
Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used? - whitepoplar
I&#x27;ll go first. I think this kettle is exceptional: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Sori-Yanagi-Stainless-Steel-Kettle&#x2F;dp&#x2F;B0000DIJ6U" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Sori-Yanagi-Stainless-Steel-Kettle&#x2F;dp...</a>
======
i_don_t_know
The ancient microwave in my first apartment. It had two knobs: one for time,
one for power. It's immediately obvious how to cook something for how long,
how to add more time, etc.

All other microwaves that I've used I had to have someone explain to me what
buttons to press in what order to do even the simplest things. And I've never
seen anyone use all of those fancy buttons.

~~~
mdip
Completely agree! The funny thing is the first thing I thought of was an old
microwave I owned with a similar setup mainly because the microwave I own,
today, is so _awful_ [0].

I have a GE combination convection oven/microwave and it was clearly designed
by someone who had their first experience with LSD that day. Every function
requires a different, magic, set of key combinations to make it work. Want to
set a timer? That's easy, press timer, turn the dial to the right time (which
inexplicably increases/decreases the time in 30 second increments). OK, you've
done that, now you want to start it. Press "Timer" ... nope. Press "Start" ...
nope. Oh, I have to push _in_ the dial... I didn't even know that, _too_ , was
a button. Oh, and not once, not _twice_ , but _three_ times is the magic
number of times required to _start_ said timer.

Starting the microwave with a specific time in mind requires hitting no less
than 6 buttons, but there's one button that will start the microwave on high
for 30 seconds, so everyone just uses that button and hits it as many times as
is required to get close to the desired cooking length. I can hear my wife
counting out loud ten beeps for a 5 minute cook time.

It's got piles of advanced, useless, features, my favorite of which is a
hybrid "microwave/oven cook" mode that manages to bring in the worst of both
methods, giving you soggy food, unevenly cooked that takes an eternity to
cook.

Even the clock is stupid. You punch in the hours/minutes, and thinking you're
done, you move on to something else. Later you go to cook something and for
some bizarre reason, "AM or PM" pops up on the screen at which point nothing
in your previous experience in operating a microwave prepares you to figure
out why heating something up requires knowledge of whether it's morning or
afternoon. Of course, nothing this microwave does requires knowledge of AM/PM,
nor does it display AM or PM anywhere on the screen, but for some reason it
just _must_ know.

[0] This isn't the exact model but it looks close: [https://www.amazon.com/GE-
PVM9179SFSS-Profile-Stainless-Micr...](https://www.amazon.com/GE-PVM9179SFSS-
Profile-Stainless-Microwave/dp/B00EU7AMX4)

~~~
dri_ft
Holy christ. Horrifying. I can't understand how microwaves are all so bad.
Where are the good ones? Isn't it less work to make a simpler (better)
interface than the baroque ones we end up with?

~~~
summarite
It's when people buy for features rather than use. If given the choice most
people are likely to buy the one with the longest spec sheet - don't want to
miss out on that meat vs vegetable defrost difference! And it's the same
price. And it has a few more buttons but I'm not stupid...

On the other side, there's probably a demand on the "designers"to keep
inventing and adding new features while keeping it as cheap as possible to
produce. And each version is just slightly different from the previous one, so
best not to redesign the wiring/programming, just add the new feature in the
technically easiest/cheapest way!

~~~
mdip
You're completely right. In my case, I bought this model because my wife likes
to cook and we only had one conventional oven (a gas oven, as well, which
cooks differently[0] than an electric one). We decided on it because it would
give us a "sort of" second oven for the various times when that's needed. In
retrospect, we almost _never_ use the other capability -- not because of a
combination of two things - (1) we're too lazy to get the manual out to see
what particular incantation needs to be performed to make the "oven" feature
work and (2) it takes almost twice as long to pre-heat than any other oven
we've ever owned so if you don't plan in advance and start pre-heating it
before you actually decide what you're going to cook, the main oven is often
free by the time the thing pre-heats.

It goes to show, though, when you jam in a bunch of features into a device
that isn't really meant for those features, the added features are often not
implemented well enough to make them very useful.

The _one_ redeeming factor this microwave has is that the entire interior is
stainless steel. Everyone who uses our microwave does a double-take when they
open it seeing all that metal. It's _super_ easy to clean, but that's about
it.

[0] Natural gas ovens are less dry than electric ovens, so baking in them
results in very moist results but also often requires cooking things longer. I
bought it, though, because they're _really_ simple devices that will basically
last forever, having only really the $20 ignition element fail about once
every decade.

------
mdip
It took me about a second to think of Dixon Ticonderoga pencils. These are the
perfect nexus of good and cheap. These things have the critical features one
looks for in a writing instrument, my favorite of which is that I can put it
in my electric pencil sharpener and the lead _never_ snaps just prior to the
point at which it becomes sharp.

And these guys finally figured out something useful to do with that pink,
rubbery, knob at the end of the pencil. I've never been able to figure out
what this rubber piece is for on other pencils. On some, it works like a
highlighter, but not as well -- leaving this pale, pinkish/carbon smudged mess
all over the page. On others, it works like the worlds worst paper shredder,
ripping through the page haphazardly, but not in such a useful way as to
render the contents securely shredded. On Dixon Ticonderoga pencils, this
rubber knob _removes_ any pencil markings that were made in error. It's
incredible!

The best part, though, is that you can get a box of almost 100 of them for
around $14.

~~~
the_duke
I've never seen someone that excited about pencils.

Might this be satire? ;)

~~~
osullivj
Oh no. Folk can get really obsessive about stationary. I have to have
Mitsubishi Uniball [1] myself.

[1]
[https://www.penaddict.com/top-5-pens/](https://www.penaddict.com/top-5-pens/)

~~~
MengerSponge
Oh hell yes. The 0.38 Signo is my favorite pen _ever_ , and the retractable
version makes it even better.

------
dcw303
The Casio F-91W Digital wrist watch

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W)

Keeps better time than a Rolex, and is a fraction of the price. Waterproof.
Has an alarm, stopwatch, and timer; all things missing from traditional wind
ups. Interface is easy to use and discover. The battery last almost forever.

Now, if you're asking if it's aesthetically pleasing, that's a different
story. But we were talking about _design_ , right?

EDIT: Wikipedia says they're only splash proof; I used to swim with mine but
there you go. And I'm making up the timer function, that must have been on
later models only.

~~~
pjs_
The F91W is very hard to beat but I recommend shelling out the extra ten quid
for a Casio W86:

[http://zegarki.worldtrade24.pl/images/Zegarek%20meski%20Casi...](http://zegarki.worldtrade24.pl/images/Zegarek%20meski%20Casio%20W-86-1VQ%20DSC_0161.jpg)

F91W owners are always jealous of my nice bright EL backlight!

~~~
threesixandnine
While we are at it why not the indestructable g-shock for a few extra tens of
quid? DW-5600?

[http://www.g-shock.eu/global/images/lineup/zoom/DW-5600E-1VE...](http://www.g-shock.eu/global/images/lineup/zoom/DW-5600E-1VER.jpg)

------
FreakyT
Another odd one, but my Honda Fit 2nd Generation. So many things about that
car are so well thought-out, and even more expensive/luxurious cars miss
things that the Fit designers included. Some examples:

\- Cup holder on the dashboard to the left of the steering wheel. As a left-
handed person, this is amazing.

\- Window power remains on after turning off the car as long as doors haven't
been opened, allowing you to close the windows even if you forget to close
them before turning off the car.

\- Rear seats can fold completely flat, thanks to the fact that the fuel tank
is below the front seats

\- Large, unique-feeling tactile buttons and knobs to control the AC heating,
and audio systems. So many cars use tiny identical buttons that are impossible
to distinguish without looking.

~~~
hkmurakami
I really enjoy my Mazda3 2016 dashboard and controls.

Meanwhile I HATED the BMW 3 series controls and shifter. Nothing was
intuitive, though it all looked space agey.

I am a fan of the Lexus controls as well. They look positively 90s but are
very straightforward to use and behave as you'd expect.

As a former automotive engineer it hurts to see "aesthetics" trump usability.

~~~
sundvor
Yeah, I have the Mazda 3 Astina - 2014. I believe its MazdaConnect is roughly
the same, maybe a slightly smaller screen.

Blown away by how good the UX for the whole car is, including a HUD which for
its price class and the time is rather amazing.

Adding things like rear cross alert, curving lights and radar cruise in
addition to EBA is simply great.

~~~
robbiep
I've got the same model. Also a big fan of the design features

------
nunez
Apple MacBooks are the best laptops that I have ever used. Nothing comes close
to them. Even my Surface. It's a great device (by far the best Windows
laptop/convertible available), but it misses on some details (light bleed on
the edges, kickstand doesn't align all the way)

~~~
sgt
The Macs are legendary for their design, but I have to say the winner is the
MacBook Air. We have one at home, specifically the 2011 model MacBook Air.
Such a fine piece of equipment and it still works pretty today as well as it
did 6 years ago.

~~~
h1d
Have been using Air since its 1st gen.

~~~
nunez
If the screen on the Air wasn't so shitty, I would still be rocking that
thing. It had legendary battery life and an amazing keyboard, all while being
super light.

I think that the MBA the best MacBook they've ever designed. No compromises,
light enough to forget about and lasts long enough to almost never need
charging.

I seriously wished they re-released that with a Retina screen.

~~~
sgt
Shitty? The Air screen is pretty good. Yes, it is not retina but I'm happy
with the other bits such as color depth, view angle, brightness, and just
general quality.

------
whitepoplar
Textmate 2 - It's such a well-engineered piece of software, and it's gorgeous.

Bialetti Brikka - Such an elegant design, and it makes delicious coffee,
Italian-style.

Nespresso - If Apple made espresso machines. The espresso tastes great and
it's easy to clean.

Patagonia MLC 45L - My pet peeve with luggage is that the good stuff tends to
be heavy. Not this! It's big enough for extended travel, has backpack straps
if you need it, durable (w/ lifetime guarantee), and is well-designed without
being "design-y," if that makes sense.

Charles Schwab checking account - Okay, not a physical product, and doesn't
have very impressive visual design, but well-designed regardless. No account
minimums or fees, the best customer service I've ever experienced, no foreign
transaction fees, and they rebate any and all ATM fees worldwide. It's the
absolute perfect money bucket.

Blundstone boots - The perfect footwear if you're unsure of conditions. Hiking
--check. Going to dinner--check. Walking in the city--check. Walking through
snow--check. Traveling--check. They're very, very comfortable.

Elixir (programming language) - This is what happens when a tool is made for
one's own use, as opposed to being designed for a hypothetical "other" who
doesn't exist. It's magical.

~~~
PTRFRLL
Has Schwab upgraded their web security recently? Last time I looked at them,
they had a 8 character upper limit on their password field that they then
lower-cased.

~~~
whitepoplar
Yes:
[http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/client_home/password_for...](http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/client_home/password_format)

They also have 2-factor auth, which can be enabled by request.

------
kevinqi
Teenage Engineering OP-1, a music synthesizer. Really well built, buttons and
knobs feel fantastic, and the display is super fun. The OP-1 in action:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umatbZ0n4mE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umatbZ0n4mE)

~~~
jordiesaenz
I just got one of these for Christmas, and it's honestly one of the most
beautiful and intuitive devices I've ever used. It's such a creative and
inspiring tool.

~~~
pidg
Oh no! I've been ogling these since they came out, and only recently convinced
myself I really didn't need one. Now it's back on the table...

------
idonotknowwhy
#1 The Nokia N9 (specifically the alarm clock) When trying to find a clone for
Android, I found this guy's blog post which explains why it's perfect:

[http://www.nition.co/2014/08/the-nokia-n9-alarm-
clock/](http://www.nition.co/2014/08/the-nokia-n9-alarm-clock/)

The swipe interface of the operating system is also the best I've ever used.
If I play around with the N9 for a few minutes now; then go back to android,
it feels clunky an inefficient again.

#2 The Nintendo Gamecube It just works without having to setup profiles or
download updates, the controller is awesome (subjective) and it carries the
greatest Mario Kart, Smash Brothers and Mario Party ever created (also
subjective).

~~~
baby
I remember watching an interview of Yamamoto explaining how Sony blatantly
copied the N64 controller, even copying Nintendo's mistake of having 4 right-
side buttons of exactly the same shape (for the fingers).

Nintendo corrected this with the gamecube controller having different shaped
buttons on the right (see here
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameCube_controller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameCube_controller)
the A, Y, X and B buttons)

For some reason, Nintendo reversed back to the "bad" playstation-like buttons
after the gamecube.

If anyone knows why I would be interested.

~~~
coldpie
Maybe it's because I play a lot of games, but I don't know why four identical
shaped buttons would be bad. I never press A and think I'm pressing B because
they are the same shape. It's not clear to me why you think different shaped
buttons is inherently better.

~~~
baby
One thing where it shines: new players and tutorials. When the button is shown
to the screen they can immediately track it. Sony is pretty bad with that, GF
always asks "what is R2? What is R3? ..."

~~~
idonotknowwhy
For some reason, my gf picked up 'right bumper', 'left trigger', etc from the
Xbox 360 much more easily than "R1/L2" from the PS2.

------
bungle
Fiskars Axes: [http://www.fiskars.eu/products/gardening/axes/splitting-
axe-...](http://www.fiskars.eu/products/gardening/axes/splitting-axe-
m-x17-1015641)

Barbour Jackets: [http://www.barbour.com/eu/categories/mens/waxed-
jackets/barb...](http://www.barbour.com/eu/categories/mens/waxed-
jackets/barbour-classic-beaufort-wax-jacket/p/MWX0002OL71)

Camper Shoes: [https://www.camper.com/en_FI/men/shoes/peu/camper-
peu-17665-...](https://www.camper.com/en_FI/men/shoes/peu/camper-
peu-17665-134)

Stihl Chainsaws: [http://www.stihl.com/STIHL-power-tools-A-great-
range/Chainsa...](http://www.stihl.com/STIHL-power-tools-A-great-
range/Chainsaws-saw-chains-guide-bars/Petrol-chainsaws-for-
forestry/243584-131/MS-201-C-M.aspx)

Genelec Speakers: [http://www.genelec.com/8351](http://www.genelec.com/8351)

Desktops: Mac Pro 1st Generation

Laptops: Macbook Pro

Phones: iPhone

Operating System Kernel: Linux

High Level Programming Language: Lua / LuaJIT

Low Level Programming Language: C

Web Server: Nginx

~~~
vlehto
I'm Finn, coming from the land of Fiskars and axes. And I have to disagree
with Fiskars. The axes are very good for chopping wood, but that's it. If you
are serious backpacker, craftsman, carpenter etc, you wan't to use your axe in
different ways too. The biggest "chopping" axe from fiskars is too short for
building a fire that would keep you warm for the whole night. All of their
"splitting" models have unnecessarily heavy head which you don't want to haul
while backpacking. And the vedge thing in splitting models mean that it's very
tricky to sharpen poles that you could strike to ground for a tent. And you
can't use the axe as a hammer or you lose that sweet 25 year guarantee. And
you can't swap the handle of a chopping axe for a longer one.

It's very good tool for one spesific job. There are axes that are good for
range of jobs.

~~~
glasz
local "pros" tell me that stihl has been good or that the more expensive
models are still good. but many are said to migrate to husqvarna.

i personally don't like all the plastic parts on newer stihl's. like "easy-to-
use" cover holders which previously where solid screws.

~~~
bungle
There have also been new (mostly stupid) legislation, at least in EU that has
forced Stihl and others to make worse products (cutting down emissions, and at
the same time power).

I only recommend Stihl Professional series (with metal bodies). Husqvarna's
are usually equally good (it is mostly that Stihl has the best model in some
class, while Husqvarna has a better model in some other class). Partner
Chainsaws were also pretty respected, but Husqvarna bought them. New Stihls
may feel a bit plastic, but in practice they do their job pretty nicely.

What comes to power tools, Hilti is the one to look at, although I did go with
Bosch power tools (Bosch is pretty average in every sense, but also
trustworthy). It is easier to buy Bosch (Blue Series) than Hiltis. I also do
like the stackable Sortimo L-BOXXes that Bosch uses these days:
[http://www.sortimo.com/products/cases-
boxxes/](http://www.sortimo.com/products/cases-boxxes/).

~~~
reitanqild
Hilti T605 or something. Oh those memories. Best job I ever had until then :-)
Noisy, boring but well-paid and the first time I worked for a company that
enforced safety regulations. Oh, and they paid extremely well compared to what
I was used to.

------
jwolfhn
Any Kindle model with e-ink. The utiluty and simplicity of design of these
devices has enabled me to read almost every night before going to bed for the
past 6ish years without loosing my place or holding the weight of a book
(finally read War and Peace).

~~~
joshvm
Except for some bizarre restrictions on functionality. You can drag and drop
books onto the Kindle like a thumb drive (awesome!), but there isn't support
for folders (not awesome!). If you want to organise huge quantities of books
into collections which is, after all, the point of the Kindle, you have to do
it manually on the device. Or you use Calibre, but I feel like that's a
negative point because most consumers won't know about it.

Is it so hard to view as a directory structure rather than listing all the
books recursively?

That and they seem to have removed the 3G for web browsing, so now owning a
cellular Kindle is pretty much useless unless you're really desperate to get a
book abroad.

~~~
dukeluke
One of my favorite features of the Kindle is that it works with Calibre. I
understand that it's difficult for some, but it's a godsend for me.

------
dsfyu404ed
The interior layout of a 1990s Ford truck or Bronco. All controls can be done
by feel without fat fingering anything while wearing work gloves, radio
included. The radio is placed so you don't have to take your eyes off the road
to tune it anymore than you would the speedometer. They even make the +/\-
buttons convex/concave and put little bars on the preselects to make it easier
to do by feel. The motion ratio on the manual windows is pretty damn perfect.
Kind of a shame so much thought was put into something a design was executed
using crappy 90s plastic.

Honorable mention for industrial vacuum cleaners.

~~~
EvilTerran
> Honorable mention for industrial vacuum cleaners.

It's not quite industrial (although the manufacturer does also make shop-vacs
in a similar style), but I'm a huge fan of my Henry[0] - I bought it on the
principle of "everyone who vacuums for a living seems to use one, they must be
on to something", and it's completely lived up to my expectations. It's light
enough to lug around one-handed, but still feels sturdy (and has survived
falling down the stairs at least once); somehow manages to be quieter _and_
have more suction than most vacuums I've tried; has a comically-high capacity;
the cord-winder is a brilliant in the simplicity of its engineering; ... and,
yes, I know how irrational it is to personify inanimate objects, but his happy
face still cheers me up all the same.

On another note, although it looks like a piece of plasticky infomercial
tat... I picked up one of these spider catchers[1] on a whim a few months
back, and I still can't quite get over just how damn well the thing works.
It's a lot quicker than the old "tumbler and a postcard" technique, is much
more reliable at catching them before they get away, keeps them trapped-by-
default 'til you squeeze the handle (no more "whoops the card slipped, oh
great the spider's escaped again"), doesn't seem to injure even really
fragile-looking ones (eg cellar spiders/"daddy long-legs") - and keeps you at
a far more comfortable distance throughout the whole process.

[0] [https://www.numatic.co.uk/product-
view.aspx?id=366&r=4&sr=1](https://www.numatic.co.uk/product-
view.aspx?id=366&r=4&sr=1)

[1]
[https://www.spidercatcher.net/product.htm](https://www.spidercatcher.net/product.htm)

------
agjacobson
Macintosh II with Finder 4.6. Never has a computer system maintained a
technical lead for so long, 1987-95, with Finder upgrades you loaded from
floppies. Bridgeport milling machine. People just copy it. They can't improve
it. Ashlar Vellum 2D drafting software for the Mac. Imagine. Drafting objects
have properties you can edit. Lambda Physik (Coherent) FL2002E dye laser.
Excel 4.0 for the Mac. Wrote invoicing and coating design macros that ran a
whole business. Solidworks 2003. Used it till 2008, until I got the "better"
newest edition which was a little more capable, but less efficient. Ipad Air.
Still use it, smashed-in screen and all, but it's panting.

You can see I'm mostly stuck in the past. Many of these products had more
capable successors, but felt bloated, and were harder to use.

------
doug1001
"technical friends" (which i believe was name given by the man who invented
them, Ray Jardine). "Friends" is still the category name used by Wild Country,
which i believe was the first shop to sell the devices.

more generically, i believe they are known as spring-loade cam devices (SLCD).

these simple devices transformed granite crack climbing from slow, rock-
altering aid climbing that required pitons hammered into cracks to clean
"free" (ie, no aid) climbing.

sure nuts and hexes were (and still are) available but they require some sort
of constriction in the crack (change in the width) to hold them in place,
which granite cracks often lack.

~~~
mpalme
Link cams are a marvel of engineering.

Thy operate on a simple concept of trisecting a cam lobe so that, as the
device is retracted, the cam unfolds and permits an amazing range for a unit
of its size.

[http://www.omegapac.com/itemdetail.php?id=1&secid=9](http://www.omegapac.com/itemdetail.php?id=1&secid=9)

~~~
oftenwrong
Link cams look cool, and have unmatched range, but they have a bad reputation
regarding their durability. I have never tried them, though. I don't really
climb hard enough to justify them. My cams are almost all C4s.

------
badtuple
The Tom Bihn Synapse 25 backpack:
[https://www.tombihn.com/collections/backpacks/products/synap...](https://www.tombihn.com/collections/backpacks/products/synapse-25?variant=19284331015)

I went nomad earlier this year and decided I needed a good backpack. After
much research, I landed on the Synapse.

It's simply amazing that something as simple as "a bag" can be so well
designed. So clearly better.

It's the only product I've ever owned where I notice myself stop and admire it
regularly.

~~~
joeclark77
There was an Ask HN about backpacks just about 40 days ago (link:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13369197](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13369197)),
and a lot of good recommendations were made there. I ended up buying an Osprey
Flapjack, which has been the best bag I ever owned. As a Mainer, I own about a
dozen LL Bean bags, and am bordering on heresy by speaking up for the
Osprey...

~~~
InitialLastName
I'm with you on the Osprey... I've got a Momentum 30, and it does everything I
need from it (with capabilities past that when I need it).

Add in the fantastic warranty, and it's hard to think of a better option.

------
patmcguire
Google Reader. It actually let me add feeds, read them, and mark them read
reliably. Everything after is focused on value-add instead of just fucking
working.

