The culprit of many a leg stabbing, cuticle slashing, phone screen scratching, janitor-esque jingling (no disrespect to janitorial staff, it’s part of the job) and splintering of quaint little glass-topped coffee tables; the ubiquitous keychain and its accompanying keys are menaces to all.
Thankfully, Rex Kuo, co-founder and managing director of Orbitkey, has a solution.
The Australian-run company is the maker of the eponymous Orbitkey — a nifty, understated key organizer that is essentially a band (it comes in leather, rubber, or canvas) with holes punched in either side, held together by an adjustable metal bar. Adding keys to the Orbitkey is as simple as spinning the metal fastener until loose and sliding the bar through the hole on the top of your key (or keys, up to seven), and fastening it back. The keys are then snugly compressed between the bands, as convenient to you as nudging the desired key through the loop, and certain not to gash your leg or probing fingers at a moments notice.
It solves all of my presupposed issues with keys, actually. The combative relationship of the key and the phone screen? The keys are sheathed and unable to scratch when sharing a pocket. The jingle-jangling of a pocket or carabiner full of keys? No more, the keys are locked in place. Finger cuts? Nay, the Orbitkey doesn’t permit the key’s sharp edges from reaching your digits. Oh, there will be no more key-scrapings on your counter, and it doesn’t look out of place in the slightest.
Omar O., a reviewer on Orbitkey’s site, wrote a review whose title I believe neatly sums up my feelings on the Orbitkey: “A Surprising Convenience.” Sometimes it takes someone fixing something for me to realize it was ever broken.
The Orbitkey is available online or in stores from $25, with bottle opener, multi-tool and USB drive add-ons available from $6.
