What cool gadget under $200 can be life changing?
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r/AskRedditu/Philthadelphian18 (13203)

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An SSD for your PC/laptop, especially if you use it every day. Lightning start up every time, no more waiting for 2-5 mins for everything to load up before you can even use the damn thing.

15 Seconds flat every time from startup, and having browser open. Really helps when doing windows updates, or any software updates that require rebooting.

SSDs, especially M.2 PCIe ones, have ruined old school HHDs for me. They were great at the time, but now they're just slow.

Hence why I have a 1TB M.2 PCIE drive, that one wasn't under $200. But there are plenty of SSD's for way under $200. Most people really just need them for OS as a minimum.

I'm really glad Laptop manufacturers have started to add SSD drives to their lineups, since using anyone's laptop or PC that doesn't have an SSD feels like a real pain.

Everything takes too long to load up, whereas you're used to having everything just opening with press of a button.

Could I get a link up for a half decent affordable ssd. For my pc? I don’t really know jack about computers. My ssd only have 6gb free I think my os and all the AMD Giles have taken all the space up.

What sorta price you looking at?

50-80$ is what I'm working with

There is a Samsung 850 EVO 250GB sata ssd for 90 if your budget could stretch to that, the Corsair Force Series MP500 120GB M.2 is 80 dollers but i dont really know how god that is since i havent used it personally.

I can't recommend the 850 EVO more. It's amazing. I have the 250 and the 500 GB

What's your budget?

Also try to clean any left over installation files in the AMD folder in C:/AMD if you've installed a lot of updates, you may have a lot of space taken by those installation files alone, and are not really needed.

I would say go into the AMD folder and delete all the installation folders, except for the latest driver one, in case you need to install it again for whatever reason.

Samsung or Crucial are the two brands to look at (well, and intel but they are usually more expensive)

They are the ones who actually make the flash chips and controllers instead of buying someone elses.

I still have some old HDDs in my PC and every time I want to access something on them after some time I have to wait for seconds until they're on speed...

I can deal with it for media storage, but at a minimum I will always have a ~250GB one for the OS and programs.

This. I was broke when I built my PC so I put the money where it would be most beneficial. I have an SSD with my OS and programs and then I have an HDD for my media and other files. Fun stuff as your computer thinks for a second before the disks are to speed to be read. Copying data is still a sad slow day for me though since my SSD is only a 250. (Got a 500 since but been too lazy to switch )

[deleted]

Just make sure - My mobo supports it as well but upon reading the manual using one M2 drive uses two of my SATA ports up which I can't afford as I'm currently using all of the SATA ports.

Note - I have six SATA ports on my mobo. I got a modest motherboard around the $150 range when I got it going on 4 years ago. As for the ports I have two DVD drives (probably don't need two anymore), OS SSD, games SSD & two movie media drives one as backup because I have so many movies I'd hate to lose them and all the work I've put into it.

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I stopped using DVD drives for my latest PC build. I only ever used it to install OS, and since you can install Windows on USB I stopped using them altogether.

Ripping DVD's, that's about all I used my DVD drivers for anymore. And of course you can use an external DVD bay for that, which I have. It's just easier at this point to have my DVD drive constantly hooked up, in the case & out of the way.

Are you sure your motherboard uses 2 sata for 1 m.2? I just found out about these m.2 slots when I upgraded my motherboard and I only lose one sata per m.2 slot used. Yes, if I use both m.2 I will lose 2 sata, but it's really just a wash at that point.

Hmm.... Maybe I should recheck? I'm fairly certain when I read using an m.2 on my board it would disable two of the sata ports. It was either 1 & 2 or 5 & 6.

But no, to answer your question, I'm not 100% sure!

Here's the motherboard I got - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130770

So I did some research: I downloaded the manual, did a search on m.2 and this is exact text from the manual - "The SATA5 and SATA6 ports will be unavailable when installing a module in the M.2 port."

You are right. I am new to how M.2 works so I misspoke. There seems to be an inconsistency with how it shuts down SATA ports as far as not all boards are 1-to-1 or 2-to-1.

No biggie, always good to question.

I don't know why there's that inconsistency. I would have already gotten an m.2 module had I had all my other SATA ports available when installed. Or even just had one unavailable.

My guess - My board might very well have been fairly new to the m.2 hardware and that's why it's that way. Crazy thing - I upgraded to this Haswell-i7-4770k system from a Bloomfield-i7-930 and that i7 930 board had either eight or ten SATA ports on it. Of course I spent nearly twice as much on that board as my current Haswell one.

Unless you have some legacy software on an optical disk, there really is no reason for a DVD drive any more.

You can always get a USB dvd drive

Make sure if/and when you purchase that the ssd is PCIE/NVME and not SATA. M.2 is just the form factor not the data transmission method.

PCIE being faster than SATA.

Can you educate me on this M2 thing? How does it work and is it faster than SATA? Does it just connect to a PCIe port? I might be in the market for a big second SSD and I was confused when I saw these things. Why are they better than a 'regular' SSD?
Thanks.

Basically M.2 is an expansion slot that has access to the PCIe, SATA, USB 3, and USB 2 buses. So basically anything that uses one of those expansion slots could use M.2 if its being manufactured. The most common things I have seen so far are Wifi cards and SSDs.

If your motherboard does not have an M.2 slot(s) on it you can get PCIe expansion cards, but I am not sure how that will effect the read/write speeds of the SSD.

For M.2 SSDs you can either get a SATA III or NVMe SSD. A M.2 SATA III SSD is going to have about the same read/write as a standard 2.5 inch SSD around 500mbps. These are going to be pretty comparable in price as well. WD Blue 1TB is $290 for M.2 and $280 for 2.5 inch. So not running SATA and power cables adds $10.

If you are wanting greater speeds than that you are going to want to look at NVMe SSDs. These also use the M.2 slot, but use the PCIe bus which allows for greater speed, but you are going to pay for it. A 1TB Samsung EVO NVMe SSD (3200 mbps read and 1900 mbps write) is $480 and the 1TB Samsung PRO NVMe SSD (3500 mbps read and 2100 mbps write) is $640. I used Samsung in this comparison because I could not find a 1TB WD NVMe to compare.

You mentioned wanting a second big SSD which is why I used 1TB in my examples, but if you go up to 2TB the NVMe is going to run around $1300.

To try and answer your question of why are they better. If you go with a SATA III M.2 SSD you do not have to run data/power cables, and if you go for the NVMe you are going to increase you speeds by 3-4x.

I see now, thank you for that great write up, it really helped.
I don't think my mobo has an M.2 slot though, so I guess I'll just go with your run off the mill SSD.
Thanks again!

In most real world situations normal SATA SSDs are fast enough, you only see major differences in some productivity based applications.

For games and other general apps, there's almost no difference, aside from the actual speed of read/write. That's only really effective, if all your drives are SSDs. If you have a mixture of SSDs and HDDs, you will be bottlenecked by the HDD when copying between a HDD and an SSD.

SSD for OS, programs, and games then an old HDDs for music, movies, pictures, docs, etc

Until the Intel problem showed up.

everything will be back to slow when Intel patch their hilarious fuck-up

At most, it will be a difference of 0.0000000000000002 seconds. Start up doesn't really rely heavily on CPUs.

Or just getting another, 8gb stick of ram. Saving up for a better GPU for my pc (probobly a 1060) but I’ll see how frivolous I’m feeling this year.

I just bought a Samsung 850 Evo 500gb SSD for my MacbookPro mid-2012. Put Windows 7 on it and its great. Got it for around 130 new. 10/10 would recommend. Best thing I've bought. I also have upgraded the ram from 4 GB to 8 GB.

I know someone who literally walks away for 10 minutes after starting their computer, comes back, logs in, organises their desk, and then it finally gets to the desktop.

I used to do that for my old PC, which had a really slow HDD (5400 rpm).

Now, all I have to do it power my PC, turn on my screen and I'm already on the desktop.

That is a great one! I'll add:

SSD = Solid State Drive. It is a form of hard drive for the computer that can access memory much faster than standard Hard Drives.

At the very least, I recommend getting a small one (~200 GB) and putting your Operating System on it plus your most essential programs (Web browser, work applications, etc). This will give you the effect N7even is talking about at little cost to you.

no more waiting for 2-5 mins for everything to load up before you can even use the damn thing.

unless it's Gimp on a mac

Or any platform really. It's just as bad on my Windows computer.

Um......

I have an SSD, on Arch linux/kde and I just opened GIMP in literally 3 seconds

Second. Upgrading my desktop with an SSD felt like getting a whole new computer.

Same here, I knew it would be great but it really does feel like a new PC.

my 6 year old windows 7 laptop with an ssd is still nice and fast

I was in charge of purchasing new computers at my old job and I made SSDs a requirement for all new computers. Luckily my boss was all for spending extra money to increase productivity when I showed him the difference.

If your computer came with an HDD, once you take it out buy an external HDD enclosure. That way you can still use your hella storage but have your speedy SSD for OS + programs

Yep. I became the SSD prophet in the family ever since.

Ha, donated one of my SSDs to the family computer, no complaints since I did that.

15 Seconds flat every time from startup, and having browser open

15 seconds is you have your OS installed in UEFI mode

>not being on uefi in 2018

even legacy mode wont take much longer, like maybe 10 seconds more max

Mass Effect username?

Yes, however after ME: Andromeda release, I kinda regret it a little :)

On that note, if you have a mother board that supports an M.2 drive, get one of those instead. Went from a 45 second boot time to 5 seconds.

I also have an M.2. PCIE drive, but it's dedicated to games alone :)

Standard SATA SSD is plenty fast for start up, in my opinion.

does it help run games with a better fps too?

no, it will help them load better tbough. Almost all of the work is done on your graphics card to get your target fps.

Only if you do not have enough RAM for the game to run smoothly, and even then, you'll still deal with massive stuttering from the data being exchanged with the page file, whether it is an SSD or HDD, but it'll be better than on the HDD

You won't get better FPS, but you won't have to wait in loading screens for too long.

Some games load faster than others, but some games show a loading screen for a fixed amount of time (minimum) regardless of how fast the game is actually loaded. Mass Effect 2 comes to mind. There is however a mod to fix that, and loading is just lightning fast after that.

On a scale of 1-10 how much better is an SSD than a hard drive?

Get some SMI fast boot and you are down to 3 seconds.

I can't wait for the day when they're cheaper than spinning drives. I have an SSD as my main drive on my laptop, but a larger pair of spinning drives for mass storage on it, so some programs run a little slow because I have them on D: (mostly games)

I bought a refurbished thinkpad years ago that happened to have a ssd. Its only like 150 gb, so I was hesitant, but it was the only configuration at the time.

Man... yeah, every other computer is now ruined. Its so fast that the bottleneck is the wifi antenna finding the network.

Booting an OS, or any software from SSD feels like you are witnessing black magic.

Yes! Got one for my MacBook after I had two stock hard drives die within a year. It's been probably two or three years since then and I have had zero problems. The thing runs faster too and I think I ended up having more storage as well.

Definitely helps that a SSD has no moving parts so in theory they should be more reliable.

I'll never go back

The speed increase is nice but by far the MAJOR advantage of an SSD in a laptop is that from then on you never have to worry about bumping the thing while the drive is spinning and getting a system error/corrupted file message.

I would like to add. SSDs are great but they have a shorter life span. Save your backup files on HDD or rarely used SSD just to be safe.

Well, from my current usage, the SSDs will last at least 10 more years. Their life span isn't that short, and they are much more reliable in terms of data retention, and are unlikely to be damaged from shock.

does it help run games with a better fps too?

Yep. I'm typing this from a Dell Inspiron 1545 enhanced with SSD. Works better than most of my computers really. Shit's incredible.

then you need to get one for steam games to help loading times. quite a few games need it. Still need to grab another one ever since i moved windows to the SSD.

I have a 120GB SATA SSD dedicated to OS and apps, a 1TB M.2. PCIE SSD drive for games alone and a standard 1TB HDD (WD Black) for general storage (videos, photos, music etc).

Can never have enough space xD

This. My brother got me one for my 5 year old Macbook. Took maybe 10 minutes to install and the difference is life changing

Absolutely this. There is no going back once the SSD is introduced. The great thing is an SSD can make ANY laptop/desktop faster (if they originally had the HDD.

This means, instead of just buying a new machine, an SSD upgrade will be the more cost and performance effective option.

I'm still using my 7 year old Acer laptop and it still runs faster than when it was new after swapping in an SSD.

Yep, it's why I always recommend upgrading the HDD to an SSD before anything else, unless they only have 2GB RAM, then both I guess.

4GB RAM + SSD is all someone who just browses the internet/streams need.

I've seen pictures where the different texts Windows displays while updating were overlayed on each other on an SSD.

Did this with my Mac actually after my hard drive failed. It's been lightning quick since. Very easy operation as well.

An SSD was the best purchase I made after my stock HDD died.

5 years later, no failures yet with my SSD.

What is a ssd?

Solid State Drive. A different type of storage for your computer, that is much, much faster than your standard hard drive, also much smaller and lighter in physical size.

Some are the size of a chewing gum packet, they're called M.2. drives. Depending on a few other things M.2. drives (PCEI ones) are the fastest ones out there right now.

Ok thanks. Are they more reliable than hard drives?

Well, SSDs don't have moving parts in them, which means they are very unlikely to be damaged if they are dropped. I wouldn't recommend dropping them regardless.

Ok cool i will look into it.

I have an SSD but it still takes me about 1-2 mins

SSDs over Sex

Remove windows, 0 dollars, 0 ssds, 10x speed

I upgraded to a SSD a few months ago, while it is faster than the HDD, it only reduced my startup time from about 30 seconds to 15-20 seconds. I haven't really noticed any increase in speed on games or applications either. Pretty disappointed honestly. Thought it'd be much better.

What PCIe spec are you running?

Then you have a bad one or somehow did something to bottleneck it.

An ssd is the single most noticeable upgrade you can do on a pc.

A dashcam... stupid person reversed into my car and tried blaming me that I rear ended them... I didn't say anything until she filed a claim with her insurance and then I reported her for insurance fraud ..

This! My uncle got a dash cam and about a week later someone reversed into him. The driver and his family got out of the car and threatened to say that my uncle rear-ended them, at which point my uncle pointed to the dash cam

The conclusion I can take from these stories is that dashcams cause people to reverse into you.

You probably want to turn off tractor beam function on your dashcam.

But then the pesky rebels will escape!

Don't worry citizen, we have them tracked.

welcome to /r/empiredidnothingwrong

Couldn't they just jump to hyperspace?

We can track them in hyperspace.

I thought it was only theoretical, but if it is real, this is exactly how they'd do it.

"Because....reasons"

Do you want to slow down the plot by explaining how you can track people through hyperspace? Because I don't know how it works. A bunch of smart people worked on it for decades and now they can do it.

It was already established in rogue one, but 'facts' would challenge your view, so fuck 'facts'.

Not his car, sister.

The Grand Moff told us to shoot wildly and let them escape with the princess so we can track them back to the rebel base. Great plan, eh? Make sure to tell the others because it's important in these situations that everyone is aware of the plan. I mean, why wouldn't we all know the plan, am I right? Otherwise, someone might go off and do something that could cause unnecessary loss of life or potentially derail it despite intentions to help. You hear me, guys? We want everyone on the same page. Watch out for each other. Remember, the Emperor loves you and you're all very dear to him. Except for Steve. Your family has been killed and you need to report to pod bay 6 for your torturing. You know what happens if you're late so go quick.

Also, anyone notice how the Grand Moff looks today? Was he sick like a week ago? Looking at him before had this uncanny appearance, but I just saw him and he looks like just another guy. It's probably all this dark side around here that's messing with my vision, like cosmic rays etc. And why can't we have some color? Who thought of all grey and white and black? Sheesh, who is in charge of the interior style and comfort committee? Uh oh, it's Steve isn't it? Damn it! And I bet he's got the key to the drawer with all the party decorations, too. Janice isn't gonna be happy tomorrow when her station not only is lacking guard rails, but is noticeably missing birthday streamers. I would try to break the lock off, but it's right next to this shaft that goes all the way to the reactor core so anything slips out of your hands is gone. Not the best design plans if you were to ask me, but I'm sure the designer had a reason.

I..I want to watch this movie. Or perhaps read the graphic novel that the movie will be based on.

I call it: "Billy and the Cloneasaurus"

Yeah, last time we were tracking a ship without a tractor beam, the ship decided to turn around and fucking ram us. Tore our ship in two. The insurance on that was a nightmare.

Just reverse the polarity and re-route emergency power to the deflector dish.

The Slicer will sell them out.

why? empire did nothing wrong

But they'll miraculously have 18 arbitrary hours to do whatever the fuck they want! before that happens though.

But if they hit me, I get money...

sub-$200 tractor beam, you say...

Tractor boooyy. Got you in my tractor beam.

Dude, They've been getting hit by cars not tractors!

I feel like it's the kind of feature that should be disabled by default.

I don't drive a tractor...

Now I have a tractor all the sudden? This is becoming more confusing as it goes!

That would prevent a tractor accident.

/r/nocontext

How Can I turn off the tractor beam if moons have no tractor beams?

... That's no moon.

In Soviet Russia dashcam beams YOU.

Instructions unclear, put a dashcam on my tractor

Why is that turned on by default? Seems like a design flaw.

But the dashcam needs the tractor beam to suck up photons to take the picture

But then what am I going to do with all these tractors?

[deleted]

and we all know that correlation equals causation

and we all know that correlation equals causation

It's no accident.

People are just going and coming.

^^^And ^^^always ^^^too ^^^soon

Sounds like you’re in the wrong sub my friend.

Good luck with that.

That's what she said

This is no time for jokes, Frank. A man was just rear-ended.

...wait, somethings coming back to me...

it's a scientific principal called, "The Reverse Dashcam Correlation Theorem"

That sounds like an episode from Big Bang Theory

very good, you've earned a bazinga buck.

/r/SampleSize would like to have a conversation with you.

That's what Big DashCam doesn't want you to know!

Try this on for size... Every insurance fraud video you've ever seen of a dashcam capturing someone reversing into the driver, the car being reversed into had a dash cam.

Coincedence? I think, not!

But what is your confidence interval set at? 90%?

Two data points makes a line, so I think we can say for sure more dash cams means more getting backed into

One more data point: I don't have a dash cam and no one has ever backed into me like that.

And you know what they say in science, correlation ALWAYS equates causation, period.

Actually, it's driving that causes people to reverse into you.

Even undeniability does not imply causation.

yeah but N=2

Yes, so I've started always driving my car in reverse. Thanks to Reddit, I've installed a camera on my back window to catch someone trying to double-reverse me!

I've always wondered what it feels like to be rear-ended

I've always wondered what it feels like to be rear-ended

It sucks and its a bit of a outer body experience. Happened to me recently because the guy 'fell asleep'. I'm just glad my baby and wife were not in the car.

Do you have a dashcam?

I do, but insurance company did not care to see the footage. At least in Ontario, if you hit someone from behind, you are pretty much at fault.

What would happen in an instance like this one where the offending party loses control in front of the other person? https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwfLhT7lAyIRellRZ01JVFQ2c2s/view?usp=drivesdk

You might need chrome to view it though, the file has been buggy for me

Donald? Are you dreaming of Vladdy again?

This or dashcam salesmen spend lots of time on Reddit

Yes. But the most important thing is to not show them you have a dashcam like their uncle did. Submit the footage with your claim and let the insurance companies deal with the stories.

No reversing into people causes dashcams

I'm scared to get one now

I've reached the same conclusion. Been driving for 29 years, never had anyone reverse into my car. Will avoid dashcams to keep that record going.

:D

Yes! I just bought a dashcam last week and when I was walking out of the store, some guy reversed into me and I wasn't even in my car! And we gifted my uncle a dashcam (he's currently in the hospital due to a car accident). As soon as he unwrapped the dashcam, a car reversed into his hospital bed on the 4th floor!!

I feel like reddit is full of dash cam lobbyists. Just trying to scare everyone into getting one.

It also causes global warming.

Had a semi truck rear end me on the highway. He came out of the car yelling at me and shit asking where the hell I came from (while I was on the phone with the cops). I just pointed to my dashcam and he shut up and waited for the cops to come. Tried to be friendly once they showed up and hoped I would accept cash to fix it.

Edit: typo

Car magnets!

About a month after my dad bought a dash cam someone ran into the back of his car.

They missed

Can confirm, have dashcam, car was backed into. A coworker did it though and was cool about it so the dashcam didn't end up having to prove anything.

Thank god he was cool and nothing esclated. I rather have and never use my dash cam then having to use it for something serious. Also, is it just me, that because i have a dash cam, no one ever cuts me off anymore. It was weird.

Exactly. As they say, "it is better to have and not need than to need and not have". A dashcam is definitely one of those things.

I bought one AFTER someone reversed into me. Wish I’d had it all along, would have saved me a year in court.

Can confirm. A teenager reversed into my truck less than two weeks after I purchased my dash cam. It's like the companies have undercover agents out there backing into us to reinforce the necessity of their products.

I've had the opposite effect with mine. I would always have people cutting me off or see crazy things happening ahead of me on the highway. After I got the dash cam, it's been years since anything cool or out of the ordinary has happened within its view.

I've never been reversed into.. true. Well, once by a lady on the dancefloor.

To “reverse” into you...

This sounds like an LSAT question...

Can confirm, 15 years of driving, within a week of owning a dashcam a drunk lady reversed into my park car.. 3 times.

My dashcam didn't record while the car was off. Luckily she decided to still go to her appointment, leave her car half parked on the curb, and then return later when the police were around her car.

This is sound logic!

I really want a dashcam but i'm too worried stuff might start happening to me.

If you play the video in reverse it's like they never hit you.

I have come to the conclusion that cancer causes cell phones

Same principle as adding a video camera to an ordinary situation will automatically render a shot to the nuts.

Instructions unclear, dashcam stuck in anus.

That’s exactly what I’m thinking.

Magnetic dashcams

Didn't you know? Dashcams are the gateway drug to accidents.

I've had a weird superstition about that very thing until Christmas Day this year and now I wish I'd had one.

Guy backed into me with the trailer he was towing and smashed in the side of my fender. I have 20+ pics of his trailer against my car, the lot, him holding his insurance info, etc. His insurance simply said "you pulled up behind him while he was already backing up. You got in his way. Your fault."

Have to pay for a new fender. Will be buying a dash cam

Not worth taking to court?

Don't have the time to dedicate with school and a new job. Plus, I can replace the fender myself for ~$300 plus driveway time.

Would've been nice to drop it at a shop for 2 days and pick up a rental, but not worth fighting for.

The conclusion I have come to is that having a decoy dash cam will keep people honest.

Maybe the companies that make dashcams hire actors to reverse their fake cars into cars with dashcams and threaten to sue/file a claim against the innocent dashcam owners, so that people with dashcams tell everyone they know to buy dashcams.

DASHCAMS!

It was behind you, Tyrone. Whenever you reverse, things come from behind you.

Also that it stops people taking your money.

Dash cam = Cash dam

I don't own a dashcam, and because of it I narrowly escaped being backed into last week. Mostly, I think it was the existence of my horn that helped with that one.

https://www.xkcd.com/925/

My top comment is about how I said "I'm convinced that if I ever got a dashcam, crazy shit would start to happen in front of me that I want no part of."

Reminds me of the India/ snake problem and the redditor’s mom/ goat pissing problem. Both hilarious.

Instructions unclear. Threw dashcam at the car in front of me.

A $200 idiot magnet.

Try steel bumpers instead. People drive way different around you. Straight pipes and obnoxious stickers don't hurt either.

We need to ban dashcams!

Generally you should just not mention the dash cam. Just let insurance handle it. Never know what kind of person just backed into you

I couldn't find the video, but I saw a clip of an accident a while back where a guy got hit turning when he had a protected turn. The lady who hit him said that he ran his light. The guy had a dash cam but didn't mention it until the court date. I think he didn't even tell the police so it wasn't in the accident report. When he showed it in court the lady said he faked the footage. The guy still won the case but the judge advised him next time to disclose the info to authorities before hand. I think it was so they could have record of it and review it in court before the trial.

I think the typical advice is to let the offending party talk to the cop first, then inform the cop that you have a dash cam if their story doesn't line up with the footage.

Yup, as soon as the law enforcement, police or court, is involved you put the evidence on the table.

I know the vengeance is tempting, but you don't want it to backfire on you that you did not disclose of the dash cam.

You can get that vengeance simply by letting them talk first though. If they lie, the cop will (likely) slap them with a falsifying police report charge also.

Yes, of course if you have some ignorant person that is really trying to come down on you with a false accusation you let them attempt that and then you get your justice and fuck with them the legal way.

But I just think it would be unwise to wait until last possible moment, before you reveal the evidence of their wrong doing. Your evidence should be revealed the moment you believe they have proven to be a liar in front of law enforcement, so they can receive their punishment.

Also, if I was the judge, I would have been pissed because I just wasted my time and costed the state money by presiding over a case that shouldn't have been brought to me. He should have showed the officers the footage right after the accident and the womans statement.

If they lie, the cop will (likely) slap them with a falsifying police report charge also.

And if they're a minority, they'll slap them too!

I guess the guy was just trying to bait her into lying to the cops and a judge.

Unless it's your fault, then hide the camera.

That’s if you don’t get shot first ofc

That's why you keep quiet about the dash cam until the cops get there.

[deleted]

I'm pretty sure we were talking about road rage. Randomly tying in police shootings doesn't make sense in the context.

Sidebar: This should have been shown in Discovery.

Not a lawyer -- seen too many court scenes.

Yes! Source: I watched Matlock

The sound was off but I think I got the gist of it

Always upvote Lionel Hutz quotes.

That show has enough going on, do they need some random dash cam also?

I got hit during a protected turn and the guy who hit me said I ran my light.. I wish I would have had a dash cam to prove my story because the cop 100% sided with the guy who hit me.

hes lucky the judge didnt dismiss the footage.

Wouldn't that evidence be available in discovery? I think it's illegal to withhold evidence.

My thoughts exactly. If someone reveals themselves to be crazy enough to threaten me on the spot with an illegal action I'll just roll with it as passively as possible until the cops show up.

Correct they might overpower and destroy the dashcam and memory or assault you.

But then I can shoot them.

What if you're too busy chomping down on some delicious Swiss Cheese??? CHECK & MATE.

If I ate that much Swiss cheese is probably weigh a ton. WAIT!! I just checked and I do weigh a ton.

2 year old account, usernane most certainly checks out.

Not if you’re on the ground getting your ass beat after pointing to the dash cam and taking your eyes off them for a second.

That's when you try to reach in their pockets to pull out their wallet to throw under the car.

Minus the dash cam this is George Zimmerman story.

[deleted]

All depends on how they’re attacking you. In some situations if you get taken to the ground and they’re beating on you then your arms are instinctively going to rise to protect you face, and for good reason. Dropping your guard for a few seconds to grab your concealed carry could be the express lane to unconscious town.

The best defense is to not instigate a fight in the first place. Any closed carry course will teach you to not be looking for an excuse to use your firearm and any self defense course in general says no fight is good to partake in if it could otherwise be avoided.

Dash cam and gun? That just increased my investment, significantly

As someone who carries daily, if I end up in a situation where I have to shoot someone (I really hope it never happens) I'm going to be so pissed at them. Consider how much that's going to fuck up your day. Now you need to go give police interviews, your gun will be held for evidence, you may have mental repercussions, there may be cleanup required, depending on your state (NH has civil immunity for self defense ruled shootings) you may now be a target for a civil lawsuit. It's just a mess.

Agree. Just less terrifying than being dead is all.

Name checks out..

And then they can be charged with destruction of evidence. Still, best to not tell them

Everyone should heed this advice. There is no benefit to telling the other party that you have dash cam footage. If they are honest, no harm. If they are dishonest, telling them about the footage risks threats, attempted bribes, attempted theft of your property, or preemptive action to seek to discredit you or begin building a more effective defense (all to your disadvantage).

Never show your cards unless there is an advantage in doing so, or unless legally required.

Generally you should just not mention the dash cam.

You never know when your dash cam or sd card will fail. Show them the dash cam and hope they confess to the police/insurance so you won't need the footage. The dash cam footage is a last resort.

Plus a giving a false statement to police (if the cops show up). That's a stinger.

Well, I keep my tire iron under the passenger seat. If they decide to get hostile, the dashcam can record that ass beating too.

why not mention it? i want to see the blood drain from their faces when they realize they are permanently financially fucked for life and for ever

Point to dashcam = bad person ripping dashcam from window = SD Card removed and swallowed or snapped.

Now you rear ended them. No further evidence.

Just keep silent, exchange details, contact insurance company and send off the dashcam footage. Wait for insurance company to get a claim filled with them at which point they call the cops and arrest the other driver for insurance fraud with 100% undeniable evidence.

Both your insurance premiums will drop and you will have 100% evidence that stupid people can pass their test.

The kind of person who drives with no insurance...

Ive always thought if that happens to me I’ll warn them to be truthful and if they decide not to I’ll wait till they file reports before telling them.

It's not like the dashcam is hidden though, it's just sitting there. How do these people not see it?

It’s not that easy to see it. I have one on the other side of my rear view mirror and especially outside I have to really get close to see it.

Can you recommend?

I have the Rexing. I think it is V1. The one in my car is AMAZING. Great video, reliable, and easy to use. The one in my wife’s car has been a different story. Same dash cam different experiences. I think I may have gotten a bad unit or it’s an issue with my wife’s car having a cigarette lighter that is always ‘hot.’ Either way, it has been having issues with working for a while and then when I go to look it isn’t recording at all and hasn’t been for days. It’s a major deal that I can’t trust it. I have contacted support and they gave me some troubleshoot stuff, but alas, still having issues. I gotta get back with them and see if they’ll send me a new unit.

Cigarette lighter that is always "hot" could very well be the problem. My dashcam manual recommends formatting the card every month. I imagine if it's left on all the time it easily could have nothing but warped data. (Not like Star Trek warped data. That would be cool.)

If you’re not savvy with installing stuff and splicing wires, Best Buy installs dashcams to a switched fuse (turns off when the car does) for $50. You could get a good dashcam installed for well under $200 this route.

Best Buy installed a CD player for me around 13 years ago and messed up my dashboard lights. Now when I drive at night it's a mystery how much gas I have!

I have a lighter that is always hot and elected to splurge on a cable that plugs directly into the fuse box. Just picked a fuse that's on a circuit that only receives power when the car is in ignition and problem solved.

Maybe your memory card? I had issues with mine until I bought a 'high endurance' card, specifically for video recording.

+1 for Rexing, i have the front and back camera model. Good options on it, it's available on Amazon, front camera is small and the back one is really hard to spot, and it's really easy to set up too. The only thing I don't like is the card can only be up to 32gb :( but I record in 720p anyway so it lasts 5 hours before filling up, but you can also set it up to auto-record over old data and save specific videos if you're lazy.

With all the other sensors and stuff a modern car has, it's super easy to miss a dash cam. For example, I have a forward collision system in my car, and that sensor/emitter/whatever-it-is absolutely dwarfs my dash cam. People see that instead of my cam, and I'm not even trying to hide mine!

Well usually the sensor, if it is positioned behind the rear view mirror (such as this picture) will be right up against the windshield and that makes it particular easy to see. Because you don't see the same amount of reflection as you would with a dash camera that sits a few inches behind the windshield.

Are you agreeing or disagreeing?

I think I was trying to make sense of why the dash camera would be harder to notice behind the windshield if they are just trying to get a peek of it, without looking through one of the side windows.

So I agree that it is easy to miss.

ahhh! now I get where you were going with that.

It's not something you check for unless you know to look for it. Kinda like a spoiler: do you know which of your friends' cars have spoilers and which don't?

They don't want to believe they can't get away with everything so their brain filters it out

You would be surprised by how many people are not aware of their surroundings.

I put mine close to the rear view mirror, so it can kinda just look like part of the amorphous blob that is the rearview mirror

This. I love watching assholes hang themselves. They decide to be assholes, and then find out karma is a bitch. I actually have (this is gonna sound paranoid) two dash cams because I've had issues with the microSD cards deciding not to record any more and then lost the video. I stopped buying SanDisk microSDs which solved part of the problem (I'd get a week out of their microSDs before they failed) but then I decided to just not chance it and install a second dashcam - way too many idiot drivers out there these days.

What do you use now instead of SanDisk microSDs?

I started using Transcend cards, the 'high endurance' cards and I've gone a year on the one I have in camera 1 right now and it still records. I went with Samsung EVO for camera 2 just to try to eliminate the possibility of having cards from a "bad batch" giving recording errors. You pay a little more for Transcend and Samsung than SanDisk cards but I'm also not going through them at a "one-a-week" rate so I'm actually coming out WAY ahead. SanDisk makes crap microSD cards. And I know about the SanDisk 10 year guarantee on their cards but you get really tired of having to mail them all the receipts and so forth every blasted week so they can send you yet another card that's going to fail in yet another week. I cut that piece of hassle out of my life, life has far too many annoyances as it is to deal with anything you don't need to mess with. :)

If you caused an accident where there was some doubt, would you lie and say your cam wasn't filming?

No. I would be upfront about it. No sense in lying about anything if you’re in the right. I’ll just wait for the cops to show.

Edit: mis read your question. No. I’m an ethical guy and have found myself in predicaments where I’ve told the truth at my expense.

Let's say you weren't in the right though. You caused a crash and your dash cam filmed it all, and after the crash you get out and for some reason everyone seems to think it was someone else's fault. You know your insurance premiums will go up 5k a year if you are blamed and you could risk your own car not being covered adequately or whatever, the point is it'll cost you if their insurer's and the police get your dash recording. You'd still just hand it over to the cops?

If your premiums are going up 5k a year just for admitting responsibility then you need a new insurance company anyway. I could never sit well with letting someone else take responsibility for my mistakes.

Even if it costs you more money and as a result you can buy less stuff you want?

Especially if I thought I might be doing it for selfish reasons like that. That's asking someone else to suffer for my comfort because of my mistake.

I can always make more money, but integrity isn't something you turn on and off like a light switch when it's convenient to you. Anyone that thinks it is doesn't actually have any. And you should be wary of them because when the chips are down they'll throw you under the bus just as quick.

What about your own family, if you had earmarked that money for their benefit then aren't you throwing them under the bus by handing over the incriminating video instead of pretending like you didn't put a memory card in it that morning.

Now your just reaching and loading the question to get a specific answer. Stop.

I just wonder how honest people really would be with these kind of real life pressures.

Example, my wife rear ended someone right before I was moving out of the country and starting a masters program. 1st because I'm studying now I had to quit my job and I need every available penny possible. 2 I was leaving the country and police was not involved. So I could just as easily say "fuck off" and leave.

As soon as she called me I hauled ass there, talked to the owner of the other car and told her right away this was our responsabiltuy and we would pay for everything. The damage wasn't that bad, next day I found her s body shop and paid everything that was broken in her car.

That was money earmarked for my family, that's money im not making back, that was a financial setback and we have to rebus get out next 18 months living to accommodate for that loss of money.

Still no regrets and if it would happen again I would do exactly the same.

As the other poster said, integrity is something that s a switch. If the situation was reversed I wouldnt want the guy to fuck me over and have to pay for something that s not my fault.

Be the change you want to see and all that.

I've met too many people who convincingly say these kind of things when around other people, but when it comes down to it act in their own self interest only.

So, if you already know the answer to the question you posed, why bother asking it in the first place, and why keep asking it with new stipulations?

Real life ethical problems aren't as cut and dry as people like to make them seem when they commit to a position on them.

Yea, but if you already know people tend to buckle eventually, why keep badgering one commentator in particular to figure out what his breaking point would be? Are you taking a survey of reddit's moral compass or something?

Yes, actually.

Well, that seems like a giant waste of time to me, but whatevs.

you hang around too many shitty people.

I've already answered this.

But if you must know specifics, my girlfriend would probably dump my ass pretty quick if she found out I did something like that and she reaped the benefit of my dishonesty. The rest of my family has never and likely will never ask me for money.

This guy took Philosophy 101

Are you 14 and or a Democrat?

41 and hardline Republican. My mother voted Republican while I was in her womb and I'll be voting Republican in the last election that occurs before I die.

But not the rest?

Ah ok, this was a rhetorical line of questioning. Not to give the impression that Republican === more moral than Democrats every time, but they have that whole “Moral relativism” shit going on.

I edited my answer. It’s an interesting question though. What the harder question is whether you would offer the evidence on your own. Not about lying about it being running.

If you admit fault there is really no reason to offer evidence though... so there is that.

This is also a legal question, too. If you have evidence, but it incriminates you, what do you do? I'm fairly certain it is illegal to hide/destroy the evidence and since there was a crash, if the police investigate, your camera becomes part of the investigation.

[deleted]

Sure, but if the police look into your car and see it, boom, done. Or if they ask you, you cannot lie.

Why would the cops be getting involved in a fender bender?

To file a report for insurance purposes, absolutely.

THIS. I made the mistake of not calling the police for a minor fender bender. It was 2am at a Taco Bell, I was getting food for friends while sober driving. I was in the drive thru and she was backing out of a parking spot and hit me.

When we got out of the car she gave me this story about no license and she had been drinking a bit and didn't want cops involved. That's fine, I thought, because she didn't seem drunk at all, but it would suck to give her a DUI for something so trivial if she had a few drinks before. I bought her story and agreed we would just exchange insurance information and go from there.

She ended up stringing me along for repairs. By the time I was fed up with her giving me the runaround, there wasn't anything my insurance company could do. There were no witnesses and Taco Bell refused to give up their surveillance. The person that hit me ended up getting away with it because it ended up being my word vs hers so I ended up paying for my own repairs out of pocket to avoid a mark on my insurance.

It still pisses me off to this day how much of a piece of shit she was. I learned my lesson and from then on, no matter how trivial, I ALWAYS (not that I'm in accidents regularly or anything...) get the police involved.

Yeah, these people are just shitty. I knew a guy who was hit by an old lady, and she gave him this sob story about how she couldn't afford to lose her license or something like that and promised to pay for it herself without getting insurance involved. He came to her house afterward and her response was "Huh? Who are you? I don't know you."

But seriously. Fuck people that drink and drive. I'd have blocked her in and made her wait for the police to come arrest her. No sympathy for anyone who gets behind the wheel of a car after drinking.

Let's say another car was involved and that car had a priceless Ming Dynasty vase being transported in it on behalf of the Chinese government, and the vase shattered and the Chinese dignitary received a concussion.

Insurance isn't going to pay for contents

Even more reason to destroy the footage.

How far can one person reach, Holy shit.

Ay fuck that gaudy Ming shit. Song dynasty way better

You gotta let them press charges, then they get caught for insurance fraud. Your uncle just let them get away and do it to somebody else when he just pointed at the camera.

Is it better to point it out to them then to avoid extra work, or reveal it at court to counter-sue?

At this point your car is damaged, so you'll either be talking to the insurance anyway or trying to get them to pay for it (since they are crazy enough to blame you, I doubt they will pay). Don't see what extra work you'll end up doing.

I imagined that with people trying to blame you even if they're wrong, they might constantly hound, taunt and provoke you unless you show them that really, they're in the wrong. Keeping evidence to yourself might result in lots of emotional strain.

The opposite might be true if you record police wrongdoings. I remember cases where phones were confiscated as "evidence" and never returned.

It's a lot harder to make a dashcam go missing. Also for recording police on mobile, check for an ACLU app for your state. For example in Texas I downloaded ACLU Blue. You can record interactions on there and the video will be auto-uploaded to their servers. So even if punkie with a badge "accidentally" destroys your phone you'll still have evidence!

Good point and I see the situation that you painting.

If the person is really getting that aggressive though, I'd probably call the police rather than show them the dashcam. Who knows, if they are that aggressive, they might also try to take your evidence. But very good point though :)

Always call the police when there is an accident.

Not sure how it works there, but in the Toronto area, they don't care much if it's a minor accident. Not enough resources unfortunately.

Still call them. Leaves a trail that it happened.

I wouldn't even point it out. Let them do all the bullshit they want and let it record. On top of that, I wouldn't want to risk them stealing the camera.

If they're stupid enough to do this shit they could be stupid enough to do worse

I'd fear that they assault you to take possession of the dashcam

I would not have pointed at the dash cam. I would have waited for them to file a false police report, then pointed the dashcam out to the officer on scene AFTER they signed it.

That way the pieces of shit are removed form the road for awhile, and are less of a threat to others.

Why would they do that? I mean, apart from not being a dick, the drivers insurance will pay your uncle for the damage caused, right? Not sure if it works like this wherever you are from, but it works like this here.

Because people are crazy.

You got any suggestions on any brand to look for?

How they work? Have to be wired to the car?

did your uncle kick their asses? they deserved it. that family thinks it's so tough when there is only of of your uncle. the want to gang up on him because they need their butt buddies there to do the dirty work. i'm wishin me and you were there to even the odds. i hope that family likes sleeping in late because i love giving out dirtnaps.

The driver and his family got out of the car and threatened to say that my uncle rear-ended them, at which point my uncle pointed to the dash cam.

I wouldn't have bothered pointing out the camera till someone showed on the scene... I would have been like "do it... I dare you", let them spin their tale THEN point out the camera.

I wouldn’t let them know you have a days can. That could potentially escalate the issue. People are out here getting killed over road ragers. I’d just surprise them with the video once an insurance claim was filed.

Stupid laws in Germany don't allow the use of a dashcam.. I have a friend who was involved in an accident. He was driving his motorcycle and had a GoPro on his helmet when a van hit him. He was lying in the hospital for a week and in court the judge wouldn't allow the recordings as evidence.. even though you could clearly see that it was absolutely not his fault 🤷🏽‍♂️

Edit: there's no certain law for the prohibition of dashcams. It's the circumstances which makes it "not allowed". You do need the consent of the stranger to be recorded.

iirc you can't use a dashcam to pinpoint the real culprit, BUT you can use it to exonerate yourself. So if someone tries to sue you for stuff you didn't do then you're good and ready to prove yourself innocent.

I don't know about that but the main issue is that the stranger didn't agree to be recorded.. and that hurts his personal rights.. welcome to Germany 😂

How does that work with security cameras then? Are those not allowed either?

You are only allowed to record your own property and have to post signs at the entrance warning anyone that they will be recorded if they enter your property.

So, you can't record anything in a public place?

You can. You just can't publish ist without the explicit agreement of every person you record.

There are exceptions for newsworthy events and persons of public interest.

"ist" the classic autocorrect of a German! I had to deal a lot with privacy rules in Germany (privat property where everyone parked), but, in general, the laws in Germany are very human-friendly, if not a little antiquated at times.

Correct

WAT

You can. You just can't publish ist without the explicit agreement of every person you record.

There are exceptions for newsworthy events and persons of public interest.

and random tourist shit on youtube.

So no pictures of public places on social media sites like Facebook?

The "fair use" rule is: if the general impression of the recording is not changed by removing each recorded person individually then you can publish without expressed consent.

The usual example being some monument (for example the Brandenburg Gate) with a crowd of tourists in front of it. If your photo clearly is about photographing the gate and the crowd just happens to be there, that's legal.

If there is someone leaning against the gate and you want a photo of them specifically you'll have to ask permission.

Out of curiosity, I just checked Google Street View and was able to pull up streets in a bunch of major cities though, does google have an exemption or are they just flagrantly violating the law?

They started Street View with the 10 largest cities. If you look closely you'll find that several houses - or even just appartments - are blurred. That's all the law requires.

The images also are about 10 years old and will not be updated.

Prosecutor: "Mr. Murderboner, how can you possibly deny your involvement in this heinous crime when we have you on video plotting, orchestrating, and committing the crime?....... Oh so like bee tee dubs, just as a formality, can we have your permission to show the jury the best evidence we have of you committing a capital offense?"

Defendant: "Uhh, no."

Prosecutor: "Fuck."

Is this a plausible scenario in Germany?

No, we don't have juries.

Also evidence rules are much less strict in Germany than in the US. There is no "fruit of the rotten tree" doctrine for example. The judge is free in acknowledging evidence. Most judges however think that the right to the own likeness is more important than a minor damage to property.

But... I was just able to pull up Google Street View in the center of several major German cities with hundreds of individual bystanders. How is google able to flagrantly violate the law there?

Blurring faces and identifying details about those peoole

Move alone citizen. Nothing to see here. Take proof of our actions and you'll be breaking the law

It's not like that. E.g., you're allowed to film and take photos for personal use in any public place, and you'd also be allowed to film, e.g., an incident of police brutality you happen to witness.

What you're not allowed to do is to have a security cam permanently record public property.

The whole German approach to privacy is basically a result of the experiences during the Nazi era when public records were used to round up and imprison/murder innocents. That's why post-war Germany has always had very strict laws regarding data collection and sharing. There are even limits on what data government agencies and the various state polices are allowed to share with each other.

Some of the results of that are arguably absurd or feel outdated, but the intention behind the laws was to avoid a police state, not to facilitate one.

The whole German approach to privacy is basically a result of the experiences during the Nazi era

The Stasi surveillance didn't help either.

My earlier statement about "post-war" Germany was a bit inaccurate, though. While the West German state was very decentralized from the start to prevent an all-powerful dictatorship (and, as stated before, had strict limits on sharing data between the different agencies), concerns about privacy came to the forefront in the late 1970s and early 1980s when people started to realize the power of electronic databases, with the constitutional court stopping the planned 1983 census by establishing that citizens have a right to be in control of any data concerning them. However, having a fully-blown surveillance state just to the east probably helped shape the West German debate.

Use your phone as a dashcam. It is not permanently mounted.

Yeah now they know race doesn't matter and it's not what you should fear. Its the ideas that will challenge them.

Mmmmkay. Not sure how you got that from anything I wrote, but whatever floats your boat…

But it's lonely moving alone...

You can, including recording private property. But most Germans think they are entitled to this privacy by law when in fact they are not. Had multiple issues with it when I wanted to photograph some houses from the public street and the owner emerged to demand that I delete the photos.

...why though? Was he worried you were gonna steal his house's soul with the voodoo camera magic? You should check and see if his house is on Google Maps, it's the same damn thing.

Fun fact: In Germany, Google Street view has to make your house front unrecognizable if you want it to be.

Fun fact, This was so popular that Google Street view isn't available in 99% of Germany except for some big cities.

Old people in Germany have led and taken part in campaigns against Google Street View. Seriously.

Probably because their best friends from school grew up to be tortured to death due to not having enough privacy. It's entirely understandable.

I suppose your body doesn't count as personal property even when someone comes crashing into it with a vehicle?

If you had a way of only recording your body that would be perfectly legal and you could publish it without asking anyone.

The problem is that a camera on a motorbike records everything but the driver.

Do as I say not as I do

Germany needs new laws for photography on and from public property.

What if someone was run down with a vehicle? No dashcam evidence allowed to convict the perpetrator?

Haha yeah stupid privacy, who needs it anyways amirite guys?!

There's a difference between breaching privacy (like the NSA reading emails) and using a fucking dashcam.

ad hitlerum

if you just let everyone use dashcam footage as evidence willy-nilly, you'll soon have wannabe policemen that'll report every failing of yours while driving. Had a bad day and forgot to indicate once? Oh well, that'll be a fine.

[deleted]

This is the worst attempt at a slippery slope I've ever seen lol

No, but dashcam videos on youtube with readable plates and/or identifiable faces do.

You underestimate the German mentality 😂

Uh, I dunno if you're being sarcastic or not, but where I live there's a non-emergency traffic hotline you can call with information for the police to investigate shit on the road. You email videos and they can send tickets via postal mail

I'm not sure why people have an expectation of personal privacy when they are in PUBLIC....

It's important to keep his privacy. There's nothing wrong about that.. but in a case of an accident etc you should be able to use your dash cam recordings as evidence

PUBLIC PLACES

Germany... where you have the personal right to not be filmed crashing into someone’s car but a woman doesn’t have the personal right to not be sexually assaulted on New Year’s Eve...

Are you an idiot?

My wife says so

and ready to prove yourself ~~innocent~~ not guilty.

It seems an obstruction to justice, but then also I can see the point that it invades privacy, and also it means insurance investigation would make a more entertaining tabletop game.

"I think... you ran into them."

"Nope, guess again. You have two more guesses before the case is dropped."

[deleted]

That's some advanced stupid there.

Why? Which right did the shop owner have to publish the footage?

Only phenomenal stupidity would lead one to believe that people should have the right not to be recorded during the commission of a robbery.

Why the downvotes? Of course the store owner can record all the way he wants in his own shop. It's about publishing the footage. The suspected people do have the right not to see their faces in the internet without being convictet.

They werent convicted of robbery yet though.

The legal system works this way for a reason. Its like saying police should be able to use every evidence they find, no matter the warrant. Found child pornography on a computer, without having a warrant to search his computer for child pornography?

Sounds fine to lock him up. Problem is, that means any means the police uses gets justified by success. Just another instance of outcome bias, that the justice system has too much of anyway.

So the police searches someone for drugs - finds drugs - everything fine. Police searches someone for drugs - finds no drugs - gets fired or plants drugs to not get fired.

This guy also has no reason to post the video to facebook other than inciting vigilantism. Using security footage of your shop as evidence in court is a different thing.

Its like saying police should be able to use every evidence they find, no matter the warrant. Found child pornography on a computer, without having a warrant to search his computer for child pornography?

Yes they should be able to use any and all evidence they find, and here in Sweden they do just that. If prosecutors have evidence of something, that is what matters. It can't be thrown out because it was obtained "wrong". If they search your computer in relation to tax evasion and find child porn, you're going down for child porn and tax evasion.

So, you dont see any problems regarding the rest of my comment?

Since you asked.

Police searches someone for drugs - finds no drugs - gets fired or plants drugs to not get fired.

It's incredibly far fetched that a police officer in a western democracy would be fired for not finding drugs on a suspect. They don't find drugs on people all the time. Nobody gets fired for that. I also find it unbelievable Norwegian police would go around planting drugs on people.

And about the video, if you go about robbing places, you can't whine when someone shows recordings of your illegal behaviour. You played a stupid game, you won a stupid prize. We have excellent high resolution cameras these days, we need them everywhere and we need to align European laws with the real world, because the bottom line is there is such thing as privacy in public (if it wasn't already apparent from the literal meaning of the words).

I dont think it is far fetched at all when you let their actions legality depend on if they find something.

They don't find drugs on people all the time.

Yes, but they dont break into your home without warrant. They were allowed to search for the drugs before they did it.

Since you asked.

Police searches someone for drugs - finds no drugs - gets fired or plants drugs to not get fired.

It's incredibly far fetched that a police officer in a western democracy would be fired for not finding drugs on a suspect. They don't find drugs on people all the time. Nobody gets fired for that. I also find it unbelievable Norwegian police would go around planting drugs on people.

And about the video, if you go about robbing places, you can't whine when someone shows recordings of your illegal behaviour. You played a stupid game, you won a stupid prize. We have excellent high resolution cameras these days, we need them everywhere and we need to align European laws with the real world, because the bottom line is there is no such thing as privacy in public (if it wasn't already apparent from the literal meaning of the words).

So you don't believe people should be able to surveil their own property and then give that video to the police after a break in?

To the police, they can and should. To facebook, depends. Your home is different from a shop, while we are at it.

When I first responded, there was no mention in original comment about posting the video to Facebook. It was written as if he'd been fined for filming them and trying to submit the video as evidence, not for sharing it on social media. Yeah, I agree, he shouldn't have been posting to Facebook.

The shop is a public place.

It's a private property with general public access.

Of people robbing him? Really?

Imaginable in Germany, too

That's messed up.

That's perfectly fine imho. Why the hell would he post it on facebook? Honestly, he should give it to the police and nobody else. They get convicted and justice has been served. There is just no f**** reason for making that footage public.

Why does someone have the right to privacy when they are illegally in your home? If you break into someone's house, you don't get to bitch that everyone now knows you broke into someone's house.

They have the right to privacy as long as they are not considered guilty by a court of law.

(And even after that many countries try to keep them out of the media so resocialization isn't prevented by stigmatizing them publicly. That part is a different discussion, but imho the US could only profit from it long term)

Isn't admitting that's them in the video admitting guilt though, therefore losing their "right to privacy"? It's a catch 22. If they admit that's them, they're admitting guilt, and he did nothing wrong. If they say that's not them, they have no right to complain.

Admission of guilt does not mean they are already found guilty. Only a judge/jury can decide that. Also it's not up to a private person to go on a witch hunt and shame them in public. Even if the police makes the footage public to look for them, they usually have to do this in cooperation with a prosecutor or even a judge.

In my personal opinion all this public shaming/witch hunt/making criminal records public shit that is going on in the US is unworthy of a civilized society. It does so much more harm than it helps.

Yeah, that's reasonable.

That law can be avoided when you install a dashcam that deletes what it records, but only saves The records when it senses movement directly at the car.

My brother just installed a dashcam and it's pefectly fine with law

What is the reasoning behind this law?

Mainly because the stranger didn't agree to be recorded

[deleted]

I mean I get that public recording happens, but you say "Surely, by stepping out of your house, and being in public, you’re agreeing to being recorded" as if being in public is a choice? As if living your entire life in your house is a perfectly reasonable alternative that these people just haven't considered.

In American law, there's something called (I think) "consent to battery", where when you go out into a public space you are essentially consenting to minor, reasonable, and unavoidable battery upon yourself, such as getting bumped into on a busy street.

I'd imagine this is what's being suggested, by going out in public you can be seen in some jurisdictions as consenting to certain violations of your privacy, such as being filmed, because in the same way that you can't reasonably ask for consent of every person on the street you might bump into, you also can't reasonably ask consent of every person that might get filmed by your dash cam or go pro.

To me that just sounds like a shitty interpretation of the word "battery" in a legal context that was for some reason then expounded upon instead of fixed in the first place. Somebody bumping shoulders with you while walking isn't committing battery, there doesn't need to be an exemption from battery laws stating that it's acceptable battery because it's in public.

Just pointing this out because it was interesting, but a man was actually cited for assault and battery for bumping shoulders with a plainclothes police officer in Cambridge, MA..

They later threw out all the charges after gaining a ton of negative media attention.

Fine, it has to be harmful to be battery. But what if you happen to get knocked over on a crowded street?

You probably ought to be watching where you're walking, for starters, but it's not a crime or fault of any person - where would there be any guilt for the court to punish?

That's the point, to make it not a crime on the part of the passersby. Law isn't just about defining crimes, it's about defining exceptions to those crimes that can be reasonably predicted.

Battery is, roughly speaking, unconsented physical contact that results in bodily harm. Getting unintentionally bumps in the street that makes you fall over is unconsented physical contact that results in bodily harm, making it battery. So, to protect people going about their daily lives when these kinds of interactions are unavoidable, there is an exception written into the law keeping you from facing charges if you accidentally bump someone over as you walk down the street.

i'm just amazed at the hidden meaning of this. it means that there are no security cameras in public spaces either.

I'm used to seeing cameras all over the place.

There are security cameras on public places such as train stations or inside trains.

It's currently in debate if we get more (e.g. for surveillance of town centers), but nevertheless there is a difference between private und public usage of security cameras and their recordings.

Isn't it more weird that you accept this? Super dystopia in which you're always recorded.

It's been like this since the invention of photography, hasn't it? If you're out in public, you're fair game.

The amount of cameras, speed, resolution and recording length has increased so much though that the game has changed.

Not really. Like was pointed out above, everybody can see you anyways so what's the difference in being recorded ? It's not like you are recording things that you don't already see.

only a limited amount of people will see you though and everyone has fairly bad memory. If something embarrassing happens it'll be quickly forgotten and at worst people will talk about it for a bit. If it's filmed it can be uploaded and you become the laughing-stock of the world for years to come. Wouldn't be the first time a seemingly mundane video ruined someone's life.

Because of the high prevalence of events happening to everybody every day they go outside, that would just be life changing if only it was on the Internet, but otherwise doesn't affect their life at all?

There are several issues with your argument here is my point. You're out in public, not under scrutiny. But we're at the point of history where people can and do wear cameras to protect themselves while in public. There's not much wrong with that that could arguably be affecting your rights.

My personal issue with it is that it creates permanence for your public presence in every facet of your public life. People are very rapidly warming to this idea, without considering what the psychological consequences of always being watched are. The idea that you're always being watched and always being recorded means there is no "in the moment" anymore, and that nothing can be forgotten. It puts an insane amount of pressure on people to always look their best, not have any embarrassing slip ups and to always behave. Will you catch crime with it? Yes, I'm not denying it. Will it mean that you'll have to double think being silly in public? What about walking home drunk from the bar? What about going out in drag? Unless you always 100% stand behind your actions, you'll always have to be afraid that one video ruins your life. So you stay complicit. You don't explore, and you try to avoid things that could look bad on camera. There's a time and place for camera surveillance, but every member of the public being a voluntary contributor to always on, full surveillance is insane.

One of the first places you can see this changing is clubs. Clubs used to be a temple for hedonistic pleasure and self expression. Wanna dance like crazy? Wanna take your shirt off because it was sweaty? Wanna make out with someone that you might regret the next morning? You used to be able to do all these things and all that was left were blurry memories in the morning. Now, you'll be on 20 Instagram stories and fb photos. So you behave. You're complicit.

People have become voluntary actors in extending surveillance to spaces that used to be unregulated.

I'm hoping that surveillance free spaces where no phone recording is allowed will become more commonplace in the future.

[deleted]

I already have two replies on how I might have mental problems. I just wanna get drunk and stupid at the club without being on some Instagram girl's story man.

It sounds like you have psychological issues, maybe? I can't imagine being so paranoid about the small chance of an embarrassing video going onto YouTube that it interferes with my daily life in the way you're describing.

You may have some issues with anxiety and/or paranoia more than being under constant surveillance, man...

What about writing? In your extreme example I can write down what you did and publish it, making you the same laughing-stock of the world for years to come.

yes you could. I also could write that you shat yourself yesterday in front of your coworkers, without evidence. A video is more impactful and believable in that regard.

There's difference between 2 people you see seeing you and millions of people you didn't even know about seeing you.

No. That's like saying isn't it weird there are cars everywhere and we need to avoid them? No its technology and it makes our lives better.

Well, some people will disagree with you that beeing filmed all the time is better for them. With cars there are regulations that limit how you can use them that are a balance between the people that want to get from A to B as quickly as possible and people that don't want to be run over by a car. The same is true with cameras. Many people don't want to be filmed at all times so there are laws to protect them.

Well have fun shooting down satellites

Similarly, some people will argue that having less police around is better for them, but they don't really get to make that choice. Being part of a society means accepting that other people have the right to protect themselves. In the modern day and age, information, such as recordings, are a form of self defense both from private parties and the government.

Every technology is two sided. For all the positives cars brought there's also many negatives.

Well for one there is a huge difference between being recorded by the government and a private citizen, and for two why the fuck would you expect that level of privacy in public?

You'd need a special permit to operate a camera in public.

I live in Austria and my father installed a camera in his own farm (to watch cows). It's video-only because he'd need a special permit for audio.

That's only true for the US

[deleted]

Ok, it is not true for large parts of the world. It might be true for the US and the UK (+x)

Why?

‘Cause you’re now in public view. Where anyone can see you anyway (recording or not)

Yeah, but German law makes a difference between being seen and being recorded.

recordings are lasting longer than people's memories.

That's a common problem in Germany.. Internet and innovation didn't reach politicians yet 🤦🏽‍♂️

Or, some things like personal privacy are more important than the bleeding edge.

German privacy laws. Same reason why they don't have street view in Germany really, they would have to ask every single person and their property if they agree to be pictured, otherwise they would have to be blurred out. Too much effort. You can't film someone without their permission unless it is a policeman or another public service.

Everyone's face is blurred on street view, why do people want to be blurred head-to-toe?

Most people don't, but it's their right to do so. A freedom you have the right to. Imagine being caught doing something embarrassing. But the main thing isn't the people, it's buildings and property. That isn't blurred out ever.

That's not correct. Google didn't have to ask anyone. But everyone has the right to demand their property to be blurred. Much more people in Germany (and Austria) than expected demanded that and Google had to shut down the service because they couldn't keep up.

That means Germany and Austria don't appear in Geoguessr?

The centres of the big cities do and certain roads do, but not the majority of the country as it was too much effort to deal with all the privacy requests

The law categorizes dashcams as surveillance cameras. Basically if something records on its own without humand interaction it would fall under surveillance.

German law doesn't allow constant surveillance of public places (Informationelle Selbstbestimmung). Because it infringes on the privacy of other people since they would "feel constantly watched" - Even a dummy cam or a turned off cam could be illegal since the watched person can't know the difference.

The idea is to prevent a chilling effect. However "constantly" is the key here. You are allowed to make short videos and even pictures of other people (in public) without their consent, you just can't publish them (Recht am eigenen Bild).

However more and more courts are allowing dashcam videos as evidence on a case by case basis, and hopefully lawmakers will create an exception for the future.

I haven't heard of a case where police ticketed someone for using a dashcam, so it's low risk to use them but the video can be thrown out in court.

Funnily enough, if you would turn on recording just before the crash, for example using your phone and not a build in dashcam, it should be allowed in court. So a workaround could be to use your phone and claim you wanted to record your drive for an art project or something. (I'm not a lawyer!)

How about the cams that only save when you request? You have an incident and hit a button and the previous ten minutes or whatever is dumped to a file on the memory card.

As far as I can tell it shouldn't matter since even dummy cams are often disallowed because courts decided that "feeling constantly watched" is the problem. But I don't know. Currently every week some court decides a case differently - it's a very active subject at the moment.

But: If your dashcam isn't really visible from the outside (or you use a phone app) and you save only afterwards you could argue that nobody could feel watched and you had a good reason to save the recording.

On the otherside I'm curious how build in cameras in newer cars (self-driving / adanced security features) will be viewed by the law since they seem to have the same problems.

It's a really interesting problem right now.

By the way: Your dashcam video should be allowed into evidence when it's about a criminal matter not a civil one. For example somebody crashes into your car and flees the scene (hit and run). So that could be a good reason to have a cam.

Right to your personal image is constitutional. It trumps everything. Only if you're already famous it doesn't apply

What is the reason video recordings can not be used as evidence?

The same reason a cop can't search your house without cause and use illegally obtained evidence to convict you of a crime.

Germany apparently doesn't consider filming in public to be legal.

Germany apparently doesn't consider filming in public to be legal.

It's much more complicated. Doing recordings (photo, video, audio) in public is perfectly legal. However it is illegal to publish those recordings if not everyone who is recorded agrees (there are some exceptions, the main one being crowds). This wasn't a problem until the internet came around; now it is generally assumed that every recording will be published.

The point of using dashcam videos in court is that showing them in court is considered publication, since court proceedings in Germany generally are public.

The point of using dashcam videos in court is that showing them in court is considered publication, since court proceedings in Germany generally are public.

That seems like a weird loophole that could be challenged and easily fixed.

Thats because this is wrong information. Its illegal to publicate the video after the trial.

Everything else is still pretty blurry, since verdicts are pretty different and inconsistent, and theres no clear legislation on dashcams.

At the moment, you are okay with recording with a dashcam for reasons other than using them in court. For example if you ride a motorcycle with a gopro to record the nice street and environment. If you then randomly get into an accident, using the dashcams video in court is generally allowed.

e.g. Amtsgericht Nienburg, 20.01.2015

If you run your dashcam constantly, its generally not allowed in court and illegal.

e.g. Verwaltungsgericht Ansbach 12.09.2014

Also, judges try to evaluate the importance of both parties rights, to determine if the footage is allowed.

e.g. Amtsgericht München 06.06.2013

How? By having court proceedings behind closed doors?

I'm not a law expert for Germany so I can't really answer that. It just seems to me that if there is clear evidence of a crime being committed there should be a way to make it admissible in a court. ESPECIALLY if the person committing the crime is actually the accuser in the case, such as someone fraudulently suing a person that they backed into.

Filming in public is perfectly legal. Using the material for anything else than watching it in private very much isn't (assuming you recorded persons, faces, or number plates).

IIRC in Austria video-only cams are fine, but you need special permission for audio.

It depends. There are laws about filming public places, but in the case of an accident there will always be a decision based on whose rights are more important in that specific case.

So the laws do allow you to use a dashcam, but you are a) not allowed to make the recordings public (youtube etc.) and b) the recordings might be ignored/not allowed as evidence in court (this will be highly case dependent)

The "stupid" laws in Germany protect your privacy. Be glad.

Murica: they hate us for our FREEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOM!

I lived in Germany for 9 years and didn't know this. I did know you couldn't have cameras/CCTV etc on your house though so makes sense. Stupid law eitherway.

You are allowed to have cctv on your house as long as you only record your property.

Yes, like no view of the street where people are walking and stuff. I never had one, personally. A couple of friends had fake cameras up. Maybe I should have after coming toe to toe with a 6'2'' bloke in my garden at 3am one night.

You can’t even protect your own personal property? That’s insane.

You can have a camera on your house as long as it's pointed only at your property.

You can. You just have to point the cameras in a way that they don't record anything that is not your property. So if you want to do surveillance on your door you can't have the camera on the outer wall, where it would also record the sidewalk, but you put it inside the building pointed at the door.

I was going to say there was a similar incident on here, some one had a rare model of geo tracker they didn't want to let go of and some one slid into tier lane. First the insurance company wouldn't accept a youtube link to their video, so they had to convert it to some rare format and put it on an unknown server. Then they tried to say it was ileagel because the person didn't consent to being recorded.

wtf????

that's some bullshit.

What on earth is their reasoning for this? I thought Germany was a logical oriented place...

Well Germany is a country on it's way down the tubes, so having other stupid laws in place makes sense.

What are you talking about? I'm glad to live in Germany 😄 We have so much privileges here. Only thing bothering me is the AfD party

I'm sorry you've been brainwashed to feel that way. When you grandchildren live under Sharia law you'll likely think different.

😂😂😂😂😂 ridiculous. I honestly didn't know that there are so many dumb fascists on Reddit.. btw my parents are muslim immigrants. You urgently need to increase your horizon

[removed]

WTF are you talking about? That's not even the topic. Take your sexist and racist bs elsewhere.

Da liegst du ein bisschen falsch: man darf Dashcams in Deutschland benutzen. Es gibt eine Art Schlupfloch, das dir das Nutzen einer Dashcam erlaubt. Alles, worauf du achten musst ist, dass du im Straßenverkehr — genauso wie beim Handy oder Navi — nicht während der Fahrt an dem Ding rumdaddelst (also am besten eine Cam, die beim Start des Motors startet und beim Ende der Fahrt genauso wieder herunterfährt). Zudem musst du die Privatsphäre von aufgezeichneten Leuten (und Kennzeichen) beachten, heißt: verpixeln, wenn du dein Footage online hochstellen willst. Ansonsten kann dir keiner was!

Grüße von einem Dashcamnutzer aus D :)

P.S.: empfehlen kann ich sowas auch, hat mir letztens erst die Würde gerettet!

Edit: und ja, vor Gericht bringt das nur in Einzelfällen was, aber falls dir einer mal dumm kommt und sagt, du hättest ihm den Spiegel abgefahren und du sollst ihm den Schaden zahlen, du aber schnell die Aufnahmen checkst und siehst, dass er die Tür aufgerissen hat und ihn daraufhin fragst warum er dich verdammt noch mal anlügt, dann ist das schon ganz praktisch.

Laut dem ADAC ist das ein umstrittenes Thema. Ich hab das Gefühl in jedem Fall wird anders argumentiert und entschieden.

https://www.adac.de/der-adac/rechtsberatung/verkehrsvorschriften/inland/dashcam/

Ach, alles so wischi-waschi hier was Dashcams angeht, obwohl wir ja in Deutschland wohnen. Denke mal dich kann keiner dafür belangen eine zu nutzen solange man beim Fahren die Finger davon lässt. Und falls doch jemand fragt, dann ist die einfach für private Zwecke, fertig aus. Falls es bei mir mal anders kommt lass ich es dich wissen!

Ja, das stimmt. Schaden kann es sicher nicht. Denn die Chance, dass es akzeptiert wird besteht trotzdem. Auch wenn diese ziemlich gering zu sein scheint. Inwiefern hat es dir die Würde gerettet? :D

Deutschland hängt allgemein ziemlich hinterher was den technologischen Fortschritt und die Integration in den Alltag angeht.

Ey! Hab voll vergessen zu antworten, sorry! Die Würde hat mir das gute Ding letztens wie folgt gerettet:

War auf einer zweispurigen Hauptstraße unterwegs, die relativ eng ist. Ich fuhr auf der rechten Spur, neben welcher Autos sehr nah parken und war gedanklich mit dem Verkehr vor mir beschäftigt, da die Ampel gerade auf grün schaltete und vor mir noch ein paar Autos waren. Ich war mit gut 40 km/h unterwegs, als es auf einmal einen lauten, dumpfen Knall machte. Hörte sich meiner Meinung nach nicht nach einem anderen Spiegel an, hatte aber trotzdem an mir gezweifelt. Ich hielt an und sah, dass mein rechter Außenspiegel komplett zerfetzt war.

Am Ort des Geschehens wartete ein Pärchen, von dem mich der Typ lautstark wissen ließ, dass ich doch beim Fahren gefälligst 1m Abstand halten und seinen Spiegel bezahlen soll (angemerkt: seine Freundin [Beifahrerin] hat das Ganze nicht mitbekommen, da sie schon ausgestiegen ist). Nach kurzem Hin und Her hab ich gesagt, dass wegen einer solchen Lapalie keine Polizei gerufen wird, jeder seinen Schaden bezahlt (da sowas nunmal passiert) und hab den beiden noch ein schönes Leben gewünscht.

Zu Hause hab ich die Aufnahmen gecheckt.

Er hat den Motor ausgeschaltet und kurz darauf die Tür geöffnet. Sein Bein war auf dem Boden und sein Kopf guckte raus. Das alles in 2 Sekunden — in der Dunkelheit. Es stellte sich heraus, dass er durch Leichtsinnigkeit mit seiner Tür meinen Spiegel zerfetzt hat und rein rechtlich gesehen würde er sie Schuld tragen. Darum ging es mir aber nicht.

Ich hab das Ganze in Slow Motion mit dem Handy aufgenommen und hab mich auf den Weg zum Pärchen gemacht. Sie haben mir ohne große Anstalten die Tür geöffnet (und die Lage nach der Polizei gecheckt) und ich hab den Freund zur Rede gestellt. Er bestand darauf, dass es meine Schuld war, bis ich ihm die Aufnahmen gezeigt hab.

Ich habe ihm mit nichts gedroht, sondern ihm nur gesagt, dass er ein bisschen vorsichtiger sein soll. Wäre ich ein Radfahrer oder Motorradfahrer gewesen, hätte er (mit ein bisschen mehr Unglück) ein Menschenleben auf dem Gewissen. Außerdem hat mir nicht gefallen, dass er so rumgelogen hat — das hab ich ihn auch noch wissen lassen.

Ich kenne mich. Hätte ich die Dashcam nicht gehabt, hätte ich mich vielleicht unterbuttern lassen und irgendjemandem noch Geld für nichts in die Hand gedrückt. Aber es ging mir auch ums Prinzip, weißt du?

Dashcam gehabt — Tag gerettet!

You do need the consent of the stranger to be recorded.

This should never be the case in PUBLIC AREAS.

What is the reasoning behind this?

What? Why not?

What the fuck is the point of that law?

There's no certain law which clearly states a prohibition of dashcams. It's just the circumstances

Your information is wrong. Your friend probably didn’t want to show the footage to the police because he was riding like an asshole.

You can just google that (ADAC for example).

Btw your information is wrong. Don't tell me to google things 😂 you should be the one

https://www.adac.de/der-adac/rechtsberatung/verkehrsvorschriften/inland/dashcam/

If they really decided to not use the footage because the face was visible, then they made a mistake, or went against common verdicts.

If he recorded with a GoPro nearly all the time, its generally illegal. If he recorded his biking track because he wants to watch the track later, its generally allowed in court.

You can read more about it in my other comment.

I saw the footage. The police took the camera with them to take a look at the video. The judge didn't accept the evidence because you could see the the van driver's face.

Go read the courts decisions about dash cams in Germany. The court maybe didn’t accept it because they didn’t need the footage for the decision.

Stop talking shit about my friend! I proved you wrong.

No you didn’t. You didn’t even read your own fuckin source.

Do you even speak german?

"Die obersten Datenschutz-Aufsichtsbehörden verbieten offiziell den Einsatz der Dashcams, soweit deren Verwendung nicht ausschließlich für persönliche oder familiäre Tätigkeiten erfolgt."

"Wenn mit einer im Fahrzeug montierten Kamera das Ziel verfolgt wird, einen Unfallhergang beweissicher zu dokumentieren, um Schadensersatzansprüche durchzusetzen oder abzuwehren, ist vor allem interessant, ob die Aufnahmen überhaupt in einen Prozess eingeführt werden können.

Hierzu hat das AG München (Az.: 343 C 4445/13) am 06.06.2013 in einem Unfallprozess die Verwertung einer durch einen Radfahrer selbst aufgenommenen Videoaufzeichnung für zulässig erachtet. Eine andere Abteilung desselben Gerichtes hat allerdings in einem Hinweisbeschluss vom 13.08.2014 (Az: 345 C 5551/14) die Auffassung vertreten, dass Bestimmungen des Datenschutzes und des Kunsturhebergesetzes einer Verwertung entgegenstehen. Genauso hat das LG Heilbronn mit Urteil vom 03.2.2015 (Az.: I 3 S 19/14) entschieden und festgestellt, dass die mittels einer Dashcam angefertigten Aufnahmen im Zivilprozess nicht als Beweismittel für den Hergang eines Unfalls verwertet werden dürfen. Das Landgericht München I sah eine Verwertung der Aufnahmen im Zivilprozess als möglich an, wenn diese Aufnahmen nur anlassbezogen erstellt werden und sichergestellt ist, dass diese Aufnahmen nach einer bestimmten Zeit gelöscht oder überschrieben werden (LG München I, Beschluss vom 14.10.2016, Az.: 17 S 6473/16). Mit Hinweisbeschluss vom 10.08.2017 ging auch das OLG Nürnberg von einer Verwertbarkeit aus (Az.: 13 U 851/17)."

"Schutzwürdige Interessen anderer Verkehrsteilnehmer überwiegen nach dem Beschluss der Datenschutzaufsichtsbehörden jedoch in den meisten Fällen das Interesse des Benutzers, so dass von einer Unzulässigkeit von Dashcams nach dem BDSG auszugehen ist. Das informelle Selbstbestimmungsrecht umfasst das Recht des Einzelnen, sich in der Öffentlichkeit frei zu bewegen, ohne befürchten zu müssen, ungewollt und anlasslos zum Objekt einer Videoüberwachung gemacht zu werden - so der Inhalt des Beschlusses der obersten Datenschutz-Aufsichtsbehörden. Dem hat sich das VG Ansbach in seinem Urteil vom 12.08.2014 (Az: AN 4 K 13.01634) inhaltlich angeschlossen."

Und? Hat dein Freund seine Kamera etwa nur dran um Verkehrssünder zu filmen? Oder etwa für persönliche Gründe, wie beispielsweise um seine Fahrt für Freunde und Angehörige zu dokumentieren? Oder als Motorradfahrer seinen Fahrstil zu verbessern?

Wenn er keine persönlichen Gründe genannt hat ist er doof oder hatte einen noch dooferen Anwalt.

Hör doch einfach auf zu reden. Du bist offensichtlich nicht in der Lage zu lesen und verstehen. Mein Gott bist du engstirnig. Du hast soeben selbst gelesen wie unterschiedlich die Gerichte entscheiden. Da ist deine ursprüngliche Intention scheißegal. Wenn der Richter sagt nein, dann muss er den "Beweis" auch nicht akzeptieren.

Und? Hat dein Freund seine Kamera etwa nur dran um Verkehrssünder zu filmen? Oder etwa für persönliche Gründe, wie beispielsweise um seine Fahrt für Freunde und Angehörige zu dokumentieren? Oder als Motorradfahrer seinen Fahrstil zu verbessern?

Wenn er keine persönlichen Gründe genannt hat ist er doof oder hatte einen noch dooferen Anwalt.

Is there a rationale for this law? It seems so dumb.

wait what????no dash cams...WTF is the reasoning behind that?

What is the logic behind this?

What is the reason behind this law?

pretty sure, it is legal, else you cannot have cams near banks and stuff, he is just trying to make sure he is safe with and that should be legal

What happened to your friend?

He's fine now but his motorcycle is a write-off

[deleted]

Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru!

NANI?!?!

[High Pitched Noise Intensifies]

I know someone who uses Nani in everyday language while speaking english, i want to punch them every time.

[deleted]

It's as infuriating as you can imagine, especially since she does it in that fuckin high pitched tone as well.

Moshi Moshi welcome to Arby's.

i think moshi moshi is just for picking up the phone u bakka gaijin

[deleted]

Oh shit there's gonna be a tatakai any minute now!

はぁ？何言ってんのオマエー？

This happened on drive through.

roll up a piece of paper and swat her on the head. She'll get it.

Don't worry, it'll all be Daijoubu soon.

All according to keikaku

Nani the fuck?

BERSEKER!

MY LOVE FOR YOU IS LIKE A TRUCK

I have an aquaintance who does that, but she did study Japanese. Still somehow annoying.

I mean... i also think it's an obnoxious thing to do, and I studied Japanese for 7 years and lived there for 2.

Ah Yes, the reformed weeb Huh?

For as little as 100 yen a day you too can fund the recovery of a weeaboo.

In the Arms of an Angel plays in the background

In the Arms of and Angle

Arms of and Angle

and Angle

I have shamed my famiry

I will not deny that there was some borderline cringey anime watching and figurine collecting in my early teens.

explodes in japanese

Za Wurudo!

Bite za dusto!

Eat shit asshole! Fall of your horse!

My hips are moving on their own! ONIII-CHAN!!

these two comments have yet to annoy me and still make me laugh out loud.

OMAE WA MOU SHINDEIRU

SONO CHI NO SADAME!

There's the 9gaggers

Nah I see it on Facebook so the time that's all.

kansei dorifto!! [eurobeat intensifies]

Roses are red, violets are blue,

お前はもう、死んでいる！

edit: a word

お前は* sorry :( had to correct.

Does that say omae wa shinderu?

Nan

Nanna

NANI

What does this mean?

"You are already dead"

It comes from Fist of the North Star

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-are-already-dead-omae-wa-mou-shindeiru

Omae wa mou shindeiru means you are already dead.

and Nani means "what".

Ok. What is this from? I've watched a lot of anime, but can't place it.

"You are already dead"

It comes from Fist of the North Star

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-are-already-dead-omae-wa-mou-shindeiru

Toki wa tamare!

OBJECTION!!!!!

So this is still a thing?

cringey weaboos are everywhere it seems

jesus fuck how can comment like that has ~2000 upvotes.

It's a meme. Chill.

a weaboo meme nonetheless, now go watch your ponnies

Not really though. Also watching anime does not equal weeb by definition.

Best thing you can do if you have a dash cam is to not tell the other person involved that you have a dash cam. Let em lie to everyone first then bust their shit wide open

I agree. I'm a liability adjuster and I love it when this happens. When I'm getting two different stories I know someone is lying, and I usually have a good idea of who it is, but I have to go by evidence available.

What's the best one to get for an affordable price?

[deleted]

Second that, my A119 has worked perfectly for ages now.

I swear most of /r/dashcam is threads about them failing.

A119

Reviews online are sketchy too. I've yet to find a dashcam with mostly decent reviews, it's the only thing holding me up from getting one.

Mine has been running fine for about a year now. It's been +40 and -40C without any issues.

Had a fucking awful rattle for a while between the GPS unit and the camera. But a small piece of electrical tape fixed that.

A119

Most of them aren't temperature issues, but issues recording, or it quit working all together. I'm lenient on reviews, I understand there's lemons, but with number of defective ones and some of the cons people list, I'm hesitant.

I can't speak for anyone else. Just mine has had no problems recording.

Most of them aren't temperature issues, but issues recording

Could be people buying the cheapest possible SD cards?

I personally use the street guardian dashcam, it's got good quality and haven't had any problems.

Second on the street guardian line. More expensive but much higher quality than the clones I've also bought.

We have two -- one in the front and one in the rear, both wired to the stereo display. Great dashcam, and below $200 for the cheapest package.

Garmin has great ones, tracks speed, GPS location, incidents, voice controlled, Traffic Cameras, and turns on and off with your car!

Do they have to be plugged in? I use my socket for music

The best thing to do is buy a power cable that you route under the headliner and behind the trim next to the window to the fuse panel. The end of the cable has a connector shaped like a fuse, and a spot to plug a fuse in, so you just replace a fuse that is powered when the ignition is on with the power cord, then plug that fuse into the back of the cord and you're good to go. No visible wires and the 12V port is unused.

dont know much about cars. does this kill the battery when the car is not being used?

No. Certain things in the car are on circuits that only get power when the ignition is turned on. It may vary from car to car, but examples would be the A/C blower motor or the windshield wipers. If you only turn the key to accessory, typically things like the radio or windows will work, but the A/C won't turn on because why electrify a circuit that depends on engine power to run the compressor?

If you tap your dashcam power cord into a fuse that is only powered when the ignition is on, it will not function otherwise, and therefore not be connected to the battery if the ignition is off. Determining which fuse to use on your model car is something you can figure out by looking in you owners manual, or just asking online.

Ah, does seem like a better way to power the dashcam. I'll look into it. Thanks

does this kill the battery when the car is not being used?

My son has his sharing the fuse to the car radio so it starts when the car starts and shuts off when you turn off the car.

What would I search for to find a dash cam that has that kind of hookup?

I have the Garmin, and it comes with both wires. One cigarette lighter plug, and the other bare leads. When I put in my stereo head unit, I just tacked the Garmin wires onto the same power that the stereo uses (accessory power circuit). Tucked the wires in around the trim, and now the dashcam comes on like magic whenever i turn the key on.

The Garmin is cool because it doesn't feel like a crummy chinese knockoff, and it has some other features like lane departure warning and a warning when traffic in front of you takes off but you're still sitting still.

I suggest checking out the dash cam subreddit and helpful sidebar.

Do NOT get a Vantrue if you live anywhere that gets freezing temperatures. The whole thing locks up and doesn’t respond to any inputs, even the power button. All you can do is unplug it and wait for the batteries to run out. I’m in the process of returning my second one now.

My cheap one has the annoying problem that it goes out of focus when very cold or very hot. Extreme temps physically alter the lens to camera distance.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dashcam/ has some recommendations. I should get a better one; mine's getting flakey.

I bought a Viofo A119S, the S is for sensitivity because its better in lowlight. It does 1080p60 though. I'm happy with it, no accidents or anything yet.

G1W used to be good but there's been a lot of fakes so I can't reccomend it anymore. I have a Rexing myself and love it (1080p60fps) but it does cost $100-$120. There are cheaper models out there as well though that will get the job done. Also if you live in Houston or LA or someplace that gets real hot, try to get a capacitor model and not a battery one to avoid issues with those and high interior temps. /r/dashcam also has some really helpful info if you need it :)

I took to wearing a helmetcam on my motorbike when I was the witness to a hit-and-run but didn't have any evidence to help the poor victim out with (let alone recollection of the perp's license plate or anything).

Then I got into an accident on my bike where some guy turned right in front of me, sans turn signals (but plus bonus "balloon" turn where he started going the opposite direction before turning in front of me because he apparently thought his hatchback was actually ten meters long).

The story he told his insurance was of a mad biker roaring along way faster than was possibly safe, paying no attention to anything. The story my helmet cam was of me putting slowly along, and the guy doing this weird fake-me-out-then-turn-in-front-of-me maneuver. I got the big payout from insurance (because I got to enjoy a few weeks in the hospital as a result of the experience), and he got higher insurance premiums and the opportunity to refrain from driving for a year or so, courtesy the police.

The article about the crash in the car-crash equivalent of the NTSB bulletin (which his insurance company forwarded to me by way of explaining why they were giving me a huge cash payout) was a fun read.

Nice i have a dashcam siting unused in my car because my car died before and i was worried it was the dashcam setting it off. But my story was leaving a starbucks and near a bustop. Well there is a turn where you cant see at all if someone if there but the area is a red no stop zone, so this dumbass teen just jaywalks and i almost hit him. He just does not react cause typical teenager superman complex or something, but i imagine that if he got hit the dashcam would make life easier.

At least where I live the driver is still at fault. Can’t hit pedestrians even if they’re acting like idiots.

Indiana, and iirc Florida too, both out the responsibility on the pedestrian if they are doing something illegal in the roads. Like jaywalking.

Florida is a no fault state. My wife hit somebody laying in the road drunk at 12am on a country road. My wife wasn't at fault but neither was the drunk lady, so she got a nice settlement and we were out $500 for a deductible, just because she was a pedestrian.

No fault means everyone is at fault. If 2 people get into an accident, pedestrian or otherwise, and you can't easily prove who did what, then you're both fucked. If you can easily show that one person was at fault though, then it is possible that fault can be assessed to a single person. Here in Florida, if you're jaywalking and get hit by a car, not only can you be held at fault, but you can also be held liable for damage to the vehicle as well as a ticket for jaywalking.

I'm not sure how your wife got blamed for what happened because it doesn't make sense that she did. It sounds like she couldn't prove that the person was just lying in the street.

My grandmother was hit by a car in Miami and an officer went to the hospital and gave her a ticket for jaywalking. The driver suffered no consequences. Can't remember if she proved later she hadn't been jaywalking but the point is that fault can absolutely be put on one person.

I've been in 2 car accidents where the officer and insurance were able to determine that I was not at fault (in one I wasn't even in the car and my car was off).

My wife wasn't at fault, but her insurance still had to pay the lady because she was a pedestrian. The police report stated what happened accurately. Still fucked up. Trust me we tried to get out of it because how could you see someone laying on a dark road in time? And who the hell lays in the road?

If someone is laying in the road and I hit them, I'm gonna keep going. That was their decision, I'm not sticking around to bear responsibility for their idiocy.

Thankfully, you are gonna get jailed too.

Did you not read the scenario? Some drunk laying in the road in the middle of the night in the country? How exactly is anyone going to know whose car ran them over, and how exactly do you owe that idiot anything?

My wife had to stop because hitting a human kinda fucked up her car. Fucked up part is the insurance paid for the drunk lady's surgery but not the damages to the car.

and how exactly do you owe that idiot anything?

You don't own anything to anybody, but society makes a lot of arrangements to go out of their way in order to protect your life, there's no idiocy or jerkiness clause out of it.

Its the basis of morality itself. Your problem is that you are assuming that the world divides in two groups: idiots and non-idiots. Don't you realize how flawed that is? Don't you understand at any time in life you can act like an idiot? Your mother, wife or daughter. Are all capable of being idiots. Would you be ok with them being ran over because one single day they acted like idiots?

That's good for reddit banter but its a very cynical view.

Your problem is that you are assuming that the world divides in two groups: idiots and non-idiots. Don't you realize how flawed that is?

It's not flawed, it's fact. I don't care how cynical it might be. I've been as drunk as anyone could, and I'd never lay down in a dark street waiting for a car to round the bend. Idiots do idiot things, smart people do not.

Sounds to me like you have some real idiots in your life that you care about, so you're projecting.

Texas as well I believe. Gotta be in the crosswalk area. I've done my fair share of jaywalking but that's why you gotta be really careful and not careless when doing it.

Pretty sure that would be comparative fault here in Missouri for civil actions. Jury would determine what percentage each party was at fault and make driver only pay for their percentage of injuries.

Not Florida. Jaywalking is an auto industry invention, pedestrians should have unlimited right of way.

As a pedestrian, I don't agree (although I don't support ticketing for jaywalking, but if we get hit for it we should be held accountable).

pedestrians should have unlimited right of way.

That is dangerously stupid.

I think that only applies before the massive car volume and im sure there are more stupid drivers and people.

Yeah i figured but it was a red emergency zone where stopping is not allowed and at night and not even remotely close to the sidewalk.

So person can jump in front of your car with no possible way to dodge him and it's your fault?

Idiocy isn't a capital offence after all.

Actually, it is. You're thinking of idiocy.

You can hit pedestrians, just don't get caught.

Insurance scammers excluded.

Yeah, but it can keep you out of jail and help if they go after you in civil court.

Teens don't count as pedestrians.

"can't hit pedestrians"

Starts unpacking again

Freedom of natural selection is not a right unfortunately.

Do you live in China?

No, Massachusetts

That's not necessarily true. Chapter 89 Section 11 only protects pedestrians when they are crossing the roadway within a crosswalk marked in accordance with standards established by the department of highways if signals are present. If signals are not present then fault is the drivers if there was a reasonable chance to avoid the accident. If you are traveling at or below the stated speed limit, and a pedestrian steps in front of your car in such a way that you do not have the reasonable chance to avoid the accident then you can be considered not at fault, and a dash cam can go a long way to prove that.

I was just always taught that the pedestrian always has the right of way in Mass. But you’re right a dash Cam would be helpful in that kind of situation

The dashcam can't draw power if the car is off, though you should be unplugging it/taking it off the windshield anyways as the sun/heat will wear it down quickly

Edit: Apparently some 12v car outlets will still work with the car off, so double check yours to be sure, perks of being poor/having an old car I guess

Plus some typos

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Oh really! I wasnt aware of that, ill edit my comment, thanks for that til..thats pretty nifty (if frustrating in this instance)...going to go double check if mine does that though i dont believe so, i know my past vehicles havent

Yeah I have one in my car, powers the cam even when my car is off (although I turn the camera off when my car is in a safe place). But dash cam is the absolute best investment, gotten 2 accidents (minor) on camera and someone coming directly at me 30mph on a one way (but I avoided the accident). Someday I’ll catch something amazing on it though!

Someday I’ll catch something amazing on it though!

Careful what you wish for; youtube fame doesn't mean much if you're dead.

Logan Paul pretty much proves that wrong

Wired mine into the fusebox; piece of piss even for a hamfist like me. Find which fuse is for the wipers (good one which comes on when the ignition is on, goes off on its own when it's off), put in the piggyback thingy, run the wire under some seals, done.

In general american cars leave the ~~cigarette lighter~~ power plugs powered all the time, and japanese cars turn them on/off. Don't know what happens with european cars.

Huh, well that explains it, all but 1 of my vehicles have been Samurai Sedans

We turn the cigarette lighters on ourselves when we need them, wait for them to heat up, then turn them back off. I can't tell you how many times I burned my fingers on those things as a kid after accidentally activating.

Well, the 12v socket doesn't start heating the lighter until it is pushed in to complete the circuit, and then the coil eventually heats up to disconnect the circuit and indicate the lighter is ready to use. At least, this is in every car I've been in with an OEM lighter.

German turn it off.

Most cars do. Out of the 20 or so cars I've owned, I can only think of one of them there powered off the cigarette lighter.

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My Honda's 12v is not on unless the car is in accessory or on.

Thanks for the info, i usually park in the garage or under the shade but i never knew that.

Depending on the car and how it is wired, yes, it can.

Most cars have a setting for this (whether it can draw power when it's off. Usually in the form of a jumper

What car has this as an option? Never seen one with this option; it's always been "yup, always on" or "nope, switched" but never user select-able.

Yeah, like others said, 12v batteries do. It's such a pain in the arse having to unplug each time I drive.

Get a hardwire kit and put it into the fusebox, it'll free up your socket and if you put it on the wiper fuse, turn on and off with the ignition.

I love the sound of this. I now just need to figure out how to do these things...

I'm not mechanically minded. But what a place to start!

I'm really not either, but it was really easy. The Nextbase kit I got came with everything I needed, and the car's manual showed which fuse did what.

  1. Get car's manual, find the fusebox diagram, identify the wipers fuse and which fuse box it's in (some cars have several, it'll tell you where they are); in my case it was behind the glovebox.
  2. Turn off the ignition, remove the fuse, put it into the little piggyback box thing; it already has one fuse for the USB cable in it and a slot for the one you're using.
  3. Put the piggyback adapter into the slot the fuse was in.
  4. This bit will differ between adapters, but for mine, the long USB cable had a connector to connect the positive side to the piggyback and a washer type thing to ground the negative to the body. Loosen any bolt on the body and put the washer thingy on, retighten. In my case, it's held to some metal by some strong tape as I didn't have a wrench to hand; works fine.
  5. Route the cable to where you need it; the rubber seals around the doors, the pillar covers etc are all either removable or can be moved enough to jam the cable behind it. There's also a nice big gap at the top of the screen that is just about the right size.
  6. Profit.

Cheers! Most appreciated. I've taken a print screen so will attempt this over the weekend. Thanks for being so thorough!

I have a garage and sun shades

You don't need a sunshade in the garage!

But it helps my car sleep well at night : )

i have 2001 honda lol.

I have a car from 1977 (Ford Granada), the outlets work while the car is off.

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You're on the list now.

Nice i have a dashcam siting unused in my car because my car died before and i was worried it was the dashcam setting it off.

If your cigarette lighter stays on when the car is off (some cars have that go directly to the battery) you need to hook your dashcam up to your fusebox (good idea regardless). Worth looking into a battery pack for it too because then it'll stay on for a couple hours after you turn off your car, but with the right dashcam would go into parking mode and take a picture every x seconds or only record when movement is detected

I think him jaywalking makes it easier all by itself. I witnessed a jaywalker get hit by a truck. The driver was really worried he was going to be put in jail. He called the cops. An ambulance and a fire truck showed up. After 45 mins or so the cop told the guy he could go, no ticket or anything. The jaywalker got a ticket and is probably deep in hospital bills. Poor dumb lady. I still feel sorry for her after one year.

Fuck, a lot of people espceially homeless jaywalking to cross into the shopping center. If you dont slow down you can easily hit one which is frustrating. Poor lady its not fun.

Upvoted for "typical teenager superman complex".

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Thanks its baffling how under the complexion they think a moving car or direct impace will not even flop on to their skin it seems.

....what?

cool story bro

I never know what cam to go for, so many on the market, from $50 - $500... various options etc.

I suggest checking out the dash cam subreddit and helpful sidebar.

What is the address of this dash cam subreddit? Literally /r/dashcam ?

I like my Falcon Zero

Check out the Viofo A119 v2. It's typically around the top for size, quality, and affordability. I got two this year, with circular polarizers and good quality microSD cards, for ~$115 ea. from Amazon. Been impressed so far.

This is a video of my father in law driving down the road in the middle of the night. Turns out the guy had been doing this for years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZs5S9XuMjs&t=1m39s

What happened in the end?

FIL called the State Police. Gave them the video. This was simply written up as the mustang driver being at fault so his insurance covered the damage to my FIL's truck.

The trooper did more research and found the Mustang driver had 8 claims in the past year where he would do this to big rig drivers. He was arrested and charged with insurance fraud and filing false police reports.

and he would still be getting away with it if it wasn't for your meddling dashcam!

I was stumped at first for an idea but you nailed it.

Story time

I was stopped on the curb, a Lexus turned across in front of me to enter a driveway, cut too close and scraped my bumper.

Now I was driving a faded shitbox so I didn't care about the little scrape, buy it put all red paint up the side.

Obviously they were upset, but it wasn't until the insurance company called that I realised they claimed it was my fault. I briefly explained to them, and they said it sounds like I'm not at fault but I'd need to fill out a written and drawn description. They asked if I wanted to claim any damages and I said no, as a new bumper would look ridiculous on such a faded car, and the damage was minimal.

So i filled out a huge description, drew a diagram on grid paper, and I even took screen shots from Google Earth showing how it happened, and photos of the other persons car showing paint scrapes around their rims (proving their wheel was tuning, so they had to be moving)

I never heard back, so obviously the company called them on their bs. But If I'd had a cam? I would've saved myself a month of stress over if I was going to have to pay out insurance, or legal fees, right before Christmas when I was broke as it was as I'd just lost one income and in general just caused me this constant background stress I didn't need.

So buy a damn camera. They're less than 100 dollars for something easily adequate.

See I never have an issue if I'm at fault, it sucks big ass, but if it's my fault it's my fault! And sometimes "legally speaking" something can feel not your fault, but by road laws it technically is.

Video evidence helps when it isn't clear cut, and also it doesn't change, where memory can get foggy when things all happen so fast.

Dashcam videos do not count as evidence in Germany, for whatever bullshit reason. Something to do with privacy or so I think

Privacy laws! That’s crazy you can’t expect a level of privacy on the streets where literally everyone can see! That’s terrible.

It's not about being seen, but about being recorded and, thus, seen even when you're not there anymore.

That's why you can't set up a camera on your property that records parts of a public street either. You also can't just walk around and film random people without their consent.

That doesn't even make sense.

It's official, Germany is retarded.

You were there, otherwise you wouldn't be on video. Video is in fact direct proof you were there.

Maybe you could sue for breach of privacy later, but video is proof nonetheless.

They still haven't recovered it seems

The thing is you don't need to fight this out in courts and your insurance company will gladly accept the video evidence to lay blame on the other party.

Things like these are dealt with through insurance companies, not courts

Germany just went down another peg.

What do you mean, why another one?

Well ... World War 1 ... World War 2 ... should I keep going?

Oh yeah that has totally something to do with Germany and it's laws nowadays

You're literally an idiot.

Not a fan of humour I take it?

Eh, I just prefer another kind of humour I suppose. One that doesn't demean a country that is trying really hard to shed a reputation that the current population doesn't deserve.

But right, it's just a joke.

OK, absolutely no German jokes. Got it. Anything else we should add to the list?

They are technically illegal in some places due to privacy laws, e.g. Austria. Just a heads up for people to check their local laws before installing them.

Just get an inexpensive phone mount for your car and get the DailyRoads Voyager app. Saves 2 minute segments of video up to a specified amount of space on your phone. Then your dash-cam video is always available on your phone.

I use an extended battery on my Note 3, record 45 minutes to and from work ... doesn't get below half power usually .. but you can plug in a car charger to your phone while driving to keep your battery up. :-)

takes me 7.5 seconds to slap that phone into the mount and start the dash-cam app.

Sounds like a good way to have your phone's battery go bad much quicker. A lot of Uber drivers use a separate cheaper phone for their Ubering for this reason.

Omg, in Hong Kong taxi drivers literally have a row of about 5 phones.

That’s weird that a “lot of Uber drivers” think buying a second phone makes more sense than a new battery....

It's also because they don't want assholes to have their personal phone numbers.

Calls between drivers and passengers are filtered through a proxy number that is ineffective shortly after the ride ends

Here, The local uber competitor does so but not Uber

Really? makes sense I guess, that's nice of uber to do.

Uber doesn't give out phone numbers you liar

I mean if you have a decent phone you should be able to buy a new battery for a very reasonable price indeed.

I think the last time I could easily replace a battery in a phone was about 4 years ago. Phones all seem to be sealed units these days. You can get creative with most, pulling the screen off to get to the battery, etc, but it's not easy.

Tried that, camera angle of a phone is bad, placement position is too low, annoying wires needs effort for use.

Mine dashcam is behind my rearview mirror, out of the way, proper angle and wide lens to have a good view, requires no effort to use.

Whcih one do you use?

A118C; cheap, suprisingly good image quality and the wedge shape is not obvious to thiefs. Do use proper SD cards that are ment to repeated writing of video!

Former dailyroads user (even paid for it)...

...can't recommend it. I guess if you have an old phone around sure, go ahead and do it. But if you only have your main phone, it's a total PITA to put your phone in the mount, hook up power, unlock phone every time you get in the car. I was religious about it, then eventually saw the light and bought a cheap-enough dash cam. So much nicer! Permanently mounted, use a charge controller^* to make it turn on/off when the engine is running, just really worth it in every way. Plus now everyone who drives my car has the benefit of a dash cam, without any action on their part whatsoever! That alone can be a lifesaver if you have a teen driver who isn't convinced of the usefulness of having a dash cam, for example.

So while using a dash cam app works, and if you're poor I'd say go for it, if you have extra cash I really wouldn't recommend it as a long term solution.

As for some of the other questions... burning out flash never happened to me despite using it daily for almost three years. Battery use wasn't a problem as I always plugged mine in while recording. It did cause a few phones to overheat if I was using the dashcam + maps + playing music + sunlight (even with the AC on), so that's an issue to be aware of.

^* Car was under warranty, otherwise I'd have wired it in conventionally without the charge controller.

Wouldn’t that quickly wear out the phone internal storage? Can only write so many times...

I used my Sony Xperia Z1 with it, it would overheat and shut down, especially in the summer. Even just driving around, windows open, a giant black rectangle in the window gets hot.

Especially using so much battery and cpu. It doesn’t make sense to wear out an expensive multi use device instead of paying a few dollars for a device designed for this use.

Exactly. I have the Viofo A119S and it works great, plus its harder to see than a giant thing on the dash. It's hidden by the rearview mirror being behind it and the upper tint on the windshield.

/r/roadcam also likes to see what you record.

As much as I enjoy viewing that sub’s content, the community can be questionable. You can have two similar dashcam scenarios and one will be favored, loved, etc. while the other will have the cammer’s actions criticized down to the bone.

I've gotten in my share of arguments on there with people who like to left lane camp, merge on highways slowly, and hate zipper merging.

You would think that people on that sub would be better drivers than most, but it doesn't seem to be the case.

I installed mine today idk how I ever considered a new car and not this first.

What dashcam did you use that was sub 200? only ones I ever saw that looked good were 400+ :/

Mine was $99 from Amazon. Made by Rexing.

The most popular entry level model is $50 on Amazon. It’s not perfect but it helps you decide what you want a cam to do.

This. People don't need expensive ones (dual camera, GPS, accelerometer, etc.) - some video is better than none. Bottom of the barrel should be avoided, but overall there aren't really any truly atrocious options.

You can get a clone b29 (I think? been a while) that works decently enough for about $60 or so. The more name brand (like street guardian) cams work better and have better internal parts (such as capacitors instead of lithium batteries, better sensors, etc.). But a clone is still far better than no camera at all!

I like the thought of not actually mentioning the dashcam until they decide to blame the crash on you. And then you just drop the dashcam bomb and stick up your middle finger.

Question, will that get you more money though?

No, but it will prevent their insurance company from denying liability in a word vs word situation. If they deny you get nothing. If you can prove it and they accept you get your damages paid for.

So, at the very least you'll get the money for to repair the damages?

Unless you're in one of the 12 states where it won't matter.

It can save you from large out of pocket expenses.

deductibles are typically $500 - $1000

If a $70 dash-cam saves me this cost in a they said/they said scenario, then it's worth it.

There are plenty of situations when it's helpful outside of fraud. If someone runs a red light they could just as easily say that they had the green and it was you who ran the red. Without any witnesses Insurance has no choice but to split the blame.

Was justice served? Did she have to pay for your damages too?

/r/Dashcam has pretty helpful information (specially the sidebar) in case anyone is thinking about getting one.

I profess the gospel of dashcams to anyone with a car. I was driving in New York and the traffic was pretty bad. I was at a light and it turned green so I started driving. Before the light even turn yellow a police officer stopped me, let people go, and then the light turned yellow then red. He then told me to edge to the side and I thought it was so I could go around the other cops. When I get there a cop is waiting to tell me I'm getting a ticket for blocking the intersection even though it was the cop who stopped me. They were getting about three cars each light that way. I fought the ticket and showed pictures of the cop in the middle of the road on a green light and it was thrown away. Final summation: please get a dashcam if you drive.

What dashcam do you use ?

I put a dash cam in every car I own because of shit like this.

I am sorry to hear about your story. Glad it worked out in the end. Do you have any recommendations on dashcams?

Any recommendations?

/r/dashcam has some very good advice on this.

im working in China right now and I can say for sure that dashcam is a must...people drive like they have to be somewhere 5 minutes ago here it's crazy...

I'd love to do that. But in the back of my mind I'd be thinking of the possibility that I let them file, and then when I go to retrieve the footage the cam messes up and loses it. Leaving me boned.

I'd prefer to point to the cam and have them claim properly.

Is it better to say straight away that you have a dashcam or to wait until they file an insurance claim?

/r/prorevenge

You didn't even say anything to the police? What was your statement on the report?

My dash cameras got me out of a felony kidnapping charge. Mobius camera, best $80 I've ever spent.

more like life preserving I would say

This exact scenario is what motivated me to get one. I only ended up having to pay for my car to get fixed, but the hassle...always running a dashcam now.

How does the reporting for insurance fraud work? You report them to their insurance with "I have evidence"?

I kept getting pulled over because the cops said they thought it was a radar detector. 3 times in one year. One cop said I could keep it up, but to expect being pulled over more.

What's a good dash cam?

I've caught some crazy shit on my dash cam. The lastest was some lady passing a stopped school bus with kids unloading and someone passing in the emergency lane on a super tall bridge going 80+ mph. I use my cell phone and just put it in a little holder.

Yup 100% right best thing you can own, hell get 2 one for the front one for the back.

I been saved a couple of times from being reversed into. Many of those times I was fast enough to turn away. There are a lot of people looking for a quick buck so dash cam is definitely the way to go.

I bought my parents one for Christmas after this happened to them twice (and they had to pay up both times)

If your country allows them.

My cell phone is my dashcam,

This just happened to my wife. She was on a sloped road sitting behind someone at a stop sign. Person stalled their car and rolled into my wife's car which only had a busted grill. They exchanged insurance. Wife tries to file a claim. Person at fault denies it and says my wife drove into her. He said she said so we have to pay for the grill which is luckily only $150. You bet your ass both of my cars have dash cams now.

/r/prorevenge

Yeah and when you do that in Germany you get sued for violation of privacy... I am not kidding.

I really wish they would change / clarify the law around them in Germany.

We have pretty strict privacy laws here and using a photo/video of someone with his consent is not allowed - not even as evidence in court sometimes.

Then what happened? Did she go to jail?

Thats it Im getting one.

Is this the best course of action with a dash cam? Not being facetious, just wondering if it's better to do this or tell them immediately.

Theres a reason they're so popular in places like Russia. Makes people think twice about trying to pull this shit.

I got a dash cam and right after Christmas hooked it up. Friday night some asshole side swipes me and took off. I viewed camera footage there was 53 videos already on there but nothing at the time of accident- wtf?!

This is a cobra brand that has front and rear cameras. Can anyone recommend a better one so this one can go back to Costco?

Same thing happened to me. Guy asked why I hit him, he changed his tune when I pointed to the camera.

I retardedly spaced out yesterday at a red light, saw it turn green and went right on through. Half way through the intersection I realized it was a turn light that turned green and not mine. This happened right in front of a cop. I pulled over before he even turned the corner. All I could think about was how badly I hope nobody there had a dash cam. Perfect driving record for my 15 years on the road and I must’ve looked like a senile old man or just a complete asshole with no regard for anyone else.

I really want a dash cam. I enjoy the dash cam compilation videos on youtube as well. I think one can really help if you get into this type of situation.

By dash cam do you mean a GoPro?

A friend of mine is a lawyer in Texas. He tells people all the time to get dashcams to protect themselves from these types of situations.

Is there a way to install one of these without it being literally mounted on the dash (ie, hidden somewhere in the front exterior)?

Separately, why do car manufacturers not integrate these into their cars? I bought a Chrysler Pacifica last year and it probably has 10 (maybe even more) camera's on it to provide a full 360 view while backing up and lane departure assistance. It even has a camera-like device on the front that instantaneously measures the distance between us and the car in front of us to provide adaptive cruise control and emergency braking. Why would they not just use those already existing camera's to act as a dash cam?

I see too many people with dash cam that worth 25 or 50% of the total value of their car....

Exactly. But I had the opposite problem. Someone rear ended me at a red light and then made up a story about how I was backing down the road (in the middle of stopped traffic?). Neither of us had proof as to whose story was right. So our insurances ended up in a dead lock.

Make sure you get a rear dash cam too.

What's a good dashcam to buy? I've considered it but each time I looked at dashcams I was overwhelmed with choice.

I need one I don't have to wire into the car. Does car matter?

I was parked and a lady reversed her van into me while parking and then walked away. I called my insurance and they claimed I was on the hook for both deductibles because there would be no way to prove I didn't hit the van. I gave them the dash cam footage.

The footage was forwarded to the police. Boom. Idiot lady charged with leaving the scene of an accident, and issued a fine for parking in a handicap zone. She had to pay my deductible as well.

That $150 paid for itself many times over that day.

I have one but I haven't used it in a long time. I wish I did, yesterday I caught a gnarly patch of black ice and did a fat drift, but I corrected pretty damn well (if I say so myself).

So two dashcams, then? One for the front and one for the back?

Serious question.

Mine sits under my mirror, and I watch people drive more carefully around me.

Be careful with this. If a police officer shows up or is called, you must disclose thst you have a camera. You don't need to show them the video on scene, but it must be in the police report. If a police report is written and no mention of a camera is included, the other side insurance will defend themselves by saying that you got a clip on YouTube and edited the information in.

Can anyone recommend a good one?

But my state has no-fault, so either way I'm always fucked :(

Did she accidentally reverse into you or did she do it intentionally?

Make sure to check your dashcam footage often. My camera stopped working after a month and didn't record my recent accident.

Heres the problem we canadians face. Everytime i stop the car i have to take it down or hide it in case it gets stolen. Idiots here will break your window for your shit.

Which dash cam do you have? Looking for recommendations.

I just got one for Christmas. My dad, thinking it was a great thing to ask for, also bought one for himself. He had it installed for weeks before I got mine and informed him he needed to get a memory card, because what it came with was just an adaptor for a micro-SD card.

Our SD cards come next week sometime. What would he do without me? Haha

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these are things you can buy?

i always looked at the stirring beads in chemistry class with envy.

Yea. They used to called stirio or somwthing but those went out of production I think. I ordered another brand. Gad to have it shipped from the US since noone here has one. Its honestly a life saver. I cannot count the times ive mad soup or rice porridge and just left it fir the hours it took to be done.

What's your brand one? It seems to work and I'm too lazy to search

Gourmia I think was the name. I got it off amazon but im sure you could get your local store to get one or two in stock. Now I havent tried that model myself. The one I got is old cranky and looks like something out of a tv-shop bid. But it works.

I fucking swear a stirrer hotplate would be a wonderful addition to the kitchen. Heating up to 200 degC and high speed stirring. What isn't to love about that?

Just make sure to pick out the ceramic stir bar or have very good dental insurance.

Nah, just adds texture really.

Also what chemist uses ceramic any more? Plastic all the way

I still use ceramic in my organic chem lab.

What is it? He deleted it.

Automatic Pot stirrer.

"Oh...an automatic...pot stirrer...great...thanks"

Yea something like that. He will be glad when he becomes a dad though. Calling it now.

It’s like that scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

You are not a true believer, dr Jones? You will be... you will be!

For some reason I was thinking more Yoda being creepy to Luke on Dagobah. "I'm not afraid! You will be... you... will... be."

Somehow funnier to me.

Wtf a pot stirrer?! I’ll be looking into this

Unless he gets rid of it before he recognizes its beauty

But can it stir your chilli?

Mine can. I however prefer hands on with my chili. Chili is a work of love. Porridge for screaming kids, is something else.

He wont be.

Oh ye of little faith.

A good quality chef's knife. Having knife with a bit of heft, that's well balanced and sharp makes cooking so much more enjoyable.

An easy three step guide for those of you who don't want to wade into the rabbit hole of r/chefknives.

1 tojiro dp from Amazon is like 70 bucks

2 a king 1k/6k stone from Amazon

3 a cheap sharpening angle guide from Amazon.

This is all most people need. Watch a few YouTube videos on how to sharpen when the knife gets dull. You don't need to have these amazing high quality stones to finish etc. This setup will keep you plenty sharp for home cooking and basic maintenance

I can't help but think this isn't the best sizing image to choose for a knife... https://i.imgur.com/exnPCP2.png

What size knife should I get?

"Oh throat size. Yeah I'd say about throat size."

Yeah. It should show the depth of penetration when you stab someone. Much more handy.

tojiro dp from Amazon is like 70 bucks

In the interest of being frugal, wouldn't a $30 Victorinox Fibrox be good enough for most people?

The fibrox is made of softer steel. The tojiro will actually last you a lifetime and provides seriously better cutting performance for not much more money. Most home chefs grow out of their fibrox at some point

Softer steel also means it's less likely to chip.

A Victorinox Fibrox and a honing steel will last a long time. You'll want to hone the Tojiro anyway, not sharpen it often.

Yes but you can strop harder knives, and they take better to touch ups on the stones than soft steels do

Came here to recommend this. They're excellent knives. Although honestly for the most part I use my $5 kiwi knives.

Victorinox is an amazing bang for the buck company. In the interest of being frugal, by all means.

Source: Worked in kitchens, every kitchen was outfitted with Victorinox.

1 and 2 is literally exactly what I bought - a 21cm Gyuto. Didn't bother with the angle guide and have got on fine freehand. It's just a joy compared to having a crappy knife.

I decided I also wanted a petty so bought myself something a bit fancier as a birthday present to myself, but honestly I could get by using the Gyuto for everything.

Is the 21cm good for pretty much everything?

I would say so. I use the petty for small things like shallots where the Gyuto can feel just a tad unwieldy, but it's certainly perfectly usable.

It's probably a bigger knife than what you are used to if you haven't had a chef's knife before, but it's not difficult to get used to.

That's good to hear. Thanks for the info!

It's amazing what a few licks with a steel can do to maintain the edge between sharpenings. I do it almost every time I use a knife.

The steel straightens the edge, stones actually remove material and sharpen. Plus the tojiro is actually harder than most knife steels, so you need diamond/ceramic hones which are just less precise ways to remove material than stones anyway

Before or after using it?

Either. I find it lets me go much longer without actually sharpening (removing metal.)

Not sure if they all do it, but the meat counter at my local Schnuck's grocery store will sharpen kitchen knives for free. I probably wouldn't take a nice chef's knife there, but for my standard block knives it's a lifesaver. Once you've become accustomed to using a properly sharp knife, using a dull one is frustrating as hell.

Found the one from St Louis.

But yes, a lot of grocery stores will "sharpen" (grind the shit out of your knives) for free or cheap. They use a bench grinder which removes a considerable amount of your blade where as wet stone removes microns.

I'm a line-cook, so I have good knives. But I also send them out to be sharpened by pros because, well, I just budget for it, and there's some convenience to it for me.

tojiro dp from Amazon is like 70 bucks

Been after a good chef's knife and looked that up. Is like the equivalent of about $680 on UK amazon!

An item that suddenly gets a lot of web traffic on their site may pop up in price for a day or more. A standard retailer’s website is more likely to keep offering a stable price if we’re all ordering at once.

Unless you really screw up you don't even need the second two. I do all my maintenance with a honing steel and diamond strop. Less mess than using a stone, quicker and also less potential to mess up the edge angles. Additionally, you remove a lot less metal this way which can be a really good thing if your knives have a bolster.

I only break out my stones if the edge is damaged.

The Tojiro DP is made of VG-10 at 60:61HRC and the steel has a reputation for chipping. All that means is while you technically can hone it, you should be very careful doing so. A kitchen steel/hone can apply a lot of pressure to a very small area resulting in chips.

The Tojiro will hold an edge longer than a Victorinox, but a Victorinox is much easier to maintain and responds well to honing.

Fair point. While I have a couple of "Japanese style" knives they're still made with western style steel (one is generic unnamed stainless and the other is X50CrMoV15). I doubt they're harder than about 55-56 HRC so they tend to dent and roll rather than chip.

Suggest a video pls?

https://youtu.be/7dFFEBnY0Bo

Mercer Genesis is amazing. It's so incredibly comfortable. Affordable. And I'm over a year deep in pretty regular use and hone frequently but it's still sharp as hell.

I don't think I'll ever own another type of knife. The comfort is unbelievable.

I went from the Fibrox to a Mercer and love it. Plus they're around the block from where I work.

Which guide would you recommend?

why would you get a $70 tojiro dp over a $30 victorinox fibrox?

No need for an angle guide, fold a piece of paper twice diagonally for a 22° angle, use that until it's natural for you without it.

22° is a little wide for my tastes. I like fifteen degrees per side

Victorinox santoku is a solid knife for a midrange chefs knife its around $50 its not breaking the bank like masahiro or other top quality knives but thease knives can last a lifetime

Thank you so much, I will get these to revive my old knife.

How much time does it take to get good at this?

Two maybe three hours all in with videos and practice to get a nice edge the first time. I can do all 4 of my heavily used knives in 40 minutes barring any serious repairs or chip removal. Mind you, I cook professionally so I sharpen a lot more than your average home cook

I bought that exact knife for my gf for Christmas! Glad i made a solid buy!

What's your opinion on the Spyderco Sharpmaker? I've been using that and my knives have never been sharper. I assume actual whetstones work better but I bet this it's quicker and sufficient for personal use

It's probably fine. I've never used one, but it's a little small for kitchen knives imo. A little practice on a stone and you'll probably be just as fast.

Omg I have an entire set of tojira knives and they are the absolute best.

Holy shit I didnt even think of angle guides I bought a shitty pair of rods to make sure I could do the angles right since I didnt have confidence in my ability with a stone. Welp down the rabbit hole of knife sharpening, now I can have more knives the wife cant touch :D

Second the Tojiro DP. It's my main workhorse as a prep cook.

Not to mention safer. You’re more likely to cut yourself with a cheap dull knife than a decent sharp one. Mainly because you’re not having to use as much force to cut.

Got a set for Christmas. Is it normal to giggle while cutting all the things? Happiness is a sharp knife.

I got a set of shapton sharpening stones for Christmas. The giggle never stops when you can take knives back to shaving sharp whenever the urge strikes you. Learn to sharpen and you'll never have dull knives again. Also you'll never have money again because you'll get way more into knives and sharpening them

Thanks for the tip!!

Those are my favorite for sharpening, they do such a nice job on my massamoto

Happiness is a sharp knife.

I always say "people with dull knives live dull lives", and when I need to buy someone a gift and i know they have dull knives, i buy them a 15€ knife sharpener. It's always a good gift because you know it will be used. Once you have sharp knives, you can't go back to the dull life.

Vitronix is the shit yo. And they're like $25.

Actually, everything ATK recommends is the shit. I bought a garlic press on their recommendation, way better.

Victorinox*, and yes they're fantastic knives that are very durable and hold an edge well.

aren't victorinox usually made with softer steel and need to be sharpened often?

Stainless steel is softer than tool steels used for some other knives, but you don't need to worry about it rusting at all so it's good for the casual cook. I sharpen mine every 2-3 months, and just use a knife steel before use.

They are made of softer steel that other premium brands. My thought was that sayibg they are very durable is therefore maybe bot the ideal wording XD

Literally ordered a Victorinox the yesterday, it should be delivered today. It was my birthday gift to me, I've been meaning to grab a chefs knife for a while and wanted something good but cheap to start me off.

I've got a set of Global knives and they are simply amazing. They stay sharp for weeks at a time (with regular use). Sure, they're expensive, but I enjoy cooking so much more after buying them.

Sure, they're expensive, but

No, my friend globals are quite affordable. Bob Kramer is expensive, some shuns as well (not the classics). And others like masahiro, etc.

We're talking 350-400 for chefs knife alone. I can pick up the global 8" chef's for 119 all day.

It's all relative though - I started with cheap, supermarket knives. Then I tried a kitchen Devil knife and was converted. Then came Sabbatiers, after that was Global.

Now I am standing on the edge of the abyss, contemplating Damascus steels, and Japanese hand crafted knives.....

I worked as a chef for 10 years, purchased my global in 2010 (it's stamped) and with a quick lick of a stone it's as sharp as it was the day I bought it, best £90 I ever spent.

That knife has some stories..

I do love my cheap global knives for industry work. I'm not worried about someone dropping them, washing them in the dish machine, what have you. I used to be on edge all the time when I'd bring my expensive knives to work.

Now the good stuff stays at home and I only have to worry about the misses messing with them.

My spouse got one for Christmas a few years ago. I quietly mocked the gift saying I could got us a whole new set of knives with the block from Walmart for like $60. After using that knife a couple of times I learned there really is a difference and we donated our cheap set and began piecing together a set of the nice ones.

Hurts me when I see people with knife block sets they don't even use...

Get a good chef knife and sharpener. Handles most everything...as you've no doubt found out by now!

Yeah,I had to learn the hard way. Of course my spouse is a big fan of cooking from home so knows better. I think we currently have like 4 knives (admittedly other than the Chefs knife I don't know what the others are) , but he uses them all the time, and on the instances I have been using them there is definitely a difference in the cutting ability compared to the cheap sets

What hurts even worse is to see people with really nice knives and try to "sharpen" them either with a shitty sharpener or not learning how to do it properly.

Learning how to sharpen them was a much more useful thing in the end. Or I guess I could just keep buying new ones.

As a former chef I agree. I have a 10" Wusthof Classic I used professionally for nearly 11 years on the line and 22 years after that in my home and its still going strong today. I honestly will pass this down to my kids some day.

Wusthofs are great. I love mine

Oh my jesus, this. Cooking at the girlfriend's is a nightmare now because of her shitty knives, haha

Edit 2: Apparently I was misinformed/confused, thank you so much to the user who replied! Regardless, I stand by my recommendation of one of each style to see what works for you. Cheers!

Edit: I highly recommend getting both a German and Japanese style chef's knife. I stuck with a German style for a loooooong time before finally trying a Japanese Shin style knife. Turns out the Japanese style works better for me, while there are some heavy duty stuff I reserve for the German steel. Quick and dirty difference between the two - German knives are laser cut from a single block of steel, making them very sturdy, but also dense and heavy to handle for long periods. Japanese style is folded steel, making it a bit more flexible and lighter, but not nearly as "strong".

no, that is not the difference..... Whether the knife is forged or laser cut is a matter of price, laser cutting being way cheaper. The real difference between german/french and japanese chefs knifes is how hard they are (measures in rockwell), and the shape. German knifes are usually softer than japanese ones, and the shape is also is also very noticable different in that german knifes especially are adapted to the rocking motion when chopping, while Japanese knifes often have less of a curve to them and being harder, whic means they hold their edge longer, but are more difficult to sharpen.

My apologies, clearly I was misinformed. Thanks for the clarification and new knowledge! Happy cooking!

Shit, even a regular knife you'd find at Walmart for $5 makes cooking more enjoyable if you have a whetstone to sharpen it with. My knives aren't "super, $100 chef knife" sharp, but they're sharp enough to easily chop or slice any food item.

A good whetstone is the real great advice here. Honing steel isn't going to do the job if your knives are already dull.

Most people don't realize their knives are dull until they try a properly sharpened one. It's safer, easier to use, and saves a ton of time.

So much this! My favourite knife I've ever owned is this: https://shun.kaiusaltd.com/knives/knife/premier-7-in.-asian-cooks-knife

I never got why people freak out about chef's knives before.

Then I made one for a friend, but decided to use it once before giving it to them...

I'm making an entire set for myself. They're fantastic.

Best $80 I've ever spent on cooking utensils - a good knife at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. Why in Tokyo? Because the Japanese have a form of vegetable knife that's not generally availabe in the West and if it is, it's either crap quality ($5 in a corner shop) or hilariously expensive.

A Nakiri? I've wanted one of those.

Yep, amazing knives. The form is just so well suited for most vegetables and a decent one from the knife vendors at Tsukiji will keep its edge for weeks and cut a tomato with just its own weight. The first one I bought became so dear to me that I went and got another one the next time I was in Tokyo... and three more for friends.

My favorite knife is a messermeister vegetable knife( SImilar to this, but not scalloped ). Sure it's German and a bit thicker than the Japanese knives, but damn if it isn't sharp as a razor. It was a gift from an old cook and probably one of their first runs of that knife/style(late 80's?). My other favorite which I lost (due to a shitty roomate) was a Chinese chefs knife, also gifted from the same guy, an even bigger version, but damn it was grand.

i went down a rabbit hole last year and ended up buying a Carter knife... holy shit its been amazing.

This here.

I have two: one my old sous chef gave me...it had been his first knife, and one I bought for like, $30-$40 at Target because I couldn't blow $200 on a chef knife.

I use the one I bought from Target more than anything because it's weighted better, and the handle is nicer, and the curve of the blade is so fucking comfortable.

I use my chef knife for almost everything. Got so used to using it for everything in restaurants because I didn't like setting my other knives down and switching while trying to do prep or during lunch rush.

Get good with a good chef knife...and your life in the kitchen will change for the better.

My in laws need a bread knife to cut tomatoes because they don't sharpen their knives. Not an exaggeration on "they only sharpen them rarely". Im talking 10 years or so here. My mother in law was complaining once so I hit the honing steel for a minute and she was floored. I took 10 minutes and sharpened and honed their whole block and she was basically astonished.

It takes 30 seconds people. Use the honing steel.

Remember, a blunt knife is more dangerous than a sharp one.

A victorinox is good enough for home cooks though, like don't go overkill people.

Ignore my knife block that cost more than my sofa. Shhh

I got myself some cheap diamond sharpening plates (like ridiculously cheap) to train myself in sharpening and good lord those things are amazing. 200, 400, 600, and 1000 grit, and since then I have been sharpening everything I can get my hands on and finishing of with a piece of leather with some polishing paste on it for that razor sharp finish.

Cheap knives may not hold sharpness as long as the expensive ones but even the cheap knives can become razor sharp and a joy to use once you learn how to sharpen them.

Even just a sharp knife. I spent about 30 minutes sharpening knives at my girlfriends mothers on thanksgiving and it made a world of difference. Didn’t even use a stone, just the sharpening steel that cane with the set already. Folks it’s there for a reason use it.

It's also much, much safer than using crappy knives.

go to your nearest overpriced kitchen supply store and request to hold a bob kramer knife.

i didnt even know that knife handles were improperly designed till i held one.

And a good, high grit sharpening stone.

Just got a J.A. Henckles knife set for Christmas. These knives are great. My only concern is the sharpening steel. NOT sure if I can do it right.

I'd say go for a double sided wet stone instead..sharpen any cheap knife to a quality knife. Will require sharpning more often than expenssive knives, but if you do it regularly you'd only need a few passes on the stone.

Totally victorinox 10" chef's knife and a stroping rod will compelling change how you thought you were supposed to cut things in the kitchen.

My step mom just bought this for me since I like to cook and live on my own.

To add onto this: AnySharp Pro sharpener. I struggled with my knives getting blunt all the time and it was such a hassle to bring them for sharpening every once in a while. Now this sharpener really works so I can do that at home, save a lot of time and money.

Get yourself some sharpening stones and you'll realise just how sharp a knife can get. I used to use carbide sharpeners until I got myself a Spyderco Sharpmaker. Spent 20 minutes on my chefs knife and the thing would literally fall right through veggies with its own weight.

If you're talking about expensive chef knives, I have to disagree. I have friends who have spent hundreds of dollars on a chef knife and what they do and accomplish is no different than what I do with my Cuisinart one that came in a budget knife set. They often brag about the knife in order to justify their spending so much on it. But it's all a psychological trick. The difference between a $30 and $300 chef knife is imperceptible to pretty much everyone, as long as it's sharpened every once in while.

Yeah a good quality chefs knife can be extremely life changing. One slip of the hand and your life could change to your death.

A dull knife is a dangerous knife.

Would you draw a picture with an unsharpened pencil?

Would you put ketchup on a steering wheel?

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Or smart light bulbs. Have them set to slowly fade in 5 minutes before your alarm goes off.

How expensive are they?

Edit: Thanks for the replies! Seems like theres lots of optiomd, including ones for poor folk like me....anyone no where to get cheap dental insurance & care lol?

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If you have an Ikea nearby, they have a line of smart light bulbs that are $12 at the cheapest.

Can the app talk directly to a single bulb or do you need some whole setup in your house?

Trådfri from Ikea can be as little as a set of only a remote (switch) and one bulb. With this you can connect it to your wifi and setup the app to wake you up. It works pretty good. Only downside is the starting point of the sunrise. It will be rather light from the start. But it is dirt cheap and easyier to configure than the philips alarm light clock we tested before.

You can even conect Google assistant and Alexa to control your light with your voice

"Alexa, fuck off with the lights!"

"Fucking off"

95% of the reason I got smart bulbs and an echo dot is so I can turn the lights off from my bed.

