A few of your favorite things for 2023

Recently I shared some of my favorite things that I added to my kit this year. This time I asked people on Instagram to share some their favorite things they added to their kit in the past year.

Folding Stool and EZ-Up Directors Chair

From Jeff Robbins and Charley Pardon

No doubt this is a very compact and lightweight folding stool. I've seen a few of these on set but never tried one myself.  Definitely can't beat it when it comes to space savings over other options.
As for the directors chair, I think we are all familiar with these. However, this one is just easier to setup and much lighter.

Stream Deck

From Phoebe Soloman

I think Stream Decks have found their way into many kits at this point. I have one but mostly use it in my office. But when I work studio jobs and live on a stage for multiple days I bring it along.
I often see these paired with a satellite monitor to make selects on set. What you can have these do is almost limitless. From running a script to exporting selected images with a pre-selected output recipe or just a Pac-Man screensaver for fun.  There's several models to choose from depending on your needs. I have the first generation 15 button.

Whaley Rail

From George Brooks 

I added this to my kit last year and It's definitely worth mentioning. It's a rock solid monitor and accessory mounting solution that will work with any cart you have. Everything is exceptionally well made and Upgrade Innovations has great customer service. I use the single rail setup on a Voyager 36. It's quick and easy to setup and nothing will move unless you want it to. Whaley Rail setups are also much lighter than the Inovativ monitor mounting solutions.

SmallRig double ball magic arms and iFootage Spider Crab

From Maxime Stange

I actually got one of the SmallRig arms recently and was very impressed with the quality. They have Arri anti-twist pins and come in 1/4-20 and 3/8-16 variations. Very strong as well. No problem holding up a 12.9" iPad pro. These are very well thought out and certainly a great value considering the price of similar options.
As for the iFootage. I recently saw these online and liked their build in quick release system. The fact they offer a few different sizes is nice. There's been a lot of new brands popping up with some great quality and innovations.

RoboCup Pouches and CRD Bags

From Jon Cahill and Sam Williams

I know both of these have been popular in the past year or so. Some seem to swear allegiance to one or the other. Both offer similar features. I personally have bags of all shapes and sizes, many that I've made. But if you want some uniformity to your kit These can help. 

CalDigit TS4 and EcoFlow Delta 2

From Jimmy Fikes

I think everyone is familiar with both of these. CalDigit is always a favorite for hubs/docks. I've always liked them over OWC hubs because they choose to use full size DisplayPort. I haven't personally found a need to upgrade from my TS3. The TS4 does offer a bit more that it's predecessor, but the new Sonnet SuperDock and BlackJet RX-4 have caught my eye. As for the EcoFlow these are basically essential these days. Not relying on gas generators has been such a game changer the past few years.

Rogeti T32 tripod

From Daniel Bray

Rogeti first caught my eye with their TSE-Frame for Canon TS lenses. Their tripods have some impressive features and build quality and their RG-1 head gives the Arca Swiss Cube a run for the money.