My Son of Sandlar merchant boots. I have two pairs, one in brown, one in black.

I got them at a Renaissance festival over a decade ago, and they’re still going strong. Son of Sandlar has a lot of very flamboyant footwear, things like this. But while I wanted some boots for costume purposes, if I’m spending that much on footwear, I want something that I can actually wear in everyday use. And the merchant boot style fits the bill. It has some flare to it, but they’re normal enough looking that I can wear them in regular settings.

And I wear them a lot. The black ones especially go with almost any outfit. And I live in the PNW, so we get cold and rain 8 months of the year. I wear these boots daily through the rainy season. And they’re really held up. I’m a decade in and still on the original soles, but the boots are made to be repairable. I’ll probably have these boots for the rest of my life. Really comfortable to.

My life has literally become an example of boots theory.

8bitdo controllers & PC accessories

These guys can make really good electronics, while maintaining that retro aesthetic

For years I always liked the Pinaud shave products, and I never realized that it smells like straight weed even though I was a huge stoner. Maybe that’s why I liked it so much.

I went a couple years without using it cause I stopped shaving, and then one day I decided to shave again so I used some and I was like “Holy fuck. Weed.”

So I checked the ingredients and sure enough, like half of them are terpenes.

I started rethinking my choices to travel with it by airplane, but I never had issues 🤷

I can swear just fine without any products, thank you very fucking much.

Red Boat fish sauce.

Cast iron pans when you learn how to season them well. As an unrelated note, anyone know of any good mice brands for universal gaming?

Oh yeah, I bought a Simple Human motion-activated trash can in 2020 and have never had a problem with it.

Their touchless soap dispenser was garbage. They replaced it, but the second one eventually died too.

Haix boots.

They’re expensive AF, and they’re super heavy, but they’re super comfortable and they’re designed to protect your feet from basically everything, be worn for long durations, and last forever. My first pair lasted me almost 7 years of heavy use and kept my feet safe in the most disgusting situations (I finally had to buy a second pair after they tore up the side). They were covered in mud, snow, blood, vomit, feces, and took me through homes infested in cock roaches and bed bugs and all I ever needed to do was hose them off. I replaced countless broken laces and a zipper once (the laces hold the zipper in place and it’s designed to be easily swapped). They’re rated for electric shock, are wildland fire approved, are waterproof, have a composite toe, and a steel shank in the sole to protect from sharp objects.

I won’t buy any other boots for work. It’s a classic case of the boots problem, I used to go through a $150 pair of boots every 8 months and always had foot pain, but these cost $450 and lasted me almost 7 years so I definitely saved money and my feet are happy and protected.

Outdoor Research for clothing, especially if you live somewhere that rains a lot (they’re a Pacific Northwest brand).

If you like cannabis, the Pax 2 vaporizer is amazing. Bought one 12 years ago, used it nearly daily til the button died. Recently purchased another one exactly like it, looking forward to another decade of use.

I am generally anti-corporate anti-capitalist, but I will happily endorse this one specific product cuz it performs one function extremely well for years.

Bar Keepers Friend, it just works and that’s a rare quality these days.

Lysol laundry disinfectant, it’s the only thing that gets the funk of our well water out of the clothes

Myos muscle powder for dogs, it practically reversed my dogs aging and at 11 he’s actively gaining muscle that was wasting before

MAKEUP BY MARIO surrealskin waterproof setting spray, it’s alcohol free, gentle and works better than any other setting sprays I’ve ever used

This one is a little different because it’s a brand and it definitely isn’t universal, but Kirkland Brand, so much of my house is just Costco store brand and it still has great quality almost across the board, don’t buy their batteries or toilet paper though, I don’t know if they’ve fixed the water content in their butter than was messing up everyone’s baking.

My Brevill toaster oven, it’s a little champ that’s fed a family of four with no problem for years.

I’m sure there’s more but that’s off the top of my head

Printer. A lot.

I’m usually not a brand loyalist, but when it comes to tools, this is a Makita family.

No other tool company publishes open schematics for all of their tools, so they can be repaired with generic parts instead of expensive “replacement parts kits.” Every other tool company is traded publicly on the stock market and vulnerable to enshittification. Makita is a large, but still family-owned, union company in Japan.

Lots of companies focus on ergonomics & power, but only Makita is focused on low vibrations while still making tools that are just as powerful.

But most of all? They’ve stated that destroying two-stroke motors in yard equipment is one of their main corporate goals, and so for both environmental and noise reasons, this company has my loyalty forever. Makita corporate? Hit me up! I will sell the fuck out of your tools.

Beyerdynamic makes good wired headphones. Are they too expensive? Absolutely. Their headphone stand costs 60 USD. The drawstring bag costs 25 USD. Some of the headphones cost up to 700 USD when not on sale.

But here’s where they’re better than competition. This is compared to the JBL 720BT.

• Will they fall apart after a few months? No.
• Do they require weird audio adapters? No. They work with multiple standard audio jack sizes, in stereo.
• Do they require a proprietary app to use weird Bluetooth features? No. They’re just wired headphones. There is no enshittification.
• Is their customer service line god-awful? Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never had to put up with their customer service. But JBL made me wait on the line for an hour on multiple occasions, on their crackly phone line to a call center outsourced to India.

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Balm.

Great for healing burns and tattoos. Their soaps are great as well.