We have 3 Kasa smart bulbs and 2 smart wifi plugs that are linked to Google Assistant (upstairs, won it for free at a Google donut pop up) and Alexa (downstairs). Very nice to turn lights on and off without leaving the cozy bed.

depends on the type. Some are wifi and you can control them with just the app. Many including the philips hue mentioned above are zigbee or z-wave and need a hub at the minimum although if you get something like the wink or smarthings hub they can handle many different brands as one central hub

That's what I want to know

I have the IKEA smart lights at home, and use them with a fade-in timer in the morning. Only trouble is that the darkest setting is still quite bright, compared to the single-tasker wake-up alarms.

Love my hue lights

I have TP-Link at home and they talk directly to an app on my phone without a hub. I got them for £17 each on special offer and work out of the box with Alexa, GH and Homeassistant.

Are you able to set them to work like a wake-up alarm? Gradually growing brighter in the morning at a set time?

I have a TP link bulb - unfortunately you can't simply set it to brighten gradually. I have mine set manually to increase every 5 minutes over a half-hour and it does the job. Takes some time to set it up initially, but it's an effective and cheaper alternative to a wake-up alarm.

Not natively. They have adjustable brightness but the app doesn't support fading up or down.

If you have HomeAssistant and you wanted to be ghetto you could probably make up a script to do it.

What's the energy consumption when turned off? How much does the hub or one bulb require? They have WiFi running 24/7 right?

Most smart bulbs use Zigbee or Z-Wave, which is cheaper and I imagine lower energy than Wifi. Hue bulbs have been tested to use less than .5 Watt while off.

Best Buy has the Hue starter kit for $50 on black Friday. 4 white bulbs and the hub.

"C by GE" is like $15, and has this fade feature. Works over wifi, doesn't have a ton of bells and whistles, but has three color (different variants of nature light, redish, yellowish, and whiteish), and does said fade thing.

Sounds like exactly what im looking for, thanks!

Do you need a hub or anything else with it?

Nope, you just need a light bulb socket to plug it into, and a device to download the app companion, in order to program the alarm. It works over wiki, and both the light bulb and the app have to be on the wifi network at the same time (as in you wont be able to turn on your lights when not at home) but I it works 99 wake ups out of 100. The only time I woke up to my alarm going off in the dark was when I forgot to turn the alarm back on, after turning it off. I've been using it for at least 9 months now.

Does the app companion allow you to have multiple alarms set? Like one for weekdays, and then one for the weekend? Or do you have to manually set it on a Friday and Sunday night?

Yes it does, you can have countless with the bulb I have. I have one for my days off, and one for work days set at different colors/brightnesses and at different times of the day/week.

That's neat! My wife is 6 months pregnant, so I don't think we'll be needing one for a while...

You sure you don't!ean Bluetooth?

Mine works off of my router, not bluetooth. In all honesty, no idea if it's different for newer models.

Got a link by chance? Having a hard time finding what you described for $15

I even went into my Amazon history, and yep... the link for the single bulb I bought some time ago, now redirects to the double pack which cost slightly more than double the single bulb, because it's a double pack. Sorry about that.

You're right, I could only find a "starter kit," for $33.00 that comes with two LOL. I've had mine for a little bit now, I'd say at least 9 months, so maybe they did a rebranding or something, because I also cannot find a single bulb either.

Some of the starter packs come with a C-Reach Smart Bridge...is that something you need?

Not mine. I literally just have a bulb and the playstore app on my phone.

Bought C at Target maybe 2 years ago. App and connection only worked on an old cell phone. So annoying. Got Hue a few months back. Pricey but works great.

I spent $15 on mine, and I'm not going to lie, it was a pain in the ass for it to update the firmware, I had to try like 12 times by resetting the bulb over and over. They also updated the app once, and it broke for a few days, and they eventually got around to making it work again. All in all, I got what I paid for, but it's not all that bad. It was a cheap bulb, and I've gotten a shit ton of use out of it, with a few pretty annoying hickups along the road.

If you’re near a university with a dental school, they probably have a dental clinic staffed by the students. Prices are significantly cheaper. It’ll be a student doing the work but they’re always supervised by an actual dentist. The one by me also has an emergency clinic where if you’re in pain they’ll work on one tooth for 100 bucks upfront (and they’ll bill you if what they do ends up being more than that).

People have already mentioned costs for you, so I won’t. But you should know that the bulbs will last quite a while since they’re LED. So when you feel like your spending a lot of money for a lightbulb, just think of how much you would have spent on a traditional (not LED) dumb bulb.

Honestly, most LED bulbs I've ever had have failed within a year. That's in 3 different houses as well, some from stores, some from the internet. I personally would not be able to justify the price of an RGB lightbulb.

Were they generally the cheapest line of bulbs? The LEDs are rated for basically lifetime, but if they are cheaply built the electronics/controller can die (particularly likely if they cheap out on the cooling... These things can get hot). I've been using Phillips hue bulbs for 3 years and haven't had any die on me.

I'm not sure, actually. The store ones are around 8 GBP.

Hue are a bit pricey but good quality. If you want to do it more on a budget then check out the Ikea range. A colleague who has both said they are excellent for the price but Hue still edge it. Just checked Ikea US and it is $80 for a start kit with 2 bulbs.

Hue seems to be $140 for the hub and 4 bulbs.

I use a cheap plug timer and a full spectrum bulb in a lamp. It doesn't slowly get brighter, but it's super super cheap.

Not sure if you're still interested and didn't see it mentioned below after a quick skim, but maybe look into LIFX bulbs, you don't need a hub like Philips, so you just buy the bulbs, about 39 a bulb on amazon

An underated option if you want the hub(which allows for integration with Google Home and you can control the lights while away from home) is to get the Gen1 Phillips Hue Starter kit. I got mine for 35$ on Amazon. It only comes with 2 white lights but if you like it, it will work with any Zigbee bulbs, even the Gen3 Hue bulbs.

Personally I use one of those alarm clocks with a rumbler on it.

i wanted my whole house to have LED smart bulbs but the cost was astronomical. half the cost was because certain bulb types are ludicrously expensive, like the kitchen flood lights. instead i replaced all lights with cheapoLED lights. for the most part they're OK but in my bathroom the lights on the dimmer switch hum like crazy, even though they were dimmable led bulbs. i think its just a singular bad bulb, though.

Just to let you know, you need a different dimmer for LED or CFL dimmable bulbs. They do sorta work with the older dimmer switches, but you’ll get humming and flickering like you’re experiencing. Not a hard thing to replace, but make sure you know what you’re doing. If you don’t, hire somebody.

whoops....

Lot of people recommending stuff with hubs. Just get a TP-link smart bulb. They don’t require hubs, cheap price, and available on amazon on prime. App is also very easy to use.

Or a Wemo switch. I have one, use it for this purpose.

Hell yes. I got one of these before starting my new job and it's been great

All controlled from an app on my phone too. It just emulates the sun rise starting at 05:30 and ending at 06:00

What the app?

Magic hue is the one I'm using

We currently have this, and I've concluded that my fiance can sleep through anything except the actual sun. We're investing in Lutron Serena blinds next haha. Though, they're more than $200.

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I bought one and don't recommend it. No easy way to configure it to wake you up.

There is a way to set it to wake you up and it's not difficult. There's a schedule option in the app.

Also much cheaper and you can yell at Alexa to turn them on and off.

I've never woken up happy until doing this.

I use tplinks bulbs, they are 15 ea h at walmart, can be uaed with alexa and google home, and can be set on a schedule...they are great

I have philips hue, definitely helps me wake up better. However, they are a pretty expensive investment

What brand do you have ? I have Phillips Hue and can’t seem to find this option. I just programmed it to open to 20% 2 min before my alarm goes off

I love this idea but my smart bulb never works

So I had this idea once. I thought it was brilliant and I was excited to implement it.

TCP - a lightbulb company (and an internet protocol I guess) - made these bulbs that, well sucked, but they were cheap. I bought a bunch (and then they discontinued cloud support, virtually bricking them until a hack came out).

I digress - I excitedly set these things to gradually come on. I had to manually do it, so rather than a continuous and gradual 0-100%, it kind of did 1% for 10 seconds, 2% for 10 seconds....all the way to 100 after 1000 seconds (so a ~17 minute wakeup).

Unfortunately, TCP bulbs either always turned on in their previous state, or always turned on at 100% - I don't remember.

So day 1, I got blasted with light, and then it cooled down to 1%.

Just did this because I got a google home and hue starter kit for Xmas! It’s one of my favorite features 🙌🏽

I do this exact thing.

Just recently got these. Problem is I sleep with a mask due to all the ambient light in my room. Today it happened to fall off my face during sleep. I woke up to them, and I feel so much better than waking to the alarm.

Be aware you're buying into an ecosystem. I started with LIFX, and they're fine, but a little pricey. I don't want multiple apps though, so I'm sticking with them. I use them for a wakeup light, gradually brightening for 15 minutes and staying on for 30 after that. I just bought more for my front and back door lights, and will program them to turn on at dusk and off at dawn every day.

Yes, absolutely. They slowly fade on in the morning, blink when I need to leave for work, turn off after I've left and slowly fade out at night. It's really super convenient and I don't usually ever need to worry about what time it is, just follow the routine.

I spent 200 on switching all the bulbs in my house, it is a pain sometimes to change it from my phone if I want to turn them off but having the auto on features is so nice for washrooms and for waking/sleeping.

This is a MUCH cheaper alternative, and it helps me a lot. $35 and my light slowly fades in after my alarm goes off, keeping me from going back to sleep

I have one & set it to go off when my Echo alarm does through IFTT. But cant think of how to do a slow fade up. How did you set that up?

Any recmmmednatons?

Phillips Hue seems to be the industry leader

I bought a set of Hue's as a birthday present to myself last year to help me wake up easier too. Best purchase I've made. Plus all the extra color/settings I can make for various times in my room.

I really love mine too! Great purchase !

I recently bought a LIFX since I was having trouble waking up in the morning. There are IFTTT recipes (an app that connects multiple apps to perform an action) that let you set fade on times for all days of the week. You can also use the LIFX app to set those schedules. It's the best thing I've bought in a while.

I haven't tried any of the Phillips Hue bulb since I only had the need for one bulb and LIFX doesn't require a hub. It has a great array of colors and has a widget on the iPhone where you can turn on/off and change the lights really easily. I've heard that some people have issues with it staying connected to WiFi but I haven't had a problem with that yet. Definitely recommend. There should be some upcoming sales since the next gen version is coming out soon.

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Also you need a bridge ($50) just to use hue bulbs whereas lifx bulbs can be used without any extra equipment which is nice.

NOT Lucero! The bulb itself is ok, but the app is riddled with bugs. Like it won't remember the timers you setup.

"C by GE" was the cheapest I've found, doesn't have many bells and whistles outside of the fade-in alarm feature, but hell, it works.

Can you get them to fade in as blue tinted morning light? I'm getting the winter blues pretty badly at the moment and getting up before midday is nigh impossible.

The problem is that my room faces directly on to the road. If I leave my curtains open the neighbours across the street get to ogle my hairy thigh jungle in the morning. If I close them then because they're cream coloured and also due to the paint everything is very warm tinted so waking up with the sunrise is really hard. This means I only see a few hours of daylight which really takes a toll after a while.

I also have warm tint bulbs because I thought it would help me get to sleep in the evening but when you never have any "fresh light" it turns from feeling cosy to oppressive and choking.

For sure. Depends on the bulbs you cant get, but Phillips Hue Color bulbs can do anything you want. You could have purple light like you are waking up in Prince's bedroom

You could have purple light like you are waking up in Prince's bedroom

Just need to find a way to make it rain...

150? There's gotta be a free app for mobile for this.. right?

You can buy smart dimmers or smart bulbs that come with free apps. I have a Lutron Caseta that I set this up with.

Haha yeah, buy a programmable timer switch from Amazon for $20 and plug a cheap lamp into it - job done.

If you do this, make sure you choose a "daylight" bulb - one with the highest colour temperature you can. If you use a regular "warm white" (~2000-4000K) bulb, it won't help anywhere near as much as a "cool" or "daylight" bulb (5000-6500K or higher).

It's not just about "the light is on" - it's about the blue-sunlight-like light triggering your circadian rhythm. Basically you're fooling your body into thinking it's sunrise, and/or adding "sunlight" to your bedroom where it would normally be blocked by the curtains

Good knowledge, thanks internet friend.

“OK to Wake” Clock. Got one for my kids. The whole thing lights up green when it’s time to get out of bed. $30

For that natural, post-nuclear apocalyptic sunlight feel.

just set up the alarm song to The Ink Spots - Maybe

That's slightly different - those are about letting kids know the difference between "I'm awake and should get up" and "I'm awake but should go back to sleep" before they can tell the time. It's to solve the problem of them getting up too early.

The alarms we're talking about are for the opposite problem: when you struggle to get up, and work by simulating daylight to trigger your body's natural rhythm better.

Ok that thing is adorable.

Your phone screen isn't bright enough - it's a combination of light intensity (brightness) and colour temperature that you need.

You can build one your self in less than 5$ using an arduino and a couple photoresistors.

I think you forgot to factor in the cost of the arduino and photoresistors.

Have you ever been on eBay?

Yes, and it's not called "freeBay". You're not going to get an arduino and an individual photoresistor (let alone find someone who's selling a single one) for under $5. The best you'll get that's even close to $5 would be a veryyy shitty knock off that'll take 3 months to come in the mail.

Then what? You'll need a breadboard for testing, solder and soldering iron and preferably a case so you don't have this arduino and relay just laying in the corner waiting to start a fire.

Not sure why you're downvoted. You can get an arduino pro mini for $2 on eBay, and a photoresistor for less than that...

I built one using a programmable timer switch and a cheap lamp.

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You seem to have woken up cranky. Perhaps you could benefit from the natural light timer :)

No mate i have one (do like it)... its just not close to $5 at all using only the two things he mentioned.

Ironic coming from the guy who can't spell. Hello "that guy", how are you?

Ironic coming from the guy who can't spell. Hello "that guy", how are you?

I use Glimmer.

Regular smart lights are cheaper can be scheduled just the same, can connect to an echo or Google home, and still work as normal lights.

Gentle Wakeup for android is pretty nice but can be somewhat unreliable so I always put my regular alarm 10 minutes later.

I use "I can't wake up" alarm clock app. One of the optional features is the ability to not turn the alarm off until you've scanned a specific bar/QR code. I taped one to the corner of my mirror in the bathroom so it forces me to physically get out of bed and walk to the bathroom every morning to shut the damn thing off. At that point, I'm already in the bathroom so I can just splash some water on my face and begin my morning routine to get up.

Do you have a particular model or brand that you would recommend?

I have a Philips HF3520 sunrise simulation, about $130 on Amazon.

It made a huge difference for me, I usually wake up slowly to the light fading in, before the alarm tone goes off. It starts slowly fading in with the sunrise simulation from deep red to a fairly bright white-yellow, 30 minutes before your set alarm time when the tone goes off.

Just the gradual process of waking up rather than the adrenaline shot of an abrupt noise starts my day off completely different.

Edit - Philips, not Phillips, apparently.

Thanks! I'm living in Stockholm because it is high-up north and how my room is situated, light never shines in. This could an extremely handy tool :)

I got given one for Christmas, I live in Lund, hopefully it'll help :)

i got one for christmas too! aren't they great??

The light is extremely natural it's uncanny.

I also received one for Christmas and it is amazing! I live in Northern Canada... it used to be very hard on me to wake up in the winter but the past few days with that light have been fantastic!

Philips HF3520

That's the same one I have. It makes getting up oh, SO MUCH more pleasant.

How is the alarm sound? Is it also comparatively pleasant and gradual?

There are 5 different tones you can choose from, all some kind of nature-based. I usually go with the birds chirping because the high pitch wakes me up if I slept through the light for some (whiskey) reason. It does fade in, but it's over 10 seconds or so - a little fast for my taste, but I guess it's pretty rare that I hear the tones, so eh.

Edit - you can also choose radio as the tone. I don't think there are any traditional "jarring" alarm tones, though. I do set a backup alarm if I'm expecting less than 5 hours of sleep.

Appreciate the info! I'm gonna do some more research myself then make a decision.

Cheers!

That's interesting. I'd assume that when you're sleeping you'd have trouble noticing the changing light levels in your room. From personal experience, have you only noticed this effect you when sleeping in a dark room? I'm interested in trying an alarm like this, but because of my work schedule I wake up when it's bright outside. I'm guessing it doesn't work well in a bright room.

I generally keep it right on the edge of my nightstand and try to fall asleep facing it, so hopefully within 1 - 2 feet tops from my face - in which case it should light you up pretty good, enough to notice even in a somewhat light room, although you'd have to decide if it's worth trying to make it work given the cost. It does obviously work better if it's completely dark.

There's always blackout curtains, too.

I’d prefer a smart dimmer or smart bulbs for my existing lights than a whole new gadget that needs a surface to sit on

I just use a lamp hooked up to one of those travel timmers for making people think you're still home. It doesn't fade in but I think its a good start point

To do it cheap, buy a digital timer ($15) and dedicate a lamp to it. Works great if you don't have a shifting schedule. It doesn't do the dimming thing, but if the lamp isn't right next to your face it shouldn't matter.

I did this, and the click of the timer woke me up every time. Granted it wasn't quite as jarring as a regular alarm, but I missed out on just waking up to a lit room. Still was nice not to wake in the dark.

I have a MiFit. It's like a Fitbit, but Chinese, waterproof, and cheap.

It tracks your sleep by checking your heart rate and you can set it to gently vibrate you into wakefulness within 30 minutes of your alarm going off, the next time you're in your lightest sleep phase.

Honestly, a vibrating wrist is sooooo much less intrusive than an annoying alarm. It wakes me up so much better and doesn't piss me the fuck off by being upsettingly loud/irritating.

They cost like $20-$25. Plus, waterproof. The $100 Fitbit equivalent isn't even waterproof!

I don't know how you can sleep with something on your wrist like that.

That's why I use mine around my penis and testicles

you can set it to gently vibrate you into wakefulness

Who said it's on their wrist? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

It bothered me at first, but now I don't even realize it's there anymore. I literally never take it off except to charge (for like 1 hour every month).

A friend of mine used one, and it indeed worked like a charm in winter. Until she started waking up at 5am in summer when it was getting light outside much earlier than in winter. Can only recommend to people with completely darkened bedrooms!

As a graveyard worker this has been the best thing ever. I usually wake up to the light instead of my alarm now, and you can't put a price on that shit.

Yeah but my wife and I don't have to wake up at the same time. If the room got bright before her get up time, she would slay me.

This is what I was thinking. Sure I wouldn’t annoy my husband with multiple snooze alarms but we’d have to get up at the same time which may be just as annoying.

I built one for myself using a 18w 6500k LED panel from ebay and a monoprice programmable powerstrip. It hangs above my side of the bed and the light doesn't creep to my wife's side of the bed.

Philips designed theirs for single folks. The ideal design is a downlight with a really tight beam, like a spotlight.

Ha, perk of living tropical: 12 hours of day, 12 hours of night, all year long

I feel like that's not the only perk of living tropical...

I just got one of these at a white elephant party and I fucking love it.

At a what now?

I think it's like Secret Santa except instead of buying a gift for a specific person, everybody pools their gifts and people can pick any random one.

People bring random gifts, so some are great and some are $5 popcorn buckets or re-gifts or a picture they no longer want, etc. Always a crap shoot. In ours, we pick a number (12 players = numbers 1-12). Number 1 chooses a gift to open first and has to show everyone. Number 2 can "steal" the gift from number 1 or choose another gift to unwrap. If they stole from number 1, then number 1 chooses a new gift to unwrap, etc.

In ours, gifts can be stolen twice after opening, and no take-backs from the person who just stole from you. When the numbers get high, like up to 7+ it gets pretty funny, especially when people are trying to "sale" the gift they don't want by displaying it and talking about it like a sales-person.

For adult-only ones, people gift take vibrators, lubes, lingerie, alcohol, etc. along with other generic gifts. You can specify books only, $15 limit, $5 limit, $50 limit, etc. There are always silly things from people's homes and lots of laughs.

As a family of 4, we've participated in many over the years. I once bought a $99 king-size navy blue VERY PLUSH snuggleblankie because I was convinced my family would win it back for me. I had never spent that much on a white elephant gift (and never will again). Well our numbers didn't allow us to get the chance. That dang blanket was stolen and had a forever home before any of our numbers 😩😩😩. I went home with a $5 gift. But I knew the odds when I bought it, risked it anyway.

We also once took $20 of lottery tickets (popular, by the way) and the guy who got them won $300 cash.

Lots of fun!

Exactly. Sometimes they suck and you get a shitty snackeeez cup but other times...

You made me giggle out loud.

I definitely got two fucking snackeeez cups and no one stole from me so I was stuck with them!

This reminds me of that episode of The Office with the iPod

Awesome, that's a pretty swanky gift for a white elephant swap!

Agreed. I was happy with it. I think as a new dad with a baby who sleeps in my room, this thing ranks as high as a Bluetooth speaker or Roku player.

If only light woke me up... I consistently sleep past 10 in a east facing room with the curtains open.

The slightest bit of light wakes me up. I dont have to set an alarm in the summers just because the sun will wake me up before my alarm does. I got a set of those wake up lights for the winter and its so strange to wake up due to it.

I'd really like one, but I have the ability to sleep through someone shining a professional work light at my face without flinching... Think something like this (homedepot images link)

I agree with this one! I have the cheapest ($50) model of those Philips lamps and it works like a charm in the Swedish winter.

One thing that should be pointed out to anyone considering getting one is that the lamp won't really work wonders if you're not getting enough sleep and if you're not sticking to a regular sleep-schedule.

I wonder if these would help with mild Seasonal Affective Disorder. I already take the vitamins and whatnot, but waking up in the winter is still a struggle for me.

The lamp is helpful. It makes me feel like I'm dragging my feet less when I wake up

Yeah idk. I got one and I can't say I woke up any better with it. I'm actually returning it tomorrow.

Two questions: do you get enough sleep per night and do you stick to a regular sleep-schedule?

I'm usually in bed by 10 / 11 and up at 6 / 630. It doesn't really vary more than that.

I’ve been violently waking up every day thanks to turning on LED alerts on my phone. Works like a charm!

I'm using a timer switch + 11W LED (as bright as a ~100W bulb), that turns on 15 Minutes before my alarm.

Before this I had trouble getting up in the morning. Since this, I became a morning person.

I have one and the problem I have is that I instantly wake up as soon as a little light starts to come out, which is before I set the alarm. I could set my alarm later, but then it would still function as regular alarm, waking me up instantly.

I have the same problem with my hue lights. The initial starting brightness is too bright, which always wakes me up just as rapidly as an audio alarm would.

Doesn't seem to make much of a difference for me. I guess your mileage may vary - so... maybe get a cheap one instead and see if it works.

Or, you can get an appliance timer for your lamp. $20

That's what I do.
Might try hooking one up to my record player too.

I have a smart plug that my sun lamp is connected to. Every morning at 555, I feel like I'm being interrogated at gitmo, but it wakes me up and even though it hurts for a second, it ultimately helps me get out of bed

My parents would wake me up by coming into my room and flipping the lights on. It would always piss me off because it was so damn jarring. This kind of alarm sounds terrible to me.

Is it still as good in the summer months when it gets lighter earlier?

There’s some light alarm apps for your phone too.

Omg my boyfriend got me one for christmas and it's so awesome! He couldn't watch me basically crawl/roll out of bed zombie-style 30 minutes after my actual time to get up everyday anymore, so he bought it for me. Makes waking up truly easier (if you don't bury your head in your pillow like I did this morning, basically denying myself to even notice the light lol)

YES. I got one two months ago and it's honestly changed my life. I used to not be able to get up in the morning and now I'm getting to the gym almost every morning before work.

They can be had for cheap on eBay. Got some really nice Phillips ones for less than £40 each

I've been using an app on my phone that uses the screen and eventually the flashlight. Anybody used both? How do they compare? The app works pretty well, but if I don't get up, I can fall back asleep.

How effective is it? Was thinking of getting one!

I can get behind this one. Very nice gadget to have

I just got one of these for Christmas. As someone who has a lot of difficulty in the winter, it's the biggest life upgrade I've gotten in quite some time.

Doesn’t work for me. I tried them and I just sleep too heavy. I need something that screams bloody murder to even nudge me out of dreamland.

link to good ones please.... I got one as a gift, it broke two years later because cat. They don't make it anymore.

An outlet timer is 20 bucks and a lamp can be like 5 bucks... 150? Seriously?

I used this all through college to get my ass up to get to the gym.

I bought mine over 5 years ago and use it almost every day!! Best $120 I’ve spent on myself.

I would add that you can get the El Cheapo version on Amazon for around $40. But I have that one. I don't recommend it. It's supposed to be a "gradual" increase in lumens over the 30 minutes before the alarm goes off, but with mine it begins at about 30% brightness, so if you're facing it when it comes on, it's almost the equivalent of somebody just turning the damn ceiling light on. There's nothing subtle about it. I have to turn it away from the bed so it isn't so blinding when it first kicks on.

I'd hope the $150 ones are actually gradual and not like the cheap one I described.

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My dogs are conditioned even without the light/alarm. They know what time it is hahah.

My mom got one of these when I started working morning shifts (starting around 5am) because I fell back asleep once and was late for work. It's super super effective and helps a lot if you turn phone alarms off in your sleep.

Agree! Mine also has nature sounds, which really help me "ease into the day." I hate mornings, but this alarm helps me every day.

Yes. My ex had one and now I need it in my life.

You can buy a module that will turn any lamp into a wake up lamp. That's what I bought and it was much cheaper and works amazingly well,

This worked really well for me for a few weeks, and then my brain got used to tuning it out like other alarms.

Or alternatively, a lamp and a timer socket to connect it to the wall. Costs about $30, works exactly the same.

Just bought one for my son. Im 3 years away from retirement and will never use an alarm clock again!

I had one of these, cost around 150 too, rarely woke me up. Keep your reciepts people.

Ha I did this with one of those timer plugs and a floor lamp. It didn’t “fade in” but it turned on 5 minutes before my alarm did and helped enormously. Also they cost like ... well nothing so if you have a lamp lying around

look at this guy, waking up before noon with his fancy light

I just have my iPhone flash it's camera flash on notifications. When a timer or alarm goes off, it flashes. It's great, especially if I'm wearing headphones.

I have a hard time waking up so my husband bought be one of these. It doesn't matter how slowly the light turns on it wakes me up instantly and I HATE it. I ended up putting it in my daughters room and she likes it. I still use my phone and three seperate alarms programmed in it.

The glaring blue light from my computer monitor when i turn it on is just as good. Nothing like feeling your retinas itch first thing in the morning.

I'm extremely morning tired, bought a Philips lights with USB port for $110, was much for a 15 year old me but it worked wonders and has a 15 years guaranty.

This! I only just got one recently, and I already feel such a difference! Way easier to get up in the morning!

Just buy a SAD light and a timed plug socket. $30 tops.

Philips makes the best wakeup light alarms.

Tried these. They make me hulk out with rage and confusion.

Gonna stick to my six snoozes across two alarms thanks.

I still don't get why these are so expensive.

Dimmer switch: $3 at radioshack
Timer: $3 at radioshack A combination of two concepts that existed since the 50's: $150

I have my hue lights set to fade in 30 minutes before my alarm, it killed me so I had to turn it off. It only helped me wake up to tell alexa to turn off the lights. Go back to sleep, wake up late for work rinse and repeat.

A second monitor. Whether your on laptop or desktop, a second monitor can drastically improve your efficiency. Whether your working, gaming, or anything in between, youll notice how efficient you can be with more room to display things.

It's not a must have, but it's something I got my dad last year for Christmas, and he's already thinking about a third. It's definitely a game changer

Edit, sorry i'm late! 2 days too late, but this got a lot of upvotes, thank you everyone! Please be careful, going down the second monitor route, means that you'll fall into a mathematical problem. You'll always want however monitors you have +1!

Beware, it can become a bit of an addiction, though. You'll never want to go back to a single-monitor computer.

I'm currently running with 6 monitors. Send help plz.

Holy shit

I'm planning to get 1000 monitors like Batman had at the end of The Dark Knight.

Can confirm, will never go back to a single monitor. I want to upgrade my system to 3 monitors but I'll go too far down the rabbit hole

Have 3. Can't go back to 2. Using a laptop with 1 is painful.

Agreed, aesthetics of 3 are vastly better since you have a central point of focus

Oh boy, I was thinking about buying a third monitor, now I REALLY want a third monitor...

Same....when I get a longer desk.

It feels like a starship control panel

This. But I've got a curved one i picked up for like $150. The thing is a beauty <3

I have 3 32" monitors. I love it.

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Its time to put that microphone upside down hangling above the monitor so it does not block anything but picks up the sound. Dont let another peripheral block you from the symmetry of 3 monitors.

This. I had a similar problem. Got rid of the boom arm, my microphone just stands on the small tripod it came with.

What do you use the mic for?

I found using a tiling desktop really helped with my laptop efficiency. But i mostly just do web stuff on linux so it's not for everyone.

When I have to use my laptop for work, I plug it in to the TV because I agree.

Both Windows and Mac support multiple desktops, the windows gestures are shit but it does help a bit when you don't have an extra screen.

Using a laptop with 1 is painful.

agreed. I have an MS Surface. I like it a lot, but I prefer working at my desk and connecting to two 24" monitors. I have to switch between a 1 screen work desktop, a 2 screen family computer, and my Surface.

unfortunately, my surface also has "vibrating screen" problems and is out of warranty.

I have been going back and forth between 2 and 3.

Three is a little overkill IMO. Two is necessary, though

Depends what you're using it for. Sometimes I find myself only using 2 but sometimes I wish I had more

My job forces me to work with a 7 year laptop, which only had a 13" screen with an HDD. Used to have 3 24" with SSD, and they expect me to work as efficiently as before. Yeah, that's not happening!

Go with an ultrawide monitor.

21:9 changed my life.

What about 2 ultrawide monitors?

At work where I am currently I have 2 ultrawide monitors and then my laptop screen in the middle. I seriously wish I had never gone onto the two widescreen monitors, my normal monitors at home just don't cut it anymore :(

So yes whilst it's absolutely fucking brilliant, you don't want to use normal monitors after. Though I have seen some absolutely ridiculous set ups in the labs with like 6 stacked up.

I was going to buy a second monitor for my work computer. Now you made me question this decision. I don't really need another one at home though.

Dependant on what you do but I'm a network administrator who has to RDP into so many computers I absolutely hate not being able to have my emails up and then my work station on another etc. With the ultra wide ones I can basically just dedicate one screen to work stations and the rest is all mine to browse in glory. I guess if at home your not working it's fine, just when I have to work from home and default to 2 normal monitors oh dear lord do I hate the amount of extra actions and clicks I have to do just to navigate. So yeah you kinda become use to the fact you can use your computer more lazily I guess and then suddenly when that QoL is gone you really notice it.

I want it mostly as a portrait screen for programming and, while I'm not doing that, so I can keep my emails visible. It's also a chore right now to close reddit and other stuff every time I turn the monitor around to show something to a client.

You'd probably love it then to be honest, if I'm doing network diagnostics or SQL's I do the same and flip it portrait so I can fit more on it. If not though I use the left one for stat tracking and just general use of work, keep the right one for emails and then on the laptop use it for reddit and a notepad for vital information. That way I don't have to close reddit or move it around and it's extremely helpful when I'm listening to pod casts, I can just pause the video without having to do many actions before I pick up the phone etc. Hence why now when I'm not on them and at home it just feels like I'm doing more actions and less productivity because of it. Really does depend on how much your switching through apps though as I'm constantly flicking through them to get data it's much easier. If you weren't doing multiple processes I'd say it's probably a bit overkill.

You'd probably love it then to be honest

That's the problem.

I switch a lot between programs at work so I know it's useful there. At home not so much but I might find some uses for it if I get used to it at work.

The more the merrier.

/r/ultrawidemasterrace

I have an ultrawide in the middle and my other monitors on either side. It's like sitting too close to the screen in the movie theater but pleasant.

How many games/applications actually support this?

A lot of applications support it natively. Some games do, but not all. Here's a curated list.

I read that last line as, "...too far down the Reddit hole."

If "Reddit hole" isn't a thing already, it should be one.

(Also have two monitors, but connected to separate computers. I use Synergy software which lets me use one keyboard and mouse to control both machines.)

From where I'm at 3 is fine. 4 is a bit unessasary.

I went back to a single monitor.

...4k 42", so basically 4 21" full HD monitors in one :D LOVE IT!

No, you have one TV

I mean it's funny but for those who don't know the difference between a computer monitor and a TV, there are major differences in how they're designed with respect to input lag, response time, refresh rate, etc. If you use a screen often for work, you'd probably appreciate the difference massively if you were forced to use a TV instead of an actual monitor. TVs are designed with little concern for input lag/response time, and more concern for image quality. Most monitors are more concerned with putting out frames on time and with minimal response time. While a TV is all about broadcasting with little concern for any of your input, a monitor is designed to minimize the input-output cycle.

Uhm, no? The reaction time, the missing tv signal decoder, the missing remote and the panel clearly point to a monitor.

Still doesn't rock as good as 4 monitors

It's a tv.

Whoosh.

I've made that comment multiple times and several people actually argue that fact. If you tried to make a joke...I'm sorry, but I fear it was bad.

The joke people are making is that a huge ass monitor is basically a TV. People know it ISN'T a TV.

If you thought people were being serious...I'm sorry, but I fear you thought bad.

So this:

But what is the refresh rate and response time? I considered doing that but I saw 5-20 ms response times despite being 120htz refresh. I instead went with dual 24" @ 120htz and a 1ms response time.

is just further explaining the joke?

But what is the refresh rate and response time? I considered doing that but I saw 5-20 ms response times despite being 120htz refresh. I instead went with dual 24" @ 120htz and a 1ms response time.

I've been a gamer for three decades now and have enjoyed playing FPS games sind Return to Castle Wolfenstein (yes, the old one).

I'm not a pro level player to be fair, but I don't see any lagging, tearing or blurring with that monitor.

I’ve got this at work. It’s amazing

I'm really considering going to my boss and asking for this...

Only $1300.

It's 600-700€ here.

So.... a tv.

No, a TV has a bad panel (meaning the edges get dark if you go near the screen), a signal decoder, a remote, bad reaction times, sometimes bad refresh rates, input lag, etc.

This monitor has 120hz refresh and less reaction time than one refresh cycle is long (refresh cycle is 8.3s, reaction time is ~5s), a good angle, etc.

Have three but really only use two regularly, third is currently connected to my Plex Server so I don't have to remote into a computer I'm sitting next to.

I have three. Get a third. Yes.

Lucky me. My desk is too small for a third screen so i dont have that issue.

I have 3 at work. Two is still tolerable. I really only keep one thing up on my third one.

i drove to work in the bomb cyclone to just avoid using my laptop for work.

Warning! Heed my cries! My senses are fed once removed from reality, I live forever in the wake of the electrical delay of PC monitors! ive invested in a cocoon, 30 Monitors strong!, to display in crystal clarity the efficiency, and digital head room of my ocular enriched perch. Alas, i cannot return.

I have 3. My Factorio productivity tripled!

So true - I have three at home and two on the office, it makes a HUGE difference and even a couple of old small monitors on either side of a large one is just so much better. And there was a study that showed PC based office staff are 47% more efficient with two monitors than one (one for work, one for Reddit)

Go to 3. Decide its enough.

Two months down the line, realize its STILL not enough. Decide if four is over kill. And how much the gf is gonna get annoyed at me.. I mean. I need me time too right?

Good choice, I upgraded to 3 monitors last summer. Let's just say I had to go back to 2 for lack of productivity. It's honestly the best internet experience I had, hence the lack of productivity rip...

I think 3 monitors is the sweet spot. Each new monitor you get has diminishing returns. I tried 4 at one point, didn't really use the 4th monitor and it just took up too much space.

At my job my computer has 2 monitors. It was such a pain going home to my shitty 1 monitor that I had to buy a 2nd one. The problem is that it's downright painful working on a 15" laptop when I used to never care.

It's true! In my experience the amount of monitors you want is always the amount of monitors you have plus one. I have three and constantly find myself wishing I had a fourth.

What are you using all these monitors for...

I use my three for gaming, related web page, and music or something more often than not. But I will say having three for work purposes is nice as well. I can have three full size documents open and write a report much quicker than bouncing between windows.

4 here:

  • Game/whatever my main focus is

  • broadcast software

  • broadcast monitoring/alerts/chat

  • discord/spotify

Get a Philips BDM4350UC. One monitor, 4k, 42". It's like 4 21" FullHD monitors, but you can also watch 4k content and windows has a feature to resize a window to a quarter of the screen. You don't need that much of table estate, you don't need any standee solutions or mount them to a wall, it's just great.

You never truly "replace" an old monitor... you just demote it to less important content

What about when your gpu can't handle any more..?

Then you should be upgrading your GPU instead of your monitor!

But on a less meme-y note. Really the only limit is ports and desk space. Daisy chaining display ports will give you basically infinite of one of those but that requires all the displays to be capable of that. So if you get to the point where every port is filled and you dont have one that can chain, then you replace one with a chain-able and boom! Now you can add any number of new monitors as long as they can chain. If one of your monitors has built in speakers I would suggest demoting it to a TV instead. That's what I plan to do with my current 6 year old 27in 1080p. thing is soooo bulky with 2in+ bezels I am really sick of having it on my desk. Plus I just need a new TV for my bedroom since my old one started coil whining like banshee getting fucked by an incubus... thought I had horrible tinnitus for a week before I figured it out and unplugged that shit... shit... that got really rambley... i might have accidentally taken my ADHD meds twice this morning... fuck I'm going to need to buckle up

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I tried. They deleted it because the computer tower isn't visible.

Who wants to see the computer itself? It's just a boring black box.

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Not OP, and can't take pictures of my desk at work, but I use this https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6BM50G6147&cm_re=6_monitor_stand--9SIA6BM50G6147--Product with 6 24" Dell monitors. I have 3 computers hooked up to the 6 monitors, though.

I have 4 at work and 6 at home. I'll post pics when later today.

Why? Day trader?

Writer. It's nice to be able to have multiple pages of notes open without switching back and forth.

Only 6? Those are rookie numbers

What could you possibly need 6 monitors for? I had issues finding a use for a 3rd so I went back to 2 lol

I think you said words but I don't understand what they mean.

4 monitors is barely enough for work, I wish I had room for 6.

I'm a writer, and I sometimes manage to use all 6. In this photo, I have the main document open in the center. Overall outline on the lower left, setting notes on the lower right, cover image and project folder on the upper left, time tracking sheet and background sounds on the upper center, then character notes, rewrite notes, and timer on the upper right.

So, I find it pretty useful when I want to work with 5 text documents, a folder, an image, a spreadsheet, a timer, and a music player, all without needing to switch windows in order to see anything.

Oh okay, that makes sense. I'm just an average gamer and don't usually need anything more than 2

This guy sysadmins

You mean send more monitors, right?

You are right about that. When I finally got a second monitor at work, it was life changing. I finally got a second at home a few years back and now I want to get a 3rd for both.

yeah i have 4. one being a 34in ultrawide. i feel your pain.

I’ve got an enormous monitor at work that displays one traditional screen in each quadrant. Bringing Work home on the laptop is torture.

Can confirm, I have 3 on my desk at home. One of them started to get dim and started flickering (supposedly the power supplies are shit, so I need to pick up a new one to try) and I feel naked only having two.

I got you cuz!

Orders /u/the_ocalhoun a 7th monitor

No idea how that's gonna work. Have fun!

this boi living in 3018

Pfft. None of them are even holograms.

I have dual monitors at work, but just a single at home. I hate doing work at home because I feel so claustrophobic with all those windows stacked atop one another.

Running 4 monitors and another laptop on top of that. Do not send help, send more monitors.

But I bet you're productive as fuck! (not sarcasm)

Just passed my million word mark ... so kind of!

At home I have three, at work I have four, haha. It's absolutely true, you can NEVER go back to just one monitor.

Second this, my first office job had two monitors and it was easily the best thing about the job.

Recently moved to a much better job however they must all think I'm obsessive with the amount I've recommended two monitors, it was also something I discussed when meeting my manager before taking the job. I had to go back to one monitor for 3 weeks while my laptop was pending, it was hell.

You don't make viruses on your spare time do you?

Okay, at that point, I don't think it would be helpful, 6 decent sized monitors, it would be harder to find the right monitor than it would be to just switch applications.

I have a few software tweaks that make it work more efficiently ... and you develop habits about what goes on which monitor, making it easy to find things because that's where they always are.

I guess it would just take time to get use too, sounds overwhelming...

Software developer I presume?

Writer. It's nice to have multiple pages of notes and research open that I can just glance at whenever.

Oh... I watch too many movies, I thought you guys used typewriters still. :)

A few still do, just to keep away the distractions...

But there's no beating a computer when it comes to the ability to edit and rewrite. I can't imagine the tedium of retyping page after page as you go through and fix errors. And since you're typing it over again, for every typo you fix, you're probably making another one that you don't notice.

Went from one 21" and one 16" screen to only one 27" screen. I miss my old screens :( gonna hook 'em back up tonight!

Completely agree. I can't work with just one monitor anymore. I tri-monitor. Need at least 3 to feel functional.

This. I thought that it couldn't be that big of an upgrade. I can't even use a single screen anymore.

I used to have 6 screens but then I wanted a 4k screen for gaming and had to downgrade to 4 screens to fit the 4k screen. I have less square feet of screen space now, but I upgraded from 12,441,600 to 16,588,800 pixels total.

Imagen doing all your work on a desk the size of one piece of paper..

I just went to 3 on my work computer ones dedicated for email another for browser and the third for whatever I'm working on

Nobody tell this guy about /r/ultrawidemasterrace

Eh, I'm aware.

But if I had an ultra-wide, I'd probably use it in the same way. The borders between monitors are useful to me, separating different documents.

Plus, they're much more expensive.

You think that’s bad, my coworker won’t accept less than 6 monitors at a station; one of them has 9 now...

Can confirm, also running 6. Wouldn't go back.

I replaced my two 27 inch monitors with one 40 inch 4k monitor. Literally don't have room for...well, okay I could maybe squeeze a second 40 inch....

sigh this is how it starts

May I recommend the 40 inch horizontal in the middle with the two 27's on either side in vertical orientation?

Fortunately no. I gave them away to other gamers. So I'm safe. You monster.

I had 6 and then I got 4k. Ooooh no borders.

I was pleasantly shocked to discover Windows 10 has tile support, just hold the windows key and hit your arrow keys. BAM!

This, the first few days of extra space is "Meh! Not sure what to put here" and within a few weeks you don't have enough. Sitting on 4 at the moment and I think I have found my happy place for my workflow.

Something I am looking to do next is get a touch pad (think MacBook track pad) with some software to use gestures to switch between sets of desktops on Windows 10. Running 3 screens on my Mac and a 3 finger swipe gives me 3 brand new blank desktops which is life changing, being able to switch conviniently allows you to scale to as many screens as you want with ease.

Sorry, but after the 4th monitor it is almost always a lost cause so spending any time tying to help would only be a waste of time and resources.

Do you use them all consistently? I have 3 and most of the times 1 is off.

I'm almost always using at least 3. Often 4 or 5 when I'm writing. And occasionally all 6 when I'm writing something complex.

I guess depends on the user. I play games/surf in one and have YouTube on the other. Cause you know, I'm a Power user!

I thought my 3-monitor setup was ostentatious.

I got to three, stopped before anyone staged an intervention

Had to go back to a single monitor, ain't too bad after a while but I do miss the duals

Can confirm, currently at 3 monitors, HATE using my laptop b/c I don't have enough screen space.

I like sports so I got a 2nd TV. I'll never go back to a single TV ever again. When people want to watch a show and a game is on it's NBD because I can mute the game and they can still watch their show. If there's multiple games on then I can usually do Picture in Picture on 1 tv and watch up to 3 games enjoyably. I like playing video games with some easy to watch shows on like The Office, Friends, Seinfeld, etc. If you've got the space and you've got some disposable cash (only need like $1400 for a really good 65" HDR 4k tv).

Can vouch 100%. Started off with 2 monitors at home, then 2 monitors at work. Then 3 monitors at work, now I'm at 3 27" monitors at home on a wide mount stemming from my desk.

I'm at 3. I guess we'll have to send help to you first? Or.. Another monitor..

Ninja edit, what gpu do you have to handle so many?! Or are you using a dock?

Two PCIe cards with dual outputs each, plus one each of DVI and VGA ports on the motherboard.

What happened to you?

On the other hand I got a second monitor from hearing how good it is and then proceeded to sell it because... I just never used it. Theres not many things that it does better than a simple alt tab and I dont have to change where I look to do it.

what if you're wanting to watch a show while also playing a game or reddit etc though?

too good of a point

I dont think I could possibly watch a show while playing a game unless its some sort of facebook game, if I wanted to use reddit while playing a game im doing that right now, for me its far easier to just click alt tab instead of turning my gaze... if dual monitors work for you go ahead I just think the usefulness is exaggerated. Unless its some sort of work related I just cant fathom having 6 monitors... I have never used that many things on PC at once or know anyone that has, and even if you did it would take up so much space and you would have to change where your looking a lot of have it far away, and if its far its gonna be hard to play a lot of games depending on the size.

If neither the game nor the show are worth full attention than they are not worth half of it.

Also went from 2 screens to 1 (avarage size), while still having 2 screens at work, AMA.

I dunno, i listen to a lot of podcasts etc or shows i've watched 100 times like the Simpsons or futurama while playing certain games (but not story based games)

Currently at four monitors at work, and wanting at least three more - but bosses won't buy into it. With so many concurrent screens open for various reasons, 6 main monitors and one supplemental one would help improve my efficiency quite significantly.

Always disappointing when I get home to my bare bones 2 monitor system.

When having to work on someone else's computer that has only one monitor drives me bonkers now.

What are you, living and working in a Hollywood hacking movie? What could you possibly do to require six fucking monitors?

Monitors Left | Monitors Center | Monitors Right ---|---|---- Email | Real-time Company Website stats/monitoring | Real-time monitoring of critical client connections Company Website - Live and Testing/Development and maybe private browsing | Programming IDE/Graphics Tools (PS, AI, etc.) | In-house VOIP system monitoring

 

While I don't need six screens, I would love to have them - let's call it a data geek obsession that loves to have instant access to any and all data I might need. I get hit with critical questions that are posed by users demanding immediate information (such as PHB standing over my shoulder), hunting down the right window that is buried under 20 different applications is annoying.

Ask for three Philips BDM4350UC instead.

42" 4k monitor, so basically 4 21" FullHD monitors in one.

Guy in the chair

Do you have pics of your setup?

I can save you for the low low price of one monitor.

Holy shit dude :D how big are they? 23 inch each? What do you use them all for?

Varying size between 22" and 27". I'm a writer, and it's nice to have multiple pages of notes open that I can just glance at with no effort.

That makes sense. It's also very nice to read a page on a vertically oriented monitor! Much easier to read

Yeah I used to run 3 displays:

28" @ 4k as main 32" @ 1080p as media monitor 34" widescreen for other stuff(security cam etc)

It took a lot of work to convince me not to get another 1-3 displays

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I sought out a motherboard with two PCIe slots, and filled each of them with a dual-head video card. The motherboard also has onboard graphics with both a DVI and VGA output, and it can use both simultaneously.

So ... for all the people offering to send me more monitors, I'll need more video cards first!

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I'm a writer, and it's nice to have multiple pages of notes/research open that I can just glance at whenever I need to.

Dammnnn SIX? I have three and I think that's enough...

On the plus side if you get curved monitors you can eventually surround yourself, put a roof on it and live in it

Six is about the max without needing to turn my head to extremes...

Go for 12. Go full Bat-Cave in here

Wait until you find out how amazing ultrawide monitors are.

Spoiler alert!: Get them, they're incredible.

I mean ... they're super-expensive, and I probably wouldn't use it any differently.

I was going to say this exact thing but I'm only at 3 now. (Apartment living, no space for more yet.)

Luckily most non-computer-savvies get stuck at 2 because many (but not all) graphics cards, especially those for gaming require an active adapter with a clock passed 2.

Do you game?

Do the extra monitors create much extra work on your GPU?

No and yes.

I'm a writer, and I built this system specifically for productivity. Gaming performance is pretty poor, and it even occasionally stutters when playing full-screen videos, but that's not what I built it for.

No and yes.

I'm a writer, and I built this system specifically for productivity. Gaming performance is pretty poor, and it even occasionally stutters when playing full-screen videos, but that's not what I built it for.

I have a shit Mac air. How do you hook up that many monitors?

Step 1: build a computer specifically to do it. (Motherboard with onboard graphics and both DVI and VGA ports, plus two PCIe slots that you fill with 2 dual-head video cards.)

Can confirm, used to have 2 monitors and had to go back to one, still haven't returned to my previous multi monitor glory and it pains me. Should be getting a second one soon though!

How? I have four and one of them is essentially just my TV now. What are you doing that makes six a thing?

Writing. It's nice to have multiple pages of notes and research available at a glance.

Thanks for saying. :) What kind of writing?

That does sound like it could be useful. I get three from research. Every once and a while I use four. I actually NEED two. But, three is an improvement. Four is just fun.

Fiction, fanfiction, short fiction, historical novels, fantasy/sci-fi novels...

OH! So, you're keeping track of worlds and themes. I do something similar with my "music production" hobby and the one time a year I run a role playing game. Then I'm usually using all 4.

Pop a link to your Amazon page (or whatever you got), I'll check out your stuff.

I have 4 at work.

I must be odd but i have 3 monitors, however I only ever use 1 I found 2 or more just didnt suit me. So they sit off 95% of the time.

Use rainmeter. I have my second monitor showing all my computer stats and it has a really nice clock.

I have 3 monitors at work, because I use them all. I have one monitor at home, because that's all I need. Who the hell needs such high levels of multitasking at home?

God I want one so bad but I don't have desk room and, I don't want any lower fps in games! Ahhhh. Maybe when my living situation changes.

Edit: Thanks for telling me about the only minor performance decrease I appreciate it. The bigger problem is the desk space. I have a cabinate desk, and there is no more room within it. I will definitely be upgading in the future though. Thanks

Having multiple monitors connected doesn't really impact performance. I tried it out my self and the difference was around 1-1.5% so not noticeable at all. Also if you don't want to waste desk space get an aftermarket monitor stand which you can screw onto the back of your table so the monitors "float".

Running 3840x1080 instead of 1920x1080 surely has more impact than 1%

If you're running Your game on both monitors then it does but if you're running a game on your main monitor and just running your desktop environment on the secondary monitor then it's only around 1% impact as it generally takes very little resources to render your dekstop/windows, depending on your GPU.

Essentially what the other guys Already said. As long as you only run the game on one monitor and just have chrome or teamspeak open on the secondary one there isn't much of a performance hit. Only thing where it's more noticeable is if you have a video running on the second one. Plus in that scenario there are some weird bugs with windows where if you have a higher refresh rate monitor so for example primary 144hz and the secondary 60hz if you play a video on the second one the first one will throttle down to 60hz as well.

Sounds quite useful. I have a laptop with external monitor, but I didnt want to set it as primary because I didnt know what would happen when I unplug it (and I do it often). How can I actually do it?

Windows remembers monitor setups. As soon as you unplug the external monitor, your laptop would switch back to being the primary screen just like normal. "Make this my main display" is a check box in the display settings when you right click the desktop - assuming you're on windows.

Sometimes these switches effect desktop icon layouts, I had to set mine to auto arrange to work better with my work setup that has my laptop switching between a portrait and landscape external screen throughout the day.

If you’re projecting two things at once, sure, but the standard usage is say, one game on one and a webpage on the other.

At least me only run the game on one monitor so the load isn't that much bigger. Few games that support multi monitors unfortunately.

I've got a 4k, an ultrawide, and two 1080p panels.

My rx 480 can put out 45 to 75 fps on the 4k with most titles. Without the extra panels I've noticed no regular fps increase.

My monitor is between my closet and a window. I want a second monitor, but I just don't have the space for it (since I want my main monitor to be centered for gaming.) Any tips on how to fulfill my desire?

Second monitor on top of the first. Or next to it and vertical. Or both. That's my current setup and it's awesome.

I've got a big 34" Ultrawide monitor for gaming, top monitor with 24" for videos (Twitch, YouTube) or other applications (Spotify, Discord, Teamspeak) and the third (vertical, also 24") monitor for browsing since most websites don't even properly need or use the horizontal space - especially if you've got an Adblocker.

Pretty much like this: https://i.imgur.com/ltLOPpr.jpg

It's amazing how even in this quick sketch the vertical monitor seems that much longer than the top monitor even though they are the same size. It's exactly like this with the real monitors too.

Edit: Actually found some pictures of the real deal: https://imgur.com/a/7Urty

What monitor arm(s) do you use for that setup? I have a dual monitor arm with one 27in Gsync 1440p and a secondary 24in 1200p ($50 shipped on Ebay) in portrait. Its great but if I wanted any more on my desk I'd have to go vertical I think.

I've got this quad monitor arm: https://www.amazon.de/Lavolta-Monitorbefestigung-LED-Bildschirm-TV-Bildschirm-Verstellbaren/dp/B00B77XCXW/ref=nav_signin?ie=UTF8&qid=1515140185&sr=8-3&keywords=lavolta+quad&

I initially wanted to put both 24" monitors on top of the Ultrawide (none of them vertical) so I had to go with a quad arm because triple arms put two monitors down and only one on top. Had I known that I'd go with the layout above I would have gone with a triple arm.

Do you have room for a wide-screen monitor in “portrait”? Some monitors allow you to rotate them so they are tall and skinny, quite useful for reading documents, monitoring chat windows etc.

What the other guy said put the 2nd one above your current one. Will need a wall mount or another aftermarket one.

Haha man, I remember back in the day with the giant CRT monitors. I had a 22" Dell monitor that had to weigh like 50lbs. I set it on a tall little table that was like a square foot. So unstable! I couldn't fit it on my desk anywhere, though.

Now I have a desk that is 60" wide, and a monitor stand with two 22" HD monitors on it. Looking back at how far I've come is wonderful.

I mean everybody else is saying it but I'm just gonna chime in with some more anecdotal evidence that getting an extra monitor has basically zero affect on fps.

Thanks boss I appreciate it

Consider a 4:3 as a second monitor. You can pick up a 19" one for $20 on ebay and they don't take up near as much space. My current setup is |4:3| |16:9| |4:3|.

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I have ran streams/videos in the background (not on another monitor) and it falls like 20fps in games like CSGO. And it makes it more prone to sharp dips. I think I would need a couple upgrade

If you have the money and don't care about 1080p, you can check out the CHG90. I don't have enough desk room for 3 monitors, but 2 would leave a black bar in the middle. For me this was worth it, but it's not for everyone.

Having the second monitor may use up a little video RAM but I don't expect a performance hit otherwise.

You could also get a cheaper second video card that your secondary monitor connects to! It doesn't even have to be the same brand!

At work I have two monitors and the laptop, there reaches a point where you just put stuff on the screen to just “appear” productive. It’s only on a few occasions of running VMs that it helps

Yeah I have two widescreen monitors at work and whenever I take my laptop home it's feels like I'm working on my phone.

This might not be for everyone. For example I use 2 monitors at work and for what I do would be impossible without, but at home I can't really use 2 monitors because I mainly just browse Reddit/Facebook or gaming. I still have my old monitor (20 inch) but I can't really find a use for it so instead I just keep it in a drawer.

Maybe can you explain what are you showing on the second monitor ? For the 2 days I've tried using them it was mainly just Spotify or HWMonitor to see the temperatures while gaming

For the 2 days I've tried using them it was mainly just Spotify or HWMonitor to see the temperatures while gaming

This is pretty much what you'd do while gaming. Some games have companion websites or maps you could have up on your secondary monitor as well.

While not gaming, I enjoy having chat windows/spotify up on my second monitor so there's less switching minimizing/maximizing going on my main screen. Also having multiple web pages open across multiple screens is really useful when researching. Its more a question of having a larger canvas to work with than "what specific tasks could I accomplish."

Nice answer. Thank you

I'm majoring in IT networking so nearly 90% of my homework/labs are done on the computer. If I didnt have a second monitor I would of quit awhile ago. There is no way I could ever go back

Two monitors are awesome. I personally can not find a proper use for three though. I have a fairly nice Dell monitor (U2515H, 25", 1440p, IPS) as my main and a random old 17" 5:4 monitor as my second. Basically a "craigslist monitor".

At one point I had three monitors. My old cheapish 23" was sitting on the other side of my main but I couldn't quite figure out what to do with 3 monitors and the colours of that one were awful. I couldn't adjust them to a pleasant setting so I put it in the closet as a backup basically.

Thinking of that colours issue, you can get a screen calibration tool for under $200 if correct colours are important for you.

I never saw the appeal in multiple monitors until I worked a job where a second monitor was provided for me. Instantly I was hooked. I love being able to move my documents and programs about between screens. I have 2 at home now and 2 in my current job as well. It's so much easier to work with multiple screens, and LCD screens are pretty cheap now too, so grabbing even an inexpensive one is a win imo.

Agreed. Im a gamer and I swear by multiple monitors. My dad, who isnt a gamer, asked what I could possible use 2-3 monitors for. Said it was overkill and a gimmick.

I showed him how it works and said words cant discrive how convenient it is. A week later some people at my dad's job got layed off, and my dad took their monitors.

He came home and told me "Nagol93, thank you for showing me how to use a 2nd monitor. I got another one at work, and its so useful. Is there anyway a 3rd monitor will work?"

Now he has 4 monitors at his work office and home office. He also says "I dont understand how I was able to get anything done with just one"

21.5 in is a good size for a standard 1080p monitor. Which is why I recommend a good 43 in 4k monitor which is like 4 monitors at 21.5 in put together. Unfortunately the market is a ways off from offering a 86 in 6k curved monitor :(

On a laptop windows 10 allows you to us multiple desktops. You can't see them simultaneously but almost as good.

Swipe up on the trackpad with three fingers to show all the open windows. Towards the bottom of the screen in the center will show you the one desktop you have open and a box for New Desktop. With multiple desktops open, you can swipe left or right with four fingers to cycle through them.

Easily my favorite thing about Win10

I have my PC connected to a TV on the other side of the room to my left. I would like to add another monitor to the right of my main monitor but only have space for two. If I put a switch in it would make one of the screens be on the wrong side. Might just do it anyway then switch them when it goes to the tv or something.

As a video editor, yes. I use a my laptop for small projects but my desk at work has two monitors. It is so nice to go in and have client info/resources on one monitor and adobe up on the other

Yeah I’ve got a surface with a docking station at work and a screen on either side. It’s absolutely amazing! I can put Netflix/YouTube on in the back ground, knock out busy work, and keep an eye on incoming emails all at the same time!

Or when I’m working with multiple contracts for a company, it’s super convenient to be able to open more than one at a time. My screens are big so I can fit five across the three screens. And it’s fantastic.

Yes! Got 3 monitors at work now, very efficient. Got everything I need visible now without having to click through programs.

Second screen is the best investment I ever made, now I have 4 displays, the 4th being my tv

I just bought a 2nd one for $5 on Facebook marketplace. It's great for productivity, and if you have small kids who like to watch YouTube, you can entertain them while you get things done on the other monitor.

I am thinking about a third as well. Expanding the universe exponentially.

I use my 55in 4k display for a monitor.

It's 3 monitors in one!

Yes. Once I got my second monitor at work I immediately decided that I needed another. I’m going to need a bigger desk to hold all of my monitors eventually.

3 Monitors here, anything less than 2 is a sin.

A third monitor

I switched from a double monitor to an 34 inch ultrawide one - it's pretty awesome.

Or a curved ultrawide one, it's pretty neat to use too

Where exactly do you plug a second monitor in on certain gpus? I swear my 1060 doesn't have another hdmi port. And having ryzen I don't have integrated graphics

Ultrawide is where I'm going next. Two monitors means your center of vision is looking at two bezels.

Been running a second monitor for a couple years, now considering upping to three.

A third is where I stopped myself, but only because I need a better processor. I had a game open on one screen, discord, plume, and other things on the second, and chrome open on the third. It was glorious.

2nd? Go for three-- you'll be happy!! Also, look into a KVM switch for 2 computers running on 2 or 3 monitors too.

I even got a USB powered 15 inch portable monitor for my laptop and it has been amazing.

I use one monitor for work. I get really distracted by 2 monitors, and also by reddit, but that's another issue.

I've spent about a year with two monitors and it was really great. I then changed computers and couldn't have 2 screens anymore, unless I bought another cable. I did, but it was too short, and I was too annoyed to get another one. I switched back to a single monitor because I also noticed I had better performance when playing CS:GO. It was difficult switching back to a single monitor. It felt like there was never enough space.

Programming was a bit annoying too, because I'd usually have the IDE on one screen, and documentations, UML diagrams, git, stack overflow page and whatnot on the second screen. Having only one screen makes it so that you always need to go back and forth between windows, or squeeze them really tiny, it's annoying.

Agree, have 4 at work. Can’t cope on a single screen laptop.

Two monitors is excellent. The only problem is when you try to use a single monitor again. You feel like you've got one hand tied behind your back

I have 3 monitors..... Its horrible trying to work on my laptop. 😂

I have two monitors at work but only one at home. Been seriously contemplating getting a second.

Bit off topic but do you have any suggestions for a cheap monitor? Tv broke at my work and need a new one for the ps4 😉

Yes because what i truly want when i play FPS is a huge gap in the middle of the screen where the crosshair and enemy usually is.

This is huge. Everyone and every business should do this

Ultra wide monitors are also nice. Fitting 2 Windows on one screen while keeping everthing at a usable size ist great.

I have three at work, I could NEVER go back to one.

I switched to an ultrawide set up from dual monitors and honestly I don't regret it. Mine is a 34 inch 1440p one, but it makes it really easily to have three big windows side by side for multi-tasking. Wouldn't go back to anything else.

I have two monitors at work plus my laptop. Every time I have to work from home my productivity plummets.

I love having a second monitor, it is so much better than just one.

If you don't have a second monitor (if you're out on a laptop or something) I recommend virtual desktops; they're built into every OS, and are extremely useful in place of a second screen.

Do you people not know how to alt tab or something

No no. That would mean people would have to spend money for a computer. And based on everyone I've ever helped with computers, they're all cheap fucks. It drives me nuts when they complain to me about how slow their computer is and then they expect me to find a "good one" for under $350

Second? I have four set up on my desk... to my wife's annoyance! :D So yeah... what you said X 2!

Disagree on addiction. I honestly think 2 monitors are a distraction sometimes, but there are times when it does improve productivity.

Depends on the task at that moment.

If you want to try this but don't want to dish out big bucks for one, a lot a thrift stores have them for like literally 5 bucks. They might not be the best quality, but they work.

I'm rocking a 8 screen dual computer setup... I started with 2 monitors. Careful with that lmfao it's a terrible addiction. ^jk ^it's ^great

I can't stand less then 2. My work desk has six 21" two are portrait for working on documents. Best setup for my job.

any good recommendations for quality monitors at a low price?

That was my gift to myself after landing my current job. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.

To add to this, a third monitor. Whether your on laptop or desktop, a third monitor can drastically improve your efficiency. Whether your working, gaming, or anything in between, you'll notice how efficient you can be with more room to display things.

2nd monitor vs large monitor ?

Ultrawide baby, less clutter, looks better.

100% could never use... 1 monitor tbh... I've used 3 for years massively increased productivity!

Is there any reason I would want two monitors on my desktop over having my desktop with one monitor and my laptop right next to it?

I've thought about buying a second monitor but can't justify it when my laptop is always right next to it when I need it.

I can never go without a 2nd monitor now. It's so nice, I can still do my work and have reddit up.

Is there any reason I would want two monitors on my desktop over having my desktop with one monitor and my laptop right next to it?

I've thought about buying a second monitor but can't justify it when my laptop is always right next to it when I need it.

There’s one computer at work that has 2 monitors, and whenever I’m able to use that one I feel like a dwarf among midgets.

I'm going to get no upvotes for this but I don't see a difference in my productivity using a second monitor. Sometimes I use the second monitor just because I feel guilty that work gave me a second one. But I'm in the minority because everyone else loves it.

I play lots of games and and I can have Steam, Spotify and my game up at the same time with three screens. It's amazing.

How are they better for gaming, I’ve never had 2 monitors before so enlighten me, please.

Your comment sounds like an advertisement

i work retail. sorry if habit kicked in, and by the way, this printer can do a whole 23 pages in black and white per minute. It can also do 23 pages in color per minute, so you don't lose efficiency!

I can attest to the wanting more aspect. I have 2 monitors at work and 2 tv's in my living room. Neither is enough.

Maybe not quite "life changing", but a portable battery pack for your cellphone or other usb devices comes in handy constantly. Since everyone nowadays is always on their cell phones, charge anxiety is definitely a thing as your phone's battery life starts getting low. Especially useful if you travel a lot

For a gift I just got a super beefy power bank that comes with attachments to jump your car! It's not super portable, so I wouldn't carry it around with me day to day, but for a long trip or to keep in the car, pretty awesome.

Honestly I didnt even realize it till now but a portable charger is a great gift for someone you dont know what to get. Buy a real nice one and Im sure theyll be pumped unless theyre someome who doesnt use their phone a lot or doesnt play games and stuff on it.

Anker products are amazing, I've had my 21000 mAh power bank for three years with no complaints

Yes! These are excellent. I travel a lot and this is so great.

Additionally I got a 5xUSB charging hub from Anker. I can now charge my tablet, both telephones (wife + girlfriend), watch and power bank all at the same time.

Your wife must be very open minded about your girlfriend

Isn't that implied?

Got my brother an Anker power bank for christmas, he's super pumped about it

I bought a 10,000 mAh one, and like six months later I decided I regretted the purchase because it wasn't a fast charging one. I thought, “No problem, I'll just get the fast charging one when this one dies”. Fucker is still very alive two and a half years later

Anker’s digital marketing team is just outrageous. Always see their name posted first comment under anything battery related.

I don't think its marketing; they're just that good, and their prices are fair.

Yup, spotted the name and came here to comment immediately. Cheap and great products...

Make a good product and your customer will do your marketing for you

Anker products are amazing

Ya was about to say this, worth spending a little extra on a propper quality product Anker are the ones to go with.

bought that one a month ago, changed my life.

I got my husband a great on for xmas and he was mad. Our car hates the cold so if it drops to 32f it might not start and need a jump (yes we have checked and even replaced the battery).

He called the thing junk and told me to send it back for a refund. Meanwhile, one of my neighbors needed a jumpstart but had parked so it was difficult to get the cables to it. I pulled out the power bank and BAM. It worked. My neighbor was so impressed and asked where I got it so he could ger one himself. I sold it to him then and there.

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I haven't tried. He was at work when the neighborhood thing happened. I told him about it and he was more thrilled that I sold the power bank. It is what it is.

Even if you don't use your phone a lot, it's a great gift. Light, small, and insanely helpful to have in a tight spot. You'll never know when you need one, and having a nice, high capacity one with you provides peace of mind when travelling or when you really need to use your phone.

I have like six battery packs and still think it's not enough since I have a habit of leaving them at home when I need them in the car.

God dammit, OP! Why didn't you ask this question before Christmas?

It really depends on the person. I have a beefy 20Ah one that I barely use because my phone lasts a whole day with moderate use and I can charge it in the car or at work if needed. We mostly use the power bank at home to charge playstation controllers and the once or twice a year we go camping.

Yeah but Id assume theres more people who would like it than dislike it. Obviously theres no gift thatll please everyone but I feel this is a safe bet if you know someone uses their phone a decent amount throughout the day.

Especially for teenagers that think everything is lame and you don't want to just give cash.

Get a small lipstick sized one for the women in your life who can't pull their face from a phone. Stays in the purse at all times and allows them to charge their addiction

It really is a great gift, so practical and it will definitely be used and appreciated. Nobody ever said, “Dang, I wish I didn’t have a portable charger.”

Yeah, it's a great gift...unless they're unreasonably obstinate and insist they can just use a wall charger anywhere they go, and surprise, their phone is still fucking dying every day.

It's always a gift at white elephant exchanges and the like. I've received a few. I never use them. I am on my phone a lot, but it's rarely about to die -- not worth carrying around -- and once I do get a chance to use it, it's probably dead too.

Bought one for a friend. She hasn’t charged it. And she’s always hitting me up for juice when we’re out. I glare at her when handing over mine.

In case anyone else happens to see your comment!

I travel a lot for work.. so a Muji Travel Pillow or an Anker power bank is my go to necessities!

My mom got me the same thing for Christmas, fortunately haven't had to jump off my car with it yet.

be careful though if you don't park your car in a garage. Sudden temperature changes (like that experienced left in a car parked out in the open) will kill the battery. And then its useless.

Is it the one from Harbor Freight?

Got one of these for my motorbike when having battery problems. Have helped start a friend's bike more than once :)

I've had one for a couple of years. It's easy to be a hero with one. I leave the jump start attachment in my car and carry the brick with me when I know I'm going to be away from car and home for a lot of hours.

These are super handy, and you can get one powerful enough to jump most cars for like $60-70. I think mine is 18,000 mAh, and I was able to instantly jump my Maxima thrice while driving around trying to buy a battery on Sunday without depleting the charge appreciably. It also has output adapters for laptops and several USB ports.

I have one of those and was happy to send it with my daughter when she went on a road trip with her friend after graduating high school. It made feel a tiny bit less nervous knowing they would be able to charge both of their phones as well as jump start the car in case of emergency.

Younger daughter has taken for long days at basketball tournaments - the other kids appreciate it too when their smaller banks have gone dead.

I just got one of those too! I live in a cold area and commute as a student so having a power bank that can jump my car several times is a godsend and makes me feel less worried to travel!

I got something like that. It’s great. I had to evacuate my mother out before a hurricane and the car wouldn’t start, and I had it started in about 10 minutes before she got out to the car and realized something was wrong, which would’ve panicked an already terrified and angry woman (I love her but dementia is hell).

I love things like that. I buy a lot of junk stuff that I enjoy, but when it comes to safety issues, things that protect you can be so comforting and helpful. And things like that are some of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten. Sometimes I like to give things like that too, not exciting things or necessarily even happy gifts, but potentially life-saving when necessary, and things that people sometimes don’t think to have.

Be honest, is it just a UPS?

Do you have any links to something like this? I'd really like more information, thank you!

I have one of these from Black and Decker. They are great to take camping if you want to keep all your devices powered. Mine also has a nice LED light thats pretty useful. It's also proven to be pretty invaluable this winter as my SO needs a new car battery. Rather than having to find someone willing to jump you're car you have everything you need right there.

These are great, but I recommend recharging it at least once a month so it's ready when you really need it. Just charge it off your cigarette lighter and it's easy to do on the go and never leaves your car.

Does it come with its own jumper cables?

On the flip side I recently bought a jumpstart pack for when I or my girlfriend (or any random person in need) needs a jumpstart. It has a USB port to charge your phone/tablet/whatever as well.

So it's a jumpstart pack that doubles as a super beefy phone charger.

I've got one of these. They're great fit when you're stupid like me and leave your lights on and need an emergency jump.

Also great for camping trips as well

I used mine when our power went out. Had a tankless water heater so no hot water. Plugged the water heater into this power pack thing and boom, only ones on the block taking hot showers.

Got one of those at NAPA- its built in to a flashlight/floodlight case with a magnetic base. It also has a "flare" and "S.O.S." modes, with something like 400 Amps for the jump starter. AND it holds full charge for a year if it isn't used.

I don't remember the part number, but it says "Powerlight 4000" on it. $80 is a small price to pay for peace of mind on long trips!

Those are the absolute best. And it's awesome when someone's car won't start and you whip that out of your bag and start it up in no time.

Anker on Amazon.

The Anker Power Core Fusion is the best product I’ve ever bought. It also serves as a wall port and a battery so it charges itself each night after your phone is charged and if you have an iPhone, you don’t have to worry about bringing a micro usb cord to charge it while traveling.

Yep, and makes you a hero if you can loan it to someone else. I’ve got one 20 Ahr one, usually in my computer bag, and a 3 Ahr one I keep in my jacket pocket. Enough that I don’t really have to worry about battery life anymore. The big one kept my wife and my phones going for three days in the hospital when my son was born, without having to find an outlet and/or cable to reach the bed, or worry about forgetting the charger somewhere.

I always have two 10mAh battery packs on me as I am always on the move due to my job and need to rely on my phone. When I travel, that increases to four packs because you just never know what might happen.

I was recently on an international trip and was able to lend a battery pack to a friend whose phone was unreliable and who would be travelling longer than I would. They were so impressed that they bought one themselves when they returned. It's one of those items that becomes indispensable once you have it.

10mAh won't charge shit.

Your right, meant to say 10,000mAh.

I know, just taking the piss.

I have the 56k and I only have to charge it maybe once a week since I only use it at school/flying or if I'm out for the day.

I got a really nice one on sale about half a year ago and I can confirm it is life saving, I never leave my house without it. Ever. I got one that’s about the width of my phone (IPhone SE so size of the 5. Maybe a bit thinner than my phone) and a bit taller with 2 USB ports. My friend wasn’t allowed to charge his phone at one of his parent’s house so he would always use my portable charger at school. 10/10 would recommend it relieves so much stress and can be great for people around you too. Also great for Pokémon go

My friend wasn’t allowed to charge his phone at one of his parent’s house so he would always use my portable charger at school.

wut?

My friend’s parents were divorced and one of them bought him a phone. The other parent didn’t want him to have a phone so he had to hide the phone from that parent and while at their house he couldn’t charge his phone. So at school his phone would be dead after a weekend there.

This was a life-saver at my last family gathering, everyone was using a outlet and i took my battery so i was able to stay and relax in one place while i had cables coming out all over me to charge my phone.

Just a small 3300 mAh one has been a lifesaver a few times

Yes! I have 2.

I keep one in my car for emergencies and another in my bag when I go to work

These things make traveling a breeze. It’s so nice not having to anxiously watch your battery deplete not knowing if your connecting airport has 21st century upgrades. Charging your phone on the plane while using it and getting to your destination with 100% battery is a great feeling.

I started carrying one around on a vacation a couple of years ago and haven't gone back since. Now I rarely leave home without one. It's super useful to be able to recharge your phone whenever you need to.

The last couple of tech company recruiting events that I went to were handing out power banks with the company logo on it instead of pens or whatever - that's a trend I can get behind.

I use these all the time now. Saves hassle of adapters when travelling abroad and I even use it in hotels in this country because, for some reason, there never seems to be a socket by the bed which is where I want to put my phone.

I bought an Anker one a few years ago that is 22,000 mAh so will happily charge my Galaxy S7 four times.

We grabbed one of these for Disney. Between the phones and our portable fan for the stroller, it was a life saver.

I was able to get a USB C Mophie one at microcenter. 10000 mah originally 99 dollars was on sale for 20 dollars somehow. One of my finest scores. Also super useful since my headphones are Bluetooth as well.

Hell, most of the coffees I have at coffee shops is just so I could use their plugs to charge my phone.

Can anyone explain to me the legality of flying with these? From what I understand it’s ok on a carry on but not a checked bag. Is that right?

Lol but I never leave home

When I got my Nexus 6p I'd noticed a lot of people worried about the battery life given the screen size.

So I also ordered a battery pack that has USB and an ethernet port. If you connect it to ethernet it creates a WiFi hotspot for my phone. If you plug a flash drive, printer, or hard disk into the USB port that device will be accessible via WiFi.

I haven't used it once in over 2 years. Amazing.

Best gift I've received in a long time.

Yes! I keep one in my car and one in my bag.

But I initially bought it because I played Pokemon go allot. It's just nice having that piece of mind

mega late response but an awesome brand is fuel rod! you buy one starter set and as you go through life, when the battery depletes you either recharge it yourself at home, or when traveling, swap it out at an airport. they have them all over and it's like $20-30 and it's a one time fee and you can swap until you die/they go out of business.

Can confirm, travel a TON for work. I have 2 multi-full charge ankers in my backpack at all times

Maybe not

I have a small one that cost me 25€ and it's so cool! It holds two or three charges and I'm never worried about battery anymore.

Bought one because I have a second hand iPhone 5s with a terrible battery life, charges ok but just dies really quickly so the portable battery pack is great until I can get my shit together and get a new phone.

Definitely a must. Get one to keep in a backpack too if you go out in the woods often, hell invest in a solar charger too while youre at it.

And for the outdoors enthusiast spring for the solar powered ones. You can go days without a power outlet in sight and still charge your cell phone.

Got a 100,000 miliamp hour one that I keep in my school bag. It's great. I can charge my phone half a dozen times off of it before it needs recharging, and it can still fit in my pocket along with the phone if I want to charge it on the go.

They so useful. You can use them to power almost any thing that power on with a USB. I have an emergency kit with a couple in there, with some USB powers lamps and lights. very nice if the power goes out.

Seriously, people talking about getting a 10ft charger for your living room. I use my Anker powerpak to charge my phone so I have unlimited range but most of the time I am just sitting on the couch. Charge the powerpak during the day while I am at work and it has enough juice to charge my phone 100% about 6 times.

A lot of Chinese international students had them a few years ago, and were mocked for lugging around an extra brick for their phone.

Nowadays I see them everywhere.

I got one for Christmas that is also a hand warmer. My phone hates the cold and likes to die and I hate the cold and feel like I’m dying in it, so it suits us both well

I also got a lantern that charges my phone, which I’m excited for for camping. Ever since the year our car broke down in the country and all our phones were dead :|

I'll be okay, I heard apple was pushing updates that'll help extend my battery life.

I first got a battery pack when Pokemon Go was a thing, and I wanted to stretch my time on it a bit longer every afternoon out. Now that my battery is starting to really burn out, I keep it in my car if it suddenly dies while I'm in town or working or something.

Even better is a battery case since it keeps the phone mobile.

My girlfriend got me one for Christmas. I liked it, but I didn't love it until I sat down on the train and my kindle died. Oh God. I love it so much :')

At first I didn’t think much of your comment, but I think they are amazing. We’ve been through some hurricane scares and evacuations, and if it weren’t for power packs I kept handy, things would’ve been a lot more difficult. Also, there were people stuck on roofs in hurricane Harvey who were criticized for posting a particular social post, but when you realize your phone loses so much power every time you call emergency services and have to wait on hold, extra powerpacks can make all the difference. (I realize that was an extreme example, but you never know when having extra ones will make a difference.)

This is soooo necessary when traveling

Anker ones are really good

I drove my mom to her new home in FL from PA. I left my 20kmAh battery there when I flew home. Since it was a Li Ion battery, I just told mom to keep it, rather than try to ship it properly. Two weeks later, Hurricane Irma visited her place. That battery came in very handy while the power was out at her house, and she was able to drive to a local McDonalds to charge it as needed.

YES! Dude this saved my ass driving around in Iceland so many times.

Can confirm. I have one and I love it. I decided to pay it forward and get a smaller one for this Christmas’s white elephant. No one wanted the smaller wrapped gift, and decided to steal tequila that other people had unwrapped. That tequila got stolen 5 times, until someone got curious enough to open my contribution. Upon opening it, people started groaning because the person refused to trade it for tequila.

I bought a dozen of these and a solar charger when I lived on the street, so yes, "life changing". (Everyone who lives on the street can't afford these so great gift idea for your local homeless).

I got one that has fold out solar panels, it's a nice feature to have

Even better, have you seen the ones that will jump your car if your battery dies? Charge your phone and all that too.. They're on Amazon for like $50-100..

I always have my 12000 mAh power bank and my spare battery in its cradle with me when I go anywhere where I may not have outlet access. When the battery in my phone gets low, I just swap it out for the one in my charger cradle and plug the charger cradle into the power bank. It charges faster than if I were to just plug the phone into the power bank because the battery isn't being used while it charges and I can get at least 3 full charges out of that thing. Plus, you don't have to have the cord plugged into your phone.

Even better: A battery pack with a photovoltaic (solar) cell on it so you can charge the battery while you charge your battery. I got one from Groupon for cheap.

It definitely can be life changing!

I got the biggest one Anker sells, PowerCore+ 26800 PD, which has the USB C PD charging feature.

Not only can it charge my iphone for an entire week (great for trips), it can keep my Nintendo Switch going for an entire transoceanic flight and then some or keep my MacBook Pro running all day long.

I bought a fattie boi one for my switch. I played for 12 hours on an airplane flight no problem. Best purchase ever.

I would like to know if portable battery packs/powerbanks would be different to charging it to the wall? Or not at all? (in terms of like voltage, ampere, you know, those stuff lol)

I think it depends on the model, but the one I have has dual USB, one has 1.0A output and the other is 2.4A for fast charging. So similar to a wall charger

i got one from lexibook and it is the biggest piece of shit ever.

I bought one for a trip. But now i just use it around the house almost dayley. When i get home from work my phone is almost dead. This way i can just take my phone with me when i'm walking around the house, and i dont need a charger in every room.

went to Asia last year and my battery pack was old and shitty because I was too cheap to get a new one. my buddy had an AWESOME one that fast charged and had enough juice to charge a phone like 7 or 8 times over at least.

He had a much better 12 hour wait in the airport than I did. First thing I bought when we got back was the biggest meanest portable charger I could find. GREAT purchase

I got a 20,000 mah battery pack and use it to charge many different USB chargeable devices when on the go. It's fantastic!

My dad has one that can jump-start a dump truck

Iphone user here, there's a pretty narly batter pack phone case I have so you have 2 batteries. It had a port as well so you can plug in head phones, and shows both battery lifes on the front screen. If I plug it in overnight I can use my phone constantly for 2 days without issue. Great for when I go to the city and use it for Ubers, train tickets, directions, etc.

Thanks. You just cost me $41.99.

I have a power bank that you can recharge by either plugging it in, or by solar power...... Cobra $20.00

Was hiking in the mountains in Colorado and was lost, had to call search and rescue and it took 5 hours after midnight for them to find me. I needed my portable battery charger or I’d be a goner.

I don't care about how thick my phone is, so it's a blessing that people make battery CASES. I literally don't have to charge my phone for a couple days if I charge the case fully.

I just got a super nice wireless mobile charger from a friend for Christmas. Can charge my phone full twice, and has two USB ports. Charges up to two amps. Since my phone no longer charges via cables (broken microUSB port, it just stopped working after 3 years), this thing is perfect for me when I'm out and about. Wireless chargers are beautiful in general, honestly.

I have a Cloele QI charger. No clue on the specific name.

I love when my phone runs out of battery because then I'm no longer responsible for answering it.

I live in a rural area and never really saw a need for one of these since I am always either at work, home, or in my car. I took a trip to NYC last year, and yeah, you definitely need something like this in a big city, especially if you are a tourist with no real home base except in the mornings and at night in the hotel.

charge anxiety is definitely a thing as your phone's battery life starts getting low

Moto g5 plus master race

Or buy a phone with an easily removable battery.

But why? You still have to carry around a battery that you can only use for your phone instead of a battery that you can use for pretty much anything.

What else is there to charge? And why can't you also carry a spare battery for whatever else you have?

A phone battery is cheaper, smaller, faster to charge (in a dedicated charger which are cheap).

Or you can have a big battery brick with long charge times, a need to boost the voltage from the battery voltage to USB 5 volts (efficiency loss) which then goes through the phone charging circuitry (another efficiency loss) and also requires time to charge your phone.

What else is there to charge?

Phones that belong to other people.

And why can't you also carry a spare battery for whatever else you have?

Because I'm not going to carry 10 additional batteries.

A phone battery is cheaper, smaller, faster to charge (in a dedicated charger which are cheap).

Which is great when you have a dedicated power source around. if you're at a festival for several days you most likely wont have one around.

Hell this is on the assumption that you have power sources around, and if thats the case why get a spare battery in the first place.

Phones that belong to other people.

I feel sorry for you if you have to do this often.

Maybe you could persuade those people to carry their own batteries?

Which is great when you have a dedicated power source around. if you're at a festival for several days you most likely wont have one around.

I don't understand your point.

You can buy a few batteries for less than the price of a decent brick and they will last you through the concert and will likely outlast the brick. You have the same issue of not being able to charge the brick as you have of not being able to charge the batteries.

Hell this is on the assumption that you have power sources around, and if thats the case why get a spare battery in the first place.

You charge the battery when you have power sources around (just like you would with the brick) and then you take it with you to places where there is no power (just like the brick). I don't understand how your supposed caveats don't apply to power bricks just like they do to batteries.

I feel sorry for you if you have to do this often. Maybe you could persuade those people to carry their own batteries?

If your friend is running low on power, it's nice to be able to help them out. It's not like it's a burden; they typically come with multiple ports and cables so you can charge multiple things at once.

You can buy a few batteries for less than the price of a decent brick and they will last you through the concert and will likely outlast the brick.

Really? because my main reason for buying my first power bank was that I looked up the cost of a replacement battery (my own was no longer holding a charge very well) and found it was more expensive than a decent power bank, so I got that instead. Since then I've had 3 new phones and I'm only on my second power bank, and the only reason I got a new power bank was because I wanted one with higher current capability since my new phone could make use of the higher current for faster charging. If the power bank can charge my phone 6 times over, it losing a little charge capacity isn't much of an issue anyway.

You charge the battery when you have power sources around (just like you would with the brick) and then you take it with you to places where there is no power (just like the brick). I don't understand how your supposed caveats don't apply to power bricks just like they do to batteries.

Because you can charge the power bank and your phone at the same time (assuming you have two access points or an extension cable). If you've got a handful of batteries, you can only charge the one in the phone, then you need to switch to the next and do it again, and so on until they're all done.

And this is all ignoring the fact that most phones these days do not have removable batteries. I don't like that, but that's how it is. You severely limit your phone choice if you only go for the ones with removable batteries.

Really? because my main reason for buying my first power bank was that I looked up the cost of a replacement battery (my own was no longer holding a charge very well) and found it was more expensive than a decent power bank, so I got that instead.

Yes really. Maybe more modern phones have really crappy battery costs but theoretically speaking, if you buy a power bank which can charge your phone 5 times then you should be able to buy at least 5 batteries for that price. The efficiency losses caused by the boost and buck conversion going on, as well as the electronics in the power bank are going to mean that your power bank battery has to have a higher capacity than 5 batteries. Not only that but the amount of electronics in such a power bank would add to the cost.

If you're getting any less than 5 batteries, your phone company (or whoever is selling those batteries) is screwing you over.

Because you can charge the power bank and your phone at the same time (assuming you have two access points or an extension cable).

You can charge your phone and your phone's battery at the same time too. While you also charge a spare battery with a dedicated charger. I don't get your point.

And this is all ignoring the fact that most phones these days do not have removable batteries.

Then stop giving the companies producing these phones any of your money.

If you don't like it then stop caving to it. "You severely limit your phone choice..." yes, damn right you do. You also don't give money to shitty companies.

I also don't know how often you switch phones but planned obsolescence is another one of those things which only works because people cave.

I just decided to look it up for my current phone to see if it still holds true today. The cheapest I could find a replacement battery was for £21 off Ebay (couldn't even find it at all in most places). I do have a set of tools for disassembling phones, but most people will need to account for that cost too. My current power bank is £25, but I have noticed there is now a very similar one for £21 with only 2 ports instead of 3 (which I would opt for now, since I've never used more than 2 at a time). That puts it at exactly the same cost, for a lot more total capacity and ease of use.

You've forgotten to account for a few things when assuming power banks should cost the same (or more) per mAh of capacity. Phone batteries have very limited space to work in, and they have to be able to run while producing minimal heat. They're in the middle of the phone, right near the processor which needs to stay cool. Power banks have their whole surface area to freely radiate heat, and are only limited in temperature by what the battery cells themselves can handle. Also consider how each phone battery needs it's own casing (taking up more space and cost), whereas a power bank needs only one total. Also consider how they use different tech, with phones using Li-ion and power banks commonly using Li-Polymer. This is likely due to the other previously mentioned spec differences, along with how they're used differently - phone batteries are 'slow burn' over their use whereas power banks work use their power in short, fast bursts. To sum up, they're way too different to equate like that.

To charge a phone battery separately, outside of a phone, you'd need a dedicated dock for it (if they even make them - I've not checked). And you'd need one for each battery to do them all at once, each with it's own charger. That's not a cost I accounted for previously. For the power bank you need a single extra wall plug, and since each phone comes with a new one (and phones have been using USB for a long time now), most people with have a spare one or two laying about somewhere. Even if they don't, it's cheaper to buy one for the power bank, than multiple plus multiple docks for all the phone batteries.

I guess I should clarify a bit there. I really meant that I didn't like it, but I've grown to not really care. My phone now lasts a full day or two, depending on how much I use it, and charges fully from empty in about 100 minutes (so typically a charge from partly full is an hour at most). Combine that with a backup power bank which has ~6 full charges (typically 10+ part charges, or 'saves' from running out) before I need to remember to recharge it, and I just don't care much. Sure I'd prefer a removable battery, but I've not felt the need to remove it in years (since just before I got my first power bank), so it's not worth making a fuss over anymore. They've more than made up for this small inconvenience by improving in other areas. As soon as that isn't true, I'll go for one with a removable battery.

I've not really had an issue with planned obsolescence, though I've heard it's an issue for Apple products. I pay a £25 a month contract (unlimited texts/calls, 16GB of 4G data), which gets me a new phone (no extra cost) every 2 years. I give my old one to my dad, who is on a cheaper £15 SIM only contract. So they last 4 years with no issues, probably longer. That's a decent life for what is basically a computer, considering how processing power advances.

Phone batteries have very limited space to work in, and they have to be able to run while producing minimal heat. They're in the middle of the phone, right near the processor which needs to stay cool.

The design is pretty much identical except that phone batteries are generally rolled flat and the batteries in power banks are rolled into a cylinder.

Also consider how each phone battery needs it's own casing (taking up more space and cost), whereas a power bank needs only one total.

The casing is pretty much identical, there's very little cost involved in that. Battery banks use multiple cells compared to phone batteries which means there is even more "casing" involved.

I'm not sure about the rest of the differences you mentioned. Li-Po and Li-Ion batteries have been used for different phones at different times and the specific reasons for why one might be used over another in any specific phone or power bank is not precisely so clear cut.

To sum it up, I think the reason for why batteries for YOUR phone are so expensive is as follows: Your phone does not have an easily replaceable battery (you say you need to take apart your phone) and the specific shape of the battery might not even be particularly standardised meaning that it's not worth for third parties to create competitively priced batteries and the phone manufacturer might hold a monopoly on the batteries. (Phone manufacturers these days would rather you buy a new phone than use an old one with a replacement battery.) For my Nokia N900 the battery shape is standardised and multiple manufacturers have produced a variety of replacement batteries for it with varying capacities for a varying range of prices. I could probably buy a charger and a set of batteries for the same price as your power bank and roughly get a similar capacity, or at least a capacity which is worthwhile (batteries in this thing last a few days at a time).

To charge a phone battery separately, outside of a phone, you'd need a dedicated dock for it (if they even make them - I've not checked).

Indeed, they make them because I use one for my phone batteries, they're very cheap.

And you'd need one for each battery to do them all at once, each with it's own charger.

It's not quite linear but there's no reason why over the period of an evening you could just swap out the battery for a new one once an old one gets charged. In the end you're probably not going on long trips away from a power source every single week so the speed at which you charge these batteries probably doesn't matter. These chargers also come with USB ports so that you can charge your phone while you charge your battery.

Combine that with a backup power bank which has ~6 full charges (typically 10+ part charges, or 'saves' from running out) before I need to remember to recharge it, and I just don't care much.

I don't think I understand your convenience argument to be honest.

Phones now need charging more often, are thin and fragile to the point of needing thick glass screen protectors and thick rubber cases to prevent catastrophic accidental damage, you also need to carry around a hefty power bank with you to get extra charge. I have a phone which lasts longer, the batteries for which cost very little, which additionally basically weigh nothing and can be kept in my trouser pocket. (The longer lasting charge means where you may need 6 batteries to get the same lifetime, I would just need 2 or 3.)

I guess maybe I'm backwards or my needs are different but it really confuses me why people put up with these kinds of phones.

This phone is second hand and has worked successfully since 2008, that's now a 10 year lifetime and if parts of it break (and they have) I can still salvage replacement parts from other N900 phones. Yes it's about twice as thick as your modern phone and the screen is smaller but it has a physical keyboard and lots of interesting advantages like the fact that I can completely replace and rewrite every component and can run the mainline kernel on it. I can write software for it in any programming language of my choice (instead of being firmly railroaded towards java). I can patch it way ahead of time of any android phone when vulnerabilities appear. The baseband modem is physically separated from the SOC and connected over USB internally which removes a swathe of potential security issues.

I think we're done here. You clearly have an agenda against modern phone design. I have no desire to discuss the resistance to the progression of technology (I get enough of that from my grandparents).

The majority of the public will benefit more and get more joy/convenience from a power bank than a spare phone battery. Feel free to argue against exactly that or I'm done; go and make your own top level comment/thread if you want to push your own agenda.

Ah yes, the "you have an agenda therefore arguing with you is not productive" argument.

You also have an agenda whether you know it or not but that's not an excuse for me to dismiss your viewpoint.

I am also not all that interested in continuing this conversation since we appear to have reached (maybe a temporary) impasse.

As a final word: I have no problem with technological progress, but what is happening in the now very stagnant phone market is not really progress any more, just cost cutting with some treats dropped in. It's a carrot dangling approach to controlling consumer buying habits. What we've just seen from AMD in the CPU market IS an example of technological progress, but what we've just seen from the recent revelations about flaws in speculative execution and processor architecture is the result of misdirected scrutiny and a lack of progress in a specific area.

Technological progress, it's not "progress" or "stagnation" there's always a combination of the two. I strongly believe that capitalism is the best economic system we have to date but I think it doesn't work as well when consumers get complacent and lose the ability to objectively evaluate the products they are buying.

My choice of device may be unconventional and certainly most consumers won't have the same needs and requirements as I do. For example I absolutely can't stand the interface design of modern phone operating systems and the restrictions placed within them, but I also understand that most normal people would have no interest in what I would call the perfect interface for my uses. The fact of the matter is though that these are neither competing goals nor are all of the things which are being done "necessary evils". When you're being screwed over while getting something in return, it's not something you should get used to and not something you should start to ignore. The control of the direction of the market lies in the collective hands of the buyers and for their own benefit, scrutinising every aspect of their devices of interest is a necessity for true technological progress.

The ideal goal is to get something better without having to be screwed over anywhere else.

No good phones have removable batteries anymore

Buy a decent one and you don't need it.

There are no good phones any more.

An inexpensive robovac, especially if you have a cat or dog that sheds a lot. You can find many on Amazon for under $200 with very high ratings. I have one made by Eufy and it's amazing - I've gone from vacuuming weekly to "touch-up" vacuuming monthly.

Just bought a Roomba on Cyber Monday recently! It's life changing! Just make sure you don't set it to start its cleaning cycle remotely unless you know for a FACT the dog didn't poop on the floor! :(

This is my worst fear - the docking station is maybe three feet from the litter box . . . my cat has never gone outside of the box before and I hope he never does in the future.

We came home to dried poop streaks all the way from our living room to the kitchen in random lines and directions. Luckily (unluckily) we had just taped over the cliff sensors so it NOW GOES ON CARPET!

I’ve come home to shit streaks all over the floor because my younger cat thought that smacking a turd around seemed like fun.

In his defense it probably was pretty fun

Found the public bathroom shit-smearer.

Having smacked a turd or 2 in my day, I can say it is pretty much a hoot.

My housemate claims my cat pulled a dried turd out of his litterbox, batted it around a bit, then ate it. I'm dubious, but the little flecks of brown stuff everywhere does suggest that was the case.

When a cat has a more solid sense of recycling than humans.

I audibly chuckled.

That's it? I laughed so hard I nearly ~~shat~~ turded myself and smacked it around.

I literally just chuckled at the idea imagining a cat batting a ball of shit around acting like its a mouse

My cat is scared of diarrhea; when it happens, he starts running around the house.

Maybe close the bathroom door when you have the squirts?

In all seriousness though, this sounds horrible.

No no no, when he has diarrhea. It happens, it scares the shit out of him, and he starts running around the house while it's happening.

You can trace his path. He mostly stays close to the walls.

Marking the territory: the long lasting way.

Nope, he's the dog's territory, himself. He's the bitch's bitch. The 100 lb female dog pins down the 16 lb male cat, and humps him.

I don't like he likes it, but I don't think he dislikes it either.

Yeah, haha, I understood. The situation sounds awful because there's nothing you can really do.

No, not at all. Just get home from work, see it all, hope the dog didn't eat any, and start looking for the cat to give him some lovin's while he doesn't feel good.

That does seem kinda fun if you don’t have to clean it. 🤔

Sounds more exciting than my job.

You need to clean your litter box more often.

My Roomba works perfect on carpet

Do your carpets have thick black borders?

No? It’s all grey. Why?

The roomba thinks dark edges/borders/lines in carpets are cliffs and usually avoids them.

Oh nah haven’t had that issue. The 980 is pretty good

I'd have bought that if I had mogul money :)

I brought it because I have miss shapen hips and find vacuuming impossible

I'm confused. Are you referring to an area rug? Or does a carpeted room in your house have black borders for some reason?

Now they need to sell a robotic poop streak remover.

Technically I guess they do. Roomba makes a mop bot now.

We came home to dried poop streaks all the way from our living room to the kitchen in random lines and directions.

That surely qualifies as life-changing.

They always go on carpet, just not black carpet.

Truth. Or carpets with black borders. We had to tape paper over the cliff sensors and now its perfect

Tape over the cliff sensors? You can do that?

Absolutely. Let me help you into a whole new world of amazingness. So we have 4 sensors on the bottom of our roomba we had to cover.

Get a piece of regular computer paper, that clear packing tape, and some scotch tape and scissors.

You want to run the packing tape width-wise over the whole length over the paper, one piece of tape on the front and one on the back so its thick and basically laminated. Then cut out the size you need to have little rectangles that cover the sensors and tape those onto the roomba over the cliff sensors.

What that does it gives the roomba light reflecting back into itself (via the packing tape reflection) where the normal black carpet would not reflect into it, causing it to stop, turn around, etc. Now it goes everywhere! FYI - it will also fall down steps now if you have those so set up that little tower to prevent that if you have steps.

Enjoy FULL HOUSE CLEANING!

You are currently the highlight of 2018 for me. I have one of these vacuums that wouldn't clean the dining room rug because it's zebra-striped.

Enjoy! Its pretty quick and easy! Glad I could make your life better.

You are currently the highlight of 2018 for me. I have one of these vacuums that wouldn't clean the dining room rug because it's zebra-striped. Thank you!

I <3 this comment. Thank you again.

Shoot I was thinking of getting one but this comment made me realize that my cat knocks too many clingers off her fuzzbutt on my laminate for this not to happen to me...

Dont let it kill your excitement. Just only let it run when you are home so you know there's no fuzz danglers. :)

Our cat likes to think outside the box. She always poops right on the edge, then spends an eternity trying to bury it.

She’s like that weird friend we all have who is really booksmart, but frequently gets frustrated pushing on a pull door.

Have you tried a top-entry covered litter box?

Yes. When she was younger she was fine. Then she got in and pissed out the door.

Was the door on top?

No, front, but I know what you're talking about. My mom's cats use those.

I had the foresight to stick around and watch the roomba do it's thing for the first few cycles.

One of my cats is a territorial little shit. Which is precisely what she left on the carpet when the Roomba starts whirring around the condo. Thankfully I caught it in time before the little robot spread that turd all over the place.

Add the good old 'huurk huurk blorrrrk' messes to that as well.

I tried to convince bf to let us get one. He said no in case ax cat pukes. I never even thought you could tell it to not auto run. I may have a new argument if I can manually say "OK puke free clean now!"

You may have changed my life.

For sure! It only goes when you schedule it to

If you're into corporate spying devices, 'Alexa, ask irobot to start roomba' also interfaces with roomba controls. Just be careful, cats can hurk up messes in very inconspicuous places. "I'll just throw up behind the couch so no one will see it! Mission accomplished!"

I wonder if any other brands are compatible with Alexa. I rarely even have mine plugged in (a few months ago it got stuck in a start up loop and wouldn't ever actually START up, it just kept restarting itself it works now, I just don't have it plugged in lol). Our one cat is a serial puker. He likes to eat things that aren't food then puke them back up. I have an exotic pet that will sometimes drop his veggies out of the cage. Cat eats it, puked it up. String from scratching post rope tore off? Eat it. Puke. Card hoard from the cardboard scratchy thing ripped off? Eat it. Puke. I can't think of anywhere not in plain sight he can get to because we're so used to his puking lol. Having a roomba or generic roomba will help keep the floor clear of debris and hopefully slow down his puking while I do t have to vacuum! Oh man I can't wait to get a new job so I can buy one now.

So far, only irobot has an Alexa skill, but anything we cat-keepers can do to avoid the squishy menace is a plus. Just be warned, some cats stress-vomit so new vacuums and unfamiliar routines might aggravate the situation.

This happened to me once. The stench was unreal and the clean up was a massive pain, not to mention having to clean the entire eufy unit from the inside out and get replacement parts.

Now I turn it on manually once a day when I get home. Lesson learned.

Yeah I think there was a post on wtf or tifu about it running over a dog poop while they were at work and it got EVERYWHERE

I feel like the bigger issue here is that this person's dog is shitting inside. This is acceptable for puppies or when they are sick and can't control it (have your dog eat chapstick - super fun).

My dog had cancer and was sick for a long time before we found out he had cancer....

I love my roomba!! Sweeping is my most hated chore. I named mine Hei Hei

That is a really good name if you've ever watched a Roomba work. Good job.

my Roomba seems to lack the basically intelligence required for pretty much everything

We named ours Flynn. It needs help getting around the house.

Ours is Wall-E but we might change it to Floor-E.

I read the comment to which you are referring. This is both horrendous and hilarious.

Im here to help and educate

Friend of mine came home to this.... doggy diarrhea and Roomba is NOT a good combo.

I too learned this lesson the hard way. RIP Roomba

The real LPT is always in the comments

Omg omg omg omg yes

Ha yes. Poopocalypse. I experienced this the first week of owning my roomba.

Can confirm. It was not a pleasant occurrence. glares at dog

We have a dead Roomba in the garage because it ran over one of my dog's nuclear puppy poops before he was properly trained, and then my dad tried washing it out with water. I watched in horror from the top of the stairs as the HMS Titanic hit the brown iceberg.

We threw away that rug, but not the Roomba for whatever reason.

I was super excited to get one until you said this. Dog poops on the floor like twice a week. take him outright before work and soon as I get him but can't break the habit.

Dont let it kill your excitement. Let it run while you are at home. Its not that distracting!

I read once about a Roomba tracking dog shit all over someone's house one night and how awesome the company was for letting them exchange it. I wish I had the link.

Then a kennel might be your next life changing purchase.

nobody minds that it might be mapping your home?

nobody minds that it might be mapping your home?

crapping* FTFY

Ughhhhh this happened to me. Roomba hit a dog poop in the dining room. Took 2 hours to clean the carpet and the roomba needed to be trashed immediately.

It took us about 2 to 3 hours to clean out al of the poop from the roomba OUT of the roomba. More nooks and crannies than you think

A lot more than you would expect lol... especially when it was a wet poop. I have a Neato now... hopefully it does not happen again!

All the best to you and yours :)

It’s been a fear of mine, I did have to clean one after leaving service porch door ajar, luckily it was a pad with tiny tinkle (5 lb Yorkie, I have to have one somewhere as I don’t let her out alone and I’m not getting out of bed to go outside) . But I also have my parents older dog often when they travel and I’m s seed to death one will take off and find the exact spot I don’t want it too so I coral mine when parents dog is here. One I put in closet, the other I scoot a few pcs. of furniture around. (Somehow they get set in a timer, which changes every few weeks. Somehow?? Lol. I need to read manuals)

No shedding dogs here, but even wood floors and tile need daily vacuuming, the collection bin proves it, you’re right- they are life changing. I don’t like dirt and I can’t stand to see a pc. of fuzz or dust bunnies on our beautiful wood floors.

We just seem to always be doing stuff so we aren't home except to sleep sadly, so running the vaccuum is something else we don't have much time for so this little guy (actually bigger than I thought it would be) is a lifesaver.

I bet they could revise the design so it does not smear shit everywhere

My sisters roomba sucked up a mouse. She is deathly scared of mice.

Also, she once found a mouse at the bottom of her washer. With her washed clothes.

She moved from that house.

Forgive my ignorance, but how can you not know for a fact that your dog hasn't popped on the floor, if you've had the dog for a few months? House training a dog isn't a difficult thing. Do a few Google searches :) we house trained our Boston terrier puppies within 3 or 4 months of having them, and they haven't made a mess in our house a single time since.

I've been toilet trained for 30 years, but I still crapped the bed that one time when I had the flu.

This is where I'm lost. Post-house training my pup, she has pooped in my home exactly once: she (sneakily) ate an entire tube of chapstick and had explosive diarrhea in the middle of the night without any warning.

Our dog is amazing and is very trained, just sometimes im running late to work and dont give him enough time in the AM to walk aroumd enough to poop.

That's got nothing to do with your dog not being house trained though. If you were home to let your dog out, he wouldn't have pooped on the floor :)

My cat vomits too frequently for me to trust one!

Three cats and a brushless roomba. it ate the cat vomit

My cat barfed on the floor while I was gone and my roomba cleaned it up. I only found out when I emptied out the dust bin and found cat puke in it.

Same here. Can't recommend the smell afterwards, but still a win. The 880 will eat anything

My cats did too, or one of them did. I changed their food to wheat and soy free and he hasn't puked for a month.

Cats can develop food allergies to grains and specific proteins.

Is there a diet to prevent my cat from materializing rubber bands and string out of thin air and then eating them?

Ours is on a prescription diet already for gum disease. She's been on t/D for almost all of her 13 years! I appreciate the suggestion, though.

Awwww poor baby. Gum disease in cats sucks ass. Does she have stomatitis? Because if so then her food is probably already grain free.

a Robo-ShopVac then perhaps?

I would buy one if it were R2-D2 shaped.

How about Darth Vader shaped?

I find it's lack of suction disturbing.

They also have a stormtrooper themed one.

These are not the vac-droids I'm looking for.

Lol. I could just imagine that sucking up the whole cat!

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My kids have been trying to talk me into getting a dog, so I better keep this idea a secret from them.

I just start mine manually instead of automatically, so I can be sure there's no animal mess on the floor.

Yep. My brother's roommate had a sick dog that pooped on the floor once. Coming home to a poop-streaked house sounded like a very bad day.

My roommate vomits too frequently for me to trust one.

vomits frequently? why? that doesn't sound good...

Some cats (especially if they had to live with a shortage of food at some point growing up) will basically eat/inhale their food so fast their stomach can't handle it and it makes them throw it up again some times. It often happens with rescued strays afaik, but even my always well-fed cat did this a few times.

I have a cat that has the issue of puking when we give him treats. The greedy bugger wolves them down so quickly he makes himself sick.

This is the exact issue that I have with my shelter cat. She's always afraid of somebody coming and eating all of her food, even though we don't have any other pets.

They have special feeding bowls that prevent animals like your cat from being able to wolf down their food and getting sick later. They are usually called slow feed bowl. Maybe something to look into?

If you're doing dry food, feed her half as much twice as often, and spread the food out on a flat surface. That's worked for me and my formerly-stray.

We feed her wet food, but thanks for the tip.

Nah, lots of cats just throw up (and/or hack up a hairball) a couple times a week. It doesn't necessarily mean there's a health problem.

Get Catlax! It's a caramel flavoured paste that you put on their paw and they lick off (or you just feed it to them like my cats), and it binds all the fur together and makes them pass it easier instead of hacking it up!

I have 3 long haired cats and it really helps, plus it's way less stressful for them!

I have 3 Maine Coons and I'm constantly stepping in puke--they love puking on the stairs. I'm going to check this out, thank you!

It will change your life! And my tube has lasted me ages :)

I can't remember if I had to get it from the vet or just the pet store though...

I'll have to ask my vet about it. My old boy was recently diagnosed with kidney failure so I want to make sure that it's safe for him, but if it is this could be a serious life changer. No more walking around in bare feet scared I'm about to step in a mushy surprise.

Oh, I'm going to try this! Thanks for the suggestion! Ours is a long-haired cat of some sort, so she just hacks up hairballs a couple of times per week.

My cats find it really tasty, and I notice a significant difference when I do and don't use it.

Good luck!

They are saying it isn't normal https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/11/09/vomitting-pet-cat-health.aspx

I get the hairball thing, but too frequently? I've had a couple of cats and they threw up a few times, but not frequently. That would worry me. Maybe I am bugging.

Couple times a week consistently is probably a reason to raise an eyebrow, but yeah cats just puke. One of mine had a sensitive stomach and just throws up every now and then for no reason. I would say once every couple weeks, but there are probably times I don't know about because she, her sister, and/or the dog ate it again before I found it.

Edit: also don't trust anything from mercola.com. Dude is a snake oil salesman and has been censured by the DoJ for making baseless medical claims.

Yeah, my cat is a fucking moron who just occasionally forgets to chew his food and hacks it up. Doesn't help that he has super poomfy hair.

How often do you groom him?

That's disgusting, he's only four, Jesus fucking Christ dude

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Yeah, both poor taste and apparently poor execution.

I groom him whenever possible. Cats are generally not famed for their tolerence to being fucked with and even though this little goof loves a good hard petting he is not a fan of a brush at all.

Try brushing your cat more. Cats will have a hell of a lot less hairballs and vomit if you get a good brush and do it at least once a day, even for a minute. I'm sure the cat will appreciate it too, once it gets used to it

Cats can develop allergies to different protiens, most often wheat and soy protien, after that chicken. Try a food without grains and see if it makes a difference. On the otherside of things, after I changed my cat to wheat and soy free food the litter box stopped smelling as foul.

We've been thinking about getting one. Fortunately the dogs prefer vomiting on the couch >.<

My husband was concerned about this. I just run mine when I’m home to avoid this.

Change your cat's diet

I'd love to, but she needs special prescription food to control her gum disease.

We bought a Shark Robot Vacuum from Walmart when we were in the States in November (we're from Australia) for $269. Back home, the starting price is around $600! Best purchase we made. We have wood floors throughout the entire house, and a dog that sheds, so having the robot do the vacuuming makes my life so much easier. Definitely recommend it!

Just in case you know anyone else in the same need, the ones your local Aldi sells when they get round to it are actually pretty decent and go for $179 australian

Oh good to know! I suspect you’d be lucky to score one with the way Aldis popularity is these days though!

You would think so, but the last couple of times it came into town there were stacks sitting around, in Sydney at least. I've actually been picking them up for relatives overseas. I'm starting to think the people who are going to get them have all got them already.

I have always wondered, what is the capacity of the robot vacuum... how often do you need to empty it?

We empty it about once a week. It’s scheduled to go around every couple of days.

Just make sure your dog did not shit anywhere the shark covers before it runs bc that's one hell of a mess

^^^^Source: ^^^^Have ^^^^roomba, ^^^^and ^^^^dog

hah yes good call!

I'm about to pull the plug on either a deebot or xiaomi. Deebot you can't even get here, Xiaomi is only a couple of hundred diff. JBHifi had a roomba though - $1300 here, $500 there.

I had my sister bring over a pool cleaner a couple of years back... $2800 here or $800 there.

Yeah Roombas are ridiculous pricing! They had a Roomba at the Walmart we bout our Shark from for $300. Crazy how much they are in Aust!

Neato robotics is best for dog hair. It has paddles, no brushes to constantly clean.

Paddles?

That was the best word my brain could deliver. Although They do resemble the wheel on a paddle boat. Works best for dog hair. I have a German Shedder and it picks up his daily shedding without having to clean a brush like on my roomba- yes I have both, I love robots of all sorts.

Does it work on rug/carpet?

Yes. I have wood, tile and carpet and it does great on all 3

Perfect! I think I'm buying it today or tomorrow

Groupon had a deal. If you don’t want to invest much to see how you like it, I’d get one of those. But, honestly, I think you’ll like it. Just be careful setting the scheduler if you have pets who may have an accident. That being said, it’s a lot easier to clean than a roomba......

Next topic: mopping. I have a couple of scoobas, they are keeping the snow tracked floors nice and mopped.

Future: replacement batteries on after market Amazon. Same for filters.

Wait what color is your carpet? Mine is white with black spots so a roomba would have trouble going over the black because of ledge detection...

Can you tell me what model you have? Or pm me if the mods won’t allow it. Their website sucks when it comes to specs.

Make it public, I'd like to know what model too.

Do you use a converter for the US vacuum to work in Australia? With no issues?

most decent electronics have a switching power supply, or in some cases you can just get another power brick

Yep. No problems at all! Works perfectly!

Xiaomi mi vacuum is easily the best bang for buck

It's is miles ahead better than the best Roomba, while being 1/4 of the price.

Best bang any buck

I own a Neato. It doesn't run around randomly like a roomba and maps the room, then sends your phone an image of where it vacuumed and such. It's pretty neat, although more expensive than $200.

Mom returned the one I got her for Christmas 😕

That bitch

Your username looks like a moose!

My roomba and my hair straightener are the only things I would save in a fire.

I have a Eufy Robovac too! I was extremely happy with it, especially since I paid it half price for Black Friday. I named him Lord Suckington.

Problem was it broke down two weeks later, there was something wrong with the motors that made the two little "feelers" in the front spin. But guess what, Eufy support just sent me a new one free of charge and they didn't even want to have the old one back (which I ended up fixing by disconnecting the two little motors, so it doesn't work as well as it used to but it still vacuums a little).

All hail Lord Suckington II.

Our dog hair just kept tangling up n the spinning sweep things and was impossible to get it out. Eventually had to give it away (the roomba).

I just got a robot vacuum cleaner for Christmas and it is already my favorite gadget. He just wanders around eating up dust, no need to think about it!

So for a multi level house do you just... Move it around periodically?

Yep! In general I run it in the finished basement on day 1, then the first floor on day 2, and the second floor on day 3, then repeat the cycle all over again.

This will get buried but consider this cautionary tale! The very first day I left my cats with robovac set to auto I came back to a disaster scene. My cat got stressed by the vac and barfed on the floor. Robovac smeared my whole apartment in parallel barf lines 1mm thick. 1/10 gave robovac to my mom.

We bought one a few months ago and our house has never looked cleaner. Not only does it keep the floors dust free but it motivates us to keep them picked up so it works better.

My parents in law saw it and even though my MIL hated it my FIL ordered one the next day.

Ive seen ones that also mop the floor, im thinking of buying those just to avoid me doing more chorse lol.

Less time mopping, more time on reddit. Can't beat that.

Yeah lol, its just im with my mom and she has the special skill of habit to make me mop when i am actually slightly busy.

I've really wanted one of these because our cats are hair factories.

The biggest hangup I have is there's a few doorways it would need to pass through that have a pretty significant height on the trim that I imagine it would just constantly get stuck on or not even try to pass.

My old place had pretty high trim pieces, too, but it never had any trouble.

How does it maneuver around toys? I try to pick up, but the kids inevitably leave messes

Mine will just go around. If they are really small (my cat toys, like little stuff mouse) will get stuck in it. I will probably try to suck up a lego.

Why would you do that?

Maybe he likes the way they taste?

Fair, taste is subjective. Probably a bit rough on the way out, though.

It gives my colon a good cleaning.

Yay! I love my eufy robovac too!

It actually broke down a little while ago and going back and forth with customer service we couldn't fix it, so they just sent me a brand new one. They're great.

I have been curious about these for a while. Usually I vacuum every weekend, or fortnighly.
Does it really do that good of a job you can delay doing that? Except for stairs of course, that would be magical though.

It really does - I run mine every-other day on the main level of my house and every week on the bedroom level. I take the vacuum out every month-or-so to get the corners, stairs, behind furniture, etc . . .

That sounds handy, I'll definitely look into it.

Just got one 2 weeks ago. I am finally winning the war with the dog hair. I always put up a fight with my shark vacuum but the pesky little hairs outnumbered me. Until one day, I came across an ally. I call him VC3PO. Him and I have taken down the dog hairs together. He helps me and I help him. It has been a life changing experience.

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And drop lock picks everywhere.

What if you have more than one floor or doors with the ~half inch wood boards under them?

This is what I told someone else: "In general I run it in the finished basement on day 1, then the first floor on day 2, and the second floor on day 3, then repeat the cycle all over again."

Mine has no problem getting over high-ish trim pieces.

We love Eufy! My son likes to put one of his little stuffed Pokémon on top and let them ride around the house lol

I keep trying to get my cat to ride mine but he's absolutely terrified of it.

You'd be terrified too if you rode a vehicle that kept driving towards walls only to stop mere millimeters away.

Do you have this one?

Have it on my wishlist for a while and waiting for a price drop :)

That's the exact one I have. It's seriously awesome!

Nice. I am currently testing one of the cheaper iRobots from a black friday deal, but it is constantly bumping into stuff. The eufy seems to be better in this regard. Can you confirm that?

I think it depends on how large the object is in front of it. For example, Eufy will always bump into chair legs because they are small. It will sense the bump and then change directions or try to turn slowly around the leg like it's hugging a corner to clean that area. But when it senses a long/large surface like a wall, it will slow down before reaching the wall and turn to avoid it.

Ok thanks for your feedback. That will be an improvement since the iRobot even bumps into white walls...

Np. Happy vacuuming!

Pretty sure my dog would think it's a new toy and destroy it.

I got a cheap one and it was horrible. Wouldn't vacuum my dark carpet, missed a ton of stuff, and tended to just spread dust and debris around. Sent it back and got a Neato. Twice as expensive, but so worth it!

I need one. My brother complains about the dog hair all the time. I could set it to run before he gets up.

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Well that’s on them for not using a regular vacuum every so often. The robovac is for in between actual vacuuming. It helps the floors not get as dirty.

How good are they with going over a ridge (where two rooms with laminate join) and a high pile rug?

Making it over high-ish trim isn't a problem - I had a 1/2" rise between my hallway and bedroom at my last place. My current place has high-pile carpet in the sitting and dining rooms. It runs slower, but still does a decent job.

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Yeah, it probably would. Cable management comes hand-in-hand with getting one.

I'd try taping them down.

An inexpensive robovac, especially if you have a cat or dog that sheds a lot.

My two dogs would require emptying the capacity of a robovac about every pass. I use a large upright and they fill the big container every use.

While speaking of vacuums, please let me just buy one with a bag. The bag-less ones are a chore in themselves to empty and leave a mess behind; worse if they have replaceable filters. How did Dyson pull off that one onto the public?

I think I need one of these. I vacuum daily. How is it on super long hair? I love with 4 long haired females and 2 other people. There's always so much dirt and hair.

Yea but then you have to find it and empty it 3 times a day because its holding value is basically nothing

How big is your place?

How do you stop those from falling off stairs?

They have a sensor.

Are there any that work on hardwood floors? I've looked around the interwebs, and can't find any. I'm worried the brush will scratch the wood.

It's not the brush. It's the stupid front wheel, because everyone uses a plastic one. You start seeing matte tracks around the corners after a few months.

I'm not sure I follow - Does the wheel scratch the floor, or just leave "trails" in the polish?

It scratches the floor after it follows along the walls and corners over and over again. It takes a few weeks to become noticeable.

Is your Robovac good on carpeted floors? I’ve been researching getting one to control the dust in my apt but my floors are mostly thin carpet

Deebot. highly recommend it.

Does it empty itself? Because I have a big mixed dog who sheds a LOT. A couple passes with any robot vacuum and their tank would be full.

If you have a dog ? Our vac lasted almost 2 days before it turned on and scared the dog rip

Yes! I have a golden retriever that sheds everywhere on dark hardwood floors. Got the deebot off Amazon for $150. Well worth it

My place is perfectly set up for one, it's on my to buy list for sure

lol, joke's on you, I vacuum monthly, and didn't buy any silly robots! $200 in the BANK!

wheezes from dust

This was what I immediately thought of! I paid $220 for my Eufy, though. It was a total game-changer!

Does that really work for heavy shedding? Shedding is the reason why we decided to NOT get one, the thought was that if it fills up a full size vacuum back in a couple of days then a Roomba won't last 2 minutes before we'd have to clean it out.

My mom got a couple roombas and now she doesn't vacuum every unless a mess is made. She's tried the cheaper ones but she say they arn't as smart and don't do anywhere near as good of a job. She has a dog and cat that sheds a fair amount and the time she used to spend vacuuming is now spent dehairing the furnature.

When mine tries to eat a charger I call it doofy

Every doorway in my apartment has a threshold so this is a no go for me but maybe when I move

We kinda want one, but aren't sure what to do since the living room is sunken. Are they smart enough to not fall off the ledge?

I want one, but I live in a 4 level split so it would never really be able to clean my home all that well.

I'm always paranoid that something small but important will end up on the floor and be sucked up. When I run the vacuum myself, I notice them and pick them up.

The Eufy robovac doesnt have replaceable batteries.

So if the battery dies, you have purchase an entirely new unit.

Holy shit yes, bought my iLife a month ago and it's been a wonder.

Is it worth it if you have a tiny terrace house and lots of stuff on the floor? Is it good around kitchen tables with chairs? Thinking of getting one but not sure I'll get my money's worth!

How?! We have the Dirt Devil M607 Spider and it's always full/clogged within 5 min. We have a cat and a dog

You can also check out shopgoodwill.com if you live in the US to find them used for cheap needing minor maintenance or cleaning to function.

How often do you have to empty it? My dogs shed quite a bit and I've wanted to try one but didn't think it would be all that useful due to size...also I think one of the dogs would try to eat it.

does it work well on hardwood flooring?

I have 2 Huskies and a Chihuahua. With the volume of fur they shed, I would be worried that I would be constantly emptying the vac so it would basically be $200+ eliminate the sweeping. How often do you empty/clean yours? Do you think it would still be worth it with that amount of dog fur?

how well would this work for a 600sqft apartment with lots of nooks and crannies, and furniture legs/pegs, and cables

i got my rumba and fucking love it. only issue is that it gets caught on stuff sometimes, so i sometimes have to play a game of where is the roomba today. other than that it is so awesome.

Check out Xiaomi's robot vacuums, as with all their products, it's cheaper and good enough

I have one on each floor of my house (3) and have them set to go every other day. It's amazing how much shit they actually pick up (I have a cat) throughout the week. I never vacuum anymore.

What kind of dog do you have? I’ve been considering this, but one of my dogs has long hair. Do you think it would work or would the hair just get tangled in the brushes all the time?

What is the longevity like on those things? I have a pretty hairy dog but I've been concerned that a Roomba type thing will work for only six months or a year before giving up the ghost.

Buy a square one, the round ones don't get into corners well at all.

I'm stuck here in my drafty apartment in a 100 year-old building in NYC where it's been in the single digits all week at night, so I ran out and got a $30 electric blanket at Target last weekend. I love it and I've never slept more placidly. It's like being wrapped in a hug from a big old golden retriever.

but what happens when you need to get up and leave the blanket tho? I would never leave the blanket if my house is freezing in the morning.

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A handcart with a UPS strapped on to keep the blankie plugged in. If you want to do this for real though, for $200 you can buy a heated jacket.

Every day is leg day when you put the ups in a backpack.

And if you run out of juice, lugging the thing around will keep you pretty warm

and handcart with UPS strapped to it, you say? You mean, like, brown truck and everything?

The real trick is getting the driver to sit still.

Just a delivery guy to cuddle with for warmth.

In case anyone ain't know UPS can also mean uninterruptible power supply. It's a big stupid battery with plugs for if your power goes out and you need something to stay on (commonly used to give you a chance to save your files on a pc). Blankies draw too much energy I think for this to be feasible, so just strap the UPS delivery drive to your handcart.

I have a heated jacket, they're worth every dollar it's like being wrapped in heated blanket

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Home depot I think, it's a dewalt

Here in the south we’ve been using tiki torches.

Yeah Milwaukee, the power tool brand, has heated hoodies. I’ve always wanted one, but they are pretty pricy.

Cool thing is they use Milwaukee batteries, so you can unplug your drill and turn on your hoodie.

I love my heated jacket

The constant beeping gets annoying though.

Sounds like you're paying a lot of money to look homeless.

heated jacket

/r/ofcoursethatsathing

It's for working outside in the cold. Heated gloves and socks are also widely made.

May I please upvote this twice? I am now thinking of someone walking through Wal-Mart as a heat-blanket-burrito wearing a huge backpack with a cable coming out to power the burrito XD

People called me crazy for my electric blanket pants idea, pssshhh they were the crazy ones.

In related news police shot dead a suspected suicide bomber in the contraceptive isle of Walmart.

They're evolving!

Milwaukee makes heated jackets. You can also charge your phone with it.

My boss gave his wife one of those jackets for Christmas. I LOVE the idea!

Electric Snuggie sounds like an untapped market to me.

https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/coz-e-electric-blanket

how big of a battery are we talking? I want this.

A power blanket.

A car battery with a strap

Tesla sells self-moving batteries

This is how iron man started

M E T A E T T E A T E M

You'd need a 110vac power bank which would be big and expensive.

Anker sells a really good one of these

Get Anker, incredible

They have timers on so they automatically power off after whatever you set it to. Never buy one without a timer, it’s a burn and fire hazard.

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I remember reading a book in 8th grade about a boy who left his electric blanket on all night and legit turned invisible due to a satellite that happened to fly overhead the same night. The book treated it as 100% real science. Never been able to remember what it's called though.

Edit: Holy shit guys, didn't except this to blow up, haha. Great to know this book wasn't just a figment of my imagination!

It's called Things Not Seen!

Not really relevant, but just remembered I took these photos comparing the print and Braille versions of this book. You know, in case you happened to be curious.

That's an interesting book (title-wise, is all I can tell) to use as a metric for Braille version sizes.

One of the main characters is blind. She can’t tell that he is invisible, so he starts talking to her because he is lonely.

Braille version is obviously bigger, since they have more things not seen.

It's literally just a list of things.

  1. Everything In The World

...rather short list.

til books come in non braille versions!

YES, and he made friends with a girl who became blind after a head injury? Oh my god I LOVED that book as a kid.

This is one of the reasons I love this place. If you have a white whale, someone will help you find it.

Speaking of which, has anyone seen (er, well) Teddy, my white whale? Unfortunately, he's invisible after a UPS/heating blanket issue....

It also had a sequel, Things Not Hoped For. The sequel was nowhere near as good.

Ahhh I've just been reminded of one of my favorite childhood books, Thanks!

I really hope Andrew Clements pulls a Judy Bloom and writes an adult book or two. His books for kids are so empathetic and personal, even reading them as an adult.

I remember reading that!

Holy shit this was my favorite book as a kid!

It's called 'Things Not Seen' by Andrew Clements. It was one of my favorite books as a kid. I don't think the reason is a satellite, but I won't spoil it in case anyone wants to read it.

Spoiler: It was two satellites

Spoiler: It was aliens.

Things Not Seen

I'm so glad this book isn't a figment of my memory and I actually read it!

I remember that book!!! I found it in a junk book pile without the cover and first couple of pages, never knew what it was called. Super good.

I remember that book!

Things not seen

Hahaha I read that one too

Was it "Things Not Seen", by Andrew Clements? I think I read that book in middle school too!

I read this same book!! I almost forgot about this. I think it might have literally been called "The Invisible Child" or something.

Glad I wasn’t the only one who thought of it right away

Wait, the boy or the blanket turned invisible?

Random thought this sparked: I read a book when I was a kid where a kid was crushed by a bookcase that fell over and he was flattened, but then just lived his life flat, and was able to slip into stuff like street drains.

Flat Stanley!

Whoa thats crazy. I accidentally stole this book from my elementary school on the last day of class...

That was a great book!!!

Yes! Every time I hear someone bring up an electric blanket in person (it's happened quite a few times recently - but I live in Canada, so makes sense that we're always talking about the cold, right?), I mention this book to them and it sounds stupid to them, but in actuality was a pretty convincing tale...

I read this too! "Things Not Seen". Wow, it's been awhile since I've thought of that.

Hey cool, an internet stranger that read the same book that I did! I wish I could help you remember the title...

