Where you absolutely refuse to go the cheap way.
For me its deodorant. Everything else I’ve found but my chosen brand fails me.
Toilet paper
Cheap toilet paper just means I’m buying preparation h later. Good toilet paper is an investment in my butts health.
Disclaimer: my wife has a chronic neck injury.
Car! We’ve had Renaults for years, but last time we went for a BMW and the difference is night and day. My wife had to do lots of stretching exercises just to go and buy bread. In the BMW she can happily drive 5-6 hours with no (extra) discomfort.
Laptops that are designed to support Linux
But how are you supposed to learn kernel patching if everything works out of the box?
Hell yeah
Office chairs are important, but people tend to overlook the rest of their office ergonomics. If you work at a computer you should spend money on an adjustable keyboard tray and monitor arms. Then buy a good ergonomic keyboard and vertical mouse or trackball to go with them. My back and wrists used to get sore by the end of the day. That hasn’t happened since I upgraded my gear.
Just out of curiosity, do you have any recommendations for specific products?
I can tell you what works for me.
I have an Uncaged Ergonomics Adjustable Under Desk Keyboard Drawer and Mouse Tray (KT2-b v2). It has a wider range of adjustment and is easy to change. I spent a week tweaking the position and it’s been perfect ever since.
My dual monitors are each attached to a Jestik Advanced Flex 1.0 Single Monitor Arm. I can position them anywhere I want at any angle and they will stay there.
My keyboard is a Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB with Cherry MX mechanical switches. I also use their Lift Kit. The keyboard is split in half and the lift kit raises it in the center at a 30-degree angle. There is a wrist rest built into the front the of the keyboard. All of that minimizes how much my arms have to rotate without making me learn a completely different mode of typing.
I switched from a mouse to a trackball decades ago when I started to have sore wrists. My long-time driver is the Logitech MX Ergo Trackball. I put it on a stand that adds 20-degrees of tilt to get the best angle for me.
I also have a small trackpad on a small pedestal between the two halves of my keyboard. It allows me to do simple cursor movements without taking my hands of the keys.
On the rare occasions when I want a mouse I use an Anker Wireless Vertical Mouse.
It may be overkill, but I use it for eight hours a day and do not feel any discomfort.
Pretty much everything, nowadays.
I came across a saying “Buy nice or buy twice” and that resonated with me. Another variation I have seen is “Buy once, cry once”.
Getting cheap trash that will fall apart in a few months that you will have to eventually re-buy isn’t going to help, but that doesn’t mean you buy gold-plated or diamond-encrusted items. Spending a little bit more for most items usually gets you something that will work better, last longer, or both. Good quality stuff is usually backed with good warranties too.
I spend my time researching to see what product is the best for me, look for deals online, or even buy used if I have to.
No problems paying for quality. We need more of it in this world. But when they market themselves as such but aren’t… now that ruffles my jimmies
Never skimp on what you apply ON or put IN your body.
I totally get why you might not but for me, quality underwear has been a great purchase. They last longer, breath better, stay put, and synthetic ones are washable in a sink in a pinch when traveling(I mean they all are but these dry really quick)
I only buy ones certified by inspector 34.
Good underwear and a nice pair of wool socks. Nice undergarments are a big quality of life improvement.
Darm Tough socks are sure legit, lifetime warranty
Plus one for darn tough.
Sandpaper. Cheap sandpaper loads up, and wears out so fast that it’s never worth the savings. Spend a bit more and it will last 3 to 5 times longer.
Recs? I just buy whatever home Depot is selling when I need to sand something.
I’ve never had much issue with Home Depots sandpaper. I get 3m when I can afford it. Avoid Harbor Freight sandpaper at all costs.
3M cubitron 2 is the best value to performance I’ve found and I’m buying it for a fabrication shop that goes through hundreds of discs a month on sanding aluminum, steel, and stainless steel.
Any tool I’m going to use more than once.
I buy the cheap stuff first, then when it fails or i otherwise end up using it enough to know what I’m looking for, I’ll spend good money on good tools
I call that the Adam Savage approach from some half-remembered statement from him.
Helmets
Hot dogs. I do not trust cheapo hot dogs.
Also, I rarely eat pop-tarts anymore, but when I do I get the name brand. I’ve never had an off brand pop-tart that wasn’t complete garbage.
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A good sleep is definitely more important than money - when you have money. Until you have money your sleep doesn’t matter, you get to lay in the filth of others or sleep on a mattress that will slowly poison your lungs with fibreglass.
Not a product, but tattoos.
It hurts to hear the price from some artists, but you absolutely get what you pay for.
Headphones. I first used some cheap ones and then switched to Bose. The difference was significant. Never again cheap headphones… Also my ears thank me because I can listen to music with lower volume than with the cheap ones.
Oh Bose? I mean it can be an upgrade, but wait until you buy actual good headphones.
Well, what a coincidence that I need new ones. Which one would you recommend
Beyerdynamic for me.
I decided that if I could keep a pair of cheapo ear buds for a year, I would get myself a nice pair. (This was about 3 years ago)
Last year I got myself the top of the line Sony ear buds. But they hurt my ears (not the newest ones that hurt people’s ears, the year before model, c’mon Sony, what are you doing), and my cheapos still work wonderfully, so unless I’m in a noisy environment and I need the noise cancelling Sony provides, I just roll the cheap ones.
Over the ear are another story though, those you go good or go home.
