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In a bizarre twist, RØDE, best known for its audio gear, has just released the simplest little piece of grip gear that no one asked for, but I'm kind of glad they did.
Sometimes the simplest things no one really needs are redesigned with a creative little spin that can make you think, "why didn't I think of that?" For me, this falls into that category, and to be fair I'm always a sucker for well-designed little gadgets, even though I realize most of us really don't need them.
RØDE is calling it the Universal Thread Adaptor and for musicians, photographers, and videographers. Of course, we all have a dozen or so different adapters, especially 1/4 and 3/8 inch ones, but if you are like me, they are scattered in different bags or left on random pieces of gear and never available when you need them. I remember years ago almost never needing an adapter but it seems as gear has gotten smaller and we added GoPros, Drones, Speedlights, video gear, and mics, I'm constantly swapping thread sizes.
1/4" male to 5/8” female adaptor
5/8” male to 3/8” female adaptor
3/8” male to 1/4" female adaptor
Again, it is a very simple little device made up of 1/4, 3/8, and 5/8-inch adapters all threaded together but with an added adapter at the top that includes a tighten and loosening tool with a loop for adding a carabiner. This cool little design feature makes it easy to clip the whole set onto any bag or piece of grip gear.
Of course, anything that falls into the clever or neat category these days is probably a little overpriced and this is no different, unfortunately. Though I do think they seem to be well machined and I still kind of want one.
At $25 for the kit which comes with just one of these, I think it is a little high. A quick look at B&H shows you'll pay about $4 or $5 dollars for each adapter and of course you can probably even hit up eBay for some cheaper ones. You won't get the clever clip-on tool and a lot of the cheap ones tend to be pretty poorly machined. I've made that mistake and stripped a couple in the past.