The name of the book was Things Not Seen.

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Reminds me of that GI Joe clip from ebaums world. "Thats the funny thing. These people go to sleep thinking everything is ok. Then they wake up on fire".

I wonder if I could use a heated blanket to cook a chicken

Give a man a blanket, he's warm for the night. Melt a blanket through a man's flesh, he's warm for the rest of his life.

Which happily enough will be exceedingly short.

Read that as “the blanket would melt me” and now I have this fear.

I love the idea that you’re under the blanket and it’s reaching like 200 degrees and you refuse to get out from under it.

“It’s too cold out and it’s SO COZY UNDER THIS”

Not much any random internet stranger can do if your fear is admittedly irrational. Sounds like electric blankets aren't for you.

As a child I had an electric blanket...it caught fire in my sleep. Didn't burn me just smoked up the room. My parents smelled it ran to check rooms and pulled the plug put the flames out. Bright side I got a new blanket but not electric..shocker!

I studied Forensics at university, and we had guest lectures from specialists from time to time. One guy came to see us for a week of targeted lectures about fire investigation. One of those 90 minute lectures was dedicated to electric blankets. Maybe he had a grudge against them because his wife preferred to hug the electric blanket than him - I don't know. All I do know, is that after the numerous videos and photos he showed us of destroyed houses, and blackened, smouldering, melted human bodies (and sometimes their pets!!!!!!), I will never allow an electric blanket in my house.

This was like, 10 years ago now, and I'm sure if they were that deadly, they wouldn't be on general sale, but it's too late. The damage has been done. I would be too nervous to ever fall asleep using one :(

That is irrational. But all these guys are right; electric blankets are for timed, temporary use only. Not continuous.

My cousin, when he was maybe 6 or so, pissed himself in his sleep while he was (inadvisably!!) covered in a very much powered on electric blanket. He was only saved from getting skin burns because a relative just so happened to be walking by the bedroom, heard an ominous electric ssssSsSSss, and quickly thought AH, he pissed himself & I've got to unplug that blanket, get it off him.

But look on the bright side: You won't freeze to death.

That sounds like a really crap Superhero origin story

My car has 3 settings for heated seats: low, medium, high. If I set it to high, even through a coat, it feels like I'm being cooked.

But then do you become a hero or a villain?

Anti-hero. Blanket man is serious business.

You used to the “irrational” there and I’m not sure why.

I got a pretty bad shock from one a couple of years ago from a frayed heater wire. I've not used one since.

My irrational fear is about the blanket cooking my cat. He loves to sleep under the covers with me and I don't have the heart to kick him out, since I love it just as much. My first night with the electric blanket, I was super paranoid that he would somehow get overheated and I kept checking to see that he was still ok. He seems to be doing fine with it and I just try not to put it on all the way hot.

That’s not very typical, I’d like to make that point.

I don’t think they make them anymore without auto-shutoff.

Mine's fairly new and it doesn't shut off automatically. It has a separate controller for either side that lets you choose your heat setting (1-9) and stays on until I shut it off.

I've actually never seen one that wasn't on a dead man's switch. As soon as I let go of the button on mine it stops heating.

This unfortunately makes it useless for sleeping. A timer sounds more useful.

Yes. My old roommates electric blanket caught fire when she forgot to turn it off and left for the day. (No timer)

Yes was going to say this. A family member lost a lot of their stuff in college when someone in their dorm left it on and eventually started a fire.

You're saying this thing we sleep under could randomly burst into flames?

Isn’t that how that chick turned invisible?

Even if they don't have a timer that is manually adjustable, they do have auto-sleep type modes. They are never on 24/7.

I've left one on all weekend, so definitely not all of them

You never leave the blanket.

Source: Own one and use it in a drafty house that gets into the 40s-50s at night.

Your house isn’t drafty you’re missing a wall!

Pretty much. 1950s construction with no insulation in the walls. Hardly anything to speak of in the attic either. At least I'm somewhere it doesn't get terribly cold at night. My family gives me crap for complaining about how cold my house is, but then I stayed with them over the holidays and they kept their place at 65 all night. I don't care that it's 7 degrees outside, I'm sweating my nuts off inside with the house that warm, haha.

65 is pretty cold to this Florida dude. My ambient temp in the house is like 72

Lol same thought here from a Florida boi. How do you sweat at 65?

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Also Nebraskan: 73? Seriously? I turned my thermostat down to 67 this week. It's cold in my house, but not frigid.

Then again, I've got a heated mattress pad and flannel sheets. I sleep toasty.

My living room was 22 degrees last night. I just use a quartz space heater in the one room I sleep in. Saves monies.

At 22, your pipes will freeze which will cost you lots more monies than what you are saving by not running heat. Unless you're squatting in a crack house that has no running water to begin with.

I just realized you may be in Celsius because I'm a dumb American which is 71 Freedom degrees and you're totally fine.

I finally turned my heater on when my apartment got to 58 because I was worried about my dogs.

The fuck is wrong with you?

Found the Fresh Prince

Lol I thought this was a reply to my bidet post!

That's about my preferred sleeping temp oddly. Living in an upstairs apartment with neighbors on both sides I leave my bedroom window open unless my GF is over for the night.

I'm also one of those wierdo's that wears shorts year round and works in a freezer though.

I'll leave it sometimes, but only if it's to warm up while I'm brushing teeth and getting ready for bed. Climbing into a toasty warm bed is one of the simplest pleasures a person could have.

You need to insulate your place better my man.

...have you tried replacing your weather stripping? Using cling film on the windows? Caulking gaps? That kind of thing?

I've lived in drafty houses, and 40s-50s is ridiculous.

The house has, quite literally, zero insulation. In the summer, my east facing walls are over 90 degrees on the inside by 8 AM. The previous owner replaced all of the windows with dual pane ones, and I've sealed up all the drafty gaps I can find. There's no cental AC or heat, We've somewhat learned to live with it, and have some major renovations on the horizon.

Geez. Good luck with the renovations! I'm sure it'll be like night and day to have proper insulation installed.

I'm cold for an hour or so but then I get to my office where it's nice and toasty for the next 9 hours.

I would switch lives with you for a day

Same. I work outside in construction and am currently debating from the warmth of my bed if it’s actually worth going in today. It’s 14 our right now

Just during the day.

I only import residual heat from work.

Lucky you, my office is freezing :(

get a kotatsu

I don’t think you understand how much I want a fucking kotatsu my dude. To get one in the US is super difficult/expensive though, unless you want to try to make one yourself.

i could see diy not being super difficult, get a coffee table, put a space heater under it, put a blanket on top and then another flat piece of wood or maybe glass on top of that for a hard surface?

Buy a 10+ foot long cord for your electric blanket?

my gf uses one of these to walk around the flat when its cold.

ok but I don't think they ship mail-order-brides to my place ...

probably try this socalled darknet

Get yourself a Stark portable Arc Reactor. Makes Electric Blanket portability a possibility.

It's not fun...

Browse /r/AskReddit instead?

If you have to pee just pee on yourself for extra liquid warmth

I found a $10.00 personal sized 250 watt ceramic heater and it's been pretty legit. It won't heat a large room, but it keeps the immediate area in great shape.

Smoko do usb heated slippers and hand warmers. I plug mine in to a power bank and wander around in blissful warmth.

The electric blanket turns into an electric robe

Adult diapers <$200 life changing

Heated clothing?

Might be more than $200 bucks, certainly more than $30.

That's when you need electric sweatpants.

https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/coz-e-electric-blanket

Get a Nest thermostat... also under $200 and you will never have this problem.

That’s when you put on your Milwaukee heated hoodie. Seriously, I work outside in Canada and this thing is life changing

A $5 can of spray foam can do wonders. People used to think I did miracle work filling in all the drafty areas around their homes. Like not even $5 a can. $20 for infrared thermometer and you can find all these places.

Linus had the right idea. Bring the blanket with you!

Get a 10 foot+ long charger for your blanket and put it in your living room. We're talking under $15 here.

Heated hoodie. Battery lasts about 8 hours per charge on low.

Pack a small bag with some snacks and water and keep it by your bed in case of blanket-induced paralysis.

I have a soft, fuzzy electric blanket that insulates extremely well while unplugged, to the point that I haven't plugged it in in nearly a year.

Maybe he should buy a blanket for the apartment so it doesn't get cold.

My Golden Retriever follows me around.

keep a bathrobe under your blanket with you while you sleep to keep it warm. then slip into it before leaving your bed.

Tube of caulk: $3

You just need a long extension cord, duh.

Not sure how much they are but I had one with a timer - have it turn off an hour or two before you should get up so you won't be cold but it's easier to leave.

My heaters died in the middle of december in Canada and I got a space heater. Point it in the general direction of the bed. Get out of bed, area around bed is also warm, enough to get dressed before braving the rest of the apartment

This is where I found a good oldfashioned candle can heat up an apartment pretty well. If you ever noticed your apartment in summer gets unbearable if there are just 2 people blowing out hot air, if they're talking, ac time. I've had a bad landlord for years and found 1 candle can heat up 1200sqft apartment with 1 person, better than a combination of most space heaters.

I'm sorry but what? One candle has the effective BTU of one adult person existing in the room so unless you'd heat your room by inviting Paul or Ashima over for a game of cards then this wouldn't do an awful lot.

Works out to a little over 400 BTU for a good quality and sized candle so unless that is more economical than actually heating your apartment I'd call shenanigans.

I had 4 heaters barely fixing what felt like a cold cellar. One candle was more effective than all 4 ($100+/ea) heaters

The hell candle are you using that outperforms four space heaters?

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Amen. They cost about 15 bucks a box and cover a handful of windows, but stop all the drafts. They can be a little bit of a pain to put up by yourself depending on the window.

I just looked up a couple of videos... What do you do when you want to open the windows again? Is it easy to remove he shrink wrap?

It pulls off. You just pull slow and steady when you do it.

I grew up in a drafty Victorian house, and we used cling film every winter.

Or Target. Because Wal-Mart is the devil.

I'm usually a sweaty guy, but a heated blanket under my comforter with the windows open in -3 degree weather in massachusetts has been the best sleep I've gotten in years

EDIT: cracked/partially open (my beds next to a window) not fully opened. Though I did open them fully one night when it was in the 40s

Man, your heating costs must be insane to have the windows open in -3 degrees

More than that it's just a monumental waste of energy.. The rest of the world is separating plastics and paper and this guy's blasting electric heaters with the windows wide open, below freezing.

Actually, I had to keep my windows open in weather like that too. I was on the 3rd floor of a building with radiators. Tenants had no control of them, they just turned on when it got cold enough. Being on the 3rd floor, heat from lower units would rise, and the apartment would get horribly unbearably hot. The only way to have a tolerable living space was to open windows.

I was in the same situation years ago when I lived in Warsaw. Big old communist-style block, me on the 6th floor. Comes to winter, it's -10 outside and i'm in my t-shirt at home with the windows open.

I mean, if you don't have to pay for the energy, that sounds like a dream.

Same here, I used to live in a building with steam radiators. We did have local control of those, but even with the radiators off, there were still steam pipes running floor to ceiling for the apartments upstairs. Those pipes alone kept the apartment so hot that I frequently had to crack open a window, even with snow and ice outside.

that's the kind of thing that would make me go down there and covertly destroy the radiators.

Then when the first floor people get them repaired to a modern one, you roast even harder.

hah! Well their upgrade better have precise temperature sensors, or else they're losing their radiators, again

Now you are just a tenant who keeps trying to make the building uninhabitable in the middle of the winter.

bullshit I am. One of my neighbors is, not me

I also had a third floor apartment - I had my themostat set as low as it could go all winter long, and we would go sub-zero many, many days during the season.

I definitely think public heating/cooling should err on cooler. Tenants can just use space heaters (if it's not an insurance issue) or get a snuggie/comfy sweater.

Well, there are laws about how warm apartments have to be kept (I think it's 20°C where I live), and they don't want to get in trouble for violating that. No laws for maximum temperatures, though I think they're adding those in for new buildings.

What.... He never said anything about using an actual heater, everyone is putting words in his mouth to make him sound bad.

but a heated blanket

and of course there's other heating on, it's -3°. All his shit would literally freeze without heating.

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If that isn't done, it's guaranteed to end up in a landfill.

Not where I live. We have a single bin for recycling and a single bin for trash. There are people who are paid to sort the recycling once it reaches the recycling center, AFAIK.

Where I'm from there's large roll off bins placed around the city, dedicated to their own materials, and a fleet of trucks picking them up 7 days a week.

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There's nothing inherently wrong with that.
Energy is not the only thing used when making a product and energy can be sourced cleanly.

And then you exacerbate the landfill issue by saving that energy. If you don't recycle, that shit has to go somewhere.

Is the landfill issue an issue? My understanding is it's reasonably sustainable, though I guess they can have negative ecological effects?

They produce methane which is problematic if not captured, produce toxic runoff if not sealed correctly, and stink up everything for miles around and nobody wants to live near one for obvious reasons.

They're a waste of land if you have the means to keep things out of them. And not every country has the land to just open up landfills wherever they need.

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Countries like Japan or Singapore would disagree with you.

I'm fairly certain this is only true for glass and tin, perhaps some types of plastic, definitely not all though.

I heard on NPR a while back that China actually isn't buying much of our recyclables anymore since they're getting so good at recycling themselves. It's actually getting to be kind of a problem for the US.

My neck of the woods here in Canada it's quite the opposite, we send off multiple tractor trailers per day headed to the coast and then off to China.

I think there's got to be more to it. Not least of which being the absolute enormity of consumption and waste in the USA. I can understand China not wanting to take it on.

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You sleep through your Science classes focused on ecology and sustainability or what?

Nothing you've said changes this science fact: it takes more energy to recycle paper and plastic that it does to make it new. That seems to hurt your feelings, but that is not some magic pass which allows you to violate thermodynamics.

It's not about energy used it's about reducing waste. It becomes more efficient with renewable energy becoming more and more common.

No, it's about energy used.

The original exchange was taking directly about energy. I was also talking about energy. You can talk about whatever you want, but it doesn't speak to the original comment, or to mine.

The point was that the original exchange was arguing the wrong point. Separating and reusing materials was never about saving energy it was about reducing waste that goes to landfill. Saving energy is just a part of it. It's just not what it's about. If it cost more to keep leftover food to eat the next day rather than cook it all fresh the next day people keep the leftovers because throwing out food that you can eat the next day is a waste. Thats the point, it applies to the original conversation.

The same argument applies to farming, free range is considered much better than factory even though factory is much more efficient.

The point was that the original exchange was arguing the wrong point.

Agreed.

Agreed again.

I was thinking you meant sorting recyclables is more energy than it's worth. Like how getting up off the couch takes up energy, and is ultimately a waste.

It's so nice though, I love doing it on my car. Windows wide open but heater on full blast and heated seats so I'm.nice and toasty but can also enjoy the breeze.

You should get a convertible to level that up

It's such a waste of energy and money though...

He likes the thing that costs money = not a waste of money.

Not in a car

Us frugal people heat the car up until it's warm, then turn the heat down.

There’s no additional wasted energy from using a heater in a car.....

😂.

If heat isn’t removed from he engine and put in the cabin in addition to the front radiator, it will all be removed at the front radiator.

There’s no saving to turning the heater down in a car...

Unless you have an electric car

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Do you think the radiator magically cools the engine?

Through the radiator or into the cabin; your engine has excess heat that needs to dissipate. You will not see a noticeable change in fuel efficiency from using the heat in your car.

While the fan uses electricity, it’s such a small load on the already spinning alternator the fuel consumption would be immeasurable.

Not in a car though.

Not if you do it in a car. It's not like running the heat with your windows down uses more gas than running less heat with the windows up.

Maybe, but it's fun so who cares?

It's actually not an issue really, the bills haven't been bad. the house is usually kept low anyways

His parents pay for it so it doesn’t matter.

*He said projectingly. *

Is “projecting” the in thing these days?

I don't know Cyril, is it?

Stop replying to me you pervert

I like your style

How tf, windows open in -3, i mean does your comforter freeze over, how bout loose toes?

It'll only get to like 50 in my room with the windows cracked really isn't that bad lol

You said “open” not cracked

Fair enough, I'm not incorrect, just didn't clarify well enough

They're lying on the internet. It happens.

Leaving your window open with the temperature below zero all night could legitimately be dangerous. They sound cool and edgey though, so they have that going for them them.

With your feet poking out the covers!

But that's how monsters eat you duhhh...hard no for me

RIP your pipes

Negative. Pipes are in good shape

Do you want the EAR/ONS Snowman to enter your house through those open windows?

☝️ lies on the internet

You're welcome to come snuggle if you'd like.

Dude....why would you leave your window open in such cold weather? Either A: you are racking up a massive gas/electric bill. Or B: you aren't using heat and are at risk for frozen pipes.

1) my room is closed off from the rest of the house. Ambient temperature in my room is around 60 or 55 degrees with the windows cracked, the rest of my house is 63 (we keep it cold to begin with anyways)

So far our bill has been cheaper this winter than other winters where we kept it far warmer.

2)the pipes won't freeze in our house at the temps we have it set to. The pipes are insulated in my house for the most part, so if the power goes out (which it won't because we're on a good part of the grid) they won't freeze.

Try an electric mattress pad - heat rises after all!

It's nice to turn it on 15 mins beforehand and have a warm bed to get into, I rarely sleep with it on though or I'll wake up drenched in sweat

But for God's sake, do not try the two together. The combination can cause overheating that can inflict severe damage to you before it becomes uncomfortable enough to wake you.

There is a non-zero chance it can kill you, by sending you into heat prostration and then cooking you while you're unconscious. I can't honestly cite an instance of it happening, but on paper, it's a possibility.

even if you have an electric blanket, you can use as an electric mattress pad. they are made from the same components and parts.

It pretty sure that’s exactly what an electric blanket is. Well in NZ that is.

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So we are in agreement that you are wrong?

What’s the name of the blanket you got?

You can also spend 50$ at home depot for cheap weather stripping and foam insulation. Make sure your front door is nice and snug and cut foam insulation so it fits in your window, then snug it up with something cheap like paper towels.

It won't change how much heat escapes through your walls, but it'll keep the draft away.

The only thing better than electric blankets are Quilted heated mattress pads. I used to sleep in thermal and sweatshirts with a few blankets in the winter, now I use one blanket in my shorts and t shirt on the coldest nights.

As a counter-point to your excellent suggestion, I would go with the heated mattress pad. That way you're warmed from the bottom, and can still sleep with any blankets you like. If you roll a little bit you won't hit a cold patch of your sheets/mattress and hate life.

I got my mom one this Christmas. Great timing. I’m a little south of. Chicago and it’s been too cold. Last Friday till yesterday it never was above 0. Lowest I saw was -16.
I love winter. I love snow. I talk about it all the time. But this ? Day after day of being on avg -8. Nope.

My moms glad school doesn’t start back up till Monday. No way kids could’ve gone to school then. To wait outside for the bus and such. Nope.

A sleeping bag also works.

Fuck yeah currently laying in bed with my $30 target heated blanket. It gets nice and toasty and my cat loves it too. $30 is a steal too compared to the others I’ve found.

Please be careful sleeping with that plugged in. They have been known to catch fire, or go nuclear and get insanely hot.

Or turn you invisible during solar flares

Speaking of electric blankets:

http://kron4.com/2018/01/02/video-elderly-womans-electric-blanket-catches-fire-in-oakley/

It just happened a couple of days ago.

There's been quite a few cases. I remember once it resulted in a house being burned down and a woman with her elderly mother died.

Family members tell KRON4 the blanket was around 20 years old.

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That is not how magnet fields work.

Try a hot water bottle with a knit cover as well. They're like $13 on Amazon. You'll love it

May I suggest investing in foam tape to help slow or block the drafts?

Same. $40 space heater made all the difference in my tiny apartment with tiny radiator that I can't control

Shit, I gotta get a dog now!

In Australia (the parts that get cold sometimes) an electric blanket is designed to go between your mattress and fitted sheet. You turn it on a bit before you go to bed and it warms the doona and everything. They're awesome.

I like heated mattress pads better because they don't get tangled up and overheat like blankets do

I've been sleeping with a small one at my feet every night for a couple years now. I've never had better sleeps.

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A few years ago I was doing research on off-grid living, where your only sane electricity option is large battery arrays. I was quite surprised to find that electric blankets are usually very energy efficient, to the point of being your most economical way to stay warm in cold weather.

Direct skin contact is vastly more effective than trying to heat up all the air around you. [Same goes for cooling, actually, making ice for an ice vest and using fans + shade costs a fraction of what air conditioning will.]

I started sleeping with a heated mattress pad a couple years ago. I will NEVER go back.

Get an ir thermometer for $20 from Home Depot. Find the drafts easy and stuff with steel wool then spray foam. Be amazed how much nicer it’ll be and keeps some roaches/rodent out. Did to my last apartment in Brooklyn and made huge difference.

No fears of getting cooked in your sleep? They are probably safe but I always wonder if I’ll become a hot pocket.

Plenty of fears. So I let it heat up my covers for an hour or so before I nod off, and then when it's nice and toasty, I unplug it. I sleep with 3 blankets and the electric one is the middle layer, so it retains the heat for hours.

I need this. I will buy one on Friday. Thank you for the recommendation.

That's nice and all but I'd be worried. I bought one of those huge soft blankets on deployment and they keep berthing like 40-50 degrees so it doesn't stink. And I still sweated at night. Love it!

It's like being wrapped in a hug from a big old golden retriever.

Does the blanket leave you some slobber though?

I have an old electric blanket from before they got regulated/watered down for consumers. That motherfucker will roast you like a suckling pig on its highest setting. I absolutely love it and I worry about when it finally stops working.

Alternatively, you could buy a golden retriever.

you could probably make the place a lot nicer to live in with just a small bit of weather proofing. I've lived in a few old houses here in Buenos Aires, and yes it sucks in winter. Foam tape works great for drafts, and I use thin sheets of polystyrene foam to cover the glass, works really well.

NYC law requires it to be at least 68 degrees inside the apartment during the winter months

Seriously? That's a bit too hot for me.

Yeah. I just looked it up because my apartment is freezing

Prepare to be amazed even further: Put the blanket under your sheets, instead of over you, and turn it on 5-10 minutes before you get into bed. with your regular covers (bonus points for a duvet), it's even better to get into bed and be instantly rid of the cold.

For those living with a partner, Costco has a King sized one for $70.

Best freaking purchase ever!!

The real LPT is to buy one and put it under your fitted sheet on your bed. Then when you go to bed put it on the lowest setting and get in to bed. Nice and cozy all night during the winter and can make up for not turning your heater on during the night.

Be careful, though. My family won't touch them because when my brother was a kid he got 2nd degree burns from an electric blanket catching on fire.

Huh. My roommate had an electric blanket. It was great for a while, then all the little heating wires inside it got bunched up at one end, so like your ankles would be crazy hot, and everything else would be cold. I'm not sure if this was just bad design for that particular blanket, or if all of them do that.

Also, go to Home Depot or something and get a few rolls of that weather strip sticky-back foam. It won't solve all the drafty issues, but you can put it around you windows and doors, which are the biggest problem places.

Dear god, I can't think of anything worse for sleeping that a hot blanket laying on top of me. Give me a down comforter with a nice 45-50° room.

I got one for Xmas! While I'm not on the east coast or Midwest, it's still freezing where I live and I also live in a drafty 100 year old apartment. This is my 3rd year here. After the first year I didn't use the baseboard heaters (my electric bill was over $250 for a 500 sqft space). I got space heaters. One for my living room and one for my bedroom. Thought those were great (my bill went down to just over $100 for cold weather). I would turn my heat up when I got home but otherwise kept the temp around 60 degrees F. But this bad boy. This beautiful creation by man! I don't mess with my space heaters (set at 62) anymore. I set my blanket at 5 or 7 (out of 20) and I hunker down for homework, or reading, or TV time. Either way I'm not coming out until spring!

What happens if you spill water on it? Also is there a statistic somewhere on how many fires are caused by them? I like them in theory but I don't want a chance of burning a house down.

I don't let it run all night. I run it for an hour and let it warm up my bed, then I unplug it and go to sleep.

Leaving an electric blanket on all night is a huge fire hazard 🔥

Head on over to your nearest asian market!

During the wintertime, they will more often than not have sales on heated bedding and heated blankets!

I picked up a new one a month ago for cheap!

Ah, the cosiness of falling asleep wrapped up in a cheaply produced fire hazard.

They prefer to be called wise, not old.

Heated mattress pad is better.

I was electrocuted by using one after the shower...

Try this stuff, brother. http://www.dap.com/dap-products-ph/seal-n-peel-removable-weatherstrip-sealant/

You should start doing the Japanese thing with it - during the day, lay it on the floor of the living room with a rug/blanket/quilt on top of it. Throw a couple of cushions down there and forsake your sofa for the rest of winter

Slept on my heating pad last night!

I use an autism blanket and it's pretty neat. Though itchy, so you have to use it on top of your regular blanket.

Weighted blankets are really good for anxiety, too!

Consider window insulation and draft finders.

Instructions unclear, plugged golden retriever into outlet. House smells funny. Still cold.

I just bought a seal for the bottom of my apartment door on Amazon, stopped all the draft coming in from the hallway and my heater is already performing better.

Have you seen "My Dinner with Andre?"

Can’t think about electric blankets without thinking of Trainspotting (the book)

Wait, where is there a Target around here? I'm freezing.

Instructions unclear, bought golden retriever.

This! I got one for Christmas in 2016 and it's one of the best gifts I've gotten as an adult. My cats love it, too. Some people use them just to pre-warm their beds before climbing in.

This. But I go OG and just sleep with a hug from a big old Labrador retriever.

Currently freezing cold in Florida.

Few years ago, my mom bought me an electric blanket as a Christmas present.

That thing has seen some use this week. I'm in bed, under that heated blanket typing this because, motherfucker, it's cold out there, even with the heater running.

Try putting up plastic window kits, slows down the cold air coming in a lot.

Do you tape them on? How do you not mess up the paint on the trim?

They come with double sided tape that won't rip the paint off the trim if you remove it slowly. I have peeled some paint off but its either covered by the blinds or I paint over it in 30 seconds if its bothering me. I can't really add up how much money they save me in heating costs but I'd say it has to be a decent amount because the rooms will retain heat better.

I will give it a go. I have two rooms that are significantly cooler than any of the others. Thanks!

Thank you for helping me get over my mental block. I've done 4 windows now and it has helped immensely! I've also figured out to take the blinds off and stick directly to the window casing, so I can put the blinds back up! Looks almost like it isn't there!

Np, the first time you do it its a pain but once you get a system down you can fly through them.

Next try a heated mattress pad!

It's all good until you come in drunk one night and end up pissing the bed.

Cats love them too!

This!!!! My husband asked what I wanted for Christmas this year....I gave him my list that included an electric blanket. He decided to get me 1 for the bedroom and 1 for the living room.

I swear I do not know how I went 47 years without one before.

Nice try Target

Wrap your windows! Cuts out the draftiness! Cost less then 12$ for a box kit.

Omg I was eyeing this blanket the other day.

single digits all week

That's cute it's been -20 here for awhile...

But the big question is: single digits Celsius, or single digits Fahrenheit?

Once I picked up an electric blanket hoping the the same thing, but for some reason it really bugged me that I was under it. Like I could FEEL the electricity buzzing :S

Electric blanket changed my life. I am always sad the morning I wake up TOO hot in the spring and have to pack it up in the closet.

My boyfriend got me one from target as well for Christmas. It’s so comfy

Spend the remaining $170 on insurance.

Get that wrap film for your windows, it works brilliantly. It's basically like saran wrap you put around your windows. It traps a pocket of air between your window and the apartment, which dramatically reduces heat lost to the outside. I used to live in a loft with a huge skylight that made the place about 50 degrees with all three of my space heaters blazing. After installing the wrap it was a comfy 75 with just one heater set to medium.

I did this and was awesome but I found something weird with it. I like things really warm even when I'm not cold, "warm" temps just dont feel warm to me until they are very warm... (dunno, I'm weird.) As such I do things like make the shower super hot, baths that can give me signs of heat exhaustion (not recommended) and a really warm blanket. But then I get acclimated to the warm so bad (like a floridian) that being in the cold is /too/ cold and almost unbearable. I dont use a heated blanket anymore. -.-'

Right now there is a snow hurricane going on outside. By Saturday, the low is supposed to be 1deg F.

Be very careful about the heat, I know someone who suffered some serious burns because they left it on too high for too long.

In my opinion, a sleeping bag is a better option. Its like a sock for your body, plus no electricity.

Speaking as somebody in the same kind of drafty NYC apartment, we just decided to stuff our window gaps with paper towels. It raised our temp by 20 degrees in here.

I get cold very easily, so my dad bought me a woobie. Best blanket ever.

https://store.kifaru.net/mobile/woobie-p72.aspx

Story of my life right now. Just went out and got plastic for the windows to cover the drafts. Great decision.

I got my grandma (has paralysis from a stroke) a nice one for Christmas and she loves it, the problem is now she loves it too much and gets super sweaty

If you like electric blankets try an electric mattress pad (Target link). Having the warmth come from below feels sooo nice.

I got exactly the same blanket for my computer chair. I loved it so much I went out and got the $70 Queen size for my whole bed. It really has changed everything.

You know how awesome it feels like to bundle up in sheets right from the dryer? It's like that EVERY TIME.

If you know where it's drafting, get those plastic window cover sheets that use a hair dryer to tighten up and cover up them gaps.

Saves you oodles of cash on your bills

Dude, try a heated mattress pad. It's even better because the heat comes from below and is trapped by the blankets.

You've just helped me so immensely. My heater just broke!! Thank you :)

Where is there a target in nyc? I know there’s one in Harlem but It’s too far up for me.

Blankets are good, but heated mattress pad is better since it heats from the bottom up.

I did that to but then went with a space heater. So amazing.

I told my mom I ordered an electric blanket and she gave me an electric mattress cover. As soon as that blanket comes in I'm going to be the toastiest motherfucker that ever was.

Girlfriend got me a raspberry pi for Christmas. The kit was $50. I've never been more motivated to learn to program than I am now. I'm not a complete stranger to programming. I program CNC machines every day at work. But computer programming isn't something I ever really got into. But ever since I got the Pi I come home every day and dive right into python. I'm already using it to generate CNC machine code to make my life at work easier.

The Pi itself has so many awesome practical uses too. Which I will get to when I get better at python.

Yep, I got my first one a few months ago for my 3D printer. Now I have another one as a combo vpn, automated torrent box, network -wide ad blocker, NAS, and Plex server. It can also dual boot into RetroPie, for playing retro video games.

I'm having issues with Plex remote access playing nice with the VPN, so I'm ordering another this week for a dedicated Plex machine.

Can you elaborate on your automated torrent box? Does that directly load into your plex media? Sounds really intriguing!

Sure, what would you like to know?

  • My Raspberry Pi3 is running a bittorrent client with watch folder on the NAS, with CouchPotato to automatically add .torrent files to the watch folder from my watchlist on IMDB.

  • I have a VPN running on this system 24/7 for privacy, I pay for a quality service to minimize speed impact.

  • Plex pulls from the folders that the bittorrent client downloads to (again on the NAS, so I can access files from any PC in the house.)

  • The torrent client automatically notifies me when a torrent is done downloading, stops seeding when it hits my desired ratio, and auto-manages .torrent files.

  • The Rasperry costs pennies a day to run (the cost of electricity, basically.) It cost ~$60 up front with accessories, and the NAS drive cost ~$120, bringing the total cost under $200, much cheaper than you could get for a dedicated traditional server, with easy expansion options.

This essentially means I have to do nothing to maintain the torrent box, and it automatically adds to Plex when it's done. I currently have a 4tb NAS, though I'm sure I'll expand soon.

Thanks for the info. I'm gonna check this out and see if it's for me, haven't worked with torrents in years but I'm excited to give a setup like this a go! Which vpn do you recommend? Ive also never used an NAS drive. Did you use tutorials or was this your own project?

I'm currently using AzireVPN, but I'm considering moving to Nord since they have a wider server selection, it will come down to price once my year is up.

NAS stand for network attached storage, which basically means you have a hard drive plugged into either a machine or router that is usable by the whole network.

There are plenty of tutorials out there, then you can customize to fit your needs once you have the basics down.

I know what I'm doing tomorrow...

Let me know if you need any help!

Aaaye Pi Plex server is the best my brother. Just make sure everything is encoded so the pi doesn't have to transcode anything.

Oh yeah, I have a quality filter for only mp4 or mkv with AAC. :)

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Lol until you start making websites with ads. Then you'll get home from work and be like wtf why arent ads popping up.

I'm going to school to be a machinist. We had someone in class make a 3D printer with one and then machined all the parts. I have a pi zero that I planned to turn in to a CNC lazer engraver using 2 DVD writer assemblies. You can easily combine your CNC experience with your pi. I mostly know how to run a mazak lathe and some minor EIA functionality right now.

I got a few laying around. All I use them for is Super Mario Bros. I really need to learn CSS, HTML, and Python soon.

Nah those are baby languages. Learn BASIC STAMP.

Or start running your own slow as heck VPN server

Nah those are baby languages. Learn BASIC STAMP.

They're great for running Kodi as well (media center if you're unfamiliar)

My man. Wait until you get retropi installed and a usb joypad. If your youth was anything like mine prepare to spend a lot of time indoors reliving it.

I have a pi flashing LEDs on my desk right now. I code for much of the day at work and come home to make lights go on and off and it's oddly brilliant.

I'm going to school to be a machinist. We had someone in class make a 3D printer with one and then machined all the parts. I have a pi zero that I planned to turn in to a CNC lazer engraver using 2 DVD writer assemblies. You can easily combine your CNC experience with your pi. I mostly know how to run a mazak lathe and some minor EIA functionality right now.

Always cool to see a fellow CNC programmer on a non-machining subreddit!

Those things are so amazing. I once used one to build a security camera for my house.

What all does it do? A co worker has one and emulates thousands upon thousands of video games on it, everything from ps1 to snes and even some 64

Computer programming can be really interesting when you realize everything that can be done with it. I've been wanting to setup a raspberry pi for a magic mirror.

What kind of programs you can write with python for pi?

what awesome practical uses are you Thinking of?

Some projects I'd really like to do are building a weather station with it and making a CNC laser engraver.

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TIL a $30 mini computer is for rich white kids.

Ardiunos are much cheaper since you can build them in an electronics class. I grew up very poor and always really wanted a PI. I couldnt order one online without a card or PayPal. So, I built an Ardiuno in my electronics class. He let us keep whatever we made. Was a great class.

I have braces and recently got a waterpik. No more bits of food stuck anywhere!

I just bought one on Amazon after a friend referring me to one. I don't have braces but use toothpicks a lot and would prefer not to. Seems like the best solution.

Do not use tooth picks. Its a surefire way to end up with periodontal disease and bigger holes between your teeth.

Try floss. If the holes between your teeth are too big try a softpick or a proxabrush

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Waterpiks are NOT replacements for flossing. It should be used in conjunction.

I'm not saying they are a replacement for flossing. I'm saying they're a replacement for toothpicks.

Gotcha. Kinda misread your comment as a reply to the second part of the other guy's comment.

The only evidence that daily flossing is needed for healthy teeth is anecdotal at best. In fact, US dietary guidelines have omitted reference to flossing because there is no significant studies that support it. I floss, but only when I need to and not daily.

Interesting, I had no idea. I'm in the same boat as you, though. Only floss when I need to. I think there's an argument still to be made that there's no negative health effects, and only positive, so why not.

Nothing wrong with that, but most dentists will tell you you must floss after each meal (or at least daily) or lose your teeth based on nothing except maybe a desire to make their job easier.

Necroing an old comment, but I was just thinking about this today.

And it occurred to me... Why should we necessarily care about the Dietary Guidelines on flossing when the American Dental Association is still standing by flossing once per day?

Based on what though? Opinion? Fuck opinions. I want truth. I never told anyone to not floss. I only stated what the truth is and that truth is that no science says that you must gloss daily for healthy teeth and gums. I am against anyone saying a thing is a thing without supporting data and/or debate. I know we're not discussing this but this is how government creates stupid laws based on nothing other emotion. I don't floss daily and my dentist compliments my teeth. I place importance on proper 2 minute brushing. I floss when I need to floss. Saying you must floss daily to keep your teeth in your mouth is arbitrary. I don't do arbitrary.

I mean, the ADA commented on it publicly here. They do have a few different sources that they list below.

Whatever you end up believing, I think it's still important to note the ADA's last points. It's a cheap and relatively quick process that still have benefit, even if some say it's only a little benefit.

Sure, I can agree with that. I just don't agree with a dentist telling patients that it is necessary and that's all.

I think it's "necessary" because on average, not everyone is like you and makes sure to brush their teeth and make sure to, at minimum, clean up anything that is stuck in their teeth.

So it's just easier for the dentist to say it's required and hope at least for some low percentage adoption rate.

So, it's easier to lie to everyone?

No, I think it's easier to talk about the worst case scenario to at least get people to sometimes do it.

If dentists told the average person that flossing wasn't necessary or never even mentioned it, they would never do it. So those situations where you are flossing to get rid of some small things between your teeth? They wouldn't ever do. Plaque can and will build up in the pockets of space in the gums and cause problems.

Of course, not everyone is different, but to say flossing has zero benefit whatsoever, would be false.

Of course, not everyone is different, but to say flossing has zero benefit whatsoever, would be false.

Who said that?

I guess I just don't understand why you hate the fact that dentists recommend flossing every day so much. There is virtually no downside, and definitely has a benefit, even if it's not quite as good as most say.

Because I value the truth. They can recommend all they want but you should know that it is only their opinion and not based on clinical studies. Can you find one that supports flossing everyday? Probably, but you can also find studies that say differently.

Look all I did was make a statement that the science behind flossing is inconclusive. I brought truth and nothing more. There is no hate.

But it still is beneficial to floss vs not flossing, so why not?

You're still trusting an USDA study over an ADA one which makes little sense to me. CDC also recommends flossing. Sure, they may not explicitly say to do it every day, but I don't see anyone saying there are negative side effects to flossing whereas there are negative side effects of not flossing.

i dunno man. floss some of your clean looking gums. give the scraped bio film a whiff. yea you'll floss daily after that

I imagine water picks are also bad in the same way as sticks.

Why would that be? They use water, and don't physically move aside your gums like toothpicks do.

Because the pressure is akin to stabbing your gums lightly, similar to poking at them with a stick.

I know that my gums felt pain when I used to use a waterpik

Girlfriend who's a dentist gets angry at me every time I suggest it. She say's "do you know what those do to your gums? They push your gums away from the roots of your teeth exposing them to damage".

According to her, a soft pick in a size that works for you that cleans between the teeth is better and a soft(!!) electric toothbrush.

Not sure if it's true, but my teeth are good.

My dentist recommends the waterpik every time I go. It was the only thing that helped me when I had braces. It's a godsend!

Might be different as you need to keep your braces clean too.

I don't wear them anymore. Every dentist I have ever seen has recommended the waterpik.

I've been using a waterpik for 4 years now. I have since had 0 cavities and 0 issues. I use it at half pressure.

I'm sure it works for most, just relaying what my girlfriend said! :) Using at half pressure seems reasonable though.

Dentist here. Toothpicks will NOT give you periodontal disease or black triangles (holes between your teeth). However it is not an effective way to clean, floss is much better, or interproximal brushes if you have more space.

Dentist here too, ive seen a handful of patients who have damaged their gums with toothpick use. Definitely seen black triangles because of it.

I am not saying you can't damage your gingiva or papilla with too much pressure and cause a small black triangle, but in an otherwise healthy mouth toothpick use doesn't cause periodontal disease and bone loss significant enough for black triangles.

Youre absolutely correct. I usually still tell people not to use it, because it is very easy to damage.

If the holes between your teeth are too big try a softpick or a proxabrush

Wait a minute, so I didn't need to have those teeth just taken out last month? Not even kidding.

Im assuming there was something else going on.

Huh... on the contrary, I was told by my dentist to use these tapered tooth picks daily, and he even gave me a package for free.

You kind of push them as far as they can go, and then go back and forth a few times to rub against both teeth. You use them with the flatter side against your gums, and then the sharp side away from it. They have a grainy surface that helps grind down whatever might be stuck in there.

Oh jeez - I didn't know that about toothpicks. Can you elaborate? Once upon a time I used tooth picks regularly because I was quitting chewing tobacco. I'd assume the toothpicks are healthier than chewing tobacco but I'd love to hear more on their dark side..

Thanks!

But floss is actually pretty useless.

I got told to use it as a last resort if I can't get a tooth pick between my teeth.

what the fuck are you talking about you definitely have to floss

http://www.ada.org/en/science-research/science-in-the-news/the-medical-benefit-of-daily-flossing-called-into-question

Although “flossing” is the term commonly used for interdental cleaning, interdental cleaning devices include not only dental floss, but also wooden sticks, small brushes, and oral irrigators (i.e., “water flossers”).

It's benefit is inconclusive, there's not enough research done and what has been done shows either little or no benefit.

Only one meta-analysis study showed a benefit for interproximal caries:

A meta-analysis of studies examining the impact of flossing on interproximal caries, found that regular (5 days per week) professional flossing resulted in a statistically significant reduction in interproximal caries, a result that was not seen with intermittent (every 3 months) professional flossing nor self-flossing.4

Thanks for doing the bare minimal research, but being condescending to the maximum.

my “research” is that i have teeth and when i don’t floss plaque builds up between them and when i do floss plaque doesn’t build up between them. again, what the fuck are you talking about

You really shouldn't take dental advice from Cletus at the flea market

http://www.ada.org/en/science-research/science-in-the-news/the-medical-benefit-of-daily-flossing-called-into-question

Although “flossing” is the term commonly used for interdental cleaning, interdental cleaning devices include not only dental floss, but also wooden sticks, small brushes, and oral irrigators (i.e., “water flossers”).

It's benefit is inconclusive, there's not enough research done and what has been done shows either little or no benefit.

Only one meta-analysis study showed a benefit for interproximal caries:

A meta-analysis of studies examining the impact of flossing on interproximal caries, found that regular (5 days per week) professional flossing resulted in a statistically significant reduction in interproximal caries, a result that was not seen with intermittent (every 3 months) professional flossing nor self-flossing.4

Thanks for doing the bare minimal research, but being condescending to the maximum.

You're right. You aren't taking advice from Cletus, you ARE Cletus! 😆

Lordy, who told you that.

http://www.ada.org/en/science-research/science-in-the-news/the-medical-benefit-of-daily-flossing-called-into-question

Although “flossing” is the term commonly used for interdental cleaning, interdental cleaning devices include not only dental floss, but also wooden sticks, small brushes, and oral irrigators (i.e., “water flossers”).

It's benefit is inconclusive, there's not enough research done and what has been done shows either little or no benefit.

Only one meta-analysis study showed a benefit for interproximal caries:

A meta-analysis of studies examining the impact of flossing on interproximal caries, found that regular (5 days per week) professional flossing resulted in a statistically significant reduction in interproximal caries, a result that was not seen with intermittent (every 3 months) professional flossing nor self-flossing.4

Thanks for doing the bare minimal research, but being condescending to the maximum.

A meta-analysis looks at multiple studies, so its not just 'one study' that shows its benefits.

Yes, flossing refers to many different types of interdental cleaning methods, but the the gold standard is still flossing. Usually I will suggest using a waterpik in addition to flossing, not as a replacement. Mechanically, the other stuff just doesnt work the same

Also your accusation that I havent done any research in this is really unfounded. I'm a dentist, I spend my whole day thinking, reading and treating this stuff. It's a little sad. My colleagues can have different opinions, that doesnt mean I have to agree with them.

I'm sorry if my quip came off as offensive, it really was not my intention.

You're an idiot

http://www.ada.org/en/science-research/science-in-the-news/the-medical-benefit-of-daily-flossing-called-into-question

Although “flossing” is the term commonly used for interdental cleaning, interdental cleaning devices include not only dental floss, but also wooden sticks, small brushes, and oral irrigators (i.e., “water flossers”).

It's benefit is inconclusive, there's not enough research done and what has been done shows either little or no benefit.

Only one meta-analysis study showed a benefit for interproximal caries:

A meta-analysis of studies examining the impact of flossing on interproximal caries, found that regular (5 days per week) professional flossing resulted in a statistically significant reduction in interproximal caries, a result that was not seen with intermittent (every 3 months) professional flossing nor self-flossing.4

Thanks for doing the bare minimal research, but being condescending to the maximum.

Waterpik is great for dislodging food stuck in your teeth but it doesn't replace flossing.

I use Piksters. They’re like a toothpick, but without all the porous wood soaking up bacteria. It’s like a little pipe cleaner, made to go between your teeth. I’ve seen a visible change in my gums and there’s a bonus: they feel fantastic to use.

I actually got some of these in my stocking this year!

Santa knows when your dental hygiene routine needs upgrading.

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Does it actually work good? I feel like if I use it for a few weeks and switch to floss my gums will start bleeding. I just feel like there's not enough water pressure for it to get everything in between. Or am I wrong?

My girlfriend actually just went to the dentist after using a waterpick for about a year and was told it is not sufficient. You need to use floss to loosen the plaque, and then you can use a waterpick to flush out the gunk.

Damnit.

Yeah, she wasn't too happy, either.

Strange, my dentist told me I could replace flossing with a water pick..

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How were you flossing wrong?

My guess would be just jamming the floss up into the the gap between your teeth, my dentist told me a couple years ago to make sure I actually run it along the sides of both teeth for it to be most effective.

It could just be my girlfriend's teeth. She's cavity-prone.

A dentist told me that I could use a waterpick instead of flossing.

Good dentist. So many dentists are hung up on flossing with no non-anecdotal evidence to back it up.

Yeah, a couple months ago I read somewhere that there were no real studies on the effectiveness of flossing before it was advocated as a key to dental health.

Nothing wrong with flossing, your dentist will still insist on it and if you don't, it may require additional cleaning on your visit (though it hasn't been the case for me since using a quality Sonicare.) The US is beginning to clean up dietary guidelines based on anecdotal evidence and half-assed studies.

Like flossing, they've also removed any mention of saturated fats. It was all BS and has killed many people with cardiac arrest and cancer on a carbohydrate rich diet. You probably haven't heard anything about that either. It's not like our government admits when it's wrong and resulted in death. They just quietly make a change. Most nutrionists haven't made any adjustments yet so be careful taking advice from them. I've had two personally tell me I should eat a carbohydrate only.

Cholesterol guidelines are seriously overrated as well. Those guidelines are ridiculously skewed and based on relative risk. Cholesterol doesn't cause heart attacks, inflammation does. The source of inflammation is carbohydrates. Avoid statins. They do far more harm than help.
Watch 'The Oiling of America' on YouTube to get you started. Every negative study of saturated fat is broken down and the obvious biases are exposed. If you want to know more, ask away.

Eh. Different people will have different results. Some flat out refuse to floss and use a waterpik vs nothing at all or claim a waterpik is better.

There are spots in my mouth a waterpik would do nothing for - a few tighter teeth and behind my permanent retainer come to mind. I could use both but that just seems inefficient.

Personally once I got over it and started flossing 2-3 times a day, my gum health completely turned around.

Yeah I feel the same way. There is a tiny amount of space between my two front teeth, and after flossing is the only time I can feel water moving through that gap when I rinse. With the waterpik the gap isn't there, so I can only assume it's nowhere near as effective at cleaning the buildup between your teeth.

Can you link to the waterbrush your friend recommended?

They didn't recommend a specific one, just suggested a cordless one as it is more portable than the one's that have a larger water tank.

Tooth picks are bad for your gums. Water pics are not. Used one when I was a kid. Just got another one over Xmas. Not better than flossing but better than nothing.

There are shower attachments too. Works well!

It would take forever to shower with such a tiny nozzle though.

Ah, the ol' reddit Waterpikaroo

[deleted]

Hello future people!

Hello people from the past!

Hello, I come in peace and with knowledge of the peak of human technology. In the future you can track your farts in real time on your phone.

Ok, 1 panty

1 scissor pair

Some dude's dad

A bunch of apples

The Rock

1 Nintendo Gamecube

CAKE

Edit: A pair of tiddies

Deja Vu, a gun

A handful of pencils

"Meat"

1 monkey

Una fusca

1 crucifix

1 biohazard

1 bone

Some duck's penis

1 either ugly haircut, or a severed rat's tail

Droogs

1 rapekit

Footwear

Floss

From the future: I thought this was the end for a second.

Lol no. One I did is in this chain up a ways. I just got a reply yesterday from somebody that said they were on their third day following the links.

I made it an hour. Definitely worth it, though.

It just plays a gif, the roo is gone!

That's what she said

Golden comment right there.

Gild it then.

Golden shower ya dummy.

Duche d'or idiote

Ya, gild it you pussy.

Waterpik shower heads are AMAZING if you have low water pressure, makes a world of difference

Yeah. As someone that has a really hard time flossing just because of how my teeth and jaw are, the WaterPik is super handy. It will get any stubborn area.

I do recommend that you hit your teeth quickly with regular floss though as I seem to get a bit of plaque still, despite being on power level 5 or 6 with my WaterPik. It gets and food particles though!

And if you eat a lot of popcorn GET ONE NOW. Imagine a life with no stubborn kernal bits stuck in your gums.

This.

WaterPik's aren't intended to replace flossing, but to go with flossing.

Hehe pik is dick in danish, I laughed.

Isn't a waterpik still not as good as actual flossing?

Nope, sadly. But it is so much better than just brushing.

Haha in Dutch pik translates to dick

I got one recently too, and it’s great except that it’s insanely loud

I just use my bidet. Makes sure I'm clean on both ends of the pipe.

I've had my braces off for two years now and I still use it religiously, so much better than flossing.

Waterpiks do not replace flossing. The bacteria stuck inbetween your teeth arent removed by water, it only removes the larger particles stuck in there. Flossing is still the best.

While i agree most people simply wont floss at least regularly, and ime pepople are much more likely to routinely use the waterpik which is better than nothing

I wish I would have heard of this five years ago.. I’ve had braces since sixth grade and I’m not a junior in high school... I get my braces off in five weeks

Its still useful! Keep your pretty new chompers in shape!

What is it exactly

It's a pressure washer for your teeth/gums

I’ll have to look into it

i got one but i only used it once. i'm too lazy.

got one for christmas. Best gift this year probably.

userrname cchecks out

Username checks out

If you have braces, GET A WATERPIK. No excuses.

The stuck bits are awesome i dont know why you are complaining. Loved to have a little snack during school. Just needed to do some worl with my tongue and i had a little ball of leftover meat mmmmhm.

I've heard mentions of this but my dentist has never really brought it up. I've had my braces off for years and flossing with floss picks usually makes my gums bleed.

Gum bleeding is often a sign of bigger issues. If you’re flossing regularly and gums are still bleeding, get thee to the dentist and talk about this.

It seems to be hard to get one in the UK without paying out your ass for it. Would love one though. Would be amazing after being at the cinema.

I'm on my second one, think it was about £50 if i remember. I had braces for 10 years and wish i had known about it then.

Braces for TEN YEARS!!?? That's awful!

Within 20 minutes of posting this I saw a waterpik in superdrug for £55. Way to prove me wrong world.

And apparently there is an older model (?) on Amazon for 45? I just did the same search myself.

Yeah, I said in a reply to another comment that I saw one in Superdrug for £55. Within 20 minutes of posting my original comment.

Best home bit of dental bit you can get, besides a good electric toothbrush also. Used waterpik after every meal for 4 months now, healthiest looking my mouth has ever been.

I would sure love it... Went to check, costs over 300 bucks here. RIP

Can you recommend a good one? Most of the reviews ive seen are bad due to leaking

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Chemist warehouse sell them for $130 and they have a black version too. I just saw it on their website after seeing this thread!

Just be sure to pause on the space between your teeth for 5 seconds and rub along the gum line to move to the next tooth.

On a similar note, a simple set of dental tools really helps get built up plaque a lot better than just a toothbrush. You'll never be as good as an actual dentist, but good enough that build up isn't a problem.

I just went on vacation for 2.5 weeks without my waterpik and it was terrible not being able to get back into the books and crannies. Floss is fine but nothing beats a waterpik for the corners in the back of my teeth.

Got one for Xmas. Highly recommend. It’s crazy just seeing what gets stuck and you don’t even realise.

I just got my braces off two months ago and the water pik was a life saver!

Also great for removing/avoiding tonsil stones.

Yep, use it every night, it feels great knowing there’s nothing between your teeth. If I didn’t get this thing, I would never, ever floss.

Even without braces makes flossing take 30 seconds and isn't a chore anymore. Can be a little messy until you really learn how to use it though.

Common sense people. It's useful for cleaning around orthodontics but isn't nearly as good as flossing.

My orthodontist recommended it to me. I had one set up and ready to go before I got braces. I’m surprised this apparently isn’t common.

I have a small bathroom with limited counter space. Would I be able to keep it outside the bathroom or does it make a mess and splatter mouth gunk everywhere?

I had one for years but only used it when I got braces, I cannot believe the first few weeks I manually pulled crap out of my teeth. Waterpik is a godsend if you have braces.

Omg yes! Waterpik is a lifesaver. I recently went on a camping trip, so I couldn't use my Waterpik. I also forgot to pack a mirror. I sat for like 30 min in the dark just trying to string floss through. It was literally impossible. Never missed an inanimate object so much in my life

Waterpik is a great thing to have. I was developing gum disease, and the waterpik helped a lot for cleaning the gingival pockets. Not a replacement for flossing, but it really makes gum care a lot more effective!

Mine has one nozzle that has a wider hole than usual. It is for cleaning out tonsil 'stones'. These are bits of mucus and bacteria that take up residence in your tonsils, greatly contribute to bad breath. The Waterpik is the best thing for cleaning these out (it's a disgusting job, and frustrating to use a syringe for this)!

My dental hygienist suggested that I buy one, even though I floss and brush consistently... I've been looking more into it as to what it does differently.

I have braces too and so glad someone recommended this to me. But now I get grossed out when kissing my boyfriend because i picture all the food particles between his teeth.

Get a 10 foot+ long charger for your smart phone and put it in your living room. We're talking under $15 here.

My ones always suffer from crazy voltage losses.

“Anker” is a great brand for long chargers. I have the 10’ one and it’s lasted me longer than any other charger I’ve ever owned. I love it!

Edit: this blew up! Glad to see everyone supports anker stuff. As I and everyone else is saying, if you don’t have one, I would definitely invest!

I spent $75 on an Anker portable charger for a trip I took this past summer and it's awesome. Not only does it fast charge my Galaxy S7 but it's also powerful enough to charge my Nintendo Switch while playing.

Which one did you get? I've been trying to decide between some of their's.

Powercore 20000

Dope. That was one of them.

It's definitely worth the purchase if you're on the fence about it.

As a heads up, 2 of my LEDs died on mine. It still works perfectly but you have to guess on it's charge! Otherwise it's amazing.

Hmmmm. The anker I have is nice, just doesn't have fast charge for my Pixel.

Oh crap I just realized maybe my charger is full but the led died

I bought one for $50 a few years ago and I still use it all the time- I can get several complete charges from it. Amazing device- it was the first item on my hospital bag list (preparing for baby).

Anker and Aukey are my go to

All my aukey products have been great except for the 6 pack of USB cords I grabbed from amazon on a deal. Only the 2 shorter ones worked out of the box. I didn't return them because I paid like $3 for 6 cables so I didn't expect much.

Yea Anker makes really good products! My experience with them has always been good.

I tell everyone I can about Anker products. They have been a lifesaver for me.

Anker makes damn near everything electronics-wise, it's crazy how much they sell from Amazon

Source: Worked at Amazon and saw insane amounts of Anker products.

They also make good battery packs to charge your phone out and about.

And their warranty/customer support is amazing too!

We have 6” Anker câbles in different colors for my parents and I, so we know which one’s ours, and mine have broken a few times, but the warranty has been great, so they always send me a new one!

Do Anker cables work as a data cable as well, or just for charging?

They work as data cables just fine.

Excellent. I've always heard of Anker but I've never taken the leap to using them. I buy the cheap-ass cables from Amazon and sometimes they work as data, sometimes they don't. I'm not sure what the difference is, but it's frustrating.

Cheap charge only cables don't have the data wire to save on copper.

Btw no data cable can be good for plugging your phone into random plugs or a computer if you're worried about viruses

They make a pretty damn good gaming mouse too.

[deleted]

They last a while. I use them in police cruisers and those gorillas rarely break them.

I've had two in two and a half years. They're great, but don't respond well to abuse, so treat them nicely.

I love my Anker Phone Charger Case.

I just placed an order for 6 new charger cables from Anker, so your comment makes me happy to know that I picked quality cables, regardless of the jungle it is.

Anker is fantastic and stands behind their products with an 18 month warranty. I have used it a couple times and they've always taken care of me no questions asked.

My anker battery is awesome. Charges my phone 10 times over

Bought an Anker powerbank about 4 years ago and it still works as good as it on day 1. I also was looking for some bluetooth earbuds but didn't want to spend a lot of money. I saw that Anker made some and was leary about buying earbuds that were made by a powerbank company, but the fact that I'm so happy with the powerbank made me give them a shot. Plus they were the cheapest option. I was blown away by the quality and how well they worked. I think if Anker makes anything that I need I would at least give them a shot.

Which ear buds?

Oh...Reddit is a massive Anker circlejerk. And with good reason, I mean they make very high quality products. But the price is a little higher, too; you get what you pay for!

I have found PortaPow cables to be just pretty decent at a fraction of the price, and I liked their 'charge-only' microUSB cables. Since the switch to USB-C, with fewer options to choose from...I'm trying these nylon braided CablePlux USB-C to USB-C cables. I am pleased to report....so far so good!

My (I think 6 ft) anker cable stopped charging and would charge 10 percent after all night within like 6 months. Went back to my 2 ft long stock cable and it worked fine lol

I have 4 Anker cables, I passed my 2 micro usb cables to my kids last year and have 2 USB C cables now. All are high quality and durable.

Anker makes crappy plastic products, but they market well.

Get one with thicker power wires. Doesn't take much more money to get a decent enough cable.

[deleted]

[deleted]

it's not like the electricity has anywhere else to go.

Um, it can, and does, heat the wire - that where it gets lost.

This. It's why shitty cables catch on fire.

Current always stays the same, I think thats what op meant

That's why you use bigger wires. If volts drop, amps go up. Amps = heat. More amps = more heat = more problems.

Bigger wires helps avoid voltage drop. Amps stay the same. Less amps = less heat = less problems.

You came close, amps stay the same and power loss = heat. Bigger cables means lower resistance which means smaller power loss.

Never go full retard

Anker PowerLine. Best cords ever

I use the AmazonBasics one (type C). Works just as well as the original cord provided with the phone.

Google for the Google spreadsheet of cables (I'm just on mobile).. They have the measured rating how much volt and ampere they are delivering in real life - huge differences and the price is pretty much independent from the performance, only higher cable normally comes with better resistance to environment

Is there one for micro usb? I can only find usb-c

I have to check back home.. The spreadsheet should have more tabs at least one is iPhone and one is USBc...

I'd really appreciate it, thanks!

I get 6 foot cables. They seem to be a good compromise.

Well you gotta get the premium ones with the gold plated tips bro... Duh...

I recommend Rampow. I've gotten several and they all work great. I had GE cords previously and 3 failed within a couple weeks.

I worked at target mobile while RadioShack ran them and they never understood this. They had us powering phone displays with 20-25’ usb cords. I’d have to frequently take the display models down just to charge the fuckers cause they’d be dead inside of 3 days.

amazon basics, FTW!

Do you get better results if you use an extension chord and plug your shorter charger into that? I figure the insulation is much better on those.

It has to be thick as well. If it is long but not thick, it will lose efficiency. That's basic rule for electricity

We use our iPad charger for this purpose instead of long standard iPhone chargers.

Or just get an extension cord so you can plug multiple devices in in comfort.

Since we're talking cool gadgets under $200, an electrical outlet with the USB ports built in.

It's pretty specific, but the long charger wins in my case. I sleep in the top bunk of a bunk bed, so I can use my phone in bed and don't need to get out of bed to plug it into the charger. I wouldn't put an extension on my bed.

I guess there might be other similar situations.

Now I am picturing people getting clotheslined when walking past your bed ...

Why not an extension cord? They’re both electrified.

Major voltage and amperage difference.

so? do you probe electrical sockets or chew on wires in your sleep?

Well if I did I’d want the one with lower voltage.

Besides the difference already mentioned, one is way bulkier

It makes me smile to imagine you're a middle aged man who just likes having a bunkbed.

Just tie the extension to the bedpost/frame that's against the wall, then you can charge other things in the bed too, tablet, 3ds, switch, laptop, whatever needs power. And then tuck it away when you don't need it

I love having an extension cable run under my couch. No more reaching back to the awkward wall outlet anymore. Easily tucks away when I'm not needing it. Got a 10' one so it can easily reach all spots of my medium sized sectional.

My husband got a $5 dollar extension cord so I could charge and play on my phone while snuggled up on the couch and after 10 minutes I looked at him and said “ I feel like J. Lo”, it was SO indulgent. Now I travel with a cord because I can’t lose the feeling.

i have two usb extension cords and those suckers are useful.

use it on a mouse or keyboard, or charge a phone from across the room. works great in bed or on the couch.

We have a short one that runs under the couch with a usb cord (for phone/PS4 controller charging), my extra laptop charger, and the power supply for my foot massager robot.

The biggest reason for having a longer charging cord isn't the convenience of placing the charger far from where you'll charge the device, but to allow slack so you don't ruin the cord and charging port from tension on them. I've seen lots of people getting new cords for their kids multiple times, even within a month, because they'll run the cord (they tend to break the wires where they enter the phone end connector) from using the device while charging. Eventually you'll ruin the port in a lot of cases, particularly micro USB ports.

[deleted]

Other way around, voltage drop on a 10ft charging cable would be quite large.

[deleted]

Same effect, but reduced by an order of magnitude for the extension cord. There's a reason Quick Charge 2.0/3.0 use high voltage charging, it's more efficient, and there is a physical limit to the amount of current you can push through a wire at a particular gauge.

Why are people downvoting you for admiring you’re wrong? Quite big of you.

Generally not; chargers I've seen generally don't detect and vary their output voltage depending on the resistance of the wiring, but on the other hand they do nearly always have the ability to handle higher or lower input voltages to allow for countries that have 100-240V, 50/60Hz mains power.

A cell phone charger can handle 240v?

Nope, I use a special travel adapter that drops the voltage to be able to charge my phone. /s

Special travel adapter huh. They probably only sell those to liscensed electrians like yourself though. Oh well, thanks for the info

There are several countries where 240 V 50 Hz is their mains. Where I live we have 230 V 50 Hz.

Interesting, TIL

A fair number can. Read the info printed on the plugin portion of the charger, and you'll find the input voltage they're rated for. I've seen lots of them rated for that 100-240V. This way, most of the charger hardware can be made the same for global distribution, and just the physical plug can be made differently for the intended market.

Thank you for a real answer

Yea, would take quite a bit longer

[deleted]

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5459 $1.68. Never buy a cord from Best Buy when this place is around.

I also preach the good Monoprice word!

Everything I've ordered from them has met or exceeded my expectations.

[deleted]

Monoprice cables come with a lifetime warranty.

And a hitman.

Hopefully one that is not on a lethal dose of cacaine

Meta

From what?

http://www.wweek.com/news/2016/08/17/a-hit-man-came-to-kill-susan-kuhnhausen-she-survived-he-didnt/

There was a TIL post about this story yesterday.

and my ax

And my red and black hammer

where the return shipping costs more than the item...

Have you done a Monoprice warranty claim? When I did they had me send in a picture of it cut and shipped me a new one.

They should. The ones I bought several years ago were good. The latest ones I purchased started falling apart either when the package was opened or a few days off use. I am not taking hard usage either. Plugging into the charger in the car or computer at home and the sheathing around the USB plug literally falls off.

I've had the same problem with the cable included with devices and with cables I got to replace those cables and paid 5x as much for. If something is going to fall apart on me, and cables will, I'd rather be paying the minimum.

One of the packs of cables I purchased that has stood up to the rigors of being pulled on by 5 and 1 year olds is the Volutz Micro USB Cable. Bought a 5 Pack of cables and have been very good this far. Now that I am using USB C cables, I am considering these as well instead of the ones by Monoprice. They are also fast charging cables for $15 for the 5 Pack that will last 100 times longer than the Monoprice cables.

Damn I've been using monoprice for years and had no idea.

Yea, I have had them break, but you have to pay return shipping.

Pretty sure shipping would exceed the cost of a 1.68$ cable

Exactly, which is why it's kind of a bunk guarantee. I like monoprice, but I've never used their cable guarantees, and I'm a platinum purchaser from there, so I've bought a ton of stuff there, and returned a few things on warranty.

I never had to return any of the cables I bought. Just pay for the shipping of the new cable.

Lifetime of the user or estimated lifetime of the product? In many cases it’s actually the latter.

Of the product.

Lifetime warranty just means you can open a claim any time up until the item breaks, no matter how long that takes.

I’m... not sure if that answers my question or not. Depends how clear I was in posing it, I guess.

Be careful of the difference between estimated lifetime and actual lifetime. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure I remember learning that the “lifetime warranty” of numerous products refers to the estimated lifetime of the product—as in, engineers estimate the projected average lifespan of the product (a process I’m somewhat familiar with), and the “lifetime warranty” then simply covers that specific, static length of time.

I hope I’m wrong and this isn’t the case, though, as that would essentially just be a sneaky way of providing a limited warranty in disguise.

Not saying that you do, but a lot of people think lifetime warranty means that the item should last the buyers lifetime. That's not it. It just means you can open a claim any time up until the item breaks, no matter how long that takes.

I still buy twice as many as I need just because they're so cheap

Well shit. I throw mine away every 3-6 months because they wear out.

I guess I'll pick a few up then. The locking jaws on my micro-usb cables always fail and then the cords never stay in. Lifetime warranty abuse here we go!

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Love Monoprice, though I haven't had to order from them in a while. I don't know if it's still this way, but I remember back in the day they just had a flat shipping fee. Need one cable? $3 shipping. Need 50 cables? $3 shipping. Had to make sure to get a big order in :)

"had to"

Otherwise you might accidentally spend $5 on a quality cable eh? Seriously though I do the same thing.

I mean it's not bad either way - I actually just clicked over there because I want some USB A to C cables, I'm sick of dicking around with mini-to-C converter plugs, and they shipped free - but cheaper is always better :)

Haha I was looking over at primecables (they carry monoprice stuff up in Canada) for the same thing when I got the notification you replied to me.

Which is how companies selling 2 cents of copper and 2 cents of rubber get you to buy a $20 cable, really.

You don't even expect it to charge?

  1. Doesn't cause fire

(That's supposed to be a 2 but reddit still has that stupid thing where you can't put any other number than one on its own in the first sentence of a line).

3 ???

4 Profit!

2.Doesn’t catch anything on fire.

It arrives i̶n̶t̶a̶c̶t̶

FTFY

All companies buy cables around that price, so technically all cables are $1.6 charging cables

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This could deserve some more troubleshooting.

You're watching on your 4k comp monitor in your browser or something else? Is that your only HDMI cable to try? Most everyone has them, so you could borrow a secondary HDMI cable, just to make sure that the fault lies with the cable.

Amazon def needs a Netflix-style, kick-ass desktop app for just Prime Video.

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Ok, I can't delve much into it, but this article should talk more about it: https://www.cnet.com/news/4k-hdmi-cables-are-nonsense/

I build PC's often, and my personal first step, would be to run to BB and buy a 6' x $6 Dynex and try it out. That's their cheap house brand and regular advertises 4k compatibility, so you can return it quick, after you have a working solution.

I'm sure the hidden comments say it too, but that's the actual cost of those cables. Part of my discount for (x) corporation was that I got store brand cables for at-cost prices.

It survives better than 90% of cables you get for <$30 in a store.

  1. Charges devices?
  2. Is a cord?

Nah, they're actually good

haha Point taken... But really, my various cables have been performing well for over 5 years now. Having reliable, quality cables is number 2 for me.

Pretty much. The couple Monoprice items I’ve bought haven’t lasted too long.

Is that a religion? No taxes?

lol Just a great little shop for all things connectors. The prices are dirt cheap and the quality, for me, has been top notch.

No. Monoprice is very real, I do cabling for a living and use it for basically ALL of my material.

I also preached the Monoprice world, until several years ago when they were hacked and someone used my card for nearly $500 worth of crap at bid auction site. Doesn’t really make me want to try again especially since at that time $500 was a incredible amount to lose at one time when I was living paycheck to paycheck and had just gotten paid.

That's a horrible story, sorry to hear that about your experience.

I'm guessing you're referring to this breech in 2010:

https://gizmodo.com/5489522/psa-monoprice-may-have-been-hacked-check-your-credit-card-statement

Indeed I am. Now I use a credit card for all online purchases.

Privacy.com or org

Search it

there's a really great podcast episode that talks with/about them in pretty great depth on how/why they do it.

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/11/28/366793693/episode-586-how-stuff-gets-cheaper

Awesome! I'll check this out later on this afternoon.

I needed a ~25ft HDMI cable and at Best Buy it was pretty expensive, like $60. My roommate who works there told me with his discount he can buy cords for manufacturing price. I ended up paying him about $5 for it. The markup is ridiculous..

Amazon Basics are pretty cheap too. I got two 6 foot cables for less than $10.

Every Basics HDMI cable I've bought from Amazon--save one--has gone bad within a year or so. Failing connections in one of the cable ends in/near the connector.

Monoprice.com

I hear those things are awfully loud.

It rides as softly as a cloud.

Is there a chance the site could bend?

Not on your life, my Hindu friend!

What about us brain-dead slobs?

Monoprice.com

Use 'em all the time. :)

Here in India, Amazon gives 1 year warranty on all Amazon basics items. Mine cable went bad after a few months, they refunded the whole amount instead of fixing it.

The first time, Amazon was cool and sent me new cables. When those cables failed a few months later (now more than a year past the original-cables' purchase date), the handful of reps I talked to were united in not being helpful. I don't buy Amazon Basics HDMI cables anymore.

They stopped doing that for obvious reasons. I used to work there, man that was great but up learn there's no mark up in TVs. In fact, you might pay more using the discount over a sale.

That and pc’s, absolutely no markup in most cases

Wait until you find out what the markup on ink is...

Do you know how much it is exactly? I know it is insane, but I'd love to hear some numbers.

I've heard it's the most valuable liquid by volume that isn't radioactive

That would be pure animal.venom actually. A gallon of rattlesnake venom is worth like 145k

My wife is a nurse. She frequently injects one of her patient with a medicine that cost 15000$ for the content of a syringe...

Does the syringe say "EPSON" or "HP" on the side?

Epson brand rattlesnake venom.

Lol. made me giggle.

true, medicine can be expensive but it'd all artificial inflation. But I could tell someone that a cup of my piss costs 5 million, and if they are a captive and will die without drinking my piss they don't have much choice in the worth do they? I found an article which recently stated antivenom R&D costs just .1% of its retail price in the US. About 29% is supplier markup and the other 70% is what the hospital tries to charge insurance.

I hear insulin is much more.

In Mexico it's like $3/dose

He said wait...

The actual markup is on the cartridges, which aren't really dirt-cheap to manufacture (the printing head is a very complex electro-hydraulic device; an integrated circuit that combines electronic elements and microscopic ink pipes, boilers and valves). The ink itself is dirt cheap, but everyone says "ink is expensive"... and of course the manufacturers bundle half a spoonful of ink with the un-refillable cartridge and create insane markup even though the same cartridges could serve much longer.

Look up ink for heavy-duty inkjet printers, 1l bottle may cost less than a cartridge.

For big box retailers, it depends on the cartridge, but I remember anywhere from 60-250% margins on the ink I sold. Newer cartridges were on the lower end of that.

I also assume that the manufacturer has an absurd margin, likely in the 4 digits.

Squeezing an octopus is very labor intensive.

The markup is ridiculous..

Because they are often necessary items for another product, the shop knows that. When you buy a new graphic card or even a TV and you remember that you dont have a long enough HDMI cable, you dont care much, you need it now for the primary product to function. Or when you buy a new tablet and it doesnt come with a charger (hello there, NVIDIA!), the shop will have one available for $30. When you buy cables or adapters in a shop, you mostly do so because you want to have it now. Thats why they can afford to sell them at those prices.

Not everything has to be a phone charger measuring contest, geez.

plot twist your roommate just stole it, or took it out of the dumpster box... ;)

how do they even make money with $5 tho

The cables literally cost pennies to actually manufacture. End consumers are hugely disconnected from what things actually cost to produce at the factory.

I mean, in your opinion how much should someone gain over the cost? It really is what another person is willing to pay. There is no magical or ethical number like if it costs you $1, you can't sell it for more than $1.1 because 10% and over is too unethical. If you can sell it for $100 you go for it.

Yup. I bought a 25 ft coax cable came to like 2 bucks

Monoprice.com

11.86 at walmart btw

with his discount he can buy cords for manufacturing price

Nice. When I was an employee our discount was so underwhelming with such an obfuscated procedure that it was not worth the savings or time.

^^That ^^was ^^literally ^^20 ^^years ^^ago ^^though

Stores make their money off accessories. Best Buy will try to be competitive on their TV prices but cables are always marked up a lot. I worked in a hardware store and it was the same thing with paint. The paint gallons are priced competitively but brushes and rollers have a huge markup.

Most long usb cables are shit and charge your devices much, much slower. Buy an outlet (cord extender) instead.

The longer a cable is, the more expensive it becomes. That's because there's more (electrical) resistance to overcome. A linear relationship price/length might indicate mediocre quality: 1m=$10, 2m=$20; on a price/length ration, longer cables should be more expensive than shorter ones. Here's why.

Cables have electrical resistance, more resistance = less power delivered. It is proportional to its length - so a cable that's twice as long will also be twice as resistive (and lose more than four times more power - lost power is I^2R, squared current multiplied by resistance). Four a cable twice as long, you can make the cables thicker to make it less resistive (thus using more than twice the materials), or use better materials (standard is copper, but there are gold-based alloys). Thus, cheap long cables that don't have at least the same price per meter as a regular cable will use subpar materials.

You can't skimp on HDMI, because the signal is digital and the TV will show no image; you can with the USB charging cables. Your phone will still show the "charging" sign (and in your mind, the cable will work), although less power will be delivered (and a portion of it, lost). However you won't know this, because there is no information displayed and the phone can live with it.

You can get an app that shows the current going in to your phone. I use it all the time to check how decent USB cables or chargers are.

What's it called

The one I use is called Ampere, I like it a lot. It's free as well which is pretty nice.

welcome to the world of cable sales. The main way manufacturers get resellers to care about cables is the huge margins they can get on them.

That's a fire-able offense :O

Source: Work at best buy.

You got a 5 finger discount.

There is no way your friend legitimately got it for $5.

monoprice needs more upvotes.

monster cables can suck it.

[EDIT] one of my new top 3 comments is about overpriced audio cables....woot.

But can't you hear the difference that digital audio sounds when it's transported though Platinum gold uranium plated Enterprise starship grade Monster HDMI cable!?

Yes, I can - with Monster cables, I hear my wallet faintly screaming, “You idiot!”

High definition 1s and 0s. With monoprice they are in comic sans but with monster cables they are in times new roman

this is why I buy 1/2" diameter USB cables, because the larger the wire, the less resistance and I want max I/O speeds.........

Well if Captain Kirk uses them, I guess I'm in

/r/audiojerk is leaking

They absolutely can suck it, way over priced by any standard.

To be fair, not all cables are made the same however, cable gauge, number of strands, shielding, flexibility​ and strength of insulation and connectors on each end all are a huge part of the quality of the cable and how long it will last. Not to mention how fast your device charges as thin wires means high resistance, and therefore less current.

While some will argue, "I'll just buy 10 of them" I feel that's incredible wasteful, and a single good quality one even if it costs a lot more is still worth it. Just be careful of being ripped off.

A good brand "I feel" is X-One, we use their charge cables at work (I repair/test mobile devices) and they have near invincible cables. We've broken one and because it got munched by a chair right on the connector, and they replaced it! They also warrant then for the life of it so long as it hasn't been cut by a sharp object.

They also have measurably higher charge rates than some cheaper cables, which I know as we use usb chargers with current displays on them, and they show higher current outputs than some other cables.

Anyway, once again just remember that not all cables are equal.

Unfortunately X-One doesn't sell type c, or else I'd have bought 3 of them. Ah, well

Lies!! We stock them!

I'll send you a part number when I'm at work next if you like to hunt them down

Edit: x one Aus site shows them for sale

https://www.x-one.com.au/shop/x-one-ultra-cable

That takes me to the iPhone one, of which I do not have. I don't have a micro either. Oh, well.

I follow a very simple philosophy in regards to Monster and other cable makers who advertise the advantages of “signal shielding” or “superior materials.” I heard on a tech podcast years ago when HDMI was the new thing. I think it was Robert Heron. “The signal is digital. It either gets there or it doesn’t.”

Monoprice used to be good. Now their CS sucks. I’ve tried getting replacements for 3 different cables over the last three months and they just ignored me. Warranty used to be the reason to buy from Monoprice but if they don’t respond then I’ll just buy from Amazon.

I was able to get 4 cables replaced easily last month. Didn’t even have to send them in. Have you tried using their online chat? Worked way faster than the RMA requests.

amazon basics got your back, i started buying from them so i can get that sweet sweet free shipping. (any time i buy something and i need an extra cable, i can just throw it on the order and bam...free shipping)

Sure, right now I'm using my £100 gold plated HDMI on my PS4 Slim and I can tell it's automatically upgraded Horizon Zero Dawn to 4K without me even needing a PS4 Pro. You can say it's a scam but it's honestly worth the money. Their phone cables also charge my phone way faster. My iPhone 4S charges in like 5 minutes from 0 to 100 with their gold plated Apple chargers

[deleted]

I literally just explained that it upgrades the signal to 4K, so yes, there is a difference. You can keep using your shitty cables though like I used to

[deleted]

If the gold plating does nothing then how come it got me 4K on my 1080p TV without needing a PS4 Pro. There's a fucking difference otherwise they wouldn't charge £100, the guy at the shop explained it all to me. YOU do some research

[deleted]

Oh you sweet summer child

The irony here is overwhelming.

Haha I don't think you realise how stupid you look. Been enjoying your media at 240p? Cause that's what the guy said bad HDMI Cables do. I also see him a lot and he gives me loads of great deals and much advice, which is why I got a smashing deal on a £8000 Macbook Air for my son's uni work. I'll tell him how stupid you are next time I see him cause this is seriously embarrassing for you

[deleted]

Fake articles. Literally nothing you can say will change my mind because he warned me about all this. Sad that people like you fall for these and harass good-willed people like me into trying to believe there's no difference. If there's no difference, WHY DOES IT COST MORE? IDIOT.

You are either the most impressive troll of all time or the worlds biggest idiot.

I'm hoping for the former.

It was a troll lmao, I don't know how the guy didn't realise. Maybe he did since he deleted his comments. I have screenshots of his comments if you want to see them, it was hilarious

Oh hell yes. I've been filling in the blanks imagining his frothing rage while trying to explain how digital signals work.

Reply colours are off because I merged them into one screenshot. Here

This guy clearly makes cables

I wholly agree and approve this post.

Copper is copper. How much of it (density) matters, but as long as it's clean, shit doesn't change much when it comes to electrical transportation.

Gold plating exists because it doesn't oxidize easily. Copper is actually a better conductor, and Aluminium as far as resistance to density goes is better than Copper.

Next up Monster's sleeve: Beryllium Cables - it only slightly poisons your dumb ass.

now shielding and stuff kind of matters...but the interference from your power source....3 inches away from the unshielded audio card.... is going to be stronger than any attenuation from the cable.

i think the only times in nearly 15 years in IT i've seen shielding matter is when cables ran by high frequency powered devices. Microwaves and medical scanning equipment.

and to the guy who ran the network backbone over the MRI room...screw you dude.

Monster is actually pretty legit for instrument cables. They have a lifetime, unconditional warranty, which means if the cable shorts for any reason, you can just swap it for a new one.

That cord can be used for Fast Charge 2.0 right? If so I think im gonna buy 25 for my family lol.

If it doesn't list the Amperage, it's probably safe to presume that it's 1A or below (so likely not suitable for fast charging).

Can you infer amperage based of cord gauge? I know nothing about electronics but all ive heard is that if it says 28/24 AWG its fine for fast charging, is that not true?

Fast charge is only dependent on the wall plug.

Wrong, it requires certain cords too.

[deleted]

Hah yeah, goes to show you can never 100% anything. Chargers/Cords are always being swapped all over my house and I always need to find both a port and a good cable to get the fast charging to work

Some of my cords don't work with my fast box. huh

I bought a bunch of monoprice cables... they're in the basement because they charge soooooo slow. :-(

Shit headphones and cables from Monoprice that I've bought have broken in weeks, and ruined the charging ports on my iPhones. Fuck Monoprice.

Lmao thanks for this

What the fuck, $33 to ship two cables to Australia? What bullshit.

Are you surprised it costs more for them to ship it by boat or plane to a (relatively) remote continent than to slap it on a truck in the US?

When i can buy a standard usb cable from china shipped free to france for 2 euro, yes i am supprised it costs 33 fucking dollars.

$5 i could understand, 10 at a stretch but 33, they best be sending it on fucking air force one with full military protection for that

[deleted]

I live in a fucking set of islands in the middle of the atlantic and I get free shipping from china even for a 50cents product, so your argument may be true but still doesn't justify the cost. Boat transport is absurdly cheap because the huge payload they can carry. No matter the shipping method, it should be cheaper to send from China/USA to Australia than to my place.

It may be exaggerated, but shipping by boat is relatively inexpensive, as i say, 5 or possibly 10 i could understand but 33?

I think the price they would pay per unit for shipping it by boat would be inversely related to the volume they move, and in a pretty significant way, and I doubt they do much business in Australia. They also almost definitely would not be able to get a single item on a cargo container and instead have to send it by air freight, which is pretty expensive. I don't remember enough of my supply chain stuff to be confident in any of what I just said though lol

Shipping by sea is, by a massive margin, usually the cheapest mode of transport.

It absolutely is in terms of the cost floor, but again, it very much depends on your volume. It's also not usually an option for B to C transactions because the delivery time is longer than any reasonable consumer would put up with

You can get ePacket shipping from China to almost any country in the world for probably $0.50 for two cables. Some vendors may even offer free ePacket shipping.

ePacket is airmailed.

It depends on the store. Some places don't want to deal with the hassle of things not arriving and so will only send via courier.

Italy is a bitch when it comes to lost post, and Australia customs can be extremely slow with regular airmail post.

Yes I am actually, I've gotten far bigger items shipped from the US for a far less cost.

I know there's a few people saying why is it a lot of the time, free shipping from China when the item is under a certain size/weight? I believe that is to do with the Australia-China free trade agreement, something that we don't have with the US.

Monoprice can have pretty pricey shipping in the US as well. Sometimes the cables I buy, shipping can be more than the cables themselves so I'm not surprised. Still ends up being a better deal than other places though.

At least here in Australia, that doesn't end up being a good deal unless those cables last for years.

You can literally go to 7/11 here and purchase two cables for $20, they might not be the greatest cables ever but they are heavy duty cables and will last as long as you take care of them.

Yeah they don't seem like a good deal there.

I'm never buying from them again. $33 for shipping is ridiculous. Their cables aren't even good, I've had my default Apple cables outlast them.

Im in NZ and I use a parcel forwarding service. Not cheeeeap but still a lot better than most places international shipping.

I actually use nz post's youshop for kiwi's looking to do the same, haven't had any issues. Just make sure to check customs.govt.nz for the current customs exchange rate and tax free limit

Thanks for the heads up but I doubt I could use a NZ postal option in Australia, lol.

Yeah i added that for nzers who may be reading :)

Have you tried not being in a 3rd world hell hole?

I have, but unfortunately that's where the cables come from

If you're not Australian im gonna be pissed off. I know there's things wrong here but its a fucking good country

3rd world? What???

Yeah get fucked mate.

Third world? Australia?

Damn, what are ya smokin there son?

You need fasttech.com in your life. Normally takes a week to get things if I splurge on the $2 shipping option.

just use aliexpress or wish. Should be the same price including shipping.

If anyone is sketched out by that price, pretty sure the amazon brand ones are still less than $15.

How is this so amazingly cheap? I spend $10 on cables whenever I need them! I can save so much money!

That try they're hardest to find bargains on good quality parts. If they can't find a decent price then they'll just stay out of stuck until they do, or make a new product line with a different supplier.

Super good deals on that site + this cord won't do fast charging.

I work at Best Buy so I get the cables for about $1. They make a huge profit off regular people buying those cables. Use monoprice.

Can confirm. 15 foot cable. Accidentally turned the micro USB into a 60 degree angled connector, still works.

Also, it's so old and I don't have a clue when I bought it. That's a win in my book...

That's about what employee price was at BBY when I worked there lol. Cables are such an enormous markup.

Yeaaaaah monoprice!

I use Jacobsparts.com. They're local for me.

Where are the items shipped from on monoprice? US?

You can get them cheap on ebay too but theyre from China and take 6 weeks.

Anyone used a wall mount from monoprice? Literally 12. Just paid 50 for a rocketfish last week.

Whoa thanks man!!! This price is unbelievable. How’s the quality?

Won't do fast charging unfortunately

Quick question: I have a Moto Z, which has a USB-C port. Can I just get a generic USB-C cable, or does it have to be the type my phone came with?

I only ask this because I've had to get a replacement for my phone already, and now the charger is on the fritz, and I'd really rather not do anything more to fuck up my phone.

Thanks for the link. I just ordered 6 of them.

Monoprice makes really awesome Wacom style drawing tablets too for a fraction of the price. I'm a professional illustrator and have one I got for about 60 bucks about 6 or 7 years now with no plans to upgrade.

Just make sure the cable is 24 gauge link the one in this link. Most cheap cables are shitty 28 gauge that can't push 2 amps.

Commenting so I can save this when I get to a desktop

Ships to Canada?

Is it US only?

$26 Shipping.. My life is more sad now

I ordered a pair of headphones from them in 2012. They've survived all my abuse without complaint. For sure the best 16$ I've ever spent.

Are those quick charge compatible?

The last time I bought 10ft usb cables from monoprice they broke in about a week. Now I buy more expensive short cables and use an extension. Yeah, it's a bit heavier, but at least the cable isn't crap.

Does nobody else find it odd that this lists loads of unimportant crap to try and make it sound fancy, but don't have the most important details (volts/amps)?

I love monoprice

Oh wow, thank you kind redditor! Will definitely order some cables, both charging and audio!

Not everything monoprice is great. Some of their USB-C cables are not to spec. A few people tested their cables and chargers and found them off specifications.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vnpEXfo2HCGADdd9G2x9dMDWqENiY2kgBJUu29f_TX8/edit?usp=drivesdk

My god thank you. I'm gonna buy like 5 of these bad boys.

Edit: oooo it comes in 15 ft

I Love monoprice, I have 3 of their 3d printers.

uk redditors: maplins does a good price, decent warranties and are weirdly ubiquitous

ANY kind of cable. Monoprice is the jam, even their own-brand electronics are of reasonable quality.

Is there anything like this for the uk?

This maybe a dumb questions, but will this work the iPhoneX?

Planet Money?

Top notch amigo. Cheers.

My first impulse buy.

Well might as well put monoprice as "things under $200 that will change your life" thanks what rock have I been living under.

Came expecting good stuff to read, didn't know I was going to get an infomercial instead

Wow, I’ve never heard of this site before. Hoping they have a similar priced iPhone cable

Checked out the site.....just bought 4 things. Thank you

Hm International shipping is around $45 to the UK. I need to find a UK equivalent to this site.

Does it ship outside America?

Too bad their offerings for USB-C to type A is limited to a shit tier 3ft

That’s the ugliest cable I’ve ever seen

As an ex bestbuy employee that has seen the employee discount i can confirm you should NEVER buy cables from bestbuy. The markup is borderline criminal on cables.

Nothing for iphones though

Except when they get hacked, and your credit card info is stolen. That wasn't a fun week.

Whhhhhhaaaaaatttttt is this place?? Geez, these prices are insane!

Ok, but what's the shipping cost?

$7 for my order of 4

50$ shipping? Yikes. Looks like this is a treat for Americans only.

never heard of this best buy place

Never heard o this site. Thanks!

OMFG. They have CAT6A STP Ethernet cables for next to nothing. A 50 ft cable for $25, CAT6A and Shielded. I don't think I've ever seen Unshielded CAT6 at that length for less than $30, let alone 6A and shielded.

I'm already sold. These guys can have all my cable needs forever.

Is there any European equivalent for Monoprice? Monoprice is always linked in these posts, and I always get jealous.

Must be nice to live in a world where cable capacities don't matter.

I bought a cheap USBc cable to charge my phone and it takes about twice as long to charge than the ones google ships with the phone.

Just ordered two 15 footers for less than $8 with shipping. Thanks!

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Also throw in an Anker 5+ port charger. All I bring with me on vacation now!

Anker Bluetooth speakers sound pretty great for the money as well.

Got one and it just recently stopped being able to connect to my phone after just a few months. I think it's got a warrenty though.

Their power Banks are amazing too. Have a had a 21000mAh for a couple years now.

I got an Anker power bank for Pokemon go when it was released. Quit playing about 2 weeks later but I've never left home without the power bank since.

Pretty much the same for me. Though I switched to a Sony phone with a huge battery soon after, since then I only needed it on occasions where I knew I wouldn't be coming home for a long time.

Same :)

I bought it in a sale shortly after PokeGo was released. Beast charger with 2.4A output so it charges faster than the plug that comes with my phone. I got a turbo charger since though so that is still better.

Their bluetooth speakers are also great.

Can second. Had mine for years. Rugged cheap decent base and loud. Can't beat it.

Would their power banks be suitable for a dashcam? I've had mine wired up to the fuse box for a while but I'm getting battery warnings now.

Would be kind of a hassle in my opinion. Do you have a cigarette lighter you can plug a USB charger into to connect your dashcam to?

I do but it annoys me poking out all the time. It's not a huge issue atm as I can pull the camera out quickly so it doesn't drain the battery when the engine is off, just wanted it to be as simple as possible. Ah well.

If you wire it into a circuit that's only on with the ignition you want draw down the battery. From the sound of it you need a new battery anyways

Literally just bought the lightning II 10 footer off amazon because my best buy insignia just broke

Got one for all my family for Christmas. Best gift

where is that thread about annoying phrases again?

I also support them. This was my wife’s big Christmas gift this year.

the best bang for your buck

Sounds like you're recommending a prostitute.

Anker Powerline II. Get the one with lifetime warranty. Last cable you’ll ever buy

They're great. Using one now and another coming in the mail.

Can we talk about Anker's packaging for a second? The guys who design their boxes deserve a raise. The box is designed with thought given to making it enjoyable to open. I ordered a powerbank from them and the quality of the product plus the quality of the package earned them a good deal of customer loyalty.

Indeed, they cost less than a similar cable in a typical retail store, and they last way longer.

Yep anker is one of the few companies on my "I only buy xx companies product because its the best I can find for what I need"

Ive got battery packs from anker and they are amazing, now im outfitting everything from cables to wall chargers to cat chargers from anker, cheap and a quality company to get your cables/battery packs from

Also love Anker, and if you keep your purchase order and take a photo of the serial number on the tag they'll replace it for free when it breaks. Bought one years ago and have had replacements free since. Thoroughly recommend their 6ft cables to everyone.

This. I’m an American living in the UK, I’ve got usb wall chargers all over my flat to charge shit.

I like Anker too, had a few problems with their charging cables but they've replaced them via next-day Amazon prime with only a photo of the damage, so not really going to complain too bad especially given the pricing.

Anker fo life, son.

Definitely. Got myself and my roommate each a 6-footer for Xmas. Best thing I got this year for sure.

Anker cables work until after their warranty expires.

....they have a lifetime warranty.

Weird. All the cables I've purchased came with one year

Yeah I took a look on Amazon and you're right, some say lifetime, and some say 18 months.

I wonder if they changed it and some are still listed as the old policy, or if different warranties apply to different cables.

My boss introduced me to this brand, and I'm a big fan. Unfortunately, when I got my new work phone (S8), the Anker USB C cables don't fit the case I opted for (wanted a case with a built in screen protector, cause tempered glass screen protectors are kind of shitty). Since I hate having to take off my case every time I charge, I hopped brands for those cables. Still use Anker for my personal phone, and have a few of their other items (multi port chargers, car dual chargers). It's a solid brand.

I've had 2 anker chargers and both give serious sparks whenever they're plugged in.

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What do you mean?

It's happened on a few different outlets with two different chargers.

I can't get any of those third party lightning cables to work with my iphone 7 more than a week or two, can anyone confirm this one will? It's not the cords that tear up. I assume it's the phone realizing it's not an apple charger. Honestly another reason, among the obvious, that I'm switching to android next year after years of iphones.

You're switching entire phone ecosystems because knockoff 3rd party chargers without the charging chip don't work? That's like never buying another Ford because you filled the gas tank with water and now the engine is blown. Samsung has special chargers too.

I explicitly said there were other reasons.

Plenty of options on Amazon

I buy the amazon basics ones here in the uk - for iPhone they are certified, durable and come in sizes from 10cm to 180cm(6inch to 6feet).

Lol what does certified mean

They’ve got that apple certification. Cheaper uncertified cables frequently work for a bit then stop working as apple devices seem to stop recognising them.
This :

“Apple MFi certification is a license shown that Apple (Apple Inc.) has authorized accessory manufacturers to mark the MFi logo on their products. MFi is the abbreviation of Made for iPod, Made for iPhone, and Made for iPad.”

I got two from Amazon, wife is so happy she can charge her phone lying on a bed

I always buy my iPhone chargers on Amazon. They're more durable than the shitty ones that Apple makes, plus you can get 3-5 of them in various lengths for under $15. It usually takes me a couple years to go through them.

It's almost like you dont see the comments above you

It's almost like you don't understand how to see when comments were posted

Online; retail stores tend to charge at least 10x what you should be paying, for any type of cable.

I bought one from Wal-Mart and it already broke

Yep, got the Vivitar one with the braided cable. Lasted about six months.

Exactly what happens to me every time I buy a cheap charger. I went through 3 or 4 in a year before I finally gave up and bought the $30 one. I just use an extension cord.

I always buy the Anker Powerline variation. Seriously. I spent some time with a dollar store micro usb lead ($4 + taxes), and it died within the month.

The Anker Powerline might be 3x more expensive, but at least it lasts!

Onn brand PS4 controller charging cables are $5 at Walmart. They don't last more than a year, but they're only $5.

It's just a micro-usb you don't need a special ps4 cord. And it will charge from any charger, doesn't have to be connected to the ps4. I keep a phone charger next to my couch that I mostly use for the DS4

I meant to imply that they made decent cheap phone cables, since they're long and everyone seems to want a damned fortune for long charging cables.

What the hell are you people doing to your cables that they break? Seriously, I'm really curious.

Using the phone in vertical mode while lying on my stomach.

But why plug it in if you're still using it? Let it charge a bit and then you can use it. You won't die from taking a 30 minute break from sending nudies on snapchat and texting bae.

ELI5: Lithium batteries have a limited number of times they can be charged and discharged.
Lithium batteries are happiest with shallow discharge/recharge cycles.
This means usually charging before the battery hits 50%.
Keeping the device plugged in not only provides the shortest possible charge cycle, it also lets the device operate primarily on external power which saves the battery from expending the limited number of discharge cycles.

For people replacing their phones every year (which is probably the same people that can't be without their phone for 2 seconds), it won't make much of a difference.

Li-on batteries in phones are rated for 3 years usage.

Sorry for the late response, but if you're interested: I charge my phone during the night, then unplug it in the morning. I have a LDR, so putting my phone away is kinda like ignoring my girlfriend (we have limited time to talk because of the time difference). When I'm outside after work, I can't charge my phone and when I'm in bed again, I charge it while talking to my girlfriend before sleep. I also don't replace my phone every year and (well, I had a few phone switches last year because I'm clumsy as fuck), but my S3 and S5 "broke" two batteries each, so I'm not too sure about their batteries being rated for 3 years of usage.

I'm not sure if this what's going on here, as I had the same problem with my PS3, but even brand name stuff from stores like Walmart can't be trusted. They force companies to make their product cheaper to increase revenue.

Take better care of your electronics.

I guarantee that you take better care of that $30 one because it was more expensive, and you treat the cheap one like trash because you've created the illusion in your head that it's garbage.

I bought a 2 foot from Walmart a year ago and it still works. It was like 3 dollars.

They don't really break unless you break them, but the cheap ones can be a lot slower with the power transfer. I've got an original cord for my phone that's 1 meter and a 3 meter one I bought from ebay, the 1 meter one fully charges my phone in about 1 hour, but the 3 meter one can't actually keep up if I'm using the phone at the same time.

Amazon. I got one for somewhere between $10-$15 after my dad recommended it to me and I’ve been using it for like 6-7 months of bringing it with me when I travel and room to room. Still in great condition. Can confirm extremely useful. I can go anywhere on the couch or around my room while keeping my phone plugged in. I want to move closer to my cat and keep my phone charging while I do so, boom I can. In fact I’m doing that right now. I can be on my phone while it charges and don’t have to worry about the phone getting unplugged. 10/10 would recommend for comfort and being closer to loved ones specifically cats.

5Below has em for $5 My 10’ lightning cable has been with me for about a year now and is still like new. I take it everywhere with me.

Five Below!!

I have gotten multiple from the store Five Below and so far they all still work months later. I have them plugged in all over the house. Lol

Where are you finding them for over $15??? I can't find any over $15 online. All hes talking about is the micro usb cable.

Winners always has them. Life changing

I bought one for myself about six months ago. Cost me $25 and is still in really good shape. I think it's one of those things you get what you pay for.

You can buy a USB extender .. 15’ extender $5.67 on Amazon. I electrical tape the phone charger to the extender so it can’t come out :)

Get one with braided cables, they last forever

If you live in the states the anker lightning II (for iphones) is $14.99 and is rated to be one of the most durable chords out there. Plus it has a lifetime warranty

I bought mine from a mall. 10ft and I’ve had it for a year now. $12.99

Nope. Amazon has threaded ones that hold up well. The only catch is the longer the charger, the slower it usually charges even when they claim fast charging.

You can get real cheap ones on amazon. I bought one for $8 I think a long time ago. They arent great quality of course but if you dont bend it a shit ton itll last a good while.

I bought a 4 pack of 10’ charging cables for iPhone/iPads on Amazon for $15. They have all been great beside the one my 4 year old destroyed. I don’t blame the cord for that though.

I got a pack of 3 for $9.99 on Amazon, they've been great.

i bought 4 pack of them on amazon for like 20 dollars i think. their braided too so no tangling

5 below has a bunch!

Got one for $15. Broke in a week.

5Below sells 10ft cables for $5

I'm I got one last year for my iPad. Or lasted a few months until something broke.

But it was amazing.

That reasoning is exactly why expensive cables exist. Cables are worthless basically. Pay more than a couple bucks and you've gotten a bad deal.

I bought a 3-pack of 10' chargers through Amazon prime for about $8. They're the quality ones that are bound in nylon rather than the rubber coating that eventually rips. Highly recommend.

My amazon basics lightning cable is 6 feet. Braided too. Pretty durable

Or an extension cord

Also Anker makes the best chargers in the world(Their claim) but they may be a little too expensive but it’s worth it.

Search the brand Volutz on Amazon. They sell a 5-pack of varying sizes for $17 (USB C) or $15 (micro USB), the longest of which is 10 feet. Definitely a step up from the Monoprice cables in durability for a really good price.

I have a 15 foot one for $5 from Five Below. Been 7 or 8 months and nothing is broken. How do you even go about breaking a charger? Do you eat your chargers or cut them with knives?

Try Syncwire cables, they have a lifetime guarantee.

Is it just me or have micro hdmis become total pieces of shit the past two years? I'm lucky to get more than a few months out of mine now. It didn't used to be this bad and I'm more careful with them now, then I was when they were actually kind of reliable.

Amazon has pretty good deals on phone cables. I got 3 10' sleeved USB C cables for like $20.

Cheap doesn't necessarily always mean bad. My brother bought me a 16ft HMDI for cost, about 10$CND, with the advice to not plug and unplug it often. That was 5 years ago and it's still 100% fine, one side is in my TV and the other end is for switching between laptop/PC.

Where do you shop? I just checked Amazon and the most 10' charging cables I saw (in the first couple pages of results) was $9.99. I bought a 3 pack of 15 footers for around $15 a couple months ago ago and they're holding up well.

Has mine fit close to two years now

Got one from my job for 5, fantastic peice and ive ran it over with my chair, walked over it, spilt liquids on it and its truckin like a boss still. Cant keep the fuckers in stock long enough to get another either...

Amazon basics cords are cheap and last longer than any cord I’ve ever had.

I got a package of 3 off amazon for around 10-15$.

Wal-Mart, $6, had it a couple of months and still looks like new.

eBay/Amazon

I have several from eBay they work perfectly and look cooler than your average lightning cable!

Did they assume the usb cables gender

Most cables don’t just ‘break’ - People break them because they’re too short, and insist on pulling/bending them while charging their device.

Buy a long enough cable, and more importantly don’t rest your phone on your chest with the cable bent out of the connector and it’ll probably outlast your phone!

3 feet or 10 feet cost about the same to make. Monoprice is life

Think the one I bought from Amazon was a similar price

I've bought them from dollar General surprisingly enough, and they're the kind with braided fiber, hold up pretty good if you don't have a dog who chews everything you love.

I use Anker, nylon braided cord for 10 bucks. It's awesome. Can't wait for the 10' Micro USB-C to come out.

Amazon basics

If you have a store called Five Below they sell them there. It’s basically a dollar store only more high falutin’.

Maybe even Groupon!

Five Below. Doesn't look like they're on their website, but I've created a small religion out of getting their 10 ft. Lightning cables.

Amazons 10' lightning cable is $15.99 cdn which I know isn't under $15, but it's close.

And those are good cables too.

Local mall has a vendor stall that sells everything from 5ft to 20ft chargers, had them on sale for a while for $5 a piece no matter what one you wanted. Even if they break after a couple of months for $5 I'm not gonna complain.

Amazon! They last about 3 months. But worth it for $10. I like cable matters. 15 feet cables.

I actually found one at my local Dollarama (like a Dollar Tree in the US). I think it was $4

I bought a set of 5 Anker cables (0.3m, two 0.9m, 1.8m and 3m) for 12€. A 3m AmazonBasics cable costs 7€.

Even if they break fast, they'd still last over a year (like all the other cables I have/had) and it wouldn't be worth it to spend three times as much on something that doesn't even last twice as long.

I just bought a 4 pack of USB-C cables from Amazon for $18. The cables are nylon braided. 1 is 3ft, two are 6ft, and the last one is 10ft. They've been tested and actually meet USB-C spec for fast charging and data transfer rates, even the 10-footer.

I got three braided 10' cables in a bundle from Amazon for $12.

I bought a 3 pack off of amazon for like $13 (android). They are truly life changing.

Can get a good quality 3m one from CPC for £2.32 if you're in the UK:

http://cpc.farnell.com/pro-signal/psg91156/lead-high-retention-usb-a-micro/dp/CS28042

“I give you Monoprice! - [All Gasping] I've sold Monoprice to Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook and by gum, it put them on the map! Well, sir, there's nothing on earth like a genuine, bona fide electrified, six-car Monoprice. - What'd I say? - Monoprice! - What's it called? - [ Together] Monoprice! - That's right, Monoprice! - [ All ] Monoprice. Monoprice. Monoprice.

I just bought a 10 ft for 14.99 at Target.

I just extend the length by soldering new wires. Low voltage DC suffers from voltage drop so the new wires should be fairly sturdy.

I bought a 10' one from Dollarama for $3 and it's still going good 6 months later.

Check Amazon, I usually get 3 10' cords for less than $15.

I got a 10-foot one that's been doing me good for 8-9 dollars from Amazon

Five Below have them too

I just bought one for $18 on Amazon for Christmas. It’s 10 foot long and indestructible, according to the marketing

Or get an Anker charger and a much shorter cable. Much more versatile and portable.

Yup I bought a large Anker battery for long trips, never used it otherwise. Figured I'd keep it around my couch and now I charge my phone whenever. Also very useful for guests because you just hand them the battery and forget about it.

Why would this change my life?

I have one and I can confirm its changed my life

In a similar vein, I really enjoy my wireless charger. Just set the phone down on it when its not in your hand and you never have to worry about a cable. I have one by my bed and one by my couch. Never a low battery.

Also one with a right angle charging end if you use your phone in bed while it’s plugged in. It reduces the strain on the cable so it won’t break.

Literally just purchased the anker 10ft lightning II on amazon and was my first thought when i saw this question!

Any good?

Anker is the way and the light.

I hope so, ive read good reviews on it but ill get it on monday

I've never had good luck with cables over 6' honestly. I'm sure there are great, well-functioning 10' cables out there but I always distrust cables over 6'.

I think the bigger game changer for me was having a magnetic USB cable. The little micro USB plug is just a nub that stays plugged into your device and the cable detaches a lot easier. As someone who always struggled with the micro USB port getting a bit loose over time and eventually failing to charge my devices, it's been an excellent solution as opposed to opening up my devices to replace the port.

Could just get an extension cord.

I have a frugal solution for this one, I don't have a living room. :|

I have a long ass charger cable in my room and it’s awesome, I can charge my phone from anywhere on my bed. Good choice.

I'd suggest 15' minimum. I used the cord that came with my pc controller to charge my cellphone one time and I've never looked back.

I can get this cables at my local 5 below shop for $5+tax. Best part is they come with 1 year warranty.

Something even better I have is usb extenders. You can do the same thing except you don't have to buy a seperate cord for everything and works for other things besides chargers.

$5 from the Dollar General for me

Using one right now.

Thats a great idea until my dogs chews it

very smart

People preach monoprice, I like them a lot. For a little higher quality cable and a longer warranty, I've been using anker. Almost as cheap, but I found the end of the usb cable fits better on my phone since it's slimmer, and the gauge is larger so it supports 2 amp fast charging.

I literally was just thinking I needed one for my ps4 controller 3 seconds before I clicked on this post

this is literally what brought me to read through all of these comments as well haha

My girlfriend, my brother and his girlfriend all got chargers and extra long usb cables for Christmas this year.

heck, i need one for my room just so i don't have to charge it on the other side of the room

I know this is a very expensive version of this, but if you’re like me and had a MacBook many a moon ago, take the charger extension from the MacBook charger and plug it into the iPhone charger where the socket goes. BOOM. Long charger

I asked for this for xmas after reading a similar thread on reddit. Such a game changer. Its perfect for college students and people who travel a lot.

I bought one of those socket outlets with built in USB charge outlets, fitted one in the living room and one in the bedroom, think they were £8 each... Pretty awesome.

The longer the cable, the slower the charge (for a given quality of cable). Not always a bad thing, a slower charge is allegedly better for your battery.

oh yeah!! got a 3m cable, seriously best buy under $20

I'd say a power bank as you're not confined to 10 ft radius (however long that is in metric units).

The last time I tried that it wouldn't charge as fast. Have they gotten better?

$11 CAD on prime for a 10ft Anker micro usb, that's like 8 bucks american.

I can confirm, 6ft at bed, 10ft by downstairs couch

There is a reason they are short. They do not want you using the device while charging. It is bad for the battery.

Note that there's a limit on how long you can get. I got a 25ft microUSB cable for a raspberry pi project and then found out that the signal degrades too much and can't fully power it.

I threaded mine through my couch cushions. Ultimate laziness.

In the US at least, code is outlet every 12 feet. So even in the worst position, you shouldn't need much more than 6'.

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Reaching a a 30" high surface would still give an 8' cable a 7'7 reach on the plane of the floor

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Im talking about times where online streaming was Kino.to (not even kinox, the first non busted one)

I'd take a guess and what say that most people here can't work with that information because it's a German streaming site. For everyone wondering: kino.to was online from march 2008 to june 2011.

Hows their quality? I have an android phone and in my experience every 3rd party cable breaks in about a month.

I got three braided 10' USB charging cables for my phone for somewhere around $12 on Amazon. I have one in my office at work, one in my van, and one in my bedroom. It really is wonderful.

We have two charging stations in two different rooms with both Android and iOS chargers. It makes it super easy to find a place to charge a device.

You can also get a usb extension. I bought one thwn used electrical tape to connect it to my phones original cable.

6' long now and still fast charges my phone

Portable chargers are a better solution IMO. Anker.

I buy the wire in bulk from Amazon. I feel like they fail pretty often but still worth it.

you buy the wire in bulk? how do you connect it to the ends?

I saw this suggestion on another AskReddit about a year ago. It does make such a difference.

Or just charge your phone at night/at work and it never gets under 50%.

I even got one from 5 below for 5 dollars and it worked perfectly.

Dude I bought a 3 pack that had a 3', 6', and 9' for around $15. Great investment though!

Why is this better than just putting my phone down for 15 mins?

I ordered a 3 pack of these for my husband for christmas. I accidentally ordered the ones that were 3 meters long. SWEET JESUS they are amazing.

I have a ten-footer at my bed and a ten-footer at my table.

Wouldn't the charging take longer, because the electricity has a longer way to go?

Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to just get a power bank?

Maybe I’m old fashioned or maybe I’m just human trashed but I just use and extension cord with a regular charger attached to that. Pro’s unlimited charging range: Con’s I look like human trash

Bad idea if you have a cat.

5 below...5$ for every cable. My 10ft cable is still going strong after 3 years

Not working with USB Type-C, but an extension cord should be a great workaround 😉

It can be like the old days, when phones were connected to the house!

Be sure to check what's the general recommended cable length for the type of cable you are buying. There will be signal degradation after said max length.

10ft? Just chain them together and get a 20ft cable going. Most freeing feeling to charge while walking around your house

Better yet get a 15 foot USB extension cable. If you get a new phone your 15 foot cable still works just swap out the charging cable.

Ditto, have a 10 ft one that is plugged in behind my couches runs out under it. It’s so great

I just keep a few around the house but multiple chargers is game changing.

Especially seeing as no one has USB C chargers to borrow

This tho. When I worked for an electronics store we got them damn cheap with a discount.

Cons: encourages being on your phone at bed time. Has been considered unhealthy.

Pros: samsung adaptive fast wired chargers will also charge a PS4 controller from the wall. +10ft cord... never stop gaming.

If you live on the east coast US there’s a store called 5 Below that sells cheap electronics for under $5. I got a 10’ charger from there and it’s lasted almost 3 years.

I got a 10 one but it was wayyy too long lol. The 6 is a good one too. Mine is by Anker

Nah. I have a clock with Qi wireless charging, and a clock with USB port that can charge. No wires strung out, easily accessible on my TV stand and dresser. The one was $40MSRP but in clearance, the second is under $25 on Amazon.

I like my Cable Creations 10 footer. It's high quality and they have a lifetime warranty! I cashed in on it once and it was super simple.

Syncwire cables are also great. Longest i have is 6.5 foot, works flawless on the couch.

On the topic of long cables: Keep in mind the longer the cable the higher the power loss. Because (i think) higher resistance. So when you charge from a battery pack, the smaller the cable the less juice you waste.

edit: translation error

Get a bunch, especially if you don't need one for an iPhone.

I bought a shitload of the USB micro cables for $15 or so. I can charge anywhere, not be annoyingly tethered to the wall, they support 2.1A, so charging is fast, and now that I'm getting deep into home automation, I'm finding that devices sometimes require it (for me, an IP Camera and my Raspberry Pi).

Then - when I got a new phone, it had the new USB fitting on it. No worries - I just got adapters, 10 for like $5

What brand, and does it work well?

I bought a 10' cord a few months back, and it charges crazy slow. I'm talking 10 hours from 10% to a full charge. If I use my tablet while it's plugged into my normal charger, the battery percent slowly goes up. Using the long charger, it seems to go down faster than when I don't have it plugged in at all. It's not even worth using really, I just keep it for guests

but pets....

I use the extension cable from my lawn mower

I have one sticking through the middle of my couch, i tuck it under the cushions when not using it, first world life changing.

This is really bad for your phone.

Let me clarify: a long charger cable is not bad for your phone. The cable makes your phone more accessible. Accessibility means that you will more than likely be using your phone while charging. This delays a full charge and over time affects battery health and longevity. Don't do this.

Not if you have iphone and want an apple charger. A 2m cable (which is max sold here) is $40.

I would love to but our dog has this amazing ability to find any loose cables hanging around and get tangled in them, or at least sit on them and pull things.

I have a 45ft cord at home and it's amazing

I was looking for one 6' cable on amazon, but most of them came in two packs for like $15-20, then I found a six pack that came with one 10', two 6', two 4', and one 2' from tiergrade that was only $12.

Better yet, buy a 10 ft+ long USB extension cable, and a bunch of 1 ft chargers. Same price, extra chargers to replace the others if they break.

Wow, that would almost be as long as my penis is!

I use a light weight extension cord. Never had issue. The weight in center is annoying but I have collected many, many ext cords, and various surge protectors, so it didn’t cost an extra cent. Using 6’ lt weight gives me 9.33 ‘.

But I have $15 and now I’m curious. THANKS!!😉

A decent multitool. I use my Leatherman all the time

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I have two wingmans, (wingmen?). One for the car and one for the desk. Leatherman tools are dope

Can this Wingman you speak of get me dates?

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For slicing the dates off the tree, right?

I just got one for Christmas from my uncle and i fucking love it so far.

Instruction unclear. Dick stuck between scissors.

Well use the screwdriver to pry it free, of course

Second this. Used mine three times tonight already. It's absolutely invaluable for me at work, and pretty handy around home.

but who doesn't want to be batman?

I prefer the Leatherman Rev, which is extremely similar to the wingman except it doesn't have scissors, makes it slightly thinner to fit in my pocket. Plus the pliers and knife kinda cancel out scissors in my opinion.

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Best wave accessory is the clip, never liked the pouches much

Best wave accessory is the clip, never liked the pouches much

I am solidly in the Rebar camp. Might be more than most urban office warriors need, but it has everything I need with zero flash.

I use a Wave in which I have installed the superior Rebar plier head.

Just offered one to my son last month and he uses it all the time. I'm jealous.

I love my wingman, its so solidly built and so useful. A tool I am going to be able to use for a long time.

I had the Kick growing up, but when I became a man I upgraded to the Wave, and it's the greatest gift I've ever gotten

I absolutely love my Leatherman Surge Black Ninja Edition from TTC, with a 416 layer handcrafted Damascus blade.

Great choice, tough and practical, perfect fo daily use.

A coworker asked to use my wingman a couple of months ago and the dumbass broke the blade by trying to use it as a lever to remove some cap.

Have had it for 5 years and was still OK, some hits and blemishes but OK.

Got me a sidekick last week, it looks the same but with a saw instead of the scissors, I gotta admit the scissors were more useful.

I really like the Surge. It's a little more heavy duty for those who work in trades or need something that can take a beating. The OHT (one handed tool) leatherman is great as well.

I have a Wingman and the scissors don’t work worth of shit. I love the screwdriver bits though.

ha ha ha amazing.

I second this. Leatherman Wave checking in.

Leatherman are ~~sick cunts~~ awesome. I bought a Leatherman MUT about four years ago, a friend of mine borrowed it at work and broke the knife point a couple of months back (used it to pry something).

Returned it for repair, and received a brand new replacement with box and sheath at no charge. Lifetime customer for sure.

Yep. I end up needing pliers way more than I need a knife. I love the Leatherman Skeletool

OMG I love my Skeletool. That's in my on-site EDC and it pretty much can limp me through the "investigation" phase of a service call or malfunction.

I use my Skeletool at least once a day. It's a lot less tool, than a wave or Supertool, but it's the size of a pocketknife and I can keep it in my pocket without even noticing the size/weight. All the bare essentials are there: Piers, wire stripper/cutter, knife, screwdriver.

P.S. The Skeletool CX is more than worth the premium. Carbon fiber accents, but most importantly the much higher quality blade steel on the knife. I've sharpened it once in the past 18 months.

I love my Skeletool. I have the CX. Two nights ago I got home and my (shitty) door decided I wasn't allowed inside anymore (I could lock/unlock, but the snib was stuck and not moving when I turned the handle).

Being broke, a locksmith wasn't really on the cards. Half an hour with the leatherman and I'd managed to destructively disassemble the entire lock and handle mechanism from the outside and get in.

And yes, the 154CM steel is quite decent indeed.

That's awesome! I've had to rewire my thermostat after my furnace crapped its pants, and it was delightful to have all the tools already in my hand instead of having to bust out the toolbox.

On my 3rd skeletool, as well as a MUT. The first skeletool was used as a mini crowbar by a friend and never opened/closed again, and the second one is at the bottom of the Mississippi River. Turns out, they don't float.

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A lot of it depends on what kind of work you do. I grew up on a farm, worked as a welder, and now I'm a machinist. My Wave has been with me for 14 years and gets used almost every day for at least something.

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That's fair. I know on the farm mine came in handy for everything from fixing fence to cutting wrap off bales. I'll admit I rarely ever use the drivers on it. Mostly just the pliers, wire cutters, and knife blades. The saw blade even came in handy a few times to cut saplings that were shorting out a fence.

Unifunction tools > Multitools in almost every situation in my life.

Yep. Multitools are ok for when you don't have the proper tools, but what's great for when you don't have the proper tools is the proper tools.

Yea that's because when you have actual tools, you use actual tools. The only reason I even carry a leatherman to a job is the amount of times I've heard "We shouldn't need pliers/knife/screw driver" and ended up needing one. I still like the thing and it's definitely useful and worth the purchase, but they get overstated how useful they are.

I agree. I'm in data analytics and carry mine in my backpack all the time but never find a use for it... =(

I carry a skeletool everyday.

As an IT worker, I mostly use the bottle opener, knife, and occasionally the driver to open up equipment.

People who work actual trades usually have a full set of tools nearby so they don't end up needing one.

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Ugh. Laptops used to be so bad. Want to replace this keyboard? Have fun finding 90 hidden screws and clips!

I carry my Gerber every day, and use it almost every day. Doing maintenance work it's a time saver not having to run for tools for every little thing.

I work the trades and never leave the house without my Gerber Crucial. What sold me was the weight, the caribbeaner clip, and the simplicity. It's always clipped to my belt, and I can flip it around for pliers/wire cutters or pull out the knife with one hand. To boot, the pliers cut ceiling grid wire with ease without getting damaged, and strips copper wire really well too. I own a lot of tools and the Gerber is easily the best tool I've ever owned.

I couldn't agree more. Growing up I got multi tools as gifts, but since I was young and not really super into tools, they were always crappy ones. Because of this, I had the opinion that all multi tools were crappy.

Fast forward to working at a tool store, and my boss lets me mark out a Leatherman for use at work (since screw drivers and such were sometimes necessary for customer service, in addition to a knife for opening boxes).

Changed my damn life. Now, I carry one all the time. So many uses I find for it day to day.

"Fun" fact: in Germany you are not allowed by law to carry a multitool, if the knife can be opened onehanded and is locked in place (which is the case for many MT iirc?). It must be transported in a locked container (backpack with ziplock is fine).

BUT: you are allowed to carry a full 12cm knife if you feel like it - no problem

Can't have people carrying around scary black high capacity assault knives.

So a Swiss Army Knife is fine then

yes, since you'd need two hands to open the blade

Ever try the sog powerassist?

Nope, hear good things about sog knives though.

High end sog is great low end is grabage

Because high end is for people that actually need it, and low end is for people who want to think they need SOG gear. Example being an Air Force desk jockey (like me!) who only needs a knife to cut an orange open, versus a guy guarding nuclear missiles (used to be me!) who may need a good quality multitool to last in varied environments for cutting rope, fixing weapon attachments, and things of that nature.

But for the price if a lower end sog you could get a very repectable kershaw.

Also congrats on the desk job.

Gerber same. They do make some good stuff if you wanna pay, but if you just want the name without the quality, 20$ is 20$

I dont think ive ever seen someone with a nice gerber.

Brother got me one of these for Christmas. Haven’t had much chance to use it yet. Only taken it with me to go fishing so far, but I know I’m going to take care of it and not lose it like the countless wire cutters/pliers/screwdrivers and every other thing that it has in it

Which model? The more you carry it with you, the more you'll see times where it will be useful. I don't walk out the door without mine, and I can honestly say it's more important to have on hand than my wallet.

They also have little ones that fit on your keychains! Let me tell you, having pliers/knife/scissors/screwdriver in your pocket all the time is fantastically convenient for something that you can't forget or not bother to carry like a full size multitool.

Now if only they'd make a mini with a real Phillips head...

Leatherman Rebar all the way!

I use mine almost daily at work, love the damn thing.

I like the gerbers myself, but a multitool is a must have

Gerber knives are good so I'd assume their multitool are as well. As long as it's knife blade has a good steel I'm happy.

Great just expensive, mainly the pliers on them are great, and most have carbide cutters on them.

Leatherman tools aren't exactly cheap either. My OHT was around $80. Worth it imo though

Most under-rated thing here. Saved my ass a few times on the side of the road. Old motorcycles can sure be finicky.

David Leatherman

For $200 get several. I have one in my car, one in a EDC bag, and 2 spares.

I miss my Leatherman. My fraternity bro bought me an engraved one as a gift for his groomsmen and somebody fucking stole it at a party. Haven't had a decent multitool since, even though I've asked for Christmas every year

Supertool checking in.

gerber for life here. the slide out pliers rather than the unfold pliers are so much better imo.

Mine slide out too. Leatherman OHT

What does it say about me if I got three multitools for Christmas?

Sounds like you usually lose them.

Just found mine after losing it in the stock room for about 2 months, it's like getting 5 extra fingers!

A friend introduced me to his other friend.

"You two have something in common! You're always saving me when I need a knife or some pliers, because you've always got your pocket tools."

My new best friend and me, in unison (the first thing we say): "You should yourself get a multitool and stop borrowing mine."

I've never used anything other than the blade. Which makes it rather replaceable.

I've got a leatherman that I barely ever use, but that's just because I've usually got a toolbox around. Really, just having a decent set of tools is all you need. Granted, I've spent more than $200 on tools over the years, but I could probably put together a reasonably good kit for $200

I recently got a mini multi-tool as a secret santa gift for Christmas - within a few days of getting it, i ended up using all 5 tools (toothpick, tweezers, knife, nail-filer, mini scissors)! I love it!

Sounds like you got a Style CS. I have one on my keys. Super handy.

I have accumulated 6 Leathermans (Leathermen?) over the years. 3 of them are the Squirts because I'd lose one, buy another, and end up finding one again. I use them daily.

This is such a great suggestion. You never know when you will need one of these. I ended up getting my groomsmen small ones as gifts and they all still use them 8 years later. Great gift idea and everyday carry.

A painter's five-in-one, too. No matter what project I'm working on, it's always come in handy.

Get a good one, though. Purdy does it right.

Love mine! My sweetie gave me one with my initials carved in it.

I bought a Leatherman Charge TTi in 2003, and it is still the best everyday carry thing that I have ever owned. Keep it oiled, keep it dry, and they will honestly last forever.

Leatherman Skeletool for the win! Plus a small LED torch. I use them both pretty much every day.

I have one in my car that I use to carry every day for my job. I changed jobs, and I miss carrying it. Now I just carry a standard Swiss Army Knife even though 99% of the time I don't need it.

+1 for a Leatherman. Definitely one of the best things I own.

Survivorman agrees.

A decent multitool.

Sounds like that guy with the two dicks.

That reminds me- I need to locate my leatherman. lost it somewhere around my house.

I didn't have a tool set when I got my first apartment and first pieces of furniture; I built everything in my apartment with my multitool. The furniture was all from Ikea and the process was painful, but my multitool now holds a place in my heart.

Last time a question similar to this was posted I said knife/multitool and people shit on me about carrying it around. My favorite comment was "just get the scissors from the drawer or a screwdriver from the garage".

And if you don't want to have to carry around something heavy, they make small keychain size ones that are still incredibly useful.

Victorinox Swisstool > any Leatherman.

Have several of both, Swisstool is better.

Can attest. Happened to bring my multitool to my program monitor job (watch kids play basketball) and I needed to use pliers to get a broken needle from a basketball pump out of a basketball. There was no other way to get it out without pliers. Thank you multitool!

My dad got me a super crazy letterman that also had a hammer and wrench and everything. It is really light and makes me feel so much safer when it is in my backpack.

Could not agree more, although check out the SwissTool Spirit, absolutely amazing multitool, it's my favourite every day carry tool. Far better than the Swiss army knives and in my opinion, most leatherman.

https://www.eliteoutdoorgear.com.au/product/victorinox-swisstool-spirit-plus-ii-in-nylon-pouch/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAvrfSBRC2ARIsAFumcm-dvRGxMF6umOW3Ucm5dAswp7A5u4ysnsZNXtFODIdVVVmoCo9IHbIaAiplEALw_wcB

As a mom I use a multi tool more than any man I've ever known.

Agreed. I used my Leatherman so much I decided to marry him. How am I the first person to make this joke?

Me too! https://imgur.com/FoSyGCT

Paid $80 for a digital/keypad door lock for my front door. It auto locks after 30 seconds. No more wondering if I locked up. No more worries about keys. I can go on a run and not carry anything. I will NEVER not have a digital door again.

Edit: posted this and went to sleep so of course it blew up. I bought UNNAMED LOCK "dumb" lock (keypad only, no IOT) from UNNAMED COMPANY. It runs on AA batteries and has a key override.

Edit 2: I removed the product name and purchase place name in an effort to get the original reinstated. Dont know if it had anything to do with it but it is back now.

Did this get deleted???

Paid $80 for a digital/keypad door lock for my front door. It auto locks after 30 seconds. No more wondering if I locked up. No more worries about keys. I can go on a run and not carry anything. I will NEVER not have a digital door again. Edit: posted this and went to sleep so of course it blew up. I bought a Kiwkset 909 "dumb" lock (keypad only, no IOT) from Woot/Amazon. It runs on AA batteries and has a key override.

Yea wtf... Nazi mods

Why did they delete it? Because it mentions a product? This thread is literally "tell me what to buy".

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... sure it can... Maybe they didn't pay the fee to keep this comment.

If Facebook can do it...

It could be if this comment got reported to the mods and the other one didn't.

Was there an Amazon affiliate link? If not WTF mods, you gonna kick some puppies on the way out too?

And if they left it this thread would be filled with /r/hailcorporate people saying this is all an advertisement for said product and the mods should be fired for letting this be on their frontpage.

Not really aimed at you but worth saying.

It's not a damn ad if people were asking for the name of the product. "What brand of watch is that?" "Well it's a Rotary watch, pretty reasonably priced. Here's a link." "What the fuck dude? You're such a corporate shill!" "But you asked" "Yeah? So what?"

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Mod bought by old lock lobby. Sad.

omfg wish i could give you reddit gold

Probably personal information. Revealing what ~~massive security hole~~ lock you have on your door could turn out poorly.

My guess is it was over the price cutoff in the title?

But the post clearly asks under $200 and this digital lock was $80

Oh true, I mis-read it as lower, thanks.

Automod pulled it after it got edited due to certain keywords often found on spam, it has since been reapproved.

whoa. i never realized you were a real person. i just thought you were a sub and now it's like... like you know how old timey people from caveman days probably felt when they discovered the sun illuminated their world? that's what i'm going through right now.

please acknowledge me. it's all i want. TELL ME I AM GOOD AT INTERNET!!!!! PLS TO HALP!!!!! PLSSSSSS!!!

You are good at computer

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Bless your heart.

Do you want to manually read through hundreds of thousands of newly created comments each day for foul language for zero pay? Didn't think so.

It's unfortunate you can't upvote the deleted comment.

Or they deleted their own comment?

It would say "deleted" rather than "removed"

Do you remember when YouTube had NO ads?

Marketers are trying hard to stealth-monetize reddit.
You are a big fat target with "$$$" on your forehead. Making "nazi" rules like "We're just not going to mention specific brands on the front page" is one of the few resources we have.

