Meta comment, but I'm curious about the money range of $200-$1000. Many threads like this are for cheaper products (granted, upper limit here of $200 is higher than usual), and a lot of the answers are repeated. I feel it's hard to justify spending larger amounts of money in the range I provided, but in the end, there are times when the value absolutely is worth it. Finding those times is the difficult part.
Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2022
351–360 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2022
#352Merino wool T-shirts. Cost about 30€ instead of previously used 3€ cotton T-shirts. Can wear one for about 3 weeks without washing, with no body odor. Much more pleasant to the skin, even for doing sports, driving, etc. Also, warm in winter, airy in summer. Plan to switch most clothing to merino wool.
I'd love for a Darn Tough like company to offer a lightweight Merino blend T-shirt with a lifetime warranty. I know nothing about the clothes business and wonder if it could be profitable.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2022
#353A pair of heavy dumbbells.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2022
#354Bose QuietComfort earbuds 2.
I have a pair of QC20 wired earbuds that I have been using since forever. I have really bad hearing and ironically, I am very sensitive to loud noises (e.g., mowing, flying, road noise on road trips). I really like to have the best noise suppressing earbuds I can find.
Last year I tried many different wireless ones as my QC20 were wearing out. I tried Samsung, Sony, and Bose QC earbuds 1. The ANC (Ambient noise cancelling) in the samsung and sony were just not to the level of my wired QC20’s. The Bose earbuds1 were actually better at ANC than my QC20’s. I was shocked, BUT I had so many problems with 2 different pairs I had to return them. It was all software issues as far as I could tell, but they either stopped connecting to my devices, or the left bud stopped working.
Fast forward to the Bose QC earbuds2 coming out and I gave them a try. They are expensive, but the ANC is world class. The fit is also WAY better than anything else, including the earbuds 1. The nailed it. At $300 I would not hesitate to buy these again if I lost them.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2022
#355I bought a trackball mouse. (Elecom Huge). I found that it ultimately ends up saving deskspace (since the device doesn't need space to move around). I found the device's size to be more comfortable for my hands than the small Logitech bluetooth mouse I was using.
I've got a Logitech Ergo M575, and an Elecom Relacon handheld trackball that I toss in my bag for when I'm working from outside the house.
I like the Relacon as a travel device vs. a larger trackball or small mouse because I can move my arm, hand, and wrist more, and more naturally, and still have the same control. I often find myself holding it across my chest or waist, and I can even type (not quickly, but still) while holding and using it. The buttons feel like the shoulder buttons on a Switch joycon, so there wasn't that much of a learning curve.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2022
#356The Zendure Passport III worldwide travel adapters changed my reality in 2022 (~$70). It sounds boring, but man. I've had many worldwide plug adapters in my day, and many chargers. But the Zendure has a 65W USB-C fast charger in it, plus 3 more USB-C and a single USB-A. When I travel (and that includes "traveling to the coworking place"), I used to bring: * A plug adapter * My big ol' laptop charger brick and cord *…
This couldn't read more like a paid ad.
This is a thread of product recommendations, a list of features and why you like a product is definitely appropriate.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2022
#357Sodastream. Has significantly increased the amount of water i drink and conversely decreased other crap being drunk High end ricecooker ended up getting more use than expected. USB KVM style switch to change mouse/kyb over between work and personal device
My setup at home is 3 monitors, and I switch between a connected laptop (work), and my home desktop machine. IT means when I finish work I have to hit the switch to change input on each monitor (and with one setup vertically, it can be awkward, and one requires going through a menu, which is annoying). I also have to swap the USB dongles for keyboard and mouse from the laptop docking station to my desktop. Would a KV…
As someone that drastically simplified their desk setup for 3 computers this year: YES. A KVM would easily solve this.
You would need a triple monitor KVM with at least 2 USB inputs. You could also get an Ultrawide monitor to simplify further, which is what I have done.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2022
#358An electric insect swatter.
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2022
#359Airpod Pro 2 They are basically bionic ears. Headphones, headset, earplugs, hearing protection, hearing aids, extendable ears, and more. Wish they could act as universal translators, but I suppose that's still yet to come.
Does anyone know how well these work with an Android phone?
Re: Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2022
#360- darn tough socks: these retail for 20ish a pair last I checked but they're super high quality
- water boiler: can get a basic one for less than 30 bucks, or go with a higher end one for 100+. either way, having hot water readily available will change your life
- kettlebell (20lb, 35lb): these go for like 30-40 bucks on amazon. there are a lot of compound movements you can do with kettlebells that will highlight various muscle imbalances you have. super easy to incorporate a few kb exercises into your workout routine