Folding

The brush-clearing power of a machete packed down into handheld flashlight size, the new Gerber Doubledown is a different style of folding knife. The butterfly-style tool works as a hatchet, machete or knife before folding down to half-size.

In early November 2018, a little known Chinese company launched one called the FlexPai. Now Royole has announced its latest flexible display and the phone in which it will launch, plus a partnership with ZTE.

While kayaks are great for exploring your local waterways, they're also pretty awkward to transport – especially if you don't have a car-top carrier. The Tucktec is designed with that in mind, as it folds together from a single sheet of plastic.

If you've ever been to Vietnam, then you'll have seen the rickshaw taxi-trikes in which the pedaler sits behind the passenger. Well, the Companion Bike is a carbon fiber version of those, that folds inwards for storage and transit.

With their laidback seating, recumbent bikes are often more comfortable than uprights, although they're also longer and thus more awkward to store and carry. The Speed Bent addresses that problem by folding, and utilizing a shaft-drive drivetrain.

Although the bulletproof shields used by police officers are definitely life-savers, the things are also quite heavy and bulky. The origami-inspired Swift Shield offers an alternative, as it folds down into a lightweight package when not in use.

At first glance the Mantour X from FlowDot looks like many other compact folding e-kickscooters. But when folded, it stays upright on its front wheel as you roll it smoothly along.

Air travel can be difficult for the mobility-challenged … they have to get a wheelchair at the airport, or make sure that theirs gets stowed. Engineer Richard Williams has developed an alternative: a folding wheelchair that doubles as a carry-on bag.

DJI has announced the latest member of its Mavic family of folding drones. The Mavic Mini folds up to palm-sized proportions, can capture 2.7K video when in flight and is reported to have one of the longest flight times for a drone this size.

The Sivrac e-bike can be folded for transit in one second, features a removable battery, touch-activated rear light and six-speed transmission.

Already the go-to for light, packable origami-inspired kayaks, Oru is now launching its lightest, most portable model to date. Sized down for the everyday commute, the new grab-and-go Inlet kayak rides to the water on your shoulder and sets up in well under five minutes.

​More and more, we're seeing bike locks that open not with a key or combination, but with a fingerprint or Bluetooth signal. Almost all of those, however, are U-locks. What if you prefer the more compact form factor and wider reach of a folding lock? Well, that's where the ZiiLock comes in.