This is a thread where people ask for product recommendation... Feel free to promote your product here. This suggestion got 2k upvotes, are you suggesting it was all boted?

We put one of these in and it seized up. They are an absolute pain in the ass to get into when they malfunction. The locksmith couldn't even get into it, and in the end just had to cut a hole in the door to remove the whole thing. Never again.

Is this a house with only one door? Did the locksmith try a window?

Does seem strange.

“Sorry mate, can’t unlock this lock, I’ve no choice but to cut a man-sized hole in this door so you can get in”

“But...we’ve got a side door, and an entry off the garage, if you can ju...”

“No! Can only cut a man-sized hole in this door. That’s it. Only option. Sorry.”

I think the hole was just to cut the locking mechanism out.

Yeah, no I do realise that. I was taking comedic license. But even still, you’re cutting a fucking hole in my door, can we maybe check a window or other door, first?

The locked "siezed". It has nothing to do with it being locked from the inside and everything to to do with the fact that the lock won't physically move any longer.

Especially if they lock seized while the door was open. Now you can't even shut the damn thing.

...N-no, no, that was part of the joke too! Haha, isn't that guy so funny?!

The trouble is fixing the device, not getting into the house. If you can't get into it to fix it, you have to cut it out.

Great for security, bad if something malfunctions.

most would be removable in a non-destructive manner from the inside

I don't think it was an issue of getting into the house, but rather making the door functional again. "Seized up," makes it sound like it wouldn't unlock even from the inside.

Just leave the busted lock forever?

An apartment, this door was the only way in

And the resident can just use the window daily right?

Sounds like bullshit, or crap locksmith. You can always drill your way through the internals of a lock and unlock it.

Seems pretty secure though

Mine is a total piece of shit too. If it was on a door we use more I'd get rid of it. If it's not lined up perfectly it sounds like it's locked and isn't. Also the keypad is hit and miss, the numbers are worn off, it doesn't reprogram the way it's supposed to, and the beep sounds changed in volume and tone three times before they failed entirely. $100 mistake here.

Sounds like it got old?

Got old after what, a few years? I love modern things but digital locks are not one of them. The old-school lock in my front door is 40 years old and functions perfectly. Doesn't need batteries, can't be hacked, not a single plastic part, weatherproof, all it needs is a drop of oil every 5 years.

can't be hacked

Unless you've got a hair pin

My front door has a cruciform lock, it's a lot harder to pick. But not impossible, I admit.

I hadn't heard of those before just now, but I've seen one before. Why did you choose to get one of these? Do you have any windows? My theory on security is that there is no wholely secure system (or premises), only levels of deterrence.

The numbers wearing off I understand. Even the beeping issue. But everything else was like that straight out of the box.

Probably considered an ad.

That would be retarded in this thread... It is basically people asking for ads...

I just bought a car that has a proximity key; so I can just walk up to the car door with my keys in my pocket, grab the door handle and it unlocks automatically. I feel like an absolute plebeian when I have to search for my key to my apartment after getting out of my car. I’m definitely going to look into one of these once I buy a house!

Can't someone hack it?

Someone probably could, but I think if they're gonna go to the trouble to hack my door to get in, they might as well just bust a window and crawl in.

Pick a lock, bypass a lock, break a lock...
So many shitty locks out there.

The locks that run off your wifi are the ones that can be easily hacked. If a thief had the know how to access a wifi network in sure they'd do that instead of leaving all that evidence of forced entry.

That's the thing that scares me, though. Don't wanna anyone to HACK inside my own home. I'd rather they break the window.

I agree. I would rather they break a window. At least I'd have more proof for my homeowner's insurance. I had a lock with a pincode on my old apartment, and it was just so convenient. You just put in the pin, and you're in. You don't have to go with one that you use with your phone, some can just have the keypad. I'd almost prefer those, to be honest.

I use this same model and can vouch for it and its simple yet massive enhancement to my life.

Wait, so we can link to monoprice but mentioning Kwikset/Amazon is forbidden?

It just got “un-deleted” lucky you, double the karma.

Edit: Changed an autocorrect

I still see it, maybe it was reinstated?

Damn what's he going to do when the battery dies one day?

and has a key override

But what about when your key battery dies? What then smart guy?!

Shit, you got me there, Boss.

He said it has a key override. So as long as he has a key on him or accessible (with a friend/neighbor/family member/fake rock), he should be ok.

Many of these locks have a spot where you can touch a 9V battery on the outside incase the normal ones on the inside go flat.

So hide a battery in a fake rock!

I don't understand, why does the keypad have 2 numbers by key, how do you choose which one to press?

You just press, and it registers as either.

does the cold in winter drain the batteries?

yeah but not too baddy. We are on a week plus of below freezing and they are going strong

I bought one also during a Christmas sale half off $40, the family loves it, don't have to worry about kids losing their keys and it's nice when you're hands are full and you need to unlock the door easily.

People with authority love to disappoint. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a subreddit somewhere where they share how they screw people over.

Sorry to be that guy but is this really secure? Sounds like something that could be hacked easily

Regular locks can be hacked easily.

The truth... Hurts!

I bought a lock pick kit on Amazon just to try my house lock. After a 10 minute lesson, I could pick both my door handle lock and dead bolt in under 5 minutes.

Any more easily than normal locks? Go look up a bump key. It'll open pretty much any lock it'll fit in.

Generally things with complex operating systems are more susceptible to hacking. Devices which use basic microprocessors are generally more secure as there is less stuff that can be 'hacked'. It can be done, but I wouldn't say it is much easier than picking a standard lock.

We are living in 2018.

This man/woman is living in 2058.

Seriously tho I didn't think I needed something like this.

*Edit - the mods removed the comment. This is what it said:

Paid $80 for a digital/keypad door lock for my front door. It auto locks after 30 seconds. No more wondering if I locked up. No more worries about keys. I can go on a run and not carry anything. I will NEVER not have a digital door again.

I love mine too for the same reasons. You can also unlock it remotely with your phone if you have someone coming over but arnt home yet. You can pin protect the app.

you can also configure things to have them auto unlock when you get home

I'm getting more and more amazed and excited with every comment

The one my parents have (I think it was like $120?) lets you issue “keys” to other people to let them open a door, but only on specific days. So for example you can allow a key access on tuesdays between 12pm and 2pm. Or you can issue temporary keys that let a person unlock the door for a given amount of time (and again hour limited), on top of remotely locking/unlocking it.

It’s incredibly useful.

can you ask which it was and link it? I'm curious now

Sounds about the price range for "August Smart Lock"

Perfect for when you have more then one girlfriend! wow.

I'll just leave this here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMB1CkZi6t4

Very interesting, love to learn new things. thanks for sharing

That was painful to watch.

Tuesday's for the maid

That is perfect if you have a cleaner coming.

I lose my keys all the time, I would just lose my phone and screw myself over.

Most let you program a PIN, so you don't even need a phone. The only thing I use my phone for is detecting when I'm home so I can unlock the door with one button through an actionable push notification when I arrive home.

Somethings just aren’t for everybody

That’s fucking incredible

issue temporary keys that let a person unlock the door for a given amount of time

My last Air Bnb had the Kiwkset lock probably for this reason.

I use mine for my detached man cave. Auto locks every night, and when I unlock it it turns on my lights, fan, LED lights, air conditioner (if it's summer), TV, Xbox, and starts playing whatever song I favorited on sound cloud last. They all auto turn off when I lock the door too, but only if the lights are off.

Smarthomes are the future my friend!

Jesus Christ,what kind of trickery is this!

Samsung smartthings as a hub for Z wave and zigbee devices (like smartbulbs, smart light switches, the door lock, ECT) and Harmony Hub for everything that uses IR signals (the tv, LED lights, Xbox, air conditioner, ect).

You can use a "smart app" in Samsung smart things called webcore to set up logic statements too. That will REALLY send you down the rabbit hole! Top it off with Google Home or Amazon Echos for voice control!

Fuck I've spent too much money on this.

I can't afford it all but I want it all.

Fuck this is what makes me excited about getting my own place once I can afford it

As a fairly new home owner, I suggest setting aside a decent amount in a repairs fund first. It's not fun to buy a bunch of cool gadgets, and then have your AC break down in a 100°+ summer...

Similar situation.

The temptation is real lol. "Remember your A.C. is old....remember your a.c. is old."

That's what's been keeping me from doing the smart home thing. Sure I can buy an outlet that makes my device smart, but it's $30 per item. If I wanted to do up an entire room like you have it sounds like at least $500 plus time spent setting it up.

It's just not a cost effective scenario.

Honestly, most outlets you want hot all the time, it's switches/lights you want to do things.

Try more like $50 per item. We really love ours though and I’ve set it up over the course of 3 years. Already had a few switches installed before I even bought the hub.

Cost me around $400 to do my man cave (which is far more involved than everything else) and that includes the "brain" that works for the rest of my house (Samsung smartthings hub). The rest of my house I either use a smartbulb ($10-$15 a pop) plus a switch (~$15 used) or a $30 light switch. Throw in a used $23 Amazon echo Dot and the room is done for $50.

what smart bulbs do you use? I just got an echo dot and am trying to figure out uses for it.

I love technology.

what lock do you have?

Got a Google Home for Christmas. Hoping I can eventually set up something similar for our basement in our next house. This is great

Is there a subreddit for all this trickery?

There is! /r/homeautomation

Which lock are you using?

"Yale Real Living Electronic Push Button Dead Bolt". Although I think most smart locks can do all of this as long as it's z-wave technology. You will need a hub like Samsung smartthings as the brains for all of it though.

Is there a subreddit for all this trickery?

I remember a disney? movie about a smart home. It held the family hostage.

Look up the book Demon Seed by Dean Koontz I think, basically this

What's your automation hub?

Edit: I need to use my eyes. You already answered below

Damn, that sounds amazing. Putting that on my list of things to put in my future house

And I thought I was up on some Star Trek shit when I used Alexa to turn off a set of lights in my office. God damn that's awesome.

Fuck me, what is it and where do i get it?

Check out my recent post history for more info. I went over it in a post earlier today. But DO ITTTTTT!!!!!

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Personally I'd love a smarthome, but all that wasted idle electricity...
I unplug my router every time I don't use it or when I leave the house. Smart bulbs would still drain power. Belgium wants to implement smart electricity meters, I would hate that since I'd have to leave my router plugged in.
Right now they are airing commercials about you knowing how to not waste electricity when things are idle, when the smartmeters come it'll be that idle electricity they are talking about now.

A router doesn't use much power on idle, heck, even running. http://energyusecalculator.com/electricity_wifirouter.htm

We're talking under $10 a year. Is that worth it to you?

I believe my UPS reads that my router/modem uses 2 watts while running, it's extremely negligible

You could get smart electrical plugs that turn off at specific times or based on location.

I didn't think I needed one of these when the security guy sold me on one of these a year ago, but I love it. Locking your door from your phone is cool.

But mine doesn't do any of the stuff you described. Would you mind giving a model number or manufacturer?

It would be awesome, except my wife forgets her phone at home half the time, and I just know I'd get home to her in a bad mood...

I hate ask the question this way, but who in this day forgets their phone half the time. It seems like they are vital for most people.

Whether you want a ride or to talk to a friend or access to your bank or just to keep yourself entertained for a few minutes of down time.

And this is the same conversation I have with her every time...

This may seem hard to believe but phones are not as important to a lot of people's lives as you may think they are to yours. I often leave my phone at home if I'm going somewhere, in fact none of those examples you give are "vital" at all, especially say if you are running to the store to grab something. Why would you need a ride if your driving? Why do you need to talk to a friend in the 15 minutes your gone? Check your bank balances at home and if you can't entertain yourself for a few minutes of down time without your phone then you have a problem...

Need to pair a z wave or zigbee door lock with a hub. Check out my recent post history for a lot more detail.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did that all cost and how is that set up, wireless receivers attached by USB to everything?

there a bunch of standards but z-wave and zigbee are the current big smart home wireless protocols. get a hub, ie. wink, smarthings,... and they can handle both as well as other less common ones and provide a central location to tie them all together as well as make them accessible from a computer/phone/....
after that it's just a matter of configuring things how you want. the sky is the limit

for cost hubs are $50 to $100 US smart door locks are about $100 and up smart light switches and plugs are roughly $30-$50, not sure on door/window sensors hit /r/smarthomes

Check out my recent post history. Answered this a few posts back. Long story short, it's z wave and zigbee technology.

Could I ask what you used for your setup? I’m wanting to do the same.

Check out my recent post history. I've given a decent description a minute ago

Awesome! How much has this cost you?

For the man cave I spent $80 on the lock (used on Amazon), $25 each on two toggle z wave light switches (used on Amazon), $80 on the harmony Hub (controls IR devices like the Xbox, tv, surround sound, air conditioner), $100 I think on the SamsungSmartthings hub (was $50 on sale recently, controls the z wave and zigbee devices like the smart lightswitches, lock, ect), a used echo dot for $23 for voice control, a z wave microwitch that I installed into a recessed electric heater for $30 (so that I can control my heat based on temperature and whether or not I am home or away or sleeping), and a motion sensor for my alarm system that also reads temperature for the electric heater. So I think it was around $400 or so, but the Smartthings hub controls most of the lights in my house as well as my alarm system too. A lot of this stuff I received as gifts and did slowly over the last two years.

Where is a good place to start learning what my options are for a smart home? I want this but can't ever seem to get any traction when I try to research.

I haven't really read any guides. I received the Smartthings hub as a gift two years ago and just kind of started with that, a harmony Hub and some lights. Just understand that most of this stuff runs off of zigbee and z wave technology. Zigbee and z wave devices can either send information to the Smartthings hub (like temperature, motion detection, whether a door is open, ect) or it can perform actions that the Smartthings hub tells it to do. It's all logic statements essentially. For example, I have it set up so that if my man cave door unlocks (z wave device), it tells my two z wave light switches to turn on, and to run "man cave open activity" on my Harnony Hub. Harmony Hub controls IR devices, so I have that activity turn on Xbox, turn on TV, turn on surround sound, turn on air conditioner (if it's summer), and set everything to the right input.

I went off on a tangent there. Long story short, just think of Smartthings as the brains and everything else sends and receives the info the brain needs to make decisions and also carries out the orders from the brain.

You can also let the Amazon delivery driver in to poo in your toilet while you’re away.

How secure is this method though? What if someone spoofs the device and gets in?

That's a growing concern. But honestly if any thief puts the effort then they would get in another way. Same with standard locks. They're deterrents, always a way past.

there is a bunch of different ways to have things configured on it knowing when you get home. Could be based on your phone arriving, home and connecting to the local wifi, could be some other geo tagging like was mentioned it's a concern. No hi security location will be implementing smarthome style automation any time soon but really gaining access to someones house illegally usually can be done with a few seconds and a crowbar. I doubt they'll hack the computers to do it.

I guess the difference is if someone takes a crowbar to your door you are going to know about it when you get home. If someone manages to enter your home by compromising the digital lock somehow is it going to be immediately obvious to the home owner?

Also would be interesting to know how home insurance is affected as well. Would an insurance company pay out in the event of a "digital break in"?

What if you leave your phone at home by accident 🤔

most if not all of them have a pin pad as well as the wireless connection

Just what the people waiting in then bushes for you want to know.

I’m not paranoid I just can’t beleive how much we are putting ourselvles our into the internet.

Zigbee or other smart home item? Just be aware the whole security around these thing isn't as great as some people would want. Some hacker could remotely unlock your door..

Or if you have a friend coming over but you don't want to get off your couch

Yale smart lock - I work within this industry and I love this system. Being able to send virtual keys just seems too cool. So if you have a friend staying over you can just give them a key to use while they are there (rather than unlocking it for them every time). Admittedly it is over the $200 mark but it’s still pretty cool

Cause that's not a huge vulnerability... I'd rather have a dumb digital lock than one that opens my home to any crackpot hack with an internet connection.

Its relatively easy to kick a door in, if a determined person wants to get in, they will. The overwhelming majority of break ins/burglaries are crimes of opportunity its unlikely a person will go through that trouble when they can just go next door and pick your neighbirs lock in 60 seconds, or go through a window or backdoor, etc. Thats not to say that the risk isnt worth discussing and I personally agree with using a dumb digital lock, but thats a largely overstated risk in my opinion. Also the majority of criminals doing residentiak break ins arent that bright.

Edit: Also with many smart locks you can set it up to notify you anytime its unlocked so you know right away and can access a camera/call your spouse/roomates/etc or call the police

My dad always says locks are for honest people. If someone wants I’m, they’ll find a way.

It’s all about making your house more difficult to enter than another place. It may not be particularly difficult to break in (really the only thing stopping people from opening the door is the fact that there’s about a cubic inch of wood and a metal fitting holding it closed), but most crimes are crimes of opportunity. The vast majority of would-be thieves will be stopped by a lock, because it’s just easier to keep trying doors ‘til you find one that isn’t locked.

I agree 100%, though I'm still not trusting the internet with my actual front door. That's just principal... I don't need to let anyone in remotely. If I trust them inside my place without me, I can probably trust them with the pin. Plus I'm sure that can be changed easily if need be.

How many digits is the code, and what happens if someone tried to get in a few dozen times while you were gone without your keys or phone?

I know with mine that it will set off the alarm and notify me if there are too many wrong trys.

Ok, that sounds cool as shit.

So many times I would come home from school and realise I forgot my keys when I left in the morning. Parents aren't home from work, and my brother's god knows where.. so i just had to sit.... and wait.

If someone could have remotely unlocked the door for me, damn!

Can I ask which type this is? I’ve been looking at getting one.

That means someone else can easily unlock it as well. Then again, homes are never actually secure anyway.

Was this the one featured on shark tank?? I remember seeing an episode where the guy had something almost exactly like this

So we can hack into houses now? Neat!

We have a house cleaner and I can use the lock to see when they come/go. It's super handy.

What happens if your keypad battery dies, or your phone? Do you still have to carry a backup key with you?

My friend has one and it's great cuz he'll just shoot us the guest code so there's no "hey let me in" "just a second I'm in the bathroom" stuff.

Can you have a guest pin that works for a short period of time then no longer becomes valid?

This sounds like a good way to get your place broken into by someone who knows their way around technology. Which is pretty common these days so... and they wouldn’t even have to touch it to break in. Just hack the thing wirelessly. I mean if people can figure out how to hack their way into cars they could figure this out.

Living in Korea makes you realise how backwards you can be. Auto lock, heat mats, paying by phone..

S Korea does alot of things right but some things I was less than satisfied with were:

  1. combined toilets / sink / showers

  2. an inoperable Google maps

  3. Tapping your card twice on the bus

  1. I agree. Its.. weird.
  2. Well, they use Naver navigation instead. Can't blame them for using a local product.
  3. thats because sometimes you gotta pay an additional charge for the route you took.

Well, they use Naver navigation instead. Can't blame them for using a local product.

That's fine and all but from what I've seen it's an inferior product in that you can't track your location in real time. Also it's entirely in Korean...not friendly at all to people not living there like me.

And the wastepaper bin inside each cubicle...

2058 is when you use an rfid implant in your hand to automatically unlock your door when you reach for the knob.

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I was just following the meme format. People have been doing this since at least 2010.

The root comment has been deleted but the subsequent comments leave me thinking I need what this person was suggesting. What was it?

Op said they had a key code on their main door so they just put a code in to get in and it auto locks after 30 seconds. No keys

I recognized the joke format. But at first I thought 2018 was the future. How can it be 2018 already?

Comment removed. Can you add a mirror?

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Hey keeps me in business! But honestly even smart locks fail and need matinence. I'm with you though, surprised they aren't more common yet. They are getting there though.

I can’t think of a time I’ve heard of a mechanical malfunction causing an entry lock to fail. Now, I’m not a locksmith either but the basic key to lock method seems like a pretty tried and true concept with a primary focus on security. It seems like convince over security is the idea behind a key pad. But I maybe wrong.

I believe most electronic keyless locks are designed around existing mechanical (key) locks. So you can still use a key to enter, and therefore not really losing any mechanical functionality.

Maybe half are designed like that. The other half are they're own design to be used separate from other locks. And not all have key back up. Idk who thought that was a good idea but someone did

I'm a locksmith, I've had countless calls to fix them and gain entry. It happens. It will always happen. Just maybe eventually less than now

I'm a locksmith, I've had countless calls to fix them and gain entry. It happens. It will always happen. Just maybe eventually less than now

I'm a locksmith, I've had countless calls to fix them and gain entry. It happens. It will always happen. Just maybe eventually less than now

I'm a locksmith, I've had countless calls to fix them and gain entry. It happens. It will always happen. Just maybe eventually less than now

Im on my phone so i cant really tell, but i think i posted my other commenr like 5 times.. if i did, im sorry. Also, even normal mechanical locks still fail so electronic locks will definetly not be different.

Fools, this is just what the machines want!

I live in Korea and most apartment doors here are electronic passcode locks with a magnetic key backup. It's fantastic.

But it's a cool thing to have, I can imagine myself going out and coming back drunk and start searching for the keys.

Comment was deleted. What was it?

Op said they had a key code on their front door. So they just put a code in to get in and it auto locks after 30 seconds

Why would the mods delete that?

The best part of an electronic deadbolt is walking the dog with no keys!

That tech isn't too new at least the idea sounds like it evolved from the fingerprint digital lock.

My friend dated this guy back in 07ish???? Well I remember needing to hear something from his place for my friends since I worked close to him and she was in school.

The guy lifted what looked like a blocked keyhole for your front door and it scanned his finger then unlocked the door.

I wouldn't be shocked if that auto lock came to light after the fingerprint unlock

I've had a front door with a keypad for the past decade. It is a wonderful thing knowing when I close the door it is locked,and I won't need a key to get back in.

I'm just shocked more people haven't heard of these. I've had one for years as well... They are very 2016.

In about 1987, a classmate of mine had this. So 2058 might be a little bit of an exaggeration.

He deleted his comment for some stupid reason, what did his comment say?

Mods deleted it. It's back now.

We are living in 2018.

This man/woman is living in 2058.

This meme needs to stop.

If I was a thief I'd just hide across the road with a camera and record the number being punched in.

I took that a step further and got a network attached key system for my front door. Now whenever the door is locked or unlocked I get a notification, and I can lock and unlock remotely. Been a lifesaver in several situations. Never have to worry about being locked out again.

I got mine because I had my house on the market. Real estate agents have a bad habit of scheduling a showing between 1:30 - 2:30 and then showing up at 3:15 like it's no big deal. Meanwhile you packed up 2 dogs and a kid, cleaned the house, and got out at 1:20 to drive around and try to keep the dogs and kid happy for an hour only to come home and have no idea if the agent even came yet.

So I said forget that... I'm getting an alert the moment the door is unlocked, so I will know when they arrive and leave. It worked like a charm!

A courtesy text from the agent telling you that they’re done would be nice.

Many many agents are assholes.

Never put a house up for sale in a development they are still building. You will get dozens of agents using your house as a model home for someone who has no intention of buying your house, but wants to build one that same model. Fucking assholes.

Build a home of your own design. Also don't build it inna development lol

That would be great if I had twice as much money to spend and wanted a much longer commute.

Unfortunately many real estate agents are jackasses.

That’s when you then come home and hang around naked. They won’t make that mistake again.

If only it was the same agent showing every time, it sure would!

I guess you’re just going to have to let a lot of people see your dingleberries.

You think that’s good? My door asks a riddle that I must answer correctly before I am allowed to enter. The riddle is always different too. I have had to sleep outside on multiple occasions and I also often get robbed.

The tea in Nepal is very hot.

But the coffee in Peru is much hotter.

I now need a Sphinx to guard my door

Or two. One that always tells the truth, and one that always lies.

STOP!! He who would cross into the home of McFluzz must answer me these questions 3! Ere the other side he see!

Ask the questions. I'm not afraid.

H-H-W-Hat is your name?

You have to wait for someone else to answer the riddle so that you learn too huh?

Hands down one of my top 200 D&D moments was when an all orc all evil PC party encountered a grandfather plaque and he kept making them approach to answer a riddle and breathing fire on them no matter what they said. They were so conditioned to riddle opens door that they took maybe 50 damage between them all before they figured out it was just fucking with them and was not going to open

What brand?

August and I think kwikset both can do this, wouldn't be surprised if schlage also has an option, and if you have a hub-based system like a vivint panel you can use any z-wave smart lock

Yeah, I have Schlage it was the best looking one I thought.

I get very nervous about the reliability...is there still a keep in case it craps out?

yes. depending on the unit, some fit over an existing lock (meaning you can keep all your old keys) while some are full replacements. hell, in my case, i got lucky and ended up being able to fit my old cylinder in a replacement style since both were by kwikset, so i got a brand new lock but still kept my old keys.

That's what I need! I'm assuming you only lock the deadbolt?

yup! I have a z-wave lock set up with a hub so i can control it from anywhere (not just while on my wifi network or within bluetooth range) and it's as simple as sliding a little 'lock' slider in the app which activates the motor to lock the deadbolt.

I use a brand called Qrio. Not sure if it's available in North America.

Genuine question to everyone with a networked / remotely unlockable front door - aren't you concerned about getting hacked? I don't know if it's possible but I imagine it is...

It would be easier to pick than hack. Most locks are easily pickable with a moderate amount of practice. Some tools require very very little practice to pick a lock.

Yes and no. It’s definitely possible, although not exactly trivial. That said, it’s also the most difficult way to bypass my locked door which would easily give way to a determined crowbar or skilled lockpick (not to mention the 4’x6’ plate glass window 4 feet to the side of it).

And if you get hacked?

If someone really wanted to get into my house that badly they could get in much more easily than that.

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Most smart locks that are connected to blue tooth or Wi-Fi come with notifications. Besides, even standard locks can be entered undetectable.

[deleted]

And a rock will open just about any window. If people want to get in, they'll get in.

By that logic locks are pointless.

[deleted]

My point is these locks are likely not time sinks.

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If there is a key hole then your lock is very easy to bypass and far easier than hacking. At least with a smart lock, you'll have a notification that your house was just broken into. My doors are all set off a siren if opened unexpectedly. A notification plus an alarm is the best deterrent, I think. I get notified, NOT THE POLICE. Never set your home up to automatically summon a cop trying be a hero. This is why subscription type alarms will never be installed at my home. I don't want a family member (including my dog) to get shot. Throw in some high quality cameras and maybe you can get this person locked up.

Agree on all points, my point to the previous person was that a smart lock still has the actual lock part to get through and even if they're not able to hack it they still have the lock like normal.

I think your point is that without the keyhole you don't have the ability to drill into the tumblers that some burglars might use?

More like a battery operated vibrating tool about the size of a Dremel. You literally stick the point in the key hole, turn on the vibration and move it back and forth until the tumblers set and the lock opens. It takes 2 seconds. Without the keyhole, another more difficult method will have to be used like breaking in through a window, snooping your garage door frequency, or slimjimming into your car and using the garage remote. With the Kwikset Kevo smart lock (one of the most popular smart locks can have it's core twisted out in seconds with a pry tool. Lots of stuff to consider.
I'm not knocking smart locks. I like them and want to get a couple, but I would never use them or any lock without a non-subscription based audible alarm that notifies me of unauthorized entry and a good camera to go with it.

I thought like you. Then someone took a crowbar to my door.

Trust me. It wasn’t a timesink.

The old saying “locks keep honest people honest” is entirely true in my experience.

Any competently designed system wouldn't exactly be sending plain text passwords. It should be secure even over an open channel.

Actually no. Any competently designed system still fell victim to both of these attacks. Krack was actually an issue with the spec.

Krack is an attack on a vulnerability in the WPA protocol, and doesn't break any additional layers of encryption you might add.

A competently-designed digital lock would probably be using its own public key cryptographic system designed to be secure even when attackers can sniff every packet between an authorised device and the lock.

You guys are naive.

Are all developers competent? No. But if you think it would be standard practice to create an insecure system, you've been misinformed.

Krack affected almost every device implementing WPA2.

Let's use a metaphor.

Imagine you're at a door, and someone at the other side can unlock it if you give them a pass number. The problem with this system is that anyone who overhears the number can come back later and use it to get in later.

WPA is the equivalent of installing a keypad instead of shouting the number through the door. Much better, but not enough to provide real security.

Now imagine you're at the door, and instead of you giving a simple password, the person on the other side gives you a number that they will only ever give once. If you know the correct thing to do with the number (complicated maths, probably using a reference to the current time to make it even more unique), you can give an answer that you can safely shout through the door, even when the keypad is broken.

I would receive a notification that the door unlocked and we have a security system. I'm not overly concerned. Plus, my area has a very low crime rate.

I wish I wasn't in an apartment so I could get this

It's totally a removable system. Adheres to the door with double sided adhesive tape and grips onto the locking mechanism.

Why do people worry about getting locked out? Just don't buy an auto-locking lock if that is a real concern?

What model did you get? For reference

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This one does! But, you gotta leave Bluetooth on and it drains my already quickly depleted battery, so I don't use it.

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You do realize that for very little money, and fairly little practice, anyone can get a lock pick set and get through your existing deadbolt, right?

Unless you have bank vault door for your exterior access and no windows, your locks are keeping honest people out and merely slowing down anyone else.

What happens when the power goes out?

They usually have a key backup. If you don't replace the batteries and leave your keys inside you will probably have a bad time.

They do start to lock slower and make complaining beeps as the batteries go, you'll know if you're getting close.

I had onea that beeped for 10 hours when it started dying.

Unfortunately the day it died I was at work for 12 hrs.

Had to get a guy to drill it off.

But in general excellent.

does it not tether to your phone? Mine sends me a text when it's low

This is 6 years ago, and also a cheaper model. Even if it was available mine definitely didn't have it.

Do you get a low battery notification?

If you get an electronic door lock isn’t the point to not have to carry a key? And unless you have a trustworthy neighbor who you could leave a key with inside is the safest place for your keys.

You could just leave the key in your glove box/center console of your car.

Don’t you keep your car key at home or on your key ring? If you got an electronic door lock I’d assume it’s so you no long have to carry around a key ring so if you’re locked out of your house you won’t be able to get your car key inside your house.

I keep my car key with me, I need it to drive my car.

I’d assume someone who went to the trouble of getting an electronic door lock so they didn’t have to carry keys everywhere probably doesn’t want to take a key with them every time they leave the house. If you’re only going for a jog or you live close enough to the city to walk you won’t need a car. If you need a car every time you leave the house you’ll have a key ring on you anyway and may as well have a normal house lock.

We have one because it's easier to get in the house with a few button pushes than fumbling with keys when you have hands full of stuff and 3 little kids.

But what if I want to be a super cool guy with a digital lock and a car?

You can put it on your car.. You'll end up in /r/shitty_car_mods though..

possibly also r/DIWHY

Except for the fact that if I accidentally leave my keys in the house, I'm no longer locked out.

It's not so much about not having to carry any keys, and more about allowing keyless access for yourself and others.

If the keys are in the house and you’re outside and the lock has locked itself how are you not locked out?

Because it's a keypad lock?

I'm saying, baring the unlucky circumstances of it dying, AND me forgetting my keys at the same time, it'll save me from ever locking myself out.

Why would you have keys though? The point of a keypad lock is to not have to take keys everywhere.

There is more than one benefit to it.

  1. If you don't drive you don't need keys.
  2. If you do drive/carry keys, you can still get them if you lock them inside.
  3. You can allow people temporary access to your home without giving them a key.
  4. You'll never forget to lock the door on your way out.

I'm not sure why you're so focused on only one element. Either you're being intentionally thick (in which case, gr8 b8 m8), or you're actually that single minded.

As others said it gives warnings about batteries dying. Doesn't stop some from not changing them and getting locked out. Some don't have key override (bad idea!) But you should ALWAYS have a back up key somewhere. Family members even. The electronic locks are more convenience and laziness.

Giving a backup key to family is good but won’t help you if you’re locked out with your car key inside and your family don’t live within walking distance.

Unless your family are kind enough to drive to your house to let you in, or you have access to public transport or a taxi.

You have some shitty family I guess

The point is to not have to use it. There are times where it’s still easier to just use the key, other times when it being electronic is helpful

When you're drunk and tired as hell cause it's 4am and you don't want to make 20 beep noises trying to enter the house, having the key is handing. But they use a different key so cutting multiples is about a dollar more per key.

I have an electronic door lock. If the battery goes out, I can remove a cover and connect a 9V battery to power the lock so I can get in and changes batteries. No need for spare keys, although it has those too.

You'll have ample time to replace the batteries before they did completely.

Lock boxes are the way to go. Realtors use them for a reason.

How do you get into the lockbox? Any potential storage for a house key either also requires a key or batteries.

Home Depot, get a dial pad lock box. Set a code, put a key in and forget it. Under $30.

Won’t it require power? Same as the house lock.

No

https://express.google.com/product/17027034296270888027_14976448073881507034_8613692?mall=Colorado1&directCheckout=1&utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=product_ads&utm_campaign=gsx&dclid=CPvH75zavdgCFcVifgodulEPUg

So why would you use a powered lock on the house? Why not use a lock like that on the house? If you keep a house key in it your house is only as secure as that lock is.

Those locks are secure.

The point was that the powered lock lose charge and you will need a back up key but don’t want to hold one. I would never hide a key. It’s to exposed. Use a lockbox instead.

I've never even heard of this, although it would be just as easy to use as a powered one. The lockboxes that realtors use are almost all electronic now too, easy to log who's been in and out, change the code, and can't be opened by just standing there and trying buttons. People are capable of changing batteries, and nobody's gonna break into someone's house just to steal the key to the house. No deluge of "what if" needed.

They wouldn’t break into the house to get the key, they’d break into the relatively easy to open lockbox and get the key to break into the house. You can change a battery but I’d assume you’d want to keep your battery’s inside where they won’t rust from moisture.

If the battery in the lock dies and your house key and spare batteries are all inside how do you get in?

It’s not a deluge of what if, it’s a pretty easy to imagine scenario where the lock battery died and you don’t have a key with you because you brought the electric lock so you wouldn’t need to carry a key everywhere.

Same way you do when you lock yourself out of your house. Break a window or call a locksmith. If you constantly ignore a low battery warning and beeping noise, you deserve it. Not like the things take much power, the batteries only need replacing every few years. The batteries are inside also, just like on a hotel door.

They beep for a while before running out? Why didn’t you say that first instead of suggesting insecure ways to store spare keys? The lock warning you in plenty of time for you to buy a new battery completely fixes the practical aspect of it.

Why didn’t you say that first instead of suggesting insecure ways to store spare keys?

Because this was already covered in the thread that OP replied to...

Nothing that I replied to said anything about it beeping. In fact I was originally under the impression it was mains powered which would have made power cuts a problem.

Why didn't you say that first

Perhaps he didn't say it because of how ridiculously obvious it was. It's sort of weird that you assumed it wouldn't give a warning.

You can hide a cheapy mechanical lock to get something in between no spare key and a spare key hidden near the door though, mitigating some of the weaknesses of cheap mechanical coded locks.

Buy a key lock box you can leave outside and set it to the same code. Problem solved

Mine has a slot you can open from the outside where you can hold up one of those 9V batteries to temporarily use it.

Can confirm, had a bad time

If it has a key backup, can't someone just pick that lock?

I had one of these and it was great except it didn't notify me that the batteries were dying and after replacing the batteries once every 2 months, I finally disabled the auto-lock feature and haven't replaced the battery in almost a year now. I loved the auto-lock feature but it was killing the batteries.

Could you pick it through that backup keyhole?

Of course but a normal lock would have that vulnerability as well

They're battery powered, and they give you a week or two of notice via flashing lights that the batteries are dying.

Mine is a keypad. Battery lasts 3+ years and the lock will give a warning when the battery is low.

Exactly this. Just replaced the 9v battery in my Schlage keypad for the first time since I bought the house in 2013. I was impressed with the battery life, for real.

Install another on the back door. The odds of both batteries dying at the same time are pretty slim.

Plus it has a key slot as well. Hide one somewhere so you can get in or keep it in your shoe or something and you’ll never be at risk of being locked out.

Mine at least has 9 volt battery pins at the bottom so you temporarily power it

I think most are battery powered?

My smart lock is battery powered. I imagine most are, it would be silly to have an extension cord running to the door. If the power goes out, I can’t long-range unlock over the internet if a friend calls me up and says they’re at my door and I should let them in, but I can still walk up to my door and once I get in Bluetooth range it’ll unlock.

Hope that you’re in?

Mine doesn't have some of the fancier features listed here, but mine is battery powered so I don't have to worry about blackouts.

Also has a d cell connector at the bottom in case the batteries die.

What was the idea? it's deleted now

smart lock on the front door with keycode

I’ve had one at my house for a while and during the past 2 hurricanes and the battery lasted several days until we got our power back.

These locks have been around in Korea for roughly a decade, if not more. Korean models have 9 volt battery terminals on the front so, if the batteries in the lock die, you can go but a 9v and use it to power the lock up for long enough to unlock it with your passcode.

We had a fingerprint lock and I loved it until it somehow reprogrammed itself and locked us out. Our fingerprint wouldn't work and neither would our keys! Ultimately we had to break into our own house

Even with electronic locks ALWAYS have one with a key back up

Like the one OP mentioned that didn't work?

Wait. I'm not following. The electronic lock that failed?

/u/britbrat12928 mentions a lock that had a key backup that failed as well as the fingerprint sensor.

secondary and/or redundant systems can fail as well. over complicating things is never good

Well yes. But as for over complicating that's not really it. Usually what fails with electronic locks is the actual electronic part, meaning the mechanical part is fine. Obviously it's possible for both to fail, but without tampering, for that to happen at the same time is crazy unlikely. I'm speaking from professional experience, if you get an electronic lock, get one with key back up

That is what happened and no one tampered with it. The fingerprint part slowly stopped working as if the battery was dying or it was just picky about when it wanted to work. Obviously we replaced the battery and that didn't help. So we had to rely on the key which slowly stopped working as well. We had 3 keys and first mine stopped working and then our two other keys one day just stopped. I was really pissed because I paid a lot of money for it and I had to go buy a new one. I didn't know the mechanical part could fail.

I should also mention that when my key started giving me problems, my husband blamed it on user error until his stopped! User error, really?!?

Hm just sounds like a shitty lock. It could have been "kwikset smart key" too? Which is one of the worst brands. Kwikset is good but the smart key off brand is awful. They fail ALOT. And are not recommended by any locksmiths around here.

Sounds about right! It was Kwikset

Yeah. Kwikset itself isn't bad, so don't shy away from it necessarily but kwikset smart key... Don't ever buy that. It's tough because alot of hardware stores have mostly smart key now. But it's honestly a waste of money. They always eventually fail, much more quickly than any other lock too.

Good to know!

What happens when you suffer brain trauma on your run and forget the digital code to get in?

I think you'll have bigger problems than unlocking the door.

I once forgot the pin for my debit card (I don't think Americans use pins very often but up until recently like 99% of my card transactions used it; so I was using it on average 2-3 times a day). I'd had it for around 2 years then one day I forgot it and never remembered it again.

IguessI'lldie.jpg

Have you checked with your insurance provider?

I would love one but my insurance is void if I use one.

Mine is not a wireless one. Dumb lock with a keypad.

What brand? I'd like one too, but I'm afraid I'm either going to

  • Go expensive and overpay wayyy too much
  • Go cheap and have a shit lock

Nevermind, you answered it here

FYI, some insurance companies do not consider a door p properly locked when locked with certain kinds of digital door locks. It depends on the insurance company and the lock obviously.

We have an August at the back door that I love for this. I come home, plug in the car, grab whatever bags or groceries I have with me, climb up the 2 flights of stairs (duplex) and just walk in. When get home, the door automatically unlocks, then locks itself after a minute or two. When your hands are full this is really a life saver.

When I leave, the door automatically locks after 30 seconds. And if I lock myself out, I can get in again with my phone, watch or tablet.

I can even give out temporary virtual keys if I need anyone to look after the cat while I’m away.

How would that lock protect you from this?

I wear my watch when walking outside naked.

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If the reason you wouldn't use them is because you think they are less secure, then you are likely wrong. A regular lock can be picked in less than a minute. And that with a cheap lock pick and very little practice. My lock has a six digit code. Try guessing it and see how long it takes. Even if you could figure out the six number by looking at the fingerprints, there are still over 500 possibilities to guess. And I think you only get a handful of tries before you have to wait a few minutes to try again.

Couldn't you just shoot the lock to open it? Works in every movie I've seen...

I'm sure it would work if you had a big enough bullet. I bet MythBusters probably did something on it. But the brute force methods would probably work equally on both locks.

It's impractical because it's loud, and you aren't guaranteed to break the lock enough to get in on your first try. I remember reading at some point that a single loud noise for a burglar is fine: IE Kicking in a door, breaking a window or whatever. Neighbors might wake up, hear it, but will likely dismiss it as nothing if they don't hear another loud noise.

So with shooting, it's a REALLY loud noise, and you aren't guaranteed to break the lock so you might still need to shoot it again, or kick the door, which will draw more attention (Assuming you live in a place where your neighbors will actually look to see what's going on).

What happens when you have a dirty neighbor with binoculars?

Not to be too much of a negative Nancy as these conceptually are awesome. I work in home renovations, and these are extremely easy to bypass with the tiniest bit of research.

Clients will tell me their code over and over for access if they go to work, but I only listen for their sake. Then again, I guess if someone really wants to gain entry into a house, they'll do it regardless of the lock

What do you do to bypass them?

Just shoot or smash the panel. Why would movies lie to me?

QA: "If I hit it with a hammer then the door unlocks"

Dev: "That's a feature. My code is perfect."

Slide a credit card through the gap

Have you ever noticed how doors are build? You can only slide something through from the inside, not the outside.

You just grab one of the square style 9 volt batteries and move it around against the lock

Why do we put locks on doors? To keep an honest man honest

What if someone saw you opening your door and found out your code like that?

I live in a quiet area on a cul de sac on a at the end of a dead end connected to another dead end. I barely need a lock as it is but the of the people who would normally see me opening the door, two have their own codes to take care of pets when we are on vacation.

I have a locksmith colleague who says these digital locks are all well and good when everything works, but if it gets stuck while locked, it's next to impossible to open, even for a locksmith. Apparently it's like at least a 5 hour job...

That would suck, especially if you left everything inside to go for an unencumbered run, even your phone...

I work in infosec.. you don't want IOT locks for a while yet...

and seriously, how hard is it to put a key in a lock?

At least me personally, I'd love one of these on the door I enter and exit most, but wouldn't put them on all of my doors.

Yup. Had it happen once. Fortunately I could go through the garage and get in to open it manually from the inside

But all a thief has to do is hack it!!

  • Someone who knows nothing about hacking

Lol. Wait 6 months and you can see what 4 digits get used from wear or dirt. Then either try some logical sequences with them, like date formats. Or have a look on their Facebook for a hint. Or stand talking to your friend in a position that allows you to see their kid input the code the most obvious way possible. Keypads are easier to social engineer than to bypass.

Decent quality ones should have moving numbers so you aren't always pressing the same buttons.

Because as we all know, 4-digit codes are so hard to bruteforce nowadays, who on earth could do 4 million keystrokes with a thumb that quickly? /s

And that's even assuming the door lock is actually programmed and engineered safely, because as we all know, most of these commercial products are bulletproof and flawless, right?

Theifs hack newer cars why wouldnt they hack a door.

Because they can break a window or pick your neighbor’s lock.

They hack newer cars because they’re more expensive

Oh yeah but houses are more expensive than cars so why wouldn’t thieves try to steal those?!?!?!

The house with the expensive lock is gonna have more fungible stuff that the 30 year old yale lock house.

Possibly. There are better ways to tell though for a house while the strength of the lock on a car is directly correlated to the value.

There are also more ways into a house. You don’t have to hack the lock when you can throw a rock through the window.

The problem is the assumption that hacking is easy, like all you have to do is Google "how to hack a Tesla S." Nah man, it's much harder than that. Arguably harder than picking it.

It takes less than 30 seconds to break open a lock, assuming you don't have to keep it intact.

And you can literally find out how by googling "how to break open a lock".

  1. I imagine that the difficulty of "hacking" a device would vary wildly from device to device

  2. Once hacked, always hacked -- not so with picking. In this case, electronic manipulation of the mechanism is more akin to having a key produced.

  3. "Hacking" can presumably be done remotely, esp. in the case of the network-enabled locks being discussed. This makes the burgler much harder to detect. Again, not so with lock picking.

Unless your house is a bank or something, noone's going to go through the effort of hacking your door when your neighbour's lock can be pick-locked or they can simply throw a rock through your window.

Thats true. Noone is picklocking your door either. They simply use the good old crowbar. But if you have some fancy lock, theivs might think you got fancy stuff to loot

To be fair lots of IoT devices are absolute shit in terms of security, so you should be careful about something like a door lock. I'm sure there are products available where this sentence holds true.

I recently moved to S. Korea and all the doors here are like this. When/if I move back I'm seriously gonna miss these locks

Currently studying in South Korea and every house/apt that I know of comes with this as a standard. Hell, even my dorm room has one.

Yeah cool until the tiny murder robot from Black Mirror hacks your door and your knee.

I don't trust that these are secure, because of stories like this:

Of the 16 locks he tested, Rose managed to break into 12.

https://lifehacker.com/we-asked-five-security-experts-if-smart-locks-are-ever-1797910643

I think digital locks are meant more for convenience than for increased security over traditional locks. Regardless of the type of lock you have on your front door, you should still pay for a good home security system with motion sensors, cameras, etc. to use as the last line of defense if someone picks the lock and breaks in while you aren't home.

Ummmmm.....you do know that conventional locks are super easy to defeat

More so there cheap (under $400 or so) locks sold in North America.

$80 is that all!? I thought these were hundreds! Which one did you get?

Even fingerprint locks are <100.

My dad got one of these 6 months ago and I agree whole heartedly it’s the best thing ever

Mine is always locked from the outside unless you punch in the code, or turn a knob from the inside. It locks after about 10 seconds. There is also a keyhole on the outside for when it runs out of batteries.

But did you lock up the windows??

I was just thinking about getting one. This helped me decide. Thanks 👌

We have this on our house too. It’s also nice when carrying a lot of groceries to not have to fumble with keys. Just punch in my code and I’m in.

I second this, it is amazing!

We don’t have the digital or remote features, but we love our keypad lock nonetheless! Our kids never have keys to lose, we don’t have to take keys on walks, or leave keys for visitors. We, too, will never go back to keyed entry.

I live in South Korea right now, and the entire COUNTRY has transitioned to keypad locks for everything. It's amazing and I don't know why this hasn't caught on as widely in the states.

I bought one a few months ago.

My parents had one of these installed with their security system and it’s a life saver. Whenever I come over and they’re asleep/not home, I can just key in the security code.

It also has an app that allows my mom to lock and unlock he door remotely using her phone and see who’s handing around the front door with the doorbell camera.

I second this. Although mine doesnt lock automatically. Just the fact that I dont have to pull my keys out to unlock it, or pull my keys out to lock the deadbolt is amazing.

I was gonna go with one that used Alexa. The idea of being able to say , "Alexa lock/unlock the front door" was nice. I ended up not getting it and going with a cheap Kwikset first. I'm glad I did. Way cheaper and a good enough upgrade by itself.

Oh man - I don't know how I lived without my erm : Shlodge Cernect Z-Wive Smirtlock (did I pass the brand filter?)

  • I never worry about a lockout. I just punch in the code. It won't lock from the outside if the battery is low (unless you have a key). It's almost impossible to lock myself out of the house
  • It always locks itself, as you said.
  • I can open it with my phone if for some reason I forget how to use numbers
  • I can set codes, permanent and temporary. My bandmates need to get into my house today when I'm not there. They're going to have a 2-time use code that completely kills itself by 8PM.

The running thing was a plus. I had a key made just for running, and i'd always be nervous that it'd fall out of my pocket and land on the grass and I wouldn't hear the "clang" - it really distracted me from everything.

Just don’t let the batteries die

I worked for a family who had this. It made life so much easier. Also no key to give back when I finished.

We have one of these for our front door and will be getting one when we install our French doors in the back. I have to agree, these things are absolutely life changing. I'll never go back.

I have one of these. I love it... just make sure you pay attention when the flashing lights tell you it’s time to change the batteries. If the batteries die while the door is locked, it would be advisable to have a spare key stashed outside the house somewhere.

My only question is how you can run without music?

We did this too (well, sort of, it's not something we can connect to via smartphone, but it does have a combination used to open it) and I don't know why we didn't do it years ago. No more fumbling for keys, no need to get a key to our catsitter.

Airbnb I rented had one of these. shit was legit

I'm an Airbnb host and digital locks are the greatest boon of our industry

It’s basically an instant 5 star rating for me if an Airbnb has one of these. Sooo much better than trying to coordinate times especially when flights/connections run late.

We carry interconnected supercomputers in our pockets, but use funny shaped hunks of metal tied together to protect our most prized belongings.

Hacking into a phone is easy and could be entirely undetectable.

Hacking into a traditional lock takes a bit of muscle and is really hard to conceal.

Hacking into a phone is pretty fucking hard.

Anyone can make a bump key from $10 of Home Depot parts and it will open the majority of front door locks with very little effort.

Hacking into a specific phone is hard. Hacking into a phone is pretty easy.

I didn't even know bump keys existed. I am now a trained burglar apparently since it seems too easy to do.

Bump keys are insanely easy to use. A shockingly large number of door locks can even be opened simply by hammering a screwdriver into the keyhole (though this leaves a lot of evidence behind where a bump key does not).

My front door lock is Bluetooth controller via my phone. Guarantee you’d give up on hacking my phone long before you’d jam a bump key in and be done with it.

Well since I have hacked Bluetooth locks I feel a lot more comfortable robbing your house that way. That said, I now have to check bump keys out because my house may not keep honest people honest as I hoped.

It blows my mind that we’re still using such outdated and shitty door locks with technology available today.

IVE ALWAYS WANTED THIS. I've asked my parents but they aren't willing to get it. I forget my keys a lot. I mean a lot. I used to normally go to a store and buy something and wait for my parents but then I later learned to pick locks. It still doesn't mean that it isn't a complete pain in the ass.

Edit: I see my question has already been asked and answered.

For anyone else renting, August is a great solution that lets you keep the existing hardware. We’ve had one for 2-3(?) years and love it.

I've see doors with inbuilt fingerprint scanners. That shit's the future

They also make a fuckton of noise and glitch out and annoy your neighbors.

If my neighbors can hear my front door they are standing at it.

Which one did you purchase?

Want a free NFC ring to try out with it?

It's a dumb lock so sure

You removed initial comment?

Still there as far as I can see

What about power outages?

Battery power

We need a link

Although very handy, beware. It's very hard to find locksmiths to matinence these. Also if it doesn't have a key override, good luck getting in non destructively if you forget to keep the batteries up. But as I said, otherwise very handy.

Please, provide us with the brand name!!!

Sorry, I got a Kwikset

I want one now, too bad I don't have my own place yet :(

Do you ever wonder if anyone is watching. Maybe there is a hidden camera somewhere.

My life is not that interesting

Oh? How do you set up auto lock? And will it work if it had an error lock? My brother sucks at closing the door but the lock failing to lock gets the door shut enough for a second attempt 95% of the time.

I mean obviously you have to shut the door. But no mater what it attempts to lock after 30 seconds. If the door is not shut and it blocks the lock, it errors out and stays open.

That’s neat! How did you enable that?

[deleted]

Nope, dumb lock. Keypad only

Where did you buy it?

Woot/Amazon. It's a kwikset, keypad only, no wireless

Are you the original commenter? Lol it’s been deleted

I can still see it

Clearly a rust player.

What model is only 80$. The moderate quality locks all seem to be > 150$

Got mine off Woot.

I don't think I see it in the comments yet, but I have several smart plugs in the house. They plug into your normal plug and then you can plug your lamp or what not on it and control turning it on and off with an app. You even can do an automatic timer also. It's fantastic especially if you're already comfy and want to turn the light off.

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Yep! If I need to, I can yell at my Echo Dot to turn my lamp off. I have the WeMo!

Another underrated use: set a timer on it! In the cold depths of winter, I use it to convice my body that 4am is a totally normal and correct time to awaken.

Christ, what's plugged into it, a cattle prod?!

You know I got one of those recently and I think an alarm is the perfect use for me since I've been needing one of those too. Of course I think I'll probably use a bunch of RGB LEDs and an arduino so I have no choice but to either get out of bed or start foaming at the mouth...

Seconded the Wemo. I use it for my pc monitors. The way they're stacked makes it hard to reach the power button on the back -_- just open the app and off they go.

I just took delivery of a Hive smart plug today! Already got it hooked into the Echo Dot my wife got me for Xmas, now I don't have to crawl under a side table to turn my 3d printer on :D

I got the google assistant for Christmas as well as Phillips Hue bulbs! It's amazing to be able to yell at my google assistant to turn the lights off.

Can you change the colors by voice????? I really wanted Hue for Xmas, but might need to get it for myself

Yep! They recently updated the colors and how dimming works, you can get pretty specific with your percentage.

If you have a Google home, you can chain commands to say something like, "Hey Google, set the living room light to red and 10%". With the echo you need two separate commands.

Ooooooooooo!! Aw, now I gotta save money.

Smart bulb and a home mini/echo dot, whatever your preference is. Roughly $50, give or take. You only need the one smarthub to control whatever bulbs you have.

But yes, I highly suggest it haha. I love having a bunch of each in the house.

Don’t you need the Phillips hue bridge as well to control bulbs with your echo? Or is that the smarthub you’re referring to?

Some of the newer echos have it built in, otherwise you have to get the starter kit that includes the bridge.

From what I saw on Amazon, I get the impression it's the Echo Plus that has it built in. Happy to be corrected on that though if anyone knows better.

Possibly, I'm not sure though. We have the TP-Link bulbs that don't need an extra hub, just the home/echo, or an app on your phone.

I'll look into those, thanks!

I underestimated the cost on the color changing bulbs, so my mistake there. I believe they're still significantly cheaper than the Phillips ones though. Have fun!

You USED to be able to do scenes with Alexa and the Hue that had a color and brightness, but they just stopped working. I google that it's not working, and see a ton of other people saying the exact same thing!

Huh. Well that's annoying. I hope they bring that back then if that's the case because currently, that's honestly my only complaint with the echo/smart lights combo.

Yes you can! I suggest it. The dimming of the lights are terrific especially for nightlights.

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[deleted]

I think it's more the fact that it's recording what's happening in your home 100% of the time, with very little reassurance about how that information will be used and who it will be shared with, that has people concerned.

I can't find the post but someone that worked on those said they don't listen and record everything you say at all times. They said that a part of the machine listens specifically and only for "Alexa" to be said. If it is said, then that part turns on the rest of the device to listen to your question or command. Otherwise, if it was always on it would drain a lot of power.

I've worked in voice recognition and that's basically bullshit.

It obviously has to be listening to and processing your input at all times or it could never register the "Alexa," So, straight up, it is recording everything that happens in your home. There is no way for it to hear "Hey Alexa" and not also hear your sex sounds or arguments.

Yes, it would be a power drain for it to send everything it hears back to google/amazon. But it would be an absolutely incidental power drain for it to, for example, just send back to google the times, dates, and durations of your sex life.

It's probably not doing that. But it could with a trivial software update. I'm not okay with that.

If you only need a timer you can get those for like about 5 bucks!

I got a few smart lights to be able to control things while on vacation.
My family, including me, universally hates them.
It's slower, louder (bc of voice control), and more inconvenient than just hitting the switch.

Is my family alone in feeling this way?

Maybe? I loooove my smart plugs (which controls my dumb lights) but I use the timer switch and my phone control to turn it off/on. Yelling at the lights seem unnecessary since my phone is always near me. I'm not a fan of Google/Alexa/Siri. I agree that they're too slow "Alexa, turn off bedroom light" "ok devil, I'll turn the bedroom light off" is a long time to wait when you can just unlock your phone and click.

Does it tell you on your phone specifically which lights are still on?

You label the plugs, so it'll show up as bedroom my side, bedroom his side, bathroom, etc. So yes, you can see which plug is on, but not individual lights off there are two lights plugged into the same plug

This could be a real game changer for me. Thanks

They're fantastic in some situations. You have to walk well into my pitch dark basement to get to the light switch for the ceiling lights. Putting a smart switch on one of the lamps was an easy, $20 solution to that issue.

Instead of smart plugs get smart switches. They work like normal switches and also can take voice control or scheduled automation.

I have seen complete replacement switches and simple covers that go over an existing switch to flip it for you.

Sounds like you might be better automating these things. The point of smart switches and outlets is to make things easier not harder. Head on over to r/homeautomation and check out other ideas

Also, I always buy smart switches that can be used physically or from my phone.

Everything is working exactly as it should and intended. I automate certain things, etc. Nothing can improve or change it.
But it's still hated by all. Can't really see anything that would make it faster and more convenient than simply touching the normal light switch.
And don't get me started on the fact that my elderly mother is in my house a lot. It's just a clusterfuck for her to understand.

I don't personally use them through voice control, I just have a widget on my screen so I can tap when I want to turn the light on and off. Much like any piece of technology, I guess it's as simple or difficult as you make it, so as you put more stuff with it, it becomes more of a chore than convenience?

Got any suggestions for the brand?

r/homeautomation has some good links and resources

TP link mini plugs are like $20 or less and exactly what the original commenter is describing. I have two of them and use it with Google assistant all the time to turn my lamps on and off. You can also use the app to set scenes to have multiple turn off or on at once when you click a button or say a phrase.

My parents have that shit connected to Alexa and that’s all I ever fucking here now. “HEY ALEXA, TURN THE FRONT DOOR LIGHT OFF”!

I would second this. I've got a wemo switch that works great. I have my window a/c plugged into it and I can turn it on and off from wherever I am through the app. So on a hot day when I'm at work I can turn it on an hour or so before I get back to my apartment and it's already cooled off.

I was going to recommend home automation myself... for less than $100 you can get an Echo Dot (which is really nifty in it's own right) and a few light fixtures and plugs to connect to it. Then if you are feeling nerdy, you change the echo's wake up word to 'computer' so that you can feel like you are on Star Trek.

Do you have to redo a lot of wiring to install a smart plug?

No, they just plug into your outlet and then you plug whatever you want into them.

There are different versions. If you purchase the smart plug, it just plugs into your normal port and then you download an app. They are also light switches which apparently require installation, but if it's anything like when I installed my own nest, it's pretty simple as long as you remember to turn off your electricity before doing any wiring work.

I use mine to recycle the modem and router every morning at 6am. I got tired of recycling them manually twice a week when my internet would get slow.

This reminds me. Someone I know used to do this. They later upgraded to a smart plug and do the same thing... But have Alexa do it.

These are great.... Unless your SO goes round and unplugs/turns off everything so they don't work when you go to use them

Oh hay, my dad also installed these in my house and its amaaaaazing. If you're not handy, this will do the trick. I'd say life improving. Changing... yeah maybe lol

Oh my god thank you so much! I have a couple lights I use occasionally and it's annoying realizing I had forgotten to turn them off after I lay in bed.

Totally piggy backing this, smart switches and bulbs are a must. Especially if you have a voice activated device looks alexa or Google home.

Love it, just got cheap ones from Meross on Amazon and they work great. App is good too. Just set timers on them this morning for waking up and leaving for work.

Cool! I thought I’d have to have some expensive fancy house and equipment, etc., to get that kind of functionality. Thanks.

As far as hardwired stuff if you choose to go that route one day, the only thing you need is a neutral wire. If you're in the states most houses built in or after the 90s will have one.

You're welcome! I thought the same, but making your home into a smart home is super affordable now.

Now I want this

They're great! It's less than $50 and totally worth it.

Yes!!!! When I moved a few months ago I suggested to my boyfriend that instead of splitting the deposit we got back we use it for apartment stuff. I splurged on two of these, one for the bedroom and one living room, and I'm NEVER GOING BACK!! I have a Google home so I just ask her to turn stuff on or off. You can set timers and rules for the lights to turn off automatically. You can also just turn it on and off from the app on your phone. I love them so much.

It's seriously awesome. I feel weird when I excitedly talk about it to friends but it helps so much. When my husband and I went on vacation, we had the lamp on an auto-timer so it always looked like we were home. It's too dang convenient.

I use this for my heater

Careful with Wifi ones: they can be hacked. I control mine with a computer which spoofs the signal meant to be from an app.

Of course, you would need access to the network, but most home networks are penetrable.

Mine is recognized via cellular service but I get what you mean. Most of them recognize both wifi and cellular.

I got several wemos and they seem to quit working after a week or two and you have to re-set or re-configure them for your wi-fi. Frustrating as hell.

I got 4 of these from my brother for Xmas and was excited to pair them up with my Amazon Echo, but I can’t get the app or my WiFi network to recognize them. I had the same issue with the FitBit Aria smart scale when I tried to connect that thing. Am I an idiot? What gives?

Then you lose your phone and you can't turn on your lights

They actually have a little button on the plug-in itself that you can tap to turn the light on and off... and of course your light has a switch that doesn't go away just cause you plugged it into a switch haha

I want them, but they're all US plugs which sucks for the rest of the world

Side note, I've only seen American houses with lamps instead of lights. Most places have room lights in the ceiling, so you'd need something like Phillips Hue to control the lights.

I got a couple of these for Christmas and they have been awesome! Gonna end up with IoT for my whole apartment if I'm not careful...

It's seriously so great! Between my nest and my wemo, I never have to leave my couch.

I've been eyeing these for a while now since I got a Google Home, but I'm not sure what type of plug to get. Any recommendations?

I commented on the other comments too, but I got the belkin wemo mini wifi smart plug and it works great for me. I haven't had any complaints.

All the ones I've seen are prohibitively expensive. Any links to reasonable plugs?

I don't plug anything too big into it, so I got the Wemo Mini Smart Plug, and it does the job. I think they're on sale right now too at the belkin website.

Home assistant is the way to go.

Power strips with USB ports. Then a phone charger always plugged in. Very useful

You can get USB ports integrated into regular wall sockets now also.

My only worry with these is when they change the standard.

Like when USB chargers switched from 1.0A to 2.0/2.1A, and now USB-C is offering 5.0A.

I don't want to rewire my sockets that often.

Quick charging standards is what I am concerned about. Qualcomm QC is moving through versions every year. Then you also have competing standards like OPPO Voom / OnePlus Dash Charge. That really you're 9/10 times better off using the power brick that came with your phone, than plugging directly to USB

The form factor doesn’t change that frequently, and if you only put them in key areas you won’t have to change out tons of them when it does change.

That was my worry too, but glad I did it anyway, it's so useful. They recently released new sockets upgraded from 2.1A shared across both USB to 3.1A shared across both USB. No doubt in the future they may upgrade again, but in general the more power, the bigger it needs to get, so they will probably run out of space to upgrade any further.

Lol it takes like 10 minutes.

Maybe don't upgrade your phones so often?

With the average family of 4 or 5, it's pretty unavoidable.

Add to that Tablets, phones and games devices using the same USB ports.

I have a couple. One of those things you don't know how you lived without.

I had a surge protector with 2 USB ports in hand ready to check out at Walmart not 2 days ago. I walked past the outlets on my way out and thought "fuck it, USB outlet. Same cost, less clutter".

Took me 5 minutes to install and now I have USB ports at my outlet and no clutter from the surge protector. I might replace a few more here and there in the future.

I don't own so didn't want to mess with that. And my outlets are behind my couch.

A lot of them are cheap and terrible quality. They can also damage your phone. My charging strip came from costco and seems like it's good quality, but emits inductor whine (high pitched noise) the whole time it's on.

I really hate the trend of putting USB power ports everywhere. First, because it’s less versatile to have a USB port than an extra plug with a converter block you keep plugged in, and second because it’s a data port that opens up a security risk whenever you plug in your phone.

Data port to what? If you're installing them in your home, it's just power.

In public I mean.

Get a USB condom. Around $10, they let you attach a USB device to power only and not the data lines.

/r/evenwithcontext

As long as your phone software is configured to not open data connectivity that risk should be nullified.

1) I think my phone is set up that way, but how to be confident? What about the general public with a wide range of phones running old versions of software?

2) Laptops can also charge off of USB, along with a ton of other personal devices which may or may not have data on them (or just as bad, simply have internet connectivity).

3) There’s no way some people aren’t sticking thumb drives into these ports.

  1. Try plugging your phone into your computer whilst it's locked and see if you can browse your files. If it's an Android device make sure it's set to 'Charge only' in the notification that appears.

As far as I'm aware 'Charge only' has been a feature since Android gingerbread at least and the unlock thing is newer. Most people should be protected.

  1. No interfaces should be natively exposed other than power. If they are then that's a software problem the manufacturer should fix.

  2. Why would someone plug a memory stick into a charger? If they do that they probably have more issues than the low chance someone has planned for that level of stupidity.

Yeah, in theory it’s something that should be a non-issue at this point in time, and any single person can negate this particular risk pretty easily. But it’s a messy world where people don’t keep things updated and try to plug everything into everything. My point is that mixing power and data is something that shouldn’t happen in public in the first place. You’re unnecessarily opening up surface area for attack.

I think we agree though. Data services shouldn't be made available in public. That's easily controllable in firmware however.

Risk is lower than few years back but it is still there. For example this is recent: https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/7nqxun/arbitrary_file_readwrite_in_locked_samsung/

Why is the device even exposing a MTP connection when in charge only mode? But yeah, I agree there can sometimes still be vulnerabilities.

I got so many USB phone charger plugs with devices that I now have one in every room so that wherever I (or a visitor) happens to be there is a lead within reach to chuck some charge in a device.

I believe just having a portable charger is better than this so you don't have to be seated by a wall

But in your living room it's great. My strip is underneath a corner table. So while watching tv Or of guests are over. Very helpful

3m charge cables... Done.

Very useful

Until you realize it doesn't support quick charging.

Does fine for me.

But my fast charger

even better are normal receptacles with usb ports.

Wait... If the strip has usb ports, what do you need a charger plugged in for?

I live in India and the power strips here are international and allow any item from around the world to be plugged into them. Best thing ever.

A humidifier. You might need one to help you sleep and may not know it.

Don't get one unless you're willing to maintain it religiously, though. Mold grows quick on ultrasonic ones, and the heating element gets full of scale quick on the steam ones.

Buy a water filter and run filtered water, it won't scale up nearly as bad.

I've heard distilled water makes a difference, I use a CPAP machine that has a built in humidifier. The ladies at the clinic always recommended distilled water.

Definitely use distilled water, unless you want a light layer of white dust over everything in the room. It's worth the ~$1/gallon it costs to buy at the grocery store.

I definitely recommend distilled water. I got freaked out because the day after I got a humidifier and put in tap water, I went to cook something and the flame on the stove was dull orange instead of the normal blue. I thought there was something wrong with the air in my house, even if my CO detectors weren't going off and I didn't smell gas. I ended up checking a lighter to see if it was only the stove and sure enough, the lighter flame was orange also. Went outside with it and the lighter flame was blue. I almost called the gas company to come and check it out to make sure everything was safe in the house. After some googling I found some obscure post on a forum. Turns out the minerals in the tap water were tainting the flame.

Just got a humidifier two days ago and same issues, thank you. Would never have connected these dots

Yeah, flame tests are common experiments to determine elements and their oxidation states. Calcium and iron (III) both give orangish colors. Calcium is one of the most common ions in water, especially if you live in an area with a lot of limestone (calcium carbonate), so it was probably that.

Atomic absorption spectroscopy is the fancy, lab-grade version of this.

Oh it is minerals? I thought it was because the room is more humid so the water in the air prevents the flame from being blue

Yep, it's minerals. More specifically sodium based minerals, which have a particularly intense yellow flame colour.

I use distilled water. It can get a bit expensive, about $1 a day, but I fill up jugs for free at my wife’s laboratory!!!

Based on its known purity * among the DIY science community *, I'd recommend FIJI water if you're gonna go the bottled route.

Edit: I'm going to explain what I'm referring to since people thing i'm just plugging FIJI water. Ever supercool water? It's a really fun experiment. You basically get water to freezing, and then poor it onto an insulated surface. The water immediately turns to slush and builds up on top of itself as it's poured. For this to work, you need extremely filtered water. I've NEVER seen this successfully done with any other "big brand" bottled water other than FIJI water.

TL;DR: the shit's super filtered. Probably leaves behind less crud, cause it has less crud in it.

Lastly, as a heads up for people haphazardly just purchasing bottled water assuming it's filtered, some bottled water is actually less pure than your tap. A great example of this is Wegman's bottled water. I fucking love Wegman's, but their bottled water is literally worse than my local tap water as far as impurities go. Google it before you purchase to make sure it's at least decently filtered.

Just use distilled water, it's probably cheaper

Distilled water isn't that cheap. Ionized water is very cheap, and that's water passed through a carbon filter (Culligan, Brita, etc).

Deionized :). Ionized would mean having extra ions.

14 days later, hah. I forgot about this post. Still, thanks for the correction! The correction is obvious now that you told me.

That's what I'll be doing as well. There's some really good filters out there that aren't terribly expensive

Just checked and FIJI water has a TON of dissolved minerals in it, so it's still going to fuck up the humidifier. Don't get me wrong, it's high quality drinking water without any particulate in it, and the dissolved minerals are actually healthy to consume, but it's not suitable for humidifiers, steam irons, etc.

That's interesting info, and it contradicts a lot of what i read in the past. This calls for being looked back into!

Fiji definitely tasted different from most bottled water too.

What should I buy to maintain that water filter?

I suggest only running distilled water through it

Use distilled water and never have an issue. Works great for anything that heats water (boiler, rice cooker, etc).

There’s a third type that blows a fan through a wick filter. The good filters are treated to resist mold, and are easily replaceable. They make a wonderful white noise too if that sort of thing helps you sleep.

Do you have a brand you’d recommend?

The scale issue totally depends on where you live and the water type. Where I live the water is hard and it's a huge pain in the arse

Down here, we call that ice. Raise the temperature to at least 4 degrees Celsius and you should be OK.

Evaporative for the win!

Boiling for the win. It kills the germs, and is more effective at putting moisture into the air.

Why didn't I see this. My dumbass plugged in a two year old humidifier I've never cleaned. Woke up unable to breath, little better now 6 days later....

Can you define quick? We got two coolmist ones from CVS that I'm guessing are ultrsonic and have run them constantly for about a week. Haven't noticed any mold.

You can grab the cool steam ones. Basically a fan blows air that's just above the water surface so you just get water vapor. No heating inhibits moldy growth and no scale on elements.

My humidifier luckily has its own filter that I can change every 2 months or so. It also has 2 large tanks so lasts a few days before needing to be refilled, can refill in tub with ease. Haven't had mold issues just yet but since I take it apart to change the filter I usually do some light cleaning as well.

Uhhh... why are you not regularly cleaning the ultrasonic humidifier? I clean ours with white vinegar once a week (soak the little bead filter for 10 min, tripe rinse all other parts with vinegar, followed by 5-10 filtered water rinses to get rid of vinegar smell). I’m on year 2 of using the same ultrasonic humidifier.

Then get an evaportave one. Filter is like $15 a season.

Or buy a 20 dollar disposable cheapie every year, along with 20 gallons of distilled water. 40 bux for three months of good sleep every year is well worth it, and you don't need to worry about mold or other ick.

How do I know if I need a humidifier ?

Get mistless one. Just a single filter about every month or so

I buy a couple new ones every year. Just toss them when they get nasty. The cheap ones work well enough - $15.00 at Walmart.

I might be flamed / downvoted for being a tree hugging hippie or whatever, but that just seems so needlessly wasteful. "Dirty? Just buy a new one." Consumerism at it's finest.

The alternatives here are: - Cleaning it. It sucks because the cheapo ones are nearly impossible to clean. - get an expensive one. A good humidifier might be well over $100. It might break after one year even if you have the money tonpay for it.

The consumerism here is on the manufacturers, not the consumers.

When they get nasty/scaled they stop working, all they do is gurgle and spit water on the floor.

I could spend an hour every night cleaning and drying it and prolong is life a bit, or I could spend 15 bucks every 6 - 12 months, and use those extra hours browsing Reddit, talking to strangers about humidifiers.

You could soak the reservoir with vinegar for 30 minutes or so and dissolve the scale.

This is pretty much what I do to keep mine running. Just a couple tablespoons of vinegar and some hot water in the tank. I do it once a week... I'll put the solution into the tank and the base, go clean the bathrooms, then rinse it out and let it air dry while I continue cleaning up the rest of the house. It's ready to be filled up in the evening again in time for bed. About 5 minutes of hands on time cleaning it.

I might be flamed / downvoted

Don't worry, reddit commonly espouses this sentiment

Use distilled water

Use distilled water

They sell water softener specifically for humidifiers.

My small apartment actually gets staticy if I don't run one a few days a week in the wintertime. I live in Michigan. Cold dry air. Drafty windows. Hot dry heat blowing outta the vents all day. My cat sure doesn't like being shocked everytime I pet him.

I also live in michigan and every time I pet my cat she sniffs my hand and shocks her nose. Maybe I should get a humidifier.

I also live in Michigan and have a cat and he's been tearing his fur out cause his skin is so dry :( I bought a humidifier and it doesn't seem to be doing as much good as I want.

Aw that sucks, how bad is it? I'd probably take him to the vet if the humidifier doesn't work. Luckily my cats don't seem to be having an issue with dry skin, apart from a bit of dandruff. I hope your cat gets better.

Thanks! It got pretty bad for a minute, but he seems to be backing off a bit now. I've been keeping an eye on him. Bought some moisturizing shampoo and I pat him down with some water before bed most nights too. I'm glad yours aren't having an issue!

Maybe add some water to his food if you feed dry, or start feeding more wet food. My dog gets extremely itchy and it got vetter when i started adding water and watery fruit to his food.

I'll try giving him more wet food, then. He bugs me for it every day anyways. Thanks!

I just discovered my (new) house is the same way. Poor kitty lights up blue when she runs around at night.

What size and/or type do you use? Looking for one because my clothes sound staticy as helllll if i shake them

I bought a "whole house" one from Walmart for like $40. It's a cool mist one

Michigander here, friend got shocked pulling a tortilla shell out making tacos the other night.

Wait. You're telling me this is the reason why I've been shocking my cats when I pet them?

I shocked my doggy yesterday and felt so guilty! It didn't hurt a lot, but she was so surprised!

I shower with the door open in my apartment. Let all the steamy goodness humidify everything.

My bathrooms huge, so unless I want to freeze to death in the shower, I gotta close that shit. My kitty knows what shower time is though and b lines it to the bathroom the second he hears the faucet.

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If you really want it to work, touch thr metal screw on your switch plates, it should be grounded to the main electrical panel (unless you have the super cheap switches).

What would make you realize you need one?

To answer honestly; living in a dry climate. Waking up feeling hung over or dehydrated. Live in Vegas. Changed my life.

Agree! Ive lived in Vegas for 5 years now, didn't get one until I had a baby who needed it. I wake up a completely different person than I have the last 5 years.

Lived in Vegas almost my entire life. Moved to Florida for a year, no change in sleep. Moved back, my sleep schedules sucks and I'm always tossing and turning. Think this could help?

A cheap way to find out if you need more humidity without committing to a humidifier is to put a bowl of water over a heating vent.

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Can a towel just combust if you put it on a heater?

Meh, the bowl works for me and it doubles as an additional water bowl for the cats.

Hello fellow Vegas dweller.

A baby would do that to you.

Kids will do that to ya

....so that's why i felt that on vacation

My apartment is really well insulated, but the air always feels stuffy. I often notice I have a blocked nose or tight sinuses, I open the windows and my head clears up in a few minutes. The issue is that it can get way too cold then in the Winter. So if I'm in for the day it's a constant cycle between blocked sinuses (open the window) to being cold (close the windows) back to blocked sinuses (open the windows again). Is a humidifier good for this type of thing do you know, or would it need something else?

Same problem!

The heater could be drying out the air.

I've been meaning to get another one of those for so long now. They really helped with my allergies in the fall.

Also live in Vegas.

The holidays always hit us hard financially, so until we can afford to get one, we just have a metal bowl of water over half of a vent in our bedroom (the draftiest room in our house). It helps so much.

Pretty clever solution!

This comment just made me buy a humidifier. I've been having problems with getting a good nights rest, and I thought I might have some chronic internal infection or something (I know it sounds crazy), because I'm constantly dehydrated when I wake up, which causes my lymph nodes in my back to be a little sore (Doctor checked everything out and found nothing wrong) and I feel like I slept like shit EVERY time I sleep 7 or more hours. If i wake up around 6 hours, I feel great, I drink some water and go back to sleep.

You, my friend, may have just changed my life.

I actually don't live in a dry climate, but I do wake up feeling dehydrated. If I drink more water before going to bed, I'll just get up to piss more, so I drink a bit less, but I end up feeling really dehydrated in the morning.

I just moved to Vegas last year and I definitely noticed a strong difference in how much my skin and hair react to a non-humid environment and my water intake increased 10x. I had to get one of those "cold pillows" (the ones with the beads in them that get cold with pressure on them)

I'm gonna have to try this one out.

Shit, I live in Vegas and have been experiencing these things. I'll look into a humidifier soon I suppose.

It's like changing, just make sure you clean it at least 2x a month to avoid mold and such. I just empty it and swab it with a clorox wet wipe.

I'm pretty lazy, but that doesn't sound so bad. Could help with the ESD too. Tired of shocking my computer every time I come back to it.

Hello fellow Vegas dweller.

Fuck Vegas. I had a large floor model humidifier when I lived in Boulder City and I still had bloody noses daily due to the dryness.

Recommendation on type?

YES YES YES. Lived in Vegas for a few months. Most of it winter/spring. Had to get admitted to the hospital with dehydration because I was apparently drinking less water than needed. I now carry water bottles everywhere.

My issue is I dont want to water my robot every day. Have you found any that connect directly to a water line that dont cost $3000? I attempted to DIY rig a float valve into my current humidifier and cant get a perfect vacuum seal in there anymore so now it just leaks all over.

I live in southern Louisiana. I'm from the gulf coast of Mississippi, nearly always high humidity. We went on a ski trip to Colorado after thanksgiving a few years back and I about died from lack of moisture. I had a nose bleed and the inside of both nostrils were scabs. This guy isn't made for mountain air.

Hmmm, in Reno; may need one.

Hello fellow Renoite

For me it is bloody noses in the middle of the night and in the morning. Got a humidifier. No more bloody noses.

Dry skin. My hands get dry and crack in the winter.

The placebo effect

Dry climate, like they said, but I have one because of the daily allergy meds I take.

The allergy meds dry up my sinuses. That and living in the driest climate. Humidifier keeps my headaches away.

Getting nosebleeds is a pretty good indicator. For me, that tends to only be in winter, since the cold air is drier and dries out my sinuses, but the humidifier really does help prevent that.

If your stomach and back are constantly itching when you move like your skin pulled apart because its dry, or your snot can either be super balled up and chunky or completely dry and crusty. For me its mostly the second one. I know when the humidifyer has gone out of water if I wake up and my nose is completely full of thick sticky snot or lots of really really dry shit. Can also lead to the inside of your nose and/or lips cracking and bleeding a lot. Since getting a humidifyer I have much less need for chapstick unless I'm outside a lot.

Oh god this is me

I see a humidifier in your future. ;) suggest reading through the comments below about purchasing and caring for one.

During the cold canadian winters, my apt gets really, really, REALLY dry. When I left around 1pm on xmas eve, humidity was at 40%. When I got back the next morning, it was at 20%. It dropped fucking 20% in less than a single day because I forgot to turn on my humidifier. That's insane.

Didn't realised I needed one until I left my parent's house and got into my new appartment. For the first 2 years, I swear those were the 2 worst winters of my life. I didn't knew humidity was a problem. Never had been that problem before. So I had no humidifier and the air was so dry I had the worst throat pain ever. At some point I couldn't even talk. Thought I had a laryngitis or something like that. It lasted for like 1-2 months every winter, it was insane. It made me hate winter so fucking much, I still despise winter so fucking much. Every day I gotta refill the thing and try to clean it and make sure there's no mold forming. It's a real pain in the ass I swear it's like taking care of an extra pet for like 3 months. Fuck canadian winter.

Frequent nosebleeds, sinus congestion, dry, itchy skin, and lots of static shocks to name a few. Having an older gas furnace made the air in our apartment so dry in the winter.

Check the humidity in your house. If it is low (probably under 30 percent) than it might be an issue. Also when you wake up, is your mouth dry? Do you feel like you have a cold? These might be signs you need a humidifier.

Also when you wake up, is your mouth dry?

Isn't this normal after not drinking for 8 hours?

Everyone is different. If you don't sleep with your mouth open and your mouth is really dry every morning when you wake up to the point it hurts then that would be a more telling sign.

I visited vegas and when I woke up in the morning I could only imagine my tongue looked like a dried up lake bed. All cracked open and shit. Had to actually soak my tongue in water to get it back to normal.

I see. I'm not living in a dry climate myself and I often wake up with a dry mouth, but never to that degree.

I live in Norway, i think im good

If you wake up with a dry nose

Waking up and feeling like a desiccated mummy.

My apartment has the old style heaters you can’t turn down and they are on full blast in the fall / winter. If you close the window in my bedroom, the heat and lack of oxygen will literally make you pass out, wake up, be unable to rouse yourself normally and feel shitty.

Dry sinuses, nose bleeds, static shocks all the d@mn time, dry skin, crank the heater up & still feeling cold... And, get a hygrometer (humidity gauge), they're under $5.

But, yes, maintaining one is a pain. But, those little floaty ball things they sell next to the humidifiers help prevent mold & mildew growth.

As someone who lives in Florida, I've got more than enough humidity to deal with.

I had one to use in my guitar-room, moved to a city and my bedroom became the guitar storage room. Never knew how much a humidifier could help me sleep!

Nosebleeds. I get them all the time when it's dry. Humidifier helps a lot, especially when sleeping.

If you're unsure whether you need a humidifier or dehumidifier get both and let them fight it out

As someone living in Ireland, a Dehumidifier

Same in UK. Mold gets everywhere ffs.

after I bought one I thought they should be included in every crap London flat as standard thing like a water tap.

If you have central air a whole house humidifier is pretty reasonably priced and a fairly easy install then you never need to worry about remembering to fill tanks and the whole house gets the humidity not just one room

I live in FL. This state is my humidifier

I believe they're outlawed as torture devices here in FL.

I always feel groggy when I wake up. I would keep a glass of water by my bed because I was so dehydrated when I woke up. I got a good humidifier and now I wake up feeling like a million bucks. I just wake right up and I’m just.. up! No snooze button, no groggy feeling. It’s fantastic.

I've been thinking about getting one, a whole house humidifier I can hook directly into the furnace.

It's a decent amount of work: I have to connect it to the thermostat wiring, which would mean running new wiring, and splice it into the hot water line. Not to mention it runs about $200.

Do you have any recommendations? I have a pretty small place, about 1000 square feet.

Just get one from Home Depot or Best Buy for around 60 bucks... I’ve never been a fan of whole Home humidifiers. Have worked in hvac and most people in the industry I feel would agree.

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It’s just not very efficient. I believe one of the main reasons is that it can also cause bacteria/mold growth in parts of your vents. Seriously, just get a few cheapies and put them in the most crucial parts of your house that are dry, and it’d probably work just as well if not better than a whole homer. Same thing with air purifiers!

Just put a small cheap one next to your bed and see if it helps. It could help a lot then move up from there.

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You can goto cvs or any pharmacy and they should have at least one for less than $30.

Just going to chime in, recently a online friend got hospitalized from trying to DIY a humidifier and it spilled, so be very careful if u decide to make a homemade one to save money.

Hospitalized from wet feet? Is your online buddy John Travolta?

Or in my case, a dehumidifier. No more wet walls or moldy closets.

Same. Constantly had 85% humidity and it wasn't great. Now I pull out like 5 liters a week...

My mother once put one sneakily in my room. When I woke up my lungs felt like they were about to explode. I was basically writhing in pain for the better part of 3 hours until my mom told me she put one in my room. After I turned it off it took about 2 hours to fully pass. I tried experimenting the next day too, and sure as shit, the same pain came. I instantly got rid of it. I guess these aren't for everyone lmao

Or a dehumidifier... kentuckian here it's like a swamp 90% of the time during the summer

Honestly, dry heat in the winter in your apartment suuccckkkssss. Talk about dried sinuses and head aches.

Similarly, a dehumidifier if you live in a tropical climate. Makes a room much less clammy, and reduces the risk of water damage and mold too.

humidity is good for you. I live in 60 to 80 percent humidity year round on the coast. Literally never need to put on lotion. Travel anywhere dry and I'm flaky and itchy like crazy.

I grew up in a coastal beach town then moved to the Midwest during winter. I bought a humidifier almost immediately because I couldn't breathe when I slept. The air was too dry. Now my skin feels better, I sleep fine, and it also functions as a quiet white House machine that distracts the cat from singing the song of her people all night long.

Or if you live in a really humid place, dehumidifiers are amazing

Got a $20 portable one for an airplane ride. It was very helpful

I’m sure it’ll help here in Florida lol

I'm a hose head so I have a humidifier on me every night!

I have one put in my room every time I travel to Denver, Phoenix and SLC, it makes a big difference.

YES. I never sleep better than when my humidifier is running. And it helps me breathe when I get sick.

I have a dehumidifier. It's hard to sleep in a pool of your own sweat!

It can also help your pets if they have bad dander or greasy looking fur.

Word. Frigid winters are much more bearable with a humidifier. Just make sure you change the filter!

I got tired of constantly refilling ours and installed a whole house humidifier that draws from the water line. It's been fantastic. My hands normally get insanely, agonizingly dry during winter, but this year I've barely had to moisturize at all.

Inversely, a dehumidifier if you live near the sea or if there's high humidity in the air. In the winter it will even warm up your room a little! (Not like an AC of course, but it is noticeable). Then you can use the water it gathers for the plants.

Likewise, a dehumidifier if you live somewhere kinda damp.

Live in the UK - flat constantly gets mould every year. The dehumidifier has made dealing with that 10 times less awful

To add to this, a CPAP. If you think you might have apnea, get it checked out. It's life threatening. And good CPAP machines also have built in humidifiers and heated tubes.

I have a humidifier, and a dehumidifier. I like to run them both to see who is the stongestifier.

There is mould growing on the ceiling. No humidifier required. /britishproblems

We bought essential oil diffusers for both our bed room and the nursery. I can really tell the difference when I don't turn it on when I go to bed (darn shift work keeping me from sleeping with the wife).

Water is the enemy of your house.

A good air purifier. I know you can 'make one' cheaply, but I also don't have any interest in having a piece of shit looking thing sitting in the corner of my apartment either.

Hell yes. The last couple years, nearby wildfires have been bad, and my building lacks AC (I live in North Idaho). Having an air purifier in my bedroom near the head of my bed helped immensely—it's amazing what one of those with a good filter will pull from the air.

I live in an apartment in Wisconsin that has baseboard heating. This means that the air quality in the winter is god-awful. Just a few months ago, I bought a three-stage air purifier (activated carbon pre-filter, UV light, and HEPA filter). I love that thing...

Why does that affect the air quality? I'm curious

baseboard + closed windows == lack of air circulation. You get build ups of condensation and mold/mildew as a result.

forced air + fan always on == less mold/mildew and filtered air

Exactly what /u/54692d4558b62da01af1 said. With no airflow, dust, mold, and any number of other nasties, can build up.

We recently moved from Chicago to Seattle. One which we noticed was that my wife was falling ill much more frequently than me. Facts 1 - Chicago apt was centrally air-conditioned while Seattle apt has baseboard heat. Fact 2 - my wife is home much more than me. This might mean we need to try a portable air purifier. TIL.

We just bought one and it turns on when I fart which my husband thinks is just hilarious.

How near is it, and is it as high as the bed?

It's less than a foot from the head end of my twin-sized bed. It's on the floor, but it blows straight up right where I breathe.

Twin size bed? How do you sleep in that comfortably?

A human body is better suited to a twin sized bed anyway if you aren't rolling 4 feet over in your sleep constantly.

You're tiny.

Hardly, a queen is meant for two people. Many learn to live with a twin mattress because it is what they grew up with.

I live with SO who has a queen. Recently stayed with fam on my old full size. Its so small... A twin is like half a full.

Just messing with you, haha. My feet hung right off the end of my twin - had to upgrade to a queen and it is just right.

Hardly, a queen is meant for two people.

Still depends on the size of the people. I have to sleep at an angle on a queen mattress to make it so my feet are only just hanging off the edge.

Disclaimer - im well above the average height. at 6'6"

Eh, I make do. My bedroom is so small (9x10, with a weird closet and door arrangement) that I can't even fit anything larger along with my computer desk (I've measured). I'm 6'1", 220 pounds, and it works better than you'd think (I like to roll up my covers cigar-style around me. Smaller bed and bedroom saves on heat, too, especially since this 1920s building doesn't have good insulation at all.

I feel like this is worth the money to try. Brand/product recommendation? Or at least brands to avoid?

Check wire cutter for reviews

I’m so sorry to hear you live in Idaho. I brought a friend there once, I’ve never been more dehydrated and amazed to see so many rocks in the soil in my life, with tantalizing mountains off in the distance you felt would send you on a Donner party two day trek to drive to.

You must have been in Southern Idaho, then. Northern Idaho is full of huge freshwater lakes with nearby mountains (still a lot of rocks in the soil, though), as well as the rolling hills of the Palouse farther south.

Here's an album of some photos of taken from my area, and here's an album of now-abandoned railroad trestles in Lapwai Canyon about 50 miles south of where I live (which happens to be one of the most liberal towns in the state).

Edit: Realized I messed up the first photo album link.

You sir or madam, have changed my view that Idaho is an entirely shit state. In fact it was indeed south through central Idaho that I was in. And I was miserable and couldn’t drink water fast enough to keep up with the aridity and altitude change (literally drank 5 gallons the day I left). Those are some fantastic sights, and I’m actually quite jealous and wouldn’t mind visiting. Aside the likely inevitable dehydration sickness again. Lol

We have craft beer (and water)!

You already had me horny for the abandoned trellises.

I'm just still amazed alot of folks don't have A/C.

Yeah like 6 billion folks or so.

I was about to say that air purifiers are silly wastes of money, but when there's wildfires nearby? Yeah. That makes sense.

[deleted]

it gently alleviates the money in your wallet

[deleted]

Well that depends what type you get. A HEPA filter air purifier is supposed to remove 99.97% of air borne particles. A HEPA filter can trap particles less than half the size of the best filter you can get for your HVAC system.

[deleted]

Then you need to close your door if you don't already and make sure you have the proper size. If says its for 200sqft. that means its supposed to be able to fully circulated 200sqft* of air 7 times an hour at full speed.

*this probably actually means 200sqft of floor space with 8ft ceilings.

That motherfucker would be filthy every 30 days, but the $20 a month was worth every penny.

/r/nocontext

9/10 comment there. Nice one.

Grammar and punctuation for full marks.

I disagree. The no caps and no period really emphasises the statement and makes it more humorous overall.

[deleted]

Ok will do. It gently alleviates the money in your wallet.

Misread your comment as pollinated city at first.

Wow, I thought it was one of those unspoken rules that you don't guild a comment before you can see its karma.

Says who?

unspoken rules

Nobody, apparently

What does karma have to do with whether a comment is worth gilding?

Because how can someone know whether it needs guilded unless the hive mind shows you how to think?

Removes dust, dander, etc... from the air. Some have ozone that will kill any airborne bacteria, or surface bacteria the ozone touches.

What's an airborne bacteria one typically picks up inside the home that such of a device will prevent?

It'll not prevent any.

https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/ozone-generators-are-sold-air-cleaners

"If used at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone applied to indoor air does not effectively remove viruses, bacteria, mold, or other biological pollutants."

I should have been more specific, it will kill bacteria, viruses, and even some molds. In terms of bacteria, it can kill strep bacteria, it can also take down flu viruses, and while it won't kill black molds like stachy, it will prevent them from spreading.

It won't be perfect, because it's not pumping out a lot of ozone, but it will help.

Ozone is harmful to humans.

Yeah i remember that first time i heard them it did literally hurt me.

TIL, humans are bacteria.

https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/ozone-generators-are-sold-air-cleaners

Ozone will irritate your lungs for no gain:

"When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs. Relatively low amounts of ozone can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and, throat irritation. It may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma as well as compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections."

"If used at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone applied to indoor air does not effectively remove viruses, bacteria, mold, or other biological pollutants."

How did I subscribe to Ozone Facts?

That an air purifier increases pollution is insane.

In high concentrations sure, but what an air purifier is putting out, not really.

https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/ozone-generators-are-sold-air-cleaners

Ozone will irritate your lungs for no gain:

"When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs. Relatively low amounts of ozone can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and, throat irritation. It may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma as well as compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections."

"If used at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone applied to indoor air does not effectively remove viruses, bacteria, mold, or other biological pollutants."

Sounds to me like there are 3 possibilities.

It irritates your lungs and provides microbe disinfection, it doesn't irritate your lungs and provides microbe disinfection, or it doesn't irritate your lungs and doesn't provide microbe disinfection. Also, in all 3 cases, it smells like a lightning storm.

You also seemed to have been quite selective in what you copied in reference to the microbes, if you read the 2 paragraphs below that statement, it doesn't even verify that statement.

Purifies the air.

Hmmmm...still not understanding. Can you be more concise, please?

Make bad air good.

We ain't scientists doc

Who is to judge which air is bad

We don't take kindly to air purity relativists around these parts.

So are you saying that not all air is equal ?

sir I already told you that I am not an air person so Im going to hang up now

Holy shit. Been trying to figure out what an air puffer was this whole time.

I don't know, but I assume it is for big cities (car exhausts) and dry areas (dust, wildfires).

its essentially a fan with fancy filters on the intake side.

It creates some air flow, while sucking out excess dust/dander/pollen as well as some mold spores and viruses.

Edit: There's been a lot of people mentioning that they bought one because they look cool, you are the exact people this comment ISN'T referencing.

I have a salt lamp because the color it gives off is pleasant. And because it tastes good when I lick it.

My brother got one for Christmas. I asked him if it tasted like salt. He hasn't licked it yet, but I'm gonna talk him into it eventually.

I have one. I've licked it. It does taste like salt.

My friend has one. I like to lick it when I go to his house. He still doesn't know...

Ah a fellow lamp licker. I no longer buy lamps that doesn’t double as a tasty treat.

You...you just lick your lamp? But why?

[deleted]

That only answers the question "why not?"

I was in a salt mine when I was in... some country in Europe, I forget which. They invite you to lick the walls.

I licked the wall.

Tasted pretty great! I'd recommend licking that cave wall to just about anyone.

They're also prone to catching on fire, so they add a certain bit of excitement to your life!

My dogs love licking my salt lamps too.

That's for air purification, not humidity you chakra misaligned fool.

The comment he responded to is about a purifier not a humidifier

Edit: An a

Ooh, that's embarrassing

Queue the Curb music

[deleted]

Sir, this is the internet. This is a very serious place. We have no room for jokes here.

As confirmed by /r/funny

Yeah, take that you chakra misaligned fool.

I swear to Vishnu I'm gonna punch that guy right in the aura!

Lol, salt rocks are used for humidity control and do not purify the air, even though people claim they do.

"I have never once in my career recommended a salt lamp to a patient," - allergist Dr. Julie Kuriakose

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.today.com/amp/health/himalayan-salt-lamps-are-health-benefits-real-t107117

I just like the way they look...

So I bought one because I liked the way it looked on clearance without a box. All of the sudden one spring day there is a huge dripping puddle under it because it was really really humid out. Wtf, so I googled and found out it’s fucking salt. Lol. I had no idea. I thought it was some sort of rock.

Salt is a rock. It's just a water soluble rock.

Same. I like the glow as I’m winding down for work.

Plus, ya know, the air is like super pure...

"There has been some talk in the holistic community about the fact that electromagnetic radiation from cellphones, from microwaves, from computers, creates positive ionization of our body," Kogan explained

Somebody should really explain to these folks what non-ionizing radiation means.

Dehumidifier not humidifier.

No a humidifier. They're different things.

You might want to check your own chakra

I just burn sage, for spiritual purification.

In a similar vein, two salesmen approached my mother, convinced her that they would need to 'appraise' our apartment for its suitability for their product, and pitched a $25,000HKD (~$3200USD) 'air purifier'. Apparently it improves the feng shui of any room it's in, prevents lung cancer, and cures asthma.

Kinda sad that enough people fall for scams like this that they can afford to employ two people who evidently spend a lot of time and effort peddling their shitty product.

New favorite insult

What about centering my chi?

Savage.

Namaste, friend.

They are so pretty though

I got a salt lamp in a white elephant and it no shit says "The Salt Lamp produces negative Ions that attack the positive Ions causing headaches, sinus problems, and poor health"

Wife and I both burst out laughing when we read that...then we remembered that people eat that shit up.

Don't forget these devices make your vinyl albums sound better too, and last longer. All the nasty ions that cause crackles and popples and attract dust are positive.

I mentioned to my mom that I thought they were really cool and wanted one. A week later she came home with one and was like, "Omg! It produces negative ions and makes you feel happier and healthier!". It's such obvious bullshit.

I just like the lamp because it's fucking pretty.

I got a fairly cheap one at a rock store. Ok that sounds weird, but... that's what it is. Anyways I stuck one of those led strips in it, pretty cool looking. I don't care if it is putting out ions or whatever, but I have it sitting on green right now, looks like a big chunk of kryptonite.

Any tips or names for the LED lights? I would love to execute this in my room

The one I put in the rock was a cheap set from Wal-Mart, it was less than $5. It was a Christmas thing. I have bought other sets from Amazon for less than $20. They are longer. Just make sure it comes with power supply, and controller.

Similar here. My ex got me one while we were dating, because I had trouble sleeping. (She didn't buy into the bullshit much, it was more a nice gesture) but I did sleep better with it on because the pink ish light from the salt was somewhat soothing.

i live with a guy who unironically got one for his room for that. told me all of those reasons. But he's also into super sciency diets with alkaline water and HCL pills so i don't even try ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Of course they do. Salt is an important mineral in our diets and while moderation is key, should be at least a small part of everyone's diet.

Holy shit, one of my wife's relatives got one for Christmas and I just thought it was decorative. Then again, they are ones who will buy into crap like that (reiki etc.)

They are pretty though! I like the glow it adds to my room, not my Chakras.

Someone gave me one, and I definitely don’t believe all the shit I’ve heard about them, but I have noticed that smells ( hairspray, food) dissipate quicker ( I don’t know if it’s because of the lamp, but I’ve heard they can “deodoranrize”).

I mostly kept it because it is really pretty, even if it does jack shit.

This entire post is intended for bs marketing crap. I can only wonder how many companies blew a load and pulled out the credit card to get some upvotes when they saw the post.

That's arguable, it's a question I would legitimately ask, I fucking love tools and gadgets.

I'm sure the companies sure as hell wouldn't mind the free publicity though.

I'm assuming those things don't do what they're "supposed" to do, but they are pretty so I bought one for my mom for Christmas.

If they just said that they stuck a light in a chunk of rock salt and they think it looks cool, I'd probably buy one because they do look cool. Unfortunately, current marketing gimmicks make the owners of such lamps look like new age tools.

HEY!!

I BOUGHT MY MOTHER A SALT LAMP FOR CHRISTMAS AND SHE LOVED IT!!!

HEY!!

I'M GLAD SHE ENJOYED YOUR PRESENT!!!

I got my fiance one, I don't get it but I do like the glow with all the lights off. Worth the 20 dollars.

Wtf is the deal with salt lamps? They're bullshit, right?

Very much so, they're just decorative.

seriously. I thought purifiers are scams

They are. I literally just made a short film looking at this topic and interviewed academics on indoor air quality.

The particles that these purifiers can remove are relatively heavy and most will drift to the floor as dust within about five minutes once you've left the room. As most are no longer in the air, all the purifier is doing is catching the remnants and adding a faint odour. It can't do anything about all the pollutants that are settled on your furnishings and floor. These are kicked up again when you walk back in the room, making the purifier utterly pointless. The solution is to hoover your soft furnishings and dust.

This is why you won't see any in situ demonstrations for these products actively reducing air pollution against a control. They simply don't do the job.

Thank you for posting. I've had some serious health issues, researched and even tried an filter on loan. Nada. A scam.

The academic's advice was to open a window. It'll be quicker and more effective unless you happen to live directly on a main road.

To be clear, it's not that purifiers do nothing at all, but that the vast majority of people do not need them and will see no improvement over simple housekeeping.

Hoover your sofas folks.

I feel like you're trying to get me to buy a Hoover...

Shillception

When you say that air purifiers are ineffective what sort of purifier are you talking about? I recently spent £100 on a HEPA air filter by Homedics. Are you saying it's effectively useless. Or are you talking about those ionising air filters?

Nope! I’ve had mine about 3 years now. A friend got it for me. An made sure it’s one that the filter doesn’t need replacing as long as you don’t damage it. I take the front panel off to remove the filter and use my mini vac about once a month. You can see all the dust and stuff it collects.
I have congenital heart defects. Congenital lung defects. COPD not caused by smoking. Pulmonary hypertension. One working lung. Asthma. They used to only come in big sizes. But the one I have fits on my desk.

I also use it if we’re cooking or something and it’s kind smoky and I turn it on. It helps a lot.

[deleted]

The one I got recently (asthma) has a mesh prefilter that they recommend be vacuumed monthly or even washed, carbon filter and hepa filters behind that. Keeps the cat hair from clogging up the hepa filter.

What one?

Winix, the Costco version. Under $150 and comes with 2 years of replacement filters.

What's a good / reliable filter fan?

Does the purifier do anything for cigarette smoke in the house?

If your the one smoking or hoh just smoke outside, in my experience nothing will truly help with cig smoke, though it could be better than nothing especially if you use a purifier, fans/open window, and a smoke buddy

There are particular filters you can get for purifiers that will (supposedly) help with cigarette smoke to some degree. I know for sure the Holmes brand has some.

Well all my health issues especially lung.. I can’t answer that. I don’t smoke and no one in my family does either.

They'll definitely help with the smell. Cig smoke sticks to everything though so it won't completely removed the smell, but if you breath the smoke into the intake you can probably smoke inside a room with a door closed and window open without the smell leaking too far into the rest of the house/apartment.

Pro tip. If you are worried about cigarette smoke in your house, stop smoking first.

I dont smoke, i live with smokers, i can’t do anything about it.

That sucks. I’m sorry. I don’t know why people smoke. I don’t know what it’s like to have 2 healthy lungs. To breathe normally. I was born that way. So seeing people smoke pisses me off. I get it’s an addiction thing. But smokers are throwing away beautiful healthy lungs. They have no clue what can happen. It’s not like having a cold all the time either.

[deleted]

Thanks. I was born with 5 congenital heart defects and 2 congenital lung defects. So it’s my normal. Had my 1st open heart surgery at about 10 hours old. So I don’t know anything else.
I’m 27 now, which is amazing. I shouldn’t be alive. I can’t work because of everything I have.

Brand? Link?

https://www.hamiltonbeach.com/trueair-air-purifier-04383#details-tab

MVP! Thanks.

Do you know what kind it is? Never heard of one that small, and would like to get it

https://www.hamiltonbeach.com/trueair-air-purifier-04383#details-tab

Definitely not. Just make sure to buy one that has a HEPA filter and a carbon filter. HEPA filters will catch all of the small particles that the carbon pre-filter doesn't, the carbon filter will remove smells. They're not cheap though, expect to pay at least $90-100 for a good one. Also change the carbon filter every 2-3 weeks, thankfully these are really cheap.

[citation needed]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HEPA

Not sure what there's a question about. HEPA is a quality level of filter, not some kind of junk science term.

You can buy a separate laser PM 2.5 sensor and check the air quality yourself, air purifiers do work. They probably seem bogus at first because it's all invisible to the naked eye.

And there are top brands that are fairly inexpensive. I just got one recently and it's changed how I sleep now that I'm not constantly stuffy-nosed from pet dander and terrible local allergens.

Which did you get?

I'll add a dehumidifier. Mould and general damp was causing serious issues in our basement flat. Gone in 3 weeks as humidity reduced from 75% to 40%. And clothes no longer take 4 days to dry. Doesn't need to be on all the time and doesn't cost much to operate.

You were drying clothes by hanging them in your basement? I think I know where your moisture problem came from. Why not get a clothes dryer?

No I mean it's a basement flat. Not great ventilation unless you want the flat to be constantly freezing cold. Live in a cold place.

So you took wet clothes, and hung them in the open air to dry?

Wet clothes dont dry well in a cold climate that has regular rain. Hence a need to dry them indoors.

Edit: perhaps you mean in the open air indoors. It's a rented flat. We have no dryer or option to install one.

perhaps you mean in the open air indoors

Yes. This is what I was wondering.

Do people who don't live in like, Beijing and are healthy need those?

I've just literally never met anyone who has one. What aspect of it is "lifechanging"?

The life changing part is all the money you no longer need to carry around with you. $200 for a fan, then another $30 for filters every 2 weeks, all so you can remove a few dust particles that you can remove simply by vacuuming.

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-air-purifier/

Shameless plug for the site that does my obsessive product comparisons for me.

Damn good link, thanks. I'm glad they actually show you the data they collect too.

This. I got a Levoit air purifier from Amazon for Christmas and it's fucking amazing. My air just smells so much cleaner, I don't feel congested and stuffy in my room anymore, and I honestly think it's helped my skin stay more clear. Get one. Cost about $80 I believe.

There are a lot of negative reviews on Amazon about this unit.

Well what did you expect; The top response in the top comment thread to not be some sort of marketing?

I didn't have any expectations.

Are you sure? The one I just looked up had a 4.5 rating and almost 900 reviews. Doesn’t seem very negative

Which model are you looking at? It's been great for me, I actually purchased it because of all the positive reviews.

The same one you mentioned. But here's the thing...I read reviews every time I want to buy anything online. There is always going to be someone who isn't happy with a product and, sometimes we get shitty products from the manufacturer. I write honest reviews and try to give pros and cons.

It's LevOIT air, not Levoit AIR!

/r/unexpectedharrypotter

errr. It's pretty much twice that price. $159. Still under $200 I guess though.

The smaller Levoit is $80. The model is the LV-H132

We own an Alen air purifier with a hepa filter. A bit more then $200 but in my opinion well worth the cash. Living in nyc and even with keeping a very clean house it’s disturbing the crap that thing pulls from the air. We’ve owned it for about 3 years now and it’s still running like new.

Suggestions? I was actually just looking into HEPA filters, but don't really have an idea on where to start

I recently did a bunch of research looking for a small purifier for my bedroom and the Holmes brand ones seem to be pretty good. You can get various filters that can do various things (like some being "true" HEPA filters, some being more useful for allergens, some for getting rid of cigarette smoke smells, etc).

The only thing about purifiers I read that made them seem iffy is getting ionizing ones. Most things I read suggested getting one where you have the option to turn ionizing off because supposedly it's bad for you/your pets/whatever. I'm not sure how true it is, but I just keep my ionizing function off because I think it's mostly meant for neutralizing smells and that's not my purifier's main purpose.

They can produce ozone, which can be an irritant.

FWIW I have an ionizing one and it visibly collects fine dust and really fine dust. Big particles not so much.

The Wirecutter has a great article. https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-air-purifier/

Make one?

basically you take a big A/C vent filter and put it over a $20 fan (both about 3 feet x 3 feet and that does just as good supposedly. looks like shit though

That's a big fan. 20" x 20" is standard.

Just agreeing with you here so others can learn the correct info. That is a huge fan and 20" x 20" is correct. a filter that size is super super common and fits most standard box fans.

Could I just run my HVAC fan and do the same thing then?

Yes but your HVAC will wear out significantly faster that way. Make a cheap box fan work hard, not your expensive house system.

in that case, yes, lol

I doubt a standard box fan would have the airflow to properly move air through the filter, especially as it fills with particulates and requires more power. A properly designed air purifier typically has a ducted-fan design with an airtight inlet, pulling air through the filter.

Mine works great. I can't say they look nice but I got sick of buying expensive air purifiers with expensive filters and then in a few years nobody makes the filter any more so a new air purifier is needed.

The airflow is actually better. It's a big fan. And I use a pricey micron filter so that's better too. Really just better all around except in looks.

They are at least somewhat effective: http://www.uofmhealth.org/news/sinus-hepa-0630

Yes, a properly ducted fan with a HEPA filter will work better. But the DIY version will probably work at least as well as anything you can buy at Walmart for less than $50.

I doubt a standard box fan would have the airflow to properly move air through the filter,

Then you are wrong.

[deleted]

Get a box fan and a furnace filter and try some science. The blade will not stall, it wont even come close to stalling. You can also look at the countless youtube videos about DIY filters, there are even some with particulate counts to prove how well they work like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH5APw_SLUU

I got terrible health issues due to mold. I never thought of this. Thank you so much stranger.

[deleted]

I’ll try it. It’s worth a shot.

Of course they don't hep, they filter air.

a proper hepa certified air filter is really fucking pricey but if you have allergies, whatever room you put one in will become your own personal safe haven. that plus a really nice proper vacuum cleaner (north of 600 bucks, usually north of 1000) will really help out.

Buy plants?

Yes, because they remove dust and fur and flakes of skin from the air.

Bought standing AC unit (that had HEPA filter so it doubled up as purifier) for my friend who has one of those overly furry cats and constantly dry/flakey skin from the sun. She went from dusting every three days to dusting once a week tops. Standalone air purifiers are basically just a high speed fans with air filter slapped on. Some can also regulate the humidity of your room so if you suffer with either damp or dry air it is a good buy. My old place had really dry air that made my throat constantly sore and buying a standalone humidifier was the best $40 I have ever spent on home appliance.

Can someone suggest a good air purifier for a 700 Sq foot apartment (I don't mind having 2 if they each cover smaller Sq ft) ? One that helps for allergies and also makes the air smell fresher? There seems to be a lot of options out there and I'm a bit overwhelmed.

peace lilies? Pretty sure they can survive on urine so long as you balance the soil PH.

[deleted]

Just crap in it, you already won't have any friends!

Does it remove the smoke smell well from rooms?

If it's baked in the walls and carpet, no.

how do they purify the air?

[deleted]

I live in a tiny studio apartment, so good for me gets the job done under $200

Absolutely essential if you live in China.

I don't particularly have allergy issues, by an curious if an air purifier cuts down on DUST in the home? Like an air Roomba?

No, but a vacuum will.

Just cut the filters off two cigarettes and shove them up your nose.

If you're a smoker, just don't cut anything and light the cigarettes after you insert them, and become a Malboraulrus

Or replace the furnace filter/HVAC filter with a $20 one that can filter out pollen during allergy season if you have central air. It really helps.

Just ordered one from Amazon for these cold ass Canadian winters, hopefully it makes a big difference for what I paid.

Should I get one with ionizer or one without them?

One without. Ionizers are possibly TERRIBLE for your health. There was a fad a decade ago when multiple companies tried selling them to unsuspecting customers.
Ionizers emit negatively charged ions into a room. As a result, a small amount of ozone is produced. Ozone is an important part of the atmosphere of the earth, but very much harmful for the lungs.

Thanks for your answer, some purifiers presume about creating Ozone while others presume of the opposite. I didn't know they were bad. :)

[removed]

As a student, a rice cooker turned my ensuite room into a studio apartment. I literally cooked entire meals in it, for a challenge even managed to cook a steak in it once

tell me more about that steak thing.

Steamed steak seems really not good.

[deleted]

How about boiled over hard? With some raw jelly beans on the side.

What about some cheese with that? How much cheese is too much cheese?

Any amount of cheese, before a date, is too much cheese.

What is this enticing bowl of white?

That's Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese? Like, cheese from some cottage? Whose cottage? What is that, exactly?

God, damn it Charlie!

There is no "too much cheese"

Can you afford such a thing? I highly doubt you're paid as much as a full on rapist

Are those hornet scars?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who still gets nightmares from that post.

I only eat pickled jelly beans.

My milk steak brings all the boys to my room

And they're like, "this tastes like shoe"

Actually there are a few ways, the best is over hard with a side of raw jellybeans

As a side note to this lovely meme, Binging With Babish on Youtube did a cooking guide to Milk Steak and it's pretty great

I loved his explanation.

Boil until it is pallid and misshapen

that poor ribeye

Brings out the ghouls too.

little green ones?

r/IASIP is leaking again

What about rum ham?

Does it bring the boys to the yard?

Steamed hams, mmm mmm.

You're an odd fellow, but you steam a good ham

You call these steamed hams despite the fact that they are obviously grilled?

Albany?

I'm in Albany and it's kind of sad that I haven't come across a single burger place to run with the steamed hams joke.

I don't really understand where the joke comes from but I'd eat a steamed burger any damn day!

It's from The Simpsons and considered one of the better gags from their golden years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4lnZr022M8

oooooooohhhhh how did I not know this is what it was from. Thanks for enlightening me :)

The Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?

Warm ham water.

*Hot ham water.

It's a regional delicacy; upstate New York.

Well I'm from Utica and I've never heard of a steamed steak.

Oh not in Utica no, it's an Albany expression

That really steams my steaks

Couldn't he just have purchased fast food and disguise it as his own?

Nothing like some gray meat.

What about steamed hams? Mmm! Steamed hams!

It wouldn't be steamed if you just slapped that steak right in the bottom of the pot and left the lid off. More like sauteed if anything.

Gotta use dollartree ribeyes for best results

Sounds like a mis-steak

What about steamed hams?

It is when you're lazy.

You need to learn sous vide.

https://anovaculinary.com/what-is-sous-vide/

It can actually be better than you'd think. We used to do it more than I should admit when I worked in the meat/seafood department at Kroger. It was also usually submerged in various sauces and seasonings, so that probably helped. We thought it would be just horrible, so naturally we tried it anyways one night, and were quite surprised so we did it at least once every week or two after that. It's a lot harder to hide that you're grilling steak in the back of a grocery store than using the steamer for the seafood..

Not steamed clams, steamed HAMS. MmmmMmm. It's an old Skinner family recipe

Steamed steak would suck, but if you took steak, made foil enclosures around the steak, then steamed the foil, it would cook the steak without the steam mixing with steak juice. Add some hickory bark in the steamer, and that is one good damn steak.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide

Put in a little oil and manually forced the on button down so it wouldn't automatically turn off. Turned out fine actually but a bit of a pain in the neck compared to a frying pan

Upgrade to an instantpot, does rice and actually intended to cook other foods.

You dont want to do that

Bit of oil and place steak in cooker. Better if your cooker has a sautee function.

..sous-vide it?

Cooked != tasty.

sous vides maybe?

/r/sousvide

Steamed hams

That’s what I call hamburgers

Aurora Borealis?

I bought a rice cooker last year and it was awesome. I used to use one in college, and finally I had that convenience again. But then I started to use it less and less frequently. And then I forgot to clean it out.

For like 3 months.

Needless to say, when I opened the lid to make some rice, the current leftover rice looked unhappy, and almost angry. I swear to god I saw it breathing.

I literally had to throw it out because I couldn't wash away the mold smell, which turned into rice that tasted like Clorox.

Basically if you're thinking of getting a rice cooker, don't forget to clean out the leftovers. Because a rick cooker turns into a rice creature-maker when it's turned off with old rice it in pretty quickly.

Tbh I think if you leave any food anywhere for 3 months it isn't going to be pretty

Don’t forget to clean out the leftovers

Applies to everything in your kitchen, don’t put this on the rice cooker

I once left a ham sandwich in a car storage compartment for a month before it was found. My god, we've had rats die under our floorboards and they had nothing on that ham sandwich.

Do you even kimchi?

Well actually, my mum's making sauerkraut right now

I'm still not touching that stuff.

Cowboy Bebop

man how did you forget that there was something in that cooker?

The lid was closed. I'm blaming the device and not my obvious incompetence.

which turned into rice that tasted like Clorox.

Wait, did you eat it?

I mean not the original inhabitant, but I did eat his distant cousin after I cleaned it like 6 times.

I didn't get very far into that bowl of rice before realizing that rice cooker was a total write-off.

Rice cooker + George Forman grill + electric teapot

I'm an Australian student that went on a study tour to Europe for a month. There were a group of Vietnamese students in the same group who brought a huge ass rice cooker with them. They couldn't live with out it.

Just buy a pressure cooker.

You are an an odd fellow, but I must say, you steam a good ham.

I use my sandwich press for that, works wonders. :)

We cooked everything with a contraband wafflemaker.

Why was a wafflemaker contraband?

Not allowed - fire hazard.

Oh that sucks. I feel a toaster would be more dangerous haha.

I don’t understand what you mean by your ensuite room turned into a studio apartment? How is that possible lol

Well I already had my own bathroom, now I had a kitchen too.

So a rice cooker is just a small crock pot?

Rice cookers are banned in our student accommodation... never really figured out why.

To force you to use the student meal plans. Freshman year is a scam.

did you make steamed hams by any chance ?

Have cooked a steak with a clothes iron while traveling

My dorm doesn't allow rice cookers or electric kettles...

I know it's the popular Reddit answer, but an instant pot. It's a bit more $, but it's a rice cooker and slow cooker and pressure cooker all in one. I hate one trick kitchen devices and this let me replace several. And it does a damn good job at each function to boot.

I got one of those during black Friday. It's really amazing. I've cooked frozen fish perfectly in 10 god damned minutes. This thing is made of miracles.

FWIW, if you have an oven (obviously not college dorm kids, etc) you can broil most any fish in <10 minutes.

it's even more than that: it has a saute function, so when you want to braise some slow-cook meat, you can brown it and sweat the vegs in the instant pot first, then pressure-cook it (cutting the time to cook dramatically; short ribs in 35 min instead of 150). When that's done, you can reduce the cooking liquid in it. All one easy-to-clean pot. Plus like you said, great rice cooker and you can supposedly make yogurt with it as well.

Making yogurt in it is really easy as long as you have a thermometer to make sure the milk cools enough to not kill the cultures

Was looking for the instant pot on this thread... my wife got one for Xmas...very versatile. If one didn’t have a stove for some reason, this could replace a lot of the functionality of it.

My condo has a kitchenette and therefore no stove or oven. I cook mainly using a hot plate, large toaster oven, microwave, electric skillet, and Crock-Pot. I was looking into getting a rice cooker, but after seeing an instant pot I'm seriously considering one instead. I'm just worried about having way too many kitchen devices cluttering my small kitchen space.

Instant Pot can replace or supplement your crock pot. I like doing rice in one and beef saag in the other.

Do you have a good beef saag recipe?

I typically use some variation of this one.

Instant pot can do rice and slow cook and pressure cook. And you can brown in it which might replace some need for the hot plate. It's just good for lots of all in one meals so even though you might keep the other gadgets, maybe you can go many nights using only the instant pot.

Working at UPS I deliver a lot of these...... Also send a lot back to Amazon

I work at Kohl’s with online orders, someone bought six of them at one time and we had to split the order into three boxes.

Yeah they have quality control issues at the moment but the company has been good about replacements.

I think a lot of people are scared/intimidated of them at first too lol and don’t use it

True, I didn't want to use it at first. I've been using a cusineart rice cooker for years. It only has one switch that flips from cook to warm.

Honestly, that's not surprising. I'm a tech-y dude and an early adopter on plenty of stuff, but that fuckin' thing has like 20 buttons on it that all do different things. I'm constantly in the manual making sure I'm getting it right.

Majority of the buttons are just preset temp/pressure and cook times. It does look daunting though.

maybe if you guys didn't throw and kick them around all the time you'd deliver less returns

that's how the delivery people get repeat business, by making sure it gets returned.

I personally don't throw and kick.... Move of a toss

My favorite kitchen purchase in years. It's as good as advertised. Only limit is your willingness to expand your cooking horizons. Green chile carnitas enchiladas? Mine are better than most restaurants I've ever been to, and I've got eight such meals ready to thaw and heat in my freezer, all from one cooking session.

Do you have the recipe? Just got one of these for Christmas and that sounds AMAZING

Here's a link to the original recipe: https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/pressure-cooker-green-chile-pork-carnitas/

What I did differently/in-addition was to cook up a batch of both pinto and black refried beans mixed together; importantly, cooked with two cut up oranges and three crushed garlic cloves, which you take out at the end (I got this idea separately, and I'm now religious about it). Also, I'm more of a shredded mexican cheese guy, so I went with that instead of queso fresco. Anyway, it's really a piece of cake once you've prepped everything; that's what takes a bit of time. I then mixed/rolled the finished carnitas (drenched in the green chili sauce), the beans and the cheese into a mix of corn and flour tortillas. Plenty of green chili sauce to put on top.

Bonus: I had more than I planned for, so I mixed the remaining carnitas and beans together and portioned it out. Made for amazing tacos fillings later in the week. Best of luck!

Seriously, Dave, make with the carnitas recipe. I need to expand my cooking horizons (and I am a fellow Dave).

Here's a link to the original recipe: https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/pressure-cooker-green-chile-pork-carnitas/

What I did differently/in-addition was to cook up a batch of both pinto and black refried beans mixed together; importantly, cooked with two cut up oranges and three crushed garlic cloves, which you take out at the end (I got this idea separately, and I'm now religious about it). Also, I'm more of a shredded mexican cheese guy, so I went with that instead of queso fresco. Anyway, it's really a piece of cake once you've prepped everything; that's what takes a bit of time. I then mixed/rolled the finished carnitas (drenched in the green chili sauce), the beans and the cheese into a mix of corn and flour tortillas. Plenty of green chili sauce to put on top.

Bonus: I had more than I planned for, so I mixed the remaining carnitas and beans together and portioned it out. Made for amazing tacos fillings later in the week. Best of luck!

I love my Instant Pot! From meats and vegetables to cheesecakes, it's a pretty incredible device. I got mine for about $70, though you sometimes see someone score a thrift store jackpot for around $25.

Incidentally, "we" just went over a million users in the Facebook Instant Pot Community. Recipes and advice galore.

Nice. I should check out that FB group.

Those things are usually quite big though.

Same size as my rice cooker I had before which I'm offering it as an alternative to.

I would even suggest that the pressure cooker/instant pot would be a suitable replacement for the rice cooker. It makes rice the same way, and does so many more things. My wife got one for Christmas, and we've been making 3-4 dinners a week in it. I have yet to be disappointed.

Get the IP Duo Mini 3qt.

There is a new 3 qt mini one.

Technically ... isn’t it just a pressure cooker though?

Also a slow-cooker, and a hot plate.

Essentially yes, with a built in element and comes with some accessories. But it had preset buttons that make it a bit easier for newbies. Without it I probably wouldn't have every gotten any other pressure cooker.

I often cook using America's Test Kitchen, which their recipes tend to be extremely meticulous but the final product makes it worth it. I love cooking, so I don't mind.

I was cautious with the instant pot, because I doubted you could pull off similar results. Turns out, with the right recipe, you can.

I've started trying to figure out how to adapt existing recipes to work with it.

Are they easy to clean though?

Yeah, just take out the cooking pot insert thing and wash it out or toss it in the dishwasher. Once in a while there's a silicone sealing ring that you should probably clean, but I haven't really had to do that.

A friend brought one of these to a potluck recently with which they had made some bomb Mac&Cheese. I love my Crock-Pot but have been considering a rice cooker, but now I'm contemplating just getting one of those bad boys!

I just got one for Christmas. Never heard of it before, but have used it about 5 times in the past week. Makes great rice, cooked a perfect slow cooker meal, pressure cooked a teriyaki chicken dish last week. I normally don't like gadgets, but this one is pretty great.

Or just pressure cooker, there are cheaper brands out there, they are all the rage.

my GF got me one for christmas, and I almost cried. Best present I've ever gotten.

I like my Ninja Cooking System for the same reason. It's a multipurpose stove top/crock pot and makes the best one pot meals.

I had no idea this was a popular reddit answer, but after reading up on it just now, it sounds fantastic. I just might get one for myself this week.

I super love mine. Heard about it originally from another Reddit thread. Glad I could share.

I just got one for Christmas, still not really sure what to use it for. I did cook 3 pounds of corned beef in 70 minutes over the weekend.

Just Google search recipes. There are lots of great things. There are also sometimes e-book cook books for it on Amazon for cheap. That's where I get a lot of my recipe ideas.

I just got one for Christmas, still not really sure what to use it for.

There are some great recipes, websites, and even cookbooks out there specifically tailored for using an Instant Pot. I recommend Indian cuisine if you enjoy it.

And if you like eggs (especially deviled), here's a foolproof way to hardboil them in the Instant Pot:

  • Place the eggs on a metal rack in the pot, and add 1 cup of water. You can use as many eggs as will fit, and even layer them if desired.

  • Close the lid and set the vent to the "sealing" position.

  • Pressure cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. (Don't worry about the Keep Warm setting; it can be left on or off because it doesn't kick in until all the pressure is released anyway.)

  • When the alarm goes off, just let it sit while the timer starts counting the minutes for a Natural Release of pressure. When it gets to 4 minutes, do a Quick Release (turn knob to "venting") and release all the remaining pressure from the pot.

  • Immediately place the eggs in cold water and peel.

For me, this method results in perfectly hardboiled and easy-to-peel eggs every time. Simply adjust the timing if you prefer a softer yolk :)

My best friend who works at Best buy in the suburbs says its their mosy returned item. Like 50% of them break after a few uses. Also it takes up so much room for a single purpose appliance.

Single purpose?? The whole reason people buy these things is beacuse they aren't single purpose. You no longer need a crock pot , rice cooker, or a stove top pressure cooker.

I can't attest to the quality because mine has always been good. It is a larger appliance, but it is not single purpose. When I got mine I got rid of three other actual single purpose appliances that it replaced. I specifically got it because it is multi-purpose.

I've been debating if I want to get rid of my slow cooker and rice cooker and just buy an instant pot...maybe one day...

That's what I did. Or at least had 2 slow cookers so got rid of one and my rice cooker. Only kept the other slow cooker because it's a travel one with a locking lid and attached serving spoon, so good for taking to parties.

I'm pretty sure my grandmother has the crock pot you're referring to. It's a damn good crock pot.

Can confirm, I have one and it is probably my most used appliance other than my coffee pot.

Oh my god we got the crockpot version for Christmas and haven't cooked with anything else since. The first night we made a roast and some potatoes and it was a spiritual experience. The potatoes literally melted in my mouth. And the roast would have taken 10-12 hours in the slow cooker only took about 70 minutes and came out perfect. The veggies took about 8 minutes. 100/10 would recommend.

I have both an Instant Pot and a rice cooker. The rice cooker does a much better job, in my experience. Plus I can make rice in the rice cooker and make curry in the Instant Pot. Both get done about the same time. Perfect.

That's not a bad setup. I replaced my rice cooker because my IP does a lot better then my rice cooker did. It always overcooked the rice on the bottom but I've never had that problem with the instant pot. Maybe I just had a bad rice cooker.

Maybe. We mostly use basmati rice. The IP did an absolute horseshit job every time I tried. Was more sticky than sushi rice.
The rice cooker does it perfect every time.

Do you rinse the rice first? I used to fuck up rice into a sticky mess all the time till I realized I wasn't removing the starch like I should be. That was in the rice cooker though as well.

Yeah. I rinse and also do the little massage with a half closed fist thing while rinsing. Same prep either way. Just turned into a lump of shit in the IP while the Aroma rice cooker is perfect every time.

What one do you recommend?

https://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-3436474/

I like it. But that price hurts...

I got mine (not digital display like the link here) on Amazon for $80. They have a few different models but they all do pretty much the same thing, just some have fancier displays and more settings. But I only ever use the manual, saute, and rice settings. Look around and watch for sales. Just Google instapot.

I think those are the only modes I'd really use anyways.

I hear ya! It was on sale when I bought it.

What did you pay?

It's been almost a year so I'm not sure now but definitely less than that!

[deleted]

I got mine (not digital display like the link here) on Amazon for $80. They have a few different models but they all do pretty much the same thing, just some have fancier displays and more settings. But I only ever use the manual, saute, and rice settings. Look around and watch for sales. Just Google instapot.

I've got the Instant Pot Duo60. Can be bought at most stores for around $100. It's pretty popular so might be limited stock places. Got mine off Amazon

Anything you like or dislike about that particular version?

