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Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

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861–870 of 1001 posts

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#861

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.

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/)

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#862

Moka pots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot It is simple and just works.

This aluminum espresso maker has a couple design flaws.

1) Soft aluminum cup on the inside can often become bent due to people banging the cup against the waste bin to remove the coffee grounds. When it becomes bent, steam will leak around the cup, it is almost impossible to get it to reseal properly.

2) The gasket material burns at a very low temperature.

The Ikea RÅDIG [0] is one of the most indestructible best engineered espresso maker I have ever used. All steel construction (except the handle) and the elastomer seal has never warped or burned. I know people who have melted the handle off and still can use the espresso maker w/o replacing the seal.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30149839/

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#863
post #528

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...

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'.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#864
post #65

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

Yeah my first car was a 1990 Miata, which I ended up selling, and then later after regretting selling the first one, bought a '97. I haven't driven another car I like more than the NA series Miata.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#865
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-...

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...

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#866

Plus you can carry a few spares to drop on someone with brown skin, and presto , they're a bomb maker!

Please don't post pure inflammation like this. Civil discussion is no more resilient against incendiary devices than people.

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13685523 and marked it off-topic.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#868
post #848
post #26

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)

Until you need to replace literally anything in them. When their design suddenly looks massively hopeless compared to a thinkpad.

I feel like ThinkPads are severely underrated even for their time. Their user-serviceability may not help sell units, but for anyone who's actually owned, used, and needed to repair one, the design was genius.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#869
post #29

The Lido 2 Coffee Grinder: http://www.oehandgrinders.com/OE-LIDO-2-Manual-Coffee-Grinde... 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

> Trains in Switzerland (including the great app!) For any train lovers out-there I'd heartily recommend visiting Switzerland just for that. Yes, the country is quite expensive to visit (I paid almost 20 euros for a pizza at a so-and-so restaurant in Geneva), but if you're into trains you won't be disappointed.

It really is fantastic to take a three or four segment train trip with only a couple minutes connection time in between. As for your experience on food: never cheap out in Switzerland, you're still going to pay the same amount on dinner, you just get to decide if it sucks or not.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#870
post #832
post #38

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

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.

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...

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