Of all the many and varied keyring/bottle opener/corkscrew combinations we've tested in the lab here at gadgetshop HQ - and there have been a few - this is the most endlessly fascinating. For, instinctively, one senses that it possesses a rugged, outdoorsy feel just by looking at it. And, instinctively, one would be right.

For this is a modified karabiner, which, for the unenlightened, is a piece of mountaineering equipment used for the taking of weights and securing of ropes at altitude.

Now, with a touch of technical insight and engineering know-how, it's been transformed into a three-way device that not only attaches to one's keys, but will handily get one out of all manner of social scrapes when bottle openers and corkscrews go walkies. Marvellous.

And, like its forebear, the karabiner itself, it comes with a clever safety feature to keep one out of trouble when tipsy, all of which helps keep our in-house Health and Safety watchdog more than satisfied. For rather than having the pointy end of a corkscrew dangling about all over the place, the karabiner hinges at the base and secures it tightly in a screw-locking device. All of which lends it maximum portability, to boot.

Remember - safety first!