Seemed to get the best reviews from various sites. Priced affordably. Good size for our family. Haven't used it a ton yet

I just took 3 frozen chicken breasts (from a bag), 1 cup water, and cooked in the Instant Pot in 15 minutes. Shredded the chicken out back in the pot on saute and mixed with salsa and seasoning. All done under 25 minutes (including pressure release).

I love how easy it is to make bone stock/broth with the instant pot. It's a great way to get one more meal out of a roast chicken, and I can let beef and pork bones go for 2-3 days sometimes without having to worry about it.

There is zero reason to cook your stock that long. And its just stock. Not 'bone broth' all stock should be made with bones. The shit at the store sith no gelatin content should be called broth. But damn marketing fools have literally reversed the terms. Im taking stock back. . .

But for chix stock 4 hours should be plenty. I hope youre adding veg etc too.

The longer you cook the more stuff comes out of the bones (up to a certain point). Our "broth" from the crock pot is more dense than jello. Not the same as the broth from the store at all.

Any and all stock should be thick like that. My whole point is the store is misusing the damn term

And NO. You can get jello thick stock in 4 hours. Doesnt have to cook for days

/shrug. Don't know what to tell you...there's no way I am getting jello stock from a crock pot in four hours. I guess you are just a fast cook.

Also you said the store stuff SHOULD be called broth, thus my misunderstanding what you ACTUALLY meant.

Yes you can. You arent supposed to heat it over a simmer even on the stove or in a non jacketed pot....

Downvoted by people who cant cook. Love reddit

AGAIN I don't know what to tell you. There is NO way we are getting thicker than Jello consistency out of a crockpot in 4 hours using a normal amount of bones/chicken. I guess you and I just live in different realities.

It should not take more than a couple hours in an instant pot to get a gelatinous bone broth. If you leave it pressure cooking for days, all youre going to be left with a black sludge. You must not be pressure cooking it, you are probably slow cooking it.

https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-bone-broth/

Edit: Just realized you've been saying Crockpot, which is a slow cooker, not Instant pot. But /u/wellrat said Instant Pot so I guess the above still applies to him.

I use the slow cook function of the instant pot, I like the results better than the pressure setting when I have the time to let it go.

That makes a lot more sense.

Bro. I regularly make stock. 4 hours is too short. Everyone recommends 6-8 hours minimum. Alton Brown recommends 6-8 hours. The Joy of Cooking recommends 6-8 hours.

Maybe you do 4 hours, but you should stop acting like that's the definitive formula.

You can make it in 4 hours. I was merely stating it does not take days. Never said 4 hours was a rule.

I let chx bones go overnight, mammal bones for longer when I can. I consider that product to be stock. I call it broth once I've added vegetables and seasonings. I'm not a trained chef. If all you want is the flavor, yes a shorter time is fine. I like to let mine go until I can crumble them in my hands. I like the results I get from a long, low heat better than a quicker, hotter one. Personal preference.

Overnight is overkill for chx stock. There is less to extract as bones are smaller. Less time is needed. I certainly never advocated for a stock cooked hot! I am a trained chef and have spent years as a saucier. Texture and mouthfeel are just as important as flavour. It just does not take a ridiculous amount of time to achieve

No shit. I gotta get me one.

So is the instant pot different than other electric pressure cookers?

It can basically do what they do but is a bit more user friendly for newbies. Has settings for specific cook types that kinda hold your hand a bit. Like the saute function as a setting, and the meat settings with preset times.

I just used one for the first time last night. Apart from a fuck up of not sealing it when I made the first batch of rice, it worked phenomenally.

Lol, I did the same with my first batch of rice. Just assumed it needed to vent like other rice cookers :)

I knew it needed to be shut haha I just forgot to check it. I made chicken before it so it had good stock in it that got put to waste haha

How did you forget to mention the cake button?

Mine doesn't have it.

Also heard that the downside is bland food that tastes the same.

What I did this week is buy ~5 lbs of chicken breast and only cook it with salt and pepper in the pressure cooker. Shredded it and stuck it in several containers in the fridge. Each night I'll reheat a container and add something different to it (red sauce, bbq sauce, general tso's sauce, etc) so that it isn't bland and I've got meals for the whole week

We do this, too, though we cook it in the oven. Makes meal time way faster and tastier!

Only if you don't season it. Also for meats I always sear it first on the saute setting before I pressure cook it. Just like any cooking, it'll be bland if you don't know what your doing.

Absolutely not, it's a poor carpenter who blames his tools. You can't cook everything in the world, if you want roast chicken or a steak you need a stove, but for a lot of dishes it's great. Soups, stews, or chili are all particularly easy on it but there's a bunch of other kinds of dishes that are also good.

Soups, stews, or chili are all particularly easy on it

Those are pretty much the only things I use it for. For other stuff I can usually get much better flavor from a dutch oven.

Those are pretty much the only things I use it for. For other stuff I can usually get much better flavor from a dutch oven.

5 minute pulled chicken.

All in the preparation and ingredients. Nothing escapes so the flavor of everything is captured in there and most excellent. Just add veg, seasonings and herbs for flavor and it makes some great stuff.

Another trick is reducing whatever liquid is left in it after you depressurize.

Because there is no evaporation you don't get those deep, caramelized flavors from say braising in the oven. Reducing it after helps concentrate flavors.

[deleted]

Thank you for your suggestion

Haven’t seen this meme in a while. Kudos

Seriously, I haven't seen this one in at least 5 minutes.

In fact, I haven't seen it all year!

Meme 7/10

Meme with rice 10/10

Meme 5/7

Meme with rice 9/11

I see it on almost every single thread I click on on r/askreddit

It's an older meme, but it checks out.

Oh really? . . . The Game

I am tempted to downvote like others have, but thats not what it is for, so I shall just curse you to an eternity of low quality memes

Oh no I'll gladly take the down vote. It means nothing to me. I already suffer enough from shitty memes

Years, I've gone years without losing, you're the worst.

Edit: I'm bad at English in the morning

Sorry friend. I got had a week or so ago and it's been driving me insane. I had to pass it on.

NO!

[deleted]

I meant don't do that shit, no pun thread either.

Olivesandbullshit's mild displeasure: 7/10

Olivesandbullshit's mild displeasure with rice: 11/10

Rats, foiled again.

Rats: 4/10

Rats with rice: 6/10

You damn kids and your ability to form thoughtful original jokes.

It’s an older meme, sir, but it checks out.

Would you happen to know why my rice always come out sticky when I try to make rice in my cooker?

I'm a total novice at cooking, and it's been a bit discouraging. I've never been able to make good rice before :( Either in my cooker or on the stove and I have no idea why. I try to follow the recipes by the letter, but no luck.

Firstly, what kind of rice are you cooking? Japanese and Calrose rice are usually (not all) stickier than the jasmine or basmati variety.

If it's too sticky, it's probably because you're using too much water. My preference for jasmine rice is +1 to every cup of rice you put in, so for example I'm making 2 cups of rice, I put in 3 cups of water. Adjust that ratio depending on the rice you're cooking. Whole grain needs more water. Japanese rice needs less water unless you want rice like how the Japanese prefer it, which is stickier.

It could also be your rice cooker. I know many people who have bought Cuckoo rice cookers which come from Korea (no idea why, it's RM 2000+ for a rice cooker and that's just an absurd price for me) and they were rather annoyed that the rice they cook in it always comes out stickier than what us Chinese would prefer. Because Koreans eat stickier rice.

And check the mode you put your rice cooker in if you bought a fancy one with many functions. My white friends always seem to encounter this problem. They'll call me up and complain how their rice cookers suck and I will tell them to check the mode. They usually put it on steam or soup, which will affect the texture of the rice.

Source: I'm a Chinese who makes rice everyday.

Thanks for the advice. I'll check next time I try.

Do you know of anything that would be gross over rice?

Rice to meet you.

Rice cooker: 7/10 Rice cooker with rice: 10/10

Rice: 10/10

Rice from rice cooker: 19/10

Rice from rice cooker with veggies:∞/10

Hold up, people don't like rice with veggies?

I think everyone's mad that he figured out how to do the infinity thing. Like how do you do that?

I just searched it and then i copied it.

It warms my heart that this wholesome meme is still alive.

I think you mean 5/7

But what about ricer from a rice cooker OVER rice?

You can stream vegetables in a rice cooker?

I just bought a rice cooker—finally, after years of stovetop cooking with mixed results. Mine came with a steamer tray that fits on top of the ceramic dish, under the lid. I haven't used the tray yet, but according to the manual you can steam veggies while cooking rice below, which I can't wait to try.

Pro tip: crush a stock cube into the water (or sub chicken/veggie liquid stock instead of water) for savoury rice, or for coconut rice just sub coconut milk instead of water and add a bit of extra water so it doesn’t dry out.
Tonight I chopped and fried an onion, added the onion and oil drippings from the pan into the rice cooker pot, then added the rice, a crumbled chicken stock cube and water. Used the steamer tray to cook some broccoli. When the rice was done cooking I stirred in some raw baby spinach and the heat wilted it down perfectly. The savoury rice and steamed broccoli were really very little work and made great sides with steak!

Another pro tip: try subbing the water for salsa, and adding a little chicken stock for extra liquid so the rice doesn’t dry out. Add some salt and pepper, a few other spices (I like a dash of cumin and cayenne), and BOOM! What I like to call Tex-mex rice.

Do this but throw some chicken on top too.

Ooh, that's a great idea! I actually have some homemade stock thawing in my fridge, so I'll probably use that for rice soon.

Throw the washed rice into the oil/onions and fry it a minute or two before chucking it into the pot and adding the liquid - you get so much more flavor!

Can you sub in coconut oil instead of coconut milk (don't typically keep coconut milk, but do have oil)?

I’ve done this before. It will add a bit of coconut flavour but not much, and it won’t make it creamy so not really coconut rice. Also you don’t want to add too much oil, otherwise your rice will be very oily and gluggy.

This sounds amazing I must do this

This is crazy, I'm about to make some coconut cream calamari curry (say that 3 times fast) and that sounds perfect!

You can also just dump the veggies right on top of the rice!

You might also be able to steam fish and chicken in it too

Works great on mine! Granted i only ever do brocoli, corn or the mixed bag but i love it!

This changes everything!

yum carrot flavered rice!

They stole that idea from ronco!

How are you people doing your rice that it doesn't turn out? I've never had an issue doing it stovetop. Not that I'm knocking a rice cooker, I want one for sure. I just don't know where people have issues making rice.

Well, I have the disadvantage of living in an old building without super-good ventilation (no bathroom fan), so ambient temperature and humidity vary a lot. I used to make really good, consistent rice at my old apartment, which was a bit better climate-wise and had a newer stove, but still haven't quite gotten it dialed in here.

Yea your rice cooker doesn’t have WiFi?

Gotta get the smart rice cooker that you can control with a smart phone app!

I don't buy rice cookers without twitch integration

Oh boy, after decades of making rice, last thing I'd think of was controlling it with my phone, but you never know. We'll flip on the $25 Aroma brand rice cooker, finish, and we have rice for 3 days.

It is pricey, but so are many high end rice cookers. If price wasn't a deterrent, I guess I wouldn't mind timing the cooker to wake up to piping hot ready-to-eat porridge, or come home to freshly steamed rice!

We used a $200 Zojiritsu for 20 years. Didn't perform any better than the $25 Aroma brand cooker. On the whole, it's like me buying as new $7 slow cooker from Home Depot and having it perform as well as the newer $50 rice cookers.

It takes no time to get a pot of rice cooked. And even in a $25 rice cooker, the rice will be fine for several days and always be hot.

Rice is very durable and fine after cooking. My daughter made rice several days ago in a pot on the stove. I just sprinkled in some water and a little olive oil and reheated it an hour ago and it tasted just as good and fresh as if it was new.

YMMV.

I always wondered if the expensive Zojirushi ones really made nicer rice. Glad I'm not missing out. My cheap rice cookers always produce fluffy rice anyway! :D

Zojirushi might be better, but I haven't noticed a difference. It's negligible for the price. Unless you have $200 to burn on one. You pay 8-10x the price for what, really?

My method of spending is this: If I use something A LOT, like daily, I will spend more. If it's really important to me. If I was still cooking rice daily and had a big family, I might buy the Zojirushi, but not after reading a dozen reviews. Even then...based on using a rice cooker 30 years ago, still can't justify it.

I mean, I use a MacBook. I want something solid, good customer service, and will last me a long time without any problems with the OS. And Windows still has its issued.

My kids and I are mega-frugal, but we want a nice computer and phone and we don't skimp there.

Who eats rice that often?!

Only 2.5 billion Asian people.

2.5 billion is hit with just 2 asian countries. There's way more haha

Not every Asian person eats rice every day. Jeez you racist.

That's a pretty big number, but I was honestly expecting more.

So... a minority

I eat rice everyday and I'm in the UK.

/r/ofcoursethatsathing

And your fan doesn't have AM Radio?

My fruit juicer does

Most modern rice cookers are also a pressure cooker, crock pot, and steamer. They have a stupid number of settings for pretty much any food you'd steam or cook in a pot. I hate gimmick kitchen items, but a rice cooker is not one of them.

Only if you pay for the subscription service.

It's a hidden Netflix category.

Vegetables, pork chops, chicken breasts....getting one with a steam tray can expand dinner options tremendously. It's a very diverse tool, for not a lot of money.

You can cook most things, eggs, cakes, veggies, casseroles.

Yeah, we've had three and they all came with a steamer tray that goes on top of the rice cooking bowl then the lid goes on top of that. You just throw the veg in there while doing the rice. Super easy.

I entirely make a Biriani in my rice cooker, even make the stock, it's amazing.

My rice cooker is also a crockpot (and steamer, obviously). 10/10

Yes! My rice cooker actually came with a steaming basket.

But if you are cooking rice in it, I just pop frozen veggies in with the rice and it all cooks wonderfully!

It's just essentially a steamer, so yes.

Per se is a Latin phrase meaning "by itself" or "in itself". Per say is something you just said and idk what the fuck that means.

Per say is a sentence enhancer. It's something you say when you don't know the meaning of per se but want to sound smarter.

Per se*
Also, a rice cooker is basically standard in an Asian house, I can't imagine one without it

yeah I'm curious about how ppl who don't have rice cooker cook their rice? boiling?

It's not difficult to cook rice on the stove. Plus it's hard to justify buying an appliance that only does one thing.

I only ever used a pot on the stove until a couple months ago when someone gave us a rice cooker. It was a game changer. Rice is much better in a cooker.

I guess if you made rice every day it might be worth it.

It's pretty easy to cook it in a pot and get it right. The secret is that you DON'T FUCKING TOUCH THE RICE after you start boiling it. Follow instructions, cover with a lid and let the pot sit with the lid on for 10 minutes after boiling.

Good luck!

When I first started cooking rice, I really fucked it up but then I looked to the internet for answers. This is one thing I do now, but why does it work?

Yes, that's the traditional way to cook rice.

Also, a rice cooker is basically standard in an Asian house, I can't imagine one without it

Asian American and I don't have a rice cooker in my apartment. My mom doesn't have one in her house either. We both decided that we'd rather not have diabetes. A rice cooker in my apartment would be dangerous.

Yes. It’s called mom.

per say

wat

Illiteracy, and gradually increased acceptance of illiteracy.

How is a rice cooker better than just cooking them in a pot? Mine usually comes out just fine.

Timer, and markings for rice and water. Also able to reheat the rice or steam vegetables together

You just put rice and water in a pot and press one button. Perfect rice every time and no need to watch it.

And it keeps it warm for you after it's done, so you can just start your rice and serve it once you're done cooking.

Theoretically, it shouldn't. But every time I've had rice cooked by my non-Asian friends (who never own rice cookers), it's been shit.

it's not really... takes forever and, like you said, it's not hard to make it on a stove...

here's a tip if anyone appreciates it. 10 mins before your rice completely cooks, add in cubes of skinned and washed sweet potatoes. you can stir it in if you want. your rice will smell amazing and some bites will be sweet!

another tip is if you are cooking asian dishes, before adding your rice into the cooker, stir fry it in a pan first over low heat with spices (whatever you want i think, but ive always liked just ginger and oil). it'll mix up the flavours so you wont get bored.

You mean stir-fry raw hard rice with spices or you mean half cooked rice? Any particular recommendation on the spice?

here's my favourite recipe.

you'd want to wash the rice first to get rid of the starch. i'd do 2-3 rounds of this with cold water. not more because otherwise your rice wouldn't puff up. then in a pan/wok put in a bit of oil, some garlic and ginger (i don't know about you but I put too much and love it) and just fry it in low heat. what you want is for the aroma to 'open up', if it starts to brown then you've gone too far! but basically once you're able to smell the ginger and garlic, add in the washed but uncooked rice. you just want to stir it for a bit (i usually just eyeball this, but again, hardly frying it, you just want to get the flavours into the rice). when you're ready, then pop the mix into the rice cooker and add water and cook away!

if you want to really bring this to the next level, instead of water into the rice cooker, use chicken or veg stock. and even a knot of screwpine if you can find one. goes amazingly well with steamed chicken and greens!

that above is a very Chinese styled cooking. for something more Indian/Arabic, instead frying the washed rice with ginger and garlic, use green cardamom, cloves, a stick of cinnamon, a couple of star anise and fennel seeds (whichever combination of these you'd like but DO NOT go overboard with cinnamon!). extra points if you use ghee/butterfat to fry, extra extra points if you add a dash of saffron into your rice cooker when you finally cook your rice. goes great with curries and meat dishes.

fuck yes, I'm super into rice.

10 mins before your rice completely cooks

But wouldn't that be before you even start cooking rice? Or does a rice cooker take longer than the 10 minutes it takes to cook rice normally?

you're absolutely right. 10 mins is more of an estimation. the rice and sweet potato does not cook at the same rate. add in the sweet potato cubes too soon and it will turn to mush when you're scooping servings of rice out. add in too late and it simply wouldn't cook.

i guess i should have said cooking times vary and require some trial and error. i still recommend this tho. the recipe's my go-to when i was struggling financially.

Lol, that's what my dad does when he prepares meals for the grandkids.

I bought microwave rice cooker that makes pretty good rice in 15 minutes, is easy to use and clean, and takes up very little storage space. Its made of plastic and has an outer tub, an inner tub with tiny holes that works both for washing the rice and allowing the steam out, and a lid with holes that locks on using the rice paddle.

It has never made bad rice, and you can even do stuff like add chopped carrot and peas, spices etc.

Any good recipes, senpai?

To add on to this, if you're going to get a rice cooker, might as well just get a good pressure cooker. Cooks rice really well, as well as anything else you want to throw it in. It's like an express crock pot.

How do you make the rice fluffy? I have one, it is great but it seems to dry out the rice? I put in equal amounts of rice & water, as per the instructions. I have washed the rice before cooking it, I have not washed the rice before cooking it, it always ends up a bit lumpy.

Not sure about a rice cooker, but for normal rice, but after draining the rice, pour boiling water through the rice (while still in the sieve) and just move the rice around with a fork.

That seems like a lot of hard work. In context to leaving the rice cooker to cook it itself, then just spoon and server?

It's about 10 seconds of minor work.

I always use 1.5 of water. Always works for me. Pretty fluffy. Not Asian though, theyll tell you.

Maybe that is where I am going wrong. Not enough water. I'll give it a go.

I'm Puerto Rican and have eaten and made a ton of rice.

For 3 people, I'll do 2 cups of rice, 3 cups water, 1tbsp of oil, a few shakes of salt, and a few shakes of garlic powder. Depending on the type of rice you use, you may want to use a 1:1 ratio of water to rice instead. I typically use Jasmine or basmati. experiment with it, but this recipe will get you there.

Sounds good! I've never added oil to rice, that could be the key!

I'm an advocate of pot-cooked rice. I can cook a perfect pot of rice no matter the quantity in twenty minute's time, but I have never had a good pot of rice from a rice cooker. Maybe people never use them correctly around here, but I've never been satisfied with the job automatic cookers do.

Twenty minutes seems like a long time for rice.

It's really not, but I guess we might have different expectations.

I just go by the instructions on the packet.

Where I live, we're surrounded by rice fields and a good chunk of American rice is farmed here, so buying it in a packet is weird to me. :) We just buy a five pound bag.

Take it a step further, get a Zojirushi. My best mate's mum is from Taiwan and she told me to make sure Elephant on side. Best rice cooker, never replace. God damn, right. You cannot go wrong with a Zojirushi anything.

Are they idiot proof? I’ve never managed to successfully cook rice in my life, not even the microwave stuff, but I love rice and it’s really cheap.

Very idiot proof. One cup of rice, two cups of water, a bit of salt, and push the button. When it turns itself off, you’ve got yummy rice.

So the rice and water is just a 1:2 ratio and I can cook as much or as little as I like so long as I keep that ratio?

Holy shit do not listen to him.

Cooking rice is a 1:1 with water and on most rice cookers there are numbered lines for where to fill with water based on cups on rice.

Never put salt in the rice while you are steaming it; it will just fuck up the whole process.

Will the rice cooker have its own measuring cup? Because I don’t even know what type of cup you’re saying I should use and grams and ml are more common in my country than cups, either American or English.

Pretty sure mine did. The Asian brands tend to be great, I have a Tiger. If you're willing to go a bit more fancy, Zojirushi.

If it doesn't have the cup though, you can search the weight equivalent out and weigh it.

The instant pot has it's own cup. Some older reviews complained about inconsistent measurements among countries so they started including their own cups for consistency.

Even if you use other units of measurement it’s still 1:1. Just ignore the lines on the inside if they are for us cups.

You must like very wet rice

I have a basic one button rice cooker. I can do a nice pot of rice and sometimes I add meat to the pot to cook along with the rice. Prep time is minutes, cooking after that is so easy. Rice perfect every time.

I want one. I stuck here with my shitty boiled rice and self loathing.

Buy one used for cheap

I once got a big rice cooker as a birthday gift...never used it to this day...looks like it's time to reconsider...

Corollary: forget long-grain rice and get yourself some calrose. I seriously never liked rice until I discovered shorter grain varieties. I could probably eat a whole bowl of plain, unseasoned calrose...

I recently purchased one for myself as a gift after midterms and it has changed my life. Not only is rice way easier to prepare, but since I'm eating so much more rice now my expenses on food have dropped astronomically

Can't you make rice and vegetables pretty easily in a pot though? Personally I prefer frying my vegetables, but rice works out really well in a pot. I've never really seem the use in a dedicated rice cooker when I have a universal device that not only cooks rice but basically everything else as well too

First steam your vegetables as they are still really crisp. Then get your pan really hot and sear them for just a minute or two in scorching olive oil. The vegetables hold flavor better than just cooking them through in a pan.

Good advice, thank you.

To add to that: Egg cookers! I'm baffled so many people I know have never heard of them. Your eggs come out the exact way you wanted without wasting an entire pot full of water.

Get rid of the rice cooker. Buy a electric pressure cooker. We got one of those for our wedding and we use it 3-4times a week.

Makes rice in 6 minutes. Makes a 5lb pot roast with potatoes and carrots in 40mins. Makes chicken in 15mins.

You litterally put shit in the pot, turn it on, and then you have a meal ready to eat straight out of the pot. It is a rice cooker, crockpot, steamer, and pressure cooker all in one.

How do you steam veggies with the rice cooker????

Fun fact, the first product Sony made was a rice cooker.

This, warm fluffy rice, is the staple food in our country (Philippines). Great to see this mentioned!

I bought one of these once a few years ago and loved it. I used it all the time. But then it broke on me after like only two months and I was so goddamned mad that I couldn't even bring myself to buy another one.

Buy from an Asian market- those rice cookers are built for frequent use. I've had my for two years no problem

Link to the one you like?

Sounds like I know what I'm getting when I leave home. I can't go back to Indian or Chinese rice after having Japanese.

Whats the difference?

I've found that they don't stick together as well. The texture isn't as soft, also it's a bitch to eat with chopsticks. Maybe those restaurants just don't do good rice, because when I go to a Japanese place, you can pick up entire bundles and lose maybe four or five grains.

Also good for baking blinds for pie crusts. It doesnt need to fully cook, but just enough to hold a shape. Next I finish in a toaster oven. Very unconventional. Because the house doenst have a functioning oven

Wait can you do both at the same time?

That would be a game changer for me.

I should add a good rice cooker. Not the basic pot with lid and one button press, but a fuzzy logic at bare minimum. Zojirushi or Tiger, two Japanese brands, worth every cent.

Living in Japan now, have a Tiger IH cooker, 5.5 cups, keeps rice fresh for 24 hours, makes the best rice I've ever made.

It can do a lot more, but I can't read the buttons.... However, there are ones that are the exact same and are made for the USA.

Dont buy the cheap ones, we had one, made okay to bad rice.

We got one a few months ago, and it drastically drives the price of your meals down because now we mix rice into a lot of dishes that we probably wouldn't have otherwise. Super super cheap filler.

My buddies are really into the Instant Pot. It's a rice cooker/pressure cooker/slow cooker so it is a bit more versatile.

Toaster for under $10. I can't live without my Dave's Bread organic toast and butter in the morning.

Rice is one of the easiest things to cook. 1 cup of rice to 2 cups water. Medium Heat with lid on.

I can't upvote this enough. For those balling on a budget, you can get them for as cheap as $20. Hit up your nearest Macy's or Dillard's during a sale, and you'll score a nice one at a very decent price.

My fav way to use it is Jasmine rice, toss in about a tbsp of olive oil, and salt the shit out of the water. Never had better rice made at home than this.

Right, mine was like $15. I use lemon juice and olive oil in the rice.

Wait, you can steam veggies in it?

Sure can, there is a plastic tray that sits above to the rice. Fresh veggies in that feller is steamed to perfection everytime.

I get the people that don't have stoves (students in dorms) with the rice cookers, but c'mon folks rice is easy to make on the stove!

I cook rice in a microwave after 2 failed rice cookers.

Get a rice cooker with a ceramic or stainless steal pot. Do not buy teflon even though they are cheaper. No one should be using teflon for any cooking or heating.

As an alternative, you can steam rie in a microwave just as easily.

1 Cup rice takes about 12 minutes in a 1.6 kWh microwave.

And you can use literally any microwave safe utensils

I always wonder how a rice cooker is any better than a pan? I can make perfectly acceptable rice in a pan, and as an added bonus I can use the same pan to make literally anything else.

I see lots of people extolling the virtues of a rice cooker, and I want to understand. What is it about them that makes them so awesome?

A portable induction cooker is also an option. Use ours daily; just make sure you have compatible pots/pans.

this is what iv been telling my girlfriend but she doesnt think its worth it

You can get one cheap. I linked mine in an edit. $15

i don't wanna be rude but rice cookers are retarded, rice is legit the easiest thing out there to cook

What are the best vegetables to throw in there in your opinion? Do you need to do anything special, or just treat them as that much more rice?

How do you make a rice cooker not make it utterly shit though? I swear it's 100% always slimy. If I spend 10-15 minutes cooking it in a pot it's fine though.

Reduce the amount of water. For sticky firm rice I do 1 cup rice and 1 1/2 cups water. For more fluffy and wet rice I do 1 cup rice and 2 cups water. Also and about a tablespoon of olive oil.

An Instant pot does rice plus everything else!! I rarely use my oven or stove anymore

Got an instapot as a wedding gift and it has quickly become our favorite kitchen device.

if you like rice cooker - consider its cousin: the AirFryer.

I love it so much. Makes so many things crispy heats up so fast. You can do so much with it.

Or an instantpot. Same type of meals. 1/4 of the time.

A rice cooker and air fryer were added to my kitchen last year and they're absolutely lifechanging. I absolutely love cooking, but they take things to another level.

Bonus if you get the rice cooker with a separate removable steamer tray. Use the steam generated from cooking the rice to steam some nice veggies at the same time.

When I started eating clean the rice cooker was the first awesome investment. This Christmas I got an egg cooker. Holy crap. 7 hard boiled eggs, with minimal effort, perfectly cooked. Just that much more next level.

10/10 would recommend

My rice always sucked....until I found this recipe. So much better now.

I used to have one with a rack built into it so you could easily place/remove anything you wanted to steam on top. It was so good.

Also, general recommendation: use beef/chicken stock instead of water. Makes it delicious by itself, but if you put a tiny bit of meat and/or mushrooms and/or caramelized onions in? Hooooooneeeeey.

If you can afford it, splurge for a rice cooker from an actual Asian country manufacturer, not cheap Walmart-carried American brands. I bought a Zojirushi rice cooker with automatic rice sensor, and it works 100% perfect every time. Nothing burnt, dried out, or soggy.

I like the idea of a rice cooker but I feel like boil a bag rice is on par with the quick to plate idea of one.

I have a microwave one and it's fantastic. Comes out perfect every time.

I know quite a few people who love their computerized monstrosities from China but I have been using a simple one that works like a percolator with no computer gizmometry: when the water bath boils off, the temperature goes up and the switch pops off. I love not having to watch stuff cook, and I rarely cook rice anymore but make steel-cut oats for breakfast and barley for a dinner grain.

Any tips with the rice cooker? I’ve had one for a year and can’t seem to get it right.

If you love yourself, you love rice and steamed veggies.

Start using basmati rice and Alton Brown's pilaf method to prepare it. You don't need to use the spices to make it actual Indian pilaf, just the basic process of first toasting the rice with butter then adding boiling water and finishing in the oven. It's really not hard to do and the resulting rice is so much better than any other rice on Earth there is just no comparison. I learned this method decades ago and have never made rice another way since.

Instant Pot. You can cook your rice in there too.

Came here to say Instapot...works as a crock pot, pressure cooker, rice cooker, etc. It's revolutionized my cooking since the holidays!

Whenever I see this an as answer I get inexplicably angry. Cooking rice is literally the most simple thing to do, a little old South American grandmother taught me her fool proof way! However much rice (butter and seasonings too) into a pot, cover with water so there's ~10cm of water covering the rice. Bring to a boil and DO NOT STIR. Once the water has mostly cooked off there will be "holes" in the rice and it'll look like you stuck a pencil into it a bunch. When the water is just bubbling out of the top of these holes, put a lid on the pot, remind from heat and in about 10 min you'll have better rice than your rice maker can make!

Also, I'm very genuinely Canadian-ly sorry for being so aggressively upset about you liking your rice cooker. I really do see the benefit, especially if you don't have access to a stove or induction top.

can confirm. got one for xmas, I'm 3/3 on delicious, easy meals on it

oh man, wait until you discover slow cookers.

My boyfriend got a $90 rice cooker for Christmas a few years back. It cooked rice perfect, steamed vegetables, slow cooked, and even made cake.

Edit: an air fryer is a product that’s similarly life changing. I use it to make grease free fries and “fried” and grilled chicken and shrimp, beef jerky, baked vegetables, and cupcakes. The only downside is that it’s small, otherwise, I wouldn’t even need an oven anymore.

I'll challenge this. I hate my rice cooker. Sometimes the rice would be underdone or mushy. What changed my life is an instantpot.

It does rice, but does it in a fraction of time (8-10 minutes after pressurized). But it does so much more. I didn't think a gimmick appliance would be amazing, but a pressure cooker is a must for a kitchen.

try as I might, I'll never understand the rice cooker love unless you're eating it with every single meal.

seems just as easy to cook rice in a pot, and without an extra smal appliance cluttering up your kitchen.

Hey I have a chinese one laying around, I'll give it a go even though I can't read the symbols on it

I've always considered getting a rice cooker since I eat a lot of rice. I probably have rice 2 meals out of 3. To be fair, it wouldn't make me gain that much since I've got the measurements down to have perfect fluffy rice in a saucepan with a lid. I always wash my rice 3-5 times depending on the quantity, and I'd still do it with a rice cooker, so that's time the rice cooker can't make me save. I just go for a certain amount of rice, put double the amount of water if the lid of the pan isn't completely sealed (to account for evaporation), and 1.75 times otherwise. That works well for Basmati rice, and I always have perfect rice. Put in thyme, a dash of pepper, salt, and let it cook slowly. I'll bring it to a near-boil, and bring the temperature back down so it just keeps cooking at the same heat, but doesn't boil.

[deleted]

And suddenly changing my life costs a lot more than $200.

Really disappointed that I missed the vibrator post.

[no need for disappointment] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7nxr7x/what_cool_gadget_under_200_can_be_life_changing/ds5a2y6/)

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7nxr7x/what_cool_gadget_under_200_can_be_life_changing/ds5a2y6/

There you go.

Why isn’t this closer to the top -_-

Waterpik also doubles as a bidet.

You're my hero. This needs to be higher up

Where is a bidet? Serious life changer!

This needs to be updated for the TLDR crowd

This either needs to be higher up or much lower down.

Anker power cord?

Best comment. Good Aquinas.

Fuck I wish this was higher!

You da real MVP

That's a lot of functions for one product

I appreciate this comment but I had to laugh when the only thing listed here I hadn't scrolled past before this comment was the very next comment.

aaaaaaaand saved.

A Dremel according to every guy I know.

Obligatory: wear safety glasses cuz those discs can shatter while spinning at high rpms. Your bare eyeballs won't stand a chance to those shurikens.

I just engage my safety squints.

Keep your stick on the ice!

Keep your dick in a vice!

This, is high quality Chooching!

Release the Shmoo.

r/skookum is leaking...

I laughed way too hard at this. Thank you.

/r/OSHA is leaking

Some one should tell them... some one might slip on the puddle.

I'm sorry. I'm asian so I don't know any better. Other people don't have their own windshield visors built into their eyes?!

Hope your eyelids are made of plexiglass

[deleted]

Do your eyes even lift bro?

iocane powder, I bet my life on it.

username fits

The real LPT right there.

The real LPT right there.

Wearing safety glasses when using any tools, powered or otherwise, is a good idea.

Safety is #1 priority

Safety third. Right after fun and adventure.

"Wear shoes in the house. Safety first, then teamwork!"

The times I wish I wore safety glasses were the times I thought they'd be pointless.

Including pencils in toothbrushes

You never know how badly you can hurt your eyes while using a Philips screwdriver.

I didn't get a shattered disk in my eye, BUT I did get 3/4 shards of rust from the underside of my car lodged in my eyeball whilst doing maintenance during the summer.

That shit is painful as fuck and no joke, I had to go to the doctors whilst he strapped me into a weird contraption and dremelled the rust from my eye, sad thing is, I HAVE safety glasses, I just couldn't be arsed to climb out from under the car to get them....

0/10 would not recommend.

Wow, the doctor dremelled your eye? They really are good for everything!

tiny medicinal dremel yes, it was a sight to behold.

ironic in the fact i was there because of my own stupid dremel handling techniques, being rescued by...a doctor with a dremel.

If you have a box for your Dremel threats (edit: that's) big enough, keep a pair in there. That's what I do. That sounds like a reason enough for me to continue wearing them.

They're called Dremel threats? Well no wonder they're a threat

I’ve had that procedure done to me too....the wursssssssst!!!!

You should also wear a face shield. When the disk goes, it goes!

And not only the disks. The wire wheel attachments WILL throw steel and it WILL find your eye if you don't have safety glasses. Also. Get yourself a good pair of effective AND comfortable safety glasses. If they aren't easy to wear, you won't wear them.

Safety squints: engaged.

High speed disk in the eye is a Braille gun.

Upvoted for shurikens.

But what if I squint when I'm grinding.

As someone who has been dealing with long term discomfort from a corneal abrasion I received from a pinwheel in July, noted. I never want another eye injury.

Better yet, wear a full face mask. It looks like a clear welding helmet. They protect your eyes and face. They are also much easier to wear and are 100% compatible with glasses. It's also good to wear hearing protection with a Dremel

Can confirm. Disc shattered at near full speed, hit my cheek and bounced off my glasses

Can confirm. Now am a shitty pirate ninja.

If you're cutting, grinding, burning, welding, working with chemicals or a myriad of other things wear eye protection. Your eyes are extremely valuable and easy to fuck up.

On another note anything as loud as a house hold blender will cause permanent hearing loss. Hearing loss is slow and cumulative so every little loud noise gets you one inch closer to hearing aids

Can confirm, had to use pliers to pull a cutting wheel fragment out of my shoulder. 2/10.

Nice, did you stitch it up like Rambo, too?

Unfortunately no, I used a Mickey Mouse bandaid because my wife apparently bought Mickey Mouse bandaids lol.

I've had a couple of discs shatter, but even grinding or sanding it seems like there is not an angle where you can see what you're doing that the bastard isn't throwing particulates right at your face.

Had one brake off and bury itself into my safety glasses.

Checked my drawers after that.

One shattered when I was using it, luckily I had safety goggles because one piece flew and lodged itself into the goggle right in front of my left eye.

Don't forget about the little drill they use on your eyeball to remove the oxidized eye-flesh after removing the shards of metal you flung into them AGAIN because you weren't wearing your glasses. That drill is kinda uncomfortable.

Can confirm

What are the most common uses for it?

It's a multi-purpose rotory tool. It has different bits for grinding, sanding, cutting, sharpening, polishing, etc.

Yeah. If it moves and shouldn't, use duct tape (or epoxy). If it doesn't move but should, use WD40. If it's wrong shape, use Dremel.

I feel like a Dremel also remedies problem B.

Often in excess though.

Don’t do things in half-measures.
That’s what I always say!!

If brute force fails you aren't using enough brute force.

I like this.

It reminds of another expression I use occasionally.

When someone suggests that the thing they’re trying to do is a little tricky, or point out that the thing I’m doing, is a little tricky - and they want to know if there’s a ‘trick to it’, I often say; “Brute force and ignorance”.

But now, I think I like yours more. I’m stealing it. It’s been stolen. Sorry, yo!

Cable ties are also an acceptable anti-movement tool.

Best solution in many cases. I held a license plate on with some for years.

My spark plug harness is secured this way. Been tied for 6 years now.

If she don't find you handsome, she'll at least find you handy.

drilling too.

Bidet alternative

Quickly ruining a perfectly good project the first few times you try to do everything full speed.

Good for detail sanding, small metal cutting tasks, engraving, and precision grinding jobs.

creating sawdust. it's wonderful.

Fingernails

If you are careful, and have bad heel calluses, you have a solution.

I actually tried this with the shitty harbor freight one I have. The grinding wheel just made the nail really hot.

Ow

shitty harbor freight

You watch your goddamn mouth

A friend and I actually call it Hazard Freight because of how sketchy some of the stuff is. Great place though!

I had a pair of HF pliers explode on me. Yeah i felt like the hulk, which was fun, but now i'm out some pliers.

I love the solar power area they have at ours. So optimistic.

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If you subscribe to the buy-a-cheap-version-first-and-upgrade-if-it-breaks-because-your-spouse-says-you-spend-too-much-on-tools philosophy, Harbor Freight is a godsend.

Worst case: Spend little on a tool that lasted for the few jobs you actually needed it for before the warranty expired.

Best case: Tool breaks because you find yourself using it frequently, even past the warranty, and now you get to buy a quality version.

EDIT: Also, I used my Dremel-brand dremel today to cut drywall. That tool is magic.

I got it as a gift from my roommate. I was injuring myself while trying to “fix” some 3d prints.

I’ll have you know I impale my hand only monthly now.

I had a harbor freight rotary tool and it might be the worst tool I've ever owned. It was approximately 3 to 4 inches long and powered by a DC wall adapter. I couldn't cut anything because it always got stuck. It wasn't powerful enough to cut anything, but it was powerful enough to vibrate so much that it was impossible to hold for more than a minute or so. It was louder than my dremel as well, despite being less powerful and worse in every way. Even worse, it had numerous sizes of collets for different tools, whereas dremels only have one size

It was like going from a Trabant to a Camry when I got a dremel for Christmas

Can confirm am cave troll grr

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( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I use it once a year but still useful. I cut a thick metal screw, a piece of wood, my forgotten number bike lock, i polish my nail (baby smooth i swear). When i loose patience i often get this tool, as in ok mofo screw i step over you for the last time...

You can do fun things like convert a mini fridge to a kegerator and drink lots of beer!

source: converted a mini fridge to kegerator and drank lots of beer.

Hah. I'm actually a homebrewer who has been looking into doing this. I'll have to look into using my Dremel for this.

Definitely worth it. The mounting for my can holder is also what held the sealing gasket in place, so I took the dremel and cut the can holder section from the mounting.

Unless one can afford some real tools. We got the Dremel multipack from Costco, it’s been usefull for lots of things: sanding, cutting wood/drywall, grinding, etc.. In all cases I’d have rather had larger tools that are designed more for the tasks I need to do, but it is good for someone that maybe lives in a small place and doesn’t have the budget/space for an extensive set of tools and just wants to modify the occasional piece of flat pack furniture, or do some light sanding.

Dremels are always good. You can't get a belt sander or angle grinder everywhere even though they are both better at what they do than Dremels could ever be as a portable multitool.

I've used mine for small electronics case modification. I needed to smooth down an uneven cut I did using an exacto blade on a gameboy shell I was changing, so I used the dremel sander to get it smooth and exact enough to not dip into the screen space for the larger screen I was putting in the shell.

Ditto. You can make nearly every drop easier with one.

Trimming dog nails

kan't konfirm- blind

Also an angle grinder. Most tools really, but an angle grinder is useful for cutting/trimming/polishing/paint removing just about anything. 400 times faster than any other methods.

Dremels are good for dog toe nails if you cannot cut them with regular dog nail clippers. We use one on our Mastiff.

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Yeah, I would only use on low speed, gently touching the nail on an off (because they do get hot). And only for giant breeds (my opinion).

ooh.. yeah sorry about your arm. some dogs will not go for it.

Wait what

He dremeled his arm open after a beagle spazzed out on him. Didn't you read it?

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I was imagining a whole severed arm for some reason.

I never would have thought of that. I wonder how mine would tolerate it.. the big baby would probably run and hide.

they don't love the noise, and it can get hot if you do too much, I also have an extension thing that keeps the nose further away from the dog, also get a mask because dog toenail dust stinks.

The heat is what I was going to bring up. Yeah if you apply too much pressure too long it can definitely got hot and people need to be careful. The flex shaft is perfect for noise too.

Also great for touch ups to keep the nails low if the dog can stay still unlike many.

there are videos on youtube. you will want to get him (if possible) to tolerate it by using treats to entice, keep dremel speed low, start with nail side first then tip, and do not keep dremel on nail for a long time (they can get hot). Then always have your quickstop for pain, and any bleeding. :)

Telling Redditors to use a Dremel on their dogs nails. What could go wrong...

I predict a bloodbath and a poor footless Labradoodle will be making it's way up /r/expectationsvsreality within the hour.

see above reply. def not for your type of dog.

So let me clarify. Giant breed (Mastiff, Dane, etc) often have very thick nails that dog specific nail cutters do not work on. You would only use it on giant breeds, on low speed, gently taking the dremel away from the nail every few seconds (because they can get hot). This is not a suggestion for all breeds.

I had a vet do this for our dog, but I've been trying to find out, which sanding bit do you use? Does it matter?

Someone pls.

I use a dremel to mod PC cases, so I was able to install a cool plexiglass window on my German Shepherd and put in some cold cathode lighting, but I really don't know what to do with his nails....

ok, well our dog is big so he gets (his nails are outrageously thick) a coarse grind. If you were doing this on smaller dog, probably see what vet recommends. Also, there is a specific way to do this (ask vet or see if Youtube has videos) where you have to desensitize dog to sound and feeling of dremel with some treats first. When you dremel the nail, you go in from the sides first, then the tip, and do not keep dremel on long (because they heat up). And (you may know this) always have yellow quick stop powder nearby to kill pain and disinfect nails that might bleed. :)

I'd think it would spin way too fast for use on an animal. The amount of things that could go seriously wrong makes me squirm. If anything, buy a pet specific nail grinder.

It is not for every breed... just giant breeds with thick toe nails that you cannot cut with regular dog specific nail trimmers. You keep the dremel on low speed and gently touch the nail and take if off (because dremels can get hot). Many people with giant breeds do this and it is not an issue. We already did use trimmers with two of ours and they did not work, hence the dremel.

My dad had crazy thick toenails. He'd use his Dremel sander on them because they were also brittle and would splinter when he cut them.

I finally bought a dremel last summer and was super excited! Then I realized that I have no idea what to do with it and it's been in the box ever since. Seriously, what do I do with a dremel, people?!

My Dremel was sitting in a box for a good year too, because simply I was not used to the idea of using it.

Whenever you reach for one of:

  • saw (any type, hand or electric)
  • file / sandpaper / polishing cloth, or any grinder
  • xacto knife or other cutting tool
  • graver
  • drill

stop for a second to think "Would Dremel be better for it?"

In many cases it won't - either when the work is extra precise, better carried out by hand, or too large, better handled by a dedicated, full-size power-tool. But it's just right for all kinds of small works, and I found these are an overwhelming majority of common tinkering works.

I cut siding panels to cover the front door (it's too small if it was for a whole wall, but just right for the door.) Trim a worn tip of a broom stick, so that you can seat it firmly in the broom. Adjust hole in the door to a new lock that is slightly different shape. Cut a thick wire where you're struggling with cutters. Grind away that completely destroyed head of a screw. Expand a hole in some appliance, 'cause the new cable you install is thicker than the destroyed old one. File sharp corners on something that hurts your hand. Cut open that "not user serviceable" permanently glued case open, to service the device. Grind a sheet of plexi to shape, to fit as a window in some case. Grind away all the rust and crap from a metal surface where you plan to solder. Make a notch in the head of a weirdo proprietary screw, to unscrew it with a plain flat screwdriver. Trim the end of a screw that's too long.

Lots and lots of works where actual powertools are overkill, but hand tools would be tedious.

Oh, opening packages! Fuck your tape, I'm gonna Dremel through the cardboard!

Depends on your hobbies, and the kind of projects you do. If you're the kind of person who never uses tools in general, then yeah, its pretty useless. My hobby is building replica movie props, so I get a pretty good amount of use from them.

One thing I'll say though, people like to assume they are the catch-all power tool. But really they make a poor excuse for a real drill, a real router, a real cutoff wheel, etc. But for certain tasks, they are awesome.

Also, I'll almost always use an air-powered tool if possible, because its easy to accidentally burn out a dremel motor.

I do very little with a Dremel. Very few projects are small enough to need one that can't also be done better with another tool. Need a router, use a router, need a grinder, use a grinder, need a drill, use a drill, etc etc. It's like any multifunction tool, it sucks at doing everything.

That said, every once in a while, usually small grinding projects thay don't need to look pretty it's Handy.

What do you want to do? It's great for most small jobs, sanding, polishing, cutting, drilling, etc. If you aren't much of a maker, then it won't see much use. If you like to make/hack/mod, then the opportunities will present themselves.

If you don't do anything like that, then it's still nice for small things around the house: drilling pilot holes, grinding extra bolts off, cutting holes in drywall for a clean patch/outlet boxes, polishing metal, engraving, etc.

Check this out for some inspiration.

I was installing a new dimmer switch in my dining room, found out the previous owner put the pantry cabinet too close to the switch, so the new cover plate to match all the other new ones we just finished installing wouldn't fit. I used the Dremel to grind the switch slots wider, and to remove about 2 inches of the plastic electrical box so the switch could slide over far enough to get the switch in. Had I done it the "proper" way of cutting the sheetrock and relocating the switch box, it would have been days before the paint would dry and it would be presentable. Instead, it took me an hour and about 10 minutes of vacuuming

My 11 yo son asked for one for Christmas and we delivered. He’s a happy kid & I’m hoping with practice he’ll end up making by something useful not just whittled, sanded wooden copies of our spaniel-complete with anatomically correct butt hole

I use it not only for almost every household project I do, but also as an electric file for my nails (I do my own acrylics). It's the most useful thing in my toolbox! So not just a guy thing :)

Ah never knew it could be for nails!

I use it instead of an electric file. I'm still pretty bad at powder dip, so it saves me a LOT of effort with the excess volume :) I also use it for etching/engraving (my keys are all labeled front door, back gate, etc for easy use- extra helpful for the soare/guest sets!), polishing (I like rocks), drilling (duh), etc. I LOVE my dremel!

I like rocks after they're polished. Do you have a rock tumbler?

They are pretty awesome.

I use mine for finishing surfaces off on 3D prints (where supports need to be broken off etc).

I use mine a lot and like it, but it's definitely the Apple of rotary tools. If I had to do it again I'd find a cheaper option that doesn't require paying an arm and a ball for bits.

There's a plethora of misc brands cheap accessories. And the Dremel grinder itself, with a "starter kit" is actually quite cheap (probably so that you'd buy Dremel brand accessories... which you don't need to.)

Just obtain a set of heads (clamps) to accept various shaft sizes. These may cost a bit but that's a one-time investment.

Just buy the cheap bits.

I got a store brand on sale last week for like $40 and came with 250 attachments.

You mean it breaks after a month of use, you can't replace parts, and the company does tax evasion in pretty much all countries it sells the product ?

Just kidding, I have a dremel3000 and this shit is the spaceX falcon of rotary tools.

Got a dremel for Christmas, everything I own is now slightly smaller and has rounded edges. A+

LOL, I put this on a gift on my wedding registry.. I've had it for about 5 months.. haven't used it once.

Put a lopsided weight on the tip, and you now have a wedding gift for your wife.

I’m a little hesitant around modifying power tools after that reciprocating saw story...

At least the saw reciprocated.

If I go down on a saw, it better go down on me!

Link? I can only imagine.

Tread lightly. For this is hallowed ground

I felt sympathy pains in places that don't exist

Fuck me, that curiosity should have been left unsated. I hate that mental image, eurgh.

I wonder which direction it went.

Maybe that link will stay blue...

Oh god. Oh God no.

Curiosity killed the cat, but luckily not the woman.

I’ve used my dremel exactly 3 times since I got it. Absolute waste of money.

Agreed. Better off buying another hammer.

I bought my dremmel for 20 bucks at Wal-Mart, it's really nice to have. Definitely not a waste in my opinion. If I had spent 70+ on a name brand dremmel then I might feel differently

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Plot hole, bought it 3 years ago.

You do realize you have to turn that thing on in order for it to work right ?

Yea I've never really found a use for it either.

For you, maybe. That's not Dremel's fault.

Did I say it was dremels fault? It’s my fault for buying a tool that I have no use for. I thought it would be an excellent crafting tool, but it turns out that it can’t be used on the materials I want to work with.

Depends if you need it. I got a proxxon one and use it pretty much weekly.

You shouldn't buy a tool if you don't plan/know what you're going to use it for. Why did you buy a rotary tool in the first place?

Because I had a few ideas and I was going to use it. Turns out that it’s absolute crap for the applications I had in mind. The motor stalls too often.

Ah, so it was the quality of the tool you bought, or you bought the wrong tool for the job? What were you trying to do with it?

Glass engraving. It just didn’t cut it for me, even after buying the ceramic engraving carbide bits. The tool for shelves and I only pulled it out twice after that

Wouldn't you be better off with an etching tool? I've never tried engraving glass with a rotary tool, but I'd imagine it'd have poor controller and take forever.

I bought a flex arm for it so I could hang the tool up and have a small easy to control pen style grip. The tool kit I bought came with etching tools as well, but they just didn’t work for me. I may have been using the wrong sort of glass though.

A Dremel

Handy for self-dentistry? I had a college roommate who swore by Dremels... I bought one about forty years later and have used it about twice.

Fuck dremel. Get a rotary tool with the speed controlled by a pedal, and a working line so you don't have to fumble like a git. https://www.sciplus.com/p/variable-speed-flex-shaft-grinder_43486?ppc=shopping1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIp4CftZ2-2AIVgbjACh2BbwF7EAQYAiABEgJiPvD_BwE

I fully agree with this. A flex shaft is a much better tool. They can also operate at a much much slower minimum speed for much more precision. The only problem is portability.

Having never seen one of these, will they accept dremel bits/attachments?

Yes, and more because they open up a little bigger than. An Dremel can so you can get slightly larger bits in as well. At least mine does.

You might have just sold me on one of these, I didn’t know they existed! So much less bulky than a dremel.

The tradeoff is portability and the cheap crappy accessories you can get for Dremel like the router attachment. I figure if I need to use a router, I'll use a router not a Dremel. The flexshaft is also capable of much much slower speeds so it's much better for fine work.

Dude, that multi-max is amazing

I haven't yet bought one for my parents new house, and as the fix-it kid, I have an ever growing list of things that will be trivially solved once I have one.

I uss my dremel to cut divots into screws that are threaded. Best use of money. Not to mention all the dodgy refabricating i do of the bbq because it's an odd size and the burners are different.

Not a guy, just a nerd. Can also confirm.

I actually find dremels pretty useless. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine tool when you need it but the problem is almost everything it can do is better done with a different tool. If you are grinding, get a bench grinder or die grinder. If you are polishing, get a polisher. If you are cutting, use a saw, powered or not. There are very few times a Dremel is the best tool for the job.

why go to the dentist when you can do it at home?

Some things are worth paying for!

Got one for my husband . Six months later got a much better one for me

I bought a Demel from China it works vey well. I use it for all things crafty.

A few years ago my girlfriend and I decided that, since we were both earning ok, we would stop making do with shitty tools. If we need a tool for a job we'll go and buy a good one then we have it in the toolkit for the future. It's amazing how much easier a lot of jobs are when you have the right tool and a well made one.

Dremel was one such thing when I needed to modify a computer case. Since then I've used it on dozens of projects, they are so easy to use and flexible.

i own 2, a cordless and a corded one.

i use them pretty often for woodworking, DIY, fixing appliances around the house.

if you know HOW and dont have tools it is infuriating.

if you know HOW and have tools, nothing is limited.

Yup. Dremels are amazing little handyman’s companion

My Dremel has been really useful for modeling work but also was used to take the legwork out of sanding down brake calipers before painting and also when I needed to remove my bumper off a 17 year old car I had to cut all the rusty torq screws into flatheads with it. Full worth the £40 odd that I spent, it's a decent ryobi one too. Concur with Dremel necessity.

Turning torques into flatheads? Heathen.

Seriously though that's a very creative fix but I just love torques so much.

I love torques too but these were so so so soft and rounded under any pressure, ruined by being in the wheel well on the UKs salty damp roads

If you buy a dremel, you'll save so much money on floss!

I want one! Seems perfect for crafts.

A dremel with a little bit of creativity and effort can essentially do any handiwork you need done.

There are a thousand tools that will do each job better but it's nice to be able to grab the jack of all trades, master of none when you need it.

My gf uses a small one with a sanding barrel for our dogs claws. Less chance of bleeding from clipping too much off. Obv Use common sense if your dog, or you, have long hair.

Seconded. Just got a corded angle grinder and I feel so capable. I'm just itching for the next thing that needs some cuttin or grindin.

Spring for the one with the flex shaft, it's much easier for fine control and getting into narrower places than you can fit the body of the rotary tool itself.

Maybe even two.

Also check out the Black & Decker ones, they're cheaper and all the Dremel accessories fit in them, plus they usually have a 2 year warranty.

I bought one anticipating using it for tiling. I didn't even open it before I returned it, rented the wet saw, and didnt think twice. I have a palm sander, and a brushless cordless drill screw gun combo. Those get used a lot...

What do people use these for other than dog nails?

If you buy a dremel 8220 don't buy dremel batteries buy bosch 10.8/12v batteries or the generic brand and take the clip off the bottom they're the same battery saves a lot of money

We registered for a dremel for our wedding. It arrived early, and we used it to make our wedding rings. Super useful tool.

Oh, so cool making your own rings!

It was really fun! :)

I’m a woman and use my Dremel all the time.

can confirm I fucking LOVE mine. Its amazing and the attachements you can get like the drill press that clamps on to a desk and shit man. Fuck that thing is great.

Am female. Desperately want a dremel.

Also want a jigsaw and lathe.

Get the jigsaw and lathe first. Those are really useful. If you make models, small ones, then dremel might be useful. But it's too small for many jobs, or there is a better hand tool, like a file, to do the job. Otherwise, an angle grinder, drill, sander, etc. are all better at their job.

My axe has never been more sharp.

Every guy you know is right.

Used my dads Dremel a few times to engrave glasses as a present. With an extension line and a little bit of practice, you can get great results out of it.

But beware: If you want to engrave glass, make sure to use proper eye and mouth protection (microscopic glass dust is no fun)

When my dremmel died I wanted to give the little guy a viking funeral. Then I went out and bought a new one.

And not a knock off, either. I've bought cheap Dremel-like tools. They suck donkey balls.

And if you own a Dremel, the flexible shaft attachment. Double game changer.

A nice toothbrush. Not some basic electronic toothbrush from Wal-Mart - spend like fifty or sixty bucks on a quality toothbrush with a good motor.

A nice pillow. You're gonna sleep on it every single night - why not? On that note, some high thread-count sheets for your bed.

Edit: my post became popular and I woke up to a ton of questions.

I'm not an authority on toothbrushes or pillows. For toothbrushes, I'd look into sonicare toothbrushes. I have one of their lower-end models and it is incredible, especially when compared to my old Oral-B.

For pillows and sheets... well, just shop around, I guess. I found a memory foam pillow at Costco that was something like thirty or forty bucks and it has lasted me a few years, I even travel with it because it's so comfy. For sheets, I went in on some high thread-count sheets that looked cool that I found at target. I don't remember the price, but with these powers combined, my bed is captain comfyasfuck.

Long story short, if you use it every day, buy a nice one and reap the benefits. That's been the best lesson of my adult life.

In response to high thread count sheet ; I work at high end linen shop. Thread count is a good indication for cotton, but if you get legit 1000 thread count cotton is will be quite heavy. Consider alternate materials like bamboo or tencel ( a eucalyptus fibre). They regulate your temperature and change the way you sleep. Also very durable when cared for properly.

^ This person sheets! Bamboo? Eucalyptus fiber? Sold!

Aww sheet!!

Would be a good name for a bedding store. "Come on down to Aww, Sheet! Our prices are so low, you'll think this sheet is illegal"

Theres a shop near by me called “the shade store”. Apparently its a destination for kids with instagrams.

Sounds like a interdeminsional cable ad haha.

Come on down to The Sheet House and relieve yourself... from a poor night's sleep.

Haha "The Brick Sheet-House"

I'M SHEETS IN MY EYES JOHNSON

I'm crazy Eddy and my prices are so low I'm sheeting myself! Come on down Aww, Sheet!

All I could think about is those cheesy car commercials of yesteryear

This guy markets.

There's a bed linen chain in Aus named Holy Sheet.

So after I ship my pants, I can sheet my bed? Sign me up!

I saw an advertisement for Holy Sheet! bedding store. They also ripped off the Star Wars lettering

Come on Down would even be a good name.

Sheet yeah! Tuck it!

copyright this now!

I just sheet my pants!

https://youtu.be/l1dnqKGuezo

Never seen the wire, might wanna watch it now

Perhaps that's what Clay Davis was going on about.

I got myself some Bamboo socks, softest most comfortable socks ever.

I have a pair of bamboo underwear. Super comfy.

Just be alert for Pandas following you....

Bamboo sheets are a dream, honestly. I’ve never slept in anything like them. They’re pretty pricey but I saved up for them. The perfect summer sheets, especially for the crazy California summers we’ve been having.

Bamboo sheets all the way! They are crazy expensive, but I bought a set after stopping by some store that had them on a bed. Insanely soft, comfortable, and does a pretty good job keeping you warm in the winter / cool in the summer.

I will only buy bamboo. Love it. Bedvoyage.com is pricey but they’re much nicer than the $40 sets I’ve tried.

I just got some bamboo sheets. I paid $70 for them. They. Are. Amazing.

When it's cold, it's akin to crawling between two sheets of metal. Then they warm up...they've made me late to work twice so far.

Bamboo sheets for life! They keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Let's skin breathe and softest sheets ever.

They don't sheet enough to realise that "bamboo" and "tencel" are just rayon.

Yep. Came here to say that - well, except that tencel/lyocell is strictly speaking a sub-category of rayon. But "bamboo textile" is pretty gimmicky - they're just telling you what source of cellulose they've used. It's still viscose rayon. (Unless it's labelled "bamboo linen", which is bamboo that has actually been treated like flax to linen, leaving only the fibres of the plant.)

Aye.

Rayon is just cellulose that's been chemically discombobulated and then recombobulated through a spinneret and sulphuric acid into a fibre.

And cheap sources of cellulose are - yup - bamboo and pulpwood (ie, eucalyptus).

It's a bit of a stretch to claim it's "natural" (in the way it's marketed), I think.

You're not bedding down in something a cute panda or koala would recognise...but that's what they're tryin' to evoke.

(Unless it's labelled "bamboo linen", which is bamboo that has actually been treated like flax to linen, leaving only the fibres of the plant.)

Oh yeah, but that's never what they mean!

That process is extremely expensive, more so than actual linen, since there's few places in the world that do it, and it's starting from a much harder plant product...at that point, you'd be better off buying linen sheets.

Also, thread counts are often a joke too, but that's another rant...

Ok, for a newb, what would you recommend for sleeping sheets then? I live in Florida but pretty much run the A/C 24/7

A reasonable thread count pure cotton in a percale (plain) weave. 400-500 thread count, from a reputable brand.

Or if you want to keep really cool, a set of pure linen. Expensive, but they will last for AGES.

I read (on Reddit somewhere, but backed up on Wikipedia ) that bamboo is often just marketing-speak for Rayon.

Any suggestions for better bamboo sheets? I have 2 sets of sheets for my bed but I'm really not a fan of one of them, so I could be convinced to get a new set...

"Bamboo" refers to one of the starting materials for rayon. Basically any natural cellulose fiber can be broken down and the fibers used to create rayon, which isn't a synthetic material but isn't strictly natural either.

The best form of rayon is Tencel which is a patented process manufactured by one company in Germany in a closed loop environmentally friendly process that uses eucalyptus as its starting martial. It feels pretty close to silk and stays cool unlike cotton. It's by far the best material for sheets imo.

Do you have a link for some good tencel sheets at a fair price? Currently in the market for new sheets and I'm not doing cotton again.

Thanks, guess I know what I'll be looking for!

Unfortunately, I can't find any that fit flex top beds :(

Tencel is amazing. Breathes beautifully, no pilling, smooth like satin but not slippery or sweaty. I'm never going back.

As someone in the textiles community, I cannot recommend bamboo fabric products. The processes used to make them feel soft are as bad for the environment as those involved in nylon and polyester.

Exactly how hard are these to care for?

Wash in cold water, dry on low temp :) preferably wash alone, but deff NEVER WASH WITH TOWELS. It causes them to pill, rough towels will smooth sheets, no-no.

I'm actually in the market for new sheets and was looking at Bamboo...any recommended brands?

https://www.costco.ca/100%25-Rayon-from-Bamboo-Solid-Sheet-Set.product.100151402.html if anything happens take them back

I prefer a cotton bamboo blend - cotton gives it a little more durability.

100% linen bedsheets are the best thing I've ever done. Will never buy cotton again.

bamboo sheets are amazing! switched from egyptian cotton and will never go back. Now i have bamboo pillow cases and several bamboo sheet sets. amazing and breathable.

Can you recommend some reasonably priced ones? I have a fairly decent job now but I’m still a student and I’m slowly but surely buying a nice thing or two for my apartment with each paycheck. I’ve been using the same set of sheets I bought at Walmart for $20 about 2 years now lol.

Unfortunately high quality sheets are pricey. On a good sale you’re still looking at 100$ a set for a queen bed. But - this is an investment. However, is you’re not there yet (which I wasn’t, couldn’t afford them until this year) I would suggest a good quality 400 thread count cotton sheet. Never sleep with microfibre. It’s polyester and doesn’t breathe. 300 is the lowest I would go for cotton and 400 offers a little more softness.

"Bamboo fibers" are just like any other viscose cellulose fiber, because that's all it is - dissolved wood pulp to extracted and spun cellulose. The manufacturing process of viscose is very harmful to the environment.

Tencel is also cellulose fiber, it doesn't have to be made from Eucalyptus. The manufacturing process is much less harmful to the environment.

EDIT: Some sources, as requested: https://oecotextiles.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/eucalyptus-fiber-by-any-other-name/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayon#Manufacturing_health_hazards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UypCBi4UCAc

I’ve never heard of this, could you message me more about this?

Obligatory:

Hotel Luxury Linens” advertised 600, actual 296!!! Are you shittin me man! I almost slept on that SHIT!!! 296 is sand paper as far as I'm concerned.

I have a bamboo fiber skirt, and honestly its super soft and awesome, i can only imagine how awesome the fabric would be as sheets.

a eucalyptus fibre

Good luck with your inevitable koala infestation.

I’ve been waiting patient but so far no koalas. I’m very disappointed.

What's the deal with thread count and other stuff. A sheet is a sheet no?

/ignorant question

So thread count talks about how “dense” a material is. If there’s more strands woven in a 1inch by 1inch area, it will be softer and more durable. So a higher threadcount means a softer better material :)

Where do you go to buy? Recommendations please.

Quilts Etc in Canada :)

Just bought some bamboo sheets, they feel great. Can't wait to have my first sleep in them tonight.

This might just be because I make tencel for living but that shit is absolutely life changing

bamboo

its soft as fuck

Bamboo sheets all the way! My husband got talked into into some other kind of material with the last set, and they just don't even hold a candle to my beloved bamboo.

I hope to someday be rich enough to afford linen sheets.

There's some good lower thread count cottons out there too. I live in fl so higher thread count is not an option

Is it not an option because they don’t sell better there or for another reason I don’t know of? Honestly curious :)

Higher thread counts means more threads per area, which leaves less room for air to pass through. In hot climates, this can lead to issues.

Ahh makes sense! thanks for replying

tell me more about how to select wonderful linens please

On the same note the sheets you find at most big box stores with “high” thread count is short staple cotton. Short staple is cheap and will pile (those nasty rough fuzz balls.) Make sure to get long staple cotton. General rule of thumb good all purpose cotton sheets should run $100+. Also, avoid bright colors as the dyes will weaken the threads and create fuzz balls.

For cotton I agree! If you want bright colours I suggest tencel. Is very good at keeping its deep colours :)

I'm not sure, I prefer synthetic myself.

/r/Beetlejuicing

How do you feel about modal for bedsheets?

God. Modal is the king. Super silky. Closest feel to natural silk you’ll get without the silk price point. One thing to look out for modal, sometimes they aren’t manufactured super well because of how silky the material is. So check when you buy them that they are the correct dimensions and haven’t slipped while being sewn.

Modal is beechwood material, so it has all the great benefits. Temp regulation, silky which helps with skin conditions like eczema. It’s soft and won’t catch on dry skin. Hypoallergenic. Just great stuff. I prefer tencel because of its lower price point though :)

Where do they sell these kinds of sheets? Any brick & mortar stores? I want to feel them before I just blindly buy online. I've been hunting for good sheets for awhile now but all I've really found is high thread count cotton and the temperature regulation of the others mentioned sounds so much better. I'm totally unimpressed with department store sheets I'm always looking.

Looks like Bed Bath & Beyond sells them

I would 100% recommend buying in store. I’ve had ladies tell me tencel sheets feel prickly while I think they’re like silk. I’ve had people that think modal is too silky. In Canada Quilts etc is a great store. I’m not sure about the states, but I would worry about bed bath and beyond quality.

I have bamboo sheets and they changed my life. Living in Australia, they’re so cool and yet warm in winter. They are amazing.

I have microfiber sheets and they're so damned amazing.

Ooooohhhh god nooooooooo. Microfibre is soft, and it won’t pill, but god how do you sleep in those?? It’s a pressed polyester and doesn’t breathe!

I have always wanted to try some bamboo sheets after first hearing about them. More than anything, it's reading reviews online. Although this will be similar, are they really that nice? Are they really different enough to warrant the price differential?

I think one of the biggest things with bamboo sheets is the durability of the good ones. My coworker has bamboo sheets that are 6 years old that still have the same colour and texture. Granted she does switch out her sheets to different sets week to week. It’s softer than cotton, has a different feel. It’s a hollow fibre so regulating. Your body temp is a game changer. I personally love the difference, but if you like cotton, you can stick with it. Nothing wrong with it, it’s just not at quite the same level as bamboo. Changed the way the sleep, really does.

Recommend any good cheap bamboo ones?

Do not buy cheap! If you see sets for 20-50$ they are probably fakes. I see this too often. It’ll say BAMBOO super big on the package, and in smaller font say “like feel” and they will actually be made of microfibre, which is a pressed polyester.

Bamboo sheets you’re looking at about 100-150$ CAD per set depending on bed size.

+1 on the bamboo sheets.

Saw a sale a year ago for queen size for 20 bucks.

Had to try it just for the price.

Absolutely amazing.

What if you like heavy sheets? I can't sleep in summer because my GF does not put the thick stuff inside the thin stuff, and I literally cannot fall asleep without some weight pressing onto me. I end up having to wear a sweater or sleeping on the couch because she gets too hot otherwise :/

The thick stuff inside the thin stuff?

Say no more, say no more!

Hey- if you like heavy sheets by all means get a high thread count cotton! There is nothing wrong with sleeping in cotton, it’s also a great material :)

What's thread count that doesn't tear easy, I've lost two sets of sheets to tears when my dogs play on my bed.

At least 300, 400 preferable. And if you go higher that’s just great :) higher the count, “thicker” the cotton.

Are they soft though? I need soft. I love my high count cotton.

Bamboo sheets are very soft :)

Where can I touch one?

Quilts etc carries great bamboo sheets

I have been very happy with my Linoto linen sheets, great for temperature regulation.

I bought synthetic sheets, and they absolutely changed my life. Cold in the winter? Not any more. Hot in the summer? No way, man!

Quick question do you guys sell sheets by the weight as in gsm? And if so what’s the highest gsm you sell? I have an old pair of hubbys sheets that are super heavy and thick - almost like a blanket- love them for winter but we can’t find anything similar and the only thing readable on the tag is 100% cotton.

We do not - we go by thread count. We actually not longer carry high cotton thread count sheet because they weren’t selling. But I would tell you to look into 1000 thread count cotton sheets. Does it have a softer feel? Might it be a heavy weight flannel?

I have bamboo leggings and they’re awesome.

Maybe you are the person to ask for this, where is a good place to buy this type of linen online? I wouldn't mind some more quality stuff but every time I look at Amazon reviews often times I see a few reviews that make me think a particular item isn't as good as the description says. Also, I really really really want fitted top sheets.

Quilts Etc in Canada ! They also offer fitted sheets and pillows cases for individual sale :) Can’t say for sure where to shop in the states

Thanks! Shipping to the US is a minimum of $20 (so a bit pricey for me) as far as I can tell but they have a pretty good selection. It might be worth it, I'll have to check it out!

I've never heard of bamboo sheets. Are they as soft/smooth as cotton?

Softer :) they’re really nice !

Could you recommend a brand of sheets that has 20" pockets, feels like satin/sateen, and can be bought separately? I only need a fitted sheet or two and don't want to drop $200+ on a complete king size sheet set at BB&B.

Tencel sheets stretch to fit a 19inch pocket. That’s the deepest that I know of for sure. You can buy just the fitted on Quilts Etc :) sorry I can’t be of more help!

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How did you wash them?

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Alone or with other fibres ? If you washed alone it might have been a manufactures defect or not of the greatest quality. My store would have fully refunded you. Sorry your experience wasn’t terrific

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Hahahaha - well I’m glad that you found sheets that work for you. That’s the most important thing :)

very durable when cared for properly.

Doesn't that mean that they are NOT durable?

If I wash my toaster by immersing it in water and it stops working, is it a crappy toaster? Everything as proper care instructions to make it last :) and they aren’t hard to care for! Wash alone in cold water and dry on cool :)

I go with long staple Egyptian cotton with a sateen weave and around 800 thread count. They're nice, crisp, shimmery, and the long staple cottons doesn't pill up. Bamboo tends to break down and pill up and get fuzzy.

I'm hesitant to spend a lot of money on sheets because they always get semen on them.

What do hotels use? I always sleep so much better and stay way cooler in hotels.

I always have nice sheets but since I got my German Shepherd puppy with him constantly in and out of the bed and sleeping on my bed all day when im at work his nails put holes and wear out sheets rather fast, of course I now bought anothet blanket to cover my bed when im not home but yeah theres some advice.

I'm registering for my wedding soon, any brands that you would recommend?

Quilts etc carries terrific sheets. All their brands belong solely to their store :)

Awesome! I'll check them out, thank you so much!

Awesome! I'll check them out, thank you so much!

Eucalyptus fibre? Won't that attract bed koalas?

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Look out of for words like Bamboo like feel. Check the material. It should read bamboo rayon, NOT microfibre. If it costs 20-50 CAD$ it’s probably fake.

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I should have specified in my last comment. Bamboo like feel is bad. That’s not true bamboo. My coworker has a set that’s lasted her 6 years, but that’s also not the only set she owns. 300 thread count is normally what your looking for. Sounds low but that bamboo makes it softer than regular cotton. Good bamboo sheets can be half bamboo and half cotton :) any more questions message me!

Bamboo sheets are the shit!

Bamboo shits are the sheet!

I use bamboo everything, it is my favorite thing. Bamboobed stuff, bamboo toothbrushes, bamboo shave brush, bowl, and handled DE razor

Also in most if not all of my reptile tanks. Bamboo is the best

Sounds interesting, but I'm worried about being bamboozled.

No bamboozle friend

Do you have bamboo socks too? I got a pair mixed with merino wool and it’s sooo comfy!

Yeah! They’re the best

are they really? I got the bamboo pillow, that works great too

I have eucalyptus sheets and I never want to get out of bed. (I'm in bed right now)

Real bamboo not rayon fiber. My king sized costed $100 on ebay, it has been the greatest investment along with the "expensive" pillows from walmart. Sleeping turned out to be a restful enjoyment.

A lot of "bamboo" is processed and blended so it's almost indistinguishable from other fabrics.

Bamboo is rayon. Or, rather, when things say they are bamboo they are rayon made from bamboo.

Can confirm.... in my bed with me right now

for people with hair, get a silk pillow case. So wonderful.

No doubt! We have a nice mattress that came with a bamboo topper that is soooo luxuriously soft (and apparently anti-mite as well).

I have eucalyptus sheets and I never want to get out of bed. (I'm in bed right now)

Sonicare tooth brushes are the absolute shit. They're so damn effective it feels like you left the dentist every time you brush.

I can vouch for Sonicare too. I got one a few years ago and I'm never switching back to manual toothbrushes.

Confirmed. I got one for christmas, holy shit, it blows the cheap electric toothbrush I had previously out of the water (and the cheap electric toothbrush was vastly superior to a manual toothbrush).

Yes! I got one for Christmas 4 years ago, have used it every day since, and even after too long between dentist visits, no cavities. It's absolutely wonderful.

Find EXACTLY the pillow you want based on 21-23 different factors.

This website is also good for mattresses and other similar bed stuff.

I want a pillow store that have different firmness beds to test a pillow out. That I would definitely pay good money for

So you could try your specific pillow with the bed type that matches yours? I like it!

When we bought our sleep number, they also let us try out their pillows. We were able to find the firmness we liked on the bed, and then same for the pillows.

If I could afford one! If only.

Yeah, it did cost more than my car, but since I have some serious health issues, and my wife was ~5 month pregnant, it was a pretty solid investment for us both. I wish I had bought it sooner, would have come in very handy post-transplant.

I bought a Sonicare (the cheaper one, I think it's the Essence) when I started getting stains from my coffee habit that a normal toothbrush just wouldn't quite get rid of. The $60 was painful at first, thinking "man, I'm really gonna spend that much on a toothbrush?" but I don't regret it.

When I tell people that I spent $40 on my pillow, they look at me like I'm crazy, but I've slept on that pillow every night for 7 years. I would have spent more by buying a new cheap pillow every year.

What about toothpaste? What's the best one out there?

I have 3 dentists in my immediate family. They all say the toothpaste “salesmen” tell them if anything comes out that is different from every other toothpaste out there they will let them know.

So basically even the people from Crest or Oral-B admit it’s all the same stuff.

That being said, the stuff for sensitive teeth is different than standard cleaning toothpastes and helps if you have sensitive teeth. The above statement mainly just relates to cleaning ability, so go with whatever flavor you like best.

TL;DR all toothpaste is the same.

My dentists always say to get a tooth paste that doesn't whiten for regular use. Whitening tooth pastes agitate gums, they're fine to use every so often, but not twice a day.

That’s fair, I’ve never specifically asked about whitening toothpaste. My statement was mostly about generic toothpaste and how they all fight plaque/cavities about the same.

As long as it has fluoride in it, you're good. The entire tooth paste aisle at my grocery store has only one tooth paste that doesn't whiten.

I bought some whitening toothpaste to try out, and a week later i've got pieces of dead mouth skin peeling off, really fkin weird.

I use sensodyne because it makes my teeth less sensitive to cold

All toothpastes are the same except for the ones with triclosan which is controversial. Colgate total is basically the only toothpaste that has triclosan anymore.

Regarding pillows what kind do you recommend and where to buy them?

I heard that electric toothbrushes are good since most people only brush for like 40 seconds. I almost always brush while watching a few minutes if YouTube at my desk, do would I benefit from one of these, do you think?

It'll still brush your teeth better than you can. I always made sure to brush for 2 minutes when I used a manual, but can definitely tell the difference with my sonicare.

Side note: my fiancé and I spent like $200 on pillows from target. The expensive king sized ones that were “Extra Firm” we’ve had them less than 6 months and they’ve lost all firmness. Super defeating because of how much we spent building a set for the bed.

I just got a sonicare from Costco. Feels like coming home from the dentist every day. Great purchase.

No need to spend that much. Sonicare Essence is on Amazon for $25.

Not after looking at the recent reviews though. I'll spend just a bit more :)

Oh that stinks. I bought my first one in 2010 and didn't have any problems until 2015. Still not sure if it was the battery or the charger, I destroyed it trying to replace the battery, ended up being the charger that was bad. The replacement I bought in 2015 is still going strong.

There's a series 3 out there for about $60 with really nice reviews, I might give that a try.

I got a cheap one recently. The water which got on it from brushing my teeth damaged it, it worked once.

Liquid Cotton sheets are amazing. 40 bucks every cyber Monday. They will change your life.

Best toothbrush I’ve ever owned, plus now using h3h3’s code you can get a free replacement head.

https://www.getquip.com/blue_plastic_electric_toothbrush?gclid=Cj0KCQiAvrfSBRC2ARIsAFumcm8jfoH8BFYTZRzeQJMB9gU4okRdJsH_T69xxCMZOoNuO9Hn1kThqucaAoTyEALw_wcB

i shelled out 140 bucks for an ultrasound toothbrush. best dental decision of my life.

Same. Philips in particular . It's been 2 years, and I can not imagine switching back to mechanical toothbrush ever again. And since I bough it I've not had a single dental problem.

I'll second the pillow. My chiropractor gave me one of those pillows you fill with water. 7 pitchers later and no more sore neck.

I still use the sonicare my parents bought me 13 years ago.

I’m spoiled by my sheets. I have a type called “Jersey Sheets” and they are basically really soft and stretchy high quality t-shirt material. Sooooo comfy!

I just want a high thread-count CPU :(

Ryzen, my friend. Never thought I'd get an AMD chip but it has been fantastic for me. 6 core 12 thread for under $200

Thing is, I would need a new mobo and probably a new psu too if I want to upgrade. Ain't under 200$ then. :/ Plan is to go big when I have the money for a ryzen update.

Fair enough. I'll just say that you won't be disappointed.

I've been searching for a good pillow for the past 20 years, unfortunately. And always when I find one that feels good, it starts giving me headaches overnight a month later :( I've donated SO many pillows to shelters by now...

Same here. I found an amazing down pillow, but it's not made anymore. I tracked down the company that made it, they were bought by someone else, that company doesn't make pillows anymore :/

I've bought dozens of similar pillows, but can't find anything that won't give me a headache yet.

A nice pillow. You're gonna sleep on it every single night - why not?

100% agree. A worthwhile investment.

I fucking love my chillow. Best $50 I ever spent.

A temper pedic pillow

Definitely second the pillow. Recently spent a bit of money on a good pillow and it has made the world of difference. I used to need two pillows to be comfortable and now just need the one.

These are actually 2 things I decided to spend money on, very solid.

Also, nicer bed sheets and comforter

I had chronic neck problems and have spent a lot of money on dozens of pillows. My physical therapist told me to go to the local foam/fabric outlet and have them make me a $10 pillow with the measurements he made from my neck (laying down, he measured my neck to the table). It's the best pillow I've ever used.

Buck Brush Company has been really good for my wife and I. Great electric toothbrush and they send my wife and I new brush heads every month. I went with them to try it out at a cheaper price than a Sonicare and really liked it. Also has a timer built in so you brush for the recommended amount of time.

I've had the same pillow for over 10 years now because I love it so much. It's a memory foam pillow that we got as a deal with a mattress purchase, and I have never been able to find one like it since. It's a heavy mofo, but its density feels perfect for my head, and its thickness is perfect for me. I never want to get rid of it. Plus since it's basically a solid chunk of foam, it hasn't lost shape, doesn't seem to get dirty (it has a fabric liner that goes around it, plus a pillow case on top of that), etc.

I've tried to find exact replacements of it, tried to find memory foam pillows that are similar to it, and have come up empty on both accounts. If I lose this pillow, I'll honestly probably cry.

I got an electric tooth brush for Xmas and holy shit has it been amazing. I thought I was a thorough brusher but for 28 years I walked around with disgusting teeth. I can't stop running my tongue over them after I use it because they feel so clean.

I spend about 2 bucks on a toothbrush every month?...

I spent $20 on my electric toothbrush and I've had it like 6 years. I keep it clean and change the heads. Just get a brand name one instead of some thing you've never heard of from a factory in China that won't honor any warranties.

I've never really been a fan of electric motors and the fibers on my regular toothbrushes seem to always fray. Any advice?

Philips makes a Sonicare for kids that works the same way and has the same good battery as the expensive adult one. It’s like half the price.

I vouch for a great quality pillow. My sleeps are sweets.

The Purple Pillow is the best pillow I've ever had. I've had it for 2 years and I have not woken up with a sore neck like I used to once a month with my old pillow.

FYI, anything above about 400 thread count is a lie and a marketing scam. It's physically impossible to get more than about 400 threads per inch with a proper weave. Instead they fuck with the weave leaving exposed and dangling threads that will break and leave pilling or wear out faster.

Look for a sheet with a basic over/under weave made with long fibers like Pima or Egyptian cotton. This will give you the longest wearing sheat, and they should last you decades not months.

Got myself a sonicare brush, shit's dope. Times my brushing, and cleans my gums! I have a cleaning in 2 weeks for the first time in over a year, I'm hoping he says the teef look good thanks to the brush.

On a side note, if you have a y back or neck pain, I strongly suggest sleeping on your back without any pillow at all. Greatly reduces compression in your neck and alleviates that pain.

I have a Sonicare that I bought 8 years ago while I was in college for like 50 bucks. It still works perfect and the battery is charged wirelessly. I forgot to bring the charging stand home for the holidays recently and it still lasted 3 weeks no problem. Some sorcery shit.

I paid about $100 for the pillow I have now, and it has changed my nightly habits. I toss and turn, but I also used to flip my pillow over frequently for the "cool" side. The pillow I have is super firm, is cotton filled, but memory foam covered, and has a gel side that stays cool all night long.

Brushed cotton baby. So warm and soft in the winter.

Every pillow I buy ends up being trash very quickly

Sonicare is great except they are now built to last about 2 years. Luckily you can fix them with a bit of soldering.

Try the one from Allegro (i funded their Kickstarter last year). Pretty awesome and it cost me just $27. Self drying and UV sterilizer included. I am ordering another soon for wifey since she was jealous.

spend like fifty or sixty bucks on a quality toothbrush with a good motor.

But not one of those 'sonic' ones. Those are pure torture to put in your mouth.

It's different for me. I bought an Oral-b ( pro 100) from Amazon based on a thread just like this on r/AskReddit and the reviews on Amazon. I spent $40 dollars for it and couldn't tell that much difference. I switched back to my go to brush which is a soft bristled Equate from Wal-Mart that does a better job. Have not and will not look back.

For me it was a watch. For some reason I check the time a lot and every time I would use my phone to check, I would get sucked in by whatever notification I had. My phone stays in my pocket a lot more now, and I think it's making me a happier person

I'm a huge advocate of wristwatches. They're still a necessity.

EDIT: Okay, since I've had a lot of these. Necessity comes down to your lifestyle and working conditions. For me it's a necessity, while for others that might be hyperbolic. I don't mean you'll die without a watch, and if you read it like that you need to stop reading it like that.

Just out of curiosity, why? The time is all over walls at work. My microwave. My oven. My tv. My Xbox. My computer. My car. And when I'm by some chance not in any of those spots, my phone.

For me nothing can replace a good old analog watch.

It provides a graphical representation of time that helps me visualize how much time i have left until xx:xx or how much time has passed. A digital readout of the time just doesn't have the same impact. It's like staring at a table of numbers versus looking at a graph that plots those same numbers.

Watches are also cool and interesting to look at. They are fashion accessories, where you have thousands of different designs to choose from.

If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your age? I was thinking it might be a generational thing rather than a habit thing

Don't think that's really the case. I'm 25 and couldn't live without a wristwatch. I left in a hurry this morning and forgot to put on a watch and I feel naked. For me it's more about owning a precisely crafted and beautiful object, and about the engineering behind the different movements than about time itself.

Join us at /r/watches !

I left in a hurry this morning and forgot to put on a watch and I feel naked.

That's because it's a habit, not because it's a necessity, which is what's being discussed. You appreciate watches for their mechanical and engineering quality and beauty, not because people need to use a watch.

Depending on your job or social situation it can be pretty rude to be checking your phone for the time. Being at a meeting or in the middle of a conversation and it’s infinitely less rude to give your wrist a quick glance.

Also if you use military time that’s not all over the place.

We could argue about whether or not social expectations that affect a certain percentage of the population really counts as something being a necessity for a very long time so I won't get into that.

But.

Also if you use military time that’s not all over the place.

If you use military time, you should not need clocks around you to show the time in that format. If you can't use a 12-hour clock the issue isn't that you use military time, it's that you don't understand time or can't use basic math.

Yea not sure where they were going with that. When I was in the Army it was obviously used so much that it'd take about a second to translate 1530 to 3:30 PM in your head. Eventually though whenever you're surrounded by it all the time it's almost like 1530 doesn't mean 3:30 PM. It's like 1530 is its own time. Hard to explain.

I write in military time probably around 100 times a day and I can figure it out in about a second or glance at a digital watch that displays it in that format. It’s something I prefer having that makes it a lot easier. Obviously not impossible without it but way more convenient.

I mean sure it could be easier. I meant more from the perspective of the military when we would use it. Of course you're also pretty much required to have a digital watch on you, too. So that definitely helped some of the people who would rather look at their watch. I used to do that and look at my watch then eventually just stopped. Unless of course I was actually checking the time or something. You aren't allowed to have your phone out on most bases I went to while walking around outside so it was definitely convenient.

Also if you use military time that’s not all over the place.

But it's not on watches, and if you so choose you can have your phone display it.

A lot of people use digital watches in 24hr format that use it frequently in healthcare etc

Okay sure, didn't realize we were discussing digital watches. Of course there are valid reasons for people to wear watches, it's just not a global necessity.

Yup. I love watches too. Something about them seems really classy and fun to me. I feel really weird even when I take mine off for a bit, but that's because I'm used to the weight being there, not because it's a necessity.

Pocket watches used to be really classy too, now they're viewed as archaic and the kind of thing only a prime hipster would use.

Time will tell (a-ha-ha) whether or not watches are doomed to the same fate.

Personally I think they're just fine and the mechanisms can be quite impressive, but most of the people I know that are <50 and wear watches do it as a fashion or status thing, because they are both cool looking and can be very expensive.

For me it's about function. I enjoy spending time outdoors. Say I went on a multiday hike, yes I can take my phone and a battery(anker), but if you're into ultralight that won't do. You want to enjoy your time when on the trail, and getting away from technology will make that much more enjoyable. Yes, I will have my phone with me, but only for emergencies, the watch will show me how much daylight I have left before I need to make camp, and if it's a five watch I can swim with it without worry. I do also appreciate the aesthetics of watches, but that's it's second function for me.

You of course understand though that what you're saying only suggests necessity in certain situations such as multiday hikes. I'm not arguing that watches have no function, they very clearly can tell the time and other things, I'm arguing that they are not a necessity (as in for your general life, anything can be a necessity in the right scenario, such as skis) which is the comment that started this discussion.

You're the one that started the discussion because you don't understand that while it's not a necessity to you it might be to some of us. And you're nitpicking about a word because you have nothing better to do with your life. And while we do own them for practical use and the complexity of the movements and whatnot, we also buy them for fashion since for some of us men that's the only piece of jewelry we want to wear.

You seem really overly defensive about this, my guy. It's fine to like wristwatches, but they aren't necessary in daily life anymore. That's not a judgment call on your tastes, it's a statement of fact. It's ok to like watches, but they aren't a necessity.

Do you people need PowerPoint presentations because I'm fairly certain people wrote in plain English why and where and to whom they are necessary. They might not be of life importance like air or water though if that's what you're aiming at.

"They're not necessary, but they're necessities. As long as you redefine necessities to mean something completely different."

Fuck off mate.

Did you post this from your wristwatch?

And I won't argue with you over that, but some people will regard a watch as a daily necessity, it is all based on personal preference. I enjoy using my watch to tell the time in comparison to my phone, if it's an automatic or kenetic the 'battery' will never die while I am wearing it. However it will need servicing but you can be certain that the cost of maintaining it will be more affordable than a smartwatch or phone, even if you spend multiple thousands of dollars, although you can argue that you can pass down to your offspring, can't do that with a phone that gets replaced every two years.

Tl:dr watches have there place, as do smartwatches and phones for specific functions in daily life

you're outside dude, look at the sun

Only the donald can look directly at the sun

you're not supposed to stare at it. if ya can't estimate an hour of sunlight left you should probably hike even more

Well a glance at mu wrist is way faster than having to search for a clock in an unfamiliar place or get my phone out of my pocket, turning it on, getting glued to the screen by notifications, etc. If we're really discussing the "necessity" aspect of it. But I agree with you, watches are mostly a preference :)

I don't think that necessities are what is being discussed; things that improved a given poster's quality of life is what is being discussed. -A rice cooker is a nice thing that makes cooking rounded meals simpler and more efficient.
-A heated blanket is a thing that is nice for keeping warm in a building that leaks energy.
-For u/telamonian and myself too, a wristwatch improved our quality of life in the ways that they described. If I just want to quickly check the time, I just look at my watch instead of getting sidetracked by the distraction machine that is my smartphone. It doesn't apply to everyone, but then, neither do rice cookers and heated blankets.

Perhaps you didn't read the comment thread you're replying to then.

"I'm a huge advocate of wristwatches. They're still a necessity."

I wasn't answering the original post, just reacting to this one. I don't believe a watch could be a life changing item, but they are a cool gadget for sure.

How do you know thats why he wears a watch? I wear a watch for the reasons above, true. But I also wear a watch because it's a more elegant way to find out the time, particularly around clients/suppliers etc. It looks far better than digging into my pocket for my phone. Plus watches with other complications can be very useful (I use my chronograph to time poached eggs, for example)

Because he said his owning a watch is more about the aesthetic and idea than about the time.

And you said as much just now, it's about the look, the fashion, it makes you feel like you give off an air of an "elegant" adult professionalism in front of your clients. That's not a necessity, that's a desire.

You know how I time things I've got on the stove? I ask my phone to do it, with my voice, so I don't need to set anything down or clean my hands. Like someone living in the present. And before you say that was a completely needless jab (rather than a mostly needless jab), I'd still do that if I wore a watch because it's the better option.

It's not the watch itself that has the elegance, it's the action of how you check the time. I couldn't go without wearing a watch, even if it was a really ugly watch, I would still wear it instead of wearing none at all.

As for the stove thing? Congrats on being modern I guess?

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Re-reading my comment, it does sound kind of douchey, apologies. I don't think elegence was a good choice of words either. I just like the action of looking at my watch I guess. I think checking your phone doesn't look professional, because it could look like you're checking a text, and with a watch it's far more discreet (or at least it can be)

I literally have not owned a watch in over a decade and been fine

The context of this entire post is gadgets that make life easier, which by definition are things you'd be fine without.

Except that you're ignoring the context of this actual comment thread in which we're discussing and replying to the comment:

"I'm a huge advocate of wristwatches. They're still a necessity."

Same, in fact nearly two. They're jewelry and that's about it. That's fine, it's great if you like them and they can absolutely look good from a fashion point of view, but that's all they're really for.

Except the fact that they tell time? A watch is just jewelry to someone with no desire to use it for the intended purpose. However, most watches are actually tools and many have unique and specific functions built into the movement.

The time is displayed nearly everywhere these days. Hell, if you know where south is, you can get a decent idea of the time just by seeing where the sun is in relation to it.

What the time is isn't as important as everyone thinks it is.

Right... For some of us, our jobs require time management skills. Watches tell time. Phones are viewed as rude in front of clients/customers. Just like anything else in life, they are only useful to those with the need for it.

Btw, I'm wearing a watch that literally has a compass built into it. Now I always know where south is.

That's how I view it, I've got this nice watch my dad gave me. One time I decided to wear it for an xmas party, didnt even set the time on it. It's just a fancy bracelet to me.

I literally have not used one my whole life, and probably never will

You probably aren't stylish, though.

You probably are shallow.

i have a good sense of time, also a phone

Habit and marketing.

Also, you know, seeing the time whenever you want, in a fraction of a second.

Seriously, plenty of people of all ages prefer to wear a watch.

26 here and the same. I has to buy a case that holds 6 of them and I already own more than that. Granted some are above OP's $200 limit but most aren't

I need to buy one of those case, where did you find yours ? After most of my collection was stolen, I'm looking at options on how to store them to avoid it happening again, so maybe putting one of those cases in a bolted safe or something.

omg thank you!!!!!!, i am 20 years old and if i don't have a watch on, call me crazy, but my left arm feels lighter, i am so used to my watches that it has actually become a necessity for my day to day life

I'm twenty, and there are very few situations in which I will not wear my watch.

I wish it was analogue, though.

They do make those still.

Yeah, but I can't convince myself to buy one until my digital watch dies.

But when it does, I'm buying something nice.

Only own two atm but I use my digital as a daily/work beater and the analog Casio for other occasions.

If you like watches and have some money to spend, buy a few for different occasions. One for work/casual, one for dates and stuff and a fancy one for when you need to dress up.

I don't have the money to spend on several watches, never mind the fact that a special watch for work and going out is a huge waste (I don't go out, and I'm a night shift cleaner), so just buying the one is probably fine. Swapping out bands, however, is more practical.

Like I said, if you like watches it's a good idea. A nice watch can make you look so much better overall, same as good fitting clothes. Doesn't need to be expensive, I've yet to meet someone that can tell what brand you're wearing and start talking about movements and judge you by how much you paid for it.

To me and to many others my 70€ Casio looks better than some few thousand euro Rolex/Omega.

I definitely appreciate the advice, but I like watches the same as I like the rest of my jewellery: I like the way it looks, and the rest be damned. Hell, my current ring I got for twenty bucks and in bracelet is second hand from an ex.

I'm 19 and I still wear watches all day every day no matter what I'm doing

I'm 27 and I've worn watches since I was around 17 I think. Had a 70€ quartz Festina for 10 years (gift from my familly) and last summer I fanally was in a good spot, financially and decided that since I enjoy a nice watch and am impressed with mechanical watches and the art of timekeeping itself, I bought myself an automatic Seiko watch. It's a Japanese, in-house automatic movement that only cost me 160€ to bring to Europe (they don't sell this specific watch in Europe so I paid 60€ for the watch and 100€ to import it) and it's really really a beautiful watch. Hearing it tick at my wrist six times per second when the room gets quiet or when I finally turn everything off at night and start reading is pure joy. Every. Single. Time.

Surely, /u/heydudewhereismycar would agree with me on this one. And just like him, that one time per year when I leave the house without my watch I feel odd all day long. It has to be there, on the wrist. It's part of me now.

I had a bunch of cheap watches around 18 also, casio G-Shock and so on. My first "nice" watch was a Seiko 5 auto that I still use as a beater most days. I love seikos and started collecting them and getting some must have models, hunted a nice one in Japan last year and got one as a graduation present as well.

When I came back to my appartment this summer after a one week break, upon realizing that It had been broke in, I immediately shouted "Fuck my watches" and just like that they were gone. I was heartbroken because I really have a sentimental connection to those watches I lost. I managed to rebuy two with the insurrance money, but have yet to replace the one I got for my graduation.

Passion is still going strong, I'm going back to Japan and i am planning to hunt for a Seiko with a japanese date index. Next I'll save for a Speedmaster and an Explorer.

I agree, the sound of that ticking in silence is just something else, I always end up thinking of whether or not i am using my time wisely and if i forgot to do something important. Kind of helps me remember stuff

I'm 17 and I can't stand not having my watch on. Most people I know still wear watches too, many of them analog. I guess there's just something comforting about having the time on your wrist constantly so you aren't reliant on other people or your phone battery.

We do have to remove all watches in exams now though, which I expect is an issue previous generations never faced. Wouldn't have crossed anyone's minds that you might use your watch to cheat on a calculus problem.

I had a physical labor job once working in a crew of six. We had a truck with a crew cab and the truck's clock was set somewhere around 2 minutes off my watch, and I was the only person on the crew with a watch. (This was before cell phones. I mean, cell phones existed but they were still regarded as overpriced and frivolous.)

Since we worked out in wooded areas and fields we usually weren't near the truck (and most of us didn't have the keys, anyway) the other crew members asked me what time it was constantly as we approached breaks, lunch, or the end of the day. For the most part I would just say what time it was and that would be that, but the supervisor would always want to clarify: "According to your watch?"

She considered the time on the truck's clock to be our "official" time so she apparently wanted me to add two minutes to whatever time my watch said and then answer her time query.

Like "Hey, SecretScorekeeper, what time is it?" Oh, let's see my watch says it's 11:41am but I know you prefer truck time, so "It's 11:43, boss!"

Even if I did the adjustment for her she still would have to ask "According to your watch?"

I can laugh about it now, but five crew members each asking about the time a minimum of four times a day, 4 days a week, that's about 80 time checks a week.

I'm 29 and I never go out without a watch.

Its as essential as a belt for both style and function.

Uh, whoa there.

I get it. I own a TAG Aquaracer & Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton, and I'm already eyeing a Spring Drive - I'm as into watches as the next guy.

But there's no way these are "necessities."

As a teacher taking out a phone isn’t always the smoothest option. It becomes common place to casually check my watch, so in a way it is a necessity.

I don't know about you and I'm not bashing watches but when I was in school I don't think there was one room without a clock in it

There are teachers who take clocks out of their room on purpose so students aren't always checking the time.

Seems reasonable, they should do that at my workplace so i stop clock watching haha

A lot of classrooms have them on the back wall for this reason. Teacher needs to know the time; students not so much.

Clocks are deceiving(I misread them sometimes), but it helps at recess for sure. There’s a clock on the nearby church but lining kids up is an exact science; requiring precise timing to execute effectively.

I own a spring drive and I agree with

Its as essential as a belt for both style and function.

Well, my current watch is just a simple 200 dollar one. Girls ask me about it sometimes, which is why I spent $200 instead of $70.

I'm eyeing up a Casio Oceanus, but on my current salary it would be pretty damn irresponsible to jump for it.

Are you subscribed to /r/watches? It's a positive and fairly knowledgeable community, and you get to peep some very nice timepieces.

I'll give it a try, thanks!

I'm 19 and my watch is a must. Whenever I forget it I end up rolling up my sleeve and looking at pale ring on my wrist

I’m 26 and I first got into wearing watches while I was waiting tables. Some people have jobs where you can’t just whip out your phone at any time. I found it very convenient to always have the time, regardless of where I was so that I could more easily keep pace and timing in my tables. I’ve moved past serving now but I still have a watch (though it’s a smart watch now). It’s just so much easier and more convenient to look at the watch than pull my phone out of my desk. Also, if I get up and walk away from my phone, I still have a clock attached to me and don’t have I rely on finding one anywhere. Plus, as others have said, it’s a fashion accessory, too. I always get more comments on my watches than I do on anything else that I’m wearing.

I used to share your thinking, too, though. I never understood why a watch was necessary with my phone always there but now I don’t see how I could go back.

I'm 30 and I wear stylish watches all the time. I always get compliments. Guys in watches look more handsome typically.

Mid twenties. I do have a few friends who still appreciate and wear analog watches

It's often a generational thing, but there will always be exceptions.

You just reminded me of something an old professor of mine said: “I prefer to have an analog clock over a digital one, because I rarely look at a clock to know what time it is. I am looking at what time it is not.”

I think it’s the only acceptable form of men’s jewelry, aside from wedding bands.

What about cock rings

*clutches pearls*

Try telling that to Jersey

Fountain pens

TIL Rings aren't a "acceptable form of men’s jewelry".(dafuck do that even mean???)

Rings. Lol.

Seriously. Guess i'll tell my family to stop selling all those mens rings at our store...

I'm sure it depends where you live but in professional circles in the States at least it would be kinda weird for a dude to wear a ring other than a wedding band or class ring. If you're <20 years old, are a hippy, are a gangster, then sure. If you're an accountant, doctor, lawyer, etc... that would be super weird. You would for sure be 'the ring guy'.

That said, if folks want to wear rings I say go for it, more power to you. I wore plenty of jewelry myself as a younger man.

I disagree with this. I have a really classy ring that I wear but it does look like a wedding band. I'm not married but with someone so whatever.

I fully agree with what you're saying, but as a beacon of hope I would like to let people know that many digital devices have advanced to a standard of being able to display circles in 2018 if you chose to configure them. Heck, even vapes come with that nowaday. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/14/db/4f/14db4fc272fd1f0322f4eba9a87f37ed.jpg

Sure. I'd love to just pull out a vape while watching my pupils and see how quickly that gets me fired.

Do schools not have clocks in EVERY SINGLE ROOM anymore?

They're usually behind the teacher, and they're usually set wrong

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/54481-far-out-in-the-uncharted-backwaters-of-the-unfashionable-end

For me it's digital time readout, where a day represents a bar with 2 sliders and any amount of time is somewhere in between starting and ending position much like in a youtube video.

Watches are also cool and interesting to look at

This guy watches watches.

This guy wrist watches!

Also you can get a few low cost NATO straps in different colors to customize your day to day look.

I'm 31, and Recently stopped wearing my fitbit and switched to a Citizen Eco-Drive. I didn't realize how much I missed a real watch on my wrist. Plus it just looks so much better with my wardrobe.

I'm never going back to a fitness tracker again. Analog Watches from here on out!

Also, for some reason the stopwatch function on my mechanical watch amazes me.

...I wonder if the digital thing is why I've become less punctual since moving out

I used to agree, and then I replaced my analog watch with a smartwatch (first a Microsoft Band 2, replace with a Samsung Gear S2). I don't care for notifications or phone calls or whatever on my watch, though it is nice to be able to fire off quick replies to text messages. More importantly, I use it to track sleep and steps and such while not looking ugly like a fitness tracker band (yes, I know, I had a Band 2 -- IMHO that looked much nicer than a fitbit or similar). I'm currently using a digital watch face, but there are plenty of analog faces that look good and work well. I could get 2-3 days out of a single charge, but it'll charge from 60% to 100% in less than an hour so I've never had trouble with battery life.

Then again, we're not talking about Rolex-level watches, here. A "good" watch for me was something like a Citizen Eco Drive or Seiko kinetic watch, say in the $200-ish range. A decent smartwatch won't cost any more than that, will have the same level of customizability of bands, and provides extra functionality beyond just a watch.

A watch shouldn't be a distraction, so I would never wear a smart watch.

That says more about you than the watch, though.

Yes, I've got ADHD and it's a definite issue that affects this. However, I'd like to contend that almost all non-ADHD people I know have the same exact problem when they wear a smart watch.

I've got a Samsung smart watch. Wore it for a day and now it sits in a cupboard. A regular watch is so much nicer.

I have the gear s3 classic. I love it. Looks like a normal watch, and the different watch faces are gorgeous.

You keep telling yourself that, buddy.

I got an Apple Watch for Christmas and man I love that thing. I especially like texting on it because I feel like a spy.

My gripes about smartwatches is that they aren't interesting to me. The 3D shapes of the dial, indices, hands, etc can't be replicated by smartwatches.

There's also the obsolescence aspect. A smartwatch will inevitably be replaced every few years. An analog watch will never go out of style and will ideally last well beyond your lifetime.

I do see the benefits so i have nothing against people who wear them.

My issue is they get in the way. I like having full range of motion in my wrist. At my old job that was essential. I tried wearing a watch, but the bulk and the restriction was too great. I had to take it off. Also I think most watches are ugly as sin.

I will always be function over form. If the only thing this bulky, ugly, limiting piece of metal does is tell me the time, it's not worth it at all.

An analog watch is just a pie chart for time.

Mindblown.gif

That’s interesting, but I think that visualising how much time is left is not really a problem for the rest of us non-watch users. Are you alright at maths? When I look at a digital time, I almost instantly know how long I have until a certain time, I don’t even really have to think about it. I can read analog time just as quick but don’t notice any benefit.

Sure i can work out time in my head. It just doesn't have the same impact as seeing it. Like i said in my original post, it's easier to visualize trends on a graph rather than in a table of numbers.

I am a visual person and i find it easier to gauge how much time i have left, when to leave for something, how late/early i am. Ymmv.

My whole point is that for us non-watchers, it does have the same impact as seeing it. I wasn't talking about working it out in your head, I was talking about it having the same impact.

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I’m glad it works for you.

I don’t know what your point is about knowing math though lol, learning math doesn’t really help with mental arithmetic. Irrelevant...

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Contextually, I meant mental arithmetic.

I find it easy to lose track of time when you don't have a watch. Yea, it's everywhere, but I get distracted easily. I feel the same way, I need a watch.

You'd be surprised how many work areas DON'T have a clock reasonably nearby your station.

Most of these responses seem to be from teachers, who certainly do have clocks in their rooms, from every school I've been in.

The comfort and reliability of not having to look around for some object in your vicinity that has the time on it, when you can just look at your wrist?

I can just look at my phone... it's always in my pocket. I don't understand why in the era of everyone having a cellphone on them at all times does anyone need a wristwatch... I understand those who have become accustomed to it and "feel naked" without it, but don't call it a necessity.

People with style wear watches. Those who don't get it, usually just wear basketball shorts and a hoodie out in public.

People who's head isn't shoved deep up their own ass realize there are FAR more important things than what cloth you drape yourself in.

I'd rather spend my money helping others than on egotistical peacocking.

For me it's a necessity. I'm a ski instructor and I have to have shit hot time management and my phone is often zipped up on an inside pocket. A wrist watch is game changing for me.

Upvote for precise time management. I'm a piano teacher, and managing things down to the minute- sometimes to the second- is a skill that many people don't realize teachers need.

I came here to say that wearing a wrist watch is necessity for my work. I am a funeral director and when I am out directing a service I need to keep track of time. If I am repeatedly checking the time from my phone it appears that I am being inconsiderate.

Likewise for my job, I transfer large quantities of liquid from shore to barge and barge to shore. I need to know how fast the product moves a minute as well as keep an hourly log.

I get it as I dont own a watch but theres a lot of times where I cant see the time cause a clock is too far or maybe Im walking somewhere or sitting down at a restaurant or something. Its definitely not a necessity at all but buying a cheap $30 watch at walmart isnt a bad investment i dont think. Definitely nowhere near life changing.

Get an automatic watch and never buy batteries again.

Just have to set it constantly... Quarz movements are more than good enough for most people, and the batteries don't really run out fast.

It's probably cheaper to hire someone to come to your house and change the battery every year.

Every year? I've got a Casio digital which boasts a ten year battery life. Whether that's rubbish or not I don't know (2 years or so, so far) but unless it's got a lot of fancy features, like radio synchronization, most basic wristwatches should breeze a year.

You can get a pretty great automatic for like £55

Got any recommendations? I love watches and I'm starting to look around for my first automatic.

You sure you're not looking for a book ;)? on creation watches you can pick up the SNK803 which is a really nice pilot style watch with a beige face (you can also get the same watch with a black, dark blue or dark green face) for around 50-60. The Vostok amphibia is a really interesting automatic dive watch, originally designed in Soviet Russia (Bill Murray wore one in a life aquatic). For just over £100 you can get a watch from the Orient Bambino series, which are some really attractive dress watches. If you go on r/watches, there are multiple threads that will recommend a whole bunch of different styles at multiple price points. For my money? The Seiko SKX007/009 are some of the best value at the budget price point, and will last a very long time, even if you're not careful. The Timex Weekender series, while not automatic (quartz) are incredibly reliable, and well made watches for well under £50. Brand wise, I would look at Seiko, citizen, Timex (vintage automatic models are pretty cheap and nice to look at), Vostok, Orient and Swatch. All of these watches will get a nod from watch geeks, and are well worth the money.

Thank you! What you've said matches the research i've been doing.

I really like the Orient Bambino series, they are great.

Thanks so much for taking the time out to write that response, i'm just getting into watches and everyone is super friendly and happy to have a chat about it.

Cheers!

I went years without wearing a watch and was convinced I had no use for one. My friend recently bought me a G-Shock for helping him out with some construction and I've not stopped wearing it (which surprised me, as normally they bother me). It's just useful to have the time immediately available. Also helps as I carry two phones as part of my work and it can be a pain removing phones all the time due to their cases.

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This is so true. It actively aggravates me if I've not got mine on during the day.

They're unobtrusive, can be a conversation piece, and can even hold an outfit together. A nice wristwatch is fly af. I love my Seiko 5.

They are extremely obtrusive, I've never felt comfortable wearing one, feels like I have handcuffs on one hand. They can only possibly be a "conversation piece" for the most bland and boring people... the type of people who worry about being "fly as fuck" or "holding an outfit together"...

That's nice.

That's because you have no style.

Is "style" something to be proud of? Is it something that really matters?

How many people in need have you helped this week? How many more could you help if you didn't worry about pointless vanity and peacocking?

Why are so many people so egotistical, narcissistic, and all around shitty?

The reason I love my watch is because it also gives the date. Whenever I need to date any homework assignments or sign paperwork, I can quickly rotate my wrist. Instead of putting down my pen, digging out my phone, turning it on, turning it off, putting it back in my pocket, and then get distracted by something else and forget what todays date is. But maybe its just personal preference. Not to mention they're stylish.

There's something about watching a physical object MOVE to represent time that is just beautiful to me. For a long time, I never understood the appeal of analogue watches. My new job required one, and I will never go back. I watch the seconds tick by, and glance at my wrist on occasion to SEE where I am in time.

I can do this with my phone, sure, but my phone isn't always showing this. Always moving. My watch is, and likely forever will be (it's powered by all visible light, can last up to 2 years in darkness, and is water proof up to 600m.). And that's why I personally love watches.

It's much more than a clock. You can get one that has a calendar, chronograph, timer, alarm, et cetera. And it's much more convenient than having to take out a device like a phone to check what day it is.

Other than obviously the time, mine has day, date, stopwatch, timer, five alarms (more handy than you might think), and a world time function which I admit I don't use.

It's just far easier having it all there rather than pissing about with your phone for the same functions.

While its true that you can check the time freaking everywhere like you said, i still find my self just flicking my wrist and checking the time. Its just so convenient. Also, wristwatches look neat and have alot of interesting history in them

Most of the things you listed are electronic. When I had a massive blackout in my area a few months ago, I realized how fallible relying on electronic time is. I got new batteries for my wrist watch that I hadn't used for years as soon as the power was back.

I tend to check the time when I step back from doing work on my computer, which sucks me back in and makes my breaks feel less like breaks. My Pebble was a lifesaver because it showed me the time as well as having timer functions and inaudible notifications and alarms in the morning.

Sometimes it's just easier to look at your watch without worrying about the time being off or about pulling your phone out of your pants or finding a clock

Besides what /u/Telamonian said, pulling out your phone in some situations can be rude. I started wearing a watch in middle school when if I pulled out my phone I'd have it confiscated. Also, there are no clocks where I work since I don't work in an office but it's still rude to pull out my phone in the middle of the day unless I'm out of sight receiving a work-related cal and looking at my wrist is faster.

Because as men we have limited accessories when it comes to fashion.

A man's watch and shoes say a LOT about them. Condition, price etc. Not having a watch says a lot about you too.

I could be surrounded by clocks at work and I'd still use my watch.

Sounds shallow, but it's true. If you're interviewing for jobs, some interviewers really notice that stuff, and they use it to help make decisions.

Yeah, my new boss said she noticed that I was wearing polished brown shoes, had a watch with a brown strap and my belt was brown during my interview.

She said it showed I had knowledge and pride and maturity or something like that.

For men who care about petty things like watches and shoes it certainly does say a lot about them... I'd rather help others than waste money on expensive peacocking.

Aka you can't afford it.

I'm a firmware engineer, I can afford a watch...

I've had my sister, my mother, my girlfriend, multiple female friends, tell me that one thing they look for on a dude is whether or not he wears a wrist watch. Something about knowing how to tie it all together.

That's just not good enough.

I thought the same thing before I got one, but I found one that I really liked the look of so I just bought it. Now I check the time on it constantly. Way more convenient than looking in the direction of the nearest clock. Just flick your wrist.

Personally, wearing a watch all the time, its just convenience, time your self to make your self more efficient, but at the same time, no pun intended, you always know where the time is as opposed to constantly looking for it and adjusting your eyes to read it. Also, if you have a ware house job or an outdoors job or hobbies where you arent Always indoors, having a watch pays for its self.

That's not really what the phrase 'pays for it's self' means. A watch in those situations are is helpful though.

Is your time, energy, effort worth something? Would you waste your time using something else or looking or using energy otherwise rather than having an answer on your wrist? Thats what i mean.

Well if you have a wrist watch you can check the time without checking your oven, tv, xbox, pc or car. So usually it's handy if you are outside (where my phone is usually in my inside jacket pocket because sometime ago phones got to big for my jeans pockets). Especially nice if you don't have your hands free for example while biking. I even got one of those gps watches for sports, very nice to have.

So yeah i'd say the most important things that watches are good for are exams and sports. In both you want to track the time to make sure you're doing good. And usually you don't want to or aren't allowed to bring your microwave or phone.

And when you wear a wristwatch for a while you will start to rely on it and you can't go back to not having one. You'll feel naked and wrong and you won't know the time most of the time. I even use it when i am on my phone to tell people when i get there, i use it when writing messages or e-mails because my muscle memory just knows where to check for the time. Checking the time is probably the second fastest thing after sneezing my body can do.

I work for an old company and they frown upon personal phone use. Checking my watch in a meeting that is running long and excusing myself because I have another meeting to go to is acceptable but pulling out my phone is less acceptable because I "might be checking my notifications". My watch has a chronograph (stop watch) which I use when I make my morning tea and when I take my reddit bathroom breaks.

I'm a casio advocate and I regularly use the countdown timer on my watch for various things. Doing some cooking, washing, anything like that, it comes in very useful. Yes my phone can do it too, but I have to remember to keep my phone on me and charged up if I'm wandering around the house, whereas my watch I wear automatically. If I've not got it on it really irritates me.

If I'm walking home, it's easier to look at my wrist than get my phone out. It's also safer in sketchy areas

Bit late to the party, but just to give my two cents. I spend most of my day in meetings and a lot of our meeting rooms only have a single wall-mounted clock. Can now check I'm not over-running another meeting by a quick glance to my wrist than getting my phone out of my pocket. Same applies to impromptu meetings in the corridor/kitchen.

I need one as a teacher. Gotta know the time instantly and often to manage class time.

Counterpoint: Clocks don't exist in some rooms at my medical school where you're having "mock" encounters with standardized patients. If you need to time something like their heartrate, you're using your phone, a stopwatch or a watch. Watch is the simplest way to go.

As a nurse, I am required to do things like count respirations and pulse. So it's required that I have a wrist watch. Not gonna take out my phone and go through the trouble of starting a timer.

for commuting, and it's -33 with wind chill making it -45 you want to see when the :16 bus or train leaves and you're still a block away walking, it's nice to see the time, only the time, right now. It tells you how fast to walk so you can keep warm and still not miss your ride.

Drivers begin to write you off as an inattentive pedestrian the moment you grab for your phone and start poking at it, a glance at a watch and you're still perceived as being aware of your surroundings and not stumbling around like a dumbass about to fall down a manhole.

For public speaking you take off the watch and lay it next to your pages on the podium and have a sight of how you're progressing without waking up the phone and looking fidgety, also poking the podium will make a booming sound over the mic and get recorded etc.

watches have lots of uses. Analog second hand is nice, and it's a fashion accessory, the way your shirt pokes out of your suit jacket sleeve just a tiny bit and it also slightly covers your watch a tiny bit, that looks sharp.

They’re great if you want to check the time in a movie theater or other dark public place where phones are frowned upon. That’s assuming your watch is lit, of course.

So you can get stank wrist and wear jewellery.

I swim and hike and dive and stuff. Keeping time is paramount and impossible without a wristwatch.

It's like you are connecting time itself to your body.

I dk how to describe it in better detail, but having a consistent source of time to glance at helps me better feel the passing of time the longer I use it

You can do it mentally for sure, but a wristwatch is like having a little time secretary

As a student, a lot of professors still don't like it when you're on your phone and I like to know how much time I have left in class. Not to mention during exams! Also I feel rude checking my phone for the time during meetings at work. A watch solves these problems!

none of those places are as close or convenient as your own wrist. plus, my shit glows so i can see it at night. perhaps not absolutely necessary for people who sit in an office all day and have a big alarm clock by their bed, but i use mine all the time as i'm out and about. i'd feel naked without it.

a nice watch is a legit piece of jewelry, too.

I have a smart watch and it's cut out a lot of need to be on my phone. I leave my phone on silent and see notifications on watch. If they're worth replying to 9 times out of 10 I can do it from my watch quickly.

Personally, I don't have a lot of clocks at home. Just the microwave. And I work in people's homes, as a private tutor. So I have to check the time a lot- to see if I'll be on time, to see how much time I have left in a session, etc.

At my work there is a lot of fish tanks, and carrying a phone can be risky business, so a nice waterproof watch is lovely.

Aside from some of the other arguments I would use, one of the major things for me is just how aesthetically pleasing the correct watch can look.

Because it’s nice to be able to always make the same simple little motion whenever I want to know the time, without having to think about it. No looking around for clocks, no digging stuff out of my pocket (especially nice if I’m wearing gloves or carrying stuff), just turn your wrist slightly and that’s it. It seems like such a small thing, but it makes me feel essentially like I have a sense of time built in, like it’s an extension of myself. It adds a surprising amount of convenience, to the point where I feel blind without it.

I like wearing watches as an accessory mostly based on how they look.

Definitely, I work in client relations and have a lot of meetings. It's important for me to keep track of time and it feels awkward and kind of rude for me to take my phone out of my pocket when I can just discreetly take a peek at my watch.

Do you really know how to look at your watch discreetly? I see lot of not very discreet time checking, and I find myself in situations where I want to take a look at my watch, but it would be a conversation ender. The other part thinks that I need to go.

Well the original type of watch was a fob watch aka pocket watch. There's a reason they invented wrist watches.

God I wish I could wear a watch. I work in a lumber mill so my hands/arms get beat up in a daily basis. Maybe one day.

Get a cheap casio. They're resilient and only cost 10 bucks.

And a lot of them can be really pretty.

You can probably find something super sturdy or so cheap it's fine replacing it.

Now I don't know this, but isn't there a hardcore brick-watch that can take a beating and still looks badass. Might be suitable for your line of work and will definitely get the other workers talking about it!

But if his watch gets caught on the wrong machine, he'd lose his arm as well

Thats a fashion killer watch i tell ya

That's exactly the problem. I don't even really like wearing long sleeves around some of the saws.

Casio GShock is what you are looking for

Thought it was something like that, probably can take a bust and still looks pretty sweet!

I scored my G-shock on amazon for less than $100 (Canadian), so you could probably find one for.....oh....$30USD?!?

the buckle on my watches strap broke off the other day and i have been so angry since, its infuriating having to pull my phone out of my pocket every single time

Not with that attitude.

Exactly, occasionally i've gotta do things where i'm not allowed or don't want to bring my phone, but my watch, virtually indestructible as it is, is always there

Exactly! And smartwatches may do more today but they divert our attention a lot with notifications. There's a saying about the old school wristwatches: Watches are timeless

totally agree. I wear my watch (Pebble Time) every time except for taking showers and when using my computer. It's like an extended portion of my body.

No, they're a luxury. Unless you live in a place with no phones, computers, or clocks. Then it's a necessity, and you also may have time traveled to the 1960s.

Watch useful to you = likely high tier job and successful person

If you're at a job that requires gloves (be that food prep, chemistry, medicine, or anything else) a wristwatch is a necessity. You can't use your phone as a timepiece. You should never touch your phone with the gloves on, and you don't want to have to keep taking gloves off and putting them off all the time

They're certainly not a necessity.

Unless you're in a job where you're not allowed to bring your phone.

What kind of job is that?

Pretty much depends on where you live, but as a teacher I know for damned sure it'll be a huge problem using a phone while telling the kids not to use their own. Customer service jobs are also not appropriate places for your phone. Then there are the jobs where your phone is at risk of being broken if it's in your pocket.

But.. clocks.

Not accurate, most clocks are set 2 times a year, which is not enough. And they're not actually as ever present as they seem.

My friends make fun of me for wearing a watch, telling me "it's not 1985" and things of that nature, but I feel naked without it.

Your friends sound like hipster assholes.

I own my watch for half a year, and it's already so weird when I don't wear it.

Haha I feel like watches are in style if anything

"The 1980s called, they want their ~~foreign policy~~ fashion accessories back"

It's so much easier to just quickly look at your wrist then it is to pull your phone out of your pocket and turn the screen on.

Main reason I got a smart watch. Even if I have a Bluetooth headset, I still can't tell whose calling unless I bolt for my phone. Now I can just see who's calling from my watch and dismiss it if it's nothing. Same thing for music control, pause, next, back, hit like when playing Pandora, all from the watch. Super useful especially now when there's a snow storm and I'm bundled to shit, I don't have to fumble for my phone with thick gloves.

I habitually check the time, so that sort of easy access is a con for me.

My solution pre cell days was to remove the band and stick it in my pocket; then a pocketwatch. Then cell phones supplanted that need, especially because I started working as a projectionist and needed to see the time in the dark.

If you're looking for recommendations head on over to r/watches.

My problem with /r/watches is that they seem to be VERY elitest about the watches. They also heavily advocate watches I find ugly as sin, and don't recommend fairly priced ones. (I'm not shelling out $75+ without VERY good reason.)

Timex weekender with multiple straps can be had for $50 or so and work with everything. I have a $1200 watch but still rock the weekender from time to time

While I agree (and the Weekender is a classic r/edc favorite) be warned the weekender ticks VERY LOUDLY. Some people love it, some people hate it.

Im currently able to hear my timex ticking from across the room in a box over the sound of my tv. I wish i were joking

I keep two Weekenders, three other quartz Timexes, and about five of their old mechanicals (and they are the loudest mechanjcals I've ever heard, almost as loud as a weekender but 4 ticks per second instead of one) with the rest of my collection, right on my nightstand. I always go to sleep to the ticks.

This is why you get the chronograph version. The seconds hand which causes the ticking is different.

I wear a Timex Chrono everyday to work. Can confirm it is quieter than my regular Weekender and Scout.

The down side is that it's also heavier, not a lot but enough I notice after wearing the regular watches after a while.

Look for the chronograph version or look at the Timex Expedition Scout. Similar prices without the annoying ticking. The only thing is I think the Weekender is a little more versatile.

Timex watches rock. I have this one and it's been through hell and still works. I usually rock my vintage Girard Perregaux, but when things might get rough I always go for the trusty ol' Timex. Being a quartz watch, it's also more accurate than my GP.

A cheap Casio and you are good to go

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Mine finally died a week ago. Best 9.99 I've ever spent.

I was never a watch person until I bought a waterproof cassio for swimming (I think it's the most popular in Amazon), and now I wear it every day! Great value

the store owner reccomend a casio gshock for me.
"buy one, for lifetime". and i bought GA700.
it's not pricey, tough, and looks cool.

I have a cheap Casio analogue watch, does the job.

Also bought a watch from China for less than £2 as a joke which I ended up really liking.

cheaper seikos are decent looking

I understand what you’re saying... but take a look at all the posts of Swatches and timex watches. We love watches and are happy to see just about any of them.

The issue most of us have are with “fashion” watches... your “michael khoors” or whatever.

Youre not spending your money on the craftsmanship or quality. You’re paying for the name. And thats the issue we have. Watches are personal and what one person finds hideous another person finds beautiful. But there is a underlying thing.. mechanical build quality or uniqueness or accuracy that we can compare and when a watch has very little of any of them, and it’s expensive because of the brand name, we do kinda seem “snob ish” because we know, on the whole, there is a better use for the money.

But you can go down a rabbit hole real quick on “budget friendly” watches. Seiko, seagull, swatch, timex, citizen, even entry level luxury/swiss of Hamilton or Tissot are great brands with affordable offerings and quality builds.

Michael khoors

you're doing that gatekeeping thing. Craftsmanship & quality don't buy you a better, more accurate, more reliable watch. A fashion watch or digital quartz at walmart will last just as long as a watchuseek boutique brand, perhaps even longer. As a watch enthusiast you can argue that horological companies have more unique styling, better materials & more solid construction. But those types of aesthetics don't affect the longevity of the wrist piece. If ppl want a blingy rose gold-plated 45mm diver under $200 and Fossil offers it who am i to say it's a waste of their money?

Pick yourself up a Casio F-91W for $10 while you decide on a nicer watch. That's what I did 2 years ago, still haven't bought another watch.

As an “elitist” of this subreddit I can tell you that this subreddit while titled very generally is not for beginner enthusiasts. Mechanical Swiss watches are very very expensive and requires a heavy interest into watches and how they operate to invest the amount of money we do. What I would suggest to you is almost any mechanical/automatic Seiko :). They can be purchased less then $100 and are great. No batteries either since it is automatic. My seikos get worn more then most of my Swiss. Feel free to pm any questions.

A guy who I used to live down the corridor from works for Deloitte. Lots of business management meetings, he consults companies on how to run better etc.

He said his watch cost him £5k. I just burst out laughing and said "who the hell spends 5 grand on a watch?"

He didn't flinch, smirk, nothing. He just calmly said "you don't know watches."

To him it was image. You NEED that expensive suit, shoes, car, watch, bag etc. He said you can't walk in to a meeting with a company and not look the part, like you're successful and make good money because you're good at consulting what they're paying you for.

I bought a watch recently for about $12k, so I would like to offer my 2 cents.

I think its a mistake to assume that just because someone dropped a fair amount of money on a watch, that they view it only as a status symbol or "image booster". Some do, sure.

But there are a ton of watch enthusiasts who genuinely appreciate and find interest in the mechanical complexity of watch movements, and the history of watches.

For him to say "you dont understand watches", I reckon there's a good chance he was the latter. $5k is the price where watch offerings really start to get interesting, to be frank. Though there are some exceptions to the rule.

I think you've missinterperated what I was trying to point out.

He spent £5k on a watch because he pretty much HAD to, not because he appreciates watches, but has had that mentality drilled in to him so he now sees it as normal for him.

He made the comment because I gave the impression that I didn't know watches got that expensive, combined with my lack of understanding of "looks" and "presentation" for his role. And I sincerly don't understand why anyone would spend that much money on something you can't drive.

I mean $12k on a watch is baffling to me and does smack of "because I can" or "because I want people to know I have money" due to self esteem issues, but I can obviously appreciate there are genuine enthusiasts out there. In the same why I can't see why anyone would spend over £1000 for an iPhone with flappy bird on it or whatever that game was called back in the day when the game got taken off the store.

Perception of value I guess. Me spending £1k on a PC is seen as a waste by many, yet those that see it as a waste (mainly women) have no qualms with spending £500 on a new handbag. "I use it everyday" applies to my PC too, and I can do far more with it than a handbag you, let's face it, only use on specific occasions.

