Gropener.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: COLORADO COOL STUFF

Freelance photographer and ColoradoBiz contributor Mark Manger came up with the GrOpener the winter of 2011-12--"drinking season"--when he improved upon a design he encountered in early-1990s Ghana while serving in the Peace Corps.

"You can open a bottle with one hand," he says. "A magnet helps engage it." At first Manger looked to contract manufacturers, but their per-unit price was higher than he thought the market would bear. But he got savvy, found a manufacturer in Utah to make him custom rails. He cuts them into half-inch cross-sections and then anodizes, finishes and ships them...