~~~
CInk_Ibrahim
If you are using mac, try
reeder([http://reederapp.com/mac/](http://reederapp.com/mac/)). It syncs with
a lot of online rss readers (I use feedly and instapaper). But where it shines
is its UX. It does what you need without any fluff and does it elegantly. All
essential parts are there without showing million buttons. Keyboard shortcuts
also work perfectly. It is the only app that I didn't feel any need to change
settings after the first time.

~~~
lobster_johnson
I was using Reeder back when Google Reader was killed, and it was super easy
for me to switch to Feedly as the back end — just export the subscriptions and
import them into Feedly. Just like I didn't use Google Reader in the browser,
I don't ever use Feedly in the browser, either.

It's a beautiful little app. Great native app on iOS, too.

------
george_ciobanu
A dishwasher that only had one button: start. A dry cleaning service where
they just told me to come back next day after 5p and never asked me how I want
my shirts, what kind of treatment etc. For contrast most places ask several
questions that I never know the answer to. The best UI is no UI.

~~~
chime
Unless the dishwasher can differentiate between baby bottles, fine china, and
greasy steel pans, it's going to need more than one button.

~~~
Kluny
Fine china and greasy steel pans both get washed by hand at my house. Neither
are used often enough for this to be a problem. Only "normal" stuff goes in
the dishwasher, so it only needs a "normal" button.

------
synicalx
Odd answer, but probably a Blackberry Passport. Clean and sturdy design, OS is
on point (assuming you dont use many 3rd party apps), keyboard is brilliant -
it leverages the benefits of a physical keyboard and adds the flexibility of
touchscreen keyboards. Not to mention the screen, never thought I'd enjoy
using a 1:1 screen but it's so good for reading on.

Outside of technology, probably my old man's Eames Classic. I don't even know
how old it is, he's had it since he moved out of home 40+ years ago so it's
definitely not new. Still comfortable, leather is still in good condition
(although it does need cleaning), and it's as solid as a tank.

~~~
Inconel
I've never owned a Blackberry before but the Passport Silver Edition is one of
the most aesthetically pleasing phones I've ever seen.

This is the studio responsible for it's design[1] if you're interested in some
of their other work.

[1][http://objectsandideas.com/projects#/passport-silver-
edition...](http://objectsandideas.com/projects#/passport-silver-edition/)

~~~
synicalx
Nice find there, I think I can safely say I like just about everything that
studio has done.

------
artimaeis
Seiko 5 automatic watch - Simple, timeless, affordable. It's just a great
watch and it always will be.

rOtring 600 mechanical pencil - the feel of this pencil is unlike any other
writing implement I've found. It's a legend. My new goal is to find a fountain
pen that I can enjoy as much as I enjoy this. Though I fear that will be a
notably more expensive purchase.

Yamaha Custom Series Bb trumpet - before becoming a developer I was a semi-pro
musician and this is still the most fantastic instrument I've ever worked
with. I've owned it 9 years now and it still feels brand new. Every mechanism
on it was perfectly made. There's no unnecessary stiffness or play in any
component.

~~~
quanticle
>Though I fear that will be a notably more expensive purchase.

Not necessarily. There are quite a number of good pens in the sub-$100 range.
I personally recommend the Pilot Metropolitan or the Lamy Safari. Both are
less (much less) than $100, and can either fit ink cartridges or converters.

~~~
codebeaker
I _love_ my LAMY Safari (€12 in most stationers in Germany, it's a cultural
phenomenon that's unfortunately slowly dying out, the previous generation
learned "Schönschrift" (cursive) in school with theirs and take their pen
through life with them). That said, of the two that I own, I can't use either
without getting grubby inky nailbeds, I assume the problem lay with me, not
the pen.

Also, seconded the rOtring series mechanical pencils are astoundingly good,
I'm always close to mine, I never travel without it.

------
davidgould
The wok. A good 13 or 14" pao wok costs about $15. Add another $20 for a
spoon, a cover, an wok ring and a steaming grill and you can make almost
anything. The thing looks so simple, but it is part of a whole system and way
of cooking that is amazingly fun and effective.

------
PascLeRasc
Any coffee addict like me knows that some methods of brewing are impossible
before you've had a cup. The AeroPress understands this and is really simple
to use, and makes amazing coffee. Everyone in my family has one and some other
method as well, like a Mokapot or French press, but for the first cup in the
morning it's Aeropress every time.

I also love Papermate Sharpwriter pencils. They feel so comfortable to hold,
and if you like spinning a pencil while thinking they're really well-balanced
for that.

~~~
thenomad
I like the Aeropress, but my favourite coffee production method is the Kalita
Wave.

Again, it's beautifully designed - almost impossible to damage, very simple to
use, comparatively quick (about a minute longer than an Aeropress for one or
two large mugs of coffee), arguably even easier to clean than the Aeropress
(invert over bin. Done.). The pouring jug's great, too: tough, well labeled,
fits perfectly, easy to store.

~~~
derrickdirge
Along the same lines, my Chemex is one of my favorite objects. I love the
simplicity of the design and the brewing process. I love the consistently
tasty brew. I love the way it looks on my kitchen counter. I love the purity
of materials.

Admittedly, the 'purity of materials' argument is probably just superstition
on my part. I'm not sure if there are measurable benefits to an all-glass
brewing receptacle, but it sure makes me _feel_ good. Glass, wood, and leather
are materials that I can easily wrap my head around, and somehow that brings
extra peace of mind to my whole coffee ritual.

~~~
sotojuan
I actually find the Chemex as simple as the Aeropress. It has replaced it for
my morning coffee.

------
kampsduac
I really enjoy my aeropress
([https://aerobie.com/product/aeropress/](https://aerobie.com/product/aeropress/))
coffee press. The modern take on a French press, price, and availability on
Amazon made me realize anybody can have a great idea, print it in plastic, and
sell it to people - arriving two days later.

Plus the coffee that comes out is dope.

~~~
nailer
It's really not a take on a French press. An aero press imparts flavour
through forcing water through the grounds, a French press imparts favour
trough immersion then you push down to remove the grounds.

~~~
Aqwis
I disagree: try comparing pressing immediately after pouring water into the
Aeropress versus pouring after waiting for 20-30 seconds or so. (If you press
immediately you're going to end up with some really week coffee.) The pressure
_helps_ but most of the extraction is due to immersion even in an Aeropress.
Most people who use the upside-down Aeropress method seem to let it brew for
even longer, up to two minutes.

------
agentgt
I have been recently optimizing some of my wardrobe:

Darn Tough socks! Seriously life is too short to have clammy feet. Yes they
are expensive but they last forever.

Carhartt USA made therma lined hoodies are also awesome. I have had one for 17
years and wore it all the time before hoodies became fashionable. To be honest
all of their stuff is great for the price if you can get over looking like a
construction worker.

Icebreakers shifter pants. The best sweat pants. Speaking of wool.. Duckworth
wool has some good properly treated USA sheep. Icebreakers is better but
Duckworth is USA made.

Music:

Cambridge Audio DAC magic plus. Expensive but seems to work great.

Cooking:

Lodge Cast Iron Skillets. Once you learn how to cook on cast iron skillets you
will replace many pans in your kitchen with them.

Char‑Griller Akorn Kamado Kooker. The best charcoal grill for the money. You
can cook everything on it. Pizza, sear steak at 800 degrees and slow cook
pulled pork for 18 hours+ on a single load of charcoal.

Thermoworks Thermapen thermometer. The best cooking thermometer you absolutely
should buy.

~~~
Tcepsa
I'd like to put in a plug for Finex cast iron. They're milled smooth on the
bottom which I prefer to the finish on the Lodge pan that I have.

Regardless, +1 for cast iron!

~~~
s0rce
Cool! I haven't seen a modern cast iron pan that I've liked as much as my
ancient Wagner Ware pan, the smooth interior surface is so much better than
the bumpy as cast surface on the sand cast models that aren't finished. Not
sure I would pay the asking price for these Finex ones, you can still get old
ones at flea markets, thrift stores and ebay if you look around.

~~~
agentgt
The bumpy to polished surface is more of an aesthetic and ergonomic thing than
a stick thing.

That is the bumpiness of a lodge eventually goes away and the initial bumps
really have little correlation on the stickiness.

Think of it this way... Sticky tires for race cars are actually extremely
smooth.

What people don't like is the sound a spatula makes on the new lodge pan
compared to polish pans but in my experience the lodge pans are in most ways
less prone to stick than older pans because the heat is more even (this is
perhaps because they are heavier).

In some ways the bumpiness might actually improve slip because it creates
pockets of fat but again the bumpiness goes away pretty quick regardless. Some
even say the additional bumpiness also aids in adding additional seasoning.

You absolutely have to cook with fat on cast iron pan (either the food has the
fat or you add it). Cast iron pans are not even remotely comparable to teflon
nonstick when it comes to sticking (and by the way most teflon pans are bumpy
as well so.. again bumpiness has little correlation to stick).

There is an incredibly amount of bullshit and false information about cast
iron pans on the internet (like comparing it to teflon and how older pans
distribute heat better) with very little actual experiments done.

If people really want smooth milled surfaces than a carbon steel pan is far
superior as well as distributes heat more evenly (albeit I prefer cast iron
for baking).

------
donquichotte
SIG 550 assault rifle. I don't particularly like weapons, but this gun can
take an incredible amount of abuse and is still accurate and reliable. I feel
that the designers really found the sweet spot between complexity and
simplicity here.

Same for the Kawasaki KLR 650 motorcycle. A superb bike, virtually
indestructible, and in the unlikely case that something breaks, it's possible
to fix it on your own.

EDIT: Sublime Text. Fast, simple, no-nonsense, cross-platform, extendable.

~~~
briHass
Loved my early 2000s KLR 650. I'm hardly a mechanic, but I did my own top end
and bottom end work on it (full engine teardowns), and it always started back
up.

Motorcycles require quite a bit more maintenance than cars, and having one
where I was comfortable fixing every part on it was awesome.

------
pgreenwood
Almost every bicycle. Our noblest invention.

~~~
SwellJoe
Agreed. Even a cheapish bike is a miracle of modern engineering, and a great
force multiplier even for poor folks or folks too young to drive. I love my
bike (a 20 year old Giant mountain bike that I bought to ride to college and
have put thousands of miles on since).

~~~
antisthenes
A bicycle is also the most efficient form of single-person transportation by a
_huge_ margin (even if you generously include the calories burned).

~~~
SwellJoe
Don't get me started...there's always someone (many someones, usually) arguing
that cities shouldn't spend money on more bike lanes, when the auto traffic is
so bad and there should be more car lanes. The cost of bike lanes is a
rounding error compared to auto lanes; literally, foregoing adding a couple
miles of additional highway lanes would pay for a whole small city to get bike
lanes crisscrossing it, and could support more people.

And, I definitely attribute my good health (well into middle age) at least
partially to biking so much throughout my life. Getting a few percent more
people out of cars and onto bikes would help save the world in all sorts of
ways, IMHO.

------
sergiotapia
My Macbook Air 13-inch 2015.

Battery lasts a long time. It recharges super quick. It's incredibly
lightweight. It's incredibly thin. It's trackpad clicks "for real". No
plastic, or shitty finish.

I can't believe they don't make them anymore. It's easily Apple's best
hardware hand's down.

\---

My Logitech G602 mouse. Weighty, not heavy, battery lasts for 8 months. Hands
cusps the mouse perfectly and never feels awkward to hold for extended periods
of time. Premium feel, no cheap plastics. I love it.

[http://www.bestbuy.com/site/logitech-g602-wireless-gaming-
mo...](http://www.bestbuy.com/site/logitech-g602-wireless-gaming-mouse-
black/2397012.p?skuId=2397012&ref=212&loc=1&ksid=22172b8e-d4cf-46e8-b227-badb9bef769a&ksprof_id=8&ksaffcode=pg199033&ksdevice=c&lsft=ref:212,loc:2)

~~~
kevinali1
[http://www.apple.com/macbook-air/](http://www.apple.com/macbook-air/) The
still make them

------
monodeldiablo
The VW Up! (aka Škoda Citigo aka Seat Mii)

It weighs under a ton, is only 3.5m long, and has a 1.0L, 3-cylinder engine
that fairly sips gas. It shifts like butter and, considering it's powered by a
glorified sewing machine, it has decent acceleration and top-end speed. And,
if you spring for the Czech rebadge, you can get the basic model for less than
10k euros.

But the real killer is that it has almost as much usable interior room as a VW
Golf, despite being almost a meter shorter!

My partner and I both come from tall families and, upon delivery of the car,
her brother (200cm tall) drove his wife (189cm), me (188cm), my wife (184cm),
my father (200cm), and our 3 kids for a spin. It wasn't legal and it wasn't
roomy, but no reasonable person would be able to guess that such a tiny car
could fit 3 small adults, let alone 5 tall adults and 3 kids.

For those of us who spent far too much of their childhood playing Tetris, the
trunk (if you want to call it that) also accommodates 4 full-sized suitcases.

[EDIT] I forgot to mention that it has exposed metal surfaces in the interior
(doors, mainly) that are integrated parts of the car. Not only does it look
fantastic, each of those panels is one less plastic piece that will eventually
require an expensive replacement when it inevitably gets hit/scratched/exposed
to too much sunlight/shakes itself to pieces.

I don't know why more cars don't feature this (one review called them "cheap
exposed surfaces", as if plastic is somehow fancier), but it's incredibly
durable, simple, and attractive.

~~~
utexaspunk
I have to say this reminds me of my 1st generation Scion xB- it's a 1.7L
engine, the only car of its size that I (6'4") can sit in the back seat
comfortably, and its vertical sides and fold-down seats make it capable of
carrying a ridiculous amount of stuff, and quite comfortable for camping in,
too. It's an entirely utilitarian car.

[http://www.scionxb.org/xbreviews.htm](http://www.scionxb.org/xbreviews.htm)

~~~
strictnein
My wife got a 2nd gen Scion xB after we had our first kid and were starting to
plan for the second one. In its class, it fit a double stroller in the back
the easiest.

Not quite as tall as you (I'm 6'2"), but I would sometimes ride in the
backseat of it with our young son, as opposed to riding shotgun. Lots of room
back there and it was comfortable as well.

------
fergie
Ortleib panniers
([https://www.google.com/search?q=ortlieb+panniers](https://www.google.com/search?q=ortlieb+panniers)):

* Are actually waterproof

* Don't have lots of unnecessary compartments and pockets

* Lift on and off really securely, yet really easily

* Can be wiped clean

* Super durable

* Light

* Can be worn as shoulder bag, or carried as a tote

* No zips, yet can be completely sealed

~~~
btschaegg
I second that. However, if you also want to use it as a messenger bag, I
prefer my Vaude Bayreuth II, since its hook mechanism can be closed.

With my Ortlieb bag, I regularily get stuck with one of the hooks in the back
pockets of my trousers, so I have a habit of always removing the hooks
altogether if I'm not using my bike, which is a bit of an annoyance. The
Ortlieb bag is much more durable however.

~~~
sjakobi
I always carry my Ortlieb bags with the hooks facing away from me.

------
closed
Instant pot pressure cooker.

Want to use it as a crock pot? sure.

Want to saute things inside it first? sure.

Frozen meat or dried beans? Why not!

[https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FLYWNYQ?psc=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FLYWNYQ?psc=1)

~~~
dfrey
I have an instant pot and it's pretty good, but it's not the only cooking
device you will ever need. The issue I have with it is that because it's a
sealed pressure cooker, everything comes out a bit "boiled" looking/tasting.
That's fine for chili or stew, but not so great for chicken.

~~~
closed
That's fair. I might be preaching to the choir here, but something that might
help is braising the meat in a small amount of liquid, rather than stewing it
by covering it in liquid.

[http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-a-
stew...](http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-a-stew-and-a-
braise-225804)

------
mattkevan
MUJI 0.5mm gel ink pens [0] - I've used these pens for so long that my
handwriting goes haywire when using a different make. Perfect balance of
smoothness and scratchiness - with fast drying ink, which as a lefty is vital.

Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II – had mine for over a decade and they still sound
and look great.

Gaggia Colour espresso machine – looks great, built like a tank, simple to
repair, and still produces fantastic coffee after years of benign neglect.

Chromecast – it just works. Feels like the future to use my phone to stream
video from the Raspberry Pi to the TV.

AirPlay – it also just works. Recently set up a multi-room audio streaming
thing, like a budget alternative to Sonos, using a few Raspberry Pis I had
lying about and Shairport Sync [1]. Works much better than I anticipated.

[0]
[https://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?Sec=13&Sub=52&PID=5162](https://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?Sec=13&Sub=52&PID=5162)
[1] [https://github.com/mikebrady/shairport-
sync](https://github.com/mikebrady/shairport-sync)

~~~
Eric_WVGG
Mujis notebooks with the dot grid are also excellent, far superior to lined
grid notebooks.

~~~
mattkevan
Yes! Their notebooks are great too. If they ever stop doing the plain A5
spiral bound ones I'll personally go round every MUJI in London and buy their
entire remaining stock.

------
mitchellst
The Trek 500.

It's a bicycle. It's a steel bicycle, which is out of favor these days, but
Trek still makes a few each year. And they haven't really changed the design
since it was introduced in the 80's. Why? Because it's the perfect bicycle.

At least, if you're doing a very particular thing. I rode one from the Oregon
Coast to Long Island. It was an unsupported tour, so I had about 50 pounds of
gear strapped to it the whole way. While my companions suffered various
breakdowns and issues, the 500 was rock solid. It doesn't get fancy on
components-- no disk breaks or electronic shifting. Everything on it can be
easily repaired, removed, or replaced with your two hands and a compact multi-
tool. The steel frame will stand up to any manner of abuse. Hearing about the
whole tough-as-nails thing, you assume it won't be that pleasing to ride. You
assume wrong.

~~~
cellularmitosis
There is a counterintuitive slump in quality of experience along the
progression of bicycle frame materials technology. One would expect each point
along the progression to be completely superior than the last: steel,
aluminum, carbon fiber.

I had to learn the hard way that isn't the case. Steel is flexible
(comfortable ride) but heavy. Aluminum came along and offered lighter frames,
but the frames had to be made much stiffer to avoid the perils of repeated
stress fatigue (steel's asymptote for strength after repeated stress is some
fraction of its original strength. Aluminum's asymptote is zero -- flex it
enough and it will eventually accumulate micro strew fractures and break). The
progression to aluminum was a trade off: ride comfort for weight.

Carbon fiber came along and offered a no-compromise solution: the flexibility
(ride comfort) of steel, and lighter than aluminum. Unfortunately, the cost is
much higher with carbon fiber.

If you are on a budget, I'd agree that you're better off with steel than
aluminum.

~~~
InitialLastName
I'd say steel and aluminum come out about even in terms of their value for
bicycles at the lower budget end

Steel: \- Pro: More repairable (bend it right back!) \- Pro: More comfortable
ride \- Con: Heavier \- Con: prone to rust if the finish gets marred

Aluminum: \- Pro: No corrosion, even when the paint is gone. \- Pro: Lighter
\- Con: Not repairable \- Con: less comfortable

All this to say, I agree with you, but there are more considerations than
weight and ride comfort. My beater bike (ride around and lock up in the city,
through salt and snow and any random crap) is aluminum and cheap. My commute
bike is steel and more expensive, but takes a bit more care.

------
jameskilton
Dyson vacuum cleaners.

I have never once wondered "how do I do this?" when using my Dyson. From
cleaning, to extensions, switching modes, and just plain using the thing,
every inch of these vacuums is designed to the utmost degree to make them not
only super powerful suction machines but also trivially easy to use.

~~~
dbg31415
Are you kidding me? These plastic toys break like 4 months in. Would never buy
another one. Luckily I bought it at Costco so I could return it.

~~~
jameskilton
Don't know. I've had mine for > 6 years now, not a single problem with it.
Newer ones aren't as good?

~~~
dbg31415
3-4 years ago maybe? DC 33 I think is what I had. The little hose that
connected to the bottom near the spinning brush wouldn't stay connected... I
had to put duct tape on it... And one of the wheels came out of it's little
"axel" and wouldn't stay in... had to super glue that. The canister button
broke... had to use like a paper-clip to wiggle that open.

And what I think was a major design flaw... When I turned it on, it took like
30 seconds to actually get any suction... when I contacted support on that
they said it had to build up pressure. So I would turn the vacuum on, let it
sit for a minute before I could use it. Total joke. I wasted time taking it to
a repair shop that offered to replace the motor... for basically the cost of a
new one. Dyson wouldn't cover it.

Anyway they don't make that model any more... and if you're happy with what
you got, I'm happy for you. I wasn't happy with what I got and Dyson made me
take it back to Costco instead of offering to stand behind their product. I
want to say it was something like $400... seems like for that price they
should stand behind it.

[https://www.amazon.com/Dyson-DC33-Multi-Floor-Upright-
Bagles...](https://www.amazon.com/Dyson-DC33-Multi-Floor-Upright-
Bagless/product-
reviews/B0043EW354/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_hist_1?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&reviewerType=avp_only_reviews)

~~~
simooooo
That 30 seconds thing is horse shit. Never encountered that with any of the
4-5 dysons I've used

~~~
dbg31415
I'm fairly certain there was something wrong with the motor. The fact that the
support rep told me it had to build pressure... and wouldn't just default to,
"Let's RMA it!" is the real issue. $400 vacuum that supposedly had a 5-year
warranty but no clue what the warranty actually covered after talking to their
support team.

Costco though, I know a store isn't thought of as a product, but the fact you
can return anything there -- no questions asked -- that's really nice! I
started having issues with the vacuum 2-4 months into owning it (the hose
disconnecting all the time was the first issue), returned it to Costco about a
year after I bought it.

------
boulos
The Lido 2 Coffee Grinder: [http://www.oehandgrinders.com/OE-LIDO-2-Manual-
Coffee-Grinde...](http://www.oehandgrinders.com/OE-LIDO-2-Manual-Coffee-
Grinder_p_14.html)

Heath Coffee Mugs

Trains in Switzerland (including the great app!)

Hosu (chair)

Cutipl (silverware)

Emile Henry Flameware (Dutch Oven)

Mountain Collective Ski Pass

Black Diamond Hiking Poles

~~~
closed
What brewing method do you use the grinder for? I've been using a blade
grinder for French press, and the grind is so uneven that part of me feels
like it probably doesn't matter, but the other part feels like a barbarian.

~~~
wastedhours
Upgrade to a burr grinder would be the first step - this one from Krupps[0]
I've had for about 4 1/2 years, got as a present but can be had for under £40.
The increase in consistency is worth it.

[0] [http://www.krups.co.uk/coffee-grinder-
gvx231](http://www.krups.co.uk/coffee-grinder-gvx231)

~~~
closed
Thanks for the recommendation! I think I was looking at that exact grinder,
but was deterred by a review that said it obliterated everything to too fine a
grind for French press. I'll definitely have to pick one up.

~~~
wastedhours
No worries - I'll admit I'm not the best at-home coffee connoisseur, however,
this one has served me well for everything from fine espresso powder through
to "pretty much still whole beans", with the size dial.

One flag, bought one for my dad about 18 months ago, and whilst still
functional and holding its own, feels a little less well made.

~~~
jcousins
I received this exact model for Christmas to grind for french press coffee and
use it every day. Very happy with it so far.