Some people spend 50k+ on sports cars -- essentially an appliance to get you from A to B. Is it really that unreasonable to spend 5k on a piece of jewelry?

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For an automatic watch (not battery operated or digital) there most certainly is a difference in functionality between various price points.

High quality movements track time with greater precision, and need fewer corrections. You can get more complications (date, moon phase, stopwatch, alarm, even multiple clocks for different time zones) if you're willing to shell out more money.

The obvious counterpoint is that you can get any of these features on a $20 digital Casio watch. I'd argue that digital watches are a completely different product, just like jeans and a t-shirt are different from a business suit, or a motor scooter is different from a sedan.

Unless you're looking for something very specific, you're right that there probably isn't a whole lot of practical difference between a $500 analogue watch and a $5000 one... but there's a ton of difference between a $20 watch and a $500 one, especially automatic watches.

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A digital watch is the watch equivalent of Crocs and cargo shorts.

Or the watch equivalent of curly shoelaces or velcro shoes.

I swear my 19 year old cousin told me that she prefers digital because analog is hard to read.

But you can also spend 5k on a very nice car.

Most people only spend a few hundred on a watch brand new, and you won't get a very nice car for that much most of the time.

5k on a very nice car? What?

5k can get you a decent car if you bargain hunt like crazy, but it's never going to get you a nice car.

I’ve met plenty of successful consultants who don’t “look the part” like you just described. I think your former neighbor was simply into fashion, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

I used to be like you. I have 6 watches under $100. Then one day I received an automatic watch as a birthday present. Since then it has become my favourite watch. I find myself looking at the time more on my automatic watch just to get a chance to look at the seconds hand. Now I am saving up to buy a Grand Seiko which can cost $1,000+. Also they just feel nice on your wrist

Just get a timex and you're good to go.

Watches really are just fashion accessories like hats or ties. My bum $5 Casio digital tells time as good as an $8000 Rolex, and it's lasted 4 years. You're paying for a bracelet which happens to show time as well

Fun fact: Your Casio runs on a quarz movement, the rolex is an automatic. Said casio tells time better than the rolex since quarz movements are more accurate

Some of us actually appreciate the engineering and craftsmanship that goes into creating nice mechanical watches. It’s much more than “hurr durr I can tell time.”

Yup, I second this. They only seem to be interested in classic expensive branded watches, not fun, quirky, unique or fashionable watches.

A lot of it comes fown to how you view a watch.

Of course some look a lot better than others, but there's more to it.

Maybe you want an atomatic mechanical marvel of engineering with a stopwatch and date function that doesn't run on batteries - of course that's going to be costly.

Go further, like Breitling or the Citizen Nighthawk (or Casio Edifice) and add a sliderule to the equation, maybe even a Tachymeter and/or a secondary time-zone. Of course someone is going to tell you about the Timex Weekender and that it's a good watch, and that's true. But that isn't what the hypothetical watch is about. It's about the precisiom engineering and ingenuity that went into it.

Sometimes it's about having some complications for the sake of having them.

^ Exhibit A.

.

well, cheapest watch i own is around 40 bucks and i browse /r/Watches. As long as it has a seiko or other well known movement you should be good to go. It's explicitly stated in their buyers guide that you don't need $300+ watches for the most accurate time.

$12 sinobi watch is the best watch I have ever owned. Never broken and I'm an avid camper and surfer. Other watches do not even compare in price to performance/looks

There's elitism in virtually every specialized sub.

They are watch enthusiasts though, so that’s why.

But I agree with some of the heavily recommended models. Basically everything Casio makes is ugly.

Everyone should get a Speedmaster

This guy /r/watches

Nah that's for poor people. Go for patek.

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Glad I am not the only one who immediately thinks of Brady when people talk about speedmasters.

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First advice is buying a watch from a watch company, not a fashion company.

You could buy a Diesel, Armani or Hugo Boss watch for $500 and get ripped of in the process, paying for nothing but branding.

First try to fix a budget, find a style you like (casual, dressy, field, pilot, diver...) then what are you expecting with your watch : infinite battery, chronograph, status symbol, novelty, interseting look ?

PM me if you want some advice, I'm not an expert but an enthusiast and I'll gladly help you find something!

Plus if you get a nice looking one it can really boost your look

Got like a super cool skeletal watch from amazon for like 30 bucks! It looks really cool and quality is okay! I'm not a crazy watch fanatic or have high standards, so even if it's made in china or w/e, loved the buy.

Awesome! Mind putting up the link?

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Is there a catch or something? How much is the shipping usually?

That Scheletro watch that's currently free+$9 shipping (he said he paid $9) is $0.40 on aliexpress+$2.51 shipping. $6.09 profit for the site. That's the catch. This isn't some pricing error or super sale. Watches are cheap to make and shitty watches are even cheaper.

I'd link it but reddit will auto-delete my comment. Search for 'watch' on aliexpress and sort by cheapest.

Nope, I just payed with their Paypal checkout option to insure my purchase. I was a little skeptical too, but it actually came like they said it would. The shipping was like 9 bucks-ish. But it was a small price to pay for my, now, everyday watch. I think what they're doing is stellar!

Well, that the shipping is 9 bucks is the catch. I've seen hundreds of e-commerce shopify stores doing this and they wouldn't do free watches if they would get losses. Heck, I'm 100 per cent positive that they are dropshipping those watches straight from aliexpress. Checkout on FB dropshipping groups, you will find thousands of similar stores like this.

I'm a bit into watches and to be honest i'd recommend a cheap watch for day to day use. The only time i wear expensive watches is when i wear a suit. But usually i wear a cheap one so i don't care if it's not as water proofed as advertised or i scratch it. And my cheap timex watch ( i think i got it for about 40 bucks) has a few scratches after a few years of use but it still works great. But those scratches would really bother me on an expensive watch.

I second skeleton watches. Sure they’re not flashy like solid colors but you will definitely catch people’s attention who want to get a closer look and see what the hell is on your wrist.

Also good for this is removing all notifications on your phone. Check texts once every hour or two, calls still come through, check individual apps when you have time. I went from twitchy without my phone to not really caring if I had it on me or not almost overnight.

Deffo gonna second that phone comment. It's all too easy to get sucked into it when you grab it out to check the time. I have a nice looking Seiko 5, I think it's the SNKE 81J1, and it really has helped. It runs about 1 second a day fast, which is similar to the G-Shock I used for a while, which is astounding for something with no quartz or anything in it.

And you can mod the heck out of it too

You people have problems getting sucked into your phone so easy.

It's a rabbit hole. Check the time, see discord has pinged you, check discord, hang around the server for a bit, switch to reddit once it slows down a but and there goes an hour.

I've also gotten better at not getting sucked in as a whole, but it's certainly a good idea to just not check your phone at all if you can.

I'm not a watch person but I have a smart watch. I'm not really supposed to have my phone on me at work, but it's in my bag within range. So I can always get any urgent messages (which is pretty much the only notification that comes through to my watch) but it's never a distraction.

Plus it records my steps, heart rate, has a timer (which can be handy for me at work), a calculator (cause my mental arithmetic sucks), and more.

So it comes in very handy day to day.

What kind do you have?

A Samsung Gear S2. I've had the Gear S1, LG G Watch R, and the Sony Smartwatch 2 (pre-android wear).

I miss my watch. Still regret letting my dad try to "fix" the thing. Let's just say he likes to use hammers to fix things.

All he needed to do was replace the battery, I would've done it myself, but he insisted, and I ended up with a broken watch. That was 2 years ago, really need to get another one.

I still have a tendency to shake my wrist in order to check if I remembered to wear my watch.

I highly recommend turning off push notifications for anything that isn't a direct message of some kind, or an alarm. EG leave on WhatsApp, text messages, phone calls etc, and turn off Facebook, Instagram, any games. Life is so much better when the only time that my phone buzzes me is when there's something on the other end, or I've set myself a timer/alarm.

I've started doing this as well!

Hey yo, Paulie. If you wanna have a good time, you gotta have a good watch.

I never wore a watch until I went to sea and I never had my phone on me anymore. Got frustrated at having to ask what time it was constantly for breaks, watch hours etc. So first port we stopped in I went and got myself a cheap digital watch. Now I'm shore based but I still wear a watch all the time altho now I've switched to a Samsung Gear S3, but also have nicer more "classic" looking watches I like to wear every now and then.

I can’t agree more.

Unfortunately my watch was just stolen so I’m on the verge of a meltdown.

I get irrationally angry whenever I forget my watch and go to check the time. Such a little thing but I use it all the time, especially at work where I have a different schedule daily so need to really be on top of things

What kind of apps give you frequent enough notifications that you have a new one every time you check the time?

Mainly social media, email, and a news app I have. I know I can just ignore them but I had a problem for a while haha

People look at me like I’m so weird when I say how I’m much less anxious after getting a clock to hang on the wall above the TV. No more reaching for my phone every five seconds when I’m just trying to watch a show before I have to go somewhere.

I got a watch just for work, but being able to just glance down and see the time has been so nice, I think I’ll start wearing it when I go out places too so I don’t have to keep taking my phone out of my pocket.

Why not turn off notifications. Real life saver.

I love having a watch, function and fashion. Plus being able to keep track of time when on the water is a must have.

Apple Watch, best of both worlds. Get the time and the notification, but the watch can’t adequately get you sucked in. Only downside is the price

And the square face (I'm just not a fan of those) and the fact that I don't have an iphone haha. But I do think smart watches are pretty cool!

I love my smart watch. Give me the time but also can check notifications on my phone with it without pulling out my phone. Reply to the important things from the watch. Cuts down on my phone being pulled out and using it to waste time

I detest the sensation of something wrapped around my wrist. It’s one of the most uncomfortable non-painful daily feelings I can imagine. Thank god for cellphones, or I’d never know what time it is.

I was right there with you for a long time. Can't remember what got me to switch though

I work in a restaurant - having a watch with a timing bezel is really handy. I noticed that I saved a whole lot of battery by not lighting up the screen every few minutes and ignoring the notifications like you did. Plus it's a lot quicker and you don't have to fear dropping you phone when you're in a rush. Also having a water resistant watch for mornings when you're running late so you don't stay too long in the shower is a godsend. There's just a whole lot of handy uses for a watch, no doubt.

As a bonus, it can be an ice breaker. I get a lot of customers who has cool watches and saying "Hey, is that an Omega Speedmaster Mark IV?" is a sure way to get them to open up.

Mine's been out of commission for a few months. I only just got it back on the 29th I think, already changed my life. although I DID have to get used to it again.

Go the extra mile and get a waterproof wristwatch. I only remove mine whenever i get out of the shower to dry the wrist underneath. Otherwise i keep it on during all activities, swimming, diving, hiking, whatever.

I'm a regular time keeping cyborg as far as I'm concerned.

For me it became a habit to check my watch, one day my watch broke, and for the week before I got a new one, I'd still wear it and check it just out of habit, even though it wasn't displaying the time.

Agreed. Went too far though and now I have 18.

For the same reason isn't Facebook on my phone anymore

I've been thinking about doing this as well. I keep hearing how nice it is

Wow. I thought watches were dead and now they're making a comeback!

I like my Pebble because it helps me determine whether or not it's actually worth pulling out my phone

Always admired fancy watches, but didn't have the moolah for a Rolex so never got one. Though I'm a big Superdry fanboy, and saw a watch of theirs in duty free in an airport. Rubber black thing. Wear a lot of wristbands so it fit.

God, it changed my life

100% agree with this. I have a watch on every time I leave the house.

This is why I like my smart watch. I can check the time and weather. If I get a text, I can see the name and if it's not important, I ignore it.

I love having a watch but buying one is so hard for me because my taste in watches is so particular. I had one watch for a really long time and I broke it and haven’t gotten another because there’s not another I like. I don’t really want another of the first one either

Dude, the band on my smart watch broke and I'm so missing it!

I was going to say a stupid watch. I just bought a simple casio diver and I love it. I use the diver timer function all the time when I cook and it looks nice. People compliment me on it often and it is a $50 watch, nothing crazy. I guess the 'life-changing' aspect is subtle, maybe I feel more like a real grown-up. Or more on top of my shit or something, but it has really positively impacted my life. Oh, I also am obsessed with watches now and regularly drool over posts on r/watches and deeply covet a certain longines watch that is about $2000 so I guess there are negatives too.

I’ve always loved watches and lately I’ve been on a Casio digital kick, especially g shocks. Honestly, I could keep buying watches for the rest of my life. G shocks are the best bang for your buck; hell any Casio is.

Yes! I have one too

  • First we took the watch out of the pocket and put it on our wrist.

  • Then we put the watch in the phone so we wouldn't have to wear a watch.

  • Then we put the phone in a watch so we wouldn't have to pull out the phone. And now watches are back in vogue.

Things are coming full circle...

I think next we'll have watches that are the size and shape of smart phones, and all they do is tell time

Already been done with the pipboy and Nintendo glove.

Well just be repeating the cycle again!

Your logic in reverse is why I bought smartwatch.

It's also way easier to surreptitiously glance at your watch in the middle of a coversation than it is to pull our your phone to check the time.

I have a smartwatch so I can have the both!

Never wore a watch before I went to basic training for the army- after not having a phone you realize how important the time is and how much you rely on it/check it. I'll never go a day without wearing a watch again. Changed my life

I HATE when I forget to wear a watch anymore. I used to never wear them and my wife gave me one and I've been hooked since.

Just yesterday I had gloves and shit on and couldn't get to my phone without getting it dirty and I needed to know the time. Right there.on my arm. Boom time.

Plus you look like much less of an asshole glancing at your watch than pulling at your phone if you are chatting with someone or at work.

Completely agree. I work outside and I constantly have gloves on, or my hands are just covered in dirt/dust/mud. I'm not about to get that shit all over my phone

[typing from reddit mobile]

Haha that's exactly right

RIP Pebble smartwatch. I'm wearing my Pebble 2 until it turns to dust.

I haven't had a watch since I took mine off in 8th grade gym class and someone stole it. I didn't want to waste my allowance and I had a cell phone by then, so I just never got around to replacing it and eventually got used to living without it. I got a fitbit for Christmas this year and it's so fucking convenient having the time right there on my wrist and not having to ask my boyfriend for the time or dig around in my purse for my phone. I will never not have a watch again.

But take it off at night and leave it out of reach, along with phones. SO was tested for sleep apnea after I was diagnosed with it (breathing issues); hers was entirely behaviorial because she'd wake up and check the time so regularly, her sleep cycles changed to accommodate that pattern.

To add to this: I never wore watches but I now have a fitness tracker that doubles as a watch. Now I love having the time on my wrist while also tracking exercise.

And you get to say "time to get a watch!" whenever your friends ask for the time

Haha easily one of my favorite things about having one. It's gotten so bad that when strangers ask me what time it is my response is usually like: " time for... uh it's 3:45" because I have to suppress it

I LOVE my Casio F-91W, and it was like right bucks shipped. Low profile, super light. I never take it off

I love watches. Very stylish and nice to look at.

Also, analog watches are great. Digital ones have a lot more features such as alarms and stuff, but if you have a hard time reading analog, get an analog watch so you have to learn how to read it. They tend to be more beautiful than some greenish-gray background with black numbers over it, too.

I totally agree. Just recently got myself a Skagen Signatur. Super simple but very stylish imo

When I got my latest phone it came with a free smart watch. It's changed my life more than any other gadget.

Rather than take my phone my phone out, check for notifications, browse Reddit for a few minutes, put it away (wasting probably hours of my day every day), I just look at my watch. No notifications? Cool, phone stays in pocket. Unimportant notification? Phone stays in pocket.

This is actually the reason I’m considering a smart watch. I also want to get more into following how active my body is and how many steps I take, but now the job I work has a uniform without pockets so I can’t carry my phone for that. I’d get a Fitbit but for just a little bit more I can just get the watch that has more integration with my apps.

I have a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date Just that cost a couple grand. It is constantly wrong and Rolex wants 875.00 for a tune up. I bought a G-Shock Flight Master (or something) two years ago. I wear the G-Shock 99% of the time and only bust out the Rolex when I'm getting dressed up. I never worry about the G-Shock because it's tough as s!

Edit - the G-shock was like 150 on amazon.

Heated mattress pad.

Will change your life forever.

Can confirm!

My brother bought it and it's a huge difference. No more cold bedsheets when entering your bed. It's immediately comfortable and turns itself off so you don't sweat at night.

This with some really good pillow and blanket will make you fall asleep almost immediately.

But cold bedsheets are the best!! (to a point anyway).

And I always turn the pillow over through the night to get a new fresh cold side.

They’re nice when it’s not already cold in your house. I hate going poop in the mornings because I don’t want to sit on a cold toilet seat.

I need to have the toilet seat cold. I don’t like sitting on a warm one.

A warm toilet seat, especially in public bathrooms, makes me think of who else was just s(h)itting there. :/ I'd have to say I prefer cold as well.

Same. It's sort of like what the kid in American Vandal said, except in this case the seats aren't squishy:

"Its like sitting on another butthole, and when you poop you're pooping into another butthole."

One of the most scarring experiences of my life was stopping at a rest stop during a road trip from Dallas to Colorado. We reallly had to pee, and it was like 20 degrees outside because it was December and pretty late at night. This rest stop was basically a shed with some toilets in it. The walls didn't even go all the way up to the ceiling, so it was the same temp inside the building as it was outside. And the toilets were METAL.

METAL TOILETS. And they were too high for my short ass to squat over without touching. It's been almost 15 years and I've still never recovered.

As a big fat guy, I have a fan blowing on me in the winter when I sleep, heat is evil. My fat stores it way too easily and I get skin rashes from it

There is a kind of baby powder which cools your body. Will also help against your rashes. Powder y'up!

I sweat as is, no matter the situation? I'd like a sweat proof thing in the bed?

There are waterproof mattress liners, that you can take off and wash, and your sweat won't soak into the mattress

We have thick Korean blankets in our home. It does a fantastic job also.

I thought I couldn't get any sweatier.

I'm a warm sleeper, but sometimes my feet are cold at night even when I'm like at or near sweating from the knees up underneath a comforter. My suggestion get a $25 electric blanket, and wrap the bottom 20% of your mattress with it, warming just the feet area. The heat will also go up comforter, but in a way that feels far more nature, and won't cause you to wake up in the middle of the night freezing, covered in cold sweat, because your electric blanket turned off 30 minutes ago, and before it did you were 120 degrees under your comforter.

I'm also a warm sleeper. It's currently -18° F here outside as I lay here in bed, and I have my fan blowing on me still.

I am a cold sleeper. 18 F here. Have the heater vent blocked, window still has the a/c unit in. Ceiling fan is on. I have a sheet and a ligjt quilt and am very comfortable. Also, if the air gets hot I start feeling as if I can't breath.

.... you two are using opposite terms to describe the same trait.

You like to sleep in cold rooms because you always feel warm when in bed.

No. I don't always feel warm in bed. In fact I have nightmares if I am too warm. I usually throw off the blankets unless the room is icy. I don't get hot. I just like being cold. My normal body temp is 97.4 to do 97.6. My basal temp lingers around 95.

If I get hot while awake I will get sick. I puke if I take too hot a shower.

I guess what I am trying to say is I am heat intolerant.

Edit : my thyroid and BP are normal.

Unless you’re warm? I’m warm 🔥

I'm the same way. I sleep in a summer blanket year round in Denver, usually with the heat off at night in the winter. My ideal temperate is around 65 without a blanket and as low as fifties with a down blanket.

My fiancee gets cold, so we have a fuzzy hot water bottle that we fill with water from an electric kettle. It's a win-win.

Lived in the mountains. Best gift I ever received. Only downside was trouble getting out of bed on cold days

Omg yes!! I’m always cold, but my fiancé is always hot. It has duel controls so I can be toasty but he can stay cool. Plus our room gets cold in the winter so I can preheat my sheets 😍

My wife loves to preheat the sheets before he bedtime routine. I will turn off my side before I get in bed, and usually there is enough radiant heat from her side to make me stick out a leg.

We also have a pretty bomb duvet that is crazy warm.

I’m always cold, but my fiancé is always hot. It has duel controls so I can ~~be toasty but he can stay cool.~~

choose whether to settle the blanket debate by pistols or swords...

Ah, damn. Touché

Indeed. Came here to add this one. Never feel the cold, bony, icy fingers of death wrapping around your legs when you climb into bed again.

Yah I’ve had both this and a heated blanket. I choose this over it.

We put a heated blanket under our fitted sheet...

How is that? Have you used a regular mattress pad to compare?

I haven’t. We have a Purple mattress with their mattress protector and their stretchy sheets. We put a Sunbeam heater blanket over the mattress protector and under the fitted sheet about a half a foot up from the foot of the bed. This allows it to focus on our lower backs down to our legs.

We love it! It’s he best mattress we’ve ever owned and the heat is just game changing.

got experience with particular model?

Costco has Sunbeam models for about $80 for queen size. Maybe a little more for king. I’ve used the same one for over 5 years and just recently had to swap it out when the latest run through the wash made one of the prongs turn the wrong way or something so it no longer plugged in right.

Anything above full size has dual zones so you and your spouse/significant other/dog can have different temperatures going on. There’s a 10 hour timer which you can turn off (not recommended due to fire hazard but it’s possible). Goes from LO to “pleasantly warm” 1 to “my body is melting” 9 and has a HI setting too.

Best use is to set it on like 6-8 about an hour before you go to bed, then decrease to 4-6 when you get in. Now you’re in a warmed-up bed and it will turn off right when your own body temperature starts spiking in the morning.

My wife just bought the Sunbeam one for me (us, really), for Christmas. It is pretty awesome.

Also... 3 is my magic number on that thing. Subtlety is key.

We got this plus a memory foam topper. Never want to get out of bed.

Unless you sleep warm. Do they make cooled ones?

This. Am super duper comfy while waiting for the New England version of bombogenesis/ snowmageddon.

I'm with ya bud. Got my mattress pad heated and just waiting for the fun to start. We're about a mile off the coast and 5 miles south of Boston so we are in the fun zone!

I'm just south of you in northern RI, also known as the 12-18" snow zone according to the weather channel. Power outages are on the way, but I'm sure we'll be fine since we have bread and milk!

Cape checking in for duty.

Good luck and godspeed, ya bastiges.

I had one and thought it was the duck's guts until some of the wires cracked from being bent with a human on top and I ended up getting tiny shocks. I thought it was pinpricks or something sharp in the bed, but it wasn't long before I saw the tiny burn marks all over it. I don't think there exists an inexpensive solution to this (all wire will eventually break if it's flexed enough.)

I live in the South and during the 2 months of the year that it's cold, I have cheap natural gas heating.

No thanks. I already wake up sweating.

But what if you shit all over it?

Unless you have a furnace for a boyfriend. I find myself freezing in the living room. But man, coming to bed unless I only have a light blanket on in the middle of the night I'm roasting until the "furnace" (who only uses the top sheet) gets up to go to work. >.>

But in most cases, I agree. Lol

Much better than electric blanket.

This sounds like a skinny person thing. That sounds horrible. And I live in Colorado.

Great in the winter, also helps a ton with my chronic pain.

A ~~personal massager~~ vibrator.

Hitachi Magic Wand

I hear this a lot. What is so great about it?

They are powerful and reliable.

[deleted]

1400 horseforce.

How many horseforce in one horsepower?

That's like 12000 ducks.

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Honestly I found the cord the best part of the Hitachi. All of the battery-powered ones I've owned get like, one or two uses before you have to replace them.

Maybe you should stop masturbating for hours on end?

/s

Hey I'm powerful and reliable too but nobody wants to buy me

don't forget magic

GF found it hard to achieve orgasm unless hitting around 45 - 60 mins stimulation. I bought her a magic wand and POW orgasm almost on demand !

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Ah, the Hitachi. They know the way of the samurai.

Holy shit, that's a long time O.o
How great for your gf that you found something that works :)

I smell sarcasm and personal attack.

Wasn't intended that way though :)

Okay, my bad then!

No problem - it can be really difficult to tell in text :)

It's difficult to smell words tbf

I read this as "Prisoner of War" orgasm

I'm always a little afraid to bring toys in for fear that she'd prefer it over me, I want to get better and i feel like that precludes any chances of that

I totally get that concern, it's a getting normal feeling. But ask yourself if you would ever stop wanting sex because there's a toy that replicates it but even better. There's more to sex than just stimulating your penis or vagina. The human connection is a very real part of it.

Oh, absolutely, it's just insecurity on my part. I probably wouldn't say no to it if i was in a situation where 45-60 minutes were required since at that stage it's like... clearly shit's not working

Man, whenever I read shit like this is makes me feel very grateful for having a gf that can orgasm at the drop of a hat. Like, 5 minutes out of me is 2-3 O's for her.

It's one of the most popular wand style sex toys, very recognizable brand name. While a good option, it can be beat at its own game for a better price. Ultimately I would recommend percussive vibrators over buzzy ones.

Can you link me an example?

This all you need to know: sex therapists consider it the number one aid for anorgasmic women.

Very effective. Look up Hysterical Literature on YouTube for some fun visual proof.

Are you sure you mean youtube and not like... pornhub or something?

https://youtu.be/PQuT-Xfyk3o

NSFW, obvs

I love this series! Thank you for reminding me

Shot and clothed from the waist up

The wife can't get enough of hers.

Neither can I.

Why are you using his wife's magic wand?

Is that even a question?

oh, my goodness...

It's seriously in the buyitforlife category, for terms of how well "it works" as well as the durability of the product. Don't get a knock-off. You know how there's that "they just don't make ____ like they used to?" This is that product. It's a game changer.

Never have to replace the batteries as it plugs into the wall

It also has male attachments. If a guy, get the male sleeve. You'll see why women like these wands so much.

What is so great about it?

It plugs into the wall. Seriously. Lots of power and it will run for as long as you want. The only problem is it needs an adjustable speed beyond low/high.

I bought my ex girlfriend one and used it on her the first time, she literally had an orgasm within 30 seconds. I've bought them for multiple partners, 11/10 would recommend

You don't even need to get the hitachi one, they are way overpriced. You can get wand vibrators for much cheaper. I got an unbranded one from amazon for about £20

So your way of breaking up is to buy them a vibrator and slip out the door?

https://store.doxymassager.com/collections/frontpage

If you really love her...get her a proper one (the Hitachi tend to not work when converted to EU power range)

Just a good dependable vibrator

Great if you need to shake a filling loose. ;)

Very powerful, and it plugs in. I've had mine for years.

No batteries either.

Every lady friend I've gifted one has given it glowing reviews and thanked me profusely. All ladies should have one.

You can gift me one if you want too!

Really easy to clean, too. The surface of the business end cleans easily with water and a cloth.

I can stop over and show you

Idk but one time one of my ex pulled it out and asked me to keep going at her with that. Kind of weird since she usually ran off crying after 20m to now after 40m wanting to add in toys. I must have done something right that night haha

Edit: at first I felt bad then I thought it was hilarious. She'd say something like she wasn't attractive enough hop out if my dick and run off to cry. I found our later she's one of those girls who sex becomes painful after a while. That day I hit all her right notes. I just thought it was funny she was so used to two pump chums she thought I was just dicking her and she couldn't make me cum.

Get the knock-off for $30. Life changer. I love mine.

That's how you get your balls electrocuted

Nahhhh. Perfectly safe :)

You have to remember to put in the crystals, tho.

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Which movie? I’m curious now!

The Bee Movie

Napoleon Dynamite

Napoleon Dynamite!

Milk the almonds too

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Read a manga about a dude whose balls got electrocuted by some massage pad thing. Gave him super sex powers. 7/10

I need a name

Sweet Guy Manhwa/ Manga

Thanks

While you're at it also read Brawling Go.

kind of same premise but longer read.

Thank you for the suggestion

I agree with your rating.

I felt that the story was rushed over to end.

[deleted]

Look at this guy cranking it without a vibrator lashed to his sack. Plebian

That's a feature

You're saying it like it's a bad thing.

They don't call it a knock-off for nothin'!

Immediately the link is NSFW, but this is the one to get: https://www.extremerestraints.com/wand-massagers_83/super-charged-thunderstick-power-wand_7680.html

Don't buy another knock off.

What's the knock-off version?

Hitachi doesn't make them any more, so they are all knock offs at this point.

The motor on my knockoff died within a week. Used it twice.

Must have been quite a night!

My personal favorite is this. This bitch lasted me two years of daily use and the only reason I need to replace it is because it stopped charging. Well worth the money.

I used to sell these. The full size ones are well worth the money. The mini ones aren’t worth the batteries you put in them but still cost around $10-20. Definitely splurge and get a full sized one if you get one.

If I buy the full size one I will definitely splurge.

I think you mean you will definitely splooge.

Bf just got his yesterday. Holy fuck.

Our knock off lasted a whole 2 months. And not even being used regularly. After the 2nd use we smelled a burning smell, and shortly after that (maybe 3-4 more times) it completely shorted out.

Turned around and bought a real hitachi and its still going strong after 3+ years. And it's not much more $$.

Official for 60

Link, for later?

I've purchased a knock off and they do not compare.

Get the real deal for $70. It's worth it.

are they produced by the same company that made the Xbox 360 disc readers?

Those things were shit. Destroyed my poor copy of GTA V

It destroyed literally every game I ever owned for that console.

So it destroyed 1 or 2 games and you kept putting them in just to see what would happen? At a certain point you have no one to blame but yourself.

First of all, I was a kid. Second of all, what was I supposed to do? It's a console, you have to put a disk in it to play the game.

How loud are these things?

I want to get one for my wife bit we live in a small apartment with two kids.

It isn't the sound of the wand that'll keep the neighbors up.

Generally the adjustable ones go from pretty quiet to loud as hell depending on what strength you use. You could probably cover any sound with some blankets if need be.

Most things from Lelo are great as well.

Or as my friends call it, the hitachi hammer of God.

Second this. 6 years, still like brand new.

Female, and recommend this a million times. Seriously, every female in the world should get these for free. Can you imagine the level of happiness around the world if they did? I wish I'd gotten mine sooner.

Wingardium leviosa.

You spelled chainsaw wrong

Not a fan. Not strong enough. Feel free to refer to my recent comments for more deets and comparisons

I see you watch ave

i don't know what that is.

Cordless!! It’s absolutely amazing. Nothing better

Made of chineseum

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they have attachments that slip over the end you can use..

Either way, just press the head of the thing against the shaft of your dick, and you'll do just fine..

I would like to also recommend the Eroscillator. Look into it. LIFE CHANGER! :)

They have an amazing price range, though. I have a damned good bullet vibe that was like $7. But then there are also really good ones over $100! It's interesting.

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I don’t like getting tangled in cords.

That's a fetish!

You must not like tentacle porn...

Cheap ones tend to vibrate differently, and have less speeds. Think less vibration and more of a buzzzzzzz.

I have a $10 rip off hitachi. Love it, wish i hadnt lost the charger.

Where'd you get your bullet vibe?

Every product you buy is like this. Price difference can be due to higher quality manufacturing, but also to production volume, length of supply chain, wholesale / retail margins, market positioning, etc. The actual cost of materials and labor is less than 10% of the retail price for many objects you buy.

Even if the title read "Serious" on it I would have posted the same thing

I don't see how that's not serious

I bought the Hitachi Magic Wand Original, after getting assured by Hitachi it would work fine with an adapter (I’m in Australia).

It crapped itself on the third go, smoking from the adapter and all. Little did I know there’s small text in the warranty thing that says your warranty is void when used in countries outside of where it was purchased.

So then I decided to buy a rechargeable vibrator. I bought the Shibari Halo... 8 awesome speeds (technically 2 speeds and 6 vibration patterns). Super great vibrations. Waterproof. Rechargeable, AND the charging cable is a USB so I charge it off my laptop. I found it on Amazon for like $80 shipped to Australia. Best vibrator ever.

How long do you use it on your back for? I'm ticklish back there and afraid.

Also why waterproof? Do you massage your neck in the rain ?

I’m scared to answer this seriously in case I get r/woosh ed

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But it is also really fucking nice on your back. Just don't be surprised if your missus gets bored of massaging your back and wants to have sex with you :(

Oh no, not sex!

after getting assured by Hitachi it would work fine with an adapter (I’m in Australia).

It's a 120v device, were you using a plug adapter or a step down transformer?

Uhhh. It said it would allow 120v devices to work on a 220-240v outlets... So I think a step down transformer?

Huh odd, it should have worked then.

I’m pretty sure it worked two or three times, then stopped, made a popping noise, and smelled like smoke. Really don’t want that near my coochie hooch.

FOR THE VAGINA??????????

A vibrator during sex makes things WAY better for everyone involved.

Graduated to the womanizer in my house. Next level from the wand.

For what it's worth, if anyone reading objects to the Womanizer's name enough to boycott it, the Satisfyer and the Lelo Sona also work on the same principle. I've got the latter, and it's literally perfect.

I bought one for my gf as a Valentine's day present. It was...greatly appreciated :)

Got a Womanizer for my wife, but sadly, it doesn't do it for her. Makes really strange noises too.

I find that wives often make really strange noises. The trick is learning to interpret them.

Mine goes "FOFUKSAEXKLEENUPHAFTAYOSAYLF" all the time... haven't managed to get that one yet

We-Vibe Touch. Waterproof, re-chargeable, and, uh... very efficient.

I've always wondered, are there any straight guys who use vibrators? I mean there's dudes who don't mind getting fingered by their gf, the prostate is supposed to be an orgasmatron imperium from what i hear.

I don’t think it’s recommended to use a vaginal vibrator for anal. There’s prostate massagers, vibrating butt plugs etc. Basically, it’s not made for you ass, don’t put it up there!
i hope no one ever finds my reddit account

It also works for massaging non-genital areas~

Woah really?

It's almost like that was the original intention.

The wired Hitachi has absolutely changed the game for my sex life/masturbation. At $60 (like half the price of the wireless one), why the fuck did I not buy this sooner?

It also really does help when my shoulders hurt!

Breh, I could get like 3 things from bad dragon for 200. Idk what I'd do with them though. Probably just put them on a shelf to look at.

I’ve always wanted to order from Bad Dragon but I’m in Australia and even one toy including shipping and the conversion rates equate to like $200 :(

Wait for black Friday My man, got 2 toys, a vibe and lube for like 250

For one thing?? Rip

One with a kick start.

Agreed. My life was drastically made happier with a serious investment into a couple of $80+ personal massagers.

Sex toys make me really jealous of women. I've tried fleshlights and tenga and a few other similar products. They just aren't that great and definitely not worth the cleanup and maintenance.

Don't get too carried away in jealousy; I'd wager that many women would trade vibrators for the near-guarantee of reaching climax during every intercourse that men largely enjoy.

Hm... Hmmmm... I wanted to stick to good old polishing my shaft manually, but since everyone supports it this much... How does guy use it?

Underside of the head, you'll know when you've found a good spot for you. I think this advice is more life-changing for women than for men, though, since men usually don't have much difficulty getting off.

I'll stick with my stick then.

JimmyJane form 3. Hands down the best bang for my buck.

Multi-use gadgets are the best kind

I gave my girlfriend one. She named it "Richter".

any vibrator is good

A handheld steamer- bought for $25- has changed my "getting ready in the morning" game forever. I cannot think of a reason to own an iron anymore and it just works so damn well.

Edit: mine is the "Little Steamer Go-Mini." Only advice I'd give is not to use tap water in it if you have hard water. I occasionally have had to clean out the vents due to clogging.

I have a steamer which I use to clean the house but it also has a clothing attachment. How the hell is it supposed to work? I steamed my shirt so much it was actually wet before giving up and using an iron instead. What am I doing wrong?

Not OP, but I'll try to help! At the risk of sounding pedantic (I don't know how you're steaming it at the moment), put the garment on a hanger, put on an oven mitt on your non-dominant hand, then steam the garment, using the mitt to 'air' the fabric as you go so the steam only goes through it rather than soaking it.

It's pretty much the go-to for clothing stores.

Sorry if that's what you're already doing and I'm just talking nonsense!

Yeah, ours came with a heat-proof silicon glove which you hold behind the material as you go. I was always bad at ironing shirts, it'd take me about 10 minutes in a good run! This is much faster.

Mine came with a flimsy silver glove, it'd get my hand burnt before even a single garment was done, which was a joke.

Steaming garments is so much better, I don't think I can go back to ironing boards. My girlfriend occasionally wishes we still had an iron and board, so she can press the pleats into some of her pants; she'll have to make do for now.

[deleted]

This might be what she's been missing all this while. Thanks so much!

Definitely trying this.

Not entirely sure how you're using it, but when I tried steaming dress clothes for the first time, the same thing happened to me.

Turns out I was just holding the wand too close to the fabric. You want the steam to flow through the fabric, so it needs to be close, but if you hold it too close -- e.g., right up against the fabric as you would with an iron -- there's too much water vapor concentrated across too few stitches of fabric, so the moisture gets caught in there. If you hold the wand at a slightly greater distance, the water vapor mixes with more air before hitting your clothes.

Also, pro tip: start from the bottom of the garment and work your way up. Heat rises, so the higher portions of your garment will get hit with some of the steam that's already passed through the lower portions. This helps to prevent dampening, and it can be a real time saver if you're in a rush getting dressed.

That one I'm not sure on unfortunately. It would depend on the unit. Mine has a single chamber in which you pour your water. Plugged in, a metal coil in the center heats up and causes the water vapor to come out vents at the end of the unit's "nose," which has a flat surface I can drag almost directly across the surface of clothes. If you can get something like an ironing board on the wall I'm sure it would help but in my case I just have a hanger attached to the top of the bathroom door, bent so that shirts or pants sit flush with the door.

Hasn't yet caused issues with my door but it's something to consider.

What steamer are you using to clean hard surfaces in your house? The options I've seen are crappy and <6oz, or $130. Nothing local available. Will have to buy online.

I got one from Kogan with all sorts of attachments, it was 60 bucks (AUD) on sale, down from 150.

Need a video of how to use it properly

Honestly, I just threw a hanger over the top of my door, twisted the metal so that any clothes are flush with the door, and use that as a flat surface. Something like an ironing board on the wall would be great but I don't have it in my present setup.

I just treat the Steamer like an iron, only the "ironing" is vertical. I find it easier, less hassle, no risk of burning anything either (except your skin- folks, steam is hot).

I used to iron, too. Then I started throwing whatever clothes I'm gonna wear each morning into the dryer, while I shower. 15 minutes later, I'm out of the shower, and the clothes are wrinkle-free.

That really runs up your electricity bill.

About 8 cents a day (gas dryer). For my wife's and my clothes - rather than ironing them.

If we ironed each individual article of clothing, it would come out about the same for the electricity used to run the iron. And we'd have to stand there ironing each thing - which takes time.

Even if the iron ran on free electricity, it'd be well worth the 8 cents for all the time it saves me by just throwing it all in the dryer for 15 minutes.

I wish my dryer would do that. Moved into a new spot recently and the washer/dryer are much smaller than before. Without fail, the dress shirts come out in varying states of wrinkled-ness. Feels like it takes close to an hr to iron ~ 10 shirts and several pairs of pants.

Feels like it takes close to an hr to iron ~ 10 shirts and several pairs of pants.

Yeah, it's infuriatingly time-consuming.

(nice Monopoly name, btw)

I used to do this, but now I live in a place where the shower is on the second floor and the dryer is in the basement.

My shower's on the first floor. My dryer's in the basement. But... so is my ironing board. So it's still worth it.

I've gotten to where I don't own a lot of clothes that need to be ironed. I wait until I have a whole pile of them, then take them to the basement and iron them while watching tv.

However, thanks to this thread, I'm about to buy a clothes steamer!

My reason to own an iron is sewing! You need to press your seams

And collars. And cuffs. And pleats. My shirts would look sloppy as fuck without an iron. They’re not just for removing wrinkles.

I've gotten some mileage by steaming my collars but I do have a few shirts that need a lot more work in that department. I do think an iron would be more effective.

Any thoughts on a decent iron? The ones I see are flyweight, never get hot, and leak.

Otherwise, I agree. Half of sewing is pressing.

Any recommendation on brand? I iron a shirt every morning and this intrigues me but there are a million on Amazon.

Mine was "Little Steamer Go-Mini." I've owned two in the last decade, the first shorting out in a power surge. My only real issue with it thus far is that it controls overheating by turning off and on every four minutes or so (and not for longer than a minute) but this is a small issue, especially at the $20 price mark.

Link...?

Can't find any link that isn't crazy long for some reason but it's called "My Little Steamer Go-Mini." Seems to go for $20 these days.

You can use a URL shortener. I recommend Google's.

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Oh yeah, duh lol

I've wondered how to do that. Thanks mate

If you're on desktop, check out the 'Formatting help' button below the text box for replies. Lots of useful stuff.

Aren't URL shorteners banned site wide?

I think they are only banned for submissions, not comments

This is my favorite brand too! I’ve bought a few over the years from Bed Bath and Beyond. I’ve tried others but this one is small and heats up quickly. You just have to be careful to hold it level when you use it to avoid spilling the hot water.

Bingo, and to keep away from the steam if you're trying to steam something like a collar (I've gotten myself trying to straighten the collar out). This is also why I recommend bottled water for it, for anyone whose tap water is hard water, as I've had some spilled water leave a chalky look on a shirt before. Came out but still.

This isn't Twitter. As long as the link isn't over 3000 letters long you can just post a long link

I live in a hot climate, so I don’t know if this works elsewhere, but I use plain water in a spray bottle, and it works fantastically well. I bought a steamer and returned it because it didn’t work as well as my spray water. I just spray it while it’s on the hanger, shake it a bit and let it stay there for a little bit before I get dressed. Works like a charm.

Thanks for the tip. Mine is fairly hot and dry but I wonder if it wouldn't be effective still.

You’re welcome, of course. I would guess it would work fine, you’d even be drier faster. Additionally, I hate the heat of ironing, etc., and this was an easy substitute.

Ugh really? I've been so disappointed with mine. It was cheap for sure, and is like a dual iron/steamer but the steam function does virtually nothing and I've ended up using the tiny iron it has instead. Huge disappointment.

I use plain water in a spray bottle. It works like a charm for most things I wear.

What about arm creases?

Not an issue so far as I've seen.

I mean how do you put them on with a steamer?

Honestly, I usually don't, but for more formal occasions I've managed it by creasing the fabric by hand and then, using the vent itself from my steamer, putting pressure on the fabric as I move it slowly from top to bottom. It's not perfect in that it won't hold for more than a few hours, not the same way a starched shirt will, but it does provide the right look.

You found one that works? All the ones that I see tailors and cleaners using seem to be professional and the 'ordinary' ones seem feeble. For all that is involved, easier to just load up the iron with water and go to town.

I've edited my original post but I've been using the "Little Steamer Go-Mini" for about a decade. Very direct vapor "spray", doesn't do the whole "cloud" thing I see a lot of other steamers going for. May make a difference.

Interesting. Thanks!

I keep hearing this, but I was unimpressed by the one I bought. Any way you could mention brand names? Thanks!

I've edited my initial post but mine is the "Little Steamer Go-Mini." I don't think it has a brand beyond that, seems to be a one-off product for the company.

Does it work better than an iron?

Comparably, I think, but with less hassle. The one area I think an iron would be better for daily use might be collars but most of my shirts have been fine (I've got one "Easy Iron" one that has decided its collar is going to be wavy for some reason but this seems to be the shirt).

I cannot think of a reason to own an iron anymore

If you ever need to add/fix creases in anything, a steamer wont do the job.

True! I typically find I want to do the opposite, but if you're trying to preserve a crease it only goes so far (you can sort of get it by creasing the fabric yourself and putting pressure with the Steamer itself against the fabric as you run down).

I find not owning clothes that wrinkle and/or not having the sort of job/employer that cares about that sort of thing to be much easier. I.T. FTW.

^ this !!!

I use water in a spray bottle. Maybe that can help you too.

I switched to bluetooth headphones for when I'm moving around. Way easier to use at the gym and no more getting irrationality furious when inanimate objects rip my headphones out. Seems like you can get some decent pairs for under 100$ but I'm sure some audiophiles here would have the best bang for your buck suggestions.

I just did the same, because fuck wires and doorknobs.

Any reason you can't just put the cord under your shirt? I started doing that a few years ago and it had basically the same life-changing effect.

Another thing you don't notice until you get them is how awesome it is to walk away from your phone and still listen to whatever. Especially if it's charging.

For real though. I bought a half decent pair (monster) and when I’m at work, I can walk some 25-30ft away from my phone. And the batteries last 7-8hrs on a full charge (advertised 6hrs). Its amazing

Yea I use mine and work, I've got the altec lansing 50 hour battery Bluetooth speaker with 2 usb chargers I'm like a small power company on the job site. I use the speaker when I'm welding and the headphones when I'm in a building or hospital working where I can't be bumpin. Best shit I've gotten in a long long time.

Ok, that's a fair point. However, my fiance has a pair of bluetooths and I can tell when she's using them on calls because the quality plummets. So I imagine that if you're going to do calls, you still need to be near your phone?

Those must be some shitty bluetooths then, because calls are incredibly low bandwidth. We’re talking 64kbps here.

I think your devices must support Bluetooth 4.0 or higher.

It must also be something in the implementation, though. I have the Bose QC35 and AirPods, and while the QC35 are obviously much better than the AirPods during regular use, call quality with AirPods is almost indistinguishable from regular use. I mean I haven't asked people that are calling me to play music yet to verify this, but the voices sound totally fine

maybe you user the wrong Bluetooth profile? some have different profiles for audio and for being used as a headset.. headset sound awful... stereo quite nice.

If they're headphones and not really a headset for talking, they'll work, but the microphone is usually the last thing they worry about in design.

Bluetooth doesn't have enough bandwidth for duplex audio, so when you're using a mic and earphones, the quality will suck ass.

My wired headphones have that button halfway down to stop or skip tracks.

I often have to play the hit or miss game where the barbell presses the stop button at the bottom of a bench press or lat pull down.

Am sitting on the fence about buying wireless. Main fear is using these Bluetooth headphones is signals along with all this WiFi 3g/4g signals can give off radiation as I often get headaches if I am on mobile or near routers for most of the day. But this is my own uneducated view.

Radiation sciences gal here; Wifi + 3G/4G are examples of non-ionising radiation sources. Non-ionising radiation doesn't have the energy required to ionise atoms which causes cellular damage. It's similar to say, a radio or microwave in terms of energy. Ionising radiation is the type that causes damage.

Bluetooth is also a non-ionising radiation source. And just adding my two cents in I LOVE my bluetooth headphones. Mine are the beats and they have a button on them that stops the track and if I press it twice it skips it. Amazing for the gym and just life in general. I can listen to podcasts/music from my laptop or phone while I do housework or make dinner.

Radiation sciences gal here

I love Reddit.

shouldn't matter a lot . . when your phone is close you basically have a full fledged radio sender in your pocket... adding a little bit if Bluetooth won't change a thing.

Oh hell yeah. I connect mine to my computer and the ability to go downstairs and grab a cup of coffee with my headphones on is practically orgasmic the first time.

Unless you havent charged them fuckers.. they dont last long. You basically buy a puppy that nneeds to be feeded

But then I've totally lost my phone before and couldn't figure out how to find it again. Also, bluetooth can be a major battery drain.

I barely notice the difference when I have BT on or off. If I'm watching YouTube though my battery starts losing power like crazy

Especially if it's charging.

But you need to charge your headphones...

Charging your phone is a once or maybe twice a day thing, while charging your headphones is once a week or even less. It's not hard to toss my headset on the charger for an hour or so when I know I won't be needing it.

They tend to also come with a aux cable. Plus mine charge very quickly.

That's what sleeping is for.

I work 4 ten hour days at my job and they make it through the shift like 8 times outta ten so I've got no complaints there.

I usually have my phone in my pocket and bending and moving can pull them out of my ears and limits me to front pockets. It also gets stuck on my keys still. And its a hassle snaking it through. Granted im really clumsy...

Oh you could. But with wireless you can take your phone out to diddle with it, and you can keep your phone on your desk while you get up to get another bag of Cheetos.

I'm going to add that when I work out, I like to set my phone on the ground or on the bench instead of in my pocket because it has a tendency of falling out during my exercise. So wireless head phones help a lot with this.

Yea that was my epiphany when I switched over, that and being able to leave my phone on the floor when I was in the rowing machine was magical.

I crushed a phone once from having it in my pocket and resting an 80lbs dumbbell on it doing incline dumbbell bench press.

If you're a girl you most likely don't have pockets, but with Bluetooth you can just put your phone by your bottle on the floor!

If you run or have any kind of repetitive jostling, the under the shirt trick just doesn’t cut it... I end up with a lot of downward pressure on my ears and I just can’t abide by that!

Exactly this. I can't remember when last I had the earbuds pulled out of my ears.

The handles on the drawer in my kitchen catch the headphone cord where it pops out front under my shirt and loops to my phone in my pocket or belt holder.

V neck shirt or a tank top with a wire coming up from my tits just sounds like asking for a bad time

Good day to be a wire though

I have a pair of custom in ear monitors (The type used by musicians on stage) and I run the cable down my back, there's no issues. If it works for musicians jumping around dancing on stage it sure works for me walking.

Oh. My. God.

I'm at the gym every day and at least twice per workout I rip my headphones out of my ears. Tried wireless ones but hated them. This suggestion may have just changed my life. I want to tongue-kiss you.

haha, glad I could help! I lot of people are saying that sweat will cause the cord to tug after time, but I've found that during your stretches, you can fiddle with the slack at your collar until you find that sweet spot where you can move freely with no tug.

Yeah, but then you end up with sweaty sticky wires touching your bare chest. Shudders

Because I'm a woman, and a lot of my workout clothes don't have pockets.

Because by doing that, walking along + the weight of the cable slowly pulls an earbud out anyway.

The cord still pops out of the bottom of yhr shirt for me.

you still feel the rug of the cords and with in ears pure wireless makes a great difference... funny enough bc it's a small thing

I don't wear shirts, unfortunately...

Sometimes the wire dangles out below my top and still gets caught. It'll keep coming out my pockets if I stuff loose wire in there.

Putting the cord under your shirt when, say, working out will eventually pull the plugs from your ears, as the sweat from your body "traps" the cord in friction and pulls and drags on it.

I suppose one thing I should consider is that I live and work in a cold environment and sweat isn't really an issue most days is the year.

Because then you got a cold length of wire pressed against your chest

The wires hang around your waist from under the shirt. If you're hip is above the counter this is perfect. Unfortunately for me, I'm really short and catch the wire constantly when cooking.

I always feel like the shirt is pulling on the cable and restricting my movement.

I now use wired headphones with cable management into my shoulder bag, attached to a portable aptx DAC, then stream FLAC files to it wirelessly. That eliminates the snags from carrying my phone at least.

The biggest plus for me is when I'm in the gym I don't like having my phone in my pocket while doing any of the major compound lifts. With Bluetooth headphones I can still listen to music and not have my phone in my pocket.

Doesnt work for me in the gym. Especially exercises where my body stretches a lot like deadlifts or something on the bench as my phone keeps falling out of my pocket

When running on a treadmill it still gets a bit annoying, but other yeah def wprth doing

For me the cord still tugs even when I run it under my shirt. I constantly have to keep pulling up some slack from my collar.

I do the same. But perhaps this is an inconvenience which just doesn't bother me.

There's still that little loop hanging out between the shirt and the pocket...right at door knob level.

Eehh nah, I have no problems just stuffing the excess cord into my pocket.

I dont like this option cause then my shirt is pulling on the wires and you are still connected to your headphones. Where do you put your phone if no pockets or shallow pockets and doing DB presses? Wireless is just so convenient.

I’m a girl and if I bend over with them under my shirt, then stand up again, the cord would get caught under my boobs. Or between them often if I was wearing a regular bra instead of a sports bra.

not carrying your phone is the biggest reason.

personally i work out at home so I can just leave it anywhere I want but if I go to the gym I could just put it in my bag

It's easier with wireless. I use AirPods.

  1. Put AirPods in ears

  2. Tap them and music starts playing

No need to fiddle with any cables, nothing can really break, phone doesn't have to be on me, they're comfortable and it's all just very convenient.

For me, I used it so much that my phones headphone jack wouldn't work properly. No headphone would work cause it would just slip out of the connection. So annoying while riding my bike. Got me Bluetooth headphones for Christmas. Love em to death

That works until your using an apparatus that presses the cord against at your body, restricting your range or movement.

That's beside the disgusting feel of sweaty cord under shirt.

Bluetooth is best tech in 20th century :)

Cats were the worst. My neck and face were always friendly fire until I could get a pair of Bluetooth headphones

fuck wires and doorknobs

If that's what you're into...

also fuck office chair arms and turning. oh look my phone fell on the ground again. aklsjdflkasjdflkjasdf!!

After getting an earbud yanked out for the 1000th time, I immediately checked Amazon for Bluetooths, found a pair of sonys on sale for really cheap, have never been so satisfied with a purchase

I just don't bother locking the door, fuckers will just break a window if they want in. Good luck with my blue heelers though, one likes flesh.

Not that much makes me angry in my life, but catching a headphone cable while I'm trying to get something done will have me howling with rage.

I'm too anxious about bluetooth "rays" this close to my head for extended periods of time

This guy fucks doorknobs.

I killed my awesome blackberry buds by cutting the cord on the door latch plate on the door frame. I'd never found such nice bass delivery as those buds.

But then you are dependent on recharging them fuckers...

You can forget about long trips or casually sticking in your bag and pulling whenever needed.

Im already dependent on the phone no need for more gadgety overlords

My Bluetooth headphones come with a 3.5mm jack in case you just want to manually connect it without power.

I lose headphones too easily for all this. I just buy cheap headphones and thread them through my shirt to avoid snags.

I just buy the $25 Bluetooth headphones from China on amazon lol. They usually last about a year, but it’s worth it for the gym

$25? I hope they're pretty decent, then, as there's reasonable $10 ones at Walmart at the check-out lane. The're not exactly airpods or whatever they're called, but seeing as those still don't solve audio latency for realtime applications either, I can't say I could be bothered.

The $10 wired earbuds are crappy, I can't imagine how junk $10 Bluetooth ones must be.

It's $10 - go find out! ;)

Ideally I'd just get a BT receiver that has an audio jack so I can plug in whatever headphones I like. Those are closer to $30, still plenty affordable. Unfortunately they're also quite a bit more bulky.

That literally defeats the purpose of having wireless headphones, tho...

Not really. They're still light enough that you can dangle them off your neck. They also still afford you the freedom of walking away from your phone (or whatever is sending the signal). If you want true 'wireless' you'd have to go with airpods or equivalents (and end up well above even the $25 mentioned)

Beoplay e8's are great for audio latency. practically none

At $298, they're a bit steep, but I'll have to do some searching around - thanks for the pointer :)

How do you lose something as big as your head?

Earbuds

Your head is as big as earbuds???

Yeah man :/ The worst part about it is finding hats that fit

Why do your earbuds need hats? That just seems excessive

They get cold :(

Why does your head get cold? You need a hat for it.

This thread is a mess

Protection from nargles I suppose.

Mate, you can buy those rubber hats at 7-11. Made by a company called durex. Very stylish IMO

Eh, tried it. It's like wearing a fuckin garbage bag over my head

Surely you'd just use a gatorade lid.

Hadn't thought of that. Orange isn't really my color but I think that could work

Hadn't thought of that. Orange isn't really my color but I think that could work

Hadn't thought of that. Orange isn't really my color but I think that could work

Hadn't thought of that. Orange isn't really my color but I think that could work

Just use a thimble damn

My friends made fun of me, and called me metal head. But I like rock :(

I'd check a Playmobil store for such hats

Haha oh my god I completely forgot about Playmobil. Thanks for bringing me back in time

He got Beetlejuiced.

so the earbuds would fall in OP's ears

That makes more sense.

I wouldn't get a wireless form of something that small anyway.

I'm the opposite haha. For something that small having a long cord makes me much less likely to lose them

I think we're the same then.

Well, I meant earbuds as I assume OP did because they were talking about the gym. That being said I also lose full sized headphones, my wife thinks I could be diagnosed with ADD, she's probably not wrong.

Try to store them in a place. Make a habit of it.

Yea, habit forming isn't my strong suit, I'll pick a specific place for it and it'll last about a month. Not to mention I've gotta also find a place for my sunglasses, keys, wallet, phone, work badge, etc. So I've just kinda given up on a lot of things like sunglasses and headphones and I focus on making sure I can drive pay and work.

Just move it to whatever the first place you looked for it is.

I definitely spent a full half hour tearing my house apart last night looking for the jacket I KNEW I had brought home with me the night before and clearly stashed somewhere absent mindedly.

It was in the closet hung up.

I have mini panic attacks on public transit semi-frequently, especially when I wake up. I jolt awake and frantically search for my wallet or phone, both of which are always in my pocket or hand. Once asked a stranger if she saw me drop my phone - I was holding it.

I wish I'd met you a few years ago, I started doing this with a lot of things recently and it's improved my quality of life a good bit.

Put a small table inside your front door; this is a 'landing pad' for the end and beginning of your day. Problem solved!

I have ADHD. I was diagnosed professionally at 7. You sound a lot like me!

I am TheDonBon

Just remember not to lose them. Easy.

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Having memory problems? Just fucking remember things you slob!

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Meh, you learn to live with it.

I have a Tile for my keys and my phone and my wallet, so my 3 most important things will beep at me from wherever I lost them. Everything else kinda phases in and out of my life and I roll with it.

The problem with forgetfulness is that you forget you're trying to work on it in the first place.

I guess it may be different at the gym but I have never seen someone who isn't super weird wearing full sized over ear headphones in public.

Frequent encounters with guillotines.

I lose my head all the time.

The bluetooth ones hang around the neck so if you lose them it is just carelessness.

The ones I use have magnets in the end so the hang around your neck like a necklace when you aren't using them. Leave the charger hanging out at home and plug then in as soon as you get there and you'll never lose them or not have enough battery life.

Decent Bluetooth headphones are like $20 you can afford to lose them.

They have $30 earbuds that are connected with a wire (behind your head). Cheap and hard to lose!

They make decent cheap bluetooth headphones that you can get on amazon for like $17-25. They normally last me 6-12 months a pair if I use them really heavily.

Might be worth trying out, they’re not much more than cheap wired earbuds.

Anker Soundbuds Flow. About 20USD, for that price, surprisingly good sound.

There are lots of super cheap bluetooth options out there. Check Aliexpress and even Amazon, you can get a decent pair for as low as $20, and less on sale. (even reputable brands like Anker have products in the $20-30 price bracket)

Headphones are like sunglasses. The more you spend on them, the less likely you are to lose them.

I think that's suppposed be reversed

Not in my experience. I'd lose sunglasses every couple of weeks. Then I bought a pair of Oakley's. I was straight up paranoid to lose them, and they lasted me well over 4 years before they were accidentally broken.

I saw knit caps at Fry's for $15 that had wireless blue tooth sewn in to them.

Sigh. Me too with ear buds. Or more like I just don't take good care of them and they break quickly. I been just using 20 dollar xiaomi earbuds that people say are great for their price. Use for hopefully a year and swap out for a new one.

samesies. My only gripe is that the wire from the audio jack seems to wear out quicker on cheap phones, and one headphone or the other will cut in and out. I've had the same thing happen with good headphones though.

I still snag the small amount that stick out between my shirt and pocket, especially on drawer knobs. I got a wireless over-ear set for Christmas, it's been magical.

The ones that you wear like half a necklace are great. You don't really lose them since they become a sort of article of clothing. You can get them pretty cheap nowadays too.

I got a decent bluetooth earbuds for 20 from Walmart.

I used to lose the regular wired headphones all the time. I’ve never lost a pair of Bluetooth headphones, since they are around my neck all day. I got my first pair for like $20 on Amazon and used them for 2 years before getting new ones. And I only did that because I lost all the little earpieces haha.

The pair I have came with a clip to put on your shirt, helps a ton

Well sucks to be you then cause BT are so much more convenient. Bought a BodyGlove pair for about $30 and they are not bad for the price.

You can get some decent bluetooth earbuds in Amazon for $25. They aren't going to win awards for sound quality but are def worth the money.

lost an right airpod and the charger.

Any around the neck headphones will fix that problem. Since I’ve gotten them, I haven’t lost a single pair and brute Bluetooth that also answers phone calls and plays music, that you control from the headphone itself.

If you need cheap headphones there are plenty of good $20-$25 bluetooth headphones on amazon. Obviously not the highest audio quality, but I use them when I'm racing or mowing the lawn and they're surprisingly great for the price. Happy to link to my favorites if you want.

As do I, hell my current headphones I found on the ground while skateboarding to work. Best part, found them on a day when I recently broke my previous pair.

I will say that a pair of decent headphones is always nice though. The difference between a 6 dollar pair and a decent 30 dollar pair of low end skull Candy's is significant.

I'm the same with headphones - and I certainly didn't want to spend hundreds on those Apple EarPods. Then I bought some cheap no-brand generic "Q12" bluetooth earphones from China on Amazon, they had great reviews.

These things have changed my headphone game, they're connected by a short wire which seems pointless but is actually perfect because they can live wrapped around my neck. The wire is so short that they never tangle in my pocket. Charging isn't as much of a hassle as I thought - theres a battery indicator on my phone and they last a fair few days.

you can get some HV800 bluetooth earbuds for like $8.

Treblab has a $20-$30 pair that has done well for me. Quality isn’t the greatest, but it’s also a cheap pair of Bluetooth headphones.

Well you must not have to deal with the tricky sports bra finagling. Good for you.

Yep, that's what I do, I also weave them through the buttons of my shirt to prevent my headphones from being pulled down when jogging on the treadmill.

I'm sure some audiophiles here would have the best bang for your buck suggestions.

audiophiles will tell you not to buy them because they can't physically be as high quality as cabled headphones

and you should ignore them because the shitty MP3s you're getting on Spotify or whatever don't need to be held to the same standards as fuckin in-studio FLAC files and the drop in quality isn't that terrible.

Spotify quality is actually pretty good if you have a good connection or turn it up in settings.

Wireless headphones are about convenience though, if you rate them on sound quality alone you’re trying to solve the wrong problems.

Audiophile here, this pair is better than 50% of cabled headphones.

https://en-us.sennheiser.com/headphones-bluetooth-hd1-free?gclid=CjwKCAiAm7LSBRBBEiwAvL1-LwwmN3z6Qzc4ZDyzONTD7JY6iBGgvvPIP6hOLncLD0hqqoAb-e4xThoCQNEQAvD_BwE

https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/headphones/earphones/soundsport-wireless.html#v=soundsport_wireless_citron

Edit: link Edit2: added 2nd cheaper pair that would recommend.

I guess that's technically under $200

Technically correct is the best kind of correct.

Requisition me a beat!

Not with tax though

I own them, they sound fucking amazing.

I mean, that's nice and all, but how does music sound through them?

If you're a fan of listening to instruments these are for you. You can hear them all through these bad boys.

Probably only slightly distorted. I can't imagine holding these up to your speakers to listen through would make that big of a difference really...

^^^^^soooo^^^^^much^^^^agreement^^^^

Think of what you can do with that extra 5 cents.

I know right 😂😂

But you can get better wired ones for cheaper.

I just can't do Bluetooth.

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Honestly I feel like this is the best pair on the market. For the quality you get the 6 hour battery life is pretty much enough to last you 3 workouts, or a plane ride or anything. This is probably the best you might just have to bring a portable charger. I haven’t been able to find anything better.

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For wireless bluetooth noise cancelling headphones, the only accepted audiophile answer is "none of them, but if you must, a bose qc35, or sony mdr1000x" as the only acceptable answers.

Be forewarned, the sonys have been riddled with quality control issues, so buy at your own risk.

And i know i know its a bose, but the qc35s are probably the only things i'll endorse from them.

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The thing with many audiophiles is that they just dont get that everyone hears differently.

Some people truly think that those 10 dollar buds sound better to them, and theres nothing wrong with that.

Its not like they are forced to use the same equipment as that guy so why get so worked up over it?

Ya I would rather have wired, but these are probably the best IE wireless out there.

I hate the sound of qc35’s. Worse than apple headphones.

The noise cancelling is amazingly good though!

I have sennheiser pxc 550s now and I love the sound and the noise cancelling is 90% as good. And better for day-to-day (being completely noise cancelled is a little disorienting)

oooh i'll have to check it out!

Let me know what you think!

Throwing in the Bowers & Wilkins PX because I recently got them and they sound and feel amazing. Though they are OE and not IE, dunno if your scope was limited to that.

Nah not really limited, B&W isn’t bad though, I don’t hear of them much but I have heard they are perfectly fine and good quality.

Just go cheap. Here's a wireless bluetooth headset with a microphone and everything for $17. If you need 24 hours of battery life, my advice is to buy three of these and switch them out when they go dead.

Had no idea these existed and might give them a shot. I started with a $25 pair of BT earbuds that just stopped connecting after a couple of weeks and then a "premium" $100 pair that stopped charging after a few days and wouldn't stay in my ears and pretty much wrote off the idea of BT earbuds ever again.

...but Sennheiser makes some good shit.

100% worth getting them imo. Probably the best on the market. No, I will confidently say they are the best. Maybe beats gold a candle to this torch but you really can’t beat them.

wont let me open the page

Fixed?

thanks. i love sennheisers and was looking to them for when i replace my v-moda. might as well go mid level BT phones

These are probably the best bt on the market. Worst part about them is they sometimes fall out of your ear while doing running and such.

Well, that's true because 80-90% of cabled headphones suck. Bluetooth has a little more than half the bandwidth (768kbps) necessary to carry CD-quality audio (1411kbps) so it must be compressed on the fly, which degrades fidelity.

True, but i was just saying this is the best BT headphones you could get.

Are these ok to work out with or will swear ruin them?

So far with my mediocre jogging the only problem is them falling out every 10 min. They shouldn’t be ruined by working out as long as you don’t drench them in your sweat.

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A while back there was a company making earbud headphones custom molded based on individual ear shape. I suspect it never really took off due to cost but haven't actually looked for them recently. With the increase in interest in BT earbuds though I feel like they could really carve out a decent market if their cost isn't too crazy. A pair of BT earbuds molded to my individual ears to prevent them from falling out constantly sounds like a really sensible investment to me.

You can always wrap them around your ear or something but every headset I have used has this similar problem. But ya it does kind of suck.

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I was actually just coming to retract my argument, this headset comes with different size nubby things, just took off the small ones and put the right size in and it won’t fall out anymore after a good 10 minuets still in the same place as before.

How do you feel about the HD 4.40? I got it for my brother for Christmas and wasn’t sure.

I’m not an audiophile, but I got these back in March and use them almost daily. I love them and would recommend them to most people. They don’t have super heavy bass so if that’s what you’re looking for you might be disappointed. I think the sound is very balanced and clear. Also, they’re comfortable even on my big head and seem to hold a charge for a long time.

I think they look pretty solid and Sennheiser is always pretty reliable, I think they would be great. If they quality really mattered you could go higher but these are probably great.

Sennheiser > Bose

This might sound stupid, but don't the magnets on each pod to keep them stuck together creat a smal magnetic field through your brain when you wear them?

They are not strong or big enough magnetic fields to hurt you at all. Unless you physically put them in your brain.

Yes, is that a problem?

I don't know, it just seems... Unsafe? I have no idea.

All heaphones are basically magnets. The sound is created through a magnetic field that moves the magnet around, which creates sound waves. Magnetic fields and electromagnetic fields are already all around you and they have no adverse effects on the human body. We are usually not exposed to stronger magnetic fields, but they can be a problem for people with older pacemakers because they can have an effect on electronics (here I'm talking about aluminum transformation plants or near turbine-generator units in large power plants).

Humans aren't susceptible to magnetism because we are made of meat.

Humans aren't susceptible to magnetism because we are made of meat.

Not unless you keep a hard drive between your ears, no.

Do they do similar ones which are hard plastic?

Better IMO just because they are more comfortable. And I’m not quite sure what you mean by hard plastic, like apple headphones hard plastic? Or what.

These kind. The rubber ones are extremely uncomfortable and constantly fall out of my ear.

It doesn’t really affect sound quality, but I didn’t see any hard plastic wireless

You’re the first audiophile I’ve seen comment, can you recommend some good over ear headphones too please?

What’s the price range?

As cheap as you can get whilst still getting a good sound really

Maybe these

https://www.jbl.com/wireless-headphones/E25BT.html?dwvar_E25BT_color=Blue-GLOBAL-Current#start=1

Can I just ask, how does one bevise an audiophile? And what do I need for it?

It’s the Internet so you can’t really. You just need to like good audio and be able to tell when it sounds good or bad. I’m not a big audiophile but I really appreciate good audio a lot.

I saw the URL and knew right away I couldn't afford them.

They have a 130$ pair from Bose that are similar.

https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/headphones/earphones/soundsport-wireless.html#v=soundsport_wireless_citron

Does anyone make high quality blue tooth noise canceling headphones?

Sennheiser does I think but Bose is sort of top of the market for noise canceling I think. Sennheiser has some for 100$ cheaper but for noise canceling I would probably go with Bose

https://en-us.sennheiser.com/wireless-headphones-bluetooth-noise-cancelling-hd-4-50-btnc

Sorry I should have specified ear bud. I have the bose, but that cable is annoying

I don't care if they sound better than a $5 pair of earbuds from Aliexpress. Do they have comparable sound quality to a pair of $200 headphones?

They don’t necessarily compare to a wired 200$ headset, but for wireless BT they are the best out there and are just as good if not better than any wired headset under 100ish dollars. But they are really good

I didn’t know the HD1 came without the neck band, thank you!

Isn't Bluetooth max bitrate 768 Kbps?

Why would I pay $200 for headphones that physically can't stream the full bitrate of 95% of my library?

Every song I have ever played on them worked perfectly fine. What are some songs you play I’ll try them out real quick and tell you.

I'm sure they work just fine but the bandwith is limited. I wouldn't pay $200 for headphones that can't accept the actual bitrate of my music. I'm sure they sound fine with mp3 320 though, but with a FLAC or other lossless format music file that's over the bandwith limit it will be lower quality than something not bluetooth.

It's like watching a 4K movie on a 1080p TV. Doesn't look bad at all but it could be way better.

I agree. Great earbuds. Solid quality, great sound and Sennheiser has some great customer service.

What do you give for <$100

I would say a majority of BT headphones under 100 aren’t that great and not really worth buying but these are probably as low as I would go for good noticeable audio quality

https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/headphones/earphones/soundsport-wireless.html#v=soundsport_wireless_citron

Thank you. Interested.

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We are not at that technical level yet to have headphones like AirPods that are actually good. The cord isn’t really a big deal, just put it behind your neck and it shouldn’t bother you. I haven’t heard of an actual good pair of AirPod style IE. just stick with the wire and you won’t regret it, you might regret it if you go absolutely no wires so probably better to be safe than sorry.

are these better than jaybirds?

IMO they are the best on the market, definitely better than jaybirds.

I read some reviews and some people seem to like the jaybirds better and considering jaybirds are $100 vs $200 (wireless) I think I will be picking up the x3s

Well for the price they are better but if you really want the quality the frees are the best. And the jaybirds are more built for exercise not sound quality. But they are probably pretty good too.

Well for the price they are better but if you really want the quality the frees are the best. And the jaybirds are more built for exercise not sound quality. But they are probably pretty good too.

yea exercise is the only reason i need wireless

6 hour battery life........ I haven't even had to charge my Anker $30.00 headphones yet because of its amazing battery life..

I really wanted a pair of these to replace my old 1st Gen BluBuds, unfortunatluy because I live in Australia they are ~$350 here.(~$275 USD) I just cannot justify that price.

under same price level, I can find plenty better options with wired

Yes, but this is just the best BT headphones. They OP said wireless headphones was what they got and loved and someone asked for an audiophile to give an example of a great pair of BT headphones. And that’s exactly what I did.

'Audiophile' here with degrees in Music Technology and Audio Engineering. The DACs and amplifiers in some Bluetooth Headphones are often significantly better than the built-in DAC and amplifier in your cellphone.
Regardless of the quality of the source audio (be it a 92kbps Mp3 or a lossless FLAC file), what you are looking for is the most faithful representation of that particular audio file. In that respect, a good set of Bluetooth Headphones (Sennheiser Momentum 2.0, Sony WH-1000XM2, etc) will actually end up sounding better than even the best of the best wired reference headphones will when using your cellphone to listen to music, as these will bypass the cheap, economy audio hardware inside your phone.

Are there other headphones with good dac that I should look at? What about wired with a dac?

Sony and AKG both make wired USB models with onboard DAC's. I've never really looked into them, though.
Really, for the kind of money you'd be spending on a wired set with onboard DAC, you'd be better off just buying a dedicated portable music player or outboard USB DAC as that would then allow you to use any model of Headphone you liked.

But again, there's really no point unless you are listening to lossless audio files such as ALAC and FLAC, or very high bitrate mp3. Top-end audio hardware is great at reproducing every minute detail of an audio recording, but it's also relentless at reproducing any compression or faults in the recording. As an extreme example, a 128Kbs Mp3 might sound perfectly reasonable through a cellphone and a pair of midrange Sony headphones, but if you were to listen to the same Mp3 through a pair of Focal Utopia headphones being driven by a Chord Dave, the file would objectively sound worse due to the amount (or lack of) detail being made audible. Hope that makes sense!

As long as they are USB they usually include a DAC. A DACs job is to convert digital signals to analog signals. So 3.5mm audiojack are analog signals so Bluetooth is usually the way to go with mobiles

Spotify uses Vorbis, not MP3. Higher quality in a lower bitrate, which is great for streaming.

The reason you shouldn't listen to audiophiles is because a lot of audiophiles are batshit crazy, not because of MP3s.

I have some magic wires to sell you. Will make your music so so much better, open, and vibrant. Only $1200 per foot. -audiophile vendors.

pretty sure none of us buy that shit. They aim for the whales who want the best and have the money to throw around. Most audio nuts know about the wire clothes hangar experiment

What is this experiment?

https://consumerist.com/2008/03/03/do-coat-hangers-sound-as-good-monster-cables/

Tldr?

people couldn't tell the difference in sound during blind tests between two speaker wires, at one point the cheap wire was secretly swapped out for a wire clothes hanger and no one could tell the difference.

I may not really know much about anything but shouln't a wire clothes hanger have better connectivity since it's solid and possibly even thicker than the expensive cables? Genuinely curious here.

Coat hangers are made of steel. Cables will be copper or aluminum, which have higher conductivity.

Most “audiophiles” can’t even distinguish between 320kbps MP3 and WAV. There are lots of blind tests online.

I see similar statements to this frequently, and I have to disagree partially. Having quality audio listening equipment is not about a comparison of good recording to bad recording. There is way more to music audio than whether a song file is a quality file, you can still find depth in music with lower quality recordings, using quality audio equipment, that you otherwise wouldn't hear on lesser quality equipment. Don't get me wrong, if I listen to a .mp3 vs an MCA track, yes there will be a noticeable difference. Is there any noticeable difference between a FLAC and MCA, well that could be argued by the audiophile.

All that said, when you have quality audio listening equipment, from the source of the audio to the device processing and playing it, to the headphones or speakers you use, there is a massive difference over lower quality options. I can 100% assure you, that if you wore my Shure SE846's for a week and then went back to a pair of regularly priced earbuds, you would be able to easily discern the quality difference. Even using just .MP3 files. I have multi hundred dollar pairs of headphones that don't sound as good anymore, purely because of those Shure SE846's.

Again, I agree with your point, I have been an audiophile since a young kid, I have dozens of pairs of headphones, DAC's, vinyl's, you name it, and I can still get tricked by the blind tests that swap between two recordings, but that doesn't mean being an audiophile is about distinguishing between two levels of file quality.

Yeah definitely, I was just making a broad statement that people that call themselves audiophiles often can’t distinguish those file types like they say they can, regardless of the quality of equipment used.

I also appreciate good quality audio, not on your level, but I have a $150 set of headphones that sound great to me, as well as $800 studio monitors with a $600 interface that sound amazing if you’re in the sweet spot.

Totally agree, I have run into plenty of them.

And yea, my Shure's were an investment to take my studio monitor/receiver setup out of the house, and have something reasonably portable, hence the earbuds instead of over-the-ears. Those paired with an Onkyo DP-X1A, is basically like having a home studio in your pocket. At least the closest you can get these days, unless you wanna spend like $5K plus on an even fancier DAC.

320 kbps MP3 is bad

Okay, whatever you say.

It's the audio equivalent of "If a vidya game can't run 240 in 4K it's unplayable!"

If by that you mean 'ridiculous hyperbole', then yeah that's right. Most people can't even tell the difference between 320 kbps mp3 and flac with good hardware.

I can only listen to vinyl now so I hired a roadie to bring my record player/collection to the gym for me

Audio engineer here, go ahead and ignore anyone that says FLAC is studio standard. The standard is generally 24bit/48kHz sample rate .wav file for recording with fluctuating standards/preferences depending on the engineer and genre of music being recorded, while the recording is bounced out to 16bit/44.1kHz sample rate for the Red Book standard CD format.

But FLAC is a compressed lossless format, where WAV is uncompressed PCM. There is zero difference between them upon decompression. FLAC supports 24 bit too.

Yep let's tell this guy how to do his job and ignore industry standards because BUT MUHH FLAAAC.

That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying they're ultimately the same.

WAV might be an industry standard for working with the files, but everyone here is talking from a consumer point of view. No one uses wav over flac because there's no reason to.

but everyone here is talking from a consumer point of view.

The OP we're replying to mentioned studios specifically, and my comment was geared towards that.

Audiophile here, whilst I do agree that cabled headphones are the best (My recommendation is the Audio-Technica ATH M50X), I have to say that Spotify does have an option for super high quality files if you are a paid user. It will play almost studio quality stuff but will whack up loads of data.

Can confirm loads of data for Spotify on the “Extreme” setting..

Lol I've got about 3TB of FLAC files of music on my storage server.

Are you trying to compare mobile data usage against a collection on your NAS?

Sorry but I don’t quite get what you’re trying to say.. if you just wanted to get a bigger number I’m afraid you’ve picked the wrong guy.. 😉

Come on over to /r/DataHoarder if you’re interested in storing large libraries of.. stuff..

No definitely not trying to compare. I'd show you my vinyl collection if so. Thanks for the intro to the subreddit. I've subscribed to see if I can learn anything. I built my server after watching Linus help MKBHD build his. I use it literally to store backups of my onsite backups and music and my movie library.

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M50xs are just amazing bang for your buck. After their price point there is serious diminishing returns.

I think the HD598 variants would be the next step up of good bang for your buck. As well as the 558 which is basically on par with the M50X price wise but is open back for a different experience.

I had the 598s set at one point. I didn't like how they felt on my ears. Nice sounding though.

Well I only said they were my recommendation. My personal collection includes the Sennheiser HD800, Shure SE846-CL, ATH M70X, ATH M50X and I've got 2 sets of custom made IEMs from UE (I use these when I play with my band - I have tinnitus, these things are amzaing to help)

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What do you think about those £42k Sennheiser Orpheus? I've had a chance to try them and they aren't all that IMHO.

You can alter quality settings in Spotify

Yeah, but unless you have premium, you're limited to a maximum of 192 kbps. Granted, it's vorbis, but still a noticeable difference if you have a decent pair.

But does anyone who is at least somewhat serious about music use Spotify Free?

Your points about MP3's and Spotify are valid but being told to get BT headphones is fucking infuriating when I do in fact have a phone full of FLACs for the stuff I like most.

320kbps MP3s from Spotify are definitely not shitty and pretty much indistinguishable from FLACs.

convenience>quality for me, if i want to listen to hifi audio ill do it at home with my vinyl setup

I've experienced music slowing down and speeding up subtly but annoyingly with my previous pair of bluetooth phones, so it is not just about audiophile quality.

My current pair are good though.

Oh no, and I've already invested so much hard drive space into flacs! Hahaha I don't usually wear headphones on the move, anyways. If I'm listening, I'm sitting down. Your own walking or working out would probably muffle any quality provided by wired headphones, anyways.

Oh no, and I've already invested so much hard drive space into flacs!

That's fine if you like archives and hoarding stuff (Join us at /r/DataHoarder ), but lossy stuff is just more convenient on portables devices.

Still nice to have to originals with changes in codecs, first it was mp3, then vorbis and aac, and now opus for the good stuff.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet but I have a pair of jaybird x3's and I love them. Just about $100 too

and you should ignore them because the shitty MP3s you're getting on Spotify or whatever don't need to be held to the same standards as fuckin in-studio FLAC files and the drop in quality isn't that terrible.

Hey I've got FLAC converted to high bitrate Opus thank you very much.

And I stream to my Google Home Mini's terrible bluetooth speakers because it's convenient. Most of the time, it's just background noise and I don't need that quality anyways.

First off: the 320 kbps quality that Spotify premium offers is virtually undistinguishable from flac files.

I am an audiophile and would gladly recommend bt headphones. I have a pair with apt x codec and the difference is not far from wired. Of course I personally wouldn't use them for home, but I can see other people using them everywhere. I have a pair of pxc 550 for what it's worth. They are a fun pair, and active noise cancellation is great.

I'd say I'm an audiophile

My daily mobile driver is some $20 wireless Soundpeats Q12 from Amazon. I've gotten 8+ hours per charge and charging takes less than an hour, closer to 30 minutes. Sounds pretty good, better than expected, probably due to aptX support.

This is not correct. Especially if we're talking about using your phone for music. Or earbuds vs some proper onear cans with Bluetooth

You need to turn up your streaming quality in Spotify settings.

Tidal, bitch :P.

Or noticable to most people. Any group that gets into HQ anything like audio or visual will have groups of people who notice minor changes. The vast majority of users will not.

spotify mp3's are not shit quality, nor is itunes music, tbh. the drop in quality is hardly noticeable unless you're actively listening for it, and know what to listen for in the first place. people upgrading from their JVC gummies wont give a shit.

bluetooth aptx-hd codec can exceed most regular wired headphones. get informed bro

and you should ignore them because the shitty MP3s you're getting on Spotify or whatever don't need to be held to the same standards as fuckin in-studio FLAC files and the drop in quality isn't that terrible.

Well, matey, some of us actually put high quality files on the memory cards of our cell phones and listen to music that way. Having the luxury of listening to Tchaikovsky's 1812 ouverture or some dope-ass fizzling techno track in studio or concert quality through good headphones whilst driving your bicycle is... actually... quite hipster-ish, now that I'm typing it out loud.

I see your point, though. Most people streaming music through the air don't need that level of quality.

Every set of headphones I’ve own under $100 have failed at the cable. Bluetooth headphones for everyday use are perfect. Yeah you get some signal loss but if you’re using it for podcasts, vlogs, and such where high fidelity isn’t really needed, they’re perfectly fine and will last way longer. I have a set of cheap $30 Bluetooth headphones and they’ve lasted twice as long as wired $40 headphones so far and they’re still kicking. Using them right now actually. They don’t sound AMAZING but they sound good and they’re durable.

Yea that was actually my reason for making the switch, rather pay more for headphones that won't breakdown at the cable near the jsck every 6 months.

What about warranty?

Before I switched to Bluetooth, I would buy skullcandies at best buy a day buy the extended warranty for like $8. My headphones would always fail on one ear or at the jack. I got 3-4 headphone replacements in a year, all covered with no hassle

Im not really an audiphile but im passionate af for music, i go to the gyn in the early mornings, go to school, write notes for the tests etc, my bluetooth earbuds is the fucking best. I got a pair of Jaybird X3, got it for christmas and it costs somrwhere betwren 90€-110€ depending on where in the world u live, i reccomend them especially for gym goers/joggers

Depending on your use case, I’d agree.
For me, during my runs my AirPods have been a godsend.

I love the AirPods, they’re the classic Apple “it just works” product. I can use just one on a call of for voice chat in games, or both for music, and they pair effortlessly to every device I have. The sound quality is decent and having no cable at all is incredibly freeing in a way that it’s hard to go back to having a cable.

Agreed on all fronts.
I’m also super hyped to see other applications of the W1 chip (and its successors) in the future.

To add to this, a reason I love my airpods more than any others is because they stay in my ears! I know everyone’s experience with this is different but I’ve never been able to use the headphones that have the round rubber bits. They always fall out. Ive never had apples headphones fall out and I’m so glad I can get Bluetooth ones that will stay.

They just do not work in my ears at all, and I’m so bummed about it because I’m someone who would keep up with them

Which ones don’t work? Apples shape or the round rubber ones?

One of best purchases the last few years was $20 pair of bluetooth earbuds from TaoTronics. I've never tried uber expensive bluetooth headphones, but they are just as good as a $100 pair I had, and the battery was way better lol. And for $20 bucks it's not a huge deal if you lose them.

Nice try TaoTronics marketing intern.

No he’s actually right. I just lost my TaoTronic headphones and am about to buy another pair. They fit my ears perfectly, had nice sound and held a long battery charge.

Nice try another TaoTronics marketing intern.

Maybe but fuck it I love my pair so much. I found one on the ground and used it for a month before I lost it. I ordered a new pair instantly. Bluetooth is magic

Not everyone is a shill asshole.

Nice try TaoTronics marketing intern.

Tagging u/sugarfreeyeti as "TaoTronics marketing intern"

Nice try Sony marketing intern.

I got TaoTronics a few months back and they lasted a week.

I did go through a couple of even cheaper taotronics that were shit, but I've had this pair for over 2 years.

Self-professed audiophile, and I’ll vouch for TaoTronics. I have a Bluetooth pair that’s my dedicated workout earbuds that I keep in my gym bag. They certainly can’t touch something like the AKG K701 headphones that I use with my desktop, but they’re an incredible bang for the buck to listen on the go.

I have two expensive-ish pair. Yurbuds leap and liberty. I LOVED them. I used the leap all the time. Then I got a new phone. Neither pair will connect. Tried a friend's phone and won't connect to his either. Other friend just got a galaxy s7 a few months back so I'll have to try with that. Since they don't work, I've been reluctant to buy a new pair, cheap or not. :(

Sounds like user error.

Has headphones that work.

Get new phone.

Earphones don't work on new phone despite following instructions and every trouble shoot guide I can find.

You literally click a button, tell it to pair on the phone, and that's it. My phone (and my friend's) won't read that the earphones are on. That's not user error when the user isn't doing anything wrong. Phone connects using the same process to speakers and cars just fine.

But thanks I guess. I think it's the phones more than anything, honestly. It worked great with my galaxy s5. It just isn't a fan of my LG v10 I guess. My friends phone is a really cheap phone so it's really no shock it doesn't work properly with things.

haha I believe I have he same pair! The ones with the magnets for securing around your neck?

I love them, saves me constantly breaking earphones/headphones, for some reason with wired headphones the jack to my phone gets damaged internally and I lose audio in the left or right ear.

Worst part about them is forgetting to charge them occasionally (Like this morning) and because of the snug fit the first few times I used them it induced a gag reflex.

A gag reflex from your ear canal?! That's crazy, I didn't know that was a thing.

Neither did I until I vomited the first time I put them in!

I got over it mostly. Its a weird kind of suffocating feeling if they go too far into my ear canal.

Yup those are the ones!

I bought a pair on cyber Monday for 17 bucks since then I have purchased 4 more it's been my go to Xmas gift.

Yup, I made that decision too! Just got the cheapest ones they had at Target, which were $35 at the time. Takes a lot of pressure off about losing or damaging them. They work great for rocking out at the gym or listening to podcasts on the way home. I don't have the facts to back this up but I feel like earbuds are almost all the same as far as audio quality goes. I do have some great headphones for being an audiophile at my desk hehe. But those don't travel.

I was gonna comment the same thing. was looking at bluebird X2s 2 years ago and said "ill buy some cheap ones to see if I actually use them" changed jobs, now I wear them ~5hrs a day and have no complaints. for $25 they are an easy choice

I just got them today. I love them haha

That’s my pair. Pretty good audio quality and inexpensive to replace if I lose them.

Agreed on Taotronics! Not the absolute best you can find in terms of sound quality, but they are great for working out, have a good battery, and are priced really well.

Lol I own the same ones. Bought it back in 2013 for $15 and use it every day at the gym. Recently the rubber micro usb cover for the broke off. Still get about two hours of battery life. Sound quality is perfect for podcasts.

One downside is that the connection to the earbuds is weak just after I put these on and walk downstairs and takes a few minutes to find the right groove. It’s solid when I’m working out however. The earbuds maintain the connection pretty much everywhere in my apartment even through walls up 50 ft away. The mic for making calls isn’t great. I’ve had people complain that they cannot hear me well when wearing both pairs. Even if I take off the earbud with the mic and speak right into it, the sound quality of the mic is barely usable.

I got some of those, and a big pair of bluetooth earphones that have a cable that you can unplug. Switch out between them as needed. It's fantastic. I can't believe I waited so long to get all this.

I got some beats wireless when I got my iPad. Paid $50 to get the next version better. They aren’t worth $200 they are retailed for nut for $50? Enjoyable

I bought a pair and the sound quality is terrible: it's like listening to a Sinclair Radio from the 60s.

I got some Ankers that are pretty nice, and magnetic so I just have the cable behind my neck and wear them like a necklace when they're off.

Anker makes some great stuff - batteries, cables, headphones, speakers - and it's all pretty reasonably priced. I don't think I've ever been disappointed by them.

Same, got the battery pack with the AC plug built in and a small collection of cables. All super cheap but solid and reliable. Even the mesh bag that came with the battery pack is pretty nice lol.

JLab Metal Rugged Bluetooth earbuds are 30$ and they sound really good. They are my favorite things in the world I’m telling you man

In case anyone is looking into specifics, I got these Bluetooth headphones for $50 (usually $100) during a Best Buy Christmas sale. They’re great so far. It comes with a back up aux but I never really need it because the battery’s pretty good. I no longer suffer unwarranted fits of rage when ever I walk around with them on.

The problem I've got is that I use headphones when I'm doing my marathons, most bluetooth headphones can't run for the ~8 hours I need or are way too massive or uncomfortable for such an activity.

8 hours for a marathon? I’m not trying to be a dick, but that’s literally walking speed.

You are not incorrect. I speed walk them. 8 hours is what I can do a marathon in if I have done zero training. With training I can hit 6 hours.

To be fair - if you're doing marathons in 8 hours, you can probably find the time to stop and swap out headphones.

Depends on the route and logistics.

Some marathons don't double back, so I don't have an opportunity to go by my stuff. Many marathons I'm not there with someone who isn't also doing it.

All in all, it's just far simpler to wear normal headphones. Besides, during a marathon I think I average one unexpected pull on the headphones per course.

Theyre over $100 (depending on sales and if you live in the states they can be under $100) but jaybird headphones are by far the best i can think of. I have the freedoms and im never looking back

I bought a pair of Jaybird X2''s to listen to audiobooks while I ride my bike to work. (I have no pockets on my bike-clothes suitable for running wired headphones from).

In general I'm very pleased with them. Good soundquality and OK battery time and range. But I find it annoying that they stick so far out of the ear. It can be uncomfortable to use them under a cap or balaclava when riding the bike in the winter.

If you have the money to upgrade and sell those, the freedoms have significantly smaller buds and are designed to fit under helmets/ any head gear

Thanks, I'll consider them next time. I've had the X2 for 2 years now, so I'll probably wait until the battery declines a bit further.

They're not bad, but their sweatproof claim is exaggerated.

Bought some OG Jaybird X buds for $60 to use while running. They lasted about a year and a half before they shorted out from sweat.

Jaybird (now owned by Logitech) sent me a pair of X2s as warranty replacement. Those just died last week after 9 months.

So, they just sent me a pair of X3s. We'll see how long these last. I do have a bit of hope, since they do seem to be designed substantially different from the X and X2.

I mean, you paid 60 bucks and youve gotten 3 pairs of headphones? Sounds pretty good to me

Jaybird X3s should be just at $100.

I just drove by their office, I never paid attention and had no idea they were based out of Park City until tonight. I try to support local businesses and will definitely be buying more of their headphones from now on.

Yeah that sounds right, i live in canada so its a bit more for me, but i got the freedoms for around $140

I got myself a pair of AirPods. They're honestly the best things I've purchased in a long time. They're SO convenient.

Invested in a pair of Jaybirds for commuting and running -- well worth it to cut the cord. Plus, now I can watch TV (on the Bluetooth enabled television) late at night without waking the Mrs.

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Used the fit adjuster so it stays snug against my head and doesn't move back and forth.

Irrationally furious at inanimate objects? Are you me?

$100 the dollar sign goes before the number.

Which ones do you use? I'm in the market and looking at jaybird X3, Senso, taotronics, and Anker

I've had 3 pairs of toatronics bluetooth headphones over the last 3 years and they are terrific for the price. None of them are over 40 dollars. I've worn my current pair (bh-28) everyday for a year in all types of weather including snow and light rain and they're fine. The sound quality is on par with more expensive sets with great vocals, high and mids. The bass is there but not exactly thumping. I do with the controls were a little different (they work well, just slow) and the initial setup is a bit strange. Good luck.

Thanks for your input. See that's the thing, I don't care about bass so it should be fine. Is behind the ear clip annoying or useful? Can you wear it for, say, 3 hours continuous without fatigue?

Useful and yes, I have them and love em

Hmm, I went with Anker Soundbuds Tag for now.

I was looking at BH-26 and those, and the only thing was the magnetic turn off/on feature.

Good thing is that I can return these to Anker in Canada but it would've been harder to send Taotronics to US if they didn't work nicely paired with two devices.

Instantly anger-provoking when something rips those fuckers out of your ears. Why is that?

I don't know but it honestly makes me want to destory things and I'm not a violent person.

Kinda similar, but I just got Sennheiser HD650s and holy crap, Hotel California never sounded so good

I just run the wires inside my shirt. Never had a problem, while biking, running, or doing all kinds of construction. And if you need to take one out to talk to someone, just pop it out and it'll hang off your collar until you're done.

You can get top notch wired earbuds for as little as $20.

You can get decent earbuds for $20, but they won't be top notch. It's shocking how nice/expensive they can get

Got a pair of bluetooth Parrot Zik 2 noise cancelling headphones The battery life could use some work but best damn experience with noise cancelling so far. Not so cheap though and dependence on the app for certain functions takes some getting used to.

You can get decent enough sets for about $25 on amazon. I use them for about 6 months then replace them

Which headphones do you use

I bought a pair of Panasonic Bluetooth headphones at best Buy for $15. They work great and I don't worry about losing them.

I use some wireless Sony headphones. Definitely love going wireless

Do bluetooth headphones have as good of sound quality as regular headphones for the same price?

Ultimately, no. You're paying an extra premium for the convenience/R&D costs. To ELI5 it, take about 25-40% of the price tag, cut it off, and that's the relative level of quality. Depending on brand and specific product.

Audiophiles tend to motivate like Bluetooth. I'm not one and I hate the sound of them. Nature of the beast though Not much you can do to get around It because of how it's transferred wirelessly

Yeah I completely agree, I got bluetooth earbuds and they are really good. I have no idea why they are so hated on.

Made the change after destroying the headphone port on my phone by catching the lead on a fence post. Have never felt so freeeeee!

Mine cost 14$ and I love them...

Dancing is so much better these last few days.

My cord snapped but is still working. I decided to grab wireless headphones before they really broke. Best thing ever.

Oh yeah for sure, bluetooth headphones are where it's at.

no more getting irrationality furious when inanimate objects

but they are such fucking assholes, they do it on purpose

I highly recommend the Jaybird X2's as they're an older model in the series with high quality that can be found for a good price as the newer models come out

I got my wife the Plantronics back beat fit for ~$75. They sound great and are really durable.

r/headphones

I can appreciate sound quality (not exactly an audiophile though), but these 35$ Bluetooth headphones work perfectly fine for me, stay in my ears (huge plus!) Thanks to ear hooks, have REALLY good battery life, and are much easier to carry around than any overear or wired headphone option. it's seriously changed how I pack for trips and really incentivize me to work out now that i don't have all these little interruptions when trying to listen to a podcast.

I picked up a pair of AudioTechnica ATH-CKR35BT from Singapore airport for like $50USD, they have been doing the job for me

If the budget is $200 I suggest the Jaybird X3. Good battery life, great quality, good for exercising with. They were around $175 when I got mine, I think they’re below $140 now.

I got a pair for $25 from some website that I can't remember the name of. Gear something. Great little buds

Since the OP said $200, I will suggest this: https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/headphones/sports_headphones.html I'm not a fan of all Bose products, but the $179 soundsport pulse ones are great and actually stay in your ears and don't fall out all the time like about every other one I've had. I can't vouch for the more or less expensive ones on my link, but the ones I referenced are the first ones in a decade I've finally been happy with.

I use headphones a lot and I bought BT not for the convenience of no cable, but for the practicality of no connector. I found out I manage to wear our connector on the phone inside two years so BT earphones instantly increased lifetime of my phones.

They all have horrible ratings on fakespot and I don't know which ones to get.

Asking around on forums and subreddits might help.

But dont you have to charge it?

Omg I looooove having Bluetooth headphones.

As someone who commutes every day by public transportation, they were an absolute game-changer for me.

Never realized how much anxiety wires cause, until I got rid of them.

QCY QY-19 from Deal Extreme. Amazing for the price.

Any of the wireless Sony Bluetooth Headsets are the best quality / price ones you can get. One of the best things I bought.

I got the mpow couch Bluetooth headline for 20$ a year ago, they are still working perfectly, I am even using the same rubbery ear things ,didn't replace them.
Chargers in about 2 hours and lasts about 9 if you have music on for those 9 hours (and if its off it'll not go out of charge.

I have a pair of skullcandy method wireless headphones and the sound is freaking amazing especially since they only ran me about 60$. I am a huge advocate of these headphones because of how long the battery last and the sound quality over all well worth the money and pretty good for an audiophile with a budget.

I bought myself a pair for the holidays and they are currently being shipped. I can't wait to try em!

That's the first thing that came to mind. I recently made the switch to Bluetooth earphones and I love them. Bought an extra pair so I use one while the other pair is charging.

Yep just did the same for Christmas. Serious game changer

Agree! I recently got the Bowers & Wilkins PX and I wouldn't want to miss them. It's just so convenient

Audiophiles would not suggest any Bluetooth devices. Bluetooth is awful.

I got the around the ear earbuds from taotronics for 25$ and expected them to last a couple months. 1 year later I'm still going strong using them at the gym. Surprisingly excellent sound quality, too.

Or you can do what I do, put the cord under your shirt so it comes out of your neck hole, never had a problem with them getting ripped out.

not cool, not a gadget, but a curved shower rod so that the shower curtain never touches you was life changing to me.

What if I like it when my 6 year old opens the bathroom door to go pee while I'm in the shower and the air moving blows the cold curtain into my ass and I throw wild elbows and beat the curtain to death in a temperature induced panic?

Please seek counseling.

If you never had that slimy feeling sheet of cold sticking to your bare skin that won't come off despite your best flailing and batting it away, I don't think you realize the seriousness of this first world crisis.

  1. They said they like it. 2. I do realize the seriousness, and that is why I got a curved shower rod.

My parents have this in the upstairs hallway bathroom. The problem is, the toilet is really close to the shower so instead you have a shower curtain hanging over your shoulder when you take a shit. I can't figure out which is more annoying, so I don't shit in that bathroom any more.

i like when my shower curtain touches me it feels like a friend.

Big fan of "The ARC" its one solid bar of aluminum so it wont rust and has no joints for the shower rings to get caught on. The mounting blocks are pretty simple to use too.

Pro Tip: They say cut it down to make it fit.. Unless your shower is really small; instead of cutting it just put it up as is, it will bend out a bit more... but isn't that the whole purpose?

Heyyyyyy now. Hey now. That's a good idea. That shit drives me bonkers.

I’ve found if I leave a tiny bit of space between the curtain and the wall to let the air flow in and out, you don’t have to worry about curtain touching you

This is why I installed sliding glass doors instead. It might have been over the price limit for this thread but I hate shower curtains in general.

Doesn't this result in shower water all over the bathroom floor?

No, the curtain liner is still inside the tub but the fact that it’s being “pulled” away more helps keep it from getting that annoying stick to your ass draft

I haven't gone to the curved rods yet, but I always buy the heaviest weight clear inner liner I can. Seems to keep that infuriating billowing nonsense at bay.

My mom has one and it irrationally infuriates me. I fucking hate that thing.

This is the only answer here that I can totally get behind. I'll never not have a curved shower rod.

Is touching the shower curtain really that bad?

It's not you touching it, its the curtain touching you and then sticking to your ass/thighs that's kinda annoying.

If you can have it one way or the other why would you choose less room?

Cause I'm not bothered by the room I have and more room costs more money.

choose less room?

Because it means less room in the rest of your bathroom.

I leave my curtains mostly open so the shower can dry out. If your bathroom is cramped why aren't you doing this already?

My bathtub isn't really cramped at all so there isn't much of a need for it. Looking now, a curved rod might even interfere with the door closing fully.

A slow cooker, throw some ingredients in in the morning, have dinner ready to serve in the evening. It’s really that easy and much less than $200, I got mine for £25.

Slow cookers are meant for like soups and whatnot. My mom used to make chicken and pork shoulder in them, and they turned out dry. I convinced her to get a pressure cooker and it’s not even worth comparing, meats taste so much better.

Well you wouldn’t cook meat by itself but if you’re cooking it in a liquid a slow cooker will make it really tender. You should try coke roast gammon.

You get a bit of gammon and a can of coke and put them both in the slow cooker in the morning. Stick it on high for a couple of hours then turn it down to low for the rest of the day. It will smell gross to start with but after that it starts smelling great and it’s delicious and the most tender gammon I’ve ever had.

The meat is for sure tender (we are cooking it in liquids and stuff, of course not on its own), but the meat is dried out. After the first time cooking chicken breats pressure cooker you could tell it was better.

A pressure cooker isn’t a slow cooker, slow cookers don’t use any pressure.

I know, I’m saying pressure cooker for meat is much better than a slow cooker.

I quit smoking cigarettes after using a "vape." I know it sounds corny and vaping is apparently some cringe behavior. But I no longer smell like cigarettes and I can discretely smoke (vape) in situations where I couldn't smoke before.

Inb4 I know it isn't good for you but I mainly didn't want to smell like cigarettes anymore and now I don't.

I know it isn't good for you

Very unlikely to be worse than smoking actual cigarettes, though. Besides, it's much easier to quit because you can gradually mix/buy "juice" with lower nicotine content until you're essentially tapered off, I know several people who managed to quit smoking because of this.

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I'm not clear on the damage potential, and I'm not sure that anyone is - I'm not aware of any high quality research that's been done on this. If I see respectable evidence that it's as bad or worse than cigarettes, I'll believe it.

However, until then I'll just go with my current opinion that cigarette smoke is one of the most dangerous things that people voluntarily put in their lungs and that almost anything except for, I dunno, fucking chlorine gas is less harmful. :p

The EU did some work on this and the TLDR version was. Probably bad for you definately less bad than cigarettes.

Cool. No surprises there, then. Got a link?

https://ec.europa.eu/health/tobacco/ecigarettes_en

It's in the supporting documents for this directive. Can't recall where it's been ages.

Flip side: since moving out of my mothers house (who smokes) ive gotten used to the /normal/ smells of things. If someone who smokes cigs comes up I gag, even though I grew up with it. Vapers who smell subtily like raspberries? Much better. Plus, most jobs don't want you to smell like cigarrets but they dont care if you smell like fruit punch.

While I still find it weird to come across someone smelling so heavily of artificial raspberries or something like that, as someone who also grew up in a smoking household I totally agree.

I remember having teachers in high school think I was a smoker because I smelled so heavily of my parents secondhand smoke. I would have much rather them think “jeez, it’s a bit odd that duhbell smells like cotton candy, but I don’t entirely mind it...”

I had the same issue, though refused to ever touch a cigarette after losing my grandfather (only father i had) to 3 cancers caused mostly by smoking.

Even now there have been times where my boyfriend and I will stop at my moms to drop something off or pick something up, I'll be in there for less than 5 minutes and hop in to the cab of the truck and he'll make a comment about how awful the smoke smell is.

I used to work a retail job that specified in their dress code that smokers needed to use body spray. I never paid much attention to it because, well, I didn't smoke. But on visit from our DM i was told I had to start using body spray because I smelled like smoke. She assumed I was the smoker. I lived with my mom yet at the time.

Yea after seeing my moms variety of health issues and yearly (or more frequent) bronchitis, I’ve never touched a cigarette. Dad managed to quit smoking cigarettes and now only does cigars when he’s in his workshop (small victories), but mom is still a chimney.

I understand it’s like a 40+ year habit and that’s hard to break, but jeez ma, at least try!

Surprisingly my mom doesnt have too many obvious health issues other than she gets cold alot and her teeth are pretty bad (though her teeth were bad anyway from a retainer-gone-wrong as a kid.)

My dad on the other hand... he has constant coughing fits.

Both families have a history of lung cancer and neither cares to quit. Fun stuff. I agree on the trying thing. :/

Smoking will also cause popcorn lung and it has the chemical, diacetyl, that causes it in higher amounts. I am not saying vaping is safe, but it is not as dangerous as smoking cigarettes are.

It's a huge difference as well, like several hundred times less. Its not like it's a trade-off.

Exactly, but people get fear mongered into believing something, and then refuse to do any research on the subject to educate themselves.

its a great marketing tactic to minimize the comeptition of e-cigs

Unfortunately you're correct. All we can do is keep vaping and fighting for the right to do so.

Plus you don’t get the tar build up and you’re not breathing in actual smoke and I’m pretty sure water vapor is better for your lungs than smoke.

Exactly - but to be fair, nobody is complaining about the water vapor (which actually makes up a very tiny part of it, it's based around glycerine if I remember correctly), it's more about what else is in there, maybe especially flavoring agents and so on.

I’ve seen people argue against it saying that it’s not healthy to be breathing in water as if we don’t do that already with the water in the air. I know nothing about the flavoring stuff but I don’t see how it could be too bad?

Main ingredients are propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, both found in foods then flavorings.. Everything is FDA approved for eating, but not necessarily inhaling which is where concern come from

Here’s a high quality, long-term study funded by Cancer Research UK saying the long term effects are minimal

Popcorn lung comes from a flavorant that is illegal to add to "vape juice" in the US called diacetyl

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AFAIK it never happened to any one who vapes. The articles claiming it caused "popcorn lung" are basing their information on those who developed the disease after years of working in factories that used diacetyl in "butter flavored" popcorn.

Cigarettes will give you something like 750 times more of the compound that is said to cause popcorn lung. Stay away from the awful cigarettes :/

That's pretty much just an urban legend type rumor. In the past, some juice manufacturers included a chemical called "diacetyl". This chemical is/was used in popcorn manufacturing for the artificial butter flavoring. Inhaled in large quantities, it can cause a serious respiratory condition known as "popcorn lung".

Most ejuice makers have removed it completely, but even prior to that, the amount of this chemical in the juice was much, much less than the amount found in cigarettes.

Sounds to me like those people were looking for an excuse to go back to cigarettes.

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Tobacco business is massive, they don't want you leaving

Have you actually met anyone with popcorn lung. Or anyone who knows somebody for that matter. It's far less likely than cancer Im sure.

i can't believe i'm linking to fox news but here you go: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2017/07/20/popcorn-lung-are-people-who-vape-at-risk.html

"The Harvard press release drawing attention to diacetyl in e-juice caused alarm among vapers and quickly became ammunition for vaping opponents who now had a life-threatening, rare lung disease on their side. But the Harvard press release left out key information. Most significantly, diacetyl exposure from cigarette smoking is significantly higher than exposure from vaping, perhaps as much as 750 times higher. This doesn’t make vaping safe, but it supports the argument that vaping is safer than smoking traditional cigarettes. The Harvard press release also failed to mention that there’s no established link between popcorn lung and vaping."

Just to clarify, diacetyl causes popcorn lung, and is present in some, not all, vape liquid.

Still bad for you, but I wanted to clear some misinformation.

Popcorn lung is caused by a chemical called diacetyl which is used in foodstuffs and in some vape juices for flavoring. Nevertheless you're exposure to diacetyl is still much lower compared to people who've gotten popcorn lung but it still may cause respritory damage over time. If you're worried about this chemical there are tons of juices that dont have any diacetyl. If you go into a store where they mix their own juices they could help you find something.

Popcorn lung is caused by certrain ingredients in vape juice. the chemical is diacetyl and is often found in Butter flavors.. Avoid any juice with this ingredient.

For the most part the ingredients are Propelyne glycol and Vegetable Glycerin then artificial flavorings

When people tell me vaping is still bad for me I just tell them that putting anything in your lungs is bad for you.

It has recently been linked to hearing loss, I would not recommend at all.

Citation needed

Probably worth a Google

If I went off to dig through google for every apparently unrelated claim I encountered, I wouldn't have time for anything else. This is where the whole "asserted without evidence" thing comes in.

Then link it if it's so easy to find?

Smoking cigarettes can also cause hearing loss, so still a better trade off.

Who knows, the chemicals used in vaping are so recent there hasn't been significant study into their effects on the human body. For all we know it could be doing many other harmful things. Not to mention people tend to have MORE nicotine using these products.

The high (if you could even call it that) just isn't even remotely worth the risk.

Edit: Downvoting a debate, hilarious.

It’s always really funny when you got someone that doesn’t vape that tries to tell others stuff they know nothing about.

It’s like that time some guy literally said I was smoking carcinogens and getting cancer using my vape. Took a deep hit on that one.

Actually, the main ingredient in vape juice is also the main ingredient in Albuterol, or inhalers. With that we have several decades of documented inhalation effects. The second most prominent chemical is nicotine which we've known the effects of for even longer. The only wild card is the food grade flavoring which is currently being studied with some reports being as old as 10 years now.

I mean you don't have to get Vapes with nicotine in them....

[citation needed]

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=vaping+and+hearing+loss&oq=vaping+and+hearing+loss&aqs=chrome..69i57.6976j0j4&client=ms-android-hms-tef-gb&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

That's not a cited source that's a link to a Google search.

I was being farcical, just as you were. Not everything someone says needs a citation, when it has been studied and in the news for years.

I don't need to do research for you.

ooooooookayyyyyy

Don't worry about it

I don't get why it's such a cringe thing. I used it to quit smoking (worked immediately) and discovered I liked vaping. I really try to be considerate of others when doing it, but it's my lunch break I'm going to do what I want.

Me too! I quit smoking with a little vape pen and found I loved it so much that I now have a big box mod.

Not only did it fix the smoking, but also helped me get off of sugar. Now I vape candy flavors instead of eating candy. Double win!

Just a heads up! I was talking to my dentist a little while ago, and we discussed switching from cigarettes to vaping (which I did).

One thing she noted is that she's seen heavy vape users get tons of cavities. Be careful with those sugary ones, I don't think they're great for your teeth. Try spearmint or unflavored!

It's the sweetener used in juices. Pick one of many varieties with no sweetener.

Yeah, exactly, that's what I'm suggesting to that user.

Many flavoring concentrates still have sweeteners like ethyl maltol in them. Avoiding juices loaded up with sucralose will improve your coil life tremendously as well as the dental benefits.

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I've never met anyone who started vaping having not been a cigarette smoker previously. This is pretty much just a stereotype that allows people to justify criticizing people trying to improve their lives.

I know a few, and it was 100% a trend like anything else and seems to have died out. My roommate at the time and I used them to quit smoking, but visiting a local shop would reveal that there were plenty of edgy teens wanting to "cloud chase" or whatever they called it, no nicotine just massive clouds.

Yeah, no. My little brother (17) mentioned a month ago he wanted to vape purely for the flavored smoke. And also because all his friends do it too.

How is this any more cringe than when people start to smoke cigarettes?

its only cringe when edgy twelve year olds post vids of them vaping on instagram to try to get clout. For respectable people trying to get off ciggies/not being obnoxious about it it really isnt.

I had an employee who Vapes constantly. One day he claimed he was getting high off of it. To quote him verbatim: " this cucumber mint got me high as fuk". What made that statement even worse was he's a wannabe gangster and racer who slides in the snow in his mom's soccer-mom van and then starts bragging about how he " Master drifted that shit". Because hitting some ice is totally the same as drifting...

Oh dear. That is... awkward.

Damn... even Ali G is realer gangsta

I couldnt stop laughing.

One of my favorite moments is when he graduated from is Mom's van to a 2007 Mercury Montego that he had tried to turn into a ricer / lowrider combo. I wish I got a picture of that dumpster fire.

i've never before felt better about practice donuts in the snow in a high school parking lot in a duramax than I do right now. So thanks for that confidence boost. Bwahahaha.

But for realsies tho, how old was this kid? He sounds like that kid growing up that never got enough attention from his parents/friends so he changed social cliques/personalities every year in school until he found a group that accepted him enough.

He was 18 at the time. We didn't judge him too harshly but there were some things that we're just too funny not to laugh at. It's been three years since we last worked together and I've kept in touch since he's a good kid and he claims I have helped him through a lot of personal issues. He hasn't changed much, though, outside of being less arrogant after getting his ass handed to him by experiences that have proven that he doesn't know anywhere near as much as he thought he did.

Honestly that last part about him losing the arrogance is really the best thing. I know too many people who get proven wrong and still dont drop it. Sounds like a good kid. Props to you for sticking it out.

How many times he get slapped in a day

Not enough.

My issue with vaping is that there are people doing it to get away with what is essentially smoking in places where smoking is prohibited. They know they're squeezing through loopholes and use them as a defense. If they did it to cut down on smoking, that's fine, but many don't, they're simply substituting vaping hoping they won't get in trouble.

I'm sure it's actually that many ARE using it to quit smoking. You just don't see or hear about them because you don't even know they have it.

Those people are assholes, and give the rest of us a bad name.

Even if most public places didn't already prohibit vaping (which means these people are double-assholes, they aren't using "loopholes" as much as ignoring rules, at least here in the US) most of us have the common sense to recognize that if you can't smoke there, then you shouldn't vape there.

I'd be willing to bet that those same people would straight up smoke a cigarette in those same spaces if they (still) smoked them. So, yeah. Assholes. Please understand that most of us value what vaping has done to get us off cigarettes, we want to continue to be able to use this tool to that end, and we understand that that opportunity diminishes when we do fucking moronic shit like this that alienates people. I'm sorry that you see that happening, because it shouldn't.

Vaping is considered a cringe thing because of the people who weren’t smokers before, but now vape because they think it makes them look badass or something to that effect. High school and college kids make vape cringey. Most people I know who vape are just really obnoxious about it, doing it in public spaces and blowing the vape all over everything, trying to do vape tricks all the time, telling you how sweet their vape setup is (multiple times) when you don’t vape and really have no frame of reference to what they’re saying. Then there’s the people who vape but don’t even put nicotine in it, which just baffles me because that is an expense for really no reason. Like if you smoked before but want to quit, and vape without nicotine to satisfy that oral fixation, that’s one thing, but if you just vape without nicotine because you think it’s neat, I’m assuming that person is irresponsible with money.

The thing about telling you multiple times reminds me of runners. It seems to come down to hobby versus habit. If it's a habit, you just do what you gotta do. Those vape bros are hobby people. And they seem to be the cringy ones.

Not cringe if the cloud of smoke isn't bigger than a puff of smoke from a cigarette or at most a pipe.

I stopped smoking in less than a year via vaping, and I got it as a joke because my mom wanted to try it, but didn't want to do it alone.

I wasn't even motivated to stop smoking at all.

She actually gave up on it after a while, but I quickly started saving money, so I just went along with it.

I'm all for it as a cessation tool, but not as a replacement. :)

You gotta actually want to quit smoking too.

Just be a dear and don't use it on airplanes. I thought the plane was on fire coming back from vacation last spring. Turns out the lady in front of me just couldn't wait any longer. I went from genuinely alarmed to angry when I realized the plumes of smoke were just her vape.

You shouldn't really be using a vape in any confined spaces where they don't already allow you to smoke, because this tends to set off most modern smoke alarms.

Large open places are fine, but most small single offices, toilets, planes, etc it will likely set off modern smoke alarms.

The guy who tests our fire alarms at work uses a small device with a vape and cone attached to deliberately set them off to make sure they work.

I know of no country (or airline) that permits the use of vapes on planes. In fact, every carrier I've been on made a statement along the lines of "smoking, including the use of e cigarettes, is strictly forbidden"

Edit: typo

You could just wrap coils with higher resistance, and using lower wattage. Practically no smoke at all.

Pretty sure that is illegal.

pretty sure vaping is uncool because that's what the tobacco industry wants

Tobacco companies pay big money to make fun of vapers and get others to do it. Unless you're being as showy and proud as possible you're golden.

Examples? Just curious. I always see those anti-smoking commercials claiming tobacco companies are clandestinely promoting vaping. Doesn't make sense to me, but I've never been a smoker or vaped, so..

My SO took that route. He smoked for like a decade, so he's just about down to a small amount of nicotine now. It'll be nice when we finally meet and he won't smell like my abusive childhood

youve never met?

Meat*

She was abused by sausages as a child.

We're long distance

Hi long distance, Im Dad.

Me too. I went from cigarettes to a vape. Found myself using it less and less and in about a month I'd stopped altogether.

Tell that to the cool people who will rip on you for vaping. I bet that demographic will die younger than the smarter demographic.

My buddy vaped. Not sure if he did to quit smoking or what. But he just had a newborn so he quit vaping. Sold all of his equipment from vaping for like $500+. I don't know a thing about vaping but I imagine he had a lot of shit to make that much off of it.

So, if anything, not only does it help smokers quit, the resale value is pretty substantial.

And on top of all of that, he sold all of his vaping stuff within a two hour period after he posted it on Criagslist/local yard sale page.

It’s not with out risks but it’s a damn site safer than smoking.

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I've never used the non-nicotine one so I can't say.

As far as brands etc, you're absolutely right. They're so confusing and new ones come out CONSTANTLY. I was using a certain kind and I liked it a lot and then it got discontinued. Unfortunately it has to do so much with person preference, also. I'm a female and I like the smaller ones (even though I have to charge them more often). Guys don't seem to mind the huge ones (I call them grenades because it looks like they're holding a grenade lol).

Anyway the one I have now that I like got discontinued and replaced with a new model that I hate. It sucks.

This is the closest thing to what I have now: https://store.smoktech.com/product/details/139

That one actually looks better than the one I have.

If there's anything else I can answer to help you, I'd love to. I recommend finding a vape shop where you actually like the people that work there and just hanging out there. I travel for work and I go to vape shops all over the country and kind of just chill there in my downtime. It's better than a bar because I can drive home. Sometimes the people that work at those places are obnoxious hipsters but thats only a small amount of the time.

Like I said, anything else I can do to help I'd love to. I'm really happy I quit smoking cigarettes (for the most part lol). It was a nightmare getting out from under that shadow.

I’m late to the party but w/e

The big baby beast tank by smok is so far the best refillable tank I’ve had since i started vaping a few years ago.

The best rechargeable battery I’ve had is the Tesla brass steampunk, lasted about a year and a half till the charger port broke =[

Ive currently got my baby beast on a kanger squonk box with 2 18650’s

Don’t buy the squonk box its trash..... the charger port is already breaking, and the squonk bottles are made of plastic that creases and splits easily. Why they arent made of soft silicone ill never know.

If i had the extra $ i would buy a smok that can hold my current battery and tank.

So far with only owning one piece of their product Smok is the best quality, kangertech is the budget brand.

Edit: i just did a little browsing on the smok site for shits and gigs. This is going to be my next mod. No doubt

Haven't had a cigarette in 2 years ever since I bought my Ecig, one of the best things I've purchased for myself! Glad to hear it's working for you!

Honestly the only think about vain that bothers me are the people who do it to look like a train and try to do "smoke tricks". Otherwise it's fine.

I don't think anyone has a problem with people vaping to quit smoking, good on you!

I was able to completely quit smoking by getting into vaping then easing myself to nicotine-free juice. Once I did that and there wasn't the addictive chemical in the equation, I just gradually fell out of interest in vaping. I'd honestly call it a legitimate tool for quitting smoking.

I 100% agree with this. My roommate started vaping to quit smoking, and it helped not just cut the nicotine craving, but also broke the "ritual" that keeps a lot of people coming back. If he was craving a cigarette, he could take a quick drag or two off his vape pen without stopping what he was working on. Took him less than a month to quit entirely, and now he just vapes when he drinks so he's less tempted to smoke while drunk.

I quit smoking this and had 2 other friends quit this way as well.

In the same boat. Smoked for 10 years,got a vape,never smoked again. Can not stand the smell of cigarettes

The only things in ejuice are the flavors (vary greatly), vegetable glycerin, and nicotine.

If you buy from a good shop the flavors can be natural, and pleasant. I vape as well, and will never touch a cigarette. Vaping is certainly a safer, and more cost effective method.

Naturally, the nicotine isn't really good for you (besides being addictive) But its about the equivalent of walking around in a large inner city just breathing. The vegetable glycerin gets broken down harmlessly, and the flavors depending on what's in them are almost harmless.

Compare that with tar, rat poison, etc, and its the obvious choice. You can even buy tobacco flavors to help you switch.

I love people that are all "of course it's so bad for you!"

It's a weaning step to get someone to stop smoking tar sticks. Of course it's not GOOD....

It's like methadone for smokers :D

That's directed at the people that start vaping even though they never smoked (and were never going to) in the first place. These are typically the same people that are cringy/annoying with it.

As a non-smoker: thank you!! I love that places don't smell like smoke anymore. The only people I know who smoke cigarettes anymore are those people who smoke only while they drink.

Does it give you the same satisfaction?

Yes, you can choose the nicotine strength but if you go too high in the beginning and you are not used to it especially the first 40 puffs it hits HARD on your throat.

It’s not “exactly” the same but close. I compare it to when you have to bum a smoke from someone and it’s not your brand. It’s a smoke but not quite your smoke. Pick up a decent setup and give it a bit of time. /r/electronic_cigarette sidebar will give you all the info you need

Once I found a flavor (flavors) I liked, I like it better than smoking. But sometimes when Im drunk, I just want a cigarette lol..

My husband used to DIP (so disgusting vomit).

He quit and started smoking...not quite as gross, but still bad.

Started vaping, and praise jesus hallelujah! So much better. It's totally turned into a pretty awesome hobby, he makes his own juice and while I work on my YT channel or other crap, he's making juice.

It's been over 3 years quit now from dip & cigs.

People calling them vapes is the worst thing about it. Vapes were already around for years and are for smoking weed,

I know I cringe saying it. I actually still say "smoke." (Like, I'm gonna go smoke).Vape just feels hipster-y to me

It's only cringe if you're a high school kid who just blows clouds in people's faces

i bought myself a juul. total game changer being able to get a hit of nicotine from the comfort of my bed.

The cringe is for people who take up vaping that weren't smokers. If you're a smoker I think it's a good place to start.

I can discretely smoke (vape) in situations where I couldn't smoke before

Don't do this shit. If you can't smoke there don't vape there. Don't be a douche

Everyone says it isn't better for you because everyone uses it wrong. The way they are supposed to be used is just letting the vapor into your mouth and not inhaling to your lungs. The whole point of the vapor is to absorb through your mouth/tongue.

I can assure you, they are absolutely not supposed to be used by letting the vapour stay in your mouth and not inhale it. Did I miss sarcasm?

Where have you heard this ffs 😂

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You definitely take it down. I think you might be referring to other styles of NRC. There used to be a pipe thing years ago but you didn't use it the same as you do a vape. Also, it didn't work as well as a vape does.

Fyi, there's nothing discrete about vaping. That huff-n-puff cloud is pretty obvious.

Vaping has been linked to hearing loss, would avoid at all costs.

That's the second you've made the claim with providing proof.

Yes, because nobody had ever said anything without giving direct evidence? What an incredibly abhorrent thing to say.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=vaping+and+hearing+loss&oq=vaping+and+hearing+loss&aqs=chrome..69i57.37822j0j4&client=ms-android-hms-tef-gb&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

Use your brain.

You don't like vaping and think it's bad for you? Then don't do it.

What? I never said I did.

A generic pocket knife. I found one on the side of the road one day, picked it up and used the pocket clip to hold it in place. I never leave home without it because I use it every day now. Need to try to get a screw out? Pocket knife. Need to cut a zip tie? Pocket knife. Need to open a plastic covered item? Pocket knife. Need to hunt down a squirrel in a dire emergency situation?... results vary...

And if you get a non-generic pocket knife with good steel that'll blow your mind even more.

Get a Victorinox swiss army knife (not the imitations...they tend to fall apart after a couple of years) for lifelong utility with lifelong warrantee if it goes wrong.

Get a simple Opinel for even less if you just want the most slicey pocket knife you can ever find for less than the price of going out to dinner. (Seriously....they cost like $12 and are worth every penny).

Kershaw, 20 bucks and youre done

Benchmade. $130 and you'll end up addicted.

Ive got 2 kershaws, a spyderco, an emerson, a crkt (snaplock, coolest knife ever) and a custom built clever by a local guy. Benchmades are cool but i think if my girl noticed anothwr knife show up shed leave me

Sounds like you need a new girl and a new knife ^She's^not^gonna^notice.

She and I carry out if the same pool of knives, and she bought me my snap lock. I think shed notice.

She and I carry out if the same pool of knives

This is pretty cute.

She normally grabs my purple leek or my emerson cqc 6, occassionally my spyderco jester.

Ill grab the snaplock if i want something classier, the scrambler or the cqc if i need a workhorse.

It's my go-to Christmas gift now, at least for men. I can easily tell if they have one already, and if not it can hopefully be a really useful tool that no one in their right mind would spend $200+ of their own scrilla on (you need to get on the Black series, goddamn they're good, the 810 I have is so amazing).

This. I bought my first nearly 20 years ago, and carried it every day. About 2 years ago, I got the urge for an automatic, so now I carry a CLA4300. Great knives.

The trouble with getting a 'good' pocket knife is that I can't bring myself to abuse it. For everyday carry, I have a cheap knife. It's not good at holding an edge, but I can sharpen it pretty easily. But when I need it, I don't hesitate to use it as an emergency screwdriver.

I have a good pocket knife for using as a pocket knife and then a little swiss army knife on my keychain to use as a screwdriver. In my experience, knife blades make terrible screwdrivers anyway.

It's also a good way to earn stitches.

I got my son a spyderco delica4 for his birthday, $60 but definitely worth it, I want/need to buy one for myself next.

Yeah the Delica is a nice knife. I only own 1 spyderco myself which is a true lefthanded militairy. I love it.

There's a bunch of good spyderco's for a fairly nice entry price. And they really work soooo much better than a genereic gasstation speecial.

Spyderco is the perfect inbetween for "wanting nicer than a Kershaw from Wal-Mart but not up to spending $250 on a Benchmade" great company.

+1 for Spyderco. I EDC a Dragonfly 2. Legal everywhere, weighs fuck all, and small enough not to make ppl in the office nervous. Got my 13 year old a Byrd Robin. REAL close to the dragonfly in layout, but thicker/heavier due to the steel liner and cheaper steel for the blade. Super good value though. My wife carries a bug in her purse. Its tiny, but I keep it super sharp for her so it can handle any small job she needs.

Had a Victorinox Pioneer for about 5 years now, lives in that tiny jeans pocket every pair seems to have. Very handy and slimmer than a regular pocketknife.

My EDC is an Ozark Trail from Wal-Mart for $3.87. It's sturdy, holds an edge, and I don't have to worry about ruining or losing it, so I can use it more freely than an expensive knife I'd want to protect.

Good for you man. Seriously. If that's what you're happy with then more power to you.

I have no problem using my $175 Spyderco or $300+ Sebenza for dirty or heavy jobs. Granted I don't have a lot of those jobs since I live in an office. But when camping and such I get a lot of use from them.

Everyone should just be happy when someone finds something that works for them.

I'm sure you've probably seen them if you're into knives, but ever used a Mora? They're a sheath knife, so a little safer than a folding knife for camping, and the quality-to-cost is outstanding.

Yeah, I own a Mora. They're alright although I'm not a fan of Scandi grinds.

For fixed blades I pretty much only use the knives I make myself.

And don't worry, if you take care a folding knife (a good one) is plenty safe for camping. Even something like an opinel.

