Lots of kids want to be suave, exceptionally clever international spies. Here’s a little secret: quite a few grownups want to be James Bond too. The desire to be a tough secret agent stays with us past childhood, although we learn how to put those yearnings aside, because karate chops to the neck and watches with lasers inside of them won’t make you a ton of friends at the office when you’re standing in line for the copy machine.
For the burgeoning spy living inside many of us, we thought we’d give you a small taste of some very cool spy toys out there today — “toys” that every clandestine operative wannabe should add to his personal arsenal of gadgets.
Lock Picking Tools
Dexter does it. Jack Bauer does it, and so does Jason Bourne. Any spy worth his salt needs to know how to pick a simple lock, and should always have a basic lock pick set on his person should the need to pick a lock arise. There are plenty of tutorials online that can teach you how to use your picking tool and tension wrench with relative ease. Once you’ve got the basics down, and have practiced a bit, you should be able to “rake” through a variety of standard locks in matter of seconds.
Hidden Camera Detector
The best spy needs to know when someone is spying on him. What better way to do that than by picking up a reliable camera and hidden mic detector? Gadgets and Gear offers a range of detectors, ranging from low to high end (every spy has his budget) that will let you do a thorough bug sweep of any room you choose to search. The amount of green you’ll have to spend on one these puppies depends on how serious you are about taking your “spy game” to the next level.
Signal Blocker
In the age of GPS technology and cell phones with built in trackers, it’s become increasingly simple for nefarious types to know exactly where you are at all times. If you can stop tweeting your location every 20 minutes, or checking in with Foursquare everywhere you go, you just might be able to reclaim some of your privacy back.
In the movies, the heroes and villains alike destroy or switch out their phone’s SIM cards, or smash their risky digital devices into pieces. If you don’t want to buy a new phone every day, you can use a single blocker, like Off Pocket — which got going via a Kickstarter campaign — for you traceable devices. It’s a high-tech pouch that will block all signals to your digital device, which will make it much harder for the powers that be to hunt you down — unless you just can’t resist sending out a tweet and telling them where you are.
Night Vision Goggles
C’mon, seeing at night when everyone else is essentially blind? That’s super sleuth, and super cool. Any practicing secret agent should have some kind of night vision device. A vast range of options is available to you, Mr. Bond. You can opt for night vision monoculars, binoculars, headsets and scopes, or if you’re worried about perimeter security, night vision cameras to help you see into the darkness.
“Be not the one who is afraid, but the stealthy ninja who sees all, and instills fear in others.”
Video Pen Camera
Exploding pens are so last century. In the information age, collecting information is everything to a modern spy. A cool video pen camera is just the gadget you’ll need for your special intelligence gathering operations. Pens will probably never go out of style, and they’re ubiquitous, and easy to hide in plain sight. By including a pen camera in your spy starter kit, you’ll ensure that no miscreant will escape your detection. And by recording the evildoer’s inevitable boastful confessions, you’ll have the proof to do whatever it is you do in this super spy fantasy world you’ve created for yourself.