------
lucideer
Automatic mechanical watches.

The idea that this tiny device is assembled entirely from macroscopic,
tangible, "grokkable", mechanical components, will run "forever" with no
direct conscious input of energy and tells you reasonably accurate time is
pretty unique.

Recent relevant HN thread
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13459616](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13459616)

~~~
jtth
I love mine too, but $600 service every 10 years can be a frustrating concept
for some.

------
apankrat
Aeron chair.

Aeropress.

EIZO monitors - [http://www.eizo.com](http://www.eizo.com)

uTorrent, the older versions.

Dead serious about uTorrent. One of the best designed and engineered pieces of
software ever. Everything you need, where you expect it to be, doing exactly
what it should be doing, and nothing more.

~~~
pcr0
Asking out of ignorance, what sets EIZO monitors apart from other monitors?

~~~
tech2
Built-in colour management is really quite well done. Corner-to-corner
evenness in illumination, true 10bit per colour. You pay for the privilege
though.

Beyond the features they're also very nicely built.

Really not cheap though (for the high end ones I'm talking about). For a _lot_
less money if you weren't bothered about perfection then one of the Dell
Ultrasharp displays would likely get you 95+% of the way there.

~~~
throwanem
Can confirm. Ultrasharps aren't the best displays I've ever seen, but they are
the best displays I've ever seen whose purchase doesn't feel like a serious
investment.

------
Xcelerate
Dyer and Jenkins black cotton T-shirts.

I wear jeans and a black T-shirt basically every day, but I noticed a lot of
the black T-shirts I purchased wore out quickly and started to fade right
away. So I Googled "best black T-shirts" one day and a Reddit thread led me to
Dyer and Jenkins. I've been wearing them for a year now and they have hardly
faded and look just about as good as when I first bought them.

Dyer and Jenkins often gives away half off coupons as well, so I normally wait
for one of those deals before I order a new set:
[https://www.dyerandjenkins.com/collections/tees/products/3-p...](https://www.dyerandjenkins.com/collections/tees/products/3-pack-
organic-cotton-tees-black)

~~~
nickreese
Thank you for this. Will check it out. Historically Zara in Spain (where it is
from) has the best quality plain v-neck shirts I've found for everyday wear.
They are orders of magnitude more durable than the ones in the US and they're
slimfit. I'll check these out as they may be a good alternative.

Edit: No v-necks, but will try either way.

------
hemisphere
The Kinesis Advantage contoured ergonomic keyboard. Once you've used it for a
few weeks, regular keyboards feel awkward and uncomfortable. They are pricy
and completely worth it.

~~~
nunez
Not for me. I've tried this (quite expensive) keyboard for two weeks. It was
awkward to use and really, really complicated.

The best non-mechanical keyboard I've used is a $20 Anker 84-key Wireless
keyboard. It's extremely comfortable, and extremely portable.

~~~
hkmurakami
That keyboard took me 3 months to use (to be fair I was also switching to
Dvorak). Luckily (?) this was while I was sidelined in a bike to car a
collision. I have struggled with RSI and it really changed my life. But I
agree it's not for everyone. For starters you definitely need large hands!

~~~
wishinghand
Do you think you can separate out which benefitted you more- the ergonomic
keyboard or a Dvorak layout?

------
hkmurakami
YKK zippers.

We never think twice about them and that's the proof of their genius.

~~~
paleite
Ever since I read an article about them posted on HN, I can never unsee them

~~~
h1d
I now regularly check for YKK symbols. Gets disappointed if one doesn't use
it.

------
sizzzzlerz
I'm going to go real old school and suggest the slide rule. While there is a
short learning curve, once you've mastered a few simple rules, using one is a
breeze and if you keep the slide lubricated and don't abuse it, it will
perform it's function reliably and accurately for decades. I have a Pickett,
it's now 40 years old but works like new, but just about any brand will offer
the same performance.

~~~
dredmorbius
How do you lubricate the slide? Metal or plastic?

~~~
sizzzzlerz
My ruler is metal and I use graphite to lubricate it. Just take a pencil and
run it along the slots and the slide. Lightly wipe it off and then reassemble
the pieces. Works great.

~~~
dredmorbius
Thanks.

------
interfixus
Electrolux Twin Clean vacuum cleaner. With a black labrador and several cats
in the house, bagless vacuuming is a must. I used to own a Dyson, but it
eventually died from old age, and a friend gave me an almost brand new
TwinClean, which for some reason they were disappointed with at his place. And
this thing beats the Dyson on every count that matters. It is far less noisy,
not scaring the life out of cats and dogs, and an absolute breeze to operate.
Everything snaps on and of with nice feel and reassuring clicks. And most
importantly, emptying is literally a matter of seconds, not a life and death
struggle as with the Dyson: You click off, you click open over a dustbin, you
click back on. Just a really well thought out machine.

Oh, and the Windows 95 interface, which everyone sincerely flattered with
imitation for so many years. I haven't used any later Windows versions, but my
Xfce desktop i still clearly modelled on the 95 design. I find the Mac-like
stuff nearly unusable, or at any rate endlessly frustrating, on the thankfully
rare occasions when I'm forced to interact with it.

~~~
ry_ry
Not the same brand vacuum, but we have more animals than strictly necessary,
and until I'd tried a Miele hover I didn't fully appreciate how terrible most
vacuum cleaners are.

------
leonroy
* Blendtec Blender - blew my first pay cheque on one nearly 10 years ago and it still looks and works good as new. Absolutely superb design and construction.

* AGA Oven - I don't own one, but my parents do and growing up this thing was just incredible. Still looks and works like new. I honestly have never used an oven which looks and cooks so damn good.

* Apple (Unibody) Macbook Pro - Despite my present feelings towards Apple right now _cough_ _Mac Pro_ _cough_. I can't really say enough good things about the unibody Macbooks - no other laptop surpasses it and it's been nearly 8 years since Apple's unibody construction was introduced.

* Devialet Phantom speaker - it's an engineering marvel - nothing like it.

* HP Proliant Servers - despite HP's awful website and support policies their Proliant range are the most well designed, well thought out servers I've ever used.

* And this garlic press - can't recommend it enough :) [http://www.kuhnrikonshop.com/product/epicurean-garlic-press](http://www.kuhnrikonshop.com/product/epicurean-garlic-press)

~~~
roryisok
I have to argue with the last one, I think this garlic press
[https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/oxo-good-
grip...](https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/oxo-good-grips-reg-
garlic-press/1010792223?categoryId=12084) is superior. When you're done with
this one, you rotate the handle all the way around and the rubber cleaner on
the back cleans the press.

I've used both, and mine is easier to clean.

You've hit on something though - it's amazing how many people out there suffer
with badly designed kitchen utensils. it's like a blindspot where you don't
realise that you could buy a much better vegetable peeler / potato masher /
garlic press that would _literally_ make your life easier every day, for the
price of a cinema ticket.

~~~
janfoeh
The IKEA 365 garlic press is simple, sturdy, clever and only seven bucks:
[http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20152158/?query=I...](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20152158/?query=IKEA+365%2B+V%C3%84RDEFULL+Garlic+press)

The receptacle swings open, making cleaning trivial.

~~~
roryisok
the problem with that one is that the garlic also gets up around the plunger,
and you have to clean that out too. more moving parts = more to clean

~~~
lobster_johnson
You want this, no moving parts: [https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-20037-Crusher-
Dishwasher-Stain...](https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-20037-Crusher-Dishwasher-
Stainless/dp/B01ATV4O2O)

(Explained here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13693661](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13693661))

------
navbaker
A maybe overly-broad category, but the style of ceramic coffee mugs that have
handles big enough to get all four fingers in. I don't realize how easy they
are to hold until I'm using a mug that only allows one or two fingers in the
handle.

~~~
repler
I believe you mean "bistro style" mugs and I emphatically agree.

~~~
leonroy
Seconded.

Anyone ever tried Mazama Mugs? (made in Oregon, US).

Saw one on the shelf at a local coffee shop for $42! Had to pick it up and see
what the fuss was about. I'm embarrassed to confess but I've never wanted a
piece of crockery so bad!
[http://shopmazama.com/collections/coffee](http://shopmazama.com/collections/coffee)

I didn't give in, but wow, are they beautifully made (and heavy).

~~~
repler
Whoa, thank you for the tip! Those do look very nice :D

------
jimmies
Software: Winamp. It is so simple and stupid and it works really well.

~~~
poisonarena
years and years, programs like itunes just kept adding more and more features
I never use and getting more and more bloated, winamp really kicks the llamas
ass

------
eappleby
I love my Fogless Shower Mirror:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BQ6QXK?ref_=ams_ad_dp_asin_1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BQ6QXK?ref_=ams_ad_dp_asin_1)

Most others use chemicals (I believe) to stop the fogging, which fades in
effectiveness over time. Had this one for 5 years and it works perfect! Wish
everything I owned just worked like this does.

~~~
iloveyouocean
I have also used this exact mirror for about five years. And I agree that its
great. And it will continue to be because the hot water inside will always be
the same temp as the hot water outside, and thus no fogging. That really can't
be improved on.

------
tdk
1\. Noodler's fountain pens.

These are 'Hacker-friendly' pens. With most pens the nib and feed are glued
in, but in the Noodlers pens they are push fit, so can be adjusted. You can
adjust the amount of flex and flow independently.

You can also take out the entire filling mechanism, and use the whole pen body
as a reservoir. Neat.

[http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/209380-noodler...](http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/209380-noodlers-
ahab-flex-adjustment-tips/)

2\. Vim

It was a bold design concept to use 'modes', but it makes it so much more
productive.

~~~
pkd
Re 1. Almost all fountain pens are "hacker friendly". I have a couple of pens
which are much more expensive than Noodler's and I have completely dismantled
and then reassembled them multiple times while cleaning. Unless you are using
some proprietary filling mechanism, both the nib, and feed are
interchangeable.

~~~
tdk
Most fountain pens have the nib and feed as one glued unit (confusingly,
informally called the 'nib'), so you can't adjust the flow. Compare the 'nibs'
at the top and bottom of this page. [https://www.gouletpens.com/replacement-
nibs/c/294](https://www.gouletpens.com/replacement-nibs/c/294) The ones at the
bottom can only be used in Noodlers pens.

The Noodler's also have the feed made of cutable ebonite instead of cheaper
plastic, so you can carve out a deeper ink channel if you want.

~~~
pkd
I have never used a fountain pen with a glued together nib and feed. The ones
on the top of the page aren't glued together, they are the screw on type.
These are generally found in hand-tuned pens (like the Edison Noveau) or
premium pens (like Pelikan MX00 series).

You can still adjust the flow of the nib without tampering with the feed by
just using a brass strip and running it through the slit in the nib (to
increase the flow). I have never wanted to decrease the flow of a nib unit.

What you are saying is true though. Ebonite feeds have their advantages, like
you can heat tune them as well to fit to a certain nib shape.

------
baby
How is this kettle exceptional? I have an electric kettle that boils water ten
times as fast (number made up, but it's really faster).

As someone who drinks a lot of hot water every day, I find this odd that
someone would recommend a non-electrical kettle.

~~~
armandososa
Out of curiosity: why do you drink hot water? Is it because of something
health related or just because?

~~~
baby
Spent a year in China and got used to it (they only serve hot water there in
restaurants and such, tap water is not drinkable).

It feels good, it tastes good as well (not many people believe me when I say
that), if your tap water tastes shitty it makes it good, if it's cold it warms
you up, can even help your digestion :]

In the end, it's kind of like tea, but with a different flavor.

------
JoshTriplett
ThinkPad keyboards, with built-in mouse on home row. I like the layout,
spacing, and short throw of the keys so much that I have a USB version for my
desk, attached to a docking station.

~~~
codebeaker
Can you tell me what it's called/where to get it? I tried googling and came up
short, but that sounds like something I've wished existed since I first used a
thinkpad.

~~~
JoshTriplett
Lenovo's accessories section. You want the USB model, _not_ the Bluetooth
model.

[http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPo...](http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?hide_menu_area=true&GroupID=460&Code=0B47190)

(I wish they still had the classic version, but the current version still
beats any other keyboard out there, for my taste.)

~~~
rosbrith
Thanks for bringing this to my attention! I recently powered on my ancient
Thinkpad X20 for the first time in many years and was surprised just how much
I felt at home typing on its keyboard.

------
SwellJoe
Zojirushi fuzzy logic rice cooker. I've owned it for more than a decade and
made maybe hundreds of pounds of rice. Always perfect.

Cast iron skillet. Lodge makes cheap, very high quality, pans that just work,
forever (there are many brands, several are great).

~~~
baby
Counter argument: there is no point putting money in a rice cooker. Get the
cheapest and smallest one (unless you're cooking rice for 6+ people) and you
will get exactly the same result. The only annoying thing with these cheaper
rice cooker is that you need to unplug them when done, but I bought a switch
to sit between the socket and the plug and it works fine :)

~~~
acheron
Disagree completely. Used to have a cheap rice cooker and it sucked. Getting
the Zojirushi literally changed how we eat -- we used to rarely have rice, but
the Zojirushi makes it so much easier to cook and impossible to mess up, so
rice became a staple dinner feature.

~~~
baby
I don't know how you're managing to do that then. I use this one:
[https://www.amazon.com/Aroma-Housewares-ARC-914SBD-Cool-
Touc...](https://www.amazon.com/Aroma-Housewares-ARC-914SBD-Cool-Touch-
Stainless/dp/B007WQ9YNO/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1487610851&sr=1-3&keywords=rice+cooker)

and make perfect rice every time.

How did your cheap rice cooker sucked? Maybe you bought a "bad" cheap rice
cooker :) I've had 5 different rice cookers so far, all different brands
(moving countries...) and they never failed. It's a simple product really,
people who try to sell you something expensive are mostly selling you fluff.

~~~
h1d
Have you used any of the better ones in the last 5 years?

~~~
baby
Yep, sometimes family members have the latest rice cooker (yup I'm asian) but
I'm convinced that I make better rice with my shitty rice cooker.

It's really just about washing the rice (not too much), how much water you
pour in (not too much), and how long you let it sit while not touching it when
it's cooking.

(Oh and, I used to live in China, ate rice everyday in all kind of
restaurants. I know what is good rice.)

------
nodesocket
My Altec Lansing ACS48 computer speakers. I paid $299 for them in 1999 and to
this day they still work flawlessly and beat most every other computer
speaker. Audiophiles swear by them, and still buy them in bulk when they can
find them.

Here's the Amazon reviews: [https://www.amazon.com/Altec-Lansing-
ACS48-Computer-Speakers...](https://www.amazon.com/Altec-Lansing-
ACS48-Computer-Speakers/product-reviews/B00000JBJF)

~~~
blakes
Ah!

The other day I was trying to remember the brand of computer speakers that I
had from the 90's that were so, so, so solid. Great sound (for computer
speakers), and extremely robust. Dropped off the desk all the time and never
had a problem.

Now to eBay to see if I can't find them.

~~~
ethbro
My parents are still (about four computers later?) using the Gateway speakers
that came with our 386 system. Built like a brick, internal amp, sound decent
enough.

[https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDE4WDUyMA==/z/ad8AAOSwbYZXVA67/$...](https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDE4WDUyMA==/z/ad8AAOSwbYZXVA67/$_86.JPG)

~~~
poink
Gateway used to ship some pretty righteous hardware. The computer my parents
bought back in the early 90's, for example, came with this keyboard:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_AnyKey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_AnyKey)

------
zeptomu
Moka pots.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot)

It is simple and just works.

~~~
angry-hacker
What if you have a gas stove? :)

But I agree, it's a good product and design. Never read wiki, I always thought
it comes from Spain, not Italy.

~~~
cr1895
It was invented in the 1930s. Did electric stoves even exist then?

~~~
dredmorbius
They were just starting to become mainstream (though still outnumbered by gas)
at the time. The first electric stoves date to the 1880s, and hotplate burners
(about the simplest electrical device you can imagine) were likely more common
from early days.

[http://inventors.about.com/od/ofamousinventions/a/oven.htm](http://inventors.about.com/od/ofamousinventions/a/oven.htm)

------
lb1lf
Good question; it caused me to go through the house, looking at lots of
objects trying to figure out which one(s) were exceptional, in my book.

Here's my top list:

The Optimus 00 kerosene stove. Hardly a thing has changed in over a century of
production. Utterly unbreakable, not a single superfluous component or
feature. Just plain works.

Moccamaster drip brewer. Probably the drip brewer to beat. The product is
eminently drinkable, it is a reliable and consistent performer, not much that
can go wrong except breaking the beaker (no worries, a new one is $20 a five-
minute walk from home) - and they even sell spare parts - any component; mine
is 28 years old and still going strong, having had its thermostat replaced
once.

BRIO toy trains. (Tie with LEGO) - unbreakable, and their long-term commitment
to compatibility is fantastic; I can buy BRIO odds and ends in the toy shop
today which interfaces perfectly with stuff my parents bought for me when I
was a kid. Same goes, to a slightly lesser extent, for LEGO.

------
cJ0th
* that classic Casio watch

Personally, I really like its look. Furthermore, its cheap and the battery
lasts forever.

* Motorola Razr V3i

It just looks awesome! Unfortunately, the great design doesn't extend to its
software. :(

* Roland JV-1080

This one is first and foremost interesting for its engineering achievement. It
offers musicians hundreds of great, sampled sounds which are stored on a 8 MB
ROM! They make up for the limited amount of material by skillfully layering
samples and the application of DSP algorithms.

------
kalleboo
* Chopsticks. One-handed eating is just convenient.

* Palm Vx. At the time this thing has fantastic functionality (all that freeware!), the OS had great charm, and I still think it looks really handsome.

* Sony Ericsson w580. One of the last really small cell phones before huge screens took over. And the slide mechanism was really satisfying - the ultimate fidget

~~~
zakk
Regarding chopsticks and one-handed eating: you could do the same with a fork,
as long as the food is already cut in small bites, like Asian food usually is.

On the other hand you cannot eat a steak with one hand, neither with
chopsticks nor with a fork.

I think that the good design is in the food, rather than in the chopsticks.

~~~
teknologist
It IS possible to eat a steak with either of those in one hand. Using a
controversial method called the stab and bite.

~~~
falsedan
Also available: the grip and rip.

~~~
h1d
Could end up using no hands at all.

------
grandalf
\- My cast iron skillet. It's indestructible and once I learned to season it
and cook with it, I prefer it over any other.

\- 15" Macbook Pro w/ Retina display, iPhone 7

\- BNC connectors

\- The Xtrend Professional Rabbit Wine Opener. (Super cheap on Amazon and it
has an incredibly well-designed mechanism)

\- The Mezlan Cordoba men's shoe -- high quality, no break-in needed, durable,
fashionable.

\- Crocs -- indestructible, comfy.

\- Joybird furniture (good prices, high quality)

\- Liberté yogurt. Incredible texture.

\- The Uber app (I think that amid the weird culture at least one person there
really understands mobile UX)

\- HN -- the only place where I look forward to reading the comments more than
the articles.

~~~
weavie
> \- Crocs -- indestructible, comfy.

Why these are so berated really dumbfounds me. I love my crocs. So easy to
slip on, comfy. Good for all seasons, summer without socks, winter with socks.
And (imho) they look awesome too.

~~~
kimusan
..because they are really bad for your feet and most of them are ugly as hell?

~~~
grandalf
At least you qualified that statement with most. Are they bad for the feet? I
think they are similar to just being barefoot, and because they are so easy to
slip off, I end up barefoot more often than otherwise.

------
Jaruzel
Logitech MX510 and MX518 Mice:

[https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Performance-Optical-
Gaming-M...](https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Performance-Optical-Gaming-
Mouse/dp/B0001YGIB0)

For some reason, these mice are awesome for me. Neither are made any more, and
I will cry when mine finally die.

~~~
jon-wood
Couldn't agree more. I thought I'd lost my MX510 in a move and then recently
found it being used by someone at work. I almost immediately claimed it back,
only waiting long enough to find them a replacement mouse!

------
rdtsc
* Lenovo T60 laptop: It wasn't pretty, but it was sturdy and well designed. Good resolution for the times. Good aspect ratio. Very nice keyboard. Trackpoint. Serviceable easily - replaced fan, hard drives, added memory. Eventually just got too slow for the stuff I was doing.

* Bentology metal fork and spoon. I got a full lunch bento box set. But never liked it much. However really like the silverware. Just the right weight, size, and balance. I just went to check if I can get more, and they are out stock apparently)

* Moab Merrell hiking shoes. Really good all-around shoes. Light, sturdy, comfortable. Good ankle support.

* Nissan stainless steel thermos. Just very sturdy. I like the cap design. Doesn't leak. I got another one after 4-5 years of a different size, so now have both.

~~~
hkmurakami
Similarly IBM x23 thinkpad. A foldout sliding keyboard that actually works and
feels great? I want to go back to those days.

------
Dowwie
MSR WhisperLite International Backpacking Stove. It supports a wide variety of
liquid fuel. With this stove, I don't have to buy vendor-specific gas
canisters. White gas works great with it. The stove folds down to a compact
form. It is easy to use.

[https://www.rei.com/product/830341/msr-whisperlite-
internati...](https://www.rei.com/product/830341/msr-whisperlite-
international-backpacking-stove)

~~~
TheGrassyKnoll
Used one for years; still have it. It does boil water fast. It also used to
produce quite a bit of black soot in whispy sheets (containing some carbon
nanotubes ?). Maybe it needed a 'tuneup'.

~~~
Dowwie
contact MSR.. they're customer service oriented and no doubt will take care of
you

------
im_ok_at_coding
Satori Reader ([https://satorireader.com/](https://satorireader.com/)) A tool
to help Japanese Learners by providing Japanese articles that let you
automatically look up words, phrases, and consolidate them into a review card
list in order review at a later date.

This comes from a developer of some apps that already exists for mobile
devices called "Human Japanese" and "Human Japanese Intermediate".

I've been learning Japanese for a year and a half now, and this site is hands
down the most enjoyable experience I have ever had the opportunity to use. It
provides audio with the articles, provides look ups for words in line, it
allows you to add words seamlessly to your review list, it is suuuppper
awesome on my mobile device (my primary review tool),and it is just amazing.
Even better is the review cards are done within context instead of being the
words by themselves, and it goes out of its way to provide many different
types of articles.

I absolutely love this site.

My only regret about it is that I'm not using it enough, and that's just
because I'm not being diligent enough with my team.

It is seriously such a wonderful experience.

------
dbg31415
Callout to The Wirecutter for doing a great job of reviewing products.

* The Wirecutter || [http://thewirecutter.com/](http://thewirecutter.com/)

------
spade
Zojirushi SM-SA48-BA Stainless Steel Mug, Black
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYOGTTG](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYOGTTG)
-easy to clean -great ergonomics -best heat/cold retention vs. other products

~~~
masklinn
Color irrelevant (up to personal preferences) and specific model w/e, but that
aside… good god these mugs really are fantastic:

* they just look plain good, no unnecessary _flourishes_ and the few "unnecessary" features (the locking lid) turn out to be pretty much necessary in the end

* the opening mechanism is just perfect, it has great feedback, is hard to misuse, it's extremely well designed on its own, the double-action opening is just gorgeous

* the entire assembly trivially comes apart for inspection and cleaning

* the heat retention is so good it's a bit too good, filling with fresh coffee early morning and scalding your tongue all the way to mid-afternoon is a bit extreme

------
pmarreck
It's a bit on the expensive side but this toaster is possibly the last one you
will ever buy:

[https://smile.amazon.com/Breville-BTA830XL-Die-
Cast-4-Slice-...](https://smile.amazon.com/Breville-BTA830XL-Die-Cast-4-Slice-
Toaster/dp/B00AZY3TFE/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1487639049&sr=1-2)

I mean... it has a button called "A Bit More" and another one called "Lift And
Look", which do exactly what you think they would. It's fucking fantastic.