I probably have the same knife. It's nice to not worry about screwing it up because it only cost 4 bucks. I use it for stuff a pocket knife should really never be used for because I spend more than it's worth on a pack of smokes every day.

My grandpa gifted me a Victorinox knife maybe 6 years ago, which I have used for numerous things and it is still as good as new.

If you want a really sturdy and reliable pocket knife this will be my recommendation as well.

Picked up a $12 Opinel off Amazon a while back because it was so cheap and looked interesting (I'd never seen a sleeve-lock knife, or whatever they call that mechanism). I love it. It holds an edge well, sharpens easily, it's light for its size, great knife all around.

Just DON'T clean the blade with your fingers. Or anything you don't want cuts in, for that matter. No matter how careful you are, you'll cut something.

Well you can...just remember to move away from the cutting edge at all time when you do. As you should with all knives really.

Thrust me, I did that. Still cut myself.

Sounds like a physical impossibility but ok. I wasn't there.

Maybe going from back to front is slightly safe. But that takes time. So you'll try base to tip... It doesn't hurt untill five seconds later.

See that's not away from the edge though....just along the edge in a different direction.

You don't do it entirely straight. A bit towards the edge.

I always wipe my blade clean diagonally from the spine of the blade towards the edge, angled to the tip. Never cut myself or anything that way. It's simply physically impossible.

I'm female and work in an office and I wear one in my pocket with just the clip showing. It's useful every day if for nothing else than to clean your fingernails. Plus it makes me feel like a motherfucking badass boss bitch.

IKR? I've got a multitool in my purse. I use the emery board attachment as much as the screwdriver or the knife.

But some years back, I was in the office and somebody's chair wasn't working right. "Anybody have a screwdriver? Pliers?" I saved the day with my multitool. (Am still surprised none of the men had one!)

Ha ha! Yeah, when my daughter went off to college, I got her a nice Buck locking folder with a clip. She used it whenever anyone needed to cut open a package, etc. People were kind of surprised to see 'a girl' with a knife, but when a basic tool was needed, she was the person to know.

Ah, so what you’re saying is buy a $5,000 car to go look for pocket knives on the side of the road

Nawww go get financed and get one worth around $50,000. Really want to make sure you have quality for that purchase you know? Will make it way easier to find that pocket knife.

Need to end it all so the aliens can’t get info from your brain? Pocket knife

Need to get tackled at airport security? Pocket knife

Need to carve “good head call xxx-xxxx” into a bathroom? Pocket knife, or write it in poopy

Need to stab me for being stupid and posting dumb reasons you might need a pocket knife? Pocket knife

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That's why I never use skeletonized handles and always keep my fingers clear of the blade path. Had that happen to me as well, though not to the bone.

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Solid enough, I still have it. I'm sure the twisting motion combined with pressing downward was enough to dislodge the locking mechanism.

Need to stab someone? Pocket knife

Need to stun someone? Pocket sand

Can't carry them in my country unless it's specifically work related

Which country and does that include a pocket sized folding knife?

Sweden, and it includes anything that could be considered as a weapon

Wow, ok, thanks

Woah, that's pretty strict.

Do you need some kind of certificate from your employer? I mean, if my work involves stringing cable, then I need a knife to cut shrink wrap, or strip insulation (yeah, I know, there are specialized tools for this that work better, but I don't always have it in my pocket).

Working in agricultural biotechnology, I used my knife for cutting leaves from plants to obtain tissue samples. It was also indispensable for opening the shrink wrap on bottles of chemicals, and for chipping ice off of stuff in the ultracold freezer. That's kind of work-related, but not exactly specific.

I mean, do I need to actually be at work to be able to carry a small knife? What if I am not wearing my lab coat?

Nah your weapon doesn't have to be at work, but it needs to be used for work, you can't carry anything for self defence. Nor can you for example enter public places with the knife on you, unless you are there to do work where the knife is needed

Thanks for the clarification. I am not well-traveled, and so if I do decide to travel, I will be sure to review such regulations before deciding what to bring.

Can't carry anything for defense? What the fuck?

Nope, if you defend yourself with a weapon then you can get sued by the perpetrator

Challenge accepted:

Hand tools. Writing implements. Cooking utensils. Cutlery. Silverware. Lawn and garden tools. Fireplace implements. All manner of cords. Chains. Hardware (bolts/brackets/etc). Household accessories (bookends/candlesticks/etc).

After that, I'd have to get creative.

[deleted]

Well, Sweden and other countries with similar weapon restrictions have far less violent crime than countries like the US, so sure, let's assume there's no valid reason for it.

Just because there's less crime doesn't mean there's no crime. Regardless, the government doesn't need to treat you like a child.

Got a small one as a keychain on vacation. I thought it sucked because it has a weird shape but I use it daily while working. Also it comes in handy as a a bottle opener..

I bought a tiny Kershaw folding knife keychain at one of those stupid sword shops that carry things that you would see in CS:GO, butterfly knives, fake switchblades, etc. Anyway that little keychain knife is amazing.

Just don't forget it if you need to go on a plane.

I had an awesome pocket knife until one day I was in a huge hurry to get on a plane and forgot to take it out of my pocket and TSA confiscated it =(

I did the same thing but TSA asked me if I wanted to mail it to myself instead. They gave me a fedex envelope and a form to write down my credit card info. A couple days later my card got billed and my knife showed up in the mail.

=( Luckyyyy

They said I could put it in my main luggage (not carryon) but I'd already submitted it to be put on the plane, and I was offered no other options.

"Can I borrow your pocketknife?"

uses knife

"why do you carry a pocketknife?"

Either that or...

Sees me using knife

"What do you use that for?"

I used to carry $20 Gerber's. Went through 3 of them before upgrading(the blades break very easily). Bought a Benchmade on Amazon, has lasted me longer than any of the Gerber's and holds an edge far longer. Best $90 I ever spent.

My Buck 110 hasn't not been in my pocket since I got it 8 years ago. The brass is a little worn but it's still as sharp as the day I bought it, and I use it at least once a day. I don't know how I ever went around without it to be honest.

For years I bought pocket knives for ten bucks or less. Finally, a few years back, I bought a Buck 55. Lost the damn thing a few months back and just bought a Buck Duke. Build quality is high on both, I'll never go back to cheap knives.

I once woke up to use the restroom at night, and had my door handle break with me locked inside my room. Good thing I had my pocket knife- I was able to take the handle off and use the bathroom before things got dire.

Live in UK :(

Shout out to Benchmade for making a ton of badass knives. The Mini Griptilian is a great starter knife

Need to stab another hobo? Pocket knife!

I recommend the Gerber Dime.

results vary...

Guys, we found Daryl Dixon

Truth! I almost always carry one and when I don't, I inevitably need it for something. Sometimes people look at me like I'm crazy when I whip a knife out, but it's so useful.

Everywhere i go, people are enjoying knives ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrMj6XlhLrM

And you can stab hookers too!

God damn bookers

Beware though, these become addicting. I use mine enough between school, work, and everywhere else that I've considered investing in to one that is well built, warrantied, and sharp.

If anyone was to get a knife, id say to research whats best for what you have in mind.

In terms of every day things, id go with my victorinox swiss army knife. Its tiny enough to be on my keys, and the blades on the knife and scissors are still surprisingly sharp.

As for more tasking cutting jobs, youre better off paying for quality, if you ask me. You can get some pretty nice knives at around the $30-$40 range.

I bought Tiles for my keys and wallet because I lose them so often. It's pretty useful to make your keys play a sound when you can't find them.

I love Tiles, but do be aware they're basically a subscription service. Every year like clockwork your tile battery will die and the app will spam you with reminders to buy a replacements. The batteries aren't replaceable and I guess that makes sense considering the cost and form factor.

To me it's worth $60 a year to be able to find my keys and backpack so I'm not really complaining. But it's not a "buy it once for life" purchase. It's a subscription.

Trackr makes very similar products with replaceable batteries. I got a trackr pixel for Christmas but my uncle has been using them for a couple years now and he likes them a lot.

I tried trackr first. But they discontinued support of the app I needed for my model before the batteries needed replacement. Was annoying. Mine was the first model so maybe they got better with later models.

The trackr feature to essentially triangulate the tracker was much better than what tile has.

Bought the first gen trackr too, pretty disappointed. My phone always had trouble pairing with it.

Bought some cheap beepers insted since my wife always loses her keys. Low tech but very efficient.

Exactly, don't knock what works

Batteries last 1 year and you simply press the color keyed button on the remote so the beeper will sing you the song of its people.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-I'M-RIGHT-HERE-MOTHERFUCKER-FIND-MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-THIS-IS-ANNOYING-AS-SHIT-PLEASE-FIND-ME-SO-THIS-CAN-STOP-EEEEEP

as someone who is chronically late, often due to misplaced keys, i think this thread just changed my life. /u/CableTrash for prez 2020!

Invest in a key hook. Hang it somewhere in a high traffic area. That way I always can see my keys. If they aren’t there, I go looking for them immediately, even if I’m not going anywhere.

Orbit has rechargeable built-in batteries and sells a credit-card sized tracker that fits in your wallet.

They offer free battery replacement. I just bought a 5 pack and they are all half dead out of the package.

Do you have to pay full price every year? I just got a set a week ago but I thought you mailed yours in and paid a fee to get new ones

I got one for Christmas and I just looked into the replacement program since I was curious.

The one I got (the Tile Mate) was $20 on Amazon. The "reTile" cost is $15 but also has a $3 (5-7 days) or $9 (1-3 day) shipping fee. So for a 10% ($2) discount from amazon I can get a new one in 5-7 days or for $7 more I can get it in basically the same amount of time.

Supposedly you can also take them in to a Best Buy store and replace them which I assume would just be the $15.

I got one as a gift and looked up the price for replacement after wondering about the battery life. Normally I’m on the fence about subscription type services but this was fine, if I like it after a year and think it’s worth it I’ll pay up $15.

They give you a discount but it’s not much better than amazon’s “discount”

Try the Cube. I switched from Tile for this reason. The cube has replaceable batteries, and even comes with one spare!

Seems like wireless charging could solve the problem, if the designers wanted to.

Or just a screwdriver if they’d make the battery compartment open and the battery removable.

I imagine there is more than just the battery dying. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a line of code that won't allow the tile to be accessed by the app after a year.

There are diy ways to replace the battery, you're just not supposed to do that...

A friend had a tile and decided not to replace it. The Tile app doesn't stop accessing the Tile until the battery gets dangerously low (I cracked it open and tested it after it said it died); but it does start nagging you well before you really need to replace the battery. After the notifications started, the battery lasted almost another 4 months.

Which the company could still fix if they wanted.

The company put it there...

It's not a battery issue, Almost all of the time the battery still holds a charge AFTER it stops letting you use it, It's a greed issue.

Mine routinely last 18 months. I just ignore the warnings till they actually die. So I don’t think they have a software kill switch in them.

Yeah that sucks about them. I haven't tried any other device, but just having the ability to find things has made them worth it.

I just replaced a battery in one today. You have to destroy the casing, but it can be done.

I bought the MYNT trackers this Christmas for my SO and I. It doubles as a Bluetooth remote and you can replace the battery! So far it works fine and since I bought a four-pack, cost came out to $17.50 each!

good grief brother, pop that thing open and replace with a rechargeable battery. check YouTube for the deets. made life even better.

Worse. I bought a four pack for myself and family members. One got the app and registered his but didn't actually need it, one didn't want his and gave it back to me so after 3 months I put it on something else. The never used one died the same day as my heavily used one, the 3 month later one died 3 months later. It has nothing to do with the battery, just the sign in date. It's programmed to stop working.

You do know batteries "die" without even using them right?

So they operate like Apple

Mine should have died Christmas of 2016. I can still use it to find my keys and my phone (as long as I know where one is, I can find the other.)

I’ve had my tile for 2 years now and it’s still running.

That's exactly why I threw mine out.

a subscription service to have your keys make a sound? ugh, no thanks. this is an example of dlc/subscription service for everything being ridiculous. we'll never own anything again!

Aww, seriously? I bought one after I lost my car fob, which are extremely expensive to replace, and now I have to replace the Tile every year?

Or so, mine's just recently died, but I made it 1.5 years. The batteries are replaceable if you don't mind destroying the case. But the discount they give you is pretty fair for new ones.

Life Hack - you can open up those old tiles and replace the batteries. The seams are fused together, so it requires something like the Dremel tool mentioned above to get into it. Now the ugly one goes in a backpack, or car, etc. the app still shows it with a little icon of having to be dead, but it works fine

They collaborated with Keysmart to make a Key holder with built in Tile functionality. I've started to get those annoying notification sfor my old Tile's but luckily the Keysmart one is rechargeable by microUSB

They're easy enough to rip apart and replace the battery yourself. I 3d printed my own case for it.

My battery died after a month, almost to the day. Definitely never buying one of those again.

"Shit, where did I put those keys?" ^^"thats ^^another ^^dollar ^^for ^^the ^^swear ^^jar!"

Oh no, not my heart.

Are you me? I bought 2 tiles for me and then gave 4 as Christmas presents. $50 to not do the key hunt thing for a year? Yes plz.

I just got some for my birthday. Use your phone to find your keys and your keys to find your phone!

How do they work? Do they hook up to your phone or pc?

They hook up by bluetooth to any phone with the tile app running.

The KeySmart Pro has Tile built in AND it’s rechargable. My business partner and I got them a couple months ago. They are awesome!

Fun fact. If you have an Amazon Echo you can use it to find your keys with tile.

I fucking love tile.

I like the tile on my keychain, but the tile slim in my wallet is useless. The range sucks and it’s too quiet to hear if it’s stuck in a coat I forgot about in the closet.

They make an awesome Keychain now too, with a built-in led flashlight. $59.

I wish they would just build this into car clickers and have an app on your phone or separate button you glue to the wall for it or something

Keysmart has a new product with a tile built in.

I tried tile but couldn't find a way to disable the stupid button on the side. I kept accidentally pushing it in my pocket and it kept making noises. This was a while ago so I don't recall the specifics.

These things are a godsend. I was constantly losing my phone, keys or wallet. Just setting them down somewhere in the house and forgetting where exactly. Now so long as I can find one of the three, I can find the other two.

Do these come in remote controller size ? Seriously I lose the remote every night

My brother bought some for our immediate family. It has saved me many minutes so far. Once I was in a hurry and my keys were under the lid of a saucepan on the bench. Would have been walking around in circles for ages. The itle is too bulky for my taste, I enjoy my minimalist keys but it's been rather worth it imo.

Can confirm. Tiles definitely changed my life.

Pro-tip: buy one or two extras to throw on/in different things. I put them in my luggage when flying overseas and it was the only way I found my bags when arriving in Brussels. Immigration took FOREVER so by the time I got to the carousel, my two black bags were simply part of a giant and growing pile in a storage room. Not only was I able to confirm that my bags did make it, I was able to find them in a few minutes where my friends were looking for half an hour.

As an added bonus, putting them in luggage would also let you know where the heck your bags are should they not make it on the plane with you.

I genuinely read that as kids and wallet

I just got a mynt is pretty amazing

I put one on my dog. Best decision ever.

I put one on my wife!

Can find her in any store now.

I find pretty consistently poor reviews for both Tile and trackR (eg Amazon, Best Buy etc).

Have you had any issues at all?

I haven’t had any issues. But with tile you basically buy a new one every year. I don’t want to shill for tile though. Just having something that makes your keys beep is amazing.

For sure. My wife got them for her work keys, as it's a master set and a lot of her employees need to use her keys in order to lock up things on the property. Employees constantly would go lock up something, and then go home, leaving my wife in a panic to try and find the keys. She got a lot of "oh I gave them back to you" stories, so she bought a tile. Now they use the other managers keys because she busts them all the time when she pings her keys lol.

Or spend less than a buck on a key hook by your door and put them on the hook as soon as you get into the house. For the wallet too, get a bowl. Put both in.

Invest in a quality office chair. One of the best decisions I’ve done that makes my back not feel like hell

Any pointers to quality stuff?

Herman Miller

This. I had a regular rickety old office chair at my first job but one of the higher ups who had a herman miller traded with me when he got a standing desk. It was night and day. So much more comfortable and eased some back pain from long term sitting.

I know it's not a fancy shmancy kind of chair, but I love my IKEA Markus. I have that bad boy for almost 6 years now and it's still amazing.

This chair is amazing for the price, it comes to $150 (usually $330) with some coupons applied onto it.

"Serta® Smart Layers™ Jennings Super Task Big and Tall Chair, Black/Slate" Click here

If you're wondering about how to get it for that price, contact live support for a 20% off coupon and use honey extension to apply some additional coupons if any which will drop it to around $150

Honey for chrome: Click here

Steelcase leap v2.

This said under 200 and you said quality office chair. These are conflicting statements.

I got a used Steelcase Leap v1 on Craigslist for $145 a few years back. One of the best deals of my life.

Yeah, used office chairs are the way to go. Let businesses buy their designer exec chairs and then pick them up a few years later for a fraction.

Bought one of the best chairs on the market nearly a decade ago and can confirm.

Flex Tape

[deleted]

DONT TRY THIS

You underestimate my power!

NO SERIOUSLY, PHIL, HE'S LOST IT, HE DOESN'T FEEL PAIN ANYMORE

NEVER EVEN ATTEMPT THIS OK

NEVER EVEN ATTEMPT THIS

How bout a little more?

It's not that much damage phil

Tape that boat right back together

[deleted]

I am out of the loop

J O N T R O N

Do not taunt Flex Tape.

Do not taunt FlexTape

This guy disclaimers

*defenestration

We throwing fuckers outta windows?

Noice.

That’s right! Flex Tape!

Flex Tape....apply directly to the forehead...

Or just make a boat out of the tape

Exactly. In case the front fell off.

I'M GONNA SAW THIS BOAT IN HALF

Or just don't ! Even stronger than flex taper is hull of,boat!

NO; YOU'RE SUPER STRONG PHIL!

Have ya... have you heard of JESUS!

You’re done half the job, but have a full smile.

I SAWED THIS BOAT IN HALF!

OK for real though, my mom has a Versa with shitty bumpers. The car rattles itself to pieces. Flex tape totally fixed it.

Slap it on my butt

Just slap it on with the might of Zeus!

mayormaynottaphotoshoppedhisundiesooofffff

mayormaynotaphotoshoppedhisweineron

ivedoneitthoughreallyitsseriousitsaproblem

Memes aside, Flex Seal is a god send. Helped my family prevent leaks from forming in the basement during a very wet year.

Oh no! Phil has sniffed to much flex glue, now all he can see is martians!

Edit: marshins

Martians? Or is a marshin something lol

This is what happens when im on reddit too late lol.

To be fair though, you figured out what i was trying to sayvso thats a plus :D

This is what happens when im on reddit too late lol.

To be fair though, you figured out what i was trying to sayvso thats a plus :D

I patched up my gutter with that recently. Holy shit, that stuff ain’t no joke. Insanely sticky, and I literally could barely pull it back off when I botched the first try and hadn’t even really mashed it in place yet. I thought the tape would tear before the adhesive let go, but no, I was pulling with everything I had on a good hunk of it and barely getting anywhere.

I’m sold.

YOU'VE ANGERED ME, PHIL SWIFT!

If you do the thing,

and you do it right,

and you dont fuck it up,

it works - it just works

YEEEEEEEE DAWGY

Wtf is going on here? 0_0

Reference to a JonTron vid on the Flex Tape infomercial.

The link to the video, if you haven’t seen it.

https://youtu.be/8ci2hj7CSHI

To show you the power of flex tape, I sawed my dick in half

Just bought it :)

But you gotta pay for the boat and the saw as well

Fiber fix is better.

massive ripoff tape?

[deleted]

Can confirm. The kind with the heated seat and built-in water heater was totally worth the $200. My only complaint is that if it becomes unplugged or the power goes out, I feel my heart sink, like my bathroom just died.

Agreed. Every bathroom in my home has one, office does too. I damn near almost refuse to do my business without one. I recommend them to patients all the time and most are like a bi what? Occasionally I get texts from one of them thanking me haha. So cheap and easy to install - a must have :)

Wait, so can a bidet be attached to an existing toilet? Or is a bidet a type of toilet that you have to buy? I thought it was like car vs truck, toilet vs bidet. I've been interested in a bidet, but I know nothing about them other than they're supposedly pretty great. I'm tired of feeling like a caveman.

Aye. They can be built into the toilet (more costly but I hear good things) or an attachment that you can buy for $25 to a few hundred bucks I suppose. They install in minutes. I think ours were like $40-$50 each on amazon and work brilliantly. The one in my office will use heated water if we wanted but I never saw the need.

Wow, I never thought I'd be considering getting a UPS for my bathroom.

Zen bidet-500, all mechanical, it doesn't go down unless your pipes freeze. Hot water too, not the best but under $100.

Pretty sure that'll need a hot water pipe if it's non electric...

Uhh....Yeah, obviously. It comes with a "T" to tap the supplied hose into a hot water line. I used the one off my sink and hid the hose in the floor moulding. Real easy stuff. 10 min install, $60

What brand do you recommend?

Wirecutter has competent, detailed reviews of several and a couple recommendations: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-bidet-toilet-seat-washlet/

Those are all way over $200 for the ones that work well.

They have this paragraph in their section on cheaper formats:

Based on what I learned from a few hours of research (and again with the big caveat that we did not test these types of models), if I wanted a bidet for less than a hundred bucks, I’d probably go with the Luxe Bidet Neo 320, which is highly rated on Amazon, did well in Apartment Therapy’s testing of inexpensive bidets, and costs less than $60 at this writing. (We previously also recommended Tushy’s offerings, but no longer do, given the sexual harassment allegations surrounding Tushy’s founder, Miki Agrawal.)

I bought the $100 one from Home Depot. No heated seat (don't care about that), and the hot water comes from your hot water line in the house (which might take a long time to heat up, like running the faucet until the water is warm).

It installs in minutes, is fairly cheap, and changes your life dramatically. I don't even use the hot water thing, just the cold water wake-me-up. I dread having to poop at work now.

Thanks but it's unfortunately not the answer I was looking for :(

There are much cheaper ones that work well... If you don't need a heated seat or water stream, you can get them for like $20, and no power outlet required.

I love the Wirecutter. Almost every other recommendation site just aggregates other customer reviews instead of doing independent testing

Clean Sense is what I have. It's been great, although it's my first so "best" by default. I chose it because I didn't want to have deal with a remote control in the bathroom. That the women's-wash and "enema" features are so amusing (and alarming) is just a perk.

my heart sinks over a lot of things anyway when the power goes out, that is hardly a con haha

Buy a UPS for it! lol

Every bathroom needs an emergency generator.

Which one is $200? All the ones I've seen are 600+

It's a Clean Sense bidet seat. Found it for $199 on sale a few years ago. I bet with some patience you can still find it for close to that.

So you have a bidet and a heated seat and a heart sink?

Eh, mine doesn't have a built-in water heater, and the hot water line takes way too long to get to my bidet; so I just got used to the cold water wake-me-up.

It really isn't bad with cold water.

[removed]

[deleted]

I refuse to poop at work.

Well i did. Then i realised i'm the only woman there and essentially have a private bathroom so i installed a bidet there too.

That's why I carry a few extra bidets with me everywhere I go - I can install one on every toilet I use.

this guy poops

guy

His name is Richard, but it's also Vagino - so I'm not sure.

Casual. I just bring my toilet with me so I don't even have to install extra bidets.

You're like the Johnny Appleseed of cleaner buttholes.

They have travel versions. Obviously not highly technical but brilliant when travelling so your not forced to go back to regular ol' TP.

What happens if a second woman gets hired?

She'll love it. (We do actually get female visitors)

Hopefully the guys don't find out about it and start using your bathroom.

Naw, i'll just leave a visible sanitary item somewhere, that'll scare 'em off

(Unused, for now)

If reddit comments are anything to go by, there are used ones stuck to the wall everywhere in all women's public restrooms.

Must be a US thing, i've probably seen 1 my entire life

I am proud of you and your initiative for improving the workplace.

I rarely poop away from home, unless I'm staying at my parents' place for more than a week. I can hold it in quite a while and even when I eat good and don't try to hold it in it's still once every couple days.

How does a bidet handle the real nasty, sticky stuff?

You're pretty much taking a medium pressure hose to your arse. Strong enough to clean, yet light enough you don't give yourself an inadvertant colonic. (They have flow control dials so you can finesse anyway). It's marvellous.

Also try more fibre

They really need to put this description on the box for bidets.

For the more fibre part, try eating a lot of oranges, orange peels, bananas and apples. At first I ate a lot of all of these foods everyday, and as my gut started to get healthier I now only eat a couple of oranges and bananas a day. Seriously I weigh like 5 pounds less whenever I take a shit now.

wait, you can eat orange peel? I had no idea.

Yes but they are gross.

What did you thing orange zest was....

orange peel is very gross to eat, but I used to put it in a food processor and then add it to a smoothie or something. same effect, not as gross tasting

You can candy them too and they are really good. I had friends in high school who would eat orange and grapefruit peels raw and plain but....they were weird.

oooh how can you candy them?

You basically just dry the peels and boil them for 15 minutes and then melt sugar in water 3 parts water to 4 parts sugar and then throw the peels in for a while (45 minutes according to Martha Stewart) then coat them in sugar. You can do it with lemon peels too.

Don't even need to coat them in sugar. Just boil them until the water in them gets replaced with liquid sugar

Yeah but then it doesn't make you feel like you're getting the betes quick enough

mmm. Love me some dire beets

yay thank you now i have a bearable source of orange peels :D

Some of them can effectively give you an enema at max pressure... That's not always a bad thing.

Especially for stubborn fuckers

Damn that does sound pretty good. I need to get myself a bidet.

How much do they cost and how hard is installing one + do you need an extra water/power hookup?

Exactly what she said a few comments up. 25$ for the lowest tier and maybe 10 minutes of work.

do you need an extra water/power hookup?

Not unless you buy a heated bidet

Where are these $25 bidets? all I see are hundreds of dollar units

Look for the addon units, not the standalones. Also sometimes called 'hygenic wash'. You can literally get a hose, or the much better seat addon

Mine cost $16, actually. Ozstock, yo.

If you live in an area with snow, i'd suggest splashing out for one you can use heated water with. Unless you like icing your vovos, i ain't judging.

Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime. That's why I poop on company time.

My boss makes a dollar I make dime so I poop on company time

I carry flushable wet wipes (for when there is no toilet bidet) to work, pack in my car, gym bag and when I travel. $13 at Costco for 750 coming in small resealable pouches of 150 wipes.

These wipes are the reason I bought a bidet. My friend who is a plumber calls the wipes his kids' college fund. He said he goes out on so many calls to unplug pipes full of them that he started offering to install the $25 bidet attachments at all of the houses he goes to for that issue.

I primarily use wipes while traveling at work type of industrial strength toilets.

My wife texted me almost exactly this the other day! She had to go but felt dirty af

[deleted]

He’s going the distance
He’s going for speed
She’s all alone (all alone)
In her time of need...

You don't need to log in to reddit to know that reddit wants you to have a bidet

Jokes stop being funny the more you post them

A have a second water bottle I bring to work with me. Portable manual bidet

That's what every Italian abroad feels like all the time. When I lived in the UK I showered a lot.

Do what I do. Be honest about your need for a post wipe sluice and carry that bottle of water with pride whenever you go for a poop. (Bottle with bite valves work really well if you need more splosh power)

$20 Water Pick + $5 roll of gaffers tape...boom! Instant bidet.

Plus you can still use it as a water pick!

Where are you buying a $5 roll of gaff tape?

Freaking right? That stuff is worth it's weight in gold

Man, when I buy it, it's usually $30+ a roll, though I do prefer the 3 inch wide over the 2 inch

That kind of pressure might draw blood, but imagine how clean you'd feel!

But there's $20 bidets on Amazon that work great...

gaff tape in a room with high humidity. WHAT.

You can buy a bidet for around that much actually!

25$? Where please

Amazon

You two are not thinking of the same kind of [bidet] (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidet)

can confirm. it's bare-buns, but works amazing!

25 bucks? is it just like a waterpistol in your toilette? The bidets we have hear are like a seat next to your toilette and i don't think that's 25 bucks and ten minutes of work. + My mom hates it because my dad loves to use it on full power which apparently can make a big mess in the bathroom. I personally just shower after taking a shit, seems to be more civilized but requires good eating/coffee/shower coordination.

Good eating/coffee/shower coordination is an underappreciated life skill -- why hasn't Reddit addressed the burning need for self-care in this area?

The first time I ever saw a bidet attached to a toilet, I had no idea what it was. I had only seen them as their own facility, in movies. I thought they had an issue with their plumbing and that the extra handle was somehow the new flusher (typing this out sounds so stupid, but in the moment I wasn't really thinking).

Anyway, I bent over and pushed the handle and got bideted right in the eye.

Coupled with a squaty potty. You’ll wonder how you’ve lived this long in life

It's like entering a new era. Life before bidets, and then the age of enlightenment.

Depends if you get a bidet that hangs in the toilet or an independent one.

If it's independent you'll have to get another water supply and waste to the area, which may be a bit of a job.

The ones I’ve seen all T into the normal tank water supply. You really don’t need the heated water supply

I'm from France and over there the bidets all have hot water as well, because it's much more pleasant to clean up your junk or your butt that way.

We have solar water, and when it was just installed it wasnt properly set up and it heated close to the point of boiling midday. I once scorched my asterisk

I bought the $25 one and I’m thinking about getting a more expensive heated one, but just because everyone else is being a fucking puss. The water is just fine for me,m.

oh i agree warm would be better but US toilets usually don't have a close supply of hot water so you would have to run a line into wall/ceiling to connect to hot water

Just be careful using them in the winter, my balls have never hugged me closer!

I’ve only seen the legit multi-hundred dollar bidets advertised at the Korean grocery store. What good to decent quality $25 bidet would you recommend?

Cold water though. How much for one that'll heat the water up?

Firstly, the cold water is much less of an issue than you'd think. Secondly, there is a huge range of bidets available, from the cheap attachment kind all the way up to a complete standalone porcelain fixture. If you really want one, do a search on Amazon. Luxe makes several very cheap models and some use the hot water tap from a nearby sink. Others have built in heaters.

$25?!?1 I've got a hose in my yard!

I've been contemplating getting Amazon's choice one. How is accuracy? Sounds stupid but for real there is no way my butthole and my wife's butthole are in the same exact spot.

The first one I bought was the Luxe 320. I think it was about a sixty bucks. It works fine, especially for the price. They do make ones you can..."aim", which would be nice, but now you're starting to get into powered models that require an electric outlet or batteries. Regardless of what you choose, it is so ridiculously worth the money that I'm astonished it's not standard on all toilets.

They do make ones you can..."aim"

????? And I thought pooping couldnt get more fun.

Frankly, the aiming is more of a "nice to have" than a "need to have". It's not really an issue. On the other hand, few things are funnier than watching someone spray themself in the face because they were fucking around with the controls without sitting on the toilet first.

What are you on about?

[deleted]

I've never heard of such a device. I can't fathom how that would work.

Remove toilet seat

Install bidet onto rim

Reattach toilet seat over bidet bracket.

Turn off water

Attach hose from bidet between toilet and water supply.

Turn on water

Sit to test

Turn water up way too high at first and remember why you don't talk to your uncle.

Get the water right, and then giggle for the next 10 poops.

Hear your wife giggle for her next 50 poops.

Which model or type?

I like my Astor...but there's another good one for like $30-35, chrome knobs and self cleaning, it's better, but a but costlier. They both clean the same, the self cleaning feature is just more sanitary. But the sprayer retracts in both so it doesn't matter.

Thanks god i live in a country where everybody will have a bidet.

I don't understand how in the rest of the world people will just live with dirty asses their whole day

In Southern India, they have used a bucket for hundreds of years to clean their bums. After the Brits defeated Mysore the richest state and stole all the treasury, the single biggest complaint was they were defeated by barbarians who had did not wash their bottoms.

You'd think they'd change the bucket once in a while.

Apparently the caste system applies to buckets too!

Priorities, guys.

Yes, India is old and had won and lost wars many times but to lose to a people with dirty bums that is an insult.

Designated. Shitting. Streets.

I wouldn't think somewhere called "my sore" would be a very clean place.

Welcome to the USA

And most of the rest of the world. I don't understand how people get the idea that bidets are common around the world.

Yeah, I'm pretty well traveled and the first one I ever saw was the one I bought from Amazon and installed. Most places had those weird shower-nozzle sink things by the toilet that I never understood.

That's a bidet.

If you want the fancy ones integrated into the toilet, you will mostly find those in Japan and at high end places in the rest of Asia.

Not just the USA. I'm an American that just finished living in Germany for 3 years while constantly travelling. The only bidet I saw was in an air bnb in Venice. I didn't see a single one else where while travelling. I'm sure they were around, but it isn't just an American thing to not have one.

Interesting, I just visited Berlin and my hotel had one so I assumed it was a common thing.

I'm German, it's absolutely not a common thing (sadly).

Toilet paper and bloody assholes, that's how.

What kind of awful toilet paper are you using?!

John Wayne toilet paper. It's rough. It's tough. And it doesn't take shit from anyone.

Doesn't matter what kind if your poops are bad enough.

Duct tape. Solves everything.

Wiping your backside isn't difficult. It's not like the alternative to a bidet is being called in shit all the time.

I don't say it's difficult, but try wiping some nutella of a carpet with a piece of paper and try doing it with a hose. We all know which one will end up cleaner

[deleted]

at least 80% of my first wipes are totally clean

BS.

Exactly. Unless your backside looks like a Wookies a bidet isn't an improvement.

at least 80% of my first wipes are totally clean

BS.

I like to use barbecue sauce as an example... Napkins only get the top layers, and wet wipes still leave you a bit sticky. Washing with water is what really gets it off.

[deleted]

How about this analogy?

If you get literal poop on your arm, are you going to be happy with just wiping it off with paper?

[deleted]

Why is your asshole the one place on your body for which that is sufficient?

[deleted]

Urine is much more sterile than feces, and doesn't leave residue around the exterior.

[deleted]

If I got pee on any external part of my body, I would. Just as I would with feces.

There isn't a lack of residue. That's why we have freaking toilet paper.

[deleted]

There are apparently enough people for there to be a $2.14B toilet paper industry.

[deleted]

I know it's a thing. It's not a normality for most people.

Even if you have that 80% of the time, what about the other 20%?

I fucking run marathons asshole. My diet and water intake is fine, thanks.

Don't be a presumptive asshole who projects their experience onto everyone else. Improve yourself.

[deleted]

I'm a presumptive asshole?! I'll remind you this interaction started when you straight up told me I'm wrong about my own bowel movements.

lol, that's fair.

But it wasn't the life-changing experience reddit seems to think it is.

Maybe not for your magic pooper, but for most people it really is.

Also, re $2.14B tp industry - you do know women wipe every time they use the toilet, right? And I'll readily admit that that time of the month is the only time I miss the bidet (and where most of my TP usage comes from).

Now imagine you have a hairy bum and every poop is just like shark week. An exaggeration perhaps, but not too far off for some people.

[deleted]

That doesn't explain how it's different from your arm.

[deleted]

No. There is a difference between microscopic fecal matter, and fecal matter in sufficient amounts that you can see it on toilet paper when you wipe yer bum.

[deleted]

Then you are an anomaly. There's a reason we have a $2.14B toilet paper industry.

If your backside has the texture and consistency of a carpet you should invest in waxing / shaving.

If your hose is powerful enough to wash Nutella out of a carpet, it's powerful enough to do some damage if it goes near your backside.

Do you shit Nutella? Are you single?

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Un Criollo?

Queres un amargo?

Ah bueno por lo menos no sos un zipayo. Si dale amargo si.

We wash our butts in the shower.

That's so inconvenient

Did that until I got a bidet... The bidet is a real time saver and tends to work better.

After walking around with poopybutt all day.

I mean, it's possible to clean your ass aptly without a bidet, you just have to be thorough. I do it. I just fucking love how soothing a bidet is.

We dont, cus we have something called toilet paper.

If I took a shit on your coffee table, you gonna be cool with me just wiping it off with a paper towel?

If I took a shit on your coffee table would you be cool with just pouring a cup of water over it?

more like wash it with a hose then wipe it off. yes that is absolutely better than just wiping it off without water

Unless by "hose" you mean pressure washer that's still insanitary.

How is it worse than just toilet paper?

TP actually cleans. A bidet doesn't have sufficient pressure to clean properly, plus you still have to wipe / dry afterwards.

Overall they're just less efficient.

Idk what bidets uve used before but any decent bidet sprays water not lightly pours it. After ur done u dry and wipe with tp to make sure it's clean. U use less tp, take less time, and clean better

I've used a few in European hotels and they've all been less efficient, less effective, and more awkward than just TP.

NicoUK, are you basing this statement on experience using a bidet, or are you going by the video clips one occasionally sees of a bidet squirting water? Because those clips generally show only the bidet running its initialization cycle during power-up. That cycle runs water very slowly, so you don't get a fountain of water in the bathroom. An actual 'bidet' cycle uses quite a bit of pressure. An inexpensive one that relies on house water pressure has as much pressure behind it as your garden hose going through a narrow nozzle, although nobody uses it at full-power. A more expensive electric-pump model still cleans with a lot of pressure, but also often has a pulse feature.

One does have to dry off, after all that water. This can be done using an inexpensive washcloth, which can go through your laundry without trouble.

I do not know of any actual bidet owner who has been dissatisfied by the purchase, nor have I ever read a comment by an owner that is negative.

NicoUK, are you basing this statement on experience using a bidet

Yes

I mean, a bidet is basically a pressure washer... But turned down just enough to not hurt you.

And turned down too low to do a thorough job of cleaning, thereby necessitating the use of TP.

Just... Just try one. It's plenty powerful enough, and much more so than toilet paper. Haven't really ran into anyone who has used one who thought it didn't / wouldn't work.

I have tried several (they're fairly common in European hotels), and they've all been less effective, and less efficient than TP.

You need to improve your diet

That's not how the bidet works though so you're being dishonest.

It's a jet of water that's adjustable. The pressure is what cleans. Then you wipe up the liquid with TP.

Huge difference between pouring a cup of water on a mess and holding a water hose to it

I'm not being dishonest at all, I just used the metaphor provided, so first of all go fuck yourself.

Bidets don't have sufficient pressure to clean properly, if they did they could cause damage.

Plus if you're using TP anyway, what's the point of being less efficient and involving a bidet?

You're just wrong on all counts.

Bidets have a pressure knob so you can adjust it. You could rip your asshole in two if you cranked mine up all the way.

The point is a cleaner asshole, which works. But to address your inaccurate statement, you use LESS to dry than you use to wipe without a bidet

Any other wrong statements you wanna make/like about? ; )

I've used bidets. I've also used TP. There's no advantage to the bidets.

If you think they're equal (or bidets are better), I can only assume you fail at wiping your backside.

Hint: if there's still something left after using TP you're doing it wrong

Enjoy lying to protect your dirty ass. First bidets can't be adjusted pressure and then something about tp use. You're just fail and stinky. Gross.

Hahaha okay then.

It sounds like struggle with wiping your backside.

I never said that bidets can't adjust pressure, not sure why you'd like about that...

You can practically give yourself an enema with some models, their pressure is very high.

Living in New Mexico, I can also attest that a bidet is much better than dry paper after eating a particularly hot enchilada plate. Very soothing!

It has so many uses!

My fiance likes it after sex, it uh...cleans up the bits real nice

I think every nursing home would love one. We have so many nurses wiping old people's butts, removing their dignity and independence.

But if they had bidets, they could clean themselves properly and have some dignity restored.

Bidets are magical.

Actually, you raise a good point. Many people, due to age or injury, have limited flexibility. This makes using toilet paper for wiping an unreliable method. A bidet is a good choice for this.

It may be, in those cases, worth the money to buy one with a remote control, as the bidet controls are often placed in a location that requires some flexibility, and good eyesight, to operate.

You do realize you wipe after using a bidet yes?

So they're pointless then?

No, that's like saying drying your hands after washing them is pointless. What's your deal? Why are you arguing with folks about bidets when it's clear you've never used one? At this point you're just being weird.

I've used several. That's the whole point. TP does the job more effectively and efficiently.

I just cannot understand why certain Redditers have this obsession with bidets.

I mean, you're the one making over a dozen comments and trying to deny that washing and wiping is somehow less effective than dry wiping, which is I'm sorry to say, very dumb. That's like saying wiping your hands with a paper towel is better than washing them. You're also saying this to folks that have been using paper their whole lives and switched, as if their experience is wrong. You have chosen a very bizarre battle to wage, as if you have an ass washing phobia or something.

You keep saying "washing", but what you mean is "wetting".

I have used TP my entire life and it cleans 100% effectively. Additionally it doesn't need anything else. Using a bidet also requires TP, which tends to sway things. As I've said, I have used both.

If you honestly think bidets are somehow better at cleaning than TP, the only conclusion is that you're very bad at wiping your backside.

[deleted]

TP does clean 100% of shit. If you think it doesn't, you must fail at cleaning yourself.

to apply water or some other liquid to (something or someone) for the purpose of cleansing

Emphasis mine. Unless your admitting that you only ever use water to wash, and not soap products?

[deleted]

Not at all. You're clearly just not very bright.

I use wet wipes and I'm smart enough not to flush them, as always seems to be the first response to saying that for some reason.

So you keep buying wet wipes costing money and then throwing shitty wipes in your trash

Think a constant jet of water easily wins out here and saves money

Yeah... Even a $250 bidet will save money over wet wipes in the long run... Probably within a year.

I wouldn't be cool with it, but I also wouldn't be cool with you just dabbing some water on it.

[deleted]

That's exactly what a bidet is. Basically a water fountain for your butt.

[deleted]

Not really pressurised though are they? That's why I said water fountain, because it just kind of dribbles out.

It doesn’t dribble out. If you don’t sit on it, it can reach the ceiling.

Pretty close in pressure to a kitchen sink sprayer, honestly... But more concentrated.

If they had that kind of pressure they'd be harmful.

I own one. It can reach the ceiling. It's not going to pressure wash the ceiling, but it reaches it. I admit that at that pressure, it's too much and hurts a bit. Luckily, you can adjust it on the go. You can set it so that the pressure is enough to remove shit while not hurting you. It's cleaner than putting a "dab" of water on it and it's certainly a lot cleaner than just wiping with dry paper.

certainly a lot cleaner than just wiping with dry paper

How? I've never had a problem with just TP. I can't understand how just water would be more effective.

Have you ever seen someone clean their driveway with a hose? It can get rid of quite a lot of dirt. It's the same but for your ass. When you wipe your ass after it, there is zero shit to be seen on the paper.

If you just use TP there is 0 shit as well. So it's not any better at cleaning.

That's assuming you have a bidet powerful enough to actually work correctly. The ones I've used have as much power as a water fountain.

Do you work for the paper industry or something? You're mission against bidets is fucking hilarious otherwise.

Reddit's obsession with them is just annoying is all.

I've never had a problem with TP, yet people insist that squirting a bit of water is somehow more effective, even though you still have to wipe after.

Seems like a lot of Redditers struggle wiping their backsides.

If you think a bidet is like a water fountain, then I understand why you would think that bidets don't accomplish much. My bidet is nothing like a water fountain.

[deleted]

I can assure you, after using TP to wipe I can confirm that it cleans shit 100%.

If I got shit on my hand I'd wash with soap and anti-bacterial gel. Does your bidet shoot out both of those?

[deleted]

To wipe shit off my hand? Neither. Like I said, soap, and anti-bacterial gel. Is reading a challenge for you as well as wiping your backside?

[deleted]

In your ridiculous bullshit scenario? I'd use a napkin, and then wash my hands as soon as possible.

That's like asking someone if they'd prefer to make Grilled Cheese with a match or dynamite.

Why are you trying so hard to force a ridiculous analogy, is it because you know your wrong?

[deleted]

Exactly, you'd wash your hands. With water.

No, with soap. Can you not read?

What am I wrong about? About a bidet cleaning your butt better than paper? Of course I'm right, and you know it.

Nope, you're very wrong. TP is 100% effective. If you think it isn't, then you obviously fail at cleaning yourself. At best they can be equal, but even then you still need to use TP or a washcloth after.

But you know, you don't have to be an asshole about it, it's okay.

I'm not being an asshole. I just dislike trolls like you.

[deleted]

Hands are different from backsides! Shocking!

Different body parts are treated / cleaned differently! Amazing!

[deleted]

Washing > TP > Bidet

But you keep on trolling.

[deleted]

Most people wash with soap.

I can understand if that's too difficult a concept for you to follow though.

[deleted]

Yep, we've already gone over this, that definition includes the term "other liquids", which as I've expressed generally means soap. Do try to keep up.

The summary of this conversation is that you've admitted that you aren't smart enough to clean your backside, and that you never use soap products to wash / bathe.

Not sure why you keep commenting just to embarrass yourself more.

[deleted]

So you're admitting that you never wash with soap.

You don't clean yourself after using the bathroom, you don't use soap products (presumably you also don't use shampoo or toothpaste either).

People have known for centuries that washing with just water isn't adequate. Apparently you're a little slow (and apparently very smelly and dirty).

[deleted]

I am paying attention. I'm saying that's one part of the definition. Most people tend to focus on the other part.

If you refuse to acknowledge the second part of the definition then evidently my previous statement is correct:

So you're admitting that you never wash with soap.

You don't clean yourself after using the bathroom, you don't use soap products (presumably you also don't use shampoo or toothpaste either).

People have known for centuries that washing with just water isn't adequate. Apparently you're a little slow (and apparently very smelly and dirty).

[deleted]

TP is 100% effective, so not sure how a bidet can be better.

But we were talking about your analogy of cleaning your hands. You claimed that water was sufficient 'washing', are you now admitting that your analogy was wrong, or do you still refuse to acknowledge the existence of soap?

[deleted]

So you don't wash your hands after using a bidet?

I'm always surprised by how many people on Reddit are incapable of cleaning themselves.

TP > light stream of water

Ain't nothin' light about a bidet.

Honestly, just try one. You can still use tp if it doesn't work... But much like napkins and barbecue sauce, the toilet paper alone doesn't get you clean.

I have tried them. TP is more effective, and efficient.

Your comments in this thread indicate that you have not tried one at all, or you only sat through the power-on cleaning cycle for the bidet itself.

I think, though, that nearly all of the pro-bidet comments here are referring to a device that is installed onto a toilet, which is often called a 'washlet', rather than a separate bidet that is a distinct bathroom fixture. Perhaps that is the source of the conflict, as I have no experience with a standalone bidet fixture. Is that the kind that you have experienced?

The ones I've used have been little porcelain things next to the toilet.

They've all been awkward to use, have done a worse job than just TP, and have still needed TP anyway.

Thank you for the clarification.

From what I've seen of them, only in movies, where they are used as the basis of some kind of bathroom humor, they do not seem to be designed to have a strong jet of water, consistent with your description.

So, I apologize for any implication I may have made that you are speaking from a position of ignorance. If I have given offense, I was entirely in the wrong to do so, and I should have asked for clarification from the start. I beg your forgiveness.

That being said, if the opportunity arises, I encourage you to try out a 'bidet seat' or 'washlet' device. They are, as many have described here, 'life-changing' in their utility.

Some people take showers a couple times a day. There's no real point to using a bidet.

It's actually unhealthy to shower that much, so the bidet is definitely a healthier choice than to shower each day, and a big time saver, compared to showering each time.

You from asia right? I dont understand how you can eat insects and all that other disgusting stuff. Thank god I live in a country where everybody can eat normal food.

Low effort troll is low effort.

A racist troll on reddit? I'm shocked.

No, I'm from a country with 90% European immigration in America. We eat beef

Can confirm. Just installed a 50 dollar one off Amazon and it changed my life. Get one with temperature adjustment. You will thank me later.

Can I get a link?

Wow this is so legit. Changed my life. I hate that I ever have to take paper and smear dooky all over myself when not home. I bought 100$ tooshy but Walmart has the for about 30

$100. The dollar sign goes before the number.

thats my lazy text as a speak shortcut

How geocentric of you.

Your ass will be tip top magoo

~~ass~~ muffler.

Kick that fucking mule Lee

Number One answer! We think we're so evolved, but we're still practically wiping with leaves, like savages. EVOLVE!

I gave one as a white elephant gift and the crowds reaction was priceless. The person who got it called me a few days later to praise it as the best gift he's ever received.

This. Never tried one in the states, when I went back installed one before arriving home

A friend of mine encountered them on a vacation to Japan, and despaired of ever being happy with her toilet again. She was surprised when we told her they could be purchased online, and were easy to install.

how does this work exactly? do you wipe pre spray? post spray? do you have to manually dry? what's the deal

i want one

Wipe all the big chunks first. Spray your ass. Pat ass dry while checking for poop leavins. If poop, repeat spray.

Spray'll get it... Big chunks might take longer, but it'll get you clean. You can wipe after to dry, but you could also choose to air dry or get a model with a dryer.

My hairy butt takes too long to dry for all that.

[deleted]

[deleted]

The point of bidets is to clean your butt.

Does it use soap?

No soap.

Blasts the ass with water. The poo is gone.

I still do a wipe/dry with toilet paper. Every wipe is a phantom wipe.

If you're just using a few squares to dry up vs using it to wipe, you DO save on to. No one ever said the goal is to use zero TP.

But that's all I use in the first place.

[deleted]

Not every time, but most of the time. Maybe it's because I fold my toilet paper instead of bunch it up.

You don't need nearly as much to dry... And no risk of accidentally getting poop on your hand if it's all gone.

I've made it 31 years thus far and never gotten crap on my hands. Maybe try a different method? :)

Bro, bidet, then wipe. 4/5 squares and you are squeaky clean and dry. No more marker streaks. Trust me, I'm a hairy Persian. I installed mine as a seat over my toilet. No toilet beats my toilet.

I just pictured the harriest asshole -_-

Leave OP alone, he's a nice guy.

Nice ones come with built in dryers.

Can't you buy the high end ones that have to have a power connection and come with a air drier as well?

How do you dry your ass after showering?

Painstakingly.

This has always been my concern too.... I've never used one because of it besides constantly running into them. But then.. what's the point if I still have to wipe?

Same reason you wash your hands after eating barbecue sauce covered ribs instead of just wiping with a napkin.

I find this problematic too but still worth the cleanliness.

That's an even better reason to use a bidet...

If you have a hairy butt, it's going to be hard to get it thoroughly clean with paper.

I bought a stack of cotton washcloths, and use them to dry. They are totally clean after wiping (as expected), and are fine in the laundry afterwards.

10 mins to install the bidet

Are these the add-ons that you can get on Amazon? I don't want to invest in one because I am afraid its just going to be cold water. Is there a heater or something?

The cold water aspect seemed iffy to me too, was a non-issue.

My water right now is cold enough that I can barely wash my hands without turning on some hot water. I can't imagine it being squirted onto my butthole.

Still worth it, IMO, but it would also be worth the comfort upgrade to a heated model, in that case.

It's bad enough when it happens during a #2, wouldn't pay money for it to shoot cold water at me.

Some have heaters, others have the ability to use hot water, and instantaneous water heaters exist for $100. Otherwise, get the bidet in the summer. Really the cold isn't bad.

Im thinking more of the winter, don't want to shoot ice cubes at that part of my body.

Once your ass is numb, you hardly notice.

Bidet to you!

Bidet, mate! (as they say 'down under')

fricken seriously, it's changed my life, my ass feels so happy after i poop because i'm not scratching at it with toilet paper and i'm sure my pipes are happier too

I do not know how America go around with shit on their asses sweating shit up. God bless bidets.

For any Australians thinking about getting a Bidet just know that it's illegal (and dangerous for the plumbing) to install your own and it's expensive to get one installed professionally. Still worth it though.

Why is it illegal?

I don't know how it works but basically there's a possibility that if done incorrectly it can suck your poop water into the clean water supply and water is too scarce in Australia to risk that happening.

What a strange idea! That cannot happen under any normal circumstances, with a bidet seat/washlet, although the older type of bidet, which is a separate bathroom fixture with its own bowl, may be susceptible to this kind of failure.

and dangerous for the plumbing

lol, source? No it's not.

it's expensive to get one installed professionally

It's expensive to have someone twist one knob and connect like 2 things that takes like 10 minutes?

Yeah you're right, I just completely made all of that up for no reason whatsoever.

Well that's what it sounds like because "installing a bidet is dangerous for your plumbing" makes absolutely no sense.

If you weren't being such a cunt about it I would have told you. Just go back to your world where only things that you have heard about are true.

I'm being a cunt for asking for a source on an absurd statement?

And no, I don't believe that only things I've heard about are true. I believed your claim that you need a plumber to install it, but I also believe that if you want me to believe something that goes against common sense, (like it being dangerous for your plumbing) you will have to provide a source or rationale.

If anything, a bidet is better for your plumbing, because you'll decrease the amount of toilet paper that is used.

I guess you're being extra touchy about it so that you don't have to bother admitting you're wrong.

EDIT: I looked it up for you, since you wouldn't. It took a lot of digging, but I found it.

https://www.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/209234/OTR-PAN-Toilet-seat-douche-outlets-151112.pdf

Most bidet attachments are totally fine, and you can install them yourself. They are not dangerous. However, in the RARE instance that the douche outlet is less than 25mm above the overflow level of the pan, a ‘high hazard’ backflow prevention device must be installed and inspected by a licensed Plumber.

Worse case scenario, you have a little backflow issue if your toilet gets clogged. Your plumbing will be fine. The poopy water in your sink? Notsomuch.

Seriously such a stupid question but how does it work? Like in my head you’re just spraying water on your poopy butthole so now instead of having a wipes clean butthole you have a watery poopy butthole

Somewhat like taking a pressure washer or narrow stream hose to clean out a bucket. It just flushes everything out. And you just shift your hips to aim. Dry off with a few squares of TP and you're done. Sparkly clean. Easy peasy.

I bought an inexpensive one for $40 on sale on Amazon and was so pleased, I bought another for the guest bathroom.

They have paid for themselves in toilet paper savings. I only use one toilet paper square per session (assuming I'm not hitting the shower afterwards) I can now afford the really good toilet paper and one roll lasts for a few months.

I recently bought one from MorningsSave and friggin' love it - they have some good prices on a couple:

This one has a warm water inlet and is $50 on Amazon, but $29 here: https://morningsave.com/deals/biobidet-bb-270-duo-self-cleaning-warm-water-bidet-attachment-2

This one has self-heated water, heated seat & remote -- $250 on Amazon, $199 here: https://morningsave.com/deals/biobidet-uspa-4800-electric-bidet-seat-w-warm-water-heated-seat-touch-remote-1

I'm literally using mine right now. Feelscleanman

Japan ruined toilets for me.

This, when I worked at Google it was my first introduction to bidets. When i left i yearn daily for the sweet luxury of heated toilet seats and the soft kiss of bidet angels helping me clean. Also those days where your morning meeting has not started on time! Crank to full power and take it like an adult and everything works out in the end.

Gaah! I can't stand the seat warmers! I cannot get around the feeling that I am sitting on a recently-occupied toilet, when it's warm.

True, but its self heated so in my mind plausible deniability.

Bidet to you sir

just spent two weeks in Japan and every place had one with breasted toilet seats. Ready to go back for more

Oh yeah!

Not having one is barbaric! I will actually hold it in until I get home, so I can use my bidet, instead of using some peasant crapper at work!

InstantPot!

Yup! My CrockPot can get fucked now

[deleted]

Have you seen any animosity toward one before?

There was this time when I put my food in the crockpot and then left and forgot to start it, and there was a lot of animosity that day when I came back hungry and expecting hot food to be waiting for me, although most of it was directed towards myself.

I have one with a radial knob with the following settings (in order):

OFF -- LOW -- HIGH -- WARM

There are a few times where I've turned it "all the way up" and came back very disappointed later.

That's /r/crappydesign material right there.

It's safe design for stoves since you don't want the house to burn down if you leave it turned up for too long.

I was referring to the off -> low -> high -> warm knob. I don't know if it stops the house from burning down, but if you turn it all the way expecting hot food then you end up with half warm sludge for sure.

i have the crockpot pressure cooker....i dont know what i should do here. works well, but i might need to let it go get fucked. your call

If it's working it's working. Just don't hesitate to change it at the first sign of malfunctioning, you don't want this thing in your house if it doesn't work properly.

You weren't there the day I decided to make applesauce and woke up to cold apples in the crockpot because it turned itself off before cooking the apples. Now I have an off-brand instapot (got it before the craze, hadn't heard the name instapot before) and the valve is malfunctioning meaning that it lets out steam even when it's not supposed to so in order for it to achieve pressure I have to hold it down with an oven mitt. Infuriating.

It's as if those pots were built by Satan himself. I understand your frustration.

This is why I returned my off brand cooker and got the 6qt instant pot. Never hear anything good about these generics unfortunately

unfortunately I can't return it to the store and at the time it started malfunctioning I got in touch with the company and they were such a drag that I just gave up. I really want to buy an Instapot but I feel wasteful because the off brand one technically works, just not the way it's supposed to.

Technically, it works if you hold down the relief valve with an oven mit? Toss it. $100 for a 6 qt Instantpot. Do it, you'll know it was the right call the first time you use it.

ahah, yeah. The sautee and slow cooker function still work fine but you're right. I am really coveting an Instapot. I think I will spring for it.

My 6qt Insta was only $81 at Walmart.

Make sure you leave a crap review to save some poor soul from purchasing your current pot. Let me know how you like it whenever you get an Instant Pot so I can have a tiny dopamine drop. Take care.

Yeah! Fuck your CrockPot!

Not legal;can't give consent

Hell to the yes. Slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice cooker, yogurt/cheese maker, hot plate, all in one.

What if you want to slow cook a roast and make mashed potatoes at the same time though?

Pressure cook the roast. Let rest tented under foil while you make potatoes.

The obvious answer to to get 5 so you can do a roast, potatoes, gravy, and vegetables while the yogurt is fermenting.

Any good yogurt recipes? There's so many things we haventt done with ours, yet.

I honestly haven't tried making yogurt yet, but the only ingredients are milk and yogurt so it's mostly about just following instructions (similar to baking).

Why are you making yogurt if you already have yogurt?

You use it as a starter to make more yogurt, like sourdough.

Then who was yoghurt?

You need a little bit of yogurt as the culture to make the new batch. You could also buy an actual yogurt culture, but it's obviously easier to go out and buy one little cup of yogurt than to have to get a culture from a specialized source. Once you've made one batch of yogurt yourself, you just have to reserve a little to use for the next batch, and do that each time you make it.

Step 1: Feed the milk to your cat.
Step 2: Eat yogurt.

I just made my 50th batch of yogurt in my instant pot this morning. I make a batch every week because I eat a lot of yogurt. Here’s my recipe.

Instant pot Greek Yogurt.

Makes 5 cups yogurt.

This may sound complicated but it’s not.

Ingredients. 6 cups whole milk (3.5% milk fat). 1 cup fluid whipping cream (35% milk fat). 6 Tbsp your favorite yogurt. - for your first batch buy commercial yogurt. Must have active bacterial cultures. No pectins.
- For your second batch you can use some of your previous batch.

Equipment needed to make the yogurt - must be heat resistant because you have to heat sterilize everything. - big pot
- 1 tbsp measure. - 1 cup measure
- Larger than 1 cup measuring cup. - Fork.
- Spatula or big spoon for stirring. - Thermopen. - Smaller spoon for scooping out yogurt
- Clean plate to rest your sterilized tools on.

Equipment for straining the yogurt: - Pasta strainer - Bowl that is slightly smaller than strainer. - Paper towels

Directions: 1. Sterilize everything but the thermopen in the big pot. Put everything in the pot and boil it on the stove for 10 minutes. Wash the thermopen. Place everything on your plate when done.
2. Heat the milk and cream to 180F in the big pot . When temp is reached turn off the heat and let it sit for at least 4 minutes. (This kills all bacteria). 3. Cool the milk to 117F. You can do this at room temperature (takes a while) or put the pot in cold water in the kitchen sink. Takes 5-10 minutes. If you overchill the milk just gently reheat on the stove.
4. Measure the yogurt into the larger measuring cup and thin out with some of the warm milk. 5. Pour the yogurt mixture into the instant pot. Set it for 7.5 hours. Note: the longer it sits the more sour the yogurt is. The less time, the sweeter it is. You will eventually figure out what you like.
6. When the time is up line the pasta strainer with two layers of paper towels and place on top of the bowl. 7. Ladle the yogurt into the strainer. 8. Place in fridge for a few hours to drain. I drain off about 3-4 cups of whey and feed it to the dogs. It is full of protein and they love the taste.
9. Enjoy!

Save 6TBsp of yogurt for your next batch.

got one back in June. I have adapted a Cajun Pasta recipe into Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta for the Instant Pot.

My wife insists that we have it almost 2 times a week since it is so good in the InstantPot

Edit: Recipe

This recipe is a modification from this recipe: Cajun Chicken Pasta

I turned it into an alfredo pasta and my wife requests this dish about 2 or 3 times a week. Plus it is quick and easy!

Instant Pot Cajun Alfredo Pasta

1 can of shredded chicken from Costco/Sam’s Club/Aldi

4 TBS - unsalted butter

½ tsp - Italian Seasoning - (I guess)

Liberal shaking of Cajun Seasoning - (I usually make a layer on the chicken and on top of the chicken broth

½ tsp - Lemon Pepper Seasoning

½ tsp - Garlic Salt

½ tsp - Black Pepper

3.5 cups - Water

4 Chicken Bouillon cubes

8 oz - Penne Pasta

½ cup - Heavy Cream

5 ounce container - Fresh Parmesan Cheese (1.99 at my Aldi). Extra may be needed from your regular shaker

Directions:

Push the saute button. Throw in water, butter, bouillon cubes, seasonings, and chicken.

Stir. Once cubes are dissolved and butter is melted, push cancel on the Instant Pot

Stir in the pasta. Make sure all pasta is covered.

Place lid on pot and seal. Push Manual and set time to 7 minutes. When time runs out, use a Quick Pressure Release

Open lid and stir in heavy cream. Slowly add the cheese. You may need to turn on the Saute function to thicken the sauce and/or a little more cheese. Feel free to add another round of Cajun Seasoning :)

Sounds yummy. Can you give us your recipe?

Please?

Pretty please?

With cherries on top?

Cherries on pasta?

Cherry tomatoes?

Also interested in this. Please hit me up!

Just edited my comment!

also I posted awhile back on /r/instantpot

Looks good. I’m going to check that subreddit out now.

edited original post with recipe!

  1. Make Cajun Pasta
  2. Adapt recipe into Chicken Alfredo
  3. Enjoy!

thank you for sharing, so often people say they have a great recipe and then nothing else about it. that leaves all the rest of us going, "Well, good for you? I guess?"

one of my pet peeves on reddit. drives me nuts

Turns out I’m going to join the queue of people spamming you for the recipe, please!

edited original post with recipe!

I also would like this recipe

Yeah, im gonna need this recipie.

Pls sir, a recipe.

edited original post with recipe!

You da real MVP, thanks!!

Share the love ;)

edited original post with recipe!

no ya didn't!

Which one is the one to get?

May I have this recipe please.

edited original post with recipe!

Hook us up brother, what's the recipe?

edited original post with recipe!

op, plz

edited original post with recipe!

Would also love that recipe if you're sharing!

edited original post with recipe!

You can't just tell us you make a super yummy dinner and not tell us the recipe...thats cruel!

edited original post with recipe!

I bet you never got asked out this much as you've been asked for this recipe. Which I too am interested in.

edited original with recipe

How dare you not share this recipe!!!!

edited original post with recipe!

you've been redeemed :)

Recipe please!

I would also like to be privy to your recipe!

edited original post with recipe!

Dhis gwui cooks. Geaux tyigurs.

Recipe here too please!

Would you be willing to give the recipe out?

I edited my original post this morning with recipe

Recipe plz?

see my original comment that I edited this morning

Also want recipe

edited original post with recipe!

I’m interested as well, let us know if you decide to share!

edited original post with recipe!

Interested in recipe..

I need this recipe in my life! Please

edited original post with recipe!

HAHA my mom just got one and she said the last week has just been stuff made out of that thing

Forget life. Just cook, eat, leftovers, cook, eat, leftovers.

Same, my mom has been posting her praises to Facebook for over a week straight now

Same my mom just got one for Christmas and she made the most delicious beans ever. It has a dent in the side though so y’know I guess we’re going to return it and get a new one.

I bought one for myself for Christmas 2016. Loved it, used it nearly every day all year. Decided it wasn't big enough, also thought it would be nicer to have two to use at the same time, so a few months ago I bought the enormous 8 quart one. Now I use one or the other of them, or both, practically every day. LOVE my Instant Pots.

Favorite recipe?

I just got myself one last week as a late Christmas gift.

Any type of soup! Cuts the time down drastically and makes the flavor so much better. My favs are chili and chicken pot pie (without the crust).

I mostly make things up as I go, but my favourite meat dish is basic ribs (finish under the broiler in the oven) and my favourite vegetarian dish so far is probably the lentil/spinach soup I made up. Rice pilaf had a bit of a learning curve but after a couple of tries I feel like I've got it down.

Is this a marijuana delivery service?

No that's Instagram.

Further up in the thread someone said sous vide, but as someone who owns way to many kitchen gadgets I'd argue that the instant pot is the greatest.

I have both, and use both quite often. Anytime I am cooking non-stew meat, I use the sous vide, and sear in a pan or with a searzall. I cook veggies/rice/potatoes and stews in the instant pots, got 2 of them, the 8qt and the new small 3qt.

That said, this Xmas my brother deep fried the turkey. It was amazing. Cooked very fast. Had a thin crunchy crust, and really moist meat inside. Damn, so good.

My wife and I got one for Christmas and it is the only way that dinners have been cooked since. I even made bratwurst in it last night on a whim and they came out perfect.

Wait, the bratwurst, how?! I just bought a pressure cooker off ebay 5 minutes ago because of this thread, now I want bratwurst. Teach me!

throw it in and pressure cook it.

I add sauerkraut and a bunch of sausages. Cook for about ten minutes and it comes out perfect.

Set it to saute and brown the sides of the brats then pull them out, add a cup of water then put the brats back in on the steamer rack thing and set it to pressure cook for 10 minutes. When it's done do a manual release of the pressure. They turned out amazing.

I need dozens more good recipes.

Fast and easy and really yummy: Taco Pasta
I made this last night. Ive actually pretty much cooked every dinner the past 5 weeks in the instant pot. Ingredients: 1lb lean ground beef
1 8oz can tomato sauce (or hot flavored tomato sauce) 1 packet of taco seasoning
2 cups of beef broth (or i recommend two cups of water with 2tsp of better then bullioun beef...lasts waaaaay longer and is cheaper then always buying broth)
8oz pasta (medium shells) 1 or 1.5 cups of cheese (mexican style, chedder...etc.)

directions:
put instant pot in sautee mode and brown the meat.
once meat is browned add the tomato suace, taco seasoning, pasta, and beef broth. (make sure pasta is covered)
hit the off button and then put it on manual (pressure cook high) for 5 minutes.
do a manual release once the time is up.
take off the lid and add your cheese and stir it in
put the lid back on for about 2 minutes (or until the cheese is melted)
turn off the pot and serve in a bowl - top with sour cream, green onions, avocado...etc

so damn easy and tasty.

Fuck y'all, I asked for one for Christmas and didn't get it. It was the one thing I really wanted!

oh my god. beans in 10 minutes. an entire squash ready in 5. this is amazing. i guess i need one of these!

Well yes and no... It takes time to get up to pressure, which is when those cooking times kick in

Does anyone know why these have disappeared from sale in the UK? Used to be available on Amazon for less than £100 and now it just says unavailable?

Their Facebook says more will be available in February. I really want one!

thanks! wasn't sure if a) they had pulled from sale in UK for...some reason? or b) if they were selling off stock because a new one was coming. Good to know more are on their way!

I started to worry the same thing too. Waiting patiently!

Just got one. Love it.

Got one about 2 years ago and only used it a few times. What is up with the recent excitement? Am I doing something wrong because the food didn't come out that great compared to a crock pot (same recipe)?

The speed at which it cooks is the main thing. Since its a pressure cooker, it cooks much faster than a crockpot.

A stew that you would normally cook all day, or even for 4h, can be done in 45m-1h. That's with raw meat in the stew as well, not sauteing first.

Well, you probably shouldn't be using the same recipe, rather, use recipes designed for a pressure cooker. Since the actual cooking science is different, it won't come out the same. For one thing, any slow cooker recipe will likely have way more liquid than what is needed for a recipe for the same dish using a pressure cooker.

I find food comes out tasting much much better when pressure cooked vs. slow cooking. Slow cooking does not brown the food, which is a huge component for flavor.

Just bought a second inner pot. I'd make soup and couldn't use my instantpot until I was done. NO MORE! And 18.95 with free shipping for the non stick version on the official site

I never heard of these before, but I started looking at their site and on Amazon because for $18.95 it sounds amazing. I saw the prices and came back here to ask how it was that cheap. That's when I realized you're talking about the inner pot...

Ah yeah sorry to disappoint! But that's the beauty of pressure cooking! If you start with boiling water you're done cooking in 15mins so you can move on to cooking something else (curry and rice maybe?) Linking to avoid further confusion: https://store.instantpot.com/collections/all/products/ceramic-coated-non-stick-inner-cooking-pot-5-quart

Or any other comparable pressure cooker. I find the recent rage over the instant pot curious because good home cooks have known of the benefits of a pressure cooker for a long, long time. I guess it's just the first cheap standalone?

Got one for X mas and just made something last night. Thing works quick.

Got a GeekChef for Christmas. I have no idea what to do with it.

Is that even better then medical?

Can you recommend a brand/model

“InstantPot” is the brand. Model just depends on what size you prefer to purchase.

Yeah, having instant pot on demand would make you rich from selling all that good stuff

Which one is the one to get?

I got one for Christmas and have cooked every meal except one in my instant pot. It's amazing!

I got one for Christmas with the recipe book it so awesome. F-ing A cotton.

You wouldn't happen to know how to make pasta without undercooking half of it?

I’ve had the same problem. Try a bit more liquid and give it a good stir to get rid of any clumps and separate the pasta before sealing.

My girlfriend and I got one for Christmas, haven’t used it yet, suggestions on good one pot meals?

Any type of soup!

I do like me my soups...but soups are normally one pot, I want something to really break it in.

You asked for suggestions on good one pot meals

Same here, just got one for Christmas, have no idea what to do with it. It's been shoved in a cabinet for now. The recipe book they gave me with it has 30+ ingredient recipes which kinda defeats the supposed 'ease' of the product.

If you have Pinterest, search ‘instant pot’ and it pulls up a whole slew of recipes that have minimal ingredients. French dip sandwiches, soups, casseroles, etc.

I don't, but I'll take a look!

It's significantly easier when you don't need to have a boat load of dishes afterwards.

The ease primarily comes from being able to cook one-pot meals significantly faster than you cook using other methods (e.g., a pot of beans in a half hour vs. 2+ hours). It doesn't change the complexity of the recipes. You can make your soups and stews and such as complex or as simple as you would on the stove top.

Pot roast...do it for an extra few min though or it won't be tender enough. Takes about an hour.

Except the slow cook setting isn't as hot as my Crock Pot, even on high. Doesn't come to a complete boil

I think we have one. It's like a pressure cooker right? In one hour it can do what takes our crockpot 5 or 6 hours. We have to be careful not to over do it in the instant pot though or you could end up with shredded meat instead of a nice pork chop.

man my instant pot FUCKS ribs up compared to my crock pot. it starts its temp WAY the fuck too high. the ribs came out tasteless and not at all tender. still have to experiment with the right settings.

Totally missed someone already put this on here. I second this!

My InstantPot was definitely life changing. Crock pot, rice cooker, steamer, pressure cooker all in one. Being able to throw frozen chicken in and have a full meal in under 45 minutes with less than 5 minutes prep time is huge for my busy schedule.

Totally missed someone already put this on here. I second this!

My InstantPot was definitely life changing. Crock pot, rice cooker, steamer, pressure cooker all in one. Being able to throw frozen chicken in and have a full meal in under 45 minutes with less than 5 minutes prep time is huge for my busy schedule.

My god this comment thread looks like an advert!

TIL about InstantPot

My Amazon list just got real long

  1. SSD and ram upgrade to replace a regular hard drive.
  2. Good pair of headphones. Your ears will be amazed
  3. Nice gamer mouse on discount and a quite mechanical keyboard

Pick two out of three

Edit : quiet Edit 2: if you need 16gb ram and 1TB SSD then I'd say it's better to upgrade the entire computer. A cheaper smaller SSD paired with a hard drive and an add-on to your current ram will be a whole world of difference. It will not cost more than 150.

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A rather mechanical one.

A somewhat mechanical one.

I use a maniacal keyboard.

At work they gave me a manacled keyboard.

A mechanical-ish one

A right proper mechanical one.

Indeed, mechanical.

A mechanical one, rather?

A Topre switch then?

That's a weird way to spell rubber dome

I think it's Cherry Brown switches are a good trade off between sound and clicky-ness.

Don’t get me wrong fam, I love me some cherry switches, but Gateron Browns are much better than Cherry Browns (they’re both tactile switches). When Cherry Browns are sufficiently broken in, they are pretty smooth. The tactile bump is subtle. That might be some people’s jam, but the Gaterons still have a pretty distinct bump even after breaking in. The key travel is still smooth, but you feel the bump more. I know that Gaterons don’t make an appearance on many retail boards, but for custom boards they’re also much easier on the wallet.

I appreciate the information. Honestly i don't know the difference as i only have a very loose knowledge of switch types.

If it helps anyone at all i chose to order Cherry Brown's precisely because they still felt tactile while not being as loud/clicky in my opinion to the other keys i was trying out at the time (on one of those little Demo keypads).

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If i remember correctly, the blue's were the electronic membrane ones. And as such were more like normal keys than mechanical ones.

Not a fan personally (if that was those).

I may be getting them confused with the opposite to that. These colour names are all easily forgotten if you don't have some chart in front of you.

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Fair enough. As mentioned i'm probably just thinking of the wrong type.

Topre.

expensive rubber dome

https://youtu.be/Bm02Gc7dNh8

Ornata intensifies

Topre Keyboards. Fucking amazing. But you'll blow your $200 budget in one shot.

I am not ashamed to admit that it took me the longest time to realize OP meant quiet.

You literally fucked up my way of thinking and processing logic for a couple minutes...

Cherry MX brown, I guess.

Quiet? as an mxblue user all I have to say about that is: CLICK CLACK BITCH

CLICK CLACK here too. Seriously though, MX blues are the best.

Razer has (or at least used to have) their own switches that I think were even louder than any Cherry switches. Whenever my wife types on it I can hear it across the house and it's awesome.

I just bought a mech with blues after using one with reds for the longest time. Will my classmates and roommate hate me now?

Yeah not very welcomed in a quiet office space. I had a red at work, got a brown and brought the red home.

I don't understand the whole mechanical keyboard thing. I'm afraid to buy one and inexplicably love them CLICK CLACK thing.

How are they better than let's say my G15 gaming keyboard that I use now or a standard $15 dollar model like the one at my work?

Personal Opinion: Mechanicals feel much nicer to type on then membrane (Normal) keyboards.

Objective Fact: They last much MUCH longer then membrane keyboards (Roughly 10x as long before they wear out).

Well generally mechanical keyboards have a much longer lifespan than the normal membrane or scissor switches found on laptops and cheap keyboards. As far as the click clack goes, I enjoy my mxblues as the tactile and audible feedback they give lets me know my keystroke is done and I can move to the next letter. I find myself bottoming out membrane keys which slows lowers WPM significantly. The Click Clack lifestyle isn't for everyone but there are several different types of mechanical switches that don't have audible feedback but still provide a better typing experience than cheapo keyboards.

D A S K E Y B O A R D. Can you hear me now??

SSD and RAM? for $200? Not in today's market.... 16GB DDR4 will run you like $150+ alone. It's a rough time for RAM.

Holy shit 8GB of DDR3 RAM cost €70 now?! So the voices I heard about RAM shortages is true? How come?

So there's a couple of factors at play, but it basically comes down to smartphones. Smartphones use the same sort of RAM as modern PCs use, and a ton of production is going towards smartphone RAM because people tend to buy new phones extremely often (I know many people who have a new phone every year). Production couldn't scale up in time to meet this demand, so we ended up with these really high prices. It doesn't help that only a small number of companies actually make RAM, and they tend to be pretty friendly with each other according to the general tone in a few of the articles I've read about the crazy prices.

A few new production facilities have been in the works though, and people are saying that 2018 is a year where we should see some lower prices at last.

Just ordered a nice mechanic keyboard a while ago.

My dumbass didn't realize it had no numpad, which sucks because I use it a bunch. I'm gonna return it and buy another one though.

Know any good ones that have a blue backlighting?

Blue backlighting?

It's rare for keyboards to have that as a default colour choice but that's where the rgb backlighting comes into play. So my advice is getting the full sized version of the mechanical keyboard with the switches you want (all the color options like brown switches,red,blue etc all have different feel to them) with rgb backlighting, then use whatever software they have to set the backlight to blue.

I use the Ducky One Blue backlit

Ducky Zero?

The Ducky One comes in different backlight colors. I have blue backlights with red switches.

Recently bought a steelserie keyboard with BRG backlighting. The Windows 10 Fall Creator Update completely messes up the Steelserie software so now I have no control of any colors. Pretty annoying.

My Corsair K70 Lux only has blue for backlighting, its beautiful, love the keyboard.

Numb pad is a must for me. Better to ask this question to https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/

I'm more about the switches rather than color or aesthetics. BROWN MX!

Browns woo. The bump is such a good feeling lol. Shame cherry ones i tried at stores don't have much of a bump compared to my cheaper outemu ones.

Browns don't really have much of a bump at all. I prefer clears or zealios.

Unpopular opinion but I love the blue click.

Definitely not an unpopular opinion lmao

You would think it is based on r/mk over the past few months

The "meta" shifts constantly. The ones who strongly voice out against them are just being pretentious. Blues are great, satisfying switches to use. Trust me a lot of people love em'

Cherristotles or bust!

Although the Kailh BOX Jades look really nice as well.

Clear or green erryday.

I just got a logitech with MX browns, and I was expecting more of a bump from the switches.

Ikr? The feedback feels so good when typing

ZEALIO 65g

Master race right here. So smooth. No wobble or chatter.

Be warned, just like with r/watches, r/mechanicalkeyboards are for people to whom keyboards are a hobby. Expect a lot of elitism. If you're entry level and just want something that works, feels good, sounds nice, and will last a while, ask r/pcmasterrace.

I frequent r/mechanicalkeyboards and it's honestly one of the most welcoming, helpful subreddits I've been a part of. I don't know where their 'elitism' label has come from but I don't think it's deserved.

I mean yeah you probably won't get a good a response if you make a "MY NEW KEYBOARD!" post with pictures of a bog-standard, common mechanical keyboard. That's purely because otherwise the sub would be flooded with those types of posts and they aren't very interesting. Also "what keyboard should I buy" threads with no standout requirements won't do well because there are guides on what's good which are easily findable.

I really wouldn't be put off.

Eh, /r/MechanicalKeyboards is my most active subreddit and the elitism is definitely there. People regularly hate on brands they haven't used because that's the cool thing to do simply because they are mainstream ones. There are always arguments but a lot of the people that are against those brands aren't really aware and simply repeat random stuff, usually outdated or wrong.

It's a good sub, don't get me wrong, one of the best subreddits possible. We've had many charity runs, we've had people offering stuff at cost or even free, reviews and discussions happening all the time etc. It still has issues though, there is a reason why we have semi-regular posts trying to persuade people to not act in an elitist manner after all.

I must just manage to avoid those threads, I dunno. I rarely see it, and when it appears it's usually quickly shut down.

Go on there and say you actually like Razer keyboards, and just wait for the hate.

Most of us will say "welcome to the community! I hope you like your board.", knowing damn well that you'll be sucked in and soon will realize that Razer isn't that good of a brand.
You'll then soon find yourself looking for a new (and probably smaller) keyboard, and before you know it you'll own 3...

We honestly don't care that much about what keyboard you like, as long as you like it and don't try to force it on others by making false claims.
Saying "Razer makes the best keyboards. I have one, and it's the best for gaming" will get you hate, but saying "I have a Razer keyboard and I like it a lot for gaming" will be fine.

I'm not saying you'll get zero hate, because every single community has some cunts in it, but as long as you like your keyboard almost all of us will be okay with it.

Oh I know, I just love giving tech hobbiests crap because I do it too. And I know the feeling of the many-keyboards. Except I started out crazy and got a hhkb right off the bat.

THOCK THOCK THOCK THOCK THOCK THOCK

Oh but the feeling of the thock is sooooo good.

You go there? It’s actually one of the nicer and more understanding of niche communities. I love that place compared to something like r/Audiophile

Mk will love you so long as you are mechanical. Audiophiles will call you retarded just because you want your headphones and mic to be combined.

Audiophiles will call you retarded just because you want your headphones and mic to be combined.

To be fair they’re not wrong...

The only headphones that come with mic built in are either conference headsets optimised for voice or “””gaming””” headsets.

I have to agree, I am by absolutely no means an "audiophile" but simply from having owned a bunch of headsets over 15 years of gaming, its not hard to come to the conclusion that 99% of headsets are pretty trashy compared to actual headphones with a separate mic. I think that is the equivalent of saying "as long as its mechanical".

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Which is fine but then you’re trying to buy for convenience, not quality, so why would you expect /r/audiophile to be the place to go?

Understandable. It was a personal problem because I use Reddit for research and like all the threads I was looking at for headset advice had people pointing you to audiophile or advising against a ‘gaming’ headset. Gets kinda old.

I started in /r/mk earlier this year and they helped me find a keyboard that fit my needs and budget (under $100 CAD) with no issues or elitism. I've found everyone there to be friendly and we're all pretty clear on the fact that there is plenty of room in this community for budgets and preferences off all types and sizes.

Zealios for the feelios.

I love the Ducky One.

Ducky. My Ducky Shine Zero is blue backlit and uses cherry mx keys

You could get a USB number pad. That's what I have chosen to get. I have a really nice mech keyboard without one which allows me to get my mouse closer to my kb (more comfortable) but I have a separate mechanical number pad for when I'm doing numbers.

I did the same thing, but I just bought a 10-key USB peripheral. So it just sits off to the side.

You can get a separate numpad pretty easily. Best of both worlds!

That is one major thing that i dont understand about the mechanical keyboard community. I mean I love the mechanical keys, but they seem to hype the fuck out of super minimal builds but these seem absolutely useless to me. I write many many lines of code a day and I cant even imagine using something like this: https://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/img_59becc92ef10d.jpg I definitely need a numpad, separated Function keys, and basically everything else that is on a "default" keyboard layout. Im glad that there are "full" mechanical keyboards out there, but regardless, I still dont understand how most people use these reduced keyboards. It just seems like a gimmick. Why artificially limit yourself and obscure the buttons that you have to press into weird macro combinations?

Frees up space and is more ergonomic for gaming. ( numpad forces you to put your mouse hand a bit further away than what is optimal)

Yeah I have no numpad on my home keyboard and have not once missed it, but the super-minimalist boards would drive me a bit batty.

On the other hand though if people aren't using those buttons why would they want them on the keyboard? You don't have an extra row of F13 to F24 on yours, why would someone that doesn't use F1-F12 have that extra row on theirs?

Mine has the Function row for example and I can't even recall when I used it for the last time, it's just there to give me a chance to put my nice keycaps on display.

I write many many lines of code a day and I cant even imagine using something like this

Imagine harder! You're a programmer, you should be good at solving problems. Start with the assumption that these keyboards aren't less functional than full-size ones, and go from there.

Here's the solution.

Why artificially limit yourself and obscure the buttons that you have to press into weird macro combinations?

Because key combinations at home position are faster than moving your hand. Think about how keyboard shortcuts are faster than moving the mouse & clicking a button. This is the same principle. My previous keyboard had Fn where Ctrl normally is. I could use Fn-WASD for arrow keys. That's much faster than moving my right hand away from whatever it's doing just to tap an arrow key three times.

The other strong motivator for small keyboards is also ergonomic: it lets you place the mouse such that you get optimal freedom of movement from it, while minimising strain on your shoulders and elsewhere.

I picked up a nighthawk x9 a while back... I f'ing love it. Blue backlighting, and adjustable brightness. I believe the latest is flat out RGB, mine came with Red Cherry MX switches. Good luck!

I was going to recommend this same one. I love mine! One of my LEDs just crapped out recently though :(

As others have said, Ducky give a lot of choice when it comes to switch and backlighting combos (although these days RGB seems more common than different single backlight colours). RGB keyboards are mostly configurable to a solid colour, so you can get the blue backlighting you want that way.

ducky shine zero. expensive maybe.

I know a few fantastic ones. Price range?

Check out the Ducky Shine 4

Masterkey Pro L comes in mind.

I have a Magiforce numpad, and I think one of the options for it is blue backlighting. I only occasionally use the numpad, and my two boards are a 75% and a 40%, so I save a huge amount of space with a separate one.

I really like the qpad mk 50, it has only blue backlight and has a numpad. Not super quiet but that might not be a problem.

I’m very happy with my cooler master pro L

I got a "ducky one" with blue backlights for someone recently. The keys feel a little... starchy when you press them, but that is likely due to the little use it has currently had. Beyond that seems to be a pretty great $109AUD keyboard.

Get ones made by Razer. Love mine so far and you can customize it to be any color. Plus it came with a sweet wristpad.

I use the Corsair K95, which got a numpad and macro buttons. There's also the K70 which doesn't have the macro buttons.

also use the k95, couldn't go without it now, those macro buttons are damn usefull

Corsair Vengance K70

but do your research on which kind of mechanical switches you want.

Logitech stuff generally has a blue color scheme, or just go RGB. Logitech keyboards also have quiet switches, which is nice

Razer Chroma. Best keyboard I’ve ever had

I've had the Roccat Ryos MK Pro for 5 years now. It's a great, full size, mechanical keyboard with brown MX switches. It's blue back-lit only (no RGB) but you can program macros and a few lighting patterns with the included software. Also has an audio, mic, and 2 USB pass-throughs. Can't remember the exact price but it's sub $200.

Wow, that's pretty decent. I'd spring for one right now if I didn't have to wait for my refund to kick in. It looks similar to my current keyboard, but it has so much more.

I'll keep it on my radar as I'm awaiting my refund.

Corsair has a good rbg selection. I have one of their cheaper mechanical keyboards that is only red, but that fits my computer color scheme.

Linus tech tips did a cheap mechanical keyboard rundown. One that came highly recommended was about 50 dollars and had a blue backlight.

Corsair K70 lux. Can make it any color you want ad it's built really nice.

How does one accidentally order one without the numblock? Everywhere I look they are more expensive than the ones with one ? (Which sucks because I really don't need that dead weight on my keyboard. Just creates more distance between the keyboard and the mouse. Also you get less keys and pay more? Wtf?)

On Amazon it's different. Smaller boards are cheaper. One of the most price-worthy is a 68-key Magicforce with OUTEMU switches for $39, you can have it with select MX or Gateron switches for additional cost.

Unfortunately the assortment on my local Amazon (Germany) isn't really big enough for them to offer this variety :/ And other shops that have a bigger variety have higher prices for the smaller variants of bigger keyboards.

Same here with Nordic layout. But there's a "SWERTY" mod to get ÅÄÖ easily on an ANSI board. Maybe there's something similar for German?

Tbh. the issue is more the shipping costs + duty which makes any price difference invalid again.

My dumbass didn't realize it had no numpad, which sucks because I use it a bunch. I'm gonna return it and buy another one though.

Stick with it for a while before you commit. You can adapt. The numpad on the modern keyboard is a design mistake.

Steelseries APEX M500 is a blue backlit mechanical keyboard and goes for £99.99, with a choice for Cherry MX Blue and Red switches.

Razer Blackwidow is the best in the world and has full RGB per-key backlighting. The full size one also has the numpad that you want, as well as 5 extra macro keys on the left, and USB + Audio passthroughs so you have to go round the back of your PC less often.

the best in the world

let's not....

https://codekeyboards.com/

I just got this one and love it. It's pretty basic, but it's solid, great layout and cheap for a keyboard with Cherry MX switches. Back-lighting is blue only, but that's what you're looking for and the brightness adjustment is good. The video I linked is a bit out of date, they now come in more than just MX Reds.

Coursair K70, bought mine last year and I love it.

The one I use has a white/blueish tint to the backlighting and that's it.

It's a Logitech

If you are looking for a new hobby for the new year, you can start building your own keyboards.

You can find more info on /r/MechanicalKeyboards/

Be aware that it is a passion hobby and it can tank you wallet pretty heavily... but building your own hardware is something really enjoyable.

ducky shine my dude. get the one with MX browns and your fingers will rejoice.

Magicforce makes ones with blue backlight and they have a full sized keyboard.

Skip the lighting and get a feenix autore

I’ve got a K70 with Cherry Mx Browns from Corsair, it’s got customisable RGB lightning so you can make it any colour you want, plus it has a numpad too.

Check out tesoro, my old one had brown switches and had blue backlighting and I think it's in the 60-70s price wise

Ducky Shine. I use the one with browns it at work, it's good.

It's probably too late but the Roccat Ryos MK Pro has the number pad and blue lit keys. It also has a ton of customization for key bindings and various other things if you're into that. Only downside is it doesn't have a caps lock key.

corsair do great rgb keyboards

I'd recommend against blue. There is some research being done on the effects of different bands of light on the eyes at night and so far there are indicators that blue light has negative impact on our health. It has to do with eye strain and throwing off sleep cycles.

Got a Logitech G105 over Christmas. Affordable, has blue backlighting that you can switch off, fairly quiet, responsive. Loving it so far.

Oh, and it has a numpad.

I heavily recommend Corsair. I have an RGB K70 and it's the bomb.

On a side note; a good quality wireless gaming mouse is the best peripheral upgrade I've ever made. Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum 10/10.

I have a Corsair K70 with MX browns that I love. I'd get the RGB version though if you really want the lights to work, the K70 is notorious for the backlights dying.

/r/MechanicalKeyboards

Thermaltake makes a decent one that has blue backlighting. It's a 104-key (full num-pad).

I got rid of numpads a couple of months ago at home and work and I have not missed them at all.

But if you want one, you can buy a numpad separately. It's actually nicer too if you can get a wireless one.

The nice thing about a tenkeyless keyboard is if you use the numbers with the correct fingers you can type things like serial numbers way faster because of mix between letters. There has only been a few times at work that I've dealt with numbers only and wish I had a separate number pad.

I have the orion spark by Logitech, it's rgb and has blue as it's base color. Amazing and quiet as all hell!!

The corsair k70 comes in a blue varient on amazon. You can get it cheap sometimes. Can't recommend it enough.

I'm using the Corsair K55 right now, and it's pretty damn nice. It's not a mechanical keyboard, but the keys feel really good for typing or gaming, and it's RGB, so you can set it to solid blue (which is what mine is on right now)

Look for a ducky zero. I've had mine a few years and has a nice blue backlight with cherry mx Brown switches, it has been an awesome keyboard for the time I have had it.

Get just a numpad

Number 1 changed my life on my laptop. I won't pay extra for a company like Dell to put them in but I will definitely upgrade manually.

On a laptop, SSDs are extremely useful, because HDDs hate being shaken

Got an SSD for Christmas but used a SATA II cable and there was only a minor speed increase when loading games. Then I bought a SATA III cable and used that instead and what a difference it made.

MINOR EDIT: I said I bought an SSD for some reason but in reality I got it for Christmas. It kind of bothered me so I changed it.

But my favorite part of the mechanical keyboard is the clicky clacky.

Can vouch for 2 and 3. You can get a M40x or SHP9500 or similarly praised pair of headphones for $80-100 and you can get a budget DAC like a Fiio E10K or Fiio Q1 mk2 with the balance. It's heavenly. There's also the great world of chi-fi audio aka budget af stuff with good quality from good ol' China

Good gaming mouse and mech kbs are getting super cheap now whilst still maintaining a certain degree of zero shitness. I got my outemu brown keyboard for $30 and my logitech g102 for $20 and it's been a life changer I bought them for office work too lol.

Screw sticky feeling cheap membrane keyboards offices use and screw the shit dpi on the mouse too.

Cant wait for a SSD upgrade though.

logitech g102 for $20

This guy is just ridiculously underpriced. Still can't believe Logitech did it (the absolute madmen).

Pretty much. It's so good and the lighting is just so smooth you'd think it's from a much more expensive unit.

Shame it isn't as big to fit my palm so I pretty much claw grip it.

Can you recommend a quiet mechanical keyboard? Or maybe a quiet (silent) mouse? My girlfriend basically has misophonia for clicking and I miss playing games.

quiet mechanical keyboard test

Logitech has a quiet mouse, M330 silent plus.

Lol, those are all loud as shit.

You can't call it quiet just because it's "not as loud" as the other ones that are painfully loud.

Lol, those are all loud as shit.

Because he's post-processed his audio for speech. This won't sound the same in real life as it does on the video.

Bought the same mouse a few months ago. It's ridiculously quiet but still feels like you're clicking a mouse. Wasn't impressed by the weight distribution initially but got used to it quickly. There are better mice out there but if you want quiet definitely go with this one.

Look for a keyboard with Cherry Silent Red, Matias Quiet Click/Quiet Linear, or Topre Silent switches.

On the mouse side, I have little advice. Logitech makes some but they're not exactly intended for gaming. I was actually doing some research on this earlier, hoping to find a way to silence my G102. Apparently some electrical tape on the back side of the microswitch contacts will help, as will stuffing a bunch of foam or other absorbent material into the empty part of the chassis.

I am in the same situation as you.

Silent red switches and put o ring dampers under your keycaps. But IMO, reds have no tactile feedback and your keyboard feels like mush. I still like blues, but I know a lot of people dislike the noise. But you can get brow, white, grey, etc switches that have tactile feedback and no "click".

I recommend the Sony MDR 7506 headphones. They're the industry standard for studio headphone monitors with a fairly flat frequency response, so although you might miss the ultra loud boomy bass for some tracks, they're basically great no matter what music you listen to. It's easy to get a pair for under $100 with a tiny bit of effort.

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Ever tried just walking into a best buy and demoing a few models? You could probably do it at Guitar Center or another music store, too.

SSD and RAM for under 200? Lol good joke mate

an ssd, at least 8 gigs of ram minimum, a solid mouse, a quality wireless headset, and a good keyboard make for a massive quality of life improvements of the alternative. also a decent mousepad and hand rest help quite a bit

At this point you might as well future proof yourself and get 16GB of RAM. For gaming at least 8GB is starting to really push it. Granted RAM os pricy as dicks.

You can always just download more RAM!

At this point you might as well future proof yourself and get 16GB of RAM

I can wait it out with how high RAM prices are right now though.

I know its crazy. What dictates the price of RAM? Is it dependant on the price of gold or something?

There's a shortage of ram right now. Majority of it is going towards smartphones instead of the pc market

The only time I've felt limited with 8GB was with CEMU.

Then again, I don't play that many modern intensive games.

You can get by with 8 on a lot of games for sure. But on newer games you will notice problems on higher settings with only 8GB of RAM. I know Mass Effect Andromeda had a recommended 16GB. Thats just one game but 8 is close to obsolete if you play newer titles and have other decent hardware.

I guess it also helps that I've got a few SSDs, one of which has a 24GB pagefile. At least that helped tremendously in Just Cause 3.

Even with CEMU 8GB and a pagefile can go a long way.

Yeah, I must've played about a hundred of hours of BotW by now and the fps have been mostly stable at 30. But my ram was pretty much maxed out all the time, during that time.

true, but 8 gigs is just a minimum for daily use

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16GB is more than enough to run all but the absolute most intensive games. You can easily get away with 12GB right now for almost every game.

Andromeda really seemed to rely heavily on RAM though compared to similar games.

Unless you are trying to run ultra 4k games 16GB is plenty. Even on those settings it is still enough in most scenarios.

Also with how pricey RAM is you're probably better off putting the money towards a better gpu or cpu instead of way more RAM than 99% of gamers would ever need.

You can skimp by on 8GB and run almost every game fine on reasonable settings right now if you have a good cpu and gpu.

Why a mouse pad and hand wrest ?

it makes using a computer so much smoother its kinda crazy. somewhere to put your wrists while typing makes is super comfortable and i dont think people entirely realize how smooth using w mouse is when paired with a good pad.

somewhere to put your wrists while typing makes is super comfortable

If by "super comfortable" you mean "causes carpal tunnel syndrome", then yes.

Suggest a pad? I am wireless so have always disliked the “containment” and hitting edges.

I worry a comfort pad for wrist compresses wrist and promotes carpal tunnel.

I personally never enjoyed a wrist pad, it's not comfortable at all for me to type. However, I got myself a very large mouse pad that is 90cm ~28" wide.
Both your keyboard and mouse are placed on it. It's great for having a bit more comfort for my wrist when typing.

Those can be had for around €/$15 to 20 if you look past the gaming brands.

I worry a comfort pad for wrist compresses wrist and promotes carpal tunnel.

It absolutely does.

logitech mx master is a fucking nice mouse btw.

ill look into it. right now im using a logitech m100 cause its a pretty good mouse, cheap, and i can beat the shit out of it and it dosent break.

An SSD is a must for a 5 year old laptop. I got a Cruical BX200 to replace the busted one in a Core 2 Duo Asus laptop.

An SSD is a must for literally any computer.

SSD is awesome, saves a lot of time

You’ll probably still want an HDD with your SSD though, SSD space is expensive.

Eh, I've just been picking up SSDs on sales on such over the years and I use my NAS for storage.

HDDs are noisy and slow as shit. I don't want that garbage in my PC.

Modern HDDs aren't noisy or slow as shit? I have one and don't hear it at all.

Besides, when you can get 3tb for a fraction of the price for a 250gb SSD it's a no brainer.

You don't hear your HDD spin up at all, when you use it? You're sure you don't just filter it out, because you're used to it?

Yes, I don't hear it spin up. I heard my old one in my previous pc but I built a new one 3 years ago and never heard that one since I installed it.

The jump to SSD did, in fact, change my life.

why only 2?

Probably because all three exceed the $200 limit.

[deleted]

Not necessarily, I've found cheap functional SSD's for like $50. Just checked, Toshiba and Seagate both make ones under $60, Toshiba at $49.99

More like one of three. If you're looking for end game headphones, Senheisser HD6XX from massdrop for $200 are probably the best deal you can get now. Granted, they are better with an amp so you need to spend $60 more on that about. SSD is going to cost you over 100 if you want a decent sized drive and RAM is expensive right now.

must be different taste, always though Senheisser headsets sounded like crap. though RAM with at least 16GB(8GBx2) is about 120, and an SSD really shouldn't have everything under the sun on it, so it doesn't have to be huge. 256GB(i think) is about 70. so we have $10 for headphones, a mouse, and a quiet mechanical keyboard. time to go to ebay.

A quiet mechanical keyboard? Does that even exist? And even if it does, half the fun is making all that clacking noise at work. I swear, people will think you're more productive and it's a really satisfying feeling.

Quite? Mx blues all the way!

Naw man gotta get blue keys. Nice and loud keyboard. Let everyone know you're typing a paper.

Fuck off with your quiet blue keys. Buckling springs is where it's at.

1 & 2 sadly will likely go over $200, unless there is a great deal on some headphones.
RAM & SSD prices are very high right now because of the lack of NAND chips.

A 120GB+4GB DDR3/4 upgrade may leave just about enough to get a solid pair of headphones from Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic, etc.

I bought a mechanical keyboard for my father, it makes a world of difference if you have arthritis, joint pain, etc. The keys tend to have very little resistance and in my personal experience, they're a lot easier to clean and maintain than the basic gel membrane keyboards. On top of that, it usually helps in typing speed and their overall lifespan is usually a lot longer than gel membrane. I've had my mechanical for 3 years now, never going back.

Replace your hard drive? Look at mister organized over here who knows how to clean his computer and not have every single game he owns downloaded, from Pajama Sam to Hunnie Pop.

Hah! Pick all 3.

Okay so mechanical keyboards with cherry red and brown switches are not loud by themselves. The blue switches (and some others) actually have a spring and audible click when depressed. The browns and reds don't. However they can still be loud if you, like me, bottom out your keys when you type. Lowest you'll find an okay mechanical keyboard for is 50.

If you're a gamer you'll want corded, 50 ish is the minimum. If you're just looking for a better keyboard, you can go cheap wireless, probably around 75? I haven't really looked at those, I have mine at work.

Gaming mice can be over rated. I have a 12 button with alternative button (basically I can program the 12, tap a button and the 12 are another programmed set). It was FAN FUCKING TASTIC when I used CAD daily. Every shortcut was right there. And it also was set up for media to control volume and play/pause. I had it programmed to open programs (ie tap this button, octave opens, tap that button, thunderbird opens).

Ultimately, it was only the most useful when using CAD for me (and through the transitive property, gaming. I don't game though). Everything else was kinda just fluff. SO the long of the short, a gaming mouse can be nice, but not really worth it if you aren't a gamer. A normal mouse with the forward and back buttons is enough for most.

Don't blind faith Logitech. Google "Logitech double click error", their recent lines have gone to shit because they cheaped out on an already incredibly cheap part and fucked their whole mouse line....

SSD upgrade was worth it to me. But don't think "more is better yeahhhhhh". I have a 124gb in my laptop and I got a CD drive caddy for my old 500gb hard drive. Movies and music and whatnot is still on the old drive, OS and programs run on the SSD. You probably don't need a ram upgrade though.

Headphones have a point of diminishing return for the lay person around 20 to 30 bucks, maybe even lower. Sure, dollar store headphones are a no go, but Marshall's, Burlington coat factory, etc are great options for the average Joe.

Mechanical keyboard. 75 bucks. Replacement SSD. 100 bucks. Headphones. 25 bucks.

Your whole list for the lay person is possible :D

i'm going to have to disagree with a bunch of these.

SSD and Ram upgrade - most people have enough RAM if they're just checking facebook imo. SSD obviously helps.

Good pair of headphones - I have a pair of ATH-m50s and to be honest, they were about as good as my cheap sennheiser 201's. Could barely notice the difference. Maybe I'm just not good at noticing things but I don't really feel like the audio quality is that much better.

Nice gamer mouse - I have a razer deathadder. Fantastic mouse, love it. Very ergonomic. And while I would totally buy my deathadder again, I'm not sure I would recommend it. Just doesn't do that much more than a regular mouse... Though it feels great in my hand and has a couple programmable buttons, I'm not so sure it does that much.

Mechanical keyboard - might be the most overrated thing out there. I'm almost certain it's a circlejerk - my girlfriend had a mechanical keyboard and all it did was make loud obnoxious sounds without being any more satisfying than my laptop keyboard, which by the way, requires far less force to press a key and has the added benefit of not fucking me over when I want to do stuff on the computer while i'm on the phone at the same time.

SSD, yes. But suggesting a RAM upgrade can be pretty misleading.

If you want to know if you need more RAM, do this: Over one week, while using your computer as you typically would, hit ctrl-shift-escape and go to the performance tab. If you aren't able to get the memory graph close to 100% and keep it there consistently, you're unlikely to notice the benefit of extra RAM.

Giving a computer more RAM is like adding chairs to a table. If you regularly have five people over and your table only has four chairs, an extra chair will help. If you only ever use two chairs, buying a fifth won't improve your life much.

But the SSD suggestions? Heck yes. Get an SSD, makes any computer without one feel like it's brand new. Amazing upgrade. Best impact for low cost you can get when upgrading a computer.

I was like "oh whatever, I like my laptop keyboard enough I don't care what the desktop we're building has" a while back. Got mechanical keyboard anyway. Have to type a lot for my job, will never not buy a mechanical keyboard again. it's SO much nicer, and it actually helps with touch typing because of the feedback. I like the noise, too, though I don't have the noisiest switches. Either way, super awesome, would not go back.

Quiet? Why would you want quiet???

Edit: apparently "/s" was needed.

Because the point of a mechanical keyboard isn't to make noise, it's to be a better keyboard.

Because the point of a mechanical keyboard isn't to make noise

angry noises from /r/mechanicalkeyboards intensifies

Silent Red master race

Got a bag of blacks waiting to be put it for my build. I want my fingers to have their own muscles.

And eventually graduate to Linear Greys?

Because it's annoying when you're on Discord and all of your friends ask you to go push to talk because everyone can hear everything you do.

Because you live with other people and because they are reasonable normal people they don't want to hear keys smashing for hours.

Because you don't want to hear it either?

you're on Discord

Change the actuation setting. Unless you talk quieter than your keystrokes, there will be a viable setting.

Because you don't want to hear it either?

You monster.

Quiet mechanical keyboard? Are you insane? The clicky clack of the keys is like music. To me at least, everyone in discord doesn't seem to agree lel

My keyboard is mechanical.

Quite mechanical indeed.

any headphones you have in mind?

Depends on your budget, location you're buying from, location you'll use them (living room, bedroom, office with more people around?), music you mostly listen to & how much you enjoy bass. If you listen to a lot of different music styles, then which style don't you listen to?

Just as a personal recommendation, I got my Sennheiser 598C's and a Fiio E10K on Black Friday 2016.

Really improved the music quality and the depth of songs (often parts I didn't realize where in the song and were more "background noise" before).

Here is the guide from /r/headphones to help you decide what to buy for your price range, but otherwise I'd recommend the 598C's.

Got my deathadder and steelseries qck+ mat along with steelseries keyboard (v something). No backlight or flashy extra features, but all of this was bought in 2013 and works like new in 2018!

Deathadders middle button click doesn't function though (broke a month ago) and mousepad is a bit worn, might replace soon.

Deathadder is a beast tho

Recommendations for a gamer mouse?

Ask /r/MouseReview. It depends on your hand size & grip style.

Deathadder or there's a Logitech mouse everyone recommends. I'm a big fan of the molded shape of deathadder. But if you have a computer store around, a lot of times they let you open boxes to feel mice.

Interesting. I've been looking at Razer mice, I recently got and Ornata and Firefly and would love a full razer setup

+1 for the SSD upgrade. probably 90% of what makes any computer seem slow is a spinning disk hard drive. A $200 walmart special laptop with an SSD upgrade will feel a lot faster than a high end PC with a HDD (at least until you try to play a game.)

Am I weird for hating mechanical keyboards and loving cheap flat ones?

A good pair of headphones is nothing without a decent soundcard imo. The difference between a dedicated one and the ones that are built into the motherboard is like night and day.

You won't actually notice that much of a difference until you switch sound cards. Imo anyway

Unless you're sleeping on money you won't replace your HDD with an SSD lol

My less than 200gb SSD was twice the price of a 1TB HDD and I like actually having storage for my games

Depends on your use. I've got a netbook I don't game on, and 128gb SSD is all it needs.

SSD to boot from, storage on a HDD.

Spend the extra and get a m.2 SSD if your board has the slot, as if a SSD couldnt be fast enough, boot times on my buds rig is retarded and i thought it was quick with a regular SSD.

FYI, you can still get an m.2 that is just as slow as a sata drive and not take advantage of m.2 speeds.

Dont buy cheap. Never skimp out on computer parts, ever.

What I meant to say is that saying "Buy an M.2 drive" won't really give you the benefits of M.2 if you buy the wrong drive for the slot. You can buy drives that go from SATA3 speeds of 600MB/S but are still M.2 drives. So just saying "buy M.2" isn't really good enough. Sure, "Don't buy cheap" is a good rule of thumb, but there are real high diminishing returns on a lot of stuff.

I get what you mean but, most people should know to look into what theyre getting though.

I've got a nice SSD 256gig boot drive, and then 2 different 2 terrabyte drives that are both nearly full. Ugh. I need to buy a third.

The gamer mouse is a waste... have gamed on both gaming and cheap 4, 6 year old mice. do not see the difference. i like my mechanical gaming keyboard(quite mechanical) tho.

have gamed on both gaming and cheap 4, 6 year old mice. do not see the difference.

It's not enough to change the hardware, you have to configure it properly too.

Interesting. I had the opposite experience. I used to go through at least one mouse a year, which made me assume I was uniquely hard on my mice. One day, I picked up a DeathAdder on extreme discount. It was like $20, way down from the normal $70. Figured I'd kill it in a year and I wouldn't be out much money. That thing has been going strong for about five years now. Apparently I wasn't that hard on my mice, they were just shitty quality.

SSD under 100$

Totally with you on the SSD. I had a media box I'd built out of old parts and it had very low RAM as I only had a couple of 1gb sticks lying around. A cheap SSD from CEX and it came alive, no more sloth like speeds when opening apps, rapid boot time and best of all, virtually silent machine.

Get a decent mousepad to go with that mouse. Good mouse pads do make a difference and only cost a few bucks more.

I can download extra RAM for free.

I have all 3, all 3 changed my life. Went from $20 headphones to $130 headphones, having 3D sound & 7.1 surround sound headphones change EVERYTHING. I was playing CSGO with my $10 mouse, went with a $60 gaming Logitech mouse, another major difference as well, just felt so much more fluid and accurate. SSD goes without saying.

No headphone has 7.1 sound. It's all marketing bs

I got one and two for my PS4. Couldn't be happier. Especially now that I have the VR too.

Note that if you're getting some high resistance decent headphones you're also going to need an amplifier to use with it or at least a sound card for your PC.

Don't tell me to be quiet!

HNGGGG I just got an SSD for Black Friday and that shit is actually life-changing. Had a new OS installed on it from a bootstick in about 15 minutes. I don't dread reboots anymore because the damn BIOS takes longer than the OS startup. Easily the best $150 I've EVER spent!

I don't get mechanical keyboards. I can hear them clacking over discord.

I pick one and two.

I prefer speakers so, for years and years I picked one and three. To date, I have gone through five faulty gaming mice, mostly Logitech, while my simple freebee mouse from Dell (Yes, Dell) continues to work as intended. Gaming mice are also the source of various non-gaming software issues, so unless you are the type to switch out your mouse whenever each time you game, keep it simple.

(I'm sure some will praise their personal $50+ mouse choices but come on, five faulty mice? That's a lifespan of 2 years versus 15 on the Dell.

ram upgrade

You rich or something?

Not that I disagree, but my SSD upgrade was way more than $200...

I could get you a 240GB for 70$, and a 512GB for 140-160$. Unless your buying 1TB SSDs (which are fucking amazing), you're not spending over 200$ unless you just saw a list of SSDs and sorted by "Price: High to low" and picked the first one.

OK, I didn't realize small ones were so cheap. I paid ... a lot more for SSDs that were ... a lot bigger. And in a RAID array. It was an amazing upgrade, like buying a new machine, but it was expensive.

Ah, yeah. Anything over 1TB is very pricy. Must be nice having a raid of SSDs.

Must be nice having a raid of SSDs.

Yes. It is, in fact, very nice. But the path there was very painful.

A sous vide immersion circulator. Always cook perfect steaks.

I received one for christmas and made my first ribeye last night. My god was it amazing. I'm always worried about over/undercooking an expensive steak, sous vide is foolproof. I also did a salmon fillet the other night which was amazing as well

holy shit, i also received a sous vide for christmas and made a ribeye steak last night as well... it was also amazing

You’re the same person pls consult black mirror

I think he is supposed to blackmail himself with nudes

Just made Italian sausage in it and finished it in a pan with garlic, peppers, and onions with Italian seasoning. Best I’ve ever had.

One of the sad reasons i cannot visit Italy for more than a few days.

I would literally eat myself to death in a week.

Try chicken breasts, always come out superbly juicy. And vegetables. Holy shit. Try carrots next. Brusslesprouts also.

So....cook all the things? Sounds fun to me :).

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/simple-sous-vide-steak-with-red-wine-sauce

If you want some extra flavor to your steak -and don't really care about diet or eating healthy- you can finish your steak by, after cooking it sous-vide, passing it in a pan with some butter and aromatic herbs.

Cooking a steak in butter isn't unhealthy.

Well, it's not not unhealthy

Ribeye is a very forgivable steak to cook since you want to cook it a bit longer (medium) than other cuts and not at such a high heat. So a good quick sear and a few minutes in a hot oven is the easiest way to cook it.

No, I think you're very mistaken. The eye part of a rib eye is in fact quite lean and very quickly over cooks. The deckel is quite tender and can stand over cooking a little, but, you should definitely not err on the side of over cooking a rib eye.

It is impossible to undercook a steak.

I like mine still frozen

I like to just bite into the cow while it's still alive

If it can't be sucked straight out of the bull, it's too done.

So the thing that's always held be off is that I like my steak medium and my SO likes theirs rare. How does that get handled?

Set the temp to 140F (medium). Toss your steak in. Wait an hour. Set temp to 125F (halfway between rare and medium rare). Toss a couple ice cubes in to facilitate faster temperature drop. Toss your SO's steak in. Wait an hour. Sear both steaks on hotter than hell cast iron using high smoke point oil. Enjoy perfectly cooked medium and rare steaks.

comment saved! thanks!!

My situation is a little bit different. I like medium rate to her medium well. But what I do is set the cooker to the lower temperature and then adjust how long I sear it for at the end. Just start finishing yours on the grill much sooner.

(or get another sous vide!)

Thanks! I am intrigued!

I'm not familiar with how they work, but could you not just put two steaks in separate bags and take one out earlier or put one in later?

Nope. You're heating the water to an exact temperature.

You'd have to take out the lower temperature steak then raise the water temperature to the proper temp for the doneness they like.

That'd take a significantly longer time than just spending a minute or two longer searing it.

Ah I see. Makes sense. Thanks.

That’s why I also do the reverse sear method (I want a sous vide though), that way it’s much harder to over cook the steak.

I really want to know how Ruth’s Chris’ cooks or prepares their steaks (maybe a long dry age), as while it was expensive, it was the best steak I ever had.

Probably a gas powered broiler.

The trick is to salt it and let it come up to room temp before cooking.

I salt and put them on a rack in the fridge overnight. I then add pepper before cooking.

For reverse sear and sous vide, it doesn’t matter, a 35min+ gradual rise in temp is going to produce similar results. Also, even if you let it warm up for an hour, it will only rise by like 20°F max, when cooking till >130°F, that extra 20°F won’t really amount to anything. If you let it warm up for maybe 3hr or so, then maybe it’ll be room temp in the center, but nobody’s got time for that and it still won’t make much of a difference.

It’s sometimes said that if only doing pan sear, since it’s so much faster, that letting it warm up for like 30min is a bad thing, as the edges of the meat are warmer, but the center is still cold, rather than the whole steak being cold, that means you’ll cook the edges much faster than the center, causing a larger grey band.

Another gadget I want is a quality instant read food thermometer, I have like a $5 one off Amazon and it takes too long (I keep it in a cup of hot water so I don’t have to wait for it to go from ~77°F to ~145°F).

Can you explain the reverse sear to me a bit? I've never tried it and I feel like searing mine results in a medium steak when I want a medium rare..

Prepare your steaks (I leave them uncovered on a wire rack in my garage fridge and salted with large grain on both ends; I add pepper before cooking, but it can be done with the salt, and you want coarse pepper, not the super fine stuff, as coarse pepper is what makes the sear better).

If you are going to be cooking the steaks right away, then salt and pepper within 5min or cooking. If you salt them like 15min before, it won’t be good. You can look it up to see the reasoning, but you shouod salt either right before or >40min before.

Preheat oven, I do 265°F. And place steaks in the oven for like 40min depending on the cut and desired temp (you want it a bit below finished temp as you’ll finish it in the pan). The temp and cook time varies on receipes from like 250°-285° and 25-45min, so I chose a middle ground. I get my steaks from Costco and they are like 2in thick, many receipes are for 1-1.5in, so the cooking times are less.

I use a food thermoteter and check the temp about 5min before it’s supposed to be ready.

Gain a pan and heat it up and add a bit of oil (like even a capful would be enough), and best it up until it begins to get a bit smokey.

Take the steaks out and place directly into the pan (a bit hard to do if you are cooking >4 steaks as the’ll start to cool down as you can only cook 1-2 at a time.

Add a bit of butter and maybe some herbs to finish it off and baste the steak with the buttered oil with a spoon. Each strek should be no longer than like 2min in the pan, if you took them out of the oven at a good temp; it’s not that bad if you under cooked it, I’ve had some in the pan for like 6min because I took them out early.

You can serve right after that, no cool down needed like with normal pan cooking. However, what I like to do is wrap each steak in aluminum coils with a slice of butter on top and wait maybe 2min for the butter to melt.

I’m a person who really hates fast actions when cooking, and the fear of overcoming during normal pan cooking is why I love reverse sear. I can’t wait to get a Sous Vide and try that.

Taste test comparison video: pan vs pan–>oven (sear) vs oven–>pan (reverse sear).

Oh I've heard of this, sounds delicious But I thought you meant in the sous vide not that you want a sous vide. Silly me. I was thinking that you like seared them on the grill before dropping them in or something.

Wait until you make your first Filet Mignon...

Shoooooot man, I came to say this. I got one for Christmas after telling myself I didnt need one for a year or two and my GOD. Ive cooked just about every common cut of steak already and its amazing EVERY TIME.

Its so hard to mess up.

And I highly recommend doing a roast. I did one for 40 hours in the sous vide then i finished it off with 3 hours in my smoker. Yes.

I'm currently planning tomorrows dinner. Theres so much that you can cook sous vide.

I have the Anova one and the app is very easy to use. It took 5 minutes to learn how to use it and its basically been on as much as I've been awake since then.

Was it a oneway anova?

Oneway or anova, I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha.

Random Blondies around every corner...

Boo you reminded me of my uni holiday work I haven't done yet fuck off

Statistics? Ugh. Me, too. Fuck SSPS.

Dunno why you got downvoted, I visibly flinched when I saw anova

Fuck dude, you might've just sold me on one. I love a good steak but I can't seem to get it right on the grill or skillet.

You should grab one, then. As mentioned above, it's foolproof. Bathe, remove, sear, perfect steak.

There's also a poor man's method I can detail if you want to try it without buying the expensive gadget. Just takes a little more attention.

Is it a pot of water and a thermometer?

And ice and ziploc bags ;)

Yeah its hard to mess up. Do take into account how thick the steak is. And theres are different requirements for different cuts of steak. But you can super easily google that stuff.

I did a beef roast for 72 hours with some liquid smoke in the bag. Best. Roast. Ever.

And I highly recommend doing a roast. I did one for 40 hours in the sous vide then i finished it off with 3 hours in my smoker. Yes.

Damn I want a smoker. Trick is, here in Italy they're quite seldom to find.

Large unglazed ceramic pot (think the orange ones used for small indoor trees), a small grill grate, and a hotplate are all you need to make your own fully functional smoker.

Use disposable aluminum pie tins to hold your wood chips (or use a thick metal pie tin, that's what I did), put it on the hot plate. Meat on the grate, come back in a while.

I've seen a file cabinet converted into a smoker

I was thinking about doing the same with a water boiler, but all my projects are on hold until August :(

That nicotine is just so addictive.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_turn_your_kettle_grill_into_a_smoker/

Steaks are great, but steaks are always great. But a cheap chuck roast? My God is that incredible.

And you can do fish or pork chops, chicken, veggies or really anything else thats meat or that you could normally slow cook

DJ KHALED!! ANOVA ONE.

My Anova cooker is indeed smart and loyal. And I appreciate that.

I’ve owned one for a few years but for some reason too scared to use it. Do you have a recipe for a non-steak meal? Husband isn’t into steak and I just need Something to push me over the edge

I recommend salmon highly. Its one of the first meals I've made that isnt red meat and it was amazing.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/08/sous-vide-salmon-recipe.html

Although you should treat yourself. Sous vide is CRAZY easy and theres so many options.

Not a meal, but this carrot recipe. My wife doesn't really care for steak that much and hates that I love kitchen gadgets, but this helped sell her on the sous vide. She loves this carrot recipe and it is now a common side item in our house.

I found this to be an inexpensive intro to sous vide. https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sous-vide-pork-chop 62C for 60 mins then flash fry at end for colour and browning flavours. So succulent.

I was going to buy the Anova for my wife for Christmas but we both decided against it after reading reviews that the Anova app REQUIRED you to give access to your Facebook account to use. Is this true?

I'm not a tinhat sort of fellow, but I can't think of a single reason why a fucking water heater needs access to my Facebook account.

It's not true. I have the Anova app on my phone right now.

I didn't require it for me. Just downloaded and connected with bluetooth.

Yep, did a 3lb chuck for 24hrs. Tastes sweet and you can cut it with a butter knife. Shallow fry it for a crust and then take a bit of hot broth to rinse off the surface fry oil.

Weirdly, it kinda had a French Toast kinda taste.

I just used mine for the first time last night, the wifi connection seems pretty spotty on it, while my phone and laptop sitting right by it had no issues. The app kept telling me it couldn't find the Anova

My Anova has bluetooth but it keeps losing connection so in the end I just use Google home to set a timer.

I also got the Anova for Christmas and will never cook steak any other way. I’m intrigued by your roast idea. What recipe did you follow?

Theres one on the anova app/site I followed. Mostly for guidelines. I cooked it for longer and added some of my own spices and such.

https://recipes.anovaculinary.com/recipe/sous-vide-beef-chuck

Just wanted to add that while the Anova one is great, you don’t need a unit that costs that much to get going. There are good cheaper units as well. Also, it’s possible to use zip lock bags instead of a vacuum machine if you get the hang of how to properly empty the air.

Indeed. I just use ziplock bags! Works fine for me! Make sure to get good, double seal, quart/gallon size ones though. No flimsy sandwich bags.

And clothespin the edges of the bags to the top rim of your pot/container of water to make sure no water seeps in to the bag.

40 hrs seems a bit much. Once it hits the temperature isn't it done. No need or reason to go longer I thought

Connective tissue breaks down over time, not just temperature. It's why you can't just cook a brisket or pork shoulder quickly until it hits the desired temperature and expect it to be tender. With extended cook times, you can further tenderize the meat as well. There are articles on that if you're interested, just search for sous vide and include a meat that's typically braised, like short rib or brisket, and you can find breakdowns of a variety of temperatures matched up with different cook times showing what the final results are like.

[deleted]

Haha this guy was also a chef for over a decade ;). This one is more experience, though they do have some articles on the breakdows, as does chefsteps (maybe?), I believe.

[deleted]

You're going to love it. It's a lot of fun and super easy to use!

Depends what cut it is. 40 hour pork ribs are amazing.

40 hours is overkill, yeah. 12 max for a really thick roast should be more than sufficient.

for getting it up to temp yes, but my understanding is that by holding it at temp for the longer the enzymes are better able to break down the cheaper/tougher meat. still comes out cooked to the same doneness but is more tender.

For traditional cooking methods, yes. But with sous vide you can serve medium rare short ribs that are practically fall apart tender - you just need the longer cook time because you're at a lower temperature.

I agree. 40 hours for ribs is fucking retarded. Also I’m not putting ribs on anything except a bbq pit

You put them on the grill or broiler or whatever after. Sous vide is really awesome, but a lot of people don't understand it in principle is all...

First time I've ever enjoyed a thick steak was when I cooked it with my Anova.

Don't forget to try hamburgers, pork chops, and chicken breast (throw in some sliced pear and sherry!)

Turkey, carrots, ham...oh such lovely ham (raw/cured), everything really 2 years later still using it several times a week

Ooo, carrots. Gotta try that! What temp, how long, what do you put in with them?

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/06/sous-vide-glazed-carrots-recipe.html

That looks incredible. And I'm pretty sure I have carrots in my fridge ...

What's the advantage to sous vide hamburgers?

Same as steaks - you can do a thicker burger and cook it evenly to the desired doneness, then give it a quick sear on both sides. I did 1 inch burgers to medium rare, seared then for maybe 45 seconds per side, and had perfect burgers that were on all the way through and juicy/tasty as hell.

The downside is that it takes longer than just popping a thin burger on the grill for a few minutes. But if you've got the time, it's mouth bliss.

Just did some Costco pork chops. Got 8 monsters for about $17 total. They came out perfect.

Right? Perfectly cooked and juicy!

Stop and Shop had a sale on boneless pork loin last night - I got an 8+ pounder for something like $13. Half of it is going in the Instant Pot for Green Chile Stew, and the rest will get cut into boneless chops and sous vided.

we do chicken every week for our food prep

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • Salt/Pepper to taste

mix into a blend, then rub into 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

place in bag with a slice of lemon on each side of the breast. (we usually do one bag per breast)

252 for 2:30

Sear on both sides for 1 minute each in 1 tablespoon of avacado oil

this shit is divine

Just made some frozen chicken that was still in marinade from a few months ago. Cooked at 150 for 1.5 hours while working out, and damn, crazy good, you haven't tasted chicken until it's sous vide chicken. Best investment ever.

Great suggestion I am looking at these now.

Do you finish your proteins by searing?

I almost always sear in cast iron skillet. But you can sear on grill or with a torch. Chicken is actually fine with or without a sear.

Always, in a very hot pan. Make sure you dry it first with a paper towel.

You mean the meat, not the pan, right?

Any oil on the pan?

Oil in the pan, but the meat should be dry. Otherwise you end up streaming the meat instead of searing.

Another tip I picked up is after sous vide and pat dry, put the meat in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to cool down the outside. Then pat dry again and sear... This allows you to sear a little longer without worry of cooking the inside, and the sear tends to be better in my experience.

Have you ever put the machine inside your anus for a quick spin?

It has a low water alarm so it wouldn't turn on.

Yeah, two or three minutes in an oven on broil to get that crispy exterior.

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I have one of these for my crock pot. It does work and is cheaper, but I don't feel it's really on the same level as the sticks. They heat faster and hold temp better with circulation. And they are simpler to use with no separate probe or wires everywhere. I'm eyeing one now for $70 and I think it's well worth the extra price. My temperature regulator was about $20. And the crock pot was about $25. So for only $25 more I'd say go for it.

$70 is definitely justified for its convenience, despite the fact that the concept is simple.

But I'm not sure about the $199 one which came first when I searched OP's keyword..

I have the $199 Sansaire one. Reason being that I had many hundreds of dollars of Bed, Bath and Beyond gift cards to use from my wedding and wanted a sous vide and it was the only one they had in stock.

I think it's like 50% more power than my friend's anova; heats faster, heats more and actually I like the user interface of mine better. But unless you need to keep your swimming pool at exactly 129 degrees farenheit just get the anova lol.

What a bout a fish tank heater?

I don't recommend these, they are pretty much a gimmick. They take a long time to cook, and you get a much better crust cooking normally. They seem really cool at first, but are not better or worth the effort.

Taking that long to cook is kind of the point. You also get a lot of varying doneness in your meat by cooking "normally".

You can also cook while you aren't home if your cooker has WiFi access, like the Anova.

Put the packaged meat in your basin w/ water, but don't fill the water all the way up, leave it at 3/4 of what you normally put in it, and fill the rest with ice.

Then when you are on your way home, or before you leave from work, trigger it to start cooking. Boom! Ready to eat or sear when you are home.

Genius! I’ve been trying to figure out how to use it for weeknight dinners if it needs 2 hrs to cook. Never thought to put it in ice.

That's a good idea. My Joule has wifi and never even considered doing that.

Got an Anova for Xmas. Can you recommend a good container for cooking with it? Any recipes?

I use a Coleman party stacker cooler that I cut a hole in the lid. I love 24 hour bacon.

I loved this recipe. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/11/sous-vide-turkey-breast-crispy-skin-recipe-thanksgiving.html

I made this recipe for my family a few Thanksgivings ago. They complained it was too fucking moist. YOU MEAN JUICY AND TENDER WITH DELICIOUS CRISPY SKIN?!

Sound like it's time to get a new family.

Does the anova rest on the lip where it usually rests on the mount, or on the bottom of the cooler?

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Not when you cut a hole in the top of the cooler.

Depends on which size you get. If you get the 25qt, it will sit on the bottom. In the 33qt, it will rest on the lid.

Is 130° turkey safe?

Most people like the texture of poultry around 145. It's all about the time it spends at that temp. The usda Temps will kill all bacteria in under a second. There are charts that you can Google for that tell you pasteurization times at different Temps. 145 is still very moist for turkey and has a texture more what you would expect. Even if it's safe I don't enjoy the texture of raw poultry.

