermostatic control, and even rain detectors to shut off and close your roof vent at the first hint of precipitation.

We've got Maxxair systems in two of our rigs, and we find them great--to a degree. When the wind blows, those old vent lids start to rattle, and stomachs begin to tie up in knots, wondering if the whole shebang is going to cut loose and head for Kansas. The same emotional gripping occurs when you roll down the highway with the roof vent open: That persistent flapping just jars the nerves, and soon, you'll be shutting the vent lid out of a sense of self-preservation.

Well Maxxair is working on a solution for those of us without nerves of steel: The new generation of MaxxFan arrives on scene with two (not one) lifting arms to eliminate those nasty fluttering noises, and hopefully eliminate the butterflies from your road trip stomach. It also comes with a shiny 10 speed control, giving you far more choices in how fast to vent in (or exhaust out) than we've got on our old school three speed models. All this and promised ease of installation in a standard 14 x 14 inch roof openings.

We're not about to say these are inexpensive: The standard model, the 4000K (without the self-closing when it rains setup) runs $230 suggested retail; add on the automatic rain sensor (and "smoke colored" lid) for an additional seventy bucks by getting model 4500K. Visit www.maxxair.com for more information. Sorry, no field test on this model--we'll let you know if we can lay our hands on one.