Sometimes you have a busy enough week that you list good objects and call it text
Spiritually related to our text from the other day, here’s a brief list of some things that I’ve used a lot and have, despite this, lasted in a way that feels improbable enough to surface here, three years minimum. Some are obvious, some are very not obvious.
Glerups. Bought them 4 years ago, they feel maybe a week old.
Sorel snow boots. I replaced them after 11 years.
Tanner Goods belt. I’ve only bought two belts in my whole life. One came from here. Looks better than the day I bought it.
MacBook Pro. I own an M1 from September 2021, and it – a computer – feels as good as new. Ditto my Mac Studio from May 2022. It used to be that Apple hardware would start to feel old & hard to use after two years, but not so with these. The new silicon is a straight-up miracle of engineering. I hope to replace the battery on this laptop in a year or two, and keep on running it into the ground for a few more after that. Really I’ll probably keep both of my devices until software updates no longer reliably exist for them.
Tea scoop. I got the tin-plated drop form, and it fits so well in the thumb while scooping lots of tea effectively. It’s worn in well, too, with a light hint of copper around the edge of the base. Related: Kaikado canisters.
Ovale. At a certain price point, your silverware will last forever. How many dinner parties have I served these in?
Heath. All of my bowls are Heath, most of my serveware is Heath, and I’ve broken precisely one piece in over 15 years.
MAN-TLE P4 in army wax & earth wax. Wears hard but you’d never guess it. Looks great out of the washing machine, too.
One wants to hate Outlier shirts, but they truly do look better & get softer over time. None have ripped or stained. There is a palpable weight difference between their work and other merino brands.
Drop Alt, Earth’s only mechanical keyboard. I’ve replaced a couple of switches, but that’s it. Having everything be hot-swappable has been a minor godsend.
The Q2, which we have extensively discussed. At one point I had to deep-clean it because I was dumb enough to bring it to the beach, but that’s it.
My Tortuga backpack (full disclosure: client emeritus), which I used for eight years, and then sold to replace with… a lighter-weight Tortuga backpack. There was nothing wrong with that one! In fact, it didn’t even look like it was old, let alone had been taken to 15 countries on 4 continents. And yet.
Snow Peak H450. In one sense: it’s Snow Peak and made of titanium, so of course it will last forever. In another, more accurate sense, it’s a masterpiece of form & texture, and it only gets better over time.
Kaweco AL Sport roller. Normally the “sport” line is plastic, but the less-popular aluminum ones are where it’s at – especially the harder-to-find black model.
This printer, which takes third-party cartridges and has never needed any serious maintenance in 14 years.
Breville Control Grip, which has lasted through consistent use for over 10 years. Few other kitchen devices can boast the same!
My American Giant hoodie lasted for 13 years before I replaced it with the same thing. Now my partner wears the old one.
Some of these possess good wear (patina, softening, fun dents), which I distinguish from bad wear that actively harms one’s experience with the product. They’re also the sorts of objects that you can thrash hard and not feel like they flinch.