Anything from Patagonia. And proper chopsticks.
Can recommend the Snow Peak Wabuki chopsticks
Ask HN: What are some of your “buy it for life” purchases?
181–190 of 205 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are some of your “buy it for life” purchases?
#182- a jacket made of pure leather, custom-made, from a local artisanal, spent ~$120 (quite expensive for India), wearing it for 8 years, and it keeps getting better , zero sign of wear and tear - several fountain pens, especially Pilot Metropolitan F, Lamy Safari M; also the Platinum Preppy is really great, did not expect much from such a cheap pen; contemplated buying better fountain pens now and then, but these are s…
> spent ~$120 (quite expensive for India) Mind sharing where you got that from? I am traveling to India next month and would love to buy one for myself.
A small village in West Bengal.
I also know of a neighborhood (multiple independent shops) that sells similar items in Kolkata (prev. Calcutta), but won't be custom made. But the stuff is really good.
If you are visiting Kolkata or WB, let me know. I will send you particulars.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of your “buy it for life” purchases?
#183Old Hitachi framing nail guns.
They run forever and can easily be rebuilt. My favorite one is a year younger than me with a born on date of 1987. They are indestructible.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of your “buy it for life” purchases?
#184Maybe my Mitutoyo caliper. Unless I step on it or it breaks I don't see a reason to replace it, and it should be able to last a lifetime. Some of the other simple woodworking tools like my marking gauge or steel rule come to mind as well, as they are pretty durable and I don't expect ever replacing them unless they break. Also, my cast iron skillet. It seems to get better as it ages, so it has a good chance to outlas…
Miti's are the best. I have one as well.
I love old woodworking hand tools. I buy them every chance I get. Slowly building my collection of Stanley hand planes. I have a couple of nice Swedish hand saws. Other assorted tools. USA made sockets and wrenches. Really any USA made old tools.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of your “buy it for life” purchases?
#185Estwing claw hammer. Forged out of a single piece of steel. I think it's theoretically possible to destroy one but it'll last a lifetime or two. Cast iron frying pans. The old kind with the machined (not just raw sand cast) inside bottom. You can destroy them by heating them red hot and then quenching, or dropping onto concrete (I know of both being done). Barring that, will last lifetimes. Any decent kitchen knives…
I run an Estwing 22 oz framing hammer as my daily driver. They really are indestructible. At most I have to regrind the head a bit once or twice a year to re-waffle it.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of your “buy it for life” purchases?
#186Not really "for life" (in that sense anyway), but I missed the first thread so I'll put it here, with apologies. After a lot of research, for Christmas 2020 I got a few "Airpro" masks[1] ($40-50). In short, it's a wearable HEPA filter that pumps filtered air into any standard N95 or KN95 mask. In theory this gives better filtration (both from higher efficiency and positive pressure), but mainly I love it because it e…
Good on you mate for keeping yourself and your loved ones safe !
I must say I admire your ability to keep cool when the minimizers creep out of the woodwork.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of your “buy it for life” purchases?
#187Asolo hiking boots. I had a pair for more than 10 years now. They appear very fatigued from the outside, but don’t show any structural issues. I don’t think I own any other clothing item that gets at least semi-regular usage that lasted this long.
Hasn't the outsole (the underside of the shoe) worn off? It gets completely flat on my hiking shoes after a year or two, leading to notably reduced grip, and that's the main reason I have to replace them once in a while. But mine are medium priced, so I am wondering if higher priced shoes like yours last longer.
Good boots can have their outsoles replaced by a cobbler. I bought Merell Wilderness boots with the intention of doing that but scuffed the toes so badly that I'm not sure I will bother. They're also the heaviest boot I've worn, adding effort to high difficulty mountain hikes. They were in the expensive category.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of your “buy it for life” purchases?
#188- Mechanical keyboard: Splurged a bit on a keyboard after going through a bunch of membrane keyboards early in my career. My current keyboard has been up and running for nearly a decade and shows no signs on wear and tear and I expect to have it running a few decades from now as well. - Cast Iron cookware: This is on the opposite end of the price spectrum, since cast iron cookware is (usually) quite reasonably priced…
I love the simplicity, economy, and durability of cast iron. The set I've had for the last decade will most likely outlive me, and the more I use it the nicer it gets. This past summer I bought a new 13" skillet (which cost all of $40!) and spent an afternoon grinding it smooth with an orbital sander. Re-seasoning took a while, but it is very nice to cook with.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of your “buy it for life” purchases?
#189A good soldering iron (~€70) A nice sleeping bag (~€300) We shall see about the rest. I recently bought a Stanley hot water bottle, I'll see how much I use it.
Any sleeping bag will inevitably lose warmth over time as the insulation (both natural and synthetic) becomes compacted. Their finite lifespan is quite a bit less than yours.
That's true, but you can refill them if necessary, and you should store them uncompacted (compact for travel).
Re: Ask HN: What are some of your “buy it for life” purchases?
#190- a jacket made of pure leather, custom-made, from a local artisanal, spent ~$120 (quite expensive for India), wearing it for 8 years, and it keeps getting better , zero sign of wear and tear - several fountain pens, especially Pilot Metropolitan F, Lamy Safari M; also the Platinum Preppy is really great, did not expect much from such a cheap pen; contemplated buying better fountain pens now and then, but these are s…
Which mechanical keyboard? Curious to compare against the original.