LIFE IS SHORT.GET THE GOOD STUFF.

There's a giddy excitement that hangs in the air around the PopMech offices when it comes to gear, especially during our annual awards season.

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It's a moment in time when all the editors proudly reveal their finds from an exhaustive year of testing and reviewing, and bring forth the best of the best.

We gather everything from headphones to indoor smokers, showcasing a comprehensive list of the tools and tech we keep returning to time and again. We enjoy the gear that makes our lives a little easier, a little more fun. After all, who among us isn't something of a gearhead?

Fogo Blazaball and Firestarters // $25

Patience is a rare commodity these days. When it comes to lighting up our firepits, smokers, and live fire grills, it's safe to say we're universally in short supply. But this flying saucer-shaped furnace, no larger than the palm of your hand, really gets the ball rolling fast and reliably beneath a pile of lump charcoal. Simply place two Fogo Firestarter bundles into the lower half of the Blazaball and twist the top into place to create a protective cage for your burn. The primary benefit of the Blazaball is that it eliminates the chance of the charcoal snuffing out the fire before it amps up. But the stainless steel cage also creates a kind of focused crucible, directing intense heat directly beneath the coal pile. I'll be packing up my janky old chimney and banning petrochemicals for good from now on.—Paul Smith

Leatherman Glider

Pocketknife // $300