Honorable mentions:

Eddie Bauer Boxer Briefs, the most comfortable underwear a man could get,
while still looking sexy. (Seems they don't sell them currently? Too bad, they
make up 100% of my underwear.)

And this windproof USB-rechargeable flameless arc lighter:
[https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DEVKI4Y/ref=oh_aui_se...](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DEVKI4Y/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

~~~
rdnetto
I have the same toaster and it is awesome. My favourite feature is that its
Frozen button works perfectly, which is great if you don't have bread that
often.

------
tradersam
My jet black iPhone 7. A bit of a cop-out answer, but I'll be damned if it
isn't the best looking, most comfortable (I use it without a case, and enjoy
it), and best overall designed thing I own.

~~~
gjstein
I _almost_ completely agree with this. The camera is fantastic, but if it
didn't stick out from the bottom (or if there were something to balance it on
the other side) the iPhone 7 would be the perfect product. I don't like that
it doesn't lay flat, and I can't fathom why the iPad Pro's were made in the
same way.

~~~
ClassyJacket
And considering battery life is nowhere near a consistent full day, to the
extent that people are _regularly_ using portable batteries, there's no excuse
for making it so thin the camera has to protrude.

~~~
tradersam
My job prevents me from using my phone at my desk for PCI compliance reasons,
so the battery regularly lasts 2 days for me. I even play 3D games at lunch
(ex: X-Plane) and it holds up fine.

------
cpt1138
The Reddit app on IOS. Something has always bothered me about most of the apps
on IOS but I couldn't put my finger on it until I started using the reddit
app. The UX is so good that it makes everything else feel awkward. I think
that everything else was actually awkward and that's what I didn't like.

Cutco knives. All my life I've known what makes a good knife and that you
should pay a lot. I think this is fine in the rare case that you have some
someone to sharpen and hone them for you every day. Since getting Cutco knives
I've come to realize that no other knives are for regular home use where you
never have the time or skill to properly care for "other" knives.

Fixed gear bikes. I ride bikes a lot and when I finally got a fixie it was
like that was finally the bike that felt like an extension of myself. I
watched some videos about how cassettes work and understand the effect of
being directly connected is what I'm feeling.

~~~
macd
I dunno about the cutco thing. You could get a really nice chefs knife, paring
knife, bread knife, boning knife, honing steel + a set of 5 steak knives + the
best electric sharpener for less than the price of their small set ($682). I
would say most people never bother to send in their knives for sharpening (or
know/care that they're not sharp anymore), plus shipping knives is a pain and
you are out those knives while they're being sharpened.

Plus the "guilt trip your neighbors/friends/parent's coworkers into a sale"
strategy doesn't really sit well with me.

~~~
cpt1138
That's exactly what I mean. I've spent hundreds of dollars on "great" knives
that I never bothered to send in for sharpening that I never use. The ones
that I STILL DO NOT send in for sharpening and remain ultra sharp are the ones
I use constantly.

------
baby
Bamboo steamers. First one I found: [https://www.amazon.com/2017-Reusable-
Chopsticks-Perforated-S...](https://www.amazon.com/2017-Reusable-Chopsticks-
Perforated-
Silicone/dp/B01H6LJ35I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487598376&sr=8-1&keywords=steam+bamboo+cook)

They usually are dirt cheap, and allow you to steam any kind of food. It's
healthy, it's tasty, it's easy, it's fast, ... Just drop whatever in it and
wait 15 minutes and that's it.

------
armandososa
My iPod video. I honestly think that the click wheel has to be one of the best
designed user interface in the history of the world. It was actually
delightful to use, from the texture in the material, the friction and the
satisfying click. For all the interactivity touch screens unlocked, I think we
lost something when the click wheel went away.

------
dbg31415
Antec computer cases. They're high quality, easily accessible, and promote
good air flow.

And they're fairly cheap, all things considered (picked up this model for
about $45 on sale at Fry's last time I built a computer).

* Amazon.com: Antec Three Hundred Two Gaming Case, Black: Computers & Accessories || [https://www.amazon.com/Antec-Three-Hundred-Two-Gaming/dp/B00...](https://www.amazon.com/Antec-Three-Hundred-Two-Gaming/dp/B006TVQTHW)

------
poyu
Power Mac G5. If you ever open that thing, you'll know it's really taking
computer making to the next level!

It's meant to be tool-less all the way, you can change almost everything (RAM,
CPU, HDD) using at most one or two screwdrivers. And the way the hinges and
interlocks work together is amazing. Not to mention its build quality.

------
throwanem
My grandfather's [1] Nikkormat FTn [2], which is more or less a consumer
version of the Nikon F [3]. It's equipped with roughly the same features, but
implemented somewhat differently - for example, shutter speed is adjusted via
a ring on the lens mount, instead of a knob on the top. It's by far the
simplest SLR I've ever used, and in some ways also the most capable - you do
still need to know how focus and exposure work, but once you have those basics
under your belt, the camera gets right out of your way so you can take the
pictures you want to take. It's also built like a tank - the kind of thing
where, if you drop it on your foot, it probably won't break, but your toes
might. And, like any handheld machine engineered to tight tolerances, it's
just a pleasure to use.

That camera's served three generations of my family very well; my grandfather
and father each used it for years, and I learned the basics of photography
with it. It's honorably retired now, but if I ever start to shoot film again,
that's the camera I'll use to do it. And if I don't, I'll still have benefited
massively from having used it, because the Nikon D5300 I now use (and used to
take [1], a few minutes ago) can still take any glass with an F mount - which
not only means that I can still use Grandpa's and Dad's old glass, but that if
I want, say, a 500mm tele, which I do because the moon is far away and hawks
take it amiss when you approach to improve your shot, I can spend $100 on a
manual lens that I already know how to use, instead of spending $10,000 or
more on one that supports automatic focus and aperture.

[1] [https://u.sicp.me/gZn97.jpg](https://u.sicp.me/gZn97.jpg)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikkormat#Nikkormat_FTn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikkormat#Nikkormat_FTn)

[3]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_F](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_F)

------
joe563323
pencil, paper and eraser

dell keyboard Model number: SK-8115 (felt like machine gun for the first time)
[http://dellparts.us/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2...](http://dellparts.us/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_4&products_id=16&zenid=7f4e3d44cf8fac479387d1040f5ef1f3)

org-mode

emacs macros

git

Qt c++ framework

unix pipes

matlab

npm install --save # dont have to edit the package.json, awesome

tmux

pm2 # npm package to make the node app as service. Just mindblowing.

ssh-copy-id user@ip # no need to type password always for ssh session

~~~
nailer
You can use a .service file - about 10 lines in ini-ish format - to make node
run as a service on most Linux distros

~~~
joe563323
those 10 lines keep changing b/w different linux distros and thats the problem
pm2 solves elegantaly.

~~~
nailer
Hrm, have been using the same .service file from 2014 to 2017 here and moved
from CentOS to Ubuntu and haven't had to change much if anything. Installing a
separate app that repeats a lot of the work of the OS seems like overkill.

~~~
joe563323
I understand that the change must have been simple. The problem with this kind
of one time per application task is the developers often forget about how the
script worked since it is not being revisited once it got working. So while
porting one is forced to understand the whole script(i.e the conventions of
systemd, initV or upstart e.t.c) which is not much work, but compared to the
third party tool like "pm2 <generate_script_whatever>" it is atleast 10 times
the work.

~~~
nailer
> I understand that the change must have been simple

I'm not even sure the change was required _at all_. Actually checking it with
'git blame' the only thing modified was a WorkingDirectory, which didn't
change between versions, just wasn't set the first time around.

> compared to the third party tool like "pm2 <generate_script_whatever>" it is
> atleast 10 times the work.

Installing and running a second service management layer isn't 10x easier than
just using your OS.

------
CodeWriter23
I love a good Estwing hammer. Both the newer rubber handle or the old school
handle made from ovals of leather. The simple single piece forging never
breaks like hammers with wooden or fiberglass handles.

~~~
jat850
Estwing absolutely makes the best hammers. Had the same one since I was 12.

------
gravlaks
Norton Commander back in the DOS days. It was soo fast to use. Which is why I
use Total Commander today.

~~~
bambax
I miss Norton Commander!

~~~
cJ0th
Have you already checked out Midnight Commander?
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Commander](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Commander)

------
rayalez
SideFX Houdini (a tool for 3D VFX and animation) is by far the most brilliant
software I have ever used, it is like Emacs of computer graphics. It is
designed as a system of nodes that gives you a visual interface for visually
"programming" 3D scenes and shaders.

It is incredibly well thought out, and every time I learn something new about
it - it blows my mind how elegantly and beautifully it is implemented.

~~~
Buttons840
It is commercial software, right? What's the closest open source alternative?
(Not that I'm opposed to commercial software, but as a hobbiest I don't want
to deal with it.)

~~~
rayalez
It has a free version with almost complete functionality, it's definitely
usable for learning or as a hobby.

I don't know about any open source alternatives. The closest thing I can think
of is Nuke, also commercial, which is a compositing software built around the
same principle, and also really well designed.

I've heard that Unreal Engine has some sort of a node-based system, but I'm
not a game developer, so I haven't used it and don't know how it compares.

Also Blender has a node editor, and I think it's the closest open source thing
to Houdini, but it's not the same thing, and is nowhere near as good, so I
would not call them similar.

~~~
jkneale
Blender has a few addons that can nearly emulate the procedurality of Houdini.

One is 'sverchok', the other which may soon become part of Blender core is
'Animation Nodes.' Jimmy Gunawan of Blendersushi goes into fantastic detail
about these two on his youtube channel if you're interested.

Oh and the best designed item I own? Swiss Tech Utilikey. A key shaped
multitool with such a satisfying opening action. I use mine every day.

Others. \- the scissors on the tiny swiss army knife. BEST nail scissors ever.

\- Freeplane . Mind mapping software that I find new uses for on every
project. So many export options too.

------
Kluny
86 Tercel station wagon. Most comfortable seats ever. Every position works.
The wiper and blinker controls are nice and clicky. All the adjustment
controls are clicky and located exactly where you expect them to be when you
reach blindly. The A and B pillars don't block your vision. There's a little
spot between the e-brake lever and the seat that's the right size for a can of
pop (handy because there's no cup holders). The trim is impeccable. After 30
years of driving, the weatherstripping doesn't peel off, the handles and
latches aren't broken, the upholstery hasn't faded. It was amazing in the snow
even the 2WD version. I could go on... I loved that little car.

------
iansowinski
\- Hoodie. Really. For me it's the best type of top clothes.

\- Raspberry Pi. You can do everything with this guy.

\- My girlfriend's Mitsubishi colt Z30. It has great system of adjusting
backseats (you can move it back and forward, so that either trunk or cabin
have more space). It has also roof quite high (and I'm tall so that's
important for me in small cars)

\- KitchenAid mixer classic. It's just rock-solid.

\- Karrimor X-Lite X2t. This guy is maybe a little one, but it's drying in
miliseconds, has great setting-up system and is light as a feather. Although
it's quite tight for 2 persons, it's the best small tent I've ever used.

\- Ricoh GRD IV. The best camera I've ever used.

\- HackerNews. Obviously.

~~~
kimusan
I have killed several Kitchen aid mixers over the last few year in normal
usage. The quality has been declining since the day it got re-introduced to
the marked and these days it is pretty much useless for real kitchen work. The
professional version is a bit better though.

------
sprobertson
The mid-2014 MacBook Pro. I fear that one day I will have to upgrade to a
poorly reviewed newer model, or change my system entirely.

~~~
Veen
Unless you really need a lot of processing power or ram, the backlash against
the new MacBooks is overblown. I was hesitant to get one, but I've been very
happy with it. The screen is incredible,the keyboard is excellent, and it's by
no means a slow computer for most tasks. The touchbar is a wash as far as I'm
concerned, it doesn't add much, but it doesn't hurt much either.

~~~
spilk
the most painful design loss on the new MBPs is the lack of MagSafe.

When that came out it was just so obvious that it was the best way to do it,
but now it is gone.

~~~
Veen
I do miss the MagSafe from my old Air, but I like being able to power the Pro
from either side. It means the cable isn't put under tension or draped across
my knee when I'm using it on my lap and the outlet is inconveniently placed.

------
thecupisblue
Nexus 5. Marvelous beauty of a phone. Red panda is especially beautiful.
Screen size was just about right at the time, the way the screen blent into
the bezels was amazing, the ergonomics were awesome.

~~~
verbify
I found the Nexus 5 (not the 5x) had poor build quality - it was plasticy, and
mine fell to pieces after 18 months - the battery started to run out early,
then the microphone, and eventually it just stopped working at all.

It had a nice interface, but I moved to the HTC One (installed GPE on it), got
a rock solid case and after 14 months it feels like it hasn't aged a day.

------
gbog
Chopsticks. It is tricky to master but once you get it, you have an agility
with your hands that cannot be matched even with bare fingers. I often use
chopstick for gardening, for repairing things, and plenty of other. Also, it
is very easy to find two ok sticks when picknic if you forgot your stuff.

~~~
aliencat
lol!

------
vinchuco
The Curta handheld mechanical calculator
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13120233](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13120233)

~~~
Baeocystin
I'm not much of a collector, but I have always wanted one of those. Beautiful
design.

~~~
prezjordan
FWIW if you're not collector you can find some with a repaired handle for
cheap! They'll pop up on eBay every once in a while.

~~~
Baeocystin
Thanks for the heads up! I had not realized that the handle was a common point
of failure, and such a thing (if properly repaired ) wouldn't bother me in the
least.

Any recommendations on what particular sub-model to keep an eye out for?

------
MooMooMilkParty
Masakage knives: [http://masakageknives.com/](http://masakageknives.com/)

There are many other makers of kitchen knives that are comparable to Masakage
knives, but if someone who was serious about cooking asked me for a single
recommendation of which knife brand they should buy into this would probably
be my response. Their knives are reasonably priced, feature beautiful
aesthetics, have personality, and perform as well as anyone could reasonably
need.

~~~
wastedhours
On kitchen knives, these are the collection I started with:
[https://www.robertwelch.com/kitchen/kitchen_knives/signature...](https://www.robertwelch.com/kitchen/kitchen_knives/signature_knives)

Perhaps not the best, but from a design standpoint and the exquisite feeling
using them, their blades are perfect for what I use, and their handles are
sublime. I went into the shop to spend a huge whack on a set of Globals, but
they just felt off. These were perfect.

~~~
Chestofdraw
+1 for Robert Welch knives, have a few myself. My friend, who's a CDP at a
double starred place, said they were comparable to his Globals when he tried
them out too.

------
mturmon
Sawstop Professional Cabinet Saw. Solid, smooth running, all adjustments well
thought out.

My late 90s Honda Civic. Simple and reliable. Nothing is more fancy or complex
than it has to be.

Aeropress. Simple, makes great coffee, promotes a ritual.

The HP-41C. Just enough programming to be useful. RPN. Great keyboard feel.

------
JustSomeNobody
Commodore 64.

May just be a bit of nostalgia speaking, but the things that little machine
could be made to do... wow.

~~~
BuckRogers
I don't believe that is just nostalgia. I think the Commodore was the greatest
home computer ever made.[0]

[0][https://twitter.com/ivansafrin/status/795448709572083712](https://twitter.com/ivansafrin/status/795448709572083712)

------
tomcam
U.S. Constitution

Eiffel Tower

Bosendorfer 214CS piano

1986 Fender Performer guitar

1959 Fender Stratocaster

Yamaha YBL 321 trombone

Yamaha Q series alto sax

Any Zojirushi rice cooker

Vitamix

Sony SRF-M37w radio

Golden Gate Bridge (walk it)

Any Porsche 911

Toyota Sienna minivan

Any MacBook Air

Duluth Trading Longtail T shirts

web2py

C89

Visual Basic 3.0

Turbo Pascal 3.0

Visual Pascal

Vim

Eggs, bananas, bell peppers, cocoanuts, water

Fender Precision bass

Motorola StarTac

HN

Almost anything Frank Lloyd Wright

~~~
bigiain
A little surprised not to see a Shure SM28 or 57 microphone near the items at
the top of that list...

And if you're gonna have the GG Bridge, can I propose the 747as well. They're
still building them now, almost 50 years later - the first one rolled out of
the factory in '68 (first test flight wasn't till '69)

~~~
antubbs
The 747 is certainly iconic, but I hate to be the one to tell you that 747
production may be coming to an end as the industry has zero interest in
inefficient four-engine jets.

Basically no interest in the passenger or freighter model at this stage (the
newest series, the -8I/-8F, has attracted barely over 100 deliveries). Same
story for the A380, whose orders basically stopped in 2014. Freight and
passenger service are both moving to more efficient twin-engine wide-bodies.

~~~
i336_
Interesting!

Can you give some specific examples of "more efficient twin-engine wide-
bodies"? I'm very interested in the aviation industry, but terribly ignorant
of it.

------
traek
Pentel Graph Gear 1000: [https://www.jetpens.com/Pentel-Graph-
Gear-1000-Drafting-Penc...](https://www.jetpens.com/Pentel-Graph-
Gear-1000-Drafting-Pencil-0.5-mm/pd/639)

Best mechanical pencil I've ever used. You can tell a lot of thought has been
put into every aspect of its design. The Rotring 800 is similarly well-
designed, but I prefer the grip of the Pentel.

~~~
quanticle
How do you transport drafting pencils? I have a couple of Rotring 600s. They
are very nice, but I basically can't take them out of the house because I'm
worried about bending the lead sleeves.

~~~
nsenifty
The Pentels have retractable tips unlike the Rotring 600.

------
huffmsa
Zippo Lighters.

Easy to use (no button to hold down, just spin the wheel), easy to do
maintenance, will light unless you got it really really wet or forgot to
refill it.

~~~
enobrev
> will light

I'm suddenly reminded of the Zippo scene from Four Rooms.

I don't smoke cigarettes anymore, but I did for many years. I'd lost my old
Zippo and bought myself a new one (straight from the company) about a decade
ago. After daily-use, then sitting in a box for three years, and now using it
a few times a year while camping, it works perfectly and looks practically
new.

------
VLM
My steel backplate original IBM Model M keyboard in use continuously from when
it was new until today. I can't figure out any way to improve it.

Logitech trackman wheel from a decade or two ago, perfect to have a desk with
3 or 4 machines on. Must have thousands of hours of FPS and minecraft on it,
feels new, feels perfect.

The original Radio Shack wire wrapping tool, you could pay up to 100x more for
something less reliable or slower or harder to use but I built entire 8-bit
microcomputers with mine. The wire stripper which is perfect for 30 gauge wire
wrap wire stores inside the tool. You could pay more for something faster but
less reliable or whatever bad engineering tradeoff, but somehow this cheap
tool had the perfect engineering tradeoffs.

The hyper orthogonal PDP-11 assembly language instruction set. Essentially you
wrote C in assembly. That and the 6809/68hc11 general family are the only two
architectures I ever miss programming in assembly, everything else is
perfectly doable but a chore.

I grew up with a surplus Tektronix 531 oscope, the kind with pluggable
chassis. There's just something about tools designed by engineers specifically
for engineers where everything just feels perfect and everything just worked.
If it weren't for weighing a hundred pounds and drawing half a kilowatt every
oscope would be a Tektronix 531.

Somehow I did electronics for over 30 years before buying a top of the line
digital Hakko soldering station. I was so dumb, I should have invested in
something of that quality level decades ago. Its perfectly repeatably capable
of anything; after some flux cleaning I've had people ask if I own a wave
soldering machine given a couple hundred perfect and identical joints on a
board. Its weightless in my hand, perfect heating, ESD proof, and a joy to
use. It cannot be improved.

~~~
jedimastert
What would be a good book or article for getting into making electronics with
wire wrapping?

~~~
VLM
I'm not sure it would be viable. You need sharp edged sockets because the wire
cold welds to the socket pin and if you unravel you can feel it pop loose from
the corners. "Gas tight connection" as they called it. You can wrap round
analog component pins but it doesn't stick as well. So you're mostly limited
to digital DIP components in sockets. Given that limitation it worked very
well back when "The TTL cookbook" from the late 70s was mostly contemporary.

Counter intuitively people assume short neat wiring is lower capacitance
therefore better, actually complete rats nest has lower capacitance and lower
coupling. You aren't going to be running much above maybe 20 MHz but that was
OK in the days when a 2 MHz nmos Z80 was "pretty fast".

Everyone does something dumb once like wrap an entire 8-bit microprocessor
system using the same wiring color, but back then it was easy to get multiple
colors and do your data bus in green and address bus in red or whatever.

Another anecdote back in the old, old days original "TTL", no series like LS
or HC, was kinda power hungry and 30 gauge wire is not thick and people would
daisy chain from power pin to power pin and 20 hungry chips later be perturbed
that 5 volts comes in but there's only 4 volts at the power pins of the last
chip. Lots of people hand soldered larger gauge wire for power and ground
along with hand soldering on decoupling capacitors.

Another anecdote from the ancient days WRT cross coupling and interference the
electrical noise a circuit generates is almost solely proportional to risetime
/ falltime of gate which depends on gate family not clock speed. So a 10 MHz
plain TTL board was much more electrically quiet than a 0.89 MHz "quarter
colorburst crystal" circuit made with "F" family chips, this is very counter
intuitive to many people.

What a color burst crystal is, and why they were so cheap until the 00s or so,
is beyond the scope of this post LOL.

Nothing forces people to learn RF/analog electronics as well as trying to do
fast digital electronics.

------
rkangel
Google Chromecast

Takes a quite complicated set of things going on (control signals from phone,
data signals from internet), and turns them into a seamless intuitive
experience.

I find the initial setup process particularly excellent. Getting a device with
no user input onto a wifi network would normally be a nightmare, but the magic
they do with setting up a temporary access point on the device is excellent.

~~~
baby
I find myself never using them other than to watch youtube. What do people use
it for?

