Some stuff
Sometimes you do a bunch of research and find out that the best fountain pen costs $200, and everything else beyond that price point is just for ego & status signaling. Still, $200 is high; the pick is fancy.
Some things, like bedding, you just have to blow a lot of money on. But there are many picks in other categories that are not very expensive. That’s why this text exists: to outline all of the affordable luxuries I can find where spending any more genuinely provides no real improvement in the design or experience. Only one object is over $100 in this whole list, and that’s for a reason, too.
Coffee: Hario V60 with Cafec Abaca filters. We have written text about the Abaca filters before, and we have mostly taken your owning a V60 for granted. Why get anything else? The 60º angle and grooved sides allow for a faster pour than other methods, which provides a bit of a learning curve to control your extraction. But the Abaca filters slow the pour and help you quite a lot. They’re the perfect pairing.
Air purifier: Levoit. There is a brand of air purifier that is so cursed I will not speak its name out loud. Get a few of these and be done with it.
Mechanical pencil: Rotring 600. I’ve heard of these breaking, but I have no idea what you’re doing to a literal aluminum ingot to make that happen. Anything beyond this is unnecessary. For leads, Caran d’Ache.
Lip balm: Dr. Bronner’s Unscented. Look, I get that you want hyaluronic acid and SPF in your lip balm, but really nothing tops this. It’s the only truly unscented lip balm that I’ve ever found, and it’s proven to actualy work at hydrating your lips, rather than seal in whatever agonies winter just did to you. Take it from a Chicagoan who has very much tried everything.
Notebook: Leuchtturm. We have already written text about how Leuchtturm is essentially the ideal notebook, twice. You were convinced then. You remain convinced now.
Planner: Hobonichi Techo. It remains the best, to the point where it may as well be the only. A small cult following. I haven’t written text about my Techo yet because I fear sounding like a cult member. 2025 comes out soon.
Hair trimmer: Groom Mate Platinum XL. Oh, you think you need an electric model, but no. This works just as well and lasts forever.
Socks: Darn Tough. Nobody pays attention to your socks, and as we’ve already agreed upon, only unhinged chaos muppets own more than one kind of sock. Oh, socks are the subject of a generational war now? Then definitely get only that sock.
Water bottle: I recently wrote some text that everybody should own precisely one water bottle. Nobody objected to this at the time, so I have to assume, once again, that I am universally correct. Your answer is Hydro Flask.
Spatula: Oxo for wood, GIR for silicone. No spatula should be expensive. Are you kidding? You consume spatulas when you cook as much as I do.
Packing cubes: The $50 packing cubes that your backpack company are trying to upsell you on are overweight & unnecessary. Get Eagle Creek Specter. Lightweight, lasts, full stop.
Chef’s knife: Shun. Look, you can go north with your knives, but I’ve made meals for over 100 people with only two: a chef’s knife, and a paring knife. And a knife is only as good as how sharp it is. Anything beyond the base model of e.g. Shun, Global, Henckels, etc is there for fashion. I used Shun for over a decade, but any comparable brand at this price point will work fine as long as you maintain it well. Just make sure it fits well in your hand, since you’ll be holding it a lot.
Shaving brush: You do shave with a brush, right? They are too expensive. Get a Semogue badger brush. You haven’t heard of them, but they’re punching above their weight. Badger brushes last a long time and can take a lot as long as you dry them well.
Belt: Tanner Goods. I bought mine in 2008 and it looks better now.
Baking sheets: NordicWare. They’re $15 and will outlast you. The aforelinked contains a grill, perfect for meaty or drippy things.
Glassware: Duralex. When you factor in breakage, it’s a bargain. Duralex essentially never breaks unless you’re really trying. Their Picardie is the classic French shape, but I like Gigogne for its stackability and cleaner geometry.
Dutch oven: Lodge. Anyone who claims that you’ll pull their Creuset or Staub from their cold, dead hands just wants to come off as a rich person with money to burn. Fight me.
Flashlight: Lumintop AA Tool. Anything beyond a flashlight that takes regular AA batteries and you’re automatically a Flashlight Person, and Flashlight People are not normal. They take their weird batteries and chargers on airplanes. They fail to understand that AA batteries are available literally everywhere on the planet. They talk about flashlights needing to throw as much light as humanly possible as if blinding yourself is somehow a good thing. Lumintop makes Flashlight Person flashlights, but they also make perfectly serviceable flashlights for normal people. You want one of those, don’t you?