by Tom Mangan
Nite Ize (like Coughlan's and Industrial Revolution) specializes in way-handy gadgets for hikers, campers, boaters, bike riders, and other lovers of the outdoors. One of its handiest: The Figure 9 Rope Tightener, which makes it super easy to tie two ropes together to secure tarps and tent flies.
The allure of the Figure 9 is that it saves campers the trouble of learning many kinds of knots. Ultralight backpackers would just as soon avoid the weight, but the rest of us might be tempted by the possibility of not having to noodle with knots.
In the waning hours of Winter Market '10, Bill Kuntz of Nite Ize showed me how the company is taking the Figure 9 concept into several new realms — such as tying shoes and tightening tent cords — in a trio of products called KnotBones (so called because the knot tool is roughly bone-shaped). The biggest of the bunch offers the best illustration of the concept. It's an adjustable bungee cord:
The KnotBone Adjustable Bungee should start showing up in stores in March. The large version (9mm cord, adjustable from 10 to 48 inches) will retail for $10, the small (5mm cord, adjustable from 6 to 28 inches) for $5.
The KnotBone Knot Replacement (also due in March) comes two ways: four KnotBones and 25 feet of cord ($8), or 8 KnotBones with no cord ($5.29).
The KnotBone Lace Lock (due in May) will come in packs of two for $3.29
