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I've tracked every piece of clothing I've worn for three years (2021)

reaktor.com

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Re: I've tracked every piece of clothing I've worn for three years (2021)

#171
post #161
post #4

I did a double-take at the 3.5k Euro spend per year on clothing. My own spending is probably 2-3 orders of magnitude smaller. But then I saw how many shoes they own, and the fact that they have a summer house where at least one pair resides. This person lives differently to me.

It is good to have different people in the world. The article starts with "Have you ever wondered whether expensive clothes are worth their price?" I have never wondered that, no. I'm 49 years old and I'm not sure I have ever purchased an expensive clothe. I have, however, wondered whether an expensive screwdriver is worth its price, but I have not collected the data to support my Wiha habit.

Same here. I've never cared about expensive clothes. I've probably spent less than $500 on all my clothes for the last 5 years.

On the other hand I've spent at least $30K on computers and camera gear the last 10 years and bought a car for $65,000 last year.

Re: I've tracked every piece of clothing I've worn for three years (2021)

#172
post #4

I did a double-take at the 3.5k Euro spend per year on clothing. My own spending is probably 2-3 orders of magnitude smaller. But then I saw how many shoes they own, and the fact that they have a summer house where at least one pair resides. This person lives differently to me.

IMO most HN users, regardless of country, earn enough that they should be able to clothe themselves without relying on dubious labour or uncomfortable, stinky synthetics that will outlast them by centuries. I've started turning down 'free' conference t-shirts: I already have enough to wear for gardening or to use as rags. Not that OP is actually doing this. They're spending a lot of money because they're buying a lot…

I know this isn't the point of your comment and that a pair of Converse aren't an ergonomic marvel, but I do a lot of bushwalking and I prefer not to have prominent arch support in shoes and boots. I've found that it tends to interfere with the plantar fascia.

A lot of cheaper boots have these huge foam wedges that ram into your arch. I've got a pair of Keen boots that cause crippling pain after about 5km that I should throw out, and a pair of Merrell walking shoes that are only comfortable because I swapped the insole. Meanwhile, more expensive boots have limited arch support that's less intrusive.

While it depends on foot shape, I'd rather walk longer distances in a shitty pair of Converse than an equally shitty pair of shoes which advertise arch support.

Re: I've tracked every piece of clothing I've worn for three years (2021)

#173
post #79
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Feet" doesn't cover it. "Body" is more appropriate. Running with poor quality shoes unduly stresses your knees, hips, and lower back. Over time, this is likely to develop chronic pain, or bursitis, or other problems that can lead to long-term mobility issues. If you're going to run regularly, you should find a way to either afford the propert shoes in good repair, or learn to run barefoot

> learn to run barefoot Finally someone with the right idea!

I did this when I lived within 20 minutes of a long stretch of sandy beach. Would also work in an area with grass or soft soil. But now that my runs are all either poorly-maintained pavement or rocky, gravely trails, barefoot is simply not feasible.

Re: I've tracked every piece of clothing I've worn for three years (2021)

#174
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I’ll use regular sneakers until the soles fall off, but I’ve realized that with running shoes you can either take the pain in your wallet or in your feet. A hundred bucks every few months is better than not being able to move.

"Feet" doesn't cover it. "Body" is more appropriate. Running with poor quality shoes unduly stresses your knees, hips, and lower back. Over time, this is likely to develop chronic pain, or bursitis, or other problems that can lead to long-term mobility issues. If you're going to run regularly, you should find a way to either afford the propert shoes in good repair, or learn to run barefoot

Indeed. “Feet” was just a more pithy way of putting it. I started buying my favorite shoes no matter the sale price when my lower-quality shoes started affecting my knees, shins, and back.

Re: I've tracked every piece of clothing I've worn for three years (2021)

#175

Tracking all this data is pointless. How many clothes can you buy if you put that energy into making money instead? Buy what you like and what you intuitively know is working well for you. As for the analysis, the prices are subject to random inflation, and the actual wear and tear is highly variable. Even the quality of the same product bought years apart can be different enough to mess up the analysis.

