The Coolest Pieces of Gear We Tested This Week

Ear wax probably isn’t something you think about much. You clean your ears every so often with a cotton swab and it’s mostly fine—until you yank earbuds out after a workout only to be horrified by what’s clinging to the silicone tips. It’s kind of not your fault. You’ve been using the wrong tool.

The Spade is the modern way to keep your ears clean that takes cues from the 1,000-year-old Japanese ear pick called a mimikaki. This 5 ½-inch long metal stick has a 3-megapixel camera on its narrow end, surrounded by six bright LEDs. That tip holds any of three different attachments designed to remove ear wax. But the key: the Spade beams the view from that camera to a smartphone via an app so you can see what you’re doing in real-time.

We used the Spade over a few weekends and the technology makes it easy—and almost fun—to dewax ears. Typical cotton swabs can compact the wax in the ear canal and that, in turn, means you crank up the volume on earbuds (which can damage hearing over time) and makes it harder to hear conversations.

Out of the box, the rechargeable Spade has a premium, weighty feel to it. The base, which holds 10 replaceable tips (23 in total are included) charges with a USBC and it’s where the tool docks vertically using a magnet—it almost looks like a high-end pen on your bathroom vanity. Two flat edges along the tool make it easy to hold steady, like a pen in your hand.

We used the silicone earpicks, which look like a tiny curved spoon, and the mushroom-like annular version the most. Both worked well to scrape, scoop, and pull wax out. It never hurt or felt uncomfortable. Once you switch your phone’s Wi-Fi connection to use the Spade’s the stream is consistent and clear, with the option to zoom in a little, take photos and video. We propped our phone up so we can use the other hand to tug the top of the ear which opens up the canal and makes it easier to get in. About the only tricky part is coordinating your hand’s movements with the screen, but you get used to that pretty quickly.—Sal Vaglica, Men’s Journal contributor

[$100; axelglade.com]

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