pocket at Spoot: Spotted Early is a file of 3 stories. The newest of them: “Pocket-sized buttons, real joysticks, and a phone that finally plays like a handheld”, “Leatherman's sharpest EDC tools quietly slashed to half off”, and “Gerber's dual-force pocket tool slashes 52% off and still bites hard”. There's a particular dread that comes with trying to play a real game on a phone: your thumbs cramp over the screen, the touch controls drift, and you lose the boss fight because your finger slipped. Spoot: Spotted Early New things, caught while they're still new and a little weird. Spoot finds fresh gadgets, clever inventions, crowdfunding campaigns,… The list below is every pocket story on Spoot: Spotted Early, newest first.
Pocket-sized buttons, real joysticks, and a phone that finally plays like a handheld
There's a particular dread that comes with trying to play a real game on a phone: your thumbs cramp over the screen, the touch controls drift, and you lose the boss fight because your finger slipped. Abxylute's new M5 and M6 controllers are the counterargument. They pack proper-sized buttons and real joysticks into a form that attaches securely to your phone and still slips into a pocket. That's the whole pitch, and it's a good one. The M6 is the one I'm circling back to, because a motion controller that fits in your jeans is the kind of weird, specific promise that either works brilliantly or becomes a drawer ornament. It's a Kickstarter, so we'll see if they ship. But for anyone who's ever squinted at a touchscreen d-pad, this is worth tabbing. Stay spooty.
Leatherman's sharpest EDC tools quietly slashed to half off
Leatherman just slashed prices on its sharpest EDC tools by up to 50 percent, and if you've been waiting for a reason to finally pocket one, this is it. Whether you're after a full-sized pocket powerhouse or a keychain addition that quietly does more than it should, the discounts are live and they're real. No fine-print gymnastics, no "up to" nonsense hiding the good stuff. The company's famously overbuilt pliers and blades are suddenly half off, which feels almost wrong, like finding a razor clam in a spec sheet nobody read. If you're already circling back on those Prime Day DeWalt deals we mentioned, this is the same energy but smaller, sharper, and ready to live in your pocket. Stay spooty.
Gerber's dual-force pocket tool slashes 52% off and still bites hard
Fifty-two percent off a Gerber that still carries high-torque pliers, a center-axis bit driver, and ten-plus other tools? That's not a discount, that's a dare. The dual-force pocket tool doesn't need to shout about its specs because the bite is already in the name. It's the kind of deal that makes you wonder why you ever paid full price for anything with a pivot joint. We're gently skeptical of anything that claims to be a pocket powerhouse, but this one has the torque to back it up. If you're circling back for more EDC bargains, our piece on the M6 Mac Mini's price tag pairs nicely with this kind of practical thinking. Stay spooty.