Why can't I buy something to just stream my screen? Like the steam link but
for everything. Not just steam.

~~~
patrickk
You can drag and drop a local file into a Chrome tab and play it on
Chromecast. You can basically stream anything in a Chrome tab, e.g. open an
online stream on your laptop and stream it to the Chromecast in full screen,
useful for e.g. sports streaming websites or national broadcasters. Useful
when you're lazy and don't want to hook up a long HDMI cable to your laptop.

~~~
Pr3fix
What is the frame rate like when you do this, though? A buddy had an original
run Chromecast and I remember being excited about that feature back in the
day, but the framerate for tab streaming was so inconsistent it wasn't
watchable.

~~~
patrickk
You wont get Blu Ray quality for sure, but for "normal" online streams the
frame rate has been perfectly watchable for me.

------
bch
The pouring end of a stainless Bialetti stovetop espresso pot[0]. Beautiful,
precise, never a drip. Amazing.

[0]
[http://www.thehomestoreauckland.co.nz/images/_db/MwA1ADkAMAA...](http://www.thehomestoreauckland.co.nz/images/_db/MwA1ADkAMAA4AA==/800x600/q80/Bialetti%20Stovetop%20Espresso%20kitty.jpg)

------
h1d
Happy hacking keyboard professional.

Typing feel is exceptional and it's in a small form, so every key is within
your reach. (Doesn't mean the keys are small.) Especially great for vim mode
typing. You can even easily carry it with you.

Being using it for nearly 10 years and not failing. Highly recommended.

[http://www.pfu.fujitsu.com/hhkeyboard/lineup/images/thumb_pd...](http://www.pfu.fujitsu.com/hhkeyboard/lineup/images/thumb_pdkb400b_l.jpg)

There's also a one without a print for serious typers which I use.

[http://www.pfu.fujitsu.com/hhkeyboard/lineup/images/thumb_pd...](http://www.pfu.fujitsu.com/hhkeyboard/lineup/images/thumb_pdkb400bn_l.jpg)

(Lite version is a completely different thing, I don't consider it worth
buying.)

[https://www.google.com/search?q=happy+hacking+keyboard+profe...](https://www.google.com/search?q=happy+hacking+keyboard+professional)

~~~
johnwheeler
I ctrl-f on this page looking for HHKB. I've got both the Type-S and the
regular and went for the carrying case. These keyboards are two of my favorite
things.

------
bhollan
When I was an electrician aboard a volunteer ship, I bought some Swedish work
pants that saved me SO much walking. It was like wearing a tool belt all the
time, but WAY more comfortable. I could carry tools, supplies, a notebook,
cell phone, everything. It was amazing.

I also had a knife I used for work and the pants had a special pocket at your
knee especially for your knife. It was so perfect because it was always
available. I could be ankles-deep, laying on my side, in some wall or other,
but I just reach down and grab my knife if I need to cut something.

Both not exactly what I had, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again:
[https://www.blaklader.uk/en/product/15001370-trousers-
crafts...](https://www.blaklader.uk/en/product/15001370-trousers-
craftsman-x1500#16584)
[https://morakniv.se/en/product/pro-s/](https://morakniv.se/en/product/pro-s/)

------
Steel_Phoenix
Norpro 917 Nylon Turner spatula. I just use it for serving or frying things up
in a pan. I don't know why everyone else makes long spatulas that are either
floppy or hard metal. It feels silly, but I was so happy to find a replacement
after I destroyed my beloved spatula that I bought a pile of them and gave
them to everyone I know who eats.

------
kagamine
iPod Shuffle, the little almost square ones.

So easy to operate all of the functions on it that it can be done without ever
taking it out of your pocket. Navigate through playlists without having to
look at it all. Battery life lasts seemingly forever. It made commuting by
public transport in the cold so very much better than fiddling with the UI on
a phone. And training meant not having to carry a huge and heavy phone when
running because it clips onto your pockets-less training clothes somewhere.

Hands down the best designed device I have ever used.

~~~
brusch64
This device was one of the worst for me. A former girlfriend of mine got one
of those for Christmas from her dad.

First problem - we didn't had any Mac or Windows at home. So no iTunes. But
that's an iPod problem in general. Her dad didn't know this / didn't think of
it.

I've tried to use the device - but it was unusable for everything we wanted to
use it. She didn't like it for music - too little space (1GB), no full albums,
just a Playlist (which was pretty hard to update if you don't use iTunes).
Listening to music didn't work for me too (I like listening to whole albums).
So I've tried to listen to Podcasts (30 minutes to 1 hour) with it. Didn't
know where in the podcast I am, fast forward for 15 minutes was cumbersome.

Didn't work for me at all. It was small, it was robust, but it didn't fit any
of our requirements.

~~~
nailer
You can fit about 10 albums in 1GB

~~~
brusch64
You can. But I've put about 30 albums on my phone and I have little internal
space, so I just put a "small list" on it.

But for what it is worth 1 GB may be fine. Handling 30 albums would be a
nightmare with the Shuffle.

It works (as the name says) if you want to listen to a playlist in shuffle.
But for me (and my ex) it didn't work for anything else. So we both found out
we didn't had any use for this device.

~~~
kagamine
The later model had 2 GB and had playlist functionality. I had both the 1GB
'continuous playlist' model, loved it it was perfect for mix-tapes, it also
loaded albums with the songs in order, so yes there was a lot of skipping to
get past an album, but not a problem. The 2GB model if you held down the
"f-key" on the top read out the names of playlists ,ie albums, and let you
press skip to cycle through them.

~~~
brusch64
It seems to work really nice for you.

For me it was definitely the wrong device. I don't have any use for this
device at all. The "reading out the names" sounds incredible kludgy for me.

To everything his own. I just wanted to share my experiences with the device.

------
klenwell
I'm impressed with the new design of water coolers. It's been a while since
I've been in an office with a real water cooler as opposed to a Keurig-like
device connected directly to the waterline.

But at my new office, we have a good old-fashioned water cooler. Except that
it's a newfangled water cooler with a redesigned interface between cooler and
water jug. Now, instead of peeling a wax lid off the top of the jug and
spilling a couple cups of water as you throw it on the cooler, you just pull
off a sticker and sort of plug it into the water cooler. No more water spills.

It seems so simple and obvious. Yet how many Olympic-sized swimming pools full
of water did we have to spill before someone designed it? I love it.

Here's the first video I could find that shows one of them in action (in 3D!):

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgS5VIwE1WA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgS5VIwE1WA)

~~~
chickenfries
I've never used one that didn't have one of those connectors. What you're
describing as the old way sounds like barbarism. How did anyone put up with
that?

~~~
dsfyu404ed
Spilling water was only really an issue for really old and slow people or
really small people who weight about as much as the jug.

------
v4n4d1s
1\. Nokia N9, it was the perfect device, hardware was perfectly fitted to the
software and vice versa.

2\. DasKeyboard Model S Ultimate.

------
voltagex_
* After breaking numerous glass ones: [https://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Columbia-Stainless-Thermal-17-O...](https://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Columbia-Stainless-Thermal-17-Ounce/dp/B002AJ9JII)

* The USB charger that came with the Nexus 4 - it's only been replaced because I finally got a decent QuickCharge charger.

* A Grundig AM/FM radio with Aux-in, still going strong after 10+ years as a bathroom speaker. One dial broke off. Oops. Still one of the best sounding speakers I have in my house - possibly due to it being wooden

* Yamaha NX-P100 Bluetooth speaker - used to use it for the APT-X capability, now I use it because it supports 3.5mm jacks, and USB sound input. Practically bulletproof although the battery life isn't as good as it was.

~~~
lobster_johnson
Bodum has a lot of great products. I particularly like the range of double-
walled glassware:

[https://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Pavina-8-5-Ounce-Double-Wall-
Th...](https://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Pavina-8-5-Ounce-Double-Wall-
Thermo/dp/B0009WX41Q)

[https://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Bistro-Piece-double-
Latte/dp/B0...](https://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Bistro-Piece-double-
Latte/dp/B01K7MX8FY)

------
rs86
I use this as a keyring. It is a bottle opener with a drum key in a single
piece.

[http://www.ebay.com/itm/gibraltar-drum-key-bottle-opener-
on-...](http://www.ebay.com/itm/gibraltar-drum-key-bottle-opener-on-
lanyard/131494486014)

------
l0b0
The Fisher Space Pen. Small enough to carry in your pocket without even
noticing it, no sharp edges, unbreakable and trivially refillable. And it
writes, too!

~~~
throwanem
Small enough to easily lose, too - I miss mine!

~~~
poink
Ain't that the truth. Mine is around here... somewhere. I periodically find it
while cleaning up, put it on my desk, and then inevitably lose it before I
need it again.

Also, I find that mine accumulates a blob of ink on the tip after a period of
inactivity that needs to be wiped off before use.

------
dbg31415
My old Honda S2000. Best car ever.

* Why The Honda S2000 Is A Future Classic || [http://jalopnik.com/why-the-honda-s2000-is-a-future-classic-...](http://jalopnik.com/why-the-honda-s2000-is-a-future-classic-840861367)

~~~
csours
Care to share the top 3 things you like about it/top 3 things you wish other
cars did?

~~~
dbg31415
1) Insanely fun to drive. Handled like a scalpel. Haven't driven a car since
connected me to the road as well as that car did. Could turn... or stop... or
accelerate... on a dime. Instructions for driving it:

"Most people will never drive in the best rpm range (7000 to 8500), shifting
too early. Our advice is to treat the S2000 like you hate it and you'll get
the most out of it. We did and loved every minute of it."

2) They knew the target audience; didn't have any distractions. Just what you
needed to enjoy the drive... leather seats, a top that came off, a gear stick
and some pedals... Very minimalist and focused.

3) Easy to maintain, relatively cheap to buy. Biggest expense was new tires
every 15-20k miles. Honda makes reliable stuff. $31k I think I paid for it
new. 7 years and 80k miles... never needed more than a fresh coat of wax to
make it feel like new.

Bonus) I loved how it was a conversation piece. Pull up to the pump...
instantly people ask you what kind of car it is... they can't believe it's a
Honda... or better yet they have one too and they want to chat about it... Had
a cop stop me when I was clearly speeding and say, "I'm going to let you off
with a warning... I'd be speeding too if I was driving one of these. Man it
looks fun."

Totally regret getting rid of mine... didn't want to leave it garaged for a
year while I traveled for work.

~~~
csours
Q: Have you driven another roadster since then? Like the Mazda Miata for
instance?

~~~
dbg31415
I drove an ex-girlfriend's Miata... was an automatic so I don't think I got
the real experience. It was OK, handled fine. Just didn't have the same zip --
170 HP vs 240 HP (not an ideal metric, but just an easy one to cite).

* Mazda MX-5 Miata vs Honda S2000 || [http://twinrev.com/cars/Mazda-MX-5-Miata-vs-Honda-S2000](http://twinrev.com/cars/Mazda-MX-5-Miata-vs-Honda-S2000)

I think the BMW Z4, Jaguar F-Type, and Porsche Boxster are probably all fine
replacements (that's what all the S2000 forum nerds say anyway) -- if you have
2-3x to spend. I drove an F-Type and it felt very busy inside. Like...
fundamentally a different audience than the S2000. I drove a used Z4 too, but
only an automatic since that was all they had on the lot.

Nissan 370z looks promising, but I haven't tried it. I don't love the look.

It's a bit of a sore spot... I don't feel like there is a true replacement for
the S2000 on the market at present and it's getting very hard to find a used
one that wasn't modified or doesn't have a ton of miles.

------
rm_-rf_slash
Shopping at Aldi. They display all their groceries on the same pallets they
use for storage, and they're ruthless about cutting down cost and shopping
time.

A shopping trip at Aldi takes half as long and costs half as much as other
grocery stores. Excellent design.

------
jimmies
Aesthetically pleasing:

\- The Palm Pre (1st edition). It is an absolutely amazing, brilliant piece of
hardware (especially back in 2009) that fits just right in my hand like a
pebble. The curved screen is brilliant to the eyes and to the touch. It also
has an interface that is not cluttered and busy like shit in other mainstream
OSes then, and now.

But I mainly like things that are designed for ease of maintenance:

\- The iPhone 4s and iPhone 5. Like the iPhone or hate it, but the iPhone is a
marvelous engineering feat. First, the amount of components it could hold.
Second, how strong and robust it is for such a small body. Third, how easy it
is to replace the most vulnerable component, the screen.

\- The iPod Nano 2nd Edition. It is such a timeless design that is extremely
small and practical. It is really easy to open up the iPod Nano should you
need to replace the battery, too.

\- Dell Chromebook 13 and Acer Chromebook 720: It took 8 screws to open them
and get to the battery, CMOS, RAM, SSD, CPU, WLAN card.

\- Sony Walkmans. It was an eye-opening experience to see a player that is
barely bigger than a tape, with features packed in it in the era of tapes,
moving motors, pulleys, cogs and such.

But my most admired understated design has to be the Thinkpad line.

About 10 years ago, when computers were hot, clunky, and easy to break; I had
a friend asking me to look at her coffee spilled Thinkpad T42 or T43 (I
think). I just moved to the US for college for a month and had only a
screwdriver toolset. Thankfully to its brilliant design [1], it only took a
single screwdriver to lift the whole keyboard and touchpad up and get to
everything, including the CPU. And the keyboard was spill resistant, so not
that much liquid leaked either. I asked my roommate to take me to the nearest
Radioshack to get a tube of heat spreader, and dried the whole thing with a
hairdryer. It worked like new.

I could still remember the horror of opening Dell D6x0 laptops at my college
IT department. What a fucking joke of a design - there is nothing good I could
say about those "business machines" on the inside. It got to the point that if
anything went wrong with those computers, the IT department just called the
"Dell guy" to go fix it.

5 years ago, I even bet my roommate to pour a cup of water on a running
Thinkpad. It survived.

And the Thinkpads now are barely different from the Thinkpads then and the
Thinkpads from the beginning. It says something about the design, does it?

1:
[https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/IBM+ThinkPad+T42+Teardown/29...](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/IBM+ThinkPad+T42+Teardown/2952)

~~~
eli
The modern ThinkPads are a lot harder to take apart, even though they
superficially look very similar.

The T42/43 was a tank. I saw one take such a hard fall that the frame bent and
it still booted up.

~~~
i336_
I unfortunately dropped a T60 some time ago, on the right rear corner.

The system board and everything were all fine... but the LCD copped it :( only
displayed sad rainbows (IIRC).

I'm not sure if I bent the heatsink slightly off as well; I tried to fix it
but I may have made it worse. The thermal design on the T60 is a disaster: the
part of the heatpipe that extends over the GPU _has nowhere to bolt it down_
(see [http://i.imgur.com/lUOwImO.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/lUOwImO.jpg) \- the
rightmost part, see how there are no screws, it literally was not factored
into the design, it's held down solely by the copper itself) and because my
heatsink is fractionally misaligned, my GPU consistently _idles_ at 75°C (!)
and can reach 90°C (!!) if I actually try to do anything!

------
MrTonyD
I really miss simple old thermostats. For a few years, they used a simple
combination of two manual controls - one for temperature and a couple more for
start and end times for maintaining that temperature. Made it easy to turn off
at night and while I was at work.

No worries about power outages. No worries about WiFi. No need to keep the
user guide around. No need to worry about whether guests would be able to
figure it out. No batteries to run down. No programming/re-programming hell.
No dependency on updates being bug free. I can't believe how horrible
thermostats have become - I think most people have forgotten how easy and
effective they used to be.

------
Eric_WVGG
Bench made pocket knife with their "axis" locking mechanism.

Never thought I would be a knife guy, but I was given one gen years ago and
I'm still smitten with this thing. There is nothing quite like the snapping
sound when it opens perfectly.

~~~
seanp2k2
Yeah, once you figure out that pulling the closing button down combined with a
flick opens it, it's basically an assisted-opening-but-not-illegal knife. I
always thought that the ban on assisted openers was stupid anyway, since a
fixed blade is faster still and 100% legal.

~~~
throwanem
Fixed blade's harder to conceal.

------
taneq
My Weidmuller Stripax wire stripper. Simple, reliable, works for a wide range
of wire gauges, built-in wire cutter. Feels good to use.

~~~
brusch64
They are great !

------
dansman
Hiking boots: Meindl [http://www.meindl.de/produktwelten/berg-wandern/modelle-
berg...](http://www.meindl.de/produktwelten/berg-wandern/modelle-berg-
wandern/)

------
drew-y
The 1996 Mazda Miata. Super simple, reliable and fun to drive.

~~~
SwellJoe
First gen Miata was even simpler, and similarly fun to drive, though not quite
as fast or comfortable as what came later. It had a certain charm that I still
like a lot whenever I see a well-maintained one driving around.

------
phamilton
The original Amarok. Amarok 2 killed the simplicity. The original had a great
"now playing" queue and decent search.

~~~
JepZ
Yeah, the original amarok was great. Nevertheless I think nowadays we would
need something else (e.g. the library would require optional steaming provider
integration).

------
Insanity
My G9x mouse. I got it shortly after release, so it is about 8 years old now.

It is still going strong and the most comfortable mouse I have ever used.
There is nothing that I dislike about it - apart from not being able to buy it
anymore.

~~~
Normal_gaussian
I have a G9 right here. Used it nearly every day for the last decade. Great
mouse.

------
josephpmay
The Juul

I don't smoke, but this is literally one of the best designed gadgets I've
ever seen. It's beautiful, smaller than a cigarette, self-explanatory to use,
holds a full day's worth of battery, and charges quickly. Instead of using
e-juice, Pax developed nicotine salt cartridges for it, making it both simpler
and hit much more like a cigarette than other vapes. I know multiple people
who've instantly quit smoking cold-turkey after getting a Juul.

Others: Apple headphones with W1 Bluetooth chips (AirPods, Beats X, and Beats
Studio 3), Teenage engineering OP-1, Palm WebOS

------
sputknick
A properly designed kettlebell. The one below is what I use, but other
companies also make good ones. The weight transfers around your arm naturally,
it's very hard to injure yourself using it. Two indications of a good one are:
handle is not flat, and pounds are in 18 pound increments (this comes from an
old Russian unit of measure called a "pood".)
[https://christiansfitnessfactory.com/cff-black-monster-
russi...](https://christiansfitnessfactory.com/cff-black-monster-russian-
kettlebells.html)

~~~
sooheon
I would agree, with the addition that the kettlebell training movements
(swing, getup, snatches etc.) are part of the design of the thing. How you use
it and how it is shaped/weighted are two equally essential halves.

------
toomanybeersies
More Knives ([http://morakniv.se/en/](http://morakniv.se/en/)). They're super
ergonomic, really hard wearing, and great steal. And best of all, they're
about 1/4 the price of any equivalent blade.

Also, Mercator knives
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercator_K55K](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercator_K55K)),
I carry one every day, and use it most days. Good steel and shape, and super
thin so they fit in any pocket.

------
sky_projektor
Combs! Best designed, as somebody said, haven't changed for centuries!

------
psonic
Some djing/music related stuff:

Roland 808/909 Technics 1200 MK2 A&H Xone mixer serie Shure SM58 Ikea Expedit

~~~
devingoldfish
Came here to say the Technics 1200 turntable. Everything you need in a
turntable and nothing you don't: pitch adjustment, 45rpm adapter, 33/45rpm
speed buttons, and a light. The few controls it has are all intuitive and the
quality of the manufacturing is obvious the moment you use it. I've had mine
for 16 years and the only thing I've ever needed to replace is the needle.

------
mrcsparker
My Steelcase Gesture - it is the first chair that I can ignore. It feels so
natural.

Oculus Rift - for the first generation, it is surprisingly comfortable.

Oculus Touch - I can see my hands and it feels natural.

Lexus es350 - great car for sitting in Houston traffic. I wish that I could
pull back the steering wheel a bit more so that I could stretch out my legs,
bit it is still really comfortable.

Ibanez Jem - my luthier makes fun of this guitar, but it is a dream to play.
Flat neck, large fretboard. It sounds amazing.

Nest - just works. Took 5 minutes to install and it just worked

~~~
lobster_johnson
The Steelcase Leap v2 is also fantastic (the differences are not major, I
believe, and it was The Wirecutter's previous top choice [1]), and can be
found fairly cheaply on Craigslist. I bought a refurbished one for $250
recently.

Compared to most high-end chairs like the Herman Miller Aeron, Steelcase's
chairs are very soft and body-hugging.

That said, if money were no object and looks were king, I would go for an
Interstuhl Every [2] or the FK84 by Fabricius and Kastholm for Kill [3].

[1] [http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-office-
chair/](http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-office-chair/)

[2] [https://officefurniturescene.co.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2015/0...](https://officefurniturescene.co.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2015/01/Interstuhl-Silver-Group-1024x675.jpg)

[3] [http://www.modernity.se/office-chair-designed-by-preben-
fabr...](http://www.modernity.se/office-chair-designed-by-preben-fabricius-
and-jorgen-kastholm-for-kill/)

------
tyingq
Leatherman tools. Refreshingly usable compared to Swiss army knives.

~~~
TheGrassyKnoll
I use my Leatherman micra virtually every day, multiple times. Almost lost it
at the airport once; walked back to the parking lot to save it.

------
johnchristopher
I don't have the reference at hand at the moment but at work we have a
microwave that has one wheel to select wattage and one wheel to select
duration (30 secs increment).

This UX fits every frozen/industrial food because it corresponds to the
manufacturer's cooking information (eg: 3minutes at 700watts, 5 minutes at
500watts, etc.).

At home I have a monster with two different alarm settings, not wattage bug a
10 grade scale, a keypad but the only way to set up time is through the plus
and minus button, etc.

~~~
nailer
Let us know the model when you're at work please!

~~~
m_rcin
All basic microwaves (at least in the UK) have this design. For example
[http://www.argos.co.uk/product/4007573](http://www.argos.co.uk/product/4007573)
or [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Daewoo-KOR6L77-Microwave-Oven-
White...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Daewoo-KOR6L77-Microwave-Oven-
White/dp/B00DE79P0M/) I concur that's a better UI than buttons + display.

------
antisol
My Amiga 2000. I love it with all my heart. It'll still be going strong when
your modern doohickeys become totally useless due to planned-obselescence.
It'll outlive me.

~~~
tech2
I loved my 2000, but the 3000 was a step above (aside for the godawful choice
of RAM chips). I loved the scissor-switch design on the keyboard switches
though.

These days you should get hold of an A600 and Vampire II -
[http://www.kipper2k.com/accel600.html](http://www.kipper2k.com/accel600.html)

~~~
antisol
I still search ebay for a3000s and a4000s every now and then. I want both. I
think the machine I want more than anything is an A4000 with a video toaster.
But 3000s and 4000s don't come along very often (at least in my country) and
they're expensive when they do. And back when they were current I couldn't
afford one. I'd also love to get my hands on ab X1000, but they were
ridiculously expensive and I couldn't justify the cost, as much as I'd love to
have an Amiga OS 4 machine.

