Husqvarna's new chainsaw keeps itself well-tuned to help minimize maintenance. It has a sensor that checks conditions, such as outside temperature and internal airflow, every eight rotations and then adjusts the engine's fuel-air mix to make sure the saw doesn't wear itself out. $910; husqvarna.com.
SHARE

Each month we look beyond the shelves of your local big-box store to dig up the best new ideas in gear. This is the stuff that is better, faster, stronger, and does more than pretty much anything we’ve seen before it.

Launch the photo gallery here.

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

Husqvarna’s new chainsaw keeps itself well-tuned to help minimize maintenance. It has a sensor that checks conditions, such as outside temperature and internal airflow, every eight rotations and then adjusts the engine’s fuel-air mix to make sure the saw doesn’t wear itself out. $910; husqvarna.com

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

The Looxcie Bluetooth headset also records live video from your perspective and wirelessly streams it to your cellphone to save or send instantly to the Web. It has a dual-core processor to color-correct its standard-def video on the fly. $200; looxcie.com

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

Monitor carbon monoxide even when in your hotel. This three-ounce detector shrinks the usual circuit board to remain compact, and it has a ruggedized plastic case to survive rough-and-tumble baggage handling. $35; firstalert.com

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

These active noise-canceling earbuds are the first that don’t require an internal battery to generate the tones that block outside noise. Instead, they connect to your iPhone or iPod’s charging port and take power from the device’s battery. $130; blackboxonline.com

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

This point-and-shoot decides for itself how many snaps it will take to get the picture you want. In Burst mode, the camera’s processor tracks how quickly the subject is moving and chooses to shoot 2, 5 or 10 frames per second. $400; panasonic.com

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

Two rollers in the back of this chair mimic the fingertip pressure of shiatsu massage. Designers collected data from sensors on masseurs’ hands to re-create their techniques. $2,500;[ panasonic.com](http:// panasonic.com)

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

This helmet’s dual-layer design helps save snowboarders from brain damage. On impact, a pin at the top breaks to let an inner shell rotate with your head, so it won’t get slammed around inside the helmet and bruise your brain. $250; pocsports.com

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

Nikon’s new camera takes the slickest high-def video of any DSLR. It’s the first to continuously and automatically adjust its focus as the subject moves or as the camera pans from one object to another, such as when filming your kid’s football game or birthday party. $750 (est.); nikon.com

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

LaCie’s USB key can withstand being submerged in 300-foot-deep water or run over by a 10-ton truck. A watertight O-ring seals the flash memory inside its tube-shaped alloy case made of copper, zinc, aluminum and magnesium. From $50;[ lacie.com](http:// lacie.com)

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

This hard drive sits next to your home computer, but you can easily take selected files on the go; the drive automatically syncs with a removable USB stick. When you return, changes from the road can overwrite the original file on the hard drive. From $150;[ lifestudio.com](http:// lifestudio.com)

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

At nine ounces, Klymit’s six-foot camping pad weighs 70 percent less than its competitors. The mat, which rolls up to the size of a soda can and inflates in about three breaths, focuses support in key areas, such as the lower back and hips, and is hollow in others. $100; klymit.com

{!! $img_subtitle !!}

Microplane’s herb chopper does the job of a chef’s knife with a single wrist twist. The mill has two stacked circular blades with hundreds of teeth that slide back and forth to act like tiny scissors, cleanly mincing herbs without tearing the leaves. $20;microplane.com