> Buy what you like and what you intuitively know is working well for you. Nearly every time I actually look at the data for something, I'm surprised by at least one result. Our intuition is often swayed by our emotion. Sometimes people do things just because they find it interesting. Hobbies and projects are good. They don't all have to be "productive" in the traditional sense. And until the data is in, it's impossi…

>And until the data is in, it's impossible to know how productive it might be.

If you know how much you spend on clothes, you do have a cap on how much you can save. If that number is not huge, and the results non-obvious, then you really can conclude that it's a waste of time. Moreover, if you have lived a long time and experienced a variety of different clothes already, the data is likely to just confirm what you thought was obvious.

If you are in the business of making clothes, then the situation is different. You may be trying to optimize a design and thus experiments in your own life could be helpful. But even then, a lot of things are pretty obvious.

Re: I've tracked every piece of clothing I've worn for three years (2021)

#176
post #78
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends how much walking / hiking / running / whatever else you do. A typical pair of running shoes lasts somewhere around 300-500 miles. (You could probably stretch a pair further than that, but you run much higher risk of injury once the cushioning wears down.) If you put in a modest 5 miles a day and have two pairs in rotation, then expect to replace both pairs every 6 months (if not more often). It is not unco…

I'm not convinced you need cushioning. I spend zero on running shoes, and I've run two marathons like this.

I thought this, but even with efforts into my running technique I wasn't able to get rid of my knee pain until I tried Hokas. I've done all the "normie" stuff a casual would come across on youtube, do you have other tips on what I might be doing wrong or could do to get off the "cushion crutch"?

Re: I've tracked every piece of clothing I've worn for three years (2021)

#177
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's more than I spend, but you're on a tech forum full of nerdy engineers -- gaming rigs and their upgrades, hot new phones and laptops, travel, collectibles, legos, shop tools and materials, music gear, sporting and camping gear, etc each burn through that kind of budget real quick. And nobody would call out that kind of spend were it for one of those.

If you are buying all those, then you are buying massively more then you even have a chance to use.

What are you talking about? Someone can't play videogames and go camping?

Re: I've tracked every piece of clothing I've worn for three years (2021)

#178
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not convinced you need cushioning. I spend zero on running shoes, and I've run two marathons like this.

Do you use a zero drop shoe, barefoot style shoe, or run truly barefoot? I have noticed that I have been cranking up the cushioning as I have increased my mileage, but I also have found that my favorite sandals are zero drop Bedrocks.

I run without anything on my feet.

I tried everything else before arriving at this, and it's worked for 10+ years and two marathons.

Running form: think unicycle, not pogo stick.

Re: I've tracked every piece of clothing I've worn for three years (2021)

#179
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lost interest part of the way through. I don't need to read the whole thing to know he could be doing something better with his time.

Why so negative? You're not the keeper of his time. Maybe he doesn't smoke weed or play five hours of video games daily. Why can't you appreciate that he put effort into writing up a thought-provoking analysis that also helps other people?

I can appreciate that he put the analysis out but you can bet that he didn't do it to help other people. He did it to portray himself in a certain light. As I said there are many reasons why this is not helpful. Those are the thoughts that the blog post provoked in my mind, and I am one to geek out on the arcane sometimes too.

I didn't say I was the keeper of his time or that he's smoking weed and playing games daily, or that he should. I don't smoke weed or play games either. I'm just saying he should put all that energy into something better.

Re: I've tracked every piece of clothing I've worn for three years (2021)

#180
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting you mention shin splits - those (and ITBS) were my crippling complaint for 15 years, before I tried barefooting, basically in desperation.

Can you recommend any good resource on how to start seriously with barefoot running or walking?

I could be biased, but I like the book Run Barefoot Run Healthy. Also Barefoot Ken Bob's book and website.

There isn't much to learn - it's mainly a question of unlearning bad habits picked up through a lifetime of wearing unnatural built-up shoes, plus allowing the feet to slowly strengthen. If an able-bodied person spent a lifetime using crutches, the adaption to walking freely would take some time.

For inspiration, google: barefoot romero caltech saxton

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