I actually also have an A600HD. Was my first Amiga. Great machine. The Vampire
II looks cool but I'd need another 600 to put it in - my current A600 is a
collection piece and is staying stock (except for things you can plug into it
like compact flash / SD card adapters).

------
kar-ma
CCTV Camera at Dutch train stations.

Yes, sounds crazy, but these guys designed a cctv camera that doesn't feel
intimidating and big brother-ish but feels more friendly and pleasing. I
absolutely love looking at them while at the station. It was designed by a
dutch Design firm called Fabrique. You can read more about it here:
[http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=38335](http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=38335)

~~~
baby
They still look like cameras to me :\ (not that I mind)

------
ASipos
Galaxy Nexus with stock Android 4.x.

More precisely, when I bought it almost five years ago I was simply shocked at
how much more its UI seemed to have been designed with actual phone use in
mind, compared to, say, my former late-Symbian Nokia E50.

Typical example: the E50 had the well-known idiosyncratic Nokia 'profiles',
whereas the Nexus only had the fragment that users usually relied on -- that
is, an easy switch between full-settings/vibrate-only/absolute-silence.

------
kasperset
Lamy 2000:
[https://www.lamy.com/eng/b2c/2000/101](https://www.lamy.com/eng/b2c/2000/101)

iMac

------
sprocketonline
Something I use and love is a chopping board and knife set:
[https://www.josephjoseph.com/en-us/index-with-
knives](https://www.josephjoseph.com/en-us/index-with-knives)

In terms of parts it has exactly the same as any other; 4 knives, 4 boards and
a block.

It's simple but it's exceptionally well designed. Without meaning to sound
like an informercial, I'll mention some of the improvements over the standard.
Firstly, it's colour coded for improved food safety, with matching logos on
the board to help understand the semantics of the colours. The knife blade
sizes/shapes are matched with the food types and similarly coloured.

You can throw it all, including the block, in the dishwasher. The block is
open ended to the bottom to allow it to drain (I hate those blocks that let
damp, dirt and bacteria accumulate at the bottom of the knife holes). The
block also holds the boards apart, to prevent spread of bacteria and allow
them to air dry.

The boards can be flipped around, and the knives moved to match. This doesn't
sound like much, but it reveals the designer having thought about the
ergonomics of taking the board out and always using (and wearing down) the
same side of the board. Allowing it to be flipped and the knives to fit into
corresponding flipped sockets is actually pretty clever.

A lot of thought has gone into it and without adding any complexity (sensors,
motors, extra parts) or much manufacturing cost, they've kept it simple and
greatly improved upon the standard (and probably selling it with a much higher
markup). It's an example of the kind of applied design thinking I appreciate.

------
kagamine
Land Rover Series I, II & III. Much like a Jeep, original Willys and CJ, the
roof comes off, the panels come off, the body is aluminium, the engine and
electrics are simple enough for most people to fix. Most of what can be
mechanical like the fuel pump is mechanical, not electric. They are high
enough up off the ground that they can be serviced without a jack, for oil and
anti-freeze etc. Truly a utility vehicle.

~~~
dsfyu404ed
>Most of what can be mechanical like the fuel pump is mechanical, not
electric.

At least the British engineers aren't in denial about British automotive
electronics.

>They are high enough up off the ground that they can be serviced without a
jack

Which is a good thing based on the reputation LR has gone out of it's way to
build for itself over the last half century.

~~~
kagamine
Land Rover owners like to joke about how awful they are, I think it's also a
British sense of humour thing. LRs haven't been any worse than any other car I
have owned. The series 3 ended production in 1985, the reputation of LR being
of poor quality or hard to fix came after modernization of the vehicles into
consumer and mainstream markets. Series vehicles are bulletproof, sometimes
quite literally
([https://www.google.no/search?q=armoured+land+rover&tbm=isch&...](https://www.google.no/search?q=armoured+land+rover&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjxjpuipp7SAhWMWSwKHf2RAWYQsAQIGw&biw=1292&bih=887))

They were good enough for many of the world's armed forces for over 50 years!

~~~
radiowave
You're saying every other car you've owned has also rained on the _inside_? I
think you've been extraordinarily unlucky there.

(Land Rovers may be dead and gone, but from what I hear the Discoveries are
keeping the traditions alive. By leaking.)

~~~
kagamine
Yep, every car with a sunroof has leaked, Peugeot leaked, Volvo leaked too.
Just move to a country where snow covers your car for 5 months of the year.

------
Tloewald
My picks would be:

First hot water jug with a round base (so you didn't need to get a specific
orientation).

Apple's MagSafe connector (even though it can occasionally be tough to clean
grit out)

The Mercedes power seat controls (Don Norman devotes some space to them in The
Design of Everyday Things)

The Leatherman (the Swiss Army knife done right)

The original Macintosh mouse

The PowerBook 100

Whichever PowerBook introduced the trackpad.

Whichever MacBook introduced the buttonless trackpad.

The iPhone 4

Google search

Google maps

Finder

WriteNow

HyperCard

Studio/32 (Deluxe Paint for the Mac, but better)

TiVo (series 2 before they lost the plot)

The Nikon FM2 (or pick a body in that era)

------
freekh
I loved my Mini Cooper: it was surprisingly versatile, had arguably beautiful
estetics (me and my wife felt cool while sitting in it at least), was fun to
drive in the small alpine roads, etc For us: 2 (at the time) DINKs living in
the middle of Europe, it was a thing of beauty. I bought one with 0 fancy
gadgets and I loved that about it. By far the best purchase (albeit expensive)
I've made.

~~~
Bud
I've got a 2003 Mini Cooper with 230,000 miles on it and I'd agree with the
above. It's still fantastic to drive and has a lot of pleasing design
flourishes—some practical, some whimsical—which continue to delight.

------
jasonkostempski
Those toilet paper holders that are simply just hooks.

------
icc97
Bikes

\- Cateye bicycle lights

\- Cateye Astrale wired cadence cycle computer: all the information I need and
nothing more

\- '98 Specialized Stumpjumper: My balance is useless and this bike is the
only one I can ride comfortably without holding the handlebars. I forever feel
like I'm going faster that I really am. Solid steel frame made in Japan, zero
suspension

\- Brooks saddles

\- Brompton folding bicycles. No other bike folds up so naturally.

Kitchen equipment

\- My current Kenwood Kmix Kettle [0] is the best designed / most solid /
prettiest I've used so far. The main down issue is that it's made in China.
The handle is stainless steel - so won't break over the years. Very nice shape
and lovely colours.

\- Kenwood Major mixers. Especially old ones, but even the modern Chinese made
ones are still good quality.

\- Dualit stainless steel toaster [1]. Simple lever mechanism for putting the
bread in, simple dial timer. Served as a toaster in my University halls and
always worked and easy to use whilst hungover.

Other

\- Pentel refill leads and the parellelgram shaped packets they come in. (Made
in Japan still)

\- I was a fan of the Pentel automatic pencils back in school - the black
0.5mm one, but I kept losing them.

\- Maglite torches. Tried buying a fancy ass Thrunite mega-lumens torch, but I
prefer the simplicity of Maglite.

    
    
      [0]: http://www.kenwoodworld.com/en-int/products/kmix/kmix-kettles/kmix-traditional-kettle-skm035a
      [1]: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dualit-2-Slot-Classic-Toaster-Stainless/dp/B00008BQZE/

------
planteen
The game of Tetris.

------
lobster_johnson
Jura superautomatic coffee machines.

Jura is a Swiss brand that is like the Apple of superautomatics. Their range
extends from small, somewhat expensive consumer machines to rather expensive,
excellent machines for industrial use. They're really solid, stylish
workhorses, with excellent availability of spare parts and repair shops
(though I've never needed any).

I have the ENA Micro 9 [1], which comes with an excellent "cappuccinatore"
frothing mechanism for milk espressos (unlike those frothers that spin a
little whisk around in the milk, the frother uses pressurized air). The step-
up model, the ENA 9 One Touch, is not worth the higher price (it's not even as
good-looking), while the little brother ENA Micro 1 is only good for coffee
(no hot water or milk frothing).

[1] [https://us.jura.com/en/homeproducts/machines/ENA-
Micro-9-OT-...](https://us.jura.com/en/homeproducts/machines/ENA-Micro-9-OT-
MicroSilver-UL-13625)

~~~
kimusan
I have the Jura Impressa S9 Classic and love it. Use it for espresso and
coffee every day. It is still going strong after 70.000+ cups of coffee and I
would expect it to work for at least 50.000 cups more before it needs service.

------
ComputerGuru
My Bunn ST Velocity coffee machine [0]. I bought it on September 1, 2011 and
have used it every single morning (and then some) since. It has no buttons, no
configurations, no options. It makes coffee inside of 120 seconds (because it
keeps the water pre-heated). It does not have a glass carafe to break, it does
not burn the coffee since it does not use a heated plate but instead pours the
coffee into a thermos that keeps it hot for hours. <3

It's not available on Amazon any more (where I got it originally), but I'm not
sure if it's actually discontinued or just unavailable. I hope if the former
that it's just been replaced by a slightly updated model, but I don't know.

UPDATE: There's still the STX model available [1], it's a bit more garish
looking but it seems to be otherwise identical.

0: [http://amzn.to/2mdtWs3](http://amzn.to/2mdtWs3)

1: [http://amzn.to/2lZxlhT](http://amzn.to/2lZxlhT)

------
hackathonguy
The way I see it, great design is about meshing seamlessly with the end user.
If an item or software feel like they extend me they're exquisitely well
designed. Here are several such things:

\- MacBook Pro 13" with Touchbar. The MacBook Pro is the first laptop I've
used that doesn't feel like a tool I need to struggle with and manipulate to
get the job done. It's powerful enough so I don't need to worry about system
resources, light enough that I can carry it everywhere, and sturdy enough that
I'm not constantly worried about breaking it. The list goes on - this is truly
a magnificent computer.

\- This leather messenger bag.

[http://emanuel-w.com/product/קלפה-
צד-41071/?lang=en](http://emanuel-w.com/product/קלפה-צד-41071/?lang=en)

Dunno if it's available in the states, but this leather bag by Emanuel has
been my companion for five years, and is only getting better with time. It has
enough room for anything I need, is brilliantly compartmentalized, and is
super comfy to take anywhere.

\- Kindle, the one with the keyboard. I currently own Paperwhite and it's
almost there, but not quite. eInk is a brilliant invention, but it's the
Kindle's design that made it what it is today - my go-to solution for reading,
anywhere, anytime.

Moving on to software:

\- Mad Mimi is a simple, lovely email newsletter service that is brilliantly
designed, and which pioneered the drag-and-drop email design interface.

\- Basecamp. I love their no-bullshit approach to design, their ability to
ignore current "design trends" to focus on simpler aesthetics, and the
boldness with which they communicate their promise. It's fantastic.

Might think about some more examples a little later. :-)

~~~
awjr
A good leather messenger bag is worth every penny. The harder you treat them
the better they look.

------
antirez
The iRobot Roomba is one of the best electronic devices I own. The durability
is simply impressive, only the battery breaks eventually since well, there is
no escape for this. Even without using crazy AI, it kinda works well, and is
one thing that when released looked pretty revolutionary but _is actually
useful_ instead of being just a fake induced need.

~~~
lobster_johnson
Based on the horrifying amount of crap it's able to suck up, a Roomba is
absolutely worth it.

But I wish they would solve the problem where it gets stuck in seemingly
trivial places: I often find mine on top of the base of a floor lamp, or on
the gap between a rug and a wall, or, most bizarrely, exactly in the middle of
my Steelcase Leap office chair's four wheely legs, which has the exact
diameter of a Roomba. It also keeps shutting itself inside my bathroom if I
don't wedge the door open.

(I don't have cables lying around for it to get entangled with, although it
recently dressed itself up in a natty scarf:
[https://www.instagram.com/p/BQqWAoRBnsi/](https://www.instagram.com/p/BQqWAoRBnsi/))

~~~
antirez
I've the feeling that now that computer vision works well enough and with
affordable enough GPUs to put into appliances, the next generation of Roomba
could improve on that tenfolds... Let's see if there is a new release coming
:-)

------
wj
Weber Kettle grill (love their smoker as well but points knocked off for
cleanup).

I have always found Microsoft keyboard and mice to be well designed.

~~~
sizzzzlerz
I love the Weber as well but you need to take care of them. Look at one wrong
and it starts to rust.

------
vatsal
Muji Gel Pen - [https://www.amazon.com/MUJI-Ballpoint-0-7mm-
color-10pcs/dp/B...](https://www.amazon.com/MUJI-Ballpoint-0-7mm-
color-10pcs/dp/B00M344ZUC)

I love this pen, makes me want to write more! The simple minimalist design of
the pen (and many other Muji products) is something I admire a lot.

------
vatotemking
The side-stand of a motorcycle that swings backward to retract. Such a simple
yet life saving design.

For tech stuff, checkout Windows Surface Hub.

~~~
bigiain
My Honda (Spada) has a neat little rubber spike that projects down below the
bottom of the sidestand (and folds over when the bike's sat on the sidestand)
- which contacts the road and gently folds the sidestand back/up before
anything hard hits the road.

It's a small thing, but it's _so_ much smarter that the suicide-stand on my
Ducati (which springs up then lets the bike fall over when it's bumped or
moved by someone not expecting it) and way less frustrating that my Kawasaki's
"kill the engine as soon as you kick it out of neutral whenever the sidestand
isn't fully up or the switch has got gummed up and dirty again" approach. (But
all three are better then my Caviga's occasional "smash and lever you over"
the first time you lean it to the left after moving off without having raised
the sidestand.)

(Writing all this down, perhaps it's _me_ who needs to get more methodical
about raising my sidestand before riding off, eh?)

------
oxguy3
I'm a big fan of my Logitech M510 wireless mouse:
[https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/wireless-
mouse-m510](https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/wireless-mouse-m510)

It runs for ages on just two AAs (their website promises a 2-year life, which
honestly sounds about right from my experience). It's very ergonomic, fits my
hand perfectly. The back/forward buttons are positioned perfectly -- you can
easily press them when you want to, but you'll never press them accidentally.
The scroll wheel is nice and even has horizontal scrolling (not something I
need often, but nice on the rare occasion I'm in Photoshop or whatever). The
USB receiver is tiny enough that I can leave it in my laptop all the time.
Logitech's been selling the M510 for years with almost no design changes,
because it simply doesn't need improving.

------
tech2
The Faber Castell Alpha-matic pencil. Auto-feed, good cut-metal grip. I found
this in a field in the early 90's, it still writes wonderfully, the feed
mechanism is amazing. It's a device that's so perfectly fit-for-purpose. If I
had to replace it I'd be looking at spending a LOT of money these days :(

Honda Civic SiR II (EG chassis) - Not hugely powerful, but great fun to drive,
everything in the right place, fold-flat seats in the rear, plastic clamshell
backs on the front seats, small pull-out tray in the rear, 6 speaker stereo,
good suspension design, great little engine, rear gate design allows you to
fit quite large items in there. An awesome little car from the early 90's.

The MX518 mouse, as mentioned elsewhere.

zip ties. I always have some on me. They've saved me countless times, from
securing things in place to replacing a broken jubilee clip on one of my
current car's hoses so I didn't have to limp home.

------
mlkmt
Midori traveler's notebook. A great example of wabi-sabi design.

------
buzzybee
Nobody has mentioned the Minimoog Model D and its modern variants(Voyager,
Sub37, etc.), so I will. As synthesizer instruments go, it's astoundingly hard
to match the number of "sweet spots" the genuine article has. There are lots
of synths with more complex architectures, polyphony and timbral
possibilities, that are more affordable and ship with lots of presets, and
there are lots of bad digital knockoffs that don't reproduce the sound
correctly or correctly handle parameter changes, but an original one in good
condition sounds good from nearly any starting point and allows for continuous
development of a sound just by holding one note and turning knobs. You don't
"program" a Moog and then play, you "perform" it as you play - and that's a
key difference between their style and what most other synth makers put out.

------
pricechild
HAProxy & its documentation especially.

It's a fantastic piece of software.

------
nsebban
The most perfectly designed thing is IMO the HB or 2B paper pencil. This kind
:
[http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/20000/velka/pen...](http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/20000/velka/pencil-
and-paper.jpg)

------
MisterBastahrd
Any cast iron piece of cookware.

They're non-stick. They're durable. They will outlast your grandchildren if
you take good care of them.

Any gooseneck kettle.

The water flows from the bottom of the kettle so you're assured a steady
stream of water.

Zojurushi electric grills.

I've owned several of them. I usually buy one and then give it away when I
move. They have all performed perfectly, and every single one is still
operational.

Iwatani ZA-3HP gas stove

I live in a warmer climate and prefer to relax while preparing food outside
with a stogie in one hand, a glass of rye in the other, and a cooking spoon...
somewhere. This thing cranks out the heat. I use it to sear steaks, do stir
fry, etc.

Joule sous vide device

This thing is small and beautiful, and unlike a lot of other sous vide
products, it can operate in only a few inches of water.

Grado SR-80 headphones

There's nothing remotely close to these things when considering quality of
sound versus price... and they look great too

~~~
TheGrassyKnoll
I should be flogged for it, but embarrassingly, I broke a cast iron skillet
off at the handle once, whacking something in the yard with it. I guess cast
iron is kind of brittle.

------
anonlawyer
Nikon FE manual focus SLR. Every control a real photographer needs, nothing
you don't. Tough—mine is 35+ years old and works as well as the day it left
the factory. The match needle exposure meter is better than anything that came
before or after. I love mine, even if shooting film is a pain in 2017.

~~~
cynisme
I also think that the FE is great, but I think the K1000 is truly one of the
best slr's ever made.

------
dbg31415
Ikea Jerker Desk.

* Ikea's Crime Against Humanity - An Ode to the Jerker - Marketing Mojo || [https://www.marketing-mojo.com/blog/ikeas-crime-against-huma...](https://www.marketing-mojo.com/blog/ikeas-crime-against-humanity-an-ode-to-the-jerker/)

------
elchief
I use my Wii every day, usually for Netflix or MarioKart. Don't like the Wii
U, but I think the Wii was very well made, and is fun and natural to use

My 16-year old Subaru Impreza is also an amazing tank of a car. We had crazy
snow in Vancouver this year, and I swear it drives better in the snow than on
dry asphalt

~~~
ashark
Counterpoint: I'd consider the Wii one of the _worst_ designed consoles
around.

1) Way less portable than its predecessor (Gamecube, famously portable) and,
for that matter, most other consoles ever made, aside from a handful of
famously-giant ones ( _e.g._ Atari 7800, 1st gen X-Box) due to all the
accessories, "light bar", _et c._ Sure, you could take it with no nunchuck
accessories and maybe pay extra for a wireless "light bar" if you really love
buying batteries, but that's extra money and less stuff you can do with it
when you get where you're going.

2) "Ugh, the light bar fell behind the TV _again_ and all the wiimotes'
batteries are dead anyway. Oh well, I just want to play gamecube... oh, I
can't navigate the menu with the GC controller. And I need to click on the
game I want to play to start it. Guess I'll just play PS3 instead. Oh, its
controller's dead too. No big deal, can just plug it in."

3) Have to leave ugly GC ports/memory door open if there's anything plunged
into it, even if it's just a memory card. If anyone or anything moves anywhere
near your Wii on a regular basis while it's in this state, the door _will_
break off eventually.

However, the Classic Pro controller accessor for the waggle 'motes is awesome.
I wish someone would make a nicer to-USB adapter for them than the ones from
Mayflash, because I've had both revisions of those go bad on me now and I'd
like a solid, reliable one.

------
golergka
Traktor Z1 and X1 controllers. There's been a lot of different options for DJ
controllers lately, but these two have been a perfect fit for my style and the
music I play. They're certainly bad for a hip-hop turntablist, but for a
steady BPM 4/4 house/techno set they're just perfect. They're very small,
which is perfect for a crowded DJ booth in a bar. They're very easy and fast
to setup, with built-in audio interface - which means that there's less gear
to haul. They only have the necessary functions - which means that instead of
wasting my time on what the sync button can do automatically, I can spend more
effort on the human touch. And most importantly, they're modular - which means
I'll be buying another pair to control 2 more decks pretty soon.

------
trelliscoded
Oxo hand tools.

Hermin Miller Aerons.

My Olympus skyhawk. Literally the only piece of hardware that's going to
outlive me.

The FN P90 and the 57 pistol.

The flight deck on the Sukhoi SU-34 and the Boeing 787.

Basically, anything where the design department went out and asked the
customer what their biggest complaints were, then sat down to eliminate them
in the design phase.

~~~
bigiain
I've got a great book about the Boeing 747, it talks about how the design
department went out and found out what the physics said, took that back to
what was practical and designed "the best" compromise available at the time -
but fundamentally based on physics. And thanks to them, 50 years later airport
runway lengths and air traffic control approach speeds and 37,000 foot cruise
altitudes and a whole bunch of other standards and infrastructure - is the way
it is due to the speed of sound (and the lack of early/mid '60s aerodynamics
ability to know how to exceed it), the temperature/airdensity efficiency
curves of jet engines, and the 60's vintage structural limitations of
wingspans.

~~~
Lordarminius
do you mind sharing the name of the book?

~~~
bigiain
I suspected someone was gonna ask that... I know exaclty where the book is at
home, I can almost picture the cover - but not in enought detail to lever the
title out of my brain. Sorry. (If I remember, I'll come back here after I get
home tonight and let you know...)

~~~
kqr2
Perhaps _747: Creating the World 's First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from
a Life in Aviation_

[https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0060882425](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0060882425)

------
0xcb0
I probably could list a handful of items, but the first one who comes up
immediately is my TEK keyboard. Since nearly two years I'm using this
ergonomic keyboard, and it's just great. It has a real steep learning curve
and will drive you insane for the first few "weeks." But after some time you
will love it. I can now type blind and type much faster than on any keyboard
before. My hands rest in one place all the time only my fingers move. For me,
this keyboard is a great design. It has its price, but for something that I
constantly use to earn my income, it is more than worth it. The only negative
thing is that you get confused when using a "normal" keyboard. But after some
keystrokes, your brain will switch modes, and you can type as before :)

------
lukaszkups
Nokia Lumia charger: [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lukaszkups/lukaszkups-
old/...](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lukaszkups/lukaszkups-
old/master/content/blog/images/lumia_07.jpg)

------
pidg
I love my Pro-ject RPM 1 turntable. It's such a simple design - stripped back
to the bare bones of what's needed to play records.

[http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=rpm13](http://www.project-
audio.com/main.php?prod=rpm13)

~~~
tech2
I was looking at the Pro-ject Carbon a while back but couldn't quite stretch
to the price, beautiful bits of kit.

------
jborrel00
Without a doubt, the most elegantly designed products I've ever used are the
sequencers and synthesizers made by Teenage Engineering
([https://teenage.engineering/](https://teenage.engineering/)). I own the
original three pocket operators (PO-12, PO-14, PO-16) and every aspect about
them, from the packaging to the board design itself (the whole instrument is
just the PCB its made on), is a work of art. Granted, they're not necessarily
the most intuitive thing to use, but when you consider TE has shrunken a
desk's worth of electronic music equipment into something the size of a
Raspberry Pi, it's hard to not be impressed with their design methodology.

------
Kaibeezy
Vertx tactical trousers / shorts - cargo without the bulk, inner magazine
pockets hold phones steady rather than flailing around, gussets and pleats for
flex

Hario V60 coffee cone - perfect results, cheap

Ball tritium watches - a watch you can always read in the dark, even after 14
hours of Arctic night

------
conjecTech
Hardware:

Zojirushi mugs

Creative zen mp3 players

Staedtler writing utensils

Software:

Linux utils, particularly those born out of Bell Labs

ggplot

Keras

~~~
outericky
Zojirushi mugs. Magical.

------
ksec
Looking at all the replies I realize how everyone seems to have one thing or
two that really love and remember. It is a little worrying for me because I
dont seems to be perfectly satisfies with any.

The only thing I am perfectly happy with (so far) is Cutlery from MUji.

Everything else are either too big, Air Con, Air Purifier, Dehumidifier, why
cant these be combined together? How many boxes and STB do I need hanging out
of my TV? Why cant it be ONE. Cooker, Microwave / Oven that is not easy to use
or clean. Dyson that is good at suction power but plastic and ugly. Heck Even
Kettle, I wanted a Crystal Clear Glass Kettle with a handle that last longer
instead of its plastic handle getting greasy and sticky after 3 - 4 years.

May be I am just too picky?

------
grogenaut
Just about any good kitchen knife.

Pen/Pencil and Paper.

A Book.

A Cup

A Towel

A Blanket

A Pillow

What do these have in common, they're so well designed (over the years) that
you don't even think about them.

~~~
gajomi
I came to write pen and paper myself :). I think cups and books definitely
belong here too.

But I have always had serious issues with pillows. I don't mean the basic
concept and coarse design of pillows, but rather the details of the design and
manufacturing. For example different kinds of pillow case may hide or expose
seems, that latter be far inferior to the former in my opinion. There is also
the question of firmness and size, both of which are the subject of many a
pillow focused infomercials. There is a huge variation in overall pillow
quality. I could also rant about blankets, but maybe all of this is just my
deficiency :)

------
sizzzzlerz
Wireshark network analyzer software. A true swiss army knife utility for
capturing and analyzing network traffic. I've used on Macs, Linux boxes, and
Windows, and they all are robust and operate identically. It has been a very
valuable tool for me.

------
cafebabbe
The legendary Nokia 3310. Military grade build quality, and an _amazing_ UI at
the time.

~~~
tonyedgecombe
It's coming back:
[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/02/18/nokia-3310-...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/02/18/nokia-3310-relaunch-
still-love-phone-defined-nokia-era/)

------
lukeinator42
The chemex: [http://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/coffeemakers/classic-
series...](http://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/coffeemakers/classic-series/six-
cup-classic-series-coffeemaker.html)

------
LVB
Redbox. Concept and kiosk. I like the app for finding and reserving movies; my
mom, who has never used a smartphone, uses the kiosks easily. They took a
familiar business, modernized it a little bit, slashed the overhead, and
people seem to like it.

~~~
beachstartup
i survived my road warrior years thanks to redbox and the whole foods salad
bar.

------
l33r
-Concept2 Rowing Machine or SkiErg2

-5.11 Rush 72 Backpack

-AirSense 10 by ResMed

-Casio Duro MDV106

-NSF Wire Shelving

-Amazon Alexa

-Beats Wireless Studio (1st Generation)

-Plantronic Voyager 5200 Headset & Case

-Amazon Kindle

-Microsoft Surface 3

------
0xcde4c3db
The standard, boring toggle-style light switch (US). Inexpensive, standard,
durable, easy to replace, and extremely easy to operate. Basically the polar
opposite of the average phone/laptop/game console/etc. power switch.

~~~
falsedan
I would agree, if they are installed the 'right' way (toggle down to close
circuit, up to open) to match the rest of the world. It's extremely hard to
toggle up with a full cup of hot beverage…

~~~
takingflac
This should be the standard, but the exception is always going to be multi
switch circuits with multiple switches controlling the same light.

------
btschaegg
\- Lagiole knifes (more optical design / less practicality)

\- Victorinox SwissTool (more practical)

\- Stabilo Worker Pens (amazingly low friction for a ballpoint pen)

Edit: \- Razer: Merkur Dovo Futur Duoclip (Its predecessor was an
overdesigned, brittle mess. But this one is great.)

------
lobster_johnson
Re writing and drawing materials, I love Kunst & Papier's minimalist
sketch/notebooks [1].

Aside from having great paper quality, they have a rigid cardboard cover, and
the spine is fabric and flexible, so you can open the book completely flat
over and over without destroying it.

They come in all sorts of sizes, from small to absolutely huge, and the
minimalist design makes them look very clean on a shelf.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-
url/index%3...](https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-
url/index%3Dblended%26field-keywords%3Dkunst+papier)

------
bookofjoe
Sori Yanagi ice cream spoon

[https://www.amazon.com/Sori-Yanagi-Cream-
Spoon-6pcs/dp/B0000...](https://www.amazon.com/Sori-Yanagi-Cream-
Spoon-6pcs/dp/B0000TOP1G)

------
dbg31415
Just about anything Razer.

Razer Taipan & Razer BlackWidow are wonderful. Totally reliable, precise, and
pleasantly tactile.

I've had a few Razer mice over the years and the earlier ones had a rubberize
finish that would wear off eventually... had my Taipan for 4 years or so and
it still feels like it's brand new. Trackpads will work in a pinch, but after
you get used to a high-DPI mouse it's hard to use anything else. Same for
mechanical keyboards... ha, maybe we should tell people not to get started...
you'll hate typing on anything else after you've used one for a while.

~~~
azemetre
Really? I find Razer products to be cheaply made and "flashy."

When it comes to mice I prefer Logitech, they are the only company whose mice
have lasted me more than 5 years. I use to own a MX518 until it died on me
after nearly 8 years. Now I own a G502 since they no longer make the MX518.

For keyboards I've been using a Noppoo Choc Mini with blue switches at work
and at home I have a Pok3r with red switches.

Both have been in use longer than the Blackwidow I use to own.

If you want to get really crazy about mechanical keyboards checkout
[https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/)

Might buy a full Ducky in the near future as well.

~~~
floatboth
Yeah, Logitech seems to make the most reliable mice… My old MX510 still works,
but I bought a SteelSeries Rival 100 and while I really like the design, there
was an issue…

The little plastic piece under the left button that clicks the actual switch
broke: [http://imgur.com/a/FcYUH](http://imgur.com/a/FcYUH) I had to superglue
it back, works fine.

------
ArlenBales
The FlipBelt - [https://flipbelt.com](https://flipbelt.com)

Ingenious and works perfect. Lets you run/cycle with your
phone/keys/cards/food-gels without any discomfort. I can barely tell it's
there, and certainly beats having your phone strapped to your arm and looking
funny and offsetting weight on one arm. The belt is invisible under my
t-shirt.

I don't know if FlipBelt were the first to come out with product, there's
other brands on Amazon if you look, but they were the only ones I found when I
first bought it years ago.

------
tex0
The Microsoft IntelliMouse 1.1a. It's a shame it's no longer on sale.

~~~
s0rce
Had one of these for years, great mouse, it was in my office for all of my
PhD, only downside was it got dirty easily. Since replaced with a Logitech
M500.

------
kyriakos
Blendtec total blender. Works as advertised, never says no. Feels
professional.

------
kar-ma
The Muji wall-mounted CD player.

The simplicity in design and the shift in perspective that it brought has been
deeply impactful. I study in a design school, and the number of times I have
seen it appear on students' collages, inspiration/mood boards, etc is way too
high.

P.S. Makes me wonder if that can be used as a metric for how influential a
design is. Like how credibility of a research paper is based on number of
times it has been cited. If there's a way to gather number of times a product
has appeared on inspiration/mood board of other products, to determine its
influence.

------
shravanj
-Herman Miller Aeron (the original and remastered models): thoughtful design and very comfortable, albeit pricey

-2013 Retina MacBook Pro: my daily laptop and still to date the best laptop I have ever used

-Logitech Performance MX: the cheaper and older alternative to the MX Master but is still a high quality mouse

-Rolex GlideLock Bracelet: possibly the greatest stainless steel bracelet to ever go on a watch. the balance of its form, fit, and function is simply unmatched.

-The North Face Apex Elevation Jacket: not too bulky but stays very warm

-Pentel Hi-Polymer Erasers: superlative erasers that are reasonably cheap

------
akavel
I've fallen in love with the Parker Jotter pen (the full-steel version)
[http://www.parkerpen.com/en-US/jotter-us](http://www.parkerpen.com/en-
US/jotter-us). Stumbled into it by accident (a marketing/promotional gift).
Never knew it's apparently "a classic".

Other than that, I'm very fond of my Surface Pro 4 (the lowest-specced but
fanless version). Though only since I've got my first one replaced, as it was
constantly crashing.

------
DonHopkins
Tom Bihn's bags. Not only stylish and usefully designed, but practically
indestructible!

[https://www.tombihn.com/](https://www.tombihn.com/)

------
JeremyMorgan
Lately, the first thing that comes to mind is the ShuttlePro v2

[http://www.contourdesign.com/US/product/shuttlepro-v2/](http://www.contourdesign.com/US/product/shuttlepro-v2/)

Recommended highly by other people editing video, and the first time I used
it, I felt like an expert. Once I got the keys mapped that I like and started
getting good with it, it's become an extension of my hand.

Best $100 I've spent on technology in a long time.

------
s_kilk
The Fender Stratocaster

~~~
s_kilk
[Can't edit]

I'll also concede the Gibson Les Paul is a wonderful piece of design too.

------
richardw
Earhoox. [https://earhoox.com/](https://earhoox.com/)

For whatever reason, all earphones fall out of my ears. Exercise, walking
around the house, whatever - they just don't work for me. The Earhoox sort
that 100%.

Only issues: I had to use a nail-clipper to cut the rough mold edges. They do
fall off the earbuds quite easily when e.g. in pockets. But if I lost them,
I'd order another pair that day.

~~~
owenjonesuk
In-ear headphones always fall out of my left ear. At first I thought it was
something to do with the ridges in my ear, because they're quite different
between my left and my right ear. Then last year I had an ear infection and
the doctor told me that I have a narrow ear canal in my left ear, so I'm
guessing that's the reason. Apparently it also means I'm more prone to getting
ear infections.

Bose have something for in-ear headphones called StayHear tips. They work
really well for me. They look exactly like Earhoox, so maybe if I'd found
Earhoox first I could have just used them.

------
gravelc
My Seiko SARY57 mechanical (automatic) watch.

Beautifully made, looks great, does what it's supposed to do, not too
expensive. Simply can't ask for more design-wise in my opinion.

[https://www.amazon.com/PRESAGE-mechanical-self-winding-
windi...](https://www.amazon.com/PRESAGE-mechanical-self-winding-winding-
SARY055/dp/B00KKDWHQ2)

Kindle Paperwhite probably comes a close 2nd.

------
cnnsucks
Walther PPQ M2 9mm. We're in the midst of a small arms golden age right now
and this pistol is the closest to a local optimum as currently exists.

You asked.

------
lisper
Coral Common Lisp on a Mac Plus. Still viable today, over thirty years later,
as Clozure Common Lisp.

The Sharp EL-5813
([http://www.rskey.org/el5813](http://www.rskey.org/el5813)). I still have the
one I bought in 1980. Works like a charm. I can't even remember the last time
I changed the batteries.

The original Keurig K-10 mini (the one without the DRM).

~~~
lakkal
The first calculator I owned was a Sharp EL-506C (1981?). I loved that thing,
but it died and I replaced it with an EL-506G, which I used into the late 90s.
And now I need to dig it up again for use in a class I'm taking (phone
calculators are not permitted for use during exams).

Looks like Sharp is up to the EL-506W model now, still recognizably the same
lineage as your 5813 or my 506C.

------
noonespecial
HP 48G

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_48_series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_48_series)

~~~
wiredfool
HP 28S.

------
dpcan
I have a thin, fold-out, apx 2 inch box cutter knife that fits perfectly in my
small jeans pocket. I need it around work all day long and it's always there
for me and I don't feel it otherwise. It locks when it flips out too which I
appreciate, and there's a button to press to safely fold it back in. It just
has such an elegant, simple, and safe design, I love it.

~~~
miguelrochefort
You mean a tap knife?

[https://www.amazon.com/Internets-Best-Cutter-Utility-
Retract...](https://www.amazon.com/Internets-Best-Cutter-Utility-
Retractable/dp/B01MG24EIJ/ref=pd_lpo_328_tr_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VA06EMWQCX2CQW766X0R)

------
nodesocket
My Tag Heuer watch[1]. Extremely well made and beautifully designed and
crafted. Had mine for 13 years (daily wear) and it still looks fantastic.

[1] -
[https://storage.googleapis.com/attachments.outofpawn.com/att...](https://storage.googleapis.com/attachments.outofpawn.com/attachments/30720/large/IMG_0078__2_.jpg)

------
pnathan
emacs.

it's designed to grow and change, and it does so. It has the Quality Without A
Name.

~~~
bobbylox
Great Christopher Alexander Reference

------
netrap
I haven't used a Mac in a long time but BBEdit left a lasting impression on
me. I really quite like it, but I use Windows mostly :(

------
Cub3
The first thing I though of was a Trangia Stove [0], simple and clever design,
cheap to run, has saved me a few times in the bush and built to last (still
have the one I inherited from my father).

[0]: [http://trangia.se/en/camping-stoves-
series-27/](http://trangia.se/en/camping-stoves-series-27/)

------
subinsebastien
The Nexus Prime. I have been using this particular mobile phone for so long,
because of its clean physical design and stock Android experience.
[https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-I9250-Galaxy-Nexus-
Unlocked/d...](https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-I9250-Galaxy-Nexus-
Unlocked/dp/B005ZEF01A)

------
BuckRogers
1\. Apple iPhone 4 and newer (hardware & software)

2\. Commodore 64 (greatest desktop PC design for many reasons from hardware,
software and documentation)

3\. Apple Macbook Pro 2016 and all unibody MBPs (hardware)

I also really like my Victorinox Waiter Swiss Army Knife. The corkscrew is
better than on my Leatherman and I use these at least once a week as we take a
bottle of wine out to dinner.

------
JohnJamesRambo
I'd have to say my Moto X first generation was the best phone I've ever used.
I leave for other phones or break the screen but always go back to it and buy
another one used. It is just the perfect size and fast and everything works as
it should (except for a few flaws like the headphone jack which craps out
after extended use).

~~~
loco5niner
I LOVE my frist-gen Moto X Had it 3 years and don't want to give it up.

------
sz4kerto
Stokke/Variable rocking kneeling chair.

[http://www.arredamentisartori.it/wp-
content/uploads/2013/05/...](http://www.arredamentisartori.it/wp-
content/uploads/2013/05/Variable_Leather009.jpg)

After all the pricey Aeron crap that is actually _bad_ for my back, this
works.

~~~
ptman
I've heard it said that this is bad for your knees, but I don't know one way
or the other.

------
strictnein
Tupperware orange peeler

------
julian_t
Lowden acoustic guitars. Never found anything to match the design (never mind
sound) of my '82 L23.

La Pavoni coffee maker. Replace O-rings and give it a service every couple of
years and it'll last forever.

Copper cooking pans, especially old ones by Leon Jaeggi. Amazing cookware that
will last forever, given the odd retinning.

------
miguelrochefort
Kinesis Advantage

\- Ergonomic layout

\- Cherry MX Brown mechanical switches

\- Key remapping

\- Keyboard layout switching (QWERTY/Dvorak)

The best keyboard I've ever used. Not cheap though ($300).

------
akshatpradhan
I'm not affiliated in any way with this website, but I've been purchasing
products recommended by www.ConsumerSearch.com since 2007 and I've been
extremely pleased with all of their recommendations.

Some of those recommendations have been with me for 10 years and the designs
are still easy on my brain.

------
snizzitch
DJI Mavic Pro. Its flying capabilities are remarkable, the 4K video looks
almost surreal, and all fits into a pouch the size of a _medium-sized_ camera
pouch.

Also very impressed with the build quality of various USB extended batteries,
"bullet-proof" USB charging wires, and wall chargers from Anker.

------
sprocketonline
The Red Solo Cup.

[http://www.slate.com/articles/business/branded/2011/10/red_c...](http://www.slate.com/articles/business/branded/2011/10/red_cups_how_solo_s_disposable_drinking_vessel_became_an_america.html)

------
dennisvdvliet
A 1982 Toyota Landcruiser we just bought to take a road trip with.

[https://clipboard-
dvdv.s3.amazonaws.com/WhatsApp_Image_2017-...](https://clipboard-
dvdv.s3.amazonaws.com/WhatsApp_Image_2017-02-20_at_14.02.18.png)

Great car, easy to work on, easy to fix and simple.

------
mohoyt
Canon 5D3 - feels exceptional in your hand, takes fantastic photos out of the
box, and with all the more advanced features just as accessible for when you
need them.

Patagonia Nano Puff Jacket - so light, stuffs into it's inner pocket,
sufficiently warm, windproof and layerable. Pretty much perfect.

~~~
throwanem
That looks like a solid jacket. I've been using a ski jacket (also Patagonia)
that's also light, warm, windproof, and layerable, but also not small or
compactible and thus inconvenient as hell when it's not needed for all parts
of a mass-transit commute. I'll have to check that out further - thanks for
the tip!

------
tedmiston
Herman Miller Embody chair

AeroPress

Muji pocket notebooks

~~~
richardw
Love the Embody. It's something I recommend 100% when people have chair
issues. Had it for probably 5 years and it should easily hit the 12 year
guarantee they give.

Issue: cats love it too, so I often have a towel on it to protect against
their scratching tendencies. Looks less sexy but whatever.

------
martin_bech
Back in the 92, this was by far the best TV. Best remote, best everything, and
worked seemlessly with a motorised stand, using the same remote.

Beovision MX6000

[https://www.beoworld.org/prod_details.asp?pid=641](https://www.beoworld.org/prod_details.asp?pid=641)

------
0xbadf00d
Minaal Backpack - [https://www.minaal.com/](https://www.minaal.com/) I got the
version 1.0 with kickstarter and have used it almost daily ever since. Lovely
bag with thoughtful design for daily work use or as a weekend bag.

~~~
synaesthesisx
I have both the 1.0 and the Minaal Daily - I actually love the Daily even more
since it's the perfect size for commuting or weekend trips. I use it daily as
my "office in a bag", and love how accessible electronics/papers are.

------
louhike
My Amazon wishlist just grew a lot.

------
wallflower
Bonavita tea kettle. Set the temperature exactly.

[http://bonavitaworld.com/products/10l-digital-variable-
tempe...](http://bonavitaworld.com/products/10l-digital-variable-temperature-
gooseneck-kettle)

------
anonlawyer
Nikon FE manual focus SLR. Every control a real photographer needs, nothing
you don't, and the match needle exposure meter works better than anything else
ever invented. Tough—mine is 35+ years old and works like it's brand new.

------
sampo
The Jonas peeler for peeling fruit and veg

[https://www.amazon.com/Linden-Sweden-Jonas-Peeler-
Original/d...](https://www.amazon.com/Linden-Sweden-Jonas-Peeler-
Original/dp/B00176JEY4)

------
shripadk
1\. Macbook Air 2013.

2\. Herman-Miller Embody Chair (best chair if you have lower back problems).

3\. Apple Airport Time Capsule (best backup device + router).

4\. Epson L565 + WiFi. Absolutely great printer/scanner. Easy to configure and
use.

5\. Merkur-33C Classic (best safety razor in my opinion).

~~~
mrexroad
+1 for the Herman-Miller Embody chair. Crazy expensive, but far cheaper than
medical bills. Aeron and most other ergo chairs never worked for me (properly
sized and all).

------
clumsysmurf
Zebralight H52 headlamp with eneloops [http://www.zebralight.com/H52w-AA-
Headlamp-Neutral-White_p_1...](http://www.zebralight.com/H52w-AA-Headlamp-
Neutral-White_p_120.html)

~~~
falsedan

      > eneloops
    

Kind of amazed at eneloops, usually moreso than whatever they're powering

------
exabrial
My Alclair Audio custom molded IEMs. You literally haven't heard music until
you have a custom pair of IEMs. I'm blown away what I hear in music that I
couldn't hear before.

*Also protects my hearing from loud drummers

------
tuyguntn
good old Nokia phones with buttons which only does one thing exceptionally
good

------
lessclue
Muji kitchenware. Their bowls, spoons, forks. High quality steel, beautiful
dull-silver finish, even and smooth corners, no unnecessary crevices or
embellishments. Just perfect. The off-white ceramic bowls, whew.

------
rmm
Lenovo x220.

Upgrade ram, add a mSSd. Rockstar

------
sasaf5
This is the most satisfying thread I have read in years :)

My contribution: Pilot Frixion pens. The ink erases with heat, which can be
applied by rubbing the other end of the pen on the paper.

This pen has eliminated my need for pencils.

------
codingmonkey23
I always loved the Apple G3 Powerbook for it's design. It has the silhouette
of womens hips and is a piece of simplistic beauty. Also loved the two shades
of spy-black they used for the body :-)

------
rodionos
AK-47

------
broswell
Linotype Line Casting Machine
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linotype_machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linotype_machine)

~~~
dredmorbius
I just ran across a video on how those work (through the History of
Information website -- a dangerous timesink but an absolutely fascinating
site).

The flow of matrices, keyboard, roman and _italic_ typefaces, justification,
casting, and return mechanism for the matrices (keyed by teeth) is absolutely
fascinating. A study in mechanical logic.

Even the automated linotype -- via punched tape -- was only a bolted-on
(literally) extension of the original.

Here:
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6wHiddZOfa8](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6wHiddZOfa8)

------
MaysonL
Oberon/F on the 68K Macs was the sweetest IDE I've ever used.

------
znpy
Thinkpad X220.

------
cjf4
Probably a Le Creuset dutch oven. Versatile, lasts forever, simple.

~~~
icc97
Almost any Le Creuset cooking pots

------
nicpottier
Ortlieb messenger bag:
[https://www.ortlieb.com/en/Messenger%20Bag/](https://www.ortlieb.com/en/Messenger%20Bag/)

Have had one for over 10 years now, used it for bike commuting in Seattle,
motorcycle commuting in Rwanda and a grocery shopping in Ecuador. It is pretty
much indestructible, to the point that I wonder how they can afford to make
it. The velcro is starting to stick less now but otherwise it is perfect and
that seems repairable.

Gaggia Coffee Deluxe & Haro Slim Grinder:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001804CLY/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001804CLY/)
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001KOA4Q/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001KOA4Q/)

For roughly $400 you can get yourself a setup that will make you better
latte's than 90% of coffee shops. I have a souped up PID'd Silvia with a super
fancy burr grinder as well, which is also great, but the bang for the buck of
the Gaggia is hard to beat and it is serviceable, so you can take it apart and
descale or repair it for decades to come. The hand grinder has enough
adjustability for this class of machine, produces a super consistent grind and
adds a fun routine to your morning.

Dell USB-C Multi-Adapter:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012DT6KW2/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012DT6KW2/)

Ethernet, VGA, USB-3 and HDMI in a tiny little adapter which has a cable that
folds on itself. This is a pretty perfect companion to the new MBP's and works
without drivers. Really nicely done and has been reliable for me, always keep
it in my bag.

Swiss Tech Utility Key:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001EFSTI/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001EFSTI/)

Always have it on my keychain, passes security in airports, super handy.
Really see no reason to NOT have one of these.

Leatherman Wave:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JCN6C8/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JCN6C8/)

Others designs have come and gone but I've had one of these for 20 years and
it is still going strong. Super sharp blades that keep an edge, one handed
opening and tools that actually work. I really don't think anyone has improved
on its design since introduction, it is the type of thing you can hand down to
someone.

~~~
throwanem
> Swiss Tech Utility Key

I had one of these for a while, but came to much prefer the Leatherman Squirt
S4, in large part because the blade on the Utili-Key is extremely sharp and
ideally placed to slice fingers if the tool is not used with the most
exquisite care. Ask me how I know.

The Squirt won't pass security screening, but I've never had trouble with it
in checked baggage. The closest I've come to having an issue was when I forgot
to take it off my keyring before reporting for jury duty last year; I was of
course relieved of it before being permitted to pass the entry checkpoint, but
was also able to recover it when I departed, with the thanks of the city and
no panel assignment (again, dammit!), at the end of the day.

------
rachkovsky
Nest Learning Thermostat:
[https://store.nest.com/product/thermostat](https://store.nest.com/product/thermostat)

------
andrei_says_
Davinci Resolve is a fullly featured professional video editing and color
grading suite. The free version has pretty much much everything I'll ever need
For video editing.

------
nathan_long
My dad's old stereo receiver from the 70s. It was easy to connect an MP3
player invented decades later.

By contrast, my 5-year-old car has a useless built-in GPS that can't be
replaced.

------
minikomi
Any of the Olympus cameras designed by Yoshihisa Maitani - pen F and original
OM-1 being particular standouts. Simply wonderful objects to hold and even
more fun to use.

------
acrophiliac
Post-it notes

------
fuzzfactor
Hewlett-Packard products before they started making PC's.

------
ljsocal
Most Patagonia products. The last 5-6 years they've greatly increased their
range of offerings with no noticeable diminution of quality (from my
perspective).

------
reitanqild
Netbeans.

Sublime text.

KDE 3 and KDE 5.

My fathers old IBM 486. (Had working suspend resume back in 95.)

The G3 back in military.

------
dbg31415
2013 15-inch MBP served me very well.

Was the laptop I was most happy with.

------
SpacemanSpiff
HP 32SII scientific calculator. I had one in high school (not sure what
happened to it), recently picked one up on ebay and haven't regretted it!

~~~
sizzzzlerz
I'd suggest the HP-16c programmer's calculator. It was small, programmable,
and did calculations and conversions in hex, octal, decimal, and binary. At
the time I bought one, the early 80's, I was doing embedded programming in
assembler the thing was a life saver. And what's cool is that I still have it
and it still works.

------
sjm
Happy Hacking Pro 2 keyboard

Fuji X-T1 & Fuji lenses with manual aperture rings (e.g. 23mm, 35mm..)

Eames chair

Slayer Espresso machine

ACME cups

Audeze LCD-3

MacBook Pro 2015

Emacs (especially org-mode, but the open-ended extensible design in general is
genius)

Engineered Garments parka

------
drewjaja
National Microwave, still going strong after 30+ years

------
csabapalfi
A babyzen yoyo stroller. Folds down to a size of a backpack so can easily
bring it on board airplanes. Really light but still has a strong frame.

------
koja86
* grep, sort, uniq ... * Microsoft Natural Keyboard

~~~
dbg31415
Agreed.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Natural_keyboard#/me...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Natural_keyboard#/media/File:MS_Natural_Keyboard_Elite.png)

------
bschwindHN
\- Victorinox Classic SD Pocket Knife

\- Japanese toilet roll holders

\- 3M Command Strips

~~~
dirwiz
One step better is the Victorinox Swiss Army Manager Pocket Tool. Adds a
bottle opener, philips driver & pen in a slightly thicker package.
[http://a.co/gsud2iY](http://a.co/gsud2iY)

~~~
bschwindHN
Looks good! I like the SD though because it's cheaper and I'm constantly
repurchasing them due to forgetting them when I go through security at
airports.

------
michalpt
For me it is Nokia 3310. I could not afford it as a kid but I always
"borrowed" it from my dad and play with it for a while :)

------
jgamman
Swagelok - literally everything in the catalogue.

------
pawadu
1\. I have products from Bang & Olufsen to be exceptionally well designed.
Sure, they cost fives times more but IMHO its worth it.

2\. Nokia 3310

------
ngcazz
\- the Ableton Push 2 controller \- the iPod mini

------
ChuckMcM
Yamaha KX88 keyboard. It was super heavy but excellent key "action". My SY08
is close but still not the same.

~~~
dperez
I would also mention Korg SV-1 [1]. Despite being quite new to be judged, I
think KORG managed to deliver a very nice UX. They removed a lot of features
found in every keyboard but they managed to make it more fun and visually
attractive.

UX of musical instruments is amazing: whereas some companies are creating
crazy new designs (e.g. the Teenage Engineering OP-1 mentioned in this
thread), others are going back to old but solid designs of the '70s and
before.

[1]
[http://www.korg.com/us/products/synthesizers/sv_1_black/](http://www.korg.com/us/products/synthesizers/sv_1_black/)

------
Brass
Pentel Client Pens. Go-Ruck Slick backpack.

~~~
WillPostForFood
On the pen theme: Pilot Hi-Tec-C Gel Pen

~~~
cynisme
By far the best ball point pens.

------
codemac
Conn 79H Trombone. Just gorgeous sound, beautiful design, and even the
trombone case just seemed right. Still love it.

------
hector_ka
Spracht Konf-X Buds Active Noise Cancelling Earbuds.

Lifetrak c410 watch - battery life more than 6 months.

Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Squared.

------
fredmorcos
The Leopold FC750R(T) mechanical keyboard.

------
antoaravinth
I would go with Kindle and apple macbooks!

~~~
antoaravinth
Why downvote? Could you please tell me the reason for downvote?

------
rhelsing
Vitamix Blender - The power of a lawnmower, easy to use, easy to clean, 5 year
warranty. It's a power-tool.

------
miguelrochefort
\- Kinesis Advantage

\- Darn Tough socks

\- Microsoft Surface Pro 4

\- Instant Pot

\- ChefSteps Joule

\- Hydro Flask

\- Tom Bihn 25

\- GORUCK GR1

\- ThermoWorks ThermaPen Mk4

\- humangear capCAP

\- Leatherman Wave

\- Leatherman Squirt PS4

\- Victorinox Bantam Alox

\- Google Chromecast

\- Fisher Space Pen

\- Herman Miller Aeron

\- Buff Merino Wool

\- Lace Anchors

------
andrei_says_
A one-hour kitchen timer. Turn the dial to the desired time and that's it.

The dial also shows the remaining time.

------
michalptacek
Sega Genesis/Mega Drive as a kid. I mean that console looks great even by
today’s standards :)

------
cynisme
Pilot Hi-Tec C PakBoat Canoes Leica MP Opinel No. 6 Lems Boulder Boots MSR
Wisperlite

------
AndrewOMartin
Bic Cristal Ballpoint pen. Blue.

~~~
cynisme
Pilot Hi-Tec C's are better having used both.

~~~
AndrewOMartin
The fact that a box of 100 blue Bics is (presumably) much cheaper than the
Pilot equivalent is an important part of the design for me.

------
joshscorp
Japanese toilet bidet...so clean

------
samsolomon
First of all, this thread is fantastic. If I wasn't designing and building
interfaces, I'd love to give industrial design a shot. There are so many
seemingly mundane things that we take for granted. Here's a few favorites:

YETI Rambler - 20oz

[http://yeti.com/rambler](http://yeti.com/rambler)

I've owned so many different insulated coffee mugs, but this is by far the
best I've owned. What's particularly interesting to me about this one is the
open top, I can drink from it like any to-go coffee, but the temperature stays
warm for hours. Alternatively, I've filled it with ice and water and had the
ice last my entire workday.

—

Mochi Drawstring Backpack

[https://www.mochibrand.com/](https://www.mochibrand.com/)

Drawstring backpacks tend to be pretty fickle. Often they get tangled, jam and
break. I've had a Mochi drawstring back for the last three years and love it.
The strings are much thicker on the Mochi. I'm not sure what is different
about the design of the strings, but I have not once had a jam—not in three
years.

—

Withings WiFi Scale

[http://www.withings.com/us/en/products/new-
scales](http://www.withings.com/us/en/products/new-scales)

Ever since I wrestled in high school, I've been obsessed with my weight. Maybe
it is a little compulsive, but I weigh myself two or three times each day.
Withings has an app keeps track of your weight, body fat percentage and BMI
over time. I find it fascinating to see the fluctuations and averages. You can
see what the app looks like here.

[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/health-mate-steps-
tracker/id...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/health-mate-steps-
tracker/id542701020?mt=8)

—

Logitech K750 Solar Keyboard

[https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/wireless-solar-
keyboa...](https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/wireless-solar-
keyboard-k750-mac)

I'm certain everyone here has their own opinions about keyboards. I'm a huge
fan of the Logitech solar keyboard. I got sick of changing the batteries on my
Apple keyboard every few months so I bought this keyboard. What's amazing is
that even a room with very little light, the thing has been running without
issue.

—

Timex Weekender Watch

[http://www.timex.com/men/collections/weekender/](http://www.timex.com/men/collections/weekender/)

Watches are pretty subjective, but I think the weekender is a fantastic buy
for the money. You can generally find them for $30 to $40. You can purchase a
few different nato bands, and it's like you have several different watches!
One caveat is that the watch is incredibly loud. I love it because it reminds
me of the clock at my grandmother's house in the country. If you're sensitive
to loud watches, it's probably not the right one for you.

~~~
ohyoutravel
RE: The Withings WiFi Scale. I bought one in early-2011, which I think is when
they first came out. I have been using it almost-daily since then, six years
ago. Zero issues whatsoever. I change the batteries about one a year or more
it seems, and plug it in to change the wifi settings when I move to a new
house or something. Absolutely flawless and now I have six years of weight
data easily accessible. Withings even allows easy export of that data to a
spreadsheet, so I do that every year or so just so I have a backup.

The newer Withings scales have some newer features, but I have been unable to
justify the purchase because the one I have is indestructible.

------
LeicaLatte
Vim.

------
chadcmulligan
Dell ultrasharp monitors

Logitech trackballs

Macbook pro (2016)

prismacolor pencils

ikea furniture

~~~
allan_wind
I bought a pair of wireless Logitech trackballs for home and work. Both died
at about the same time, and when the warranty replacements died (for a total
of 4) I switched to Clear Superior Technology.

~~~
shanusmagnus
Came here to post about Clearly Superior Technology trackballs. So so so much
better than anything else I've ever used. I'm actually sad that most people
don't know they exist.

~~~
chadcmulligan
I've never heard of them. They look less conformable than the trackball's
moulded fit that, I find quite comfortable, this is not the case I gather?

Whenever I don't use a trackball for any length of time I get wrist pain, so
if these are more comfortable then I'm interested in trying one.

~~~
allan_wind
Ergonomics is very personal. I rest my palm on the CST trackball so my wrist
is in a (near) neutral position and fingers are positioned with easy access to
the controls. I manipulate the ball itself with my pointer and two other
middle fingers usually with the phalanges proximales part.

~~~
chadcmulligan
thanks, I prefer the trackball using my thumb. I did try one of the logitech
ones that you use your fingers with but it didn't really suit me. I'd guess
I'd have the same issue with the CST one, though I am curious to try one now,
I'll keep an eye out.

------
zebrafish
Canvas LMS. Coming from blackboard, Canvas is a god-send.

------
jonbaer
\- Thinkpad 701C(S) w/ butterfly keyboard

\- Shouter (for Android)

\- Amazon Kindle

\- Leatherman Wave

\- Collapsable Electric Kettle

\- Esbit Stoves

\- Merrell Hiking Shoes

\- Moleskins

~~~
walrus
Butterfly keyboard demo:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLj3aCfqzOM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLj3aCfqzOM)

------
brett40324
Fender American Made Stratocasters

Amish rocking chairs

Audio cables by Monster

Timberland shoes

Chicago thick crust pizza:)

------
ggregoire
Macbook Air 11" (I'm writing this with it)

------
rtcoms
Nokia 1100 - World's best selling mobile phone

------
mudil
Grado headphones.

~~~
blunte
My SR-80s have what many reviewers (and I) say is the best sound for anything
under $1k (and these were under $100).

That said, they're poorly designed mechanically, and they use lower quality
materials - especially the type of plastic. The way the speaker unit attaches
to the head piece is just a little pole of metal (textured at the end) stuck
into a plastic hole, and the hole can eventually stretch. The result is the
speaker unit falling off the headpiece... and there's really no way to fix it.
Superglue is a short term solution, and it's hard to get the angle of the can
perfect.

My point of saying all this is that the sound engineers did a great, great
job, but the product/mechanical design guys - or maybe the production guys
after them, ruined it.

~~~
wiredfool
My SR60's broke that plastic yoke -- I wound up replacing the part. They
lasted ~20 years until the Y junction of the headphone cord started having
intermittent faults.

I was going to replace the cord with a detachable mic + volume cable, but
wound up just getting a set of SR-80s.

Sound wise, I think the high end Sennheisers have better balance and are a bit
more comfortable. A little clearer treble, not as heavy bass. But either way,
they're really good for the price.

------
Roverlord
Logitech MX Revolution mouse, c2005.

Gone but never forgotten.

------
meggar
A violin. 200 years old and it still worked.

------
gontard
The thermomix:
[http://thermomix.vorwerk.com/home/](http://thermomix.vorwerk.com/home/)

------
gok2
This little game called Pokemon Yellow.

------
pcvarmint
Casio FX-4000P and FX-7000G calculators

------
MrTortoise
Knife and fork

~~~
kagamine
chopsticks!

------
sitkack
Toyota Corolla Wagon

Ikea all steel espresso maker

DC3 aircraft

90s era steel mountain bike

------
kbouck
Eames Aluminum Group Management Chair

------
hossbeast
Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic keyboard

~~~
jon-wood
I really wanted to love it but its just not quite as good the old natural
keyboards. The separate numeric pad is never where I want it, there's not
enough key travel, and _that awful escape key!_

------
ianlevesque
iPod with the spinning click-wheel

------
clishem
The Logitech M235 wireless mouse.

------
CodeWriter23
Any pre-Fiorina HP Laser Printer.

~~~
tonyedgecombe
LaserJet III was the peak, I worked for a company that sold a ton of them and
everything after that had much higher failure rates.

~~~
tech2
In-office, the II seemed like a battleship.

I bought a 6MP second-hand at a university IT sale and that thing kept
trucking for _years_ afterward. I'd still have it now if I hadn't moved
countries.

------
bookofjoe
I've been reading this thread since I clicked on it 3 hours ago: every
contribution/comment. Wonderful stuff, I've learned SO MUCH. Time to give back
— here are my faves:

— Fiskars all-purpose scissors (they make a L-handed version for weirdos like
me, such a delight after growing up with R-handed iterations):
[https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-All-purpose-Left-hand-
Scissor...](https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-All-purpose-Left-hand-
Scissors-12-94508697WJ/dp/B00006IFN8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1487611853&sr=8-2&keywords=fiskars+scissors+left+handed)

— Fiskars scissors with non-stick blade coating (wonderful for cutting tape)
[https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Non-stick-Titanium-
Softgrip-S...](https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Non-stick-Titanium-Softgrip-
Scissors/dp/B003YNI688/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1487611894&sr=8-5&keywords=fiskars+scissors+all-
purpose)

— iPod nano Gen 7 [latest] (FM radio; Podcasts; video; photos; bright 2.5"
screen; super-thin & light; beautiful esthetically; Bluetooth lets me run with
my music without wires) [http://www.apple.com/ipod-
nano/](http://www.apple.com/ipod-nano/)

— BlueAnt Bluetooth earphones: ≤1/6 the price of AirPods/Beats wireless;
comfortable; good sound; easy to sync & operate; lightweight; they stay in;
connecting cord so you don't lose one earphone; cool looking IMHO)
[https://www.amazon.com/BlueAnt-Pump-Wireless-Sportbuds-
Black...](https://www.amazon.com/BlueAnt-Pump-Wireless-Sportbuds-
Black/dp/B00ISRUFXY/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1487612394&sr=8-10&keywords=blueant+bluetooth+headset)

— O'Keefe's Working Hands cream (unbelievably effective, best thing ever for
cracked/chapped skin) [https://www.amazon.com/OKeeffes-Working-Hands-Hand-
Cream/dp/...](https://www.amazon.com/OKeeffes-Working-Hands-Hand-
Cream/dp/B00121UVU0/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1487612691&sr=1-1&keywords=okeefes+working+hands)

— DuraScoop Cat Litter Scoop (the Maybach of litter scoops)
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DCAAP4?psc=1&redirect=...](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DCAAP4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00)

Easton Bat Weight (so many uses around the house: paperweight;
equipment/furniture support; door stop; small item container; weapon in
extremis; I could go on) [https://www.amazon.com/Easton-Bat-Weight-
Royal-16-Ounce/dp/B...](https://www.amazon.com/Easton-Bat-Weight-
Royal-16-Ounce/dp/B0000C8WFB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487612891&sr=8-1&keywords=easton+bat+weight)

Trombone paper clips (so much better than regular ones, it's not even funny,
plus they look cool) [https://www.amazon.com/ACCO-Regal-Length-
Silver-A7072130/dp/...](https://www.amazon.com/ACCO-Regal-Length-
Silver-A7072130/dp/B001RRZ71C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487613049&sr=8-1&keywords=trombone+paper+clips)

— Rain Design mStand Laptop stand (functional; beautiful; lasts forever)
[https://www.amazon.com/Rain-Design-mStand-Laptop-
Patented/dp...](https://www.amazon.com/Rain-Design-mStand-Laptop-
Patented/dp/B000OOYECC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487613107&sr=8-1&keywords=rain+laptop+stand)

— Pioneer Kuro Elite Plasma TV [2007] Yes, it cost $5,000 10 years ago — still
works perfectly, never had a single problem, picture is sometimes
3-dimensional it's so lifelike; as good as ANYTHING at the very highest end
today INCLUDING LG 4K OLED and top-of-the-line Samsungs.

— Stagg Pour-Over Kettle with Integrated Thermometer (if you're a fanatic
about your coffee and demand the water be 200° ± 5° when you pour, this is
your baby. Beautifully designed, a pleasure to use)
[http://fellowproducts.com/shop/stagg/](http://fellowproducts.com/shop/stagg/)

------
s800
CygnusED

~~~
tech2
Now there's an editor I haven't heard about in MANY years :)

------
CaRDiaK
A door.

------
JimmyM
DrRacket IDE. Definitely.

------
psyc
SFML (2D game framework)

------
dharma1
Fender Rhodes

Sennheiser HD650 headphones

Uniqlo knitwear

------
laktak
paperclips. easy to use / can be hacked.

------
_ZeD_
Paper and pencil

------
nerform
T-72. Is great.

------
allard
Ducati Monster

------
_orcaman_
"The C Programming Language" by K&R.

------
probinso
spoons are pretty well designed

------
dbtc
Books.

------
malberto
velcro

------
rurban
Macbook Air

Nokia N95

------
malberto
velcro lego

------
nether
Meta: /r/buyitforlife has a lot content in this vein.

~~~
roryokane
Full URL:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/)

------
icantdrive55
Any Toyota truck/car with a 22R engine, with manual transmission.

Old cast iron cookware

Flobee (Laugh, but it cuts hair. You need to experiment with the extensions
though. For those that despise the annual haircut, hate the small talk, and
that lying response at the end of the ordeal, "It looks great!"; pick up a old
Flobee at a garage sale.)

In my world, a old IWC watch with a 853 movement. (I do watch repair, and this
might be my favorite movement. The older IWC's don't look flashy, but that
movement is well engineered. I can wear my old watch anywhere; only I know
what's under the crystal. I never worry about theft.

3/8" Snap-on combination metric/standard ratchet set. The one with the deep
sockets, and the standard sockets. Only buy used though. It comes in a red
case. (I once went to automotive school. Much of Snap-on is overpriced, but
this ratchet set has served me well.

------
mozumder
As much as I'd love to say iPhone or my MacBook Pro, I'd have to say the best-
designed thing I've used is probably my Nikon D3x, their top-of-the-line
professional SLR.

It does exactly what I want, and is so perfectly designed.

------
simooooo
Dyson vaccum cleaner

------
red-indian
Bostitch No-Jam Booklet Stapler

Trombone

Violin

Dozuki Saws

Atlatl

------
ronilan
A spoon.

Too bad there is none.

------
handojin
Magick in Theory and Practice

Tractatus Logico Philosophicus

Discipline and Punish

The Ethics

Beyond Good and Evil

The Gay Science

The Master and Margarita

The Prince

A Book of Five Rings

The Book of Changes

A Hero of our Times

At Swim Two Birds

------
polemic
Ok, this corkscrew:

[https://www.amazon.co.uk/MONOPOL-Bell-Corkscrew-BAROLO-
Germa...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/MONOPOL-Bell-Corkscrew-BAROLO-
Germany/dp/B004E1RZY0)

(Note this appears to be a later design, slightly less pretty as the original
IMO)

My parents bought one of these years maybe 15 years ago and I was always
fascinated how he thread was so smooth, well machined and balanced that you
could unwind it and it would smoothly wind back up under its own weight. When
it hit the bottom the momentum would allow the inner thread to continue
winding so it would bounce a couple of times.

Years lately, and we don't get many cork bottles in NZ any more, but I still
like to get it out occasionally to check that, yes indeed, it still does it
beautifully.

A simple thing, made well.

~~~
nailer
On that note: the Stelvin! No more cork rot and far less spoiled wine.