Yeah the texture of chicken in the lower end of the recommended temp spectrum is not good to me. So far I find pork and beef to really benefit from the sous vide.

If it were in a restaurant you would get a violation from the health department at that temp.
The danger zone for bacteria is between 40 and 140.

Thanks for the info!

I have the smaller party stacker cooler. Insulated so there’s less heat loss and no water loss. Loved it so much that I bought the bigger one for my brother for Christmas. We ever pre-drilled the hole for him.

I have an Anova as well. Honestly, you can use any container. I use a big stock pot. A small/medium plastic bin would work fine. A 5-gallon bucket would be no problem. The Anova has a great recirculation pump on it; as long as the intake is underwater, you're golden.

You can just use a large pot. As for recipes:

Best thing about it (other than the amazing cook) is the ease. Salt and Pepper some chicken breast, put them in the bag with whatever other sauce you want and boom! Simple. You can do a more complex recipe but it’s still the same. Just throw stuff in the bag and cook. Pan sear when you’re done.

Also, you can cook multiple meals at a time. Makes meal prep a DREAM. One bag with teriyaki chicken, another with something else, and so on. As long as they cook on the same temperature, you can make multiple meals in the same time.

You may wanna check out r/sousvide

Thanks for the tip

I use a 12 at lexan tub. It isn't insulated like a cooler but it doesn't take up too much space on the counter when using it. You can get a few steaks, chicken breasts or a small roast. For bigger cooks, a cooler is a good idea. Also, if you don't already have one, a vacuum sealed is a must.

I’d recommend a Cambro polycarbonate container. They come in all shapes and sizes, so you can find one that works for your kitchen.

Some sizes accept add-on silicon lids with cutouts for sous vide cookers, but I’ve just used aluminum foil for a lid and it works fine.

I use mine, but my dad distrusts anything that isn't well done. I give up. (He made steak today and it was well done and ridiculous.)

Then ask him politely, but firmly, to leave.

So make all the steaks at the lower temp in the sous vide and then sear his until it’s leather.

As /u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt can attest to - you can also sous vide food within a cooler if you have the right set-up. A cheaper alternative and one I can recommend. For those of you who enjoy cooking, I can't recommend his book "The Food Lab" enough. You should also check out /r/sousvide when you get the chance.

been loving my anova ever since i got it back in august

yes. Life changing stuff even for the non-culinary types.

I love steak, but I suck ass at cooking them, no matter what. Just ordered one of these gizmos, thanks for the heads up.

I want a Joule so badly.

$200 I think, and no shipping to the UK. Sad face.

r/sousvide is great to find recipes and advice!

I just got an instant pot which is also pretty foolproof and cuts down cooking tough meat times to almost nothing. Can anyone shill me on why I should also get a sous vide machine?

I just got an instant pot as well. It's basically a pressure cooker. A sous vide lets you cook at a low temperature for a long time. It's kind of like having a hammer and screw driver. Depending on what you want to do there is the best tool for the job.

They're two different tools for two different purposes. Instantpot is amazing for things like soups, stews, stocks, rice dishes etc.

Sous Vide is a bit more specialized since its primarily good for cooking through just proteins such that it will be juicy and perfectly done without much fuss or guesswork. But it takes a while to do. Its perfect for steak night essentially.

Damn, where do I get me one of those?

I recommend the anova on Amazon. About $100

Ok, you seem like you know cooking equipment so let me ask you a question I've been curious about for the last week or so - A rice cooker. What is the point of that? It is a machine that cooks rice? Can't I just buy the rice in bags and cook it by boiling water in a pot with the bag of rice in it? I just don't understand what the purpose of having a specific machine to do that is. I'm new to the cooking game so maybe I'm not understanding something. Cheers!

Rice cookers are nice because... well, you can cook rice in them without having to worry about scorching or it being underdone. The rice in a bag works, but it's not great rice and it's also more expensive than just buying actual rice. Most will also have settings for different types of rice so you can do white, brown, basmati, jasmine, sushi... whatever you feel like. Once you start exploring the different types of rice you'll realize that boil in bag stuff is for the birds... except don't feed it to birds because rice isn't great for them.

What I like to do with mine is put herbs in with the rice, especially when doing curries and the like. You can throw in bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods... the sky's the limit. It makes for some very fragrant and delicious rice.

You can also do rice dishes and all sorts of other things if you want. Most come with steamer baskets so you can steam vegetables. I've seen people make bread and cakes in them. They're also great for oatmeal or really any sort of grain that needs water to cook.

That's awesome - those are the exact things I throw in my rice cooker whenever I make rice (I pretty much always have some sort of curry in my fridge or freezer).

Little asian trick: if you have leftover stock (over here in Malaysia we use chicken stock for this) you can use that to cook your rice in the rice cooker.

It's a good trick, though a pretty common one! It's hard to think of a culture that doesn't have some form of rice cooked in stock, just depends on what you're using it for. Plain rice can actually be preferable depending on application. Though it's definitely a good tip for those who haven't tried it!

Not the guy you're asking, but having a rice cooker makes cooking rice easier. It's not hard to do in a pot, but a rice cooker is just "pour water and rice in, hit button, wait for ding" and it comes out cooked perfectly. If you're good at cooking rice in a pot, it's sort of unnecessary (but convenient).

As a bonus, most come with a steamer tray for veggies so you can steam vegetables easier.

Read that as calculator. Was very confused.

Fuck yeah! We have several in the house. One's even big enough for the bathtub!

Set it at a nice temp and never have to worry about the drain cold / fill hot BS again!

Please try this. It brought back a love of cooking for me.

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/simple-sous-vide-steak-with-red-wine-sauce

For the wine I recommend Joel gott cabernet

You also have to vacuum seal the food too, no? And vacuum sealers are expensive af

Nope - seal most of the bag and then submerge all but the opened corner in water. It'll press out the air, then just seal the corner, and you're good to go. You don't need to actually vacuum seal the food, it just needs to be sealed enough to not float.

Ohhhhh. That changes everything.

If there’s no water available for Archimedes principle sealing, I suck the air out with a straw (careful with the juices of whatever’s being sealed!) and then seal it.

Why don’t you just use the water you’re warming with the immersion cooker? I do that all the time and the warm water helps to soften the bag so I get more air out.

In today’s case, we were doing mise en place for tomorrow’s dinner.

We weren’t cooking sous vide today and we didn’t have lots of water on hand. (We have a proper vacuum sealing machine though, and we used that)

Eyy, food lab

And experience! Figured this one out when trying to thaw food under running water, though they definitely got me on the binder clip idea!

I wanted one for this but then I learned about the reverse sear. anyone can make a perfect steak with some practice and an instant read thermometer.

Place room temp steak on cookie rack that's on a baking pan lined with foil. Preheat oven 200F. My thermometer for these is one I got at Ikea, that has a metal rod you stick into what youre cooking with a wired connection to a digital readout. I pull the steak once it hits 120F.

Then have a hot cast iron or use a grill like I do. Fire it up on High for a few mins and throw the steak one for a few minutes a side for char, and then put on a place, put a few tabs of GOOD butter on it, and tent with foil for ten mins.

Steak will melt in your mouth. No knife needed, steak pink all the way through but it's cooked perfect since it was at 120 then seared on both sides taking it to 130-135 for the perfect medium rare to medium steak.

I pickup flat iron steaks when they're on sale and freeze em. Vacuum packed so they stay good for months. Just thaw to room temp, sprinkle some salt, and cook it this way and you'll never go back.

Just wonder if sous vide is worth 125 bucks because I doubt it's better. It's basically the same method but instead of using an oven for the first part you need to vacuum seal whatever it is you're cooking and submerge in water.

The advantage to sous vide is that you do not get any kind of gradient to doneness and the steak is ready whenever you need it to be after the cook time.

You can get aa perfect med rare/rare from edge to edge on even the thickest steak or roast. Then let it cool just a few minutes and sear it hot as you can. You can get a perfect pink inside with only a paper thin layer of outside crust.

Also as stated it is so nice to be able to just keep perfectly cooked meat "on hold" four an hour or more. Once it's done you can serve it anytime you want in 5 min. It makes the timing of serving everything together almost effortless.

Reverse sear also produced little to no gradient. It makes for a better crust too. Side by side I easily prefer reverse sear. Advantage of sous vide is that it’s a lot more foolproof.

Don't even worry about letting it rest to cool a bit, ice bath to quickly cool the exterior for a longer sear

All true and all great points. Guess I'ma scoop one up next time I see a sale. Wifey is gonna be like oh great another gadget but she loves the steaks I make now so I'm sure the war department will approve

The problem with this is that I like rare/med rare. Almost always get mine over-cooked. With the sous vide, it is never over-cooked. I do not have a vacuum sealer. I use ziploc bags and water displacement. If someone wants theirs more well done, I just let it sear longer.

Yup. https://imgur.com/gallery/eiv1O

I did the standing rib roast for New Years with mine this year. It's always a special thing and it's kind of nerve-wracking to think you might end up ruining such a nice piece of meat by making it tough or too well done. It came out perfect and I didn't worry about it at all.

This was going to be my suggestion as well. But it's not even just steaks. They do great vegetables and can cook meat from frozen that comes out perfect every time. I've even made cheesecake and pot de creme with mine and they both came out really good.

Where on earth did you get one or less than $200?

Amazon anova.

I think I need one. My only concern is cooking in plastic, have you tried silicone bags?

I looked into this a little bit. Basically, if you get BPA free bags you're fine. It doesn't cook hot enough for the bad stuff to leach out of the plastic. I'm no expert but that was the gist.

Silicone bags work OK but it’s really hard to get all the air out of them and they only come in relatively small sizes.

Any recommendations on what one to get? Assume I'll need a vacuum sealer too?

I have the Anova WiFi. I initially had the Anova with just Bluetooth. Love both. You don’t need a vacuum sealer. You can use 1 gallon ziploc bags and use water displacement to get the air out. I’ve been doing it that way for a couple of years now. That said, looking into vacuum sealers now for that and just regular storage.

got one for Christmas.. gonna try it this weekend.

Dammit, I just posted this down below! I’m sorry I missed this. It’s the best thing ever. I recommend a torch with it as well.

Definitely recommend this. Best steak of your life

I wound up buying Monoprice’s Anova clone for $60. Absolutely worth it. I set it to one degree under medium rare, let it cook for two hours, and then give it a good seat in butter on a cast iron all around. Comes out a perfect medium rare after searing every time.

It’s nice not having to worry about screwing up a steak or having to stand there and watch it the whole time it cooks. As a result, I’ve bought more expensive cuts I would’ve been afraid of ruining otherwise, and the end result is a steak that easily rivals expensive steakhouses.

Can anyone provide some links?

I use a big Tea kettle with temperature regulator. Alot of faf but does make a good steak

Mine didn't come with any temperature guides. Where did you go to know what temp and how long you leave the steaks in for?

seriouseats.com has a ton of recipes on there, r/sousvide has good resources, you could also just use the USDA food safety guide.

Any suggestions for cooking something for a SO who doesn't like the idea of her food cooked in plastic?

Tell her that the bags are BPA free and that the temperatures don't go high enough to leach materials out anyway.

After reading all the comments, I am now in the market for the WiFi Anova...because having amazing food with minimal effort just hits me in the feels...

Howard Taylor's (Schlock Mercenary) Twitter feed became a nonstop sous vide advertisement for a minute there.

This sounds amazing, never knew these were a thing until I saw your post. Seems like something that would make cooking WAY easier, which I am all about cause small kids make cooking a bit harder.

My husband is great with electronics and built me a sous vide controller from scratch. Was a huge undertaking and I love it, but I feel it was at least a little self serving :p

I've never heard of these. Looking online too seems neat. Looks like it would reduce a lot of the cleanup after cooking which is a big thing that deters me from cooking more often.

I don't get it, how does this work?

You put your food in a bag, this heats the water to a specific temp which will eventually heat the food to the precise temp.

I have done this for a while with hot water and a meat thermometer in the sink, but have been hesitant on buying a purpose built thing. Now that I have a Kitchen Aid, I am considering getting the heated mixing bowl which I could use for this and for making perfect Hollandaise without the awkwardness of a double boiler.

I'll vouch for that! Being able to spend 24-72 hours cooking any meat you have ups the quality of your meat by a huge amount. Stew meat becomes as tender as a prime rib, and a prime rib becomes as tender as a filet mignon. And for the lazy people who like to keep their steaks frozen and in a ziploc bag for storage, you can just drop those directly from the freezer into the water bath, no other prep needed.

Plus, it works great as a way to defrost anything you pull out of your freezer. Just turn it to 100F and let it run for a bit.

I was waiting to hear what it made a filets tender as so that I could cook that thing in the SV.

I really like slipping herbs in the sous vide bag with my steaks and meats. It could be just my perception of it, but it seems like sous vide helps infuse herbal flavors in things really well. Get you a Foodsaver if you don't already have one, too, cuz it's the best way to make bags to sous vide in.

A good (portable) bluetooth speaker

Just don't be one of those assholes who play them in public places

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Oh god, I was this person in High School with aux external speakers. Used to run around football games blasting "Why Can't We Be Friends".

At least you own your shame ;)

I really laughed out loud there haha

You miiight as well be walking on the sun

Come now, it's always terrible trap, and it's always played on a speaker too poor to kick out enough bass for that kind of music.

Tinny trap is just a dial up modem noise.

Somebody once told me.

Chumbawamba tubthumping

I GET KNOCKED DOWN

BUT I GETTUP AGAIN

YA NEVER GONNA KEEP ME DOWN

PISSING THE NIGHT AWAY

HE DRINKS A WHISKY DRINK

HE DRINKS A VODKA DRINK

HE DRINKS A LAGER DRINK

HE DRINKS A CIDER DRINK

HE DRINKS A WATER DRINK

Or some crazy underground rap that literally does not sound like words

Smash Mouth mix tape?

Guy fieri has to do something these days

Enjoy this glimpse into the mind of one of those people, from a conversation I had awhile ago with one: https://ibb.co/cJU69w

That......inwardly infuriated me.

no no no never be that guy, unless it's at a party

My neighbors listen to good music.

Whether they like it or not.

middle of class

”PULL THE TRIGGER”

Oh god I just got one and it’s so addicting. I started doing homework in my room and various other rooms with doors instead of the dining room so I can play music from it

I mean, if it works it works, but headphones seem better if it's just you. Bluetooth speakers seem better for the beach or pool parties or other places where several people need to be able to hear.

Ye but my speaker is way better quality than my headphones

Yes. I got a UE Boom three years back, around $180 at the time I believe. I take it to all my family get-togethers or when I sit outside on my patio, or work in the garage. Excellent sound and volume, battery lasts a long time.

I bought one for my wife as a Christmas or Birthday present. Two years later I am still jealous of that thing lol.

Sony SRS-XB20 is $50, is super-portable and has the best sound quality in its class. SRS-XB40 ($150) is good for room-filling sound, and it comes with it's own lightshow.

Dunno where you got best sound in it's class from, but you're way off. All of Sony's portable XB speakers have way overamplified and muddied bass, and the highs sound absolutely terrible at any decently loud volume. I'm not even a serious audiophile but they sound considerably worse than a JBL or Bose of the same price.

For those two items respectively, invest in a JBL Flip 4 or a Charge 3. They sound way better with balanced sound, good bass, and very clear and accurate mids and highs. The charge also has a pretty kick-ass battery bank built in, and both are waterproof.

2nd the charge 3 recommendation. Girlfriend got me one for christmas, and Holy crap am I impressed. Just moved out of my apartment, and had just that one little speaker playing the entire time. I was able to clearly hear the music in every room, and not overwhelmed by the volume when I went back into the main room it was sitting in. I want to buy a 2nd one at least to get that stereo feature going.

Yeah Charge 3 is good, got one recently and it has really loud sound and a nice bass to it.

I bought a Flip 3 a year or so ago and I love it. Works well enough that I can use it 3 days in a row in classes without having to charge it, and it's loud enough that I could hear it down the hall with the doors closed (at 80%). And it's waterproof!

Definitely recommend JBL speakers.

got a flip 4 a few weeks ago, its badass. fuck sony.

Flip 4 is $80 whilst XB20 is $50. XB40 also has a power bank built in. The Extra Bass can be turned off too. And for the size of these speakers, they get VERY loud.

Just going from Best buy's prices they're both the same price, and getting loud and getting loud with good quality are very different.

Sony's MSRP ~~is~~ was $49.99. It's back up to $80, but it dropped before Christmas. Refurb is as low as $42 on eBay.

Right. But the flip can be refurbished and bought cheaper too, and even if I does come out to like $10 more it's well worth it, because Sony's XB speakers sound terrible. Bass is decent but muddy and the highs are distorted as hell.

And pricewise, they both msrp for $99. Sony is on sale at BBY, but normally they're both the same price but the flip is way better in literally every way unless you want dumb flashy lights

IDK if you've never heard the XB speakers, but you are wrong. I actually own the XB20, and I can say that the sound quality is excellent. Check out this video too see why.

Also, the XB40 is not a direct competitor with the Charge 3, the XB30 is that 3's opponent.

I work at Best buy. It's literally my job to know these products inside and out, and to demo them to customers. I hear them multiple times a day.

You might not, and thus think the Sony speaker sounds fine. But coworkers, customers, and myself all agree that the Sony speakers are the worst of the 3 big brands we sell (Sony, JBL, Bose). Head into a local best buy with an open mind and listen to the lows and highs at a decent volume on all 3 brands at a similar price point. If you have a half decent ear for sound, it'll be very obvious that even the most expensive Sony speaker sounds way more distorted than a cheap JBL or Bose.

I'm at work so I can't watch the video, but bear in mind bias does exist. The vast majority of the comments are saying the JBL sounds better.

Sony does, however, make the best headphones we sell in store. No doubt.

I agree. I was initially drawn in by the light show but these speakers(Xb40) are truly the best deal IMO. The Jbls and Bose may have better sound depth but they never are loud enough. The XB40 produces a lot of bass for how small the speaker is and they get very loud. It's the perfect speaker for small parties and taking to the beach and you can link up to 10 of them together. Could literally throw a party with a speaker in each room and not get a noise complaint. Also advertises a 24hr battery life(BS) and when the battery is low it plays music very soft at like 1% volume.

Id like to add you can get them a bit cheaper if they are refurbished. Plus my wife ordered one they day b4 christmas, it was delivered the next day

Anker has a great one for $25. Good for kitchen or garage or out camping.

I got an Anker speaker for 55€, it's awesome.

Can keep up with 70-100€ JBL speakers imo.

UE Megaboom I've had for 2 years is amazing it's super loud and had good audio quality and is waterproof.

It was originally £200 when I got it and it's like £150 now from new. Definitely recommend.

I just got one! The app is super useful too, especially when I'm with friends and we all want to play our own music.

anker soundcore mini is pretty good

Alternatively, a BT adapter for an old iPod dock speaker is about $8. We saved an old Bose unit from the dump for short money and it works great.

It's sad that BOSE stopped making the Soundlink Mini / Mini 2 because the new ones are crap in comparasion.

agreed, the original one sounded amazing

these days JBL is my go to brand, their flip and charge series are pretty damn good

Onyx studio 3 on sale. Big... but the quality is great!

I got one recently for my gf and it became the best purchase for 2017. Look into anker soundcore boost, costs around 80$ and will give you a killer sound and battery life.

Aiwa exodus 9. 299 dollars but it’s a beast.

I'll add on my favorite portable bluetooth speaker, because I use it for work. I teach piano, and often need to move around different classrooms, but still play examples and stuff from my laptop. It's light, battery lasts for hours, it's loud enough for a small or medium room, easily. $15-20 roughly, Logitech X50.

Isn't Google Home a pretty good quality speaker? My Google Home Mini sounds fantastic, though I don't think it works with Bluetooth, but WiFi is fine too.

The mini does work as a Bluetooth speaker. Just say "hey google Bluetooth pairing" then find the device with your phone or wherever you are streaming from. Works like a charm!

Ah cool. Read somewhere that it wasnt implemented.

Just wish I could play music with my voice without a damn music subscription.

Mine plays music fine and I don't have an subscription. It typically defaults to Google Music Radio instead of Spotify though. I'm in Canada though so YMMV.

Canada too, and it does that. But there's always songs that it says I don't have in my Google Play library and I need a subscription to play it, or like it'll find a relatively close song. Extremely annoying.

The only way I can get it to play specific songs is through casting.

Geek Box made by a small business in tn

My Honda Accord doesn't have an aux input or a tape deck, so I can't play stuff off my phone in the car :(

So instead I put a Bluetooth speaker on the dashboard and it works well! Much cheaper than paying $200-$400 for a new radio.

You should check out pac-audio.com or crutchfield.com for an adapter. you have to pull the radio out of the dash to hook it up but that's not usually too difficult, and crutchfield always includes instructions (and there's always youtube)

A lot of them are fully waterproof too, so you can use them to sing along to Biebs in the shower without anyone else knowing.

Yup! I got one of the original refurb'd Big Jamboxes a few years ago and it's one of my favorite gadgets. Awesome sound and good battery life

I got not one, but 3 bluetooth speakers for Christmas this year. I'm not sure why, because I already had one that I never used, but [this one] (https://myaudiopet.com/products/copy-of-bumble-beat-tws-my-audio-pet-bumble-bee) from my boyfriend is my absolute favorite. It's adorable, and honestly SO loud. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the quality is for something that seems like it's made for a child. When they say "sound beyond size" they aren't kidding. It's my go-to for cleaning, working, and showering now.

I also didnt really care for them until I got a good one, all of a sudden im bumping music in every room I have to be for > 5 minutes

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what the fuck, this is a thing? I actually need that a lot. Can you link one because I've never even heard of that

edit: I found it just by googling your verbiage. I gotta get one tomorrow.

Just a heads-up: make 100% absolutely sure that it at least has a metal impeller! It doesn't take much - like gumball tree seed pods - to ruin a plastic impeller in no time.

Also, tip, it does basically act like a vacuum, so if you use it for a lot of leaves, get a big bag (amazon has good big ones), drop the leaves in there, then once it appears 'full', just stick the vac on there, wrap the plastic around the tube a bit, and watch it vacuum compress the crap out of it. Combined with the shredding already making leaves take up less space, you can bag up a lot of leaves (and small twigs, etc.) this way.

We're burning our leaves now, so don't do the above as much (we still keep a single bag on hand as leaves, while smokey, also really help build up heat fast), but just being able to suck the leaves up ready for dumping into the pit is awesome.

I pour the chopped up leaves on my compost pile, and they break down in a fraction of the time of unchopped leaves. Then I have that beautiful rich compost to put on my organic vegetable garden in a few weeks rather than months.

Yep! They're great for composting.. we just get way, way too many to compost effectively for the small garden we have.

I did look into making leaf logs, but that requires a decent upfront investment for uncertain payoff :)

Bought a black and decker one for ~$60 last summer. Was nice to have, until this fall, when it became an absolute necessity. It's not the most powerful thing out there, as it is electric, but it's a lot quieter, smaller, easier to use, and lighter than a gas one, and does what we need it to do very well.

So a leaf... sucker?

Why is this not higher up? Its funfunctional!

putting the ctional back in funfun!

I bought one last year and have been lending it out to everyone I know. I can't believe they're so cheap!

playing with a leaf blower? that's the most childish thing i've ever heard

Are you that annoying neighbor leaf blowing to the crack of dawn on the weekends?

I have willow oaks around my house, so one of these is a must have. Stupid narrow leaves are nearly impossible to rake and a royal pain to use a regular blower on.

How did I not know this was a thing?! I'm definitely getting one

They’re only 60 bucks ?

Yes, you can get a turo, touro? (Sp) for about $60. It’s dope, I literally vacuumed my patio. It was awesome

Living in a heavily forested area - can these things handle heavy loads or is it more for clean up duty in smaller areas?

Also you can use one to clean dirty desktop PCs, but only after making sure the fans don't spin inside the PC when using the leaf blower, very cool.

Edit:And if you want fun you can mount a small frame in front of the leaf blower and blow toilet paper everywhere.

Just make sure the model you buy has a metal blade. The plastic ones wear out quickly.

You are now my sworn enemy. If I had a gauntlet I would smack you with it.

That sound drives me to anger even several houses away.

A pack of those jel pads that you put in your shoes. It helps so much during my longer shifts at work (I'm a bartender).

Yesss. Used to be a dishwasher, and was a cook for a while.

Those pads were the difference between not being able to feel my feet at the end of the day and being dead-dog tired, and feeling my feet, and only being a little bit tired.

Bartender here too,I bought a pair of Sketcher Go Walks,best shoes ever...They have memory foam

Yeah, I love those shoes.

The P.R.O soft versions saved me from that pinching nerve between the neck and spine on doubles . The plastic arched ones were too high to wear low tops with .

Also made skateboarding over bump to bars feel like dropping off a curb.

Best investment for sure .

You just reminded me I need to replace my inserts in the morning. Cheers!

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100% agree i have plantar fasciitis and adidas’ boost helps me out a lot in conjunction with my insoles they make walking much less pain

I used to work part time in a sports shoe shop, and most of Adidas boost type shoes were sold to people with similar conditions.

Nike free run was a close contender, but cost almost half as much.

The only down side is, with both these companies, that people with wider feet couldnt wear them because they were too "tight".

I have the Adidas NMD, and they are AMAZING. Worth every penny.

i've been wearing skate shoes my entire life. just discovered the NMD shoes a few days ago and they look real nice. any complaints with em? i dunno if i want to drop $150+ on them before trying them on or anything.. the closest foot locker is an hour drive away. the oreo colorway is really tempting me

also, why are the pharell ones so much more? is it just cause his name is on them? a few of those i realllllyy like but not about to drop $800+ on any shoes ever lol

I bought NMD R1 the moment they set foot in the store, mostly because we only had one pair large enough (46 2/3 in European size).

And at full price too, cuz for some reason the higher ups didn't give employee discounts for them and I don't regret a single cent.

As far as "celeb shoes" are concerned, I wouldn't bother. Too expensive and no additional benefits.

I would definitely recommend the NMD to you. If nothing else, just try them on, see how they feel.

Side note: Adidas (and Nike for that matter) are known for having small sizes, so dont be suprised if your foot size is bigger than the shoe size, so definitely try before you buy.

i was either lookin at a pair of R1's or the XR1's. it's been so long since i've worn a regular nonskate shoe, i can't even remember what a regular shoes sole feels like. both those style just look like socks with laces and a foam sole to me, which sounds comfy. i'm gonna search around to try to find a place with some that's not an hour+ drive each way :P

Because they are limited and they have hype around them

Yeah lmao i was into skate shoes and low profile shoes but when i learnt about my plantar i changed over to new balances, nikes etc etc

r/repsneakers

That's my issue, big flat feet. I finally found a pair of size fifteen extra wide Nike shoes, which is awesome.

I underwent s surgery for one foot so far, heavily cvonsidering doing the other next year.

Mizuno would be right up your alley, because they make wider shoes by default.

Or New Balance. They make shoes for just about every type of foot configuration.

New Balance was my first go to cuz of my flat wide feet but adidas has taken the crown

I haven't tried Adidas, but I went to New Balance cause they made shoes that would fit my whole foot. I have a fairly narrow heel, but a wide toe box. For 13 years while I was in the Navy I had to wear size 13 boots to fit, and my NB's are size 12 cause they fit correctly. Glad I don't have to wear those boots anymore.

Take a look at Altra running shoes. They are designed with a wide space for your front foot and the pair I have is the most comfortable shoe I've ever worn.

I was actually warned off of Nike Free type shoes by my podiatrist, as he mentioned that they simply don't provide sufficient support for people with foot issues (I have/had plantar fasciitis, likely caused by the wearing of Nike Free-esque and ultra-flexible running shoes in conjunction with a lot of foot impact (cross-country+athletics+rowing+sailing at the time). He said those ugly (IMO) run of the mill Adidas training shoes are ideal, as they provide a stiff heel, and relatively rigid sides, preventing rolling and other movement of the foot, while spreading the force of impact more evenly.

You should check out Adidas Ultraboost. I heard they are more comfortable than the NMDs.

Depends what "comfortable" means to you. And the type of the Ultraboost in question.

For instance the Ultraboost uncaged feels great, it's like wearing very comfy socks, they're SO very light. The NMD uses the same boost foam the ultraboost does, but the normal (non PK variant) NMD is 40€ cheaper.

The only difference is, the Ultrabost is considered running/sports type, while NMD is lifestyle and looks better for everyday use IMO. Other than that, they're basically the same.

The thinner ultra boosts are more for running, yeah. I recently caved and bought the thicker, more cushioned caged ultraboosts for walking and the support is insane, it's so cushioned and amazing.

I am a trail runner and have pretty bad ankle and foot problems post race prep and these have been amazing at helping me rehabilitate my foot to go from unable to walk 2k without tearing a ligament a little more in September, to running my first 20k in an hour and forty five minutes in December. I know my old Brooks did not provide the stability to help my ligament heal, the price is worth it

I really liked the feel of Brooks Cascadia as far as trail running is concerned.

PureGrit 6 isn't half bad either.

But Salomon was my brand of choice, but alas, my wide feet didn't agree with them.

Also, congrats on the 20k, that's just amazing!

Thank you so much 😊I'm working on pulling another 20k tomorrow, fully recovering is truly relieving.

My old Brooks Cascadia were decent, but they wore down too quick for my liking. I used them back in my Nordic ski racing cross-training days. The Brooks I had before my ultras were pureflow... not really known for their durability and stability lmao

I found Brooks to be too wide of a shoe, I'm deeply in love with Saucony Peregrines for mountain running.

I heard Salamons do have a pretty wide selection of widths to choose from, my sister is fairly wide-footed and swears by Salamons. Have you tried Hoka?

Have you tried both shoes on? I'm not disagreeing or agreeing to what you said because I haven't tried the nmd but I heard allot of people saying the nmd feels muted in comparison

Yes, I've tried both at the same time and they feel the same to me.

Some people with more sensitive feet might notice a difference, but I don't.

It's a matter of preference, really.

Bruh, EQT 93/17. The pinnacle of comfort.

I need to cop on of those

Have you tried Asics? They're way more comfy than my nmds, the only downside is they don't fit my outfits as much. The cheap ones are nice but the midrange and high ones are 👌

The Asics Gel Lyte series is amazing as a sneakerhead they look great and keep me well supported

Thanks for that tip, plantar fasciitis is ruining my life.

Ruined my life for a while. I used to hate walking but my insoles changed that for me they provided nice soft support

I have it as well. The thing that TOTALLY gets rid of it for me is whites boots. Therapist said I needed something with a heel and not flat soled. With their arch support and cubanesque heel - it really doesn't shoe that much - my feet are pain free. Failing that some good cushioned walking boots and custom insoles.

Im not the biggest fan of boots but my doctor said the same thing about the shoe which I totally ignored and made it worse for me i now use an insole in my shoes and regret not listening to the doctor

I’m convinced boosts are the epitome of perfection when it comes to athletic footwear. I’ve never worn a more comfortable shoe. And I grew up kinda spoiled with very nice clothes from my grandparents who loved to shop lmao.

I grew up kinda spoiled too like my parents loved shopping but my style was very skate so i alwaus wore vans and nike sb’s but when i finally grew up and wore normal shoes they hurt and when i was introduced to the boosts soles i was inlove i own 3 models of shoe with it.

Head to a podiatrist and get your foot checked out (if you haven't already). My podiatrist made me a custom insole which I can just slip into any shoe which massively helped my plantar fasciitis really quickly, with the added bonus that it provides extra support in shoes I wouldn't have been able to wear without pain.

I got a pair of those before and it helped none, it just made me more uncomfortable because my feet got even hotter and had less space.

I wear my insoles with the ultraboosts as my daily driver and I highly highly recommend this as a nice comfortable way to get around

"Fasciitis" sounds like a disease you get when you are Germany or Italy in the 1930s.

I can't stand behind the Adidas boost shoes any more than I already do. Yeah they're expensive and "a trend shoe", but holy fuck if they aren't comfortable and look amazing.

I agree the prices are steep but the shoes are very durable and the boost stays springy for a very long time

What else have you tried for your fasciitis ? I’m going to buy some boosts right now if you say they work

All i’ve tried is the insoles and boosts dude. I highly reccomend the boosts they’re amazing and fit wide feet like no other but the models i reccomend to you are the NMD, Ultraboost, Pureboost and the iniki from adidas. The sizing was a little weird for me due to the primeknit material so go in store and try them on

If you like thicc boost you need the EQT support

If you can afford to get a new pair of shoes sooner than "my current pair has completely fallen apart and I HAVE to get new shoes" I've recently learned that the 'proper' point to replace your shoes is once you've basically flattened the cushion on the inside.

In theory you can buy a replacement cushion, but for me it doesn't totally feel the same.

Either way, that feeling of ultimate comfort when you have a nice pair of socks and a fresh cushioned-yet-secure shoes on your feet....magic.

Always invest in things that go between you and the ground: Tyres, shoes, and mattresses.

THIS. I went from normal departement store shoes to proper running shoes and you would not believe how much better a good pair of running shoes is. My workout times in trackimmediately improved and my ankle pain disapeared.

I’ve been a New Balance believer for years now, I’m never going back to bad shoes. I spend $100ish every 4-6 months and I’ll never complain about it.

My grandpa always say, son you better get yerself a good mattress, and a good pair of shoes, because combined, you be spending your whole life in them. Spine health is important, yo.

Can't agree more. The choice to spring for Redwing boots was a life changer.

Good pair is one thing, but I really wish more people would go and get sized. Lots of people wearing the wrong sized shoes because they fit one way or the other.

I'm a pretty bad case of this. Have very wide (4e+) feet, and was wearing shoes 3-4 sizes too large just to fit the width. Like clown shoes. Never really got decent shoes because poor as a kid, so.

Life changing indeed...

One of my friends has been wearing shoes 2 size too big her entire life. She thought she was a size 8. Turns out she's an extra-wide size 6. Which means she can wear shoes from the kids' section, which are often wider and much cheaper than "grown-up" shoes.

That and inserts, like Dr Scholls. I used to buy crappy shoes and would come home from work basically limping. Bought inserts and better shoes and, honest to God no exaggeration, my life has improved dramatically.

On that note - my life got exponentially better when I went to a high end shoe store and found out that I have abnormally wide feet about 6 years ago.

I'd never get more than about 6 months out of any pair of shoes and foot pain was just a part of life for me. Either I'd buy shoes that were the right length and would hurt or they'd be long and I couldn't walk without snagging my toes everywhere.

I went to Nordstrom and the guy there sized me as a 3E (3 wide) and now I can easily get 2 years out of a pair of shoes that I wear every day... And they are super comfortable. It's crazy how much better my life is because of it.

My last pair went above the 200 bucks range, though. But that's fine, I've been wearing them for ~15 years. I can't ever go back to cheap shoes anymore which is annoying because I'm a cheap person at heart. Not wanting to spend much money on stuff but knowing that I'll regret it if I go for the cheap stuff :/

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Yup, I know it's worth it but there is that part of me that keeps yelling 'but its expensive!' and doesn't listen to reason. I try to ignore that voice, though :)

Especially if you are construction or other "On your feet job". Never cheap out on a pair of shoes or spend everyday regretting it. I work on a railroad and I don't spend money but I will on my feet. Chippewa has always been my brand. Use these regiliously. Especially good if you need to climb poles.

https://www.workngear.com:443/product/men/Chippewa-Men-s-8-Inch-WP-Steel-Toe-EH-Insulated-Logger-Boots/73103CHP/_/A-25699945

Adding to this, if you spend more than 3 seconds getting into a shoe, buy a shoehorn. 5 bucks on Amazon and makes getting out the house so much easier.

Completely agree! I went to a running store and got fitted for a pair. Spent ~$150 and I was so satisfied and awe inspired that I got two pairs.

My wife is on her feet all day working at a doctors office. SHe comes home complaining that her feet and ankles hurt all the time. I keep telling her to buy a good pair of shoes. What do nurses recommend?

Dansko, Born, Merrell are good solid brands. I easily walk 3-6miles per day for work. These sturdy comfy shoes have made life a lot easier.

A good pair of insoles helps a bunch too. I use "Superfeet" brand and they have been game changing for me, can be bought with HSA/FSA funds from insurance.

I use the superfeet in my Nike dunks, which I bought primarily for fashion. But now they're so comfy I feel totally fine running the (very) occasional 5K in them and doing pretty much any sports that don't require some other kind of specialized footwear.

Yup, everything from loafers and dress shoes, to work boots and runners is better with the Superfeet for me...

This was the best decision of my life. I got a bespoke pair of boots from Wesco. Yes, they were $925. Yes, I had to wait a month and a half and was terrified that the measurements my girlfriend helped me take weren’t going to be correct, but these people know what they are doing, and they do it well. This may not be for everyone, but I have 8EEEEE feet, and these were the first pair of shoes I have ever owned that fit my feet. No more oversized skate shoes or work boots that pinch my feet and make it so I can’t walk at the end of the day. Once they broke in, they became the best things ever and I will never look back. Ill fitting shoes for 32 years. Never again.

$925

I'm very happy for you, but Christ on a cracker fuck that. I've been fighting the "my feet destroy shoes after 12-18 months" thing for ages, and I got tired of destroying $80 shoes.

Last time my Wal-Mart had a shoe sale, I stocked up on $3 loafers. They last me as long as nicer shoes, are just as comfortable with an insole... and they were $3.

But then you look like you get your clothes at Walmart.

I do get many of my clothes at Wal-Mart, so without trying to sound rude, kinda fuck you?

Seriously though, they don't look really any worse than any other casual shoes I wear, and I'm as comfortable for as long for a fraction of the cost. I'm just bummed I got there late in the sale so I could only score a few pairs.

I was having major foot problems (like, almost a stress fracture) from playing roller derby in skates that were too narrow for my feet. My doctor framed the expense to me like this:

Do you want to spend $600-$800 on new skates, which will make you happy and be fun to buy, or do you want to spend $6,000-$8,000 on surgery that will prevent you from using your foot at all for 6-8 months.

Seems like a pretty obvious choice to make, and can be applied to pretty much any and all footwear investments.

Where can I get my foot measured

They are in Scappoose, OR, if you can drop in and see them. Otherwise, the custom fit instructions are here. The catalog is free, and they will send you leather samples in the shape of little boots if you call and what to see what the colors look like :D. They also have a boot building program on the web site that shows all the options, colors, and pricing.

Edit: if you mean measured in general, most shoe stores will be able to measure your foot, cobblers and designer shoe stores will probably be more accurate. Red Wing measured my feet for a pair of high top moc toe boots that are 8H. (8EEEE). The boots I got from Wesco after measuring my feet are 3/8 of an inch wider than my Red Wings, so I can only assume I’m at least another width wider.

Any suggestions on good shoes for travel?

Ultra boosts are extremely comfortable for travel and walking around. Another good option would be any new balance shoe with their fresh foam cushioning, I have the 574 sports and I could wear those all day

Whites boots. Around $400 but totally rebuildable and pain free.

Fuck yeah!! I’ve got about 12 years (worn 2-4 days/wk) on a pair of Rockport dress shoes I bought at Goodwill for $3.50. They’re like wearing slippers for comfort, and as flexible and grippy as a good stripper. He only thing I’ve had to do is polish once a year and replace the laces once.

Always the best shoes within affordability. You do not want to be crippled as you walk through life. Cheap shoes will get you in the long run (sorry, could not resist).

I've been through many shoes and still not found the pair. My feet problems continue and I just wear £20 Lonsdales.

"The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness."

GNU Terry...

shoutout to /r/sneakers

A cat from a shelter. They are useful for all sorts of cat-based tasks, like purring and wandering around being a cat.

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No, but they puke, thereby giving you something steamy and rice-like to step on in the middle of the night...they're just rascals!

Can confirm, mine even has an alarm to let me know when the next steamy surprise is coming!

Are you telling me your cat has never steamed your butthole? Honestly, what's even the point then...

I got a cart from a shelter a couple of years ago. It has never puked. Is it broken?

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It has squeaky hooves. No basket. It does not say "meow". It is at least as large as a cart, but when I tried to yoke oxen to it they became eaten. What creature is this? The locals scurry from it's visage. The beast is kind to me, yet returns from its wanderings bloodied and bristled, and although it speaks to me, it utters no words nor does it answer my questions. It heaves in its body, but breathes not. Still, it yields great treasures, and I want for gold no longer.

If you know a vet, barber, cartwright, witch, ghost, or alchemist who may help me identify and tame this thing, please tell me their name. Every moment I spend in its presence seems to drain my very essence.

Get one that doesn't shed. Minu has vomited exactly once in the six months I've had her.

It can lick it's own butthole, usually when you're eating dinner if that helps.

What in this thread steams your butthole?

I hope it's not the rice cooker...

When there's a will there's a way

All I'm saying is that buttholes, uhhh, find a way

The instant pot if you're brave

Im sure theres a bidet out there with that option

I lol’ed at this

Can I steam vegetables in it?

Can confirm! Their purr motors rarely run out, they are warm, soft, and furry, and you can give them names like, “Sir Pussy Pants, Butt Hole Murphy, Furry Fiona, and Mike.”

Dude, cats are awesome.

My wife and I have a cat sanctuary for senior and special-needs cats. We've had such distinguished guests as Jackie Doritos, Bitch Pudding, Senator Congressman, Dirty Steve, Corporal Cecil Wormsborough St John "Nobby" Nobbs, and Lunchbox to name a few.

Cat Tax

Anywhere I can donate to you? I don’t have much, but I’d love to help out the fuzzies you guys so kindly take care of! I have always adopted adult and senior cats, because they deserve to have a few more happy years :3

We have donation options on our website www.kittyadventure.com :)

A big thank you to you and wife for saving these little furry balls of luv!!

Most glorious cat tax picture of all time

For reasons I can't explain "Senator Congressman" is the funniest thing I've heard all week.

Corporal Cecil Wormsborough St John "Nobby" Nobbs

Cat Tax

/r/unexpectedpratchett Also, I lost it reading those names. Is Thunderscream always a blur?

No. But she's always yelling about something.

Dayum. One cat on my lap while chilling next to pc is enough for me and you have 5 of them on you? Lucky guy

You and your wife are amazing people

I wish I had the patience/funds for a special needs cat.

Many don't require much extra work or money. We have two cats with radial hypoplasia, Truckasaurus and Grave Digger, and they don't require any special attention.

That's so fucking sweet

Nobby?! That’s hilarious! Am stealing.

Heh, my cat is siberian so the obvious name choice was Alexandra the Great.

Whoa you need to cool it with these crazy names. I mean who the heck names their cat Mike?

A mate at university had a cat called Mike back home, whom he always referred to as a "top bloke".

I always like aggressively ordinary names on cats like Jeff or Susan.

Username checks out

Butt Hole Murphy! The perfect cat name!

Roland Deschain of Gilliad that was. But we settled on licorice... :(

Any reason the names all coincide with Shrek?

Sir Pussy Pants - Puss in Boots

Butt Hole Murphy - Eddie Murphy

Furry Fiona - Princess Fiona

Mike - Mike Myers

HA! “Butt Hole Murphy”

They do however come with the unfortunate side effect of making me unable to breathe when I'm around them, and frequently causing bloodshed. I'll pass.

Why does your cat need four names?

Their purr motors rarely run out,

About once every 12-14 years or so in my experience.

I thought I was still reading about vibrators for a second there.

Laughing out loud in bed, woke other people up

Spend $35 on cat. Spend remaining $165 on toys for cat because oh my goodness look at her bat the little ball around

Spend $165 on toys for cat.

Watch them play with 5 cent hair tie, or free twist tie, or box from $165 cat toys. Cats can be really inconsiderate

I mean you're not wrong. My kitty plays fetch with her little pom pom balls but the very expensive cat tree we just bought her for Christmas? Nah that's too spooky.

Money well spent, that is! :-)

The best money I ever spent was that $35 for a sweet black kitten; vaccines, chip, and neutering included. Support your local shelter Reddit!

Yeah true, but then you also have to take care of them for like two decades so it's kind of a big commitment.

Absolutely, it's a serious but rewarding business.

Cats cost a lot more than $200 long term though

I hear they eat food.

Not just any food, but only a specific brand of cat food, and their brand preference changes randomly and without notice!

But they're so cute! :-)

If you buy a cat that's spent a lot of time training people, yes.

Otherwise cat's arn't terribly choosy. Their food preference is like a tantrumy toddler.

My cats were strays. I give them good food but they won't eat lobster or beef food. They like seafood but doc said to keep that to a minimum.

There really is nothing like a cat when you need something to be a cat.

Actually, from a mental health perspective, my cat has definitely been a wonderful sub-$200 life changer.

No truer words spoken!!

Mine cost 400 from the shelter and I've probably spend a few gs in vet, food, liter bills, tavel costs, increased rent, carriers, beds, toys. Cats are cool, but not 200.

What shelter are you going to that charges $400 for a cat?

Maybe I exaggerated a bit, but here are the prices. I remember 400ish after tax. http://www.ottawahumane.ca/adopt/adoption-faq/#answer3

They don't let you leave without a carrier, so kitten is 275 plus carrier plus tax. I also did this years ago so could be a bit different now. Might as well grip some food and litter while you are there. Worth noting this is cnd, so maybe 20% less if you want usd.

edit: You also have to pay to have the cat registered with the city at the time of adoption. Cant remember the cost. Just remember about 400 total, not shitting you.

edit2: probably another 10-20$ for the optional microchip which i did opt for.

We had a crazy mice problem in our house, I'm not really a cat person but I finally caved in and gave my roommate the OK to get a cat (I'm the Schmidt of the house). Over the course of a month the mice were completely gone, saving us hundreds in exterminator bills. Now I don't really mind the little fucker, especially when he curls up next to me when it's cold

Can confirm. Bonus that if you live in a rural area, getting a few cats is actually more than useful to keep the place clean especially if your neighbors keep cows and stuff.

keep the place clean especially if your neighbors keep cows

I don't understand how cats clean up after cows. Do you teach them to pick up cow poo with a little shovel? That sounds adorable! :-)

My best actual guess: Having cows somehow attracts rats, and the kitties eat the rats?

yes, where there are pigs and cows in "non-industrial standard" environments (e.g. a family keeps some for themselves), there are mice & rats no matter what you do. Not a lot and not dangerous but your cats get to have enough fun. also, during rainy seasons various rodents occassionally escape into your home and instead of buying mouse traps and waiting for days you can just call the cat in and watch how shit gets done in a few minutes.

And you get the added bonus of mouse entrails as presents when they catch something!

I was trying to figure out why mice and rats would be associated with cows. Then I remembered that in the US you feed your cows on corn, so that will be an attractive food source for mousies.

Good on you for using Natures best pest control. :-)

The initial investment might fit the budget but caring for cat can get expensive.

It sure can, and I wish more people understood that up front.

But my kitties are worth every penny I spend on them! :-)

Over it’s lifetime a pet like a cat or dog will cost around $10k after food, toys, vet visits, procedures, etc.

Worth every penny

100%, not arguing against that! Edit: not*, not boy

I've had them two years and spent $2500 on two. Are they broken? I spend $1000+ on a year on food alone. I only have two cats. Fish costs like $5 a month in comparison.

I guess it depends on your breed & the health!

Don’t forget when it’s really cold outside and you can’t make it to get groceries they make wonderful sweet and sour chicken.

I was shooting the shit with a guy at the gym, he said for about 30 years he was anti cat. His wife finally got him to cave and they got a cat. First year he didn't have any mice or anything running around. He said he's had at least one cat since then.

That's my kind of cat want. Utilitarian.

They're also really good alarm clocks. Though they don't have a holiday mode, and even the week time mode is buggy. Sometimes it goes off an hour before you need to get up.

They do improve life, but they cost more than $200 over the long run. Unless you only plan on keeping them alive a couple of months...

Bear in mind if you're in the UK, 'rescuing' a cat from the RSPCA costs over £100. They are spayed, vaccinated, fleaed and wormed as standard though.

I tried this. Dog was not amused, house now in shambles.

I wish I wasnt allergic so bad. I have many cat based needs but they always try to kill me when I'm near them. :'(

Don't forget box pooping.

I just want to say that a cat is way more than 200 over its life, or even 6 months.

I imagine that would be over $200 with maintenance.

I disagree. Having a pet is definitely not for everyone.

It also hunts pests

You can also get them for free on Craigslist and it won't cost you a thing.

They are useful for all sorts of cat-based tasks, like purring and wandering around being a cat.

Don't forget preventing the plague

And ruling your life

Cats are seriously useful! But you can even skip the shelter. I coaxed a feral one to come live in a small, insulated wooden house, which I keep next to my house. This was about 2 years ago. I haven't had a single mouse get into my basement since the first day I fed her.

Getting her fixed and vaccinated was 75 bucks. Her food is like 10 bucks every 2 or 3 months. Definitely worth it.

Kittens abandoned in the backyard work for this too!

These are most likely to be faulty and with obsolete firmware. They aren't even compatible with modern flat TVs. Get a new one straight from the manufacturer if you can afford it.

Hey normally kiwis aren't associated with guns, so what's up with the username mate? You into guns or something?

You cannot have a cat for under $200.

Oh my god, that is just the most beautiful answer!! The very best answer, indeed!! My babies saved my life over and over again—so many times—more than I saved theirs. :)

The taste is subpar though

Cats are boring as hell

A remote car starter. This is encroaching on the $200, but it's the best purchase I've ever made. No more going outside in below-zero temps to warm up the car in the morning.

made sure to get one included in my car when I bought it, paid like $40 for it, saved quite a bit of money. It's been in the single digits here for the last couple weeks, so nice to start up my car while still inside my apartment.

Wow,$40 is insane.What car maker was this?

Honda, I was buying the car so they gave me a discount on add-ons. Wanted to keep the customer happy and everything.

Honda, I was buying the car so they gave me a discount on add-ons. Wanted to keep the customer happy and everything.

side note; this is actually illegal in the UK. You are not allowed to leave a car running whilst not inside the vehicle

I'm glad I live in Canada, where something like this would end up in a bloody revolution.

This is why BMW doesn't have remote start.

It's also illegal in many states in the US. California specifically.

You can get around this with an electric car. It also turns on from a phone app!

[deleted]

I think it's if it gets stolen. Perhaps it's certain counties?

You can't drive the car until you put the keys in the ignition though.

Florida too.

Who needs electric start in Florida though?

People with air conditioning

It was 35° last night in South Florida.

Holy fuck how do you guys survive.

Come visit when it's 110+ and 90% humidity and we'll see who's laughing.

I have, and it sucks. Me personally however, would rather be in the heat then -35 like it is in the Midwest.

His point was that warming your car up is unnecessary, which is assuming it never gets cold in Florida.

Been in the 20s every morning this week on the western side of the panhandle

Hah really? I had no idea. Not gonna stop me

It's cool until your car gets stolen..then they slap a fine on you through the PD. I still think it's cool, but California is backwards with everything

I drive manual and live in a decent neighborhood, plus I drive an old truck

But yeah, it could get stolen. CA has a lot of weird laws

They're practically mandatory in most of Canada. Just came off a streak of -40C with windchill. Needed to start my car periodically and I'm not going outside in that longer than I need to.

Yes very true. But everyone does it.

What's the rationale? My mom's car has this, but won't let you actually drive it unless the key is physically inside the car.

Destroying the environment with CO2 and stuff.

i can only guess but my assumption would be if you aren't in the car then the car is susceptible to theft (which is why insurance companies will void your insurance) and you are unable to perform any corrective action if things have gone wrong.

Your car isnt drivable..... Its just on and warming up.

all im doing is voicing my own assumption on it. As someone else has mentioned already, it may actually be legal to use remote start up. All i know is that the current UK law states that a person musn't leave a running car unattended, unless exceptional circumstances which are listed in a previous response. Remote start is not listed in there so im only drawing my own conclusion

On the public road. Correct.

On your driveway it's fine.

English person here. Literally never heard of this law. If it exists, then I’ve never met a person who abides by it.

Got a source for that?

Sure, as far as I'm aware the legality is for a public 'highway' i.e. road only. So personal drive ways, garages etc aren't affected although insurance companies can and will void insurance if a car is stolen when the engine is running and you aren't in attendance of the vehicle

edit: a friend of mine has also received a ticket for doing just this on a winter morning, its the only reason I know about it.

Source:

107.—(1) Save as provided in paragraph (2), no person shall leave, or cause or permit to be left, on a road a motor vehicle which is not attended by a person licensed to drive it unless the engine is stopped and any parking brake with which the vehicle is required to be equipped is effectively set.

The car starters in the states shut off the engine as soon as you shift from Park to any gear. Source: Sold then at Best Buy and helped install a few.

Can confirm. Was an installer for over a decade. Remote start systems, when installed properly, turn off as soon as the brake is pressed.

My car requires that you lock the doors before you can remote start it and then once you're in it you have to have the key with you and press the ignition button again before you can drive it.

You must own a Ford.

Chevy duramax is similar. Must hit lock button before can remote start. And must turn ignition to on before putting in gear or it dies.

Duramax sounds like a contraceptive.

You're thinking of durex, I get that a lot.

Duramax is Chevy/GMs Turbo Deisel line of trucks including the 2500s and 3500s and Duallies.

Yup. Lock button once, remote start button twice. Range is kinda abysmal. I don't know if I need new batteries or what.

if you do it's really simple. I'm not questioning your intelligence. I worked for Ford and the amount of people that would come into parts just to get the battery replaced was crazy.

Mine shuts off if I tap the brake, gas, or touch the shifter

MOST and if they're installed correctly. Never doubt stupidity and cheapness.

Thanks. It made me wonder if it was flat out illegal to do it or just on the public highway.

It's illegal to start them manually and leave it running. Remote start are the exception as they disable the vehicle if shifted into gear without the key

You coward!

...I’m just jealous.

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Get a keychain garage door opener.

Actually, is it safe to have a car on in the garage even if it’s completely open?

It still can be dangerous. I wouldn’t do it at all if your garage is attached.

Get a CO monitor too?

No, but much less dangerous.

When the garage is completely open, the engine is getting sufficient oxygen to run cleanly.

Most of the carbon monoxide risk that comes from burning fuels in an enclosed space comes into play after the oxygen level drops below the point of allowing complete combustion. When that happens, you start pumping out CO instead of CO2

That's why I'm glad I upgraded to a Chamberlain MyQ garage door opener when my old opener shit the bed.

I used to be part owner of car stereo store when I lived in the Northeast. Remote starters were a huge % of sales especially during Christmas when we'd run a BOGO sale. It's important to note, the device is designed to warm OR cool your interior of your car. It's also designed to prevent theft when it's in this mode. If you experience extreme temps, you'll love having one. They are fairly common both factory installed and aftermarket. The ONE thing you should do is make sure whoever installs it knows what they are doing and just as important you get a warranty.

That sells pitch is in you now forever isn't it

Or plug in your car at night.... Sounds weird but that's what we do in Winnipeg (Canada). It keeps your car warm overnight so it doesn't take extra time to heat up before you can go where you're going.

That just keeps the engine warm so it starts easier. Starting your car can warm up the inside/defrost the windshield etc.

Even plugged in a car does better running for a minute or two on really cold days.

Do people not use interior heaters in NA? Here in northern scandinavia they're pretty much mandatory during the winter months. That way the car heats up properly without having to start the engine.

I've seen them a few times but they don't really do that good of a job when it's really cold.

Just got one installed for my fiancée. Try more like $380 and that is on the cheap side. That is including the install though.

Depends on the car!

Yep. Just bought a remote start AND the bypass module for about $80 on Amazon for my 01 Honda Accord. Now I have keyless entry and a remote start on a car that had neither previously.

Did you install it yourself ?

Yes, definitely depends on the type of car!

My understanding is that this is dependent on the vehicle

While this is a great recommendation. Please ensure you are recommending a Two Way Remote Start. A One Way does not communicate to you that the car actually started. Where the Two Way will beep/play a tone once the car is started.

Excellent point. I can see my car from my window so not necessary for me.

Had a two way, when the car was to far away it would start the car, but the remote starter didn't receive the signal to let me know it. I have a one way now and the worst that can happen is the car was to far and didn't start so it's cold for a while. Not worth for me personally to pay more for the 2 way.

I wish.. Mine's a hybrid and if it idles too long, it'll shut the engine off. Saves gas at stoplights, but no bueno for winter preheat

I have a hybrid too but if I set the interior heat to be a certain temp the engine doesn't shut off until the temp has been reached.

Then if it drops below that the engine kicks back on to compensate.

You don't need to preheat an engine. In fact in modern cars you shouldn't.

As a luxury to warm your butt and self though, worse things have happened in the history of cars.

But what if you don't have your heat turned on initially?

Still warms the engine which is where your heat will come from, so it will be warm when you do turn the heat on, as opposed to waiting longer for the car to warm up after manually starting.

My truck automatically turns on the defrost, heated seats, and heated steering wheel when it's below a present outside temp.

Today it was so worth it. Preheated my car 15min before going outside. Walked outside and realized it snowed last night. Everything was melted on my car though and my car was nice and warm. Such a good feeling.

Funny enough, they are great for operator comfort but warming up an engine at idle is actually bad for them.

Edit. Love the downvotes. Modern engines need to be at operating temperature quickly. Everything from the PCV system to the low friction piston rings fail quicker by being operated at cold temperatures for extended periods of time like when using remote start.

Nevermind the fact that running at idle is bad for engines period. Which is why cars like the Dodge Chargers police use are programmed to run "high idle" at set intervals. Because with constant low oil pressure at idle isn't enough to properly lubricate a vehicle. But oil pump pressure needs to be run that low to meet current emission targets at idle.

It's the reason why an engine in a pick up in Texas will outlast an engine in Canada. Which is also why some OEM's offer a lot higher powertrain warranties in the US, and other more fair weather climates then they do in Canada, Europe etc.

But keep killing your engines. I make good money fixing these things. LOL.

I just get in my car, start it and go. No reason to waste gas when it'll warm up in a few minutes for the heat to start working.

Fucking this. Hell, if I have to brush off my car it's usually warm by the time I'm finished with that part.

Note: I am aware Diesel engines (and probably all-electric) are different than Gasoline/Petrol engines and actually need to warm up for a few minutes. While I maintain that the time to brush off your car (if necessary) will burn up most of that time, that's definitely a legit reason for a starter in my eyes. Most people though, like... damn, is the waste really worth that 5 whole minutes of discomfort? Maybe it is, different strokes for different folks I suppose.

I have a 2 year old. Due to safety reasons he cannot wear too many layers in the car seat. Our remote start here in Canada has been a life saver. No more screaming child because "holy shit mom my balls are frozen from touching my carseat" and there's music playing from my radio while I brush the car off or grab all the bags for myself for work or him for daycare.

Why not just put a blanket over him? Our 11mo gets put in her seat and then a blanket is shoved in around her legs and she is content.

Not OP, but personally at -40C this winter here a blanket will never be enough.

I do that but that doesn't stop the fact that the carseat itself is bloody cold first thing. He's exclusively in pants and layered shirts/sweater. He doesn't have a jacket adding more insulation between a seat and his body unlike myself or my husband. That 5 minutes of heating from our car remote starter helps like crazy in avoiding my child bending literally in half to avoid touching anything in the car while it's freezing.

[deleted]

But... snowing and wind chill doesn't matter once you're physically in your car?

Like I say, I get it, not everyone has the same priorities, I'm not trying to say "You're stupid for wanting one!" I just... I don't see it being that big of a difference.

(And I'm from a Northern latitude too - last I checked, we have an expected high of 0F on Saturday)

[deleted]

Never heard it helps with SAD before, I always hear that tied to uv light and/or vitamin d. That's cool!

[deleted]

Very cool! God bless man, keep it up! I'm fortunately not affected (despite someone in my city's sub claiming everyone who lives here is) but I know it's brutal for some folk.

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r/gatekeeping

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At what temperature would you be okay with them having a strong opinion about it? Is there a specific cutoff or more of a general range?

I have a 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage. That little bitch takes a solid 15 minutes to get anywhere near warm. It's also -11°F here recently. Anything above 15°F, no problem. But these negative temps make my shit COLD.

It was -12^o F the other morning here in Ohio and after my 25 minute drive to work my car was finally blowing out what I consider to be warm air, but nowhere near what it normally does.

unless it's really, REALLY cold, most modern diesels don't even need a few minutes. key in, to engine, glowplug light will come on, and come off 1-10 seconds depending on temperature. wait for glowplug light to turn off, then start the engine. obviously how you run the engine when you drive it will affect the health

edit: made post clearer

It’s not gotten above 9 for over 2 weeks where I live that’s hard on cars to not let them warm up a bit

[deleted]

It was 10 below this mornin I like to give it 15 minutes to warm up I can care less I have a hat and gloves

Meh, a modern vehicle with synthetic oil cares a lot less than I do.

This is only true above 15°f. Once you start nearing the single digits that approach doesn't work so well.

We just had almost 3 weeks of below zero weather and I would have to let the car run for 15 minutes and then drive for almost another 10 for the heat to blow hot. Just hopping in and driving it cold in those temps is an exercise in sadism.

Yea, no thanks. When it's minus whatever outside, I want my heater to be primed and my seat to be nice and toasty when I sit in it.

The gas waste is negligible at best, but modern cars don't need to "warm up" like those in the past. I wish more people would realize this instead of sitting there for 5 minutes before driving...

Assuming they're not diesel, anyway.

They're talking about the interior of the car, not the engine.

You can install them yourself for cheaper with some cars. I had them on my old cars but my last one didn’t really heat up much until I actually drove it anyway.

My current car, a Nissan Leaf, has one from the factory. It’s really useful in the winter since I can tell it to heat up while the car is still plugged into the charging station. It really helps with the shitty winter range since the heater just has to keep a temp rather than reach it.

I've been resolved to buying one for a long time, but I keep thinking my truck won't make it another year....

You just made me very glad I live in Australia.

I used mine more in the summer than i do in the winter. Sorely miss it in my new car.. have a complete kit sitting in the box in the garage but haven't had time to install it :(

I got a pretty nice one for closer to $300, what I got over the base $200 was like an extra mile of range and it was two way instead of one way, meaning I could start it from my desk and it would beep back if it had worked or not, so no more walking to the window. To me it was totally worth $100 to be even lazier than fuck.

Do they work in a Manual?

when you turn your car off you will have to do a shut down sequence called "reservation mode" with the car running you put it in neutral with the clutch still in and your foot on the brake. you then let out the clutch leaving your foot on the brake, pull your e-brake, and then let your foot off the brake, when you turn off your key, the car will stay running, you get out and when you shut your door, the engine will shut down. it sounds like a lengthy process but give it a couple days and it will become second nature to shut your car down that way. As an added safety feature, if any of your doors are opened after you have put the car in reservation mode, it will not remote start just in case you were rummaging for something and you accidentally knocked the shifter into gear

I also have a manual car and have wondered the same thing. Came across this on Best Buy's website

I had a manual car that had one, it used the parking brake and the neutral safety wire to determine whether or not it was safe to start the car. No shutdown sequence required

That sounds soooo much more convenient. I may have to look into it more!

I’d imagine yes but many remote starts don’t have a way to know if the car is in gear. So if you leave it in gear and start the car it’ll either stall or runaway. I’m not 100% sure but I don’t think you can get a remote start from the manufacturer with a manual transmission.

Yes, you just have to do the work yourself and bypass the NSS (neutral safety switch) or have a guy do it for you under the table. Normal shops won't because of the liability of you starting your car in gear.

Mine works awesome in the summer, super unreliable in the winter.

200$ for the unit and who knows how much to install it, that’s over 200$!

I installed one myself in my Dakota several years ago. Took about 4 hours total, and I happily paid to have one installed on my next truck.

Depends very much on the car, and where you get it done.

I think my old partner at work was quoted north of 500$ to install one on a yukon.

Unless you drive stick!

Brother got one for Christmas. Those things are about 450.

Depends very much on the car and where you get it done.

$400 where I am, so yeah pushing it a bit.

I had a simple model installed when I bought my car for $45. Runs for 15 minutes, auto-shuts off after that. And, once the car is started, you can use it to keep the car running when you walk away with the keys. Pretty handy in the winter when you stop at a gas station and run inside or something. It has a super long range, I can start my car two blocks away from my office window. Compared to our nice new company car which only works at best ~50' away.

http://codealarmremotes.com/inc/sdetail/code-alarm-catxmt-remote-fcc-id-h5ot46/185

Yep. I live in Montana, and I spent extra money for one that would A) let me know when the car has started. B) has a crazy range.

I park outside year round and there is a building and several floors in between where I park and work. I don't have to even stand up to make sure my car is warm/cool. It is the greatest thing I have ever purchased.

or, for slightly more, a Tesla

Garage, brah

The only time I have regretted not having one is yesterday when I needed to let my car idea so the battery wouldn't die in the cold.

Leaving the car on to 'heat it's in the morning is awful practice in terms of environmental impact.

You shouldn't do this anyway. Allowing your engine to idle in cold temperatures = lots of wear and tear on the engine. The engine comes up to its operating temperature much faster if you allow only a 30 second to 1 minute warm up, and then begin driving. Naturally you want to be careful not to accelerate hard until the engine has warmed.

If I don't have time for a warm up, I make sure to keep the RPMs under the cold idle range(usually 1700-1800 rpm) until it warms up. Driving a manual makes this super easy.

Now tell me how I'm still destroying my engine.

Now tell me how I'm still destroying my engine.

You are destroying it if you're idling it for several minutes to "warm the engine up." Engines don't really warm up much while idling. Ergo, it is damaging, because it means the engine spends more time running at cold temperatures vs. starting to drive after ~1 minute. Some user manuals will even state this idea. The manual for my Audi did.

Pretty sure half the point is to defrost your ice-covered windows too.

That's what an ice scraper is for.

A dictionary is way less than $200, and it has a lot more encroachment than a remote car starter.

A downvote for you is free! best deal in the thread

Congratulations! You'll also find the word pedant in that very dictionary.

/r/iamverysmart is leaking

Hmmm.. This post is rather shallow and pedantic

Street Fighter II Champion Edition arcade cabinet from Craigslist.

If my local Craigslist had arcade cabinets, my garage would be amazing.

They almost all do, albeit infrequently.

$200 is a steal, though that control panel was butchered...

I've been looking more, but I see a ton of overpriced mame arcades. Most recently just a dual game pad and no cabinet or screen for 600 dollars.

I think come spring time I'll try out a build for myself and see what happens.

Like I say, patience. I scored a Neo Geo for $450 with 4 good games in it at an auction I saw advertised on CL, but my buddy in another state paid $800 for one with 2 okay games. There's legit games that have passed through my local one for $250-1250 in the last 6 months. Unfortunately you're right though, the 60-in-1 (a bootleg pcb, not even a full computer) and mame hack jobs are becoming very popular too.

Sign up over at KLOV/VAPS forums, I don't know where you're from but stuff pops up all over there. If you're willing to drive it can be very useful, plus the info it has on restoring is staggering.

Talk about being relevant.

SO FUCKING META I LOVE IT

karma train toot toot

Downvote train, toot toot

Gold train, toot toot

Crazy train, ber ner na ner na ner na ner ba na na nan er bana ber na

Minnesota hype train

^^^it's ^^^hidden ^^^so ^^^deep, ^^^surely ^^^no ^^^Minnesotan ^^^will ^^^find ^^^this

M E T A
E
T
A

I'm out of the loop. Explain this meta please

https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/7nv36i/the_greatest_200_dollar_craigslist_purchase_of/

I literally almost bought one of the World Warriors cabinets for 250 a few weeks ago. It was in Chicago and I'm in Baltimore and finding someone to help get it in and out of my truck was the biggest hassle.

This guy reddits

A crock pot can be pretty handy, even if it's not all that cool.

Reddit loves crockpots.

[deleted]

Because crockpots are easy and good. A lot of people don’t like to cook, or are worried about messing up when they do. Other people who may want to cook have no time to do so during the week.

However, with a crockpot, chuck in three chicken breasts, and a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce, turn it on low, go to work. Come home and shred, and it’s all done. Same with Mexican chicken. You can cook chili, Asian food, all just by dumping it in and leaving it for a few hours.

And the best part is, it’s really easy to make recipes that taste really good.

[deleted]

Because you don’t have to worry about it. Set it and forget it. Want to go shopping for a few hours? Done. Want to make something in the crock pot at noon for your party at 6? Done and you don’t have to stress at 5:30 PM with fifteen things on the stove or in the oven. Want to make dinner that will need 8 hours to cook, but don’t want to deal with adding ingredients, minding the stove, burning something, or leaving an open flame on in your house? Done.

[deleted]

that's pretty much it though, it's for people who want to make a lot of good food at once but can't be bothered to stick around to do that shit. being able to cook soup or a casserole without being at home is magical

A guy higher in this thread (making him more right) said fuck crock pot and go instant pot.

Should I care? I just want an easy meal.

An Instant Pot is not quite as good a slow cooker as a regular crock pot. But it has the advantage of being a pressure cooker, which means it can turn out a mean in a fraction of the time.

If your cooking style is more prepping stuff in the morning and coming home to a meal ready to eat right after work, a crock pot is great. If you prefer to do the cooking after work but don't want to wait four hours for a stew or a pot of beans to cook, you want a pressure cooker. If you think you'd do a bit of both, the Instant Pot is a good choice because it'll do both, even if a good slow cooker is a bit better at that function than an Instant Pot is.

Wow this is informative, thank you!

I dont know why, but i misread this as crack pipe.

I love my crock pot almost just as much as I love my crack pipe

If this thread had taught me anything its that crock pots can get fucked and an intapot is the way to go.

Just received one for Christmas and I have never used one before. Any site/recipe’s you recommend?

/r/slowcooking

I love pulled pork sandwiches, tons of recipes for it. Cheap, easy, and delicious!

I just spent an hour scrolling through this and saved about 20+ comments of awesome recipes, so thanks!

Pressure cooking is better!

That's my favorite part about the pressure cooker so far. It has replaced the crock pot, rice cooker, and a few other kitchen gadgets.

See I have been wanting to get more into it, but I am worried about adapting recipes for the pressure cooker. I have been cooking with a slow cooker for much longer, but also own a pressure cooker. Any advice?

You don't get evaporation in the pressure cooker, so you use less liquid than you would in a slow cooker or dutch oven. The downside is that the liquid also doesn't cook down to concentrate flavor; you'd have to do that as an additional step if you're using the pressure cooker.

The only really annoying thing I experience with the pressure cooker is that adding ingredients during cooking is more burdensome: you have to depressurize and then repressurize the machine, vs. popping the lid off for half a second.

Yeah, they can be dangerous. Never force the lid open.
Other than that, everything you cook in the slow cooker can be done in the pressure cooker, in under an hour of cooking time.

Put chicken in the crockpot. Add sauce of your choice and cook on low for 6hrs. Pulled whatever chicken. So tender and delicious.

This is my wife’s favorite pulled pork recipe . And I have to say, it’s really really good.

I've posted this before, but my go-to easy meal for a crock pot is salsa chicken.

  • Two or three chicken breasts
  • Enough salsa to cover the chicken
  • 1 can of Black Beans and 1 can of Corn (or 2x black beans)

Cook on low for eight hours. Take the chicken out and shred it, then toss it back in and mix it up.

I typically eat it with rice. It keeps pretty well so I usually have enough for work lunches for the week.

This recipe makes the most amazing, tender, fall-off-the bone ribs I have ever tasted, and involves like 15min of prep time. My sister's boyfriend said they were the best thing he's ever eaten. I don't even do a dry rub, just remove the membrane, coat them in bbq sauce (you don't have to get fancy, Sweet Baby Ray's is just fine), and slap 'em in the crockpot for 8h on low then under the broiler for like 3min after adding some more BBQ sauce to get them all gorgeous and caramelized. It's foolproof and you feel like a fucking champion for creating something so perfect.

Also, if you're crock pot-ing, I highly recommend getting some of those liners for it - that way you can just pull out the bag and throw it away after instead of having to clean that big heavy crock.

Yep. I love my pressure cooker, but slow cooker chili and roasts cannot be replicated in it.

Mine got me laid, never underestimate the power of cooking for the ladies.

If a crock pot was the reason she has sex with you, she was probably going to have sex with you anyways. The meal was just an added bonus.

Well, the crock pot doesn't do much good if it's cool ;-)

Dude Tip: If you're a guy LEARN TO USE A CROCK POT. I have made some of the best food ever in a crock pot. There are SO MANY DAMN THINGS YOU CAN MAKE IN THEM. Plus I heard ladies like a man that can use a crock pot.

Source: Am a man that uses crock pot.

Yeah, but if you think a crock pot is a Herman Wouk cool, try an Instant pot.. it's like the Sammy Davis Jr. of pots.

They are a giant food waster though.

How? I don’t waste any of the food I make.

Everyone I have ever known with one ends up making enough "for left overs" puts it in containers in the fridge and forgets about it. The longer they have the crock pot the more often this happens.

It's a pet peeve of mine. Watching all that waste.

That sounds like a person problem, not a crock pot problem.

I think the type of person who sees the crockpot as a quick and easy way to cook, tends to be the same kind of person who shrugs off wasted food.

I feel like those are vastly different categories that don't correlate at all, like comparing people who like to buy pink shoes with people who think video games are a waste of time.

Every one this person has ever knooooowwwwwnnnnnn

I make it for left overs and then eat said left overs for lunch at work all week.

I don't know anyone who does this.

16 copies of the Emoji Movie on Blu-ray

... so that other people can't buy it.

You don't need to be a millionaire to be a philanthropist.

Nah, just a hundredaire

Not all heroes wear capes. Some of them wear poop played by Sir Patrick Stewart.

I know, trust me, I'm a full on rapist.

You’d just be increasing the market!

Is it this bad?

it's the only movie in years that i didnt finish. not even because it's cringy or painful, it's just tediously unfunny

what a major inconvenience.

no. To induce a depression coma. Life-changing doesn't always mean for the best.

I hope that you are right. Just imagine watching them all at the same time

Get paid, get laid, GATORADE.

A lightswitch.

Me me big boy.

Found my new saying.

Found Jack’s reddit account

Are you sure?

Yaas

r/beetlejuucing

I am Jack's sense of self loathing

Is this what we're doing instead of waterboarding now?

apparently

It's probably more effective

And that was how OP learned that not all change is for the better.

If you only have 200 bucks in your bank account, I suppose that would be life changing.

I mean, the OP never said your life had to change for the better...

and then centrifuge the disks into a million bits

So my dad and I were going christmas shopping at Best Buy a few weeks back. We were going through the movies aisle. The whole aisle was empty shelves other than one. And it was seventeen copies of the Emoji Movie. We joked that we should buy a few of them and stack them together so it would look like a big gift.

Man I really love this movie. It's so terrible and soulless the fact that it exists is a testament to man's ignorance.

You know that hen society hits the shitter, it will be copies of the emoji movie and creepy anime figures that act as our effigy to those who come after us. Horde it now and be remembered as a God.

It's basically a poor man's wreck it ralph.

I guess suicide is a life change.

Spring for a toner printer, B&W only. The initial upfront cost is probably gonna be close to $150 even if it looks small. The upfront cost is higher than an inkjet, but you’re going to be spending a lot less on toner in the long run than you ever did on ink. It doesn’t jam, can print like a warhorse and it’s not gonna run out of cyan only to tell you you can’t print B&W. Plus the initial toner supply you get with it will probably last you forever.

Why not a laser printer instead?

I paid 50bucks more got a color one. Still has all the benefits

Oh definitely, I’m not saying don’t go colour, just that it’s easier to stick under the questions $200 limit if it’s only B&W.

An air fryer. Just got one and damn I love that thing. So easy to use. No oil necessary.

I've been wanting to get one of these but was not sure it was worth the buy or not. You don't need to go into detail, but I'm curious what is your go to food of choice to air fry?

Fried Mushroom, pot stickers, tempura cauliflower, French fries, fried anything really. It’s so damn useful and so damn good. Everything I put in it is perfect.

How do pot stickers work without oil?

Nevermind pot stickers... how does tempura work without oil?

well, you still have to use a little oil, I have an air fryer and a spray bottle full of Avocado Oil, I lightly spritz whatever food I throw in there, then it comes out well

I'm guessing when people are saying tempura they mean frozen, premade and not "I just dipped these vegetables into this really thin batter."

How's the cook time? Does doing it in the air fryer as opposed to the oven take any time off?

Yes way faster, 20 minutes in toaster oven turns into 12 in an air fryer

Cool, thank you!

the time is fairly shorter in my experience, since the Air Fryer is much smaller, it doesn't need to preheat either. But the textures are usually better in the air fryer as well. I never could get the hang of oven-frying.

Maybe I have a bad one, but mine usually takes much longer. 45 minutes or so for fried chicken, 30 for fries.

I spray the tempura down with oil.

I spray them down with oil first before throwing them into the air fryer.

You can always steam them though.

So you're still using oil? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of an air fryer?

Not really. I love the convenience of the air fryer. There’s less prep time and it’s easier to clean. Plus I don’t use nearly as much oil so I save a bit of money on that too.

You should probably mention that it's frozen, premade tempura and potstickers, not fresh stuff. Fresh stuff won't work in an air fryer.

Fresh chicken works great, flour, dip in egg, use panko, 18 minutes.... Perfect

Ooh, I haven't tried potstickers yet, good idea. I use mine for schnitzel an chicken tenders mostly, or anything frozen you'd normally heat in the oven.

You haven't lived until you've air fried pizza rolls

E: someone is clearly against the perfectly crispy air fried pizza roll.

I did that today and wow they were super crunchy

Why you do this.

I'm trying to eat healthy.

Must resist.

Oh, man, I'm going to have to try that. 

echo 'Pizza Rolls' >> shopping_list

I will add that it makes them suuuuper crispy so if that's not your thing, you're gonna have a bad time

I can always bake the rest if I don't like them, but I have a good feeling about this.

I got one for Christmas and just did this two nights ago. I'm already jonesing for them again. Best pizza rolls I've ever had.

Try chicken nuggets next!

Nuggets and tater tots were the first thing I did. I've never had better.

I actually prefer to microwave them, cooking them in an air fryer or oven makes them dry. The microwave makes them very moist.

When they're microwaved I feel like they just...squelch too much

Too moist. Soggy even

Hot Pocket perfection!

That sounds delicious!

Aside from all of the great recommendations, I'd say this: leftover fries.

I don't know what everyone else does but I've always left uneaten fries at the restaurant because reheating them in a microwave makes them disgusting. The air fryer fixes that handily: the fries I reheated last night seemed fresher and were tastier than they were when I received them on the plate in the restaurant.

Gyoza in my house is almost exclusively done in our NonFryer (Japanese name for it). Otherwise, toast, pizza, reheating tempura, fries (they take some practice), kind of grilled chicken - basically, anything I’d throw in a frypan goes in here and it’s amazing.

Well jeez now I’m depressed about spending today making 250 gyoza the old fashioned way!

Never, ever be depressed about that. Just know, however, that my envy is bleeding off of me in waves.

I throw French fires in there, boneless wings and fish. Haven’t tried anything else yet but it’s all come out great so far. No worry about heating up an oven. Just toss it in and go.

boneless wings

You mean nuggets?

Not the same. "Boneless wings" are cuts of a whole piece of chicken, usually a breast. Nuggets are ground up chicken that is compressed into a certain shape.

But they are still not wings. Wings are dark meat. "Boneless wings" are essential nuggets because they are white meat. Chikfila nugets are actual pieces of chicken.

Haha yes! Pretty much.

Chicken wings are pretty good! Or u can unroll those red and white crab sticks (sold in packs of 10s or 20s) then cut them into 1cm strips and air fry them. It's a pretty damn good tasting snack!

Surimi jerky...

I reheat pizza in mine sometimes, but I also make Chashu pork for ramen and french fries most often.

I’ve made beef jerky in my air fryer a few times. The shit is amazing.

As a lover of beef jerky, this may be what sends me over the edge into buying one. How long does this usually take in the fryer?

It takes around 6 hours. It depends on how thin you slice the beef. Mine tend to be about a half inch thick after marinating.

Not OP, but french fries actually taste good from it! It's like they were actually fried! My main beef is I cannot use a batter or anything because of the sheer mess. But it has been a game changer, when frying anything solid.

That's good to know. So no battering fish or chicken then throwing it in there?

I wouldn't use a super wet batter, but I marinate my chicken in buttermilk and then coat it in seasoned panko breadcrumbs and crushed cornflakes before airfrying it and it's amazing.

well u/martinis00 suggested a small metal pan, I will have to try that out.

Get a small metal pan. Put battered food in pan. Corn dogs come out good

Great suggestion! I will try that out!

OMG dooooo it!!! My room mate and I are absolutely in love with it! Seriously!

You won’t regret it just get one!

I’m a little confused. What is the difference between an air fryer and a regular oven or toaster oven?

An air fryer is just a countertop convection oven.

Oh so just faster than a toaster oven?

Pretty much. It's more efficient and gives better results for certain foods. But, yeah. Just a faster toaster oven.

Im not a big fan, the basket is incredibly small for what you want to do, because if you throw a shit ton of french fries in, they wont cook evenly if they are just stacked in there, they need the air to be able to circulate around.

I use mine for crab cakes and they come out great.

Nice. I'm allergic to shellfish, so that wouldn't an option for me, but seems like it's pretty versatile.

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All I know is everything I’ve cooked has come out crispy, hot and delicious. That’s pretty much what I’m looking for in fried food.

I started doing wings in mine, and holy shit... Wish I'd started years ago... They come out desiccated (which is perfect for me heh).

So easy to clean too!

I’d agree and disagree. It’s not the same as deep frying but for better in some ways. There’s so little prep time, super easy clean up, and the food is really similar when you spray it in oil first. I love my air fryer and it’s something I’d never give up. It’s not exactly the same but it’s pretty similar and the benefits outweigh any difference in my opinion.

Is that the trick? Spray the oil? Just started using mine.

That’s what I do. It comes out nice and crisp when you use a bit of oil.

You don't get the sticky, greasy crust a deep fryer gets you, but if you know how to use it and what temperatures and times to cook food at, you can get pretty much anything fried perfectly fine.

There's just no liquid, so stuff doesn't float in it.

Go to heck - air fryers are a gift from the gods and have only produced the most crisp and delicious foods in my home.

It's also excellent for reheating take-away fries!

How are those different from convection ovens?

They're more expensive, less effective, and less versatile. But other than that nothing really.

It’s circulated hot air through it rather than just toasting something. The brand I have is elite by maxi. I got a larger one on a sale for $150. The main difference for me is time and how much I can fit in it. I’ve tossed two bags of boneless wings and it’s taken 20 minutes and fed 20 guests I had over. I don’t know of any toaster ovens that can do that.

Toaster ovens and convection ovens are not the same thing. A convection oven has a fan to circulate the hot air, just like your air fryer.

Either way, anywhere you read you’ll see air fryers work much faster than convection ovens because they have smaller chambers and better heat circulation.

This is what I was looking for. Thanks for explaining.

My toaster oven has a convection function.

Yes, these are great. I can cook 16 breakfast sausage links in 8 minutes. My oven takes longer to warm up. Tater tots are great, too.

[deleted]

I haven’t tried that yet. But it is on my list!

Intrested, always wondered what it's like and never truly understand. 1. Do you put in zero oil or you actually need to add a little bit? 2. How does the food taste in comparison to a real fryer?

I actually have never owned an at home oil fryer but I have had fried stuff at restaurants and I honestly cant taste the difference. Someone commented that it suggests you use like an oil spray but I haven’t used that yet and it’s tasted just fine. The way it works requires 0 oil. I was skeptical after reading reviews but I just pulled the trigger and took the risk and so far have not been disappointed.

OK thanks you :)

It's a convection oven, that's it, just smaller. If you get a toaster oven with a convection feature, you can use it to "air fry".

I'm tempted to get one but I'd like to try it first and I don't know anyone who has one nor have I seen one in supermarkets for testing it.

I am getting a 90$ one from Amazon, all inspired by this post.

But i am a bit worried that a cheap fryer will not be as great of an experience as an expensive one....

What brand are you getting? It is a bit of a risk, I was reading not great reviews about the one I bought but it’s worked great so far. Maybe see what the return policy is just in case?

My mum got one recently and was excited to show me.

It is indeed awesome. No need for oil, saves time and effort, and less risk of somehow burning yourself with hot substance.

Don't get the t fal one though. It has a stirring mechanism that turns all your fries into mashed potatoes

They're awesome for just re-heating leftovers sometimes. Especially fried food. It's way better than the microwave for so many things.

Most require you spray oil or cooking spray (aka aerosols oil) for cooking.

Oh you mean a fryer that uses air. At first I thought you were talking about some weird dehumidifier or something that literally fries air.

God I'm dumb.

I was bitching senselessly with a co-worker about one of these earlier. Does it make "deep fried tasting" food ACTUALLY?

I think there may be a difference in taste. But everything I’ve made has been hot all the way through and crispy.

If you put fried chicken in it, does it un-fry it?

Why would you fry air ?

ITT: Things to fuck yourself with, things to humidify you, things to cook things in.

And things to wash your ass.

Things to fuck yourself with

Instructions unclear. Got dick stuck in bidet.

You fuck yourself with a bidet?

Yes, is this not normal?

And then things to press your clothes with nice and neat for when you want to shift to fake Puritan mode.

anythings a dildo if your brave enough

It's the simple things that make life worth living.

[If you must] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0xDGXotGIE)

Things to do stuff ?

I keep seeing references to such a device but I can't find it in the thread.

My uh... Friend needs one. For hygiene and being heterosexual.

It's a bidet. Nothing gay about it.

Oh is that it? The way people were on about it I expected some high-tech sexual hygiene advice.
I got my hopes up for a butt sink.

It's higher tech than scrubbing your asshole with crumpled paper, but that's about it.

To be fair I'm just downplaying it because of the way people were describing it.

Though I would recommend a bidet or a quick shower on a serious note.

So things to get hot, things to get you wet, and things to make being hot and wet even better?

Ummm... someone listed a shelter cat as their choice. Which of the categories do you file that under?

Things to cook things in.

Dremels are great in bed.

Realizing I don't have any of these things and also how much more comfortably some people are living. Who knew you could buy heated mattress covers?

These are the necessities of life. What more could you want than humid masturbation while eating?

Well, life is only a series of fucking, eating, and breathing so it makes sense.

Going this deep in the comments and reading all the usefull stuff then reaching your comment has me dieing. TAKE MY UPVOTE DAMN YOU!

Squatty Potty.

Or a stack of books

Or a $5 Walmart step stool “totally bought for some other reason”

I have a lightning mcqueen step stool that works great for this. It's for my kid to reach the sink and brush his teeth but it serves the second purpose nicely.

Rule of thumb: If you're classy enough to own books, you're too classy to put them on the bathroom floor.

Source: https://youtu.be/k1Abq4u5jbQ?t=131

I may live in a cave and had never seen this video. It's beautiful. And now I want one

If you like that one you should check out the original: https://youtu.be/YbYWhdLO43Q

I may or may not have fallen in love with this beautiful man talking about pooping.

But my books cost wayyyy more than $200

Found the college student.

But I like my books. I'm not putting them on the floor. I pee there

Gotta make use of those copies of Twilight your sister bought in 8th grade somehow.

Does it relly works?

They don't sell them here but i was wondering if it's worth building one

Just find some items that are about the same height and try it a few times... Hard to imagine some random person wouldn't have a few junk items they could put their feet on while pooping ; )

I use a foam back roller. My husband accidentally discovered how well it works!

Works real good. You can build one though, easy. Make it about 9" high and call it good.

Honestly. You haven't enjoyed pooping pleasure until you have one. Although mine is just a folding step stool. Pun intended lol

Yes! I'm home for a month without my squatty potty and I have to push so hard to shit

Yes it does. I prefer the 9" one. You can easily build a wooden one with some basic carpentry skills

A small dustbin kept upside down works great.

I got mine from Amazon. I'd try it first with something stacked. It works okay, but doesn't really work great for me.

Yes! Best purchase I’ve made, except it gets dirty and is bulky. Like the others have said, find a stool or things around the same height. I used Tupperware and old big textbooks until I got the squatty potty

Or literally any step stool that can go in front of your toilet

Which Squatty Potty do you recommend?

Personally I'm a fan of Squatty Potty and the Philosopher's kidney stone and Squatty Potty and the chamber of secretions

10 points to Gryffindor!

I recently got one because a family member didn't want it. I thought it was over hyped and I was wrong. It's makes such a difference.

I have one but I also live with a man who splatters when he pees, so I don’t use it much. I have to wash it in the shower every time I clean the bathroom.

You know, in my friend’s battalion they “heavily encouraged” everyone to sit down while peeing. So if this guy wants to pee like a marine, he can SIT THE FUCK DOWN.

I HATE splatters of other people’s piss. If this guy is over 18, he needs to shape up and care about other people.

How is your first paragraph relevant at all?

An example to tell her husband to sit while peeing--even marines do it so you'll still be tough and masculine

It's really not that hard to not splatter. Teach your man proper pissing form.

This should be higher.

Or just hunch over with your elbows on your knees putzing around on your phone while you shit, same effect.

I use a folding step stool that I keep next to the toilet. I tried to get my boyfriend to use it but he refuses. I told him he needs a stool stool. Yes, I’m a geek w a weird sense of word humor.

Or just turn the waste basket on its side. Empty it before you start. No additional device needed to clutter up the bathroom.

This is pushing it in terms of "$200 or less" but a bidet toilet seat.

I'm not talking about the sprayer attachment you see in some countries (which is very welcome when a new type of food doesn't agree with you, TBH), and I'm not talking about the cold water butt blasters that sell for $30 at Home Depot.

I'm talking about:

  • Heated seat
  • Cold to warm water controls
  • Multiple jet speeds
  • Nozzle placement
  • Warm air dryer
  • Air filter to mitigate how bad your poops make the bathroom smell

I found a Biobidet BB-1600 for a deal - $199 and once I installed it, it was game changing. I can't picture life without one. When I travel, it's terrible because I have clogged hotel toilets trying to get obsessively clean.

My parents learned that I bought one. They bought three. Then we had to go to another state for a funeral. They vowed to never travel again to places that don't have butt-washers.

Plus - as they get old, it'll keep them slightly more independent. My grandma, in her final years, had to ring a bell to get someone to wipe her. It's humiliating. To just perform this action with a touch of a button - that's pretty cool.

I just got a bidet addon for my toilet, it cost me like 20 bucks. I'd wager the major difference is mine isn't heated nor can i control where the nozzle is pointing. It's basically just hose in my toilet that sprays up and cleans me but it's fricken magical

I never really find the warm air dryer to be effective. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong, but I just have a stack of cheap cotton washcloths for drying. Also, having warm air blowing on my anus is just really creepy.

It does a nice job pre drying your butt. I notice that I just need to dab it dry instead of mopping it all up

If you go target shooting very often, a good pair or electronic earmuffs is incredible. They block out anything over 80 Db or something but have speakers and will play anything under that into your ears.

They can enhance hearing too. Handy for eavesdropping.

Can you recommend a particular brand and model? I'd like to buy for my bf

I use the Howard Leight Impact Sports and I really enjoy them. I double muff my ears often since it gets pretty loud where I shoot, so I put the little earplugs in my ears, then put the impact sports over my ears and then turn the volume all the way up. It muffles the gunshots pretty much completely, but I can hear people speaking at a normal tone easily.

Thank u so much

If you've got a bit more to spend, the MSA Sordins are absoutely fantastic. Much more comfortable than the Impact Sports for all day wear, and provide a better seal - especially when used in conjunction with different eye protection.

I have heard fantastic things about these, but I’ve never had a chance to try them out myself. If you have the money, I would definitely go for this pair over mine just from what I have heard from those who have them, but for the price mine can be hard to beat. Bool_upvote makes a great point about eye protection. The Howard Leights can be uncomfortable with eye protection for some people, especially for extended periods of time.

Howard leight sport impact or 3m peltor sport range gaurd are both reasonably priced ($35-50 depending on sales). The sport impacts are what I see most commonly recommended but I think the 3ms are more comfortable personally.

Walker's razor. Was gifted them for Christmas and now I can't live without them. They are low profile so they don't interfere with the stock on shotguns/rifles, dual microphones for hearing (super sonic bat hearing levels if wanted lol!) can plug a 3.5 jack into them for musical accompaniment and it completely neutralizes unwanted noise such as gunshots or the new owner smacking 2x4s together to test them. They are pricey but I can say I won't be buying bags foamies anymore.

I think custom molded ear plugs with mechanical filters are even better.

Does that mean when I shot and fart other just hear fart?

Yeah something like that

I read this as target shopping and spend forever trying to figure put what's so noisy about shopping at target.

Instructions unclear, not allowed in Target anymore...

The problem is we shoot on gravel so all I ended up hearing is super Amplified walking on gravel noises. They are nice though.

I got a pair for Christmas so I've only been able to walk on snow so far. Yes it's loud but being able to talk to people while shooting it's pretty nice

So it blocks out anything above 80 but allows in anything under that? Or am I misunderstanding?

You are correct, if the microphone on the outside detects something too loud, it will shut off and not play it through to your ears

Aaaah, it all makes sense. I thought it had some sort of special buffering material, but it's literally an electronic system. That's fascinating.

A condom

Wouldn't that be more life-stayingthesamey?

I kept popping out a baby every year or so, was on maternity leave for 9 years. Then I got condoms, and it was absolutely life changing. I'm not constantly pregnant anymore! I had my first drink in a decade.

But for real I'm kind of drunk sorry if this story was terrible

The story was great until your drunken admission.

It was the Drano talking.

¯\(ツ)/¯

I met a woman who was new at work. I introduced myself and said so how long have you been with us for now. She snappily replied '4 years' - I found out later she'd been on maternity leave pretty much the whole fucking time.

Just sell your kids for scientific experiments.

guess some places in Africa yes, to prevent AIDS

Can this be the word of the year?

No, it wards off something that would make life worse.

Come to think of it, my vasectomy cost less than $200.

gonna hijack this and say IUDs are literally the greatest shit in the world

"Brock I'm all out of condom."

“The Rigid Ghost.” That’s the best damn rubber on the market. I…I got four of my seven illegitimate children using this condom.

a kindle

If you have a library card, you have access to tons of books, movies, and comics with the Hoopla and Overdrive apps. Christmas came early when I saw that Marvel FINALLY put some comics on there to compete with the all the Rebirth stuff DC has on there. And it's all free!

I held off a long time on getting one. Now wouldn't do without it. Great for travelling, reading in bed, having lots of books at your finger tips. Lots of free books, can get books from the library. If you like to read. It's a must.

How can you get books from library on the kindle??

Fun fact: you can unlock any kindle with a default password that I forgot! (I'm pretty sure it's 111222777)

TIL that Kindles have a password.

I must try this on my roommates kindle.

???

Why would he have it locked?

It also factory resets it, don't do that

Or do, I don't care

I have a Kobo, but ereaders are fucking awesome if you want to carry less than 600 pages and a book around at the same time. I have no idea how people read on tablets.

Or for reading at night. The backlight is way better than a flashlight.

How do you like the Kobo?

I love it, I don't get books any more. It's a little overpriced for what it offers now, but back when I got it, it was the only one that offered pdf, epub, Kobo epub, and a ton of different formats. Granted, the pictures look like crap because it's eink, but that would happen on any e screen if they supported it, which they didn't. It also supports text files. I used it for the txt a lot in school by typing up a study guide and then an answer sheet and writing down my answers on a separate paper, then going to my Kobo answer guide, because I don't like staring at screens and reading for a long time. I have the H2O now (insurance got me the newest model when I lost my last one, not related to anything Kobo), which is water resistant, so you can read it in a hot tub on vacation or at the beach and not worry about it.

The Kobo epubs cost a little more, but they're so worth it. They don't give you an overall page count of where you are in the book, instead it breaks it up into chapters (eg. 5 of 36). It's eliminates the rummaging through to see whether it's worth you finishing the chapter or it you have a while to go, which is huge for a slow reader like me. But it gives you the percentage of the way though the book you are. I found this kind of odd until I realized that I like to read at a smaller font size and I used that on a normal epub. When you can change the size of text, the number of the pages changes, so it's all kinda arbitrary, rather that dealing with the having you possibly read two pages in one page or you having a edited number of pages in your book, it tells you how far you are in the book. Which is plenty good for me. It also calculates roughly how long you have left in reading the book based on how fast you've been reading. I don't find that useful, but it's cool.

If you want to read something that isn't from their site, you can use the desktop app, I'm sure of it, but I don't know how, so I use an SD card to make it easier. That's the only downfall.

Anyway, I love it. As I said, the backlight on any ereader is really what makes me love it, but all of them have that now.

Yes! I just got mine for Christmas!

I really want an e ink tablet for both books and terminal use... The only thing I have found was a dude that run Debian on a kindle

I'm not sure what you plan on using it for with terminal use, or if you've used an E-Ink screen before. But my kindle paper white's screen is a slow refresh and I honestly would hate to use it for anything other then reading books.

Maybe they've advanced e-ink since i got my paper white, or maybe you're down with the refresh rate and regular "flash" refreshes that clear what get stuck. But if you haven't used an e-ink screen before, I would recommend getting one in your hands before you proceed with any plans to use it for anything other then reading. They are great for books, but I would hate to have to use one for anything else.

Or any other brand, KOBO is great as well.

I prefer the kobo ereaders. There support was awesome (which compared to amazon is saying something). I can sideload books easier and the release time on books is shorter

What do you mean by sideloading books easier?

Fleshlights are pretty neat

[deleted]

You must have weak pull out game.

Yeah man, you always gotta pull out just in case you get it pregnant

What would come out of a pregnant fleshlight?

^^^^^^more ^^^^^^fleshlights

Who fucks those though? You'd have to give your children to your friends to fuck. I don't like this train of thought.

You could put firecrackers in them and film them in slow-mo

Please don't have kids.

Put firecrackers in the kids and film it in slow-mo

Please don't have kids.

put the firecrackers in...you?

And film it in slow-mo.

Now we’re cookin!

For that reason, I have only used mine a handful of times. (Get it?)

It’s like “yea, but then I’ll have to clean it.”

i think you meant https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/autoblow-2-a-robotic-oral-sex-simulator-for-men#/

I remember my first fleshlight, the gimmick was that it looked like a flashlight so you could hide it easier. The thing was massive and more of a pain to store than anything.

I recommend an onahole for, uh, easier storage.

Too small, the opposite of what I'm after if I'm trying to avoid death grip.

r/heyeveryoneIhaveabigpenislookatme

r/bigdickproblems is more appropriate.

deathgrip isn't a laughing joke when it comes to sexual partners.

r/bigdickproblems is more appropriate.

deathgrip isn't a laughing joke when it comes to sexual partners.

A cast iron pan. It's just a bit under $20, and makes a world of a difference compared to any other thinner-walled pan.

Heavy as fuck, but the pros are worth it. nothing sticks to it at all, heat distribution is very very good, easy to clean.

Looks like I'm an order of magnitude under budget here. With the remaining money you can buy a comfortable knife (doesn't have to be some branded knife) and sharpening stones. A sharp knife makes prep work a breeze.

I second this thought. Once you go cast iron, you'll never go back

Cast iron pan is amazing. I hardly ever even use my grill anymore unless I'm cooking for more than 3-4 people.

No one ever believes that I cook with 97% lean and deer burger because everything stays so juicy.

Upvote for deer burger.

I mix in par-cooked bacon bits and oatmeal with a bit of ground beef chuck to my venison to hold it together. How do you do yours?

Also, add thyme. It works perfectly with deer.

Sometimes I'll fry up some bacon, make homemade bacon bits to mix in and then cook the burgers in the bacon fat which is always fun.

I rarely add beef to my deer burgers though.

Last night I made a burger for the first time that I highly reccomend if you like garlic. Made 8 approx 3-4 oz very thin patties. Then put some fresh cheddar and minced garlic in the middle of 4 of them. Took the other 4 and put it on top and crimped in the sides to make a cheese/garlic stuffed burger. Season with whatever you like on the burgers, ripping hot pan and basically just sear both sides. Toasted garlic butter buns. Serve with some spinach leaves on top for color.

Can't recommend enough.

I'd buy a lid and a handle cover for it instead.

Do you mean a cast iron lid or a glass one?

I've never really considered that, what additional kind of cooking can you do having the lid?

They make glass ones and cast iron lids. I'd get a cast iron lid if I needed one for the oven.

cast iron pan

You just sparked my next obsession!

Even better, it doesn't have to be an expensive obsession (unlike phones, cameras, make up, skiing). A cast iron pan is extremely low tech, durable, simple commodity. You just need one reasonably sized one, and it can be your workhorse for many years to come.

Maybe if you have a family and you sometimes cook a lot and sometimes less. Then 2 sizes may make sense.

Although obsession in using the pan may happen hah.

Ceramic pans are also really good and roughly the same price. I find that I use my cast iron pan and ceramic pan roughly in equal measure. (It all comes down to the specific taste I want. Eggs seem to do better in the ceramic and meats tend to do better in the cast iron.)

A nice hammock, tarp, sleeping bag, under blanket, and cook set.. I love going off on the odd weekend with a couple of mates and disappearing in to the wilderness.. really can do wonders for body and mind..

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True.. but I think most beginners would start hammocking in the summer so you wouldn’t need under blanket.. and it is a hobby that you do always want to buy the more expensive, lighter equipment..

Really? I have a eno doublenest with atlas straps ($90) plus a rainfly from amazon ($20) and a bugnet from amazon ($15) and a $40 sleeping bag. I’ll admit it’s not the best sleeping bag, but I’m sure you could do better then this with some effort.

Where I live, you have maybe a month to go camping if you don't want to freeze to death inside your $40 sleeping bag.

Remind me to never visit wherever you live

Yeah. I regularly use a very nice marmot bag, but depending on the weather, something different may be a good idea

I spent 50 on a 15 F rated bag

Huh. Where I'm from camping is not really possible at winter so it's only done at summer. I've got a ticket to the moon hammock that's made out of parachute fiber, weighs nothing and goes to very small package. It works perfectly. Sleeping bag would be the most expensive part but at summer you'll be fine with pretty light one and then this one of the biggest military surplus stores in europe close to me has everything else needed. I'd say my setup cost less than 100 euros and it's absolutely wonderful to sleep in and doesn't weigh shit

Use a underquilt. It will trap the heat coming off your body so the cold doesn't just go through the hammock at night. Paired with a small air pad and sleeping bag, you can sleep in very cold temps in a hammock. I have slept through subfreezing temps with this setup. For a little warmer setup, I just attach a second cheapo hammock underneath the one I am sleeping in to block the wind.

Probably won't happen. It gets easily around -15c with snow at nights here, but thanks for the tip! Maybe it'll help me some day on my travels for sure.

I wouldn't call my kit optimized for cold by any stretch of the imagination, but with

ENO Doublenest Patriot $60

ENO Rainfly $50

Ozark Sleeping Bag $15

A Warm Fleece Blanket (Free, large fleece already at my house, and I imagine most people have something that'd work)

Greenlight Outdoor Hammock+Offbrand Atlas Strap combo $30

at ~$155 it leaves a bit of flexibility for the beginner to start hammocking very well under $200, and if they're willing to go a bit above, then there's a lot of potential.

For that matter, the hammock as a sleep system craze needs to chill out. The nostalgia or allure of them is far stronger than their ability to provide a entire night of comfortable sleep.

You've gotta kick yourself out diagonally. It will flatten you out and makes the hammock not so U-shaped. I only sleep well in my hammock and my tempurpedic.

I've been camping with hammocks for 15 years, thanks.

I've been camping with hammocks for 15 years

I'm sorry they're too mainstream for you now.

I'm sorry you feel the need to be douchey to random people on the internet for no reason. You must have a very little or a lot going on in your life.

Why have you been sleeping in a hammock for 15 years when you can't get an entire night of comfortable sleep? Also, my suggestion was for all hammock people, thanks.

I didn't say I can't get a night's sleep. I said most people can't. I know this from how often I have to lend out my gear to people who give up their crunchy dreams for a sleeping pad.

Most people don't know how to a) hang a hammock properly, and b) sleep in it at the right angle.

The majority of South America have been using a hammock as their sleep system for hundreds of years. There are definite benefits to a hammock, if you're sleeping alone. When there's two of you, it's not as comfortable since I like to sprawl out.

One of my co-counselors this past summer had a "4-person" hammock that was absolutely enormous, maybe that'd be more your speed for either yourself or two.

I have a large woven hammock from Yucatan, Mexico that fits 4, it just isn't as comfy since you can spread out from each other. I always feel like we're on top of each other, and not in a good way.

Classic Reddit comment response: one part misunderstanding, two parts irrelevant pedantry.

I try to be consistent.

Where are you getting all of that for $200?

Oh yeah it's easily $200 for each item.

Definitely with the qualifier "nice." That becomes like $600 minimum...

there's four places. There's the Hammock Hut, that's on third, there's Hammocks-R-Us, that's on third too. You got Put-Your-Butt-There, that's on third. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot... Matter of fact, they're all in the same complex; it's the hammock complex on third.

Oh, the hammock district!

If you dont live near valid wilderness this is tough. Its appealing but i dont think theres but a couple of places around where i could entertain that without trespassing or paying for public access.

I also stash the bodies in the wilderness

Shhh don’t give us campers secrets away.

Good lighting

A proper toilet plunger. Most people own a sink plunger. Look it up.

I used to have one that had CO2 cartridges and would basically blast the clog away.

That sounds like it would risk destroying your pipes that arn't made for that kind of pressure.

Most toilets can take a punch, I've had one of those co2 plungers for awhile now, never had an issue.

Uhh... Link?

I found a Reddit thread discussing it, this isn't the one I had but seems to do the same thing https://www.reddit.com/r/INEEEEDIT/comments/6p3kri/compressed_co2_plunger/

Edit: Here's the one I used to have https://www.homedepot.com/p/VPC-Kleer-Drain-Opener-KD100/203001423

Won't that spray shit and piss everywhere?

Asking the pertinent questions here...

It never did, although it recommended covering other drains in the bathroom just in case some water blew back.

Just get a box of M-80s.

To clarify, if you turn it business end up and it looks like a red doggy bowl, it's a sink (or tub) plunger. A proper toilet plunger has a flange, I think it's called. The difference is in the amount of air you're forcing through the pipes. The toilet plunger pushes more.

Or just use first world plumbing and go your whole life without ever touching a plunger.

Look at Mr. Fancypants and his dainty shits!

No this is all over Europe and most other places, proper pluming can even handle ausi shits.

It's the stupid siphon set up with the narrow soil pipe that clogs.

I live in the land of super sized food believe me there comes a volume of shit that cannot be handled by a normal toilet

I've been to the USA before, your toilets have a smaller trap way. It's only 2" wide on some models never more than 4". In the rest of the world it's 4" are even bigger in some places.

You need the upgrade.

This is a thread about $200 gadgets, not billion dollar infrastructure overhauls.

Replacing ones own toilet is not that expensive.

The pipes in many buildings can take it the trap is a bottleneck.

A electric toothbrush

Make sure to get the good ones that vibrate like a sonicare, not the $8 ones that move back and forward.

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I’ve had my DiamondClean about two years now and still works perfectly.

even the "only back and forward" are waaay better than a hand brush

You're meant to brush your teeth using a circular motion, not just back-and-forward or up-and-down (which are supposedly damaging to your teeth).

So, no, it's not "waaay better than a hand brush". It's worse.

Anything that isn't side to side is fine.

Unless you DO THE MARIO

Apparently the main advantage is they usually are timed to stop after two minutes, meaning when people use them they actually brush for two minutes and not "two minutesish"

I brush my teeth too long, my dentist told me to brush less :(

My dentist told me to stop groping her.

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sounds kinky

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you cant prove that i'm not!

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i just think the world needs more surprise drillings

I think you misspelled hot there.

I brush my teeth too hard and using one of those basically stripped my gums. My dentist told me to get a circular head electric toothbrush or don’t go electric at all.

Yep, proper brushing is more important than what toothbrush you have (but it's critical that you have a soft one). People forget that you're supposed to be cleaning your teeth and gums, not destroying them into bloody bits. Especially with the clean and straight white teeth craze in the U.S. right now. People are willing to mutilate their teeth because that white shine makes them feel healthy.

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One of us must have that tenth dentist.

I have an Oral-B toothbrush. A red light comes on if you press too hard.

I checked amazon canada. From sonicare, are these things actually $500?

It wouldn't surprise me if there was some crazy high grade one, but the average sonicare should be closer to $100, and you can get them, or similar style toothbrushes for cheaper.

I used to have one. It made me sneeze. I could feel the vibration in my nose.

It gives me vertigo!! I was dizzy all the time, couldn’t figure out why, stopped using my electric toothbrush and the dizziness went away. Same thing happened with a water pick.

Yeah, that makes sense. I get vertigo when my sinuses are congested. So vibrations rumbling through my nose... that could definitely make somebody dizzy.

It was pretty unsettling to say the least. I’m glad I figured it out and it cleared up on its own. I couldn’t imagine living like that all the time.

I get it pretty regularly. I can attest to its suckiness.

Dentist here. There are other types of electric toothbrushes. You may look into the Oral B one which uses mechanical rotation, not virbrations, so it may not tickle.

Eh, I'm pretty happy with my regular, man-powered toothbrush. Is there any benefit to the electric ones?

I have seen very few patients who are doing an excellent job with plaque removal with a manual toothbrush. That's not to say you can't do a good job, but there is some technique involved with brushing. For most people, the electric tooth brush helps them get better plaque removal (myself included, and I'm a dentist that knows how to brush properly). The modified bass technique is a good one, you may want to look it up and assess if you brush that way. Also floss once per day to disrupt the biofilm on the areas you aren't able to reach with your brush, since the bristles can't get into the interproximal area.

I'd like to add, those dental harps. They make flossing so much easier and faster.

Make sure you are still using good flossing technique, pulling the floss into a C-shape to kind of hug the side of the tooth. The goal is to disrupt the biofilm in the areas the brush bristles don't touch. Source: I'm a dentist

*Sum good grammer teachin’

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So buy an Oral-B base?

Take a French press camping, it's simple, makes great coffee and feels kind of fancy

Use it at home too!

What!?

It kind of looks like you're saying buy a French press to take on camping trips only.

I thought he was calling you a tool lol

I love using mine to make iced coffee. I make it at night. Letting the steep. Press it in the morning. No need to add ice cubes. And it’s amazing with condensed milk. Found they have a squeze bottle for it,La lechera makes it.

aeropress will change your life

How much for that fine French press sir? What's that? You want to barter for a very long time?

Or a stovetop bialetti moka express. I’ve used it over a tin can stove.

ELECTRIC KETTLE!~!!!

What sort of heathen doesn't own a kettle??

Americans.

OMG, I have seen the light, my British brothers and sisters. My life has been changed forever. Use to just microwave water but it would make the cup hotter than the sun and the water itself is just tepid.

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What is even the point of a kettle like that

They're cheap.

I have a $15 HotPot I keep at my desk at work. Yeah, it doesn't turn itself off, but it does the job.

That's at least the right shape though. I imagine it would be hard to cook in a kettle.

To wait for hot water?

Canadian, I would be nothing without my kettle. Nothing brightens my mood like a cup of hot chocolate after work.

The only electric kettle I've owned shut itself off. But it also didn't heat faster than a small pot on the stove, so I've lost track of it.

American kettles are about half the wattage of European ones, probably because of the lower voltage.

what the fuck?

ass backwards country.

American here with an electric kettle 🔥

Congratulations on joining the twentieth century :)

Yet another reason they were kicked out of the Empire.

You might want to recheck your history there. And Americans don't need kettles, we have harbors.

Oh we know. That time you used one and out the water in first is the main reason you got kicked out.

I'm not sure how they teach history over there in the UK, but it wasn't the British who kicked the US out of the Empire...

it was a joke

Yes, I'm aware. I was attempting to continue it. Much hilarity, or at the least mild amusement could have been had with a fake "argument" about who did what.

ok then, carry on. I'll step away and hope I haven't ruined it...

Damn Brits always ruining everything.

Just kidding, I still love you :).

Am American. Also have two electric kettles. Most friends do too. Do Americans really not have electric kettles? How else will they be able to live off ramen and oatmeal when staying at hotels?

Maybe I'm staying in the wrong places when I visit the states, but I've seen filter coffee machines more than I've seen kettles in hotel rooms.

I also know that my American colleagues in the UK think kettles are great. Maybe it's an elaborate joke like /r/newzealand and the gardens but the evidence suggests a lot of Americans don't have kettles.

A lot of Americans call them water boilers as well. Maybe a lot of Americans are saying they don't have kettles because they have water boilers. Even though it's the same.

Water boilers? I thought those were the things that provided hot water for showers.

We call those water heaters.

Makes sense. Except when my boiler is malfunctioning, it doesn't warm water above about 50 Celcius (whatever half way to boiling is in Freedom units).

Some of us Yankees prefer french pressed coffee.

But how do you get the water hot in the first place?

With the kettle, of course!

Confirmed. It took eight years to convince my wife of the ABSOLUTE NEED for a kettle.

She has since seen the light.

I would have just bought one in like week two of cohabitation unless the kitchen was so tiny that space is the limiting factor

Murrican here - have both an electric and a stove top kettle. I'm special!

Wife and I have decided we need one recently. Any recommendations for us Yanks? Is it worth having one with temp control or just boil? She likes tea and I like coffee in the French press.

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Would you really need to rewire it? A simple kettle (no electronics) is just a resistive heater element and temperature cut-off (often bimetallic strip based) which I think would work fine over split phase.

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OK. I thought you meant something about rewiring in the kettle, not the plug. I understand it may not be up to code, but what would be the problem with wiring phase 1 to live and phase 2 to neutral from a safety standpoint? In a normal appliance you should never come in to contact with neutral anyway, and always assume that neutral is dangerous.

Possibly a better way to do this would be to use the 2 phase supply, but wire it into a UK socket. That way it's clear that's its a 240V socket, and you could just wire both live phases to the sockets live and neutral and earth to earth and the kettle runs fine.

Just boil, the main thing to decide is capacity

Cool, thanks. 90+% of what I've found online and in store has all been 1.7 liters, so I guess that's what we'll get then.

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How long does it take realistically? Because a full kettle in Australia is like, 2-3 minutes.

I just filled my 1.7L electric kettle with cold water and 3 mins is what it took to boil and click off.....I'm in Canada so 120v but it's a quick boil kettle because I love love love my tea

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Ok ima add 'electric kettles are useless' to my list of reasons to avoid america. That's a pretty big one

They work fine. Have used several types over the years and no issues, boil in a couple minutes.

I really don't think it's a big deal to wait 3 minutes for water to boil.

The way the guy above and others were talking i was presuming like 7-10 minutes

Yeah, very hyperbolic!

Mine takes all of 3 minutes.

Just boil. If you need water less than boiling, either switch it off before it boils or add a little cold water or let it sit for a while.

I couldn't live without my instahot water faucet! Near boiling water at the push of a button. They run around $200 at Lowes but I'm sure they can be found for less.

American here. Can confirm. No clue what an electric kettle is.

It's just a kettle you put water in and put it on the stand and it heats up to boiling using electricity.

They drink a lot more tea than we do so it's pretty essential whereas we just have a coffee maker.

Pretty much what I assumed. I just put water in a mug and heat it up in the microwave.

It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again

You barbarian

ITS FAST OKAY

And you call yourself a chemist... For shame!

/s

Im not proud of this okay!

But what about if you're making cous cous or pasta or just about any other dish that requires boiling water?

I use a pot.

There was a "major scandal" a few months ago when some Aussie "journalist" discovered that Americans do not use kettles to boil water.

It was on TV, newspapers and radio.

WHAT THE FUCK DO THEY USE?

Most Americans don't drink tea, so kettles aren't really needed as much. Coffee makers will heat/boil the water needed for that.

American here:

Most of us don't drink tea that often. I, personally, like tea. When I make it, I use a saucepan on the stove to heat the water to boiling.

Yes, I know it makes the water too hot. No, I don't care.

Also, electric kettles here suck. Our 110V power system isn't as glorious at boiling water, so it takes a while, even in a kettle. We had one at the office, and it would take about 5 minutes or so to get the water hot.

That's not too hot. Black tea ought to be made with water that's just been boiling. Green and white teas are the ones that you're supposed to do at lower temps.

I don't know why people keep talking about slow boiling times, either. I'm an American, I have a $15 Sunbeam HotPot at my desk at work, and it gets to boiling in under three minutes.

I splurged and bought a programmable kettle. I can set it to the temperature I want, and have it keep it at that temperature for up to 20 minutes. The kettle itself is wireless, but it runs on a wired base.

I love it.

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I've been told that boiling is too hot for tea, and that it doesn't steep properly; that it should be around 195F or so.

They use water from a bucket. Even in an expensive "Western" hotel in the bathroom is a bucket to wash your bum, as well as toilet paper.

I've never seen a "bucket to wash your bum". I think you've been horribly misusing the ice bucket.

That says so much about each respective country.

Bloody yank barbarians.

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No, like what constitutes news here in australia. And how we think our countries are similar but have all these weird, small differences. And how Americans don't understand tea.

People who own stoves and have 110V outlets in their homes.

How the heck does one clean a kettle?

water + vinegar, boil, rinse, repeat 2 or 3 times, then do it again next year.

Or just dont ever, i cant tell the difference.

The heating element will get scales if water is hard at all which reduces efficiency so it is good to do if you start to notice those scales building on the element...

I have never looked inside my kettle, but I'd presume there would be some there because it's like 3 years old. Still boils a full load in 2-3 minutes

American here. I’ve never had one. But have read that our don’t get as hot and as fast as other countries can due to the electric sockets or something.

So I usually make tea and such on the stove. And I have microwaved water in a mug for tea as well.

oh wow, UK here and I don't think I've ever seen a household without an electric kettle in my 22 years of existence.

American here and Ive never even seen an electric kettle before.

You have... it’s called a keurig lol.

Im poor so no I havent lol.

That's what I use on the RARE occasion I make hot tea, just the Kourig without a K-cup. I don't think I understand what an electric kettle is...I used to have one for the stove but never used it.

Bought one at Lidl and it's definitely worth it

Only ever saw one on Sherlock

Just reading this comment thread is making me irrationally confused and angry that kettles aren't commonplace like they are here in the UK

A lot of people I know heat up water in a mug. In a microwave.

Which I’ve done. But not with a tea bag inside.

Uk here, we switched to a gas kettle recently. Takes a lot longer, but the electricity bill was reduced by like a third (and gas is much cheaper) . We drink a lot of tea.

Canadian here. I love our kettle. Yes, we don't get the amperage that the Brits get with theirs, but it's still fairly fast. And auto shut off if you forget it.
I even have a small one for hotels when travelling as I drink tea, not coffee, and tea out of a hotel coffee pot is discusting.

Eww, I wouldn't even drink coffee out off a hotel coffee pot...

Also American, I just bought one a couple months ago and I can’t go back to the pot on the stove now. I got the kitchenaid one with temp hold and settings to change the temp which is great since I drink a lot of tea and coffee. I can do 2 cups of boiling water in just a couple minutes, about half the time of my stovetop.

UK has 230 volt power, standard - US is 120 volt. Kettles heat faster on 230. Not worth the wait for us.

This is only partially true. You can heat the same speed with 120 volts, you just need more amps and those can get to dangerous places for humans if you do.

UK power is 230 volts x 13 amps = 2990 watts. USA power is 120 volts x 15 amps = 1800 watts. In order to heat at the same rate in the USA you would need a 25 amp circuit, to get the same total watts, which you won't find. The power cord probably isn't rated for that either. There are 20 amp circuits in existence, but they are not commonly in your kitchen. They would be for dedicated circuits in a shop or garage most often.

Are you just explaining further what I said or are you somewhere in there disagreeing with something I said?

Explaining further.

Couldn't I have asked the same thing of you when you stated that my answer was "only partially true"? It was, and there was more to the explanation, in that you CAN'T get those additional amps you refer to. That's all.

All of my family uses kettles daily. They aren't as quick as in the UK but they work better/quicker than any other method.

As someone who makes a lot of pasta, noodles, and tea, I don't know how the fuck survived without one before. Plus, if a drain is going slow, I just pour some boiling water in it and voila!

Here in the Netherlands it's almost socially unacceptable to not have an electric kettle or as the dutch call it: a waterboiler (freely translated).

yESSSSS this changed me forever I drink a lot of tea/coffee & it also is good for starting water on the stove faster than in a pot on a burner.

American here - electric kettles are one of the most underrated gadgets here in the states. Yeah, it takes a bit of extra time to boil the water compared to kettles in Britain, but it also takes a good deal less time compared to my old method of prepping water - boiling water on a stove in a saucepan.

I understand why they're more of a niche here - broadly speaking, our tea tends to be served iced - but personally speaking, it's hard to imagine any kitchen without it now.

With 110v electricity, I got tired of the time it took to boil a kettle, I bought a water boiler and warmer. It's basically an electric Samovar. It boils 4L of water and then keeps it at 98C (208F). So long as I keep it topped up it seems to use no more electricity than boiling a kettle, letting it cool and boiling it again.

Yep. I moved to the continent and was baffled that they aren't a presumed household thing here, despite us drinking tea a lot. We still don't have one at home (boiling on the hob still seems bizarre to me but I'm used to it now) but I had to get one for work just to have a cuppa when I need one.

Sounds a bit odd/middle aged/middle class...BUT.

A Bread Maker. I was eating so much crap from shop bought, pretty tasteless, empty carb bread. I now wake up to fresh bread where I have complete control over what goes into it, and therefore what I, my wife, and our various house guests/visitors eat.

It sounds stupid, but try it and you'll be amazed. Pick them up cheap ($40), or get a top of the range one (still under $200).

When I got my first house my father gave me his old bread machine that is at least 30 years old.

I bake a new loaf every week and can taylor it to what our tastes are.

Also, be sure to use semolina within the mixing process. It is the best!!

Can I say a garlic press? It was absolutely life changing because I love garlic but hate the preparation of such for a dish. All I have to do is crush it in this little hand held contraption that’s no more than $20.

Wait, don't you still have to peel it first? That's the part that I can't stand as the skin always sticks to my hands and the knife and it takes forever.

Peel it? Like, remove the dry outer layer? Just lay it flat on the counter or cutting board and give it a good whack or smoosh it a bit with the flat of a knife. Outer layer just pops right off with minimal effort.

Put it in a closed container (tuperware, two bowls) and shake vigorously. It just comes off.

You can do without peeling, I do it all the time and have never noticed peel

With my dollar store press, if you leave the peeling on it is retained inside and the garlic shoots out. You just have to take the peeling out and toss it. It wastes some garlic, but at least you don't get stinky fingers.

Get one that’s easy to clean though. I’ve got the Zyliss Suci 3 it’s got a cleaning attachment that quickly gets out all the skin and stuff that gets stuck in it, plus it can fit like 3 cloves at once!

I've started buying frozen garlic. It comes pre-chopped, and because it's frozen straight away, doesn't seem to lose much/any quality. I end up spending about the same amount on garlic, but without any wastage - if I go a week or two without using any, it's still just sitting in the freezer, ready to go.

Same I also like the jar one.

My worry with the jar is leaving it long enough for botulism to grow. At least with the freezer, I feel like that's incredibly unlikely.

Yeah good point but I think it's mixed with olive oil which let's it keep well anyway :)

Yeah, that's about my one concession to buying pre-prepared produce.

I sometimes buy pre-peeled garlic that comes in a bag that lasts a good month or so from a local grocery store. I don’t always like crushing my garlic so it’s perfect.

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"Wash" your hands with lemon juice after you handle garlic and the smell disappears. Game changer. (Then wash your hands normally so they don't get all sticky)

Honestly I know it sounds a bit weird, but I wear disposable gloves when prepping garlic.

Stainless steel neutralises the smell. Try vigorously rubbing a stainless steel spoon with your fingers and the smell disappears

You can also use any good knife with a wide blade to crush it. Place it under the blade, edge against the table. Maintain the knife firmly as you smash it with the palm of the other hand. Insta crushed garlic 😀

I used to use pressed garlic, now I mince it with a slap chop, love minced garlic.

I definitely need to get one of those.

I never got the point, it's really not remotely hard to smash it yourself and dice it

See, those things are a god damn nightmare. The peel gets stuck every time and it takes like 12 cloves of smashing to get any reasonable amount. I just buy the pre-chopped garlic in a jar.

12 cloves? Jesus fuck man what are you putting 12 cloves of garlic in? Are you cooking massive meals? Do you have like 16 children you're cooking for?

Hyperbole, but those things still suck. I thought it would make me want to use fresh garlic instead of the stuff from the jar. Not so much.

A Bicycle.

In terms of value - excercise, its effect on mental well-being, a sense of freedom, energy efficiency, sustainability and sheer joy of use - little else comes close, IMHO.

I love cruising around effortlessly on a warm spring day and knowing that I'm using not one drop of gasoline and having no environmental impact whatsoever!

A bidet. We sprung for one with heated seat and water temp control after our Trip to Japan. They have it figured out.

This is the thing I hat3 about my current one, no water temp control so in winter it's like Olaf is squirting my chocolate donut. Which did you buy and what did you do for installation?

The brand in Canada is clean touch and you have to run a t splitter and additional hoses. Wasn’t isn’t but is still DIY

I realize you are now above sifting through shit, but link please?

You could just google "clean touch bidet" instead of waiting until OP gwets vaxck to answer... Google is your friend.

Who are you quoting?

Wayne Gretzky

-Michael Scott

Haha omg Yes! Dropped $40 on the squatty potty brand bidet on Amazon after major surgery (twisting was hard). It feels wonderful, but Jesus, it's not pleasant right now with outside temperatures below freezing. Wish I had spent more for a heated option!

It's bracing. Suck it up, cupcake.

I fucking squirted Pepsi through my nose at your comment!

$200???

https://morningsave.com/deals/biobidet-uspa-4800-electric-bidet-seat-w-warm-water-heated-seat-touch-remote-1

This one is pretty full-featured for $200. Heated seat, heated water, remote etc

This is the one we have. Love it, and it was super easy to install.

Can you recommend any in particular?

Spent a month recently in Argentina & Uruguay, and bidets are everywhere there, as well. Highly underrated!

I definitely misread this as "A baby" and was then confused.

A rope

They said life-changing, not life-ending

[deleted]

NAME ONE THING YOU'RE GONNA NEED A FOOKIN' ROPE FOR.

Trying your boat to the dock.

To tie up your SO

To tie up hostages

To allow you use a manakins hands like a puppet to masturbate.

It's over, Manakin, i have the high ground.

This guy ropes!!

You deserve gold.

As someone who unironically carries around 25 feet of rope in his bag whenever going places,

  • Impromptu belt, that was an interesting day.

  • Keychain after a friends keychain broke

  • Hanging Shit from ceilings

  • Lowering things from higher places without throwing them.

And I keep a four foot length separately to tie knots with when I am bored.

I'm moving in two weeks and need to tie stuff down. I also have tie down straps so we'll see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy8_gFPzS7U

"This is the police, grab a hold of this rope"

Just as easy as it can save life, it can also end it

It'll change your life for the rest of your life

Paging r/me_irl

Well for those of us whom are alive, it would be life changing too.

well, to be honest, life ending is pretty life-changing

Well, for Paul Logan it is going to be pretty life-changing (hopefully)

Also not a gadget.

I use it to escape caves and stuff when I really don't want to battle the wildlife.

You and your stupid, fucking rope!

But.. But... Charles Bronson...?

(I was quoting the Boondock Saints)

Go back and watch it, you'll see what I mean.

Yeah, he's always got a lot of rope strapped around him in the movies, and they always end up using it.

You don't fuckin' know what you're gonna need it for, they just always need it.

Charlie Bronson's always got rope

Hey Fuck-Ass! Gimme a beer!

Charlie Bronson’s got a rope... and they always end up using it.

now thats two sound theories in one day neither of which involve abnormally sized men...kinda makes me feel like riverdancing...

I need to go rewatch that

I killed your cat you druggie bitch!

I can't get a pack of smokes without running into nine guys you've fucked!

I'll get my rope. I'll get it.

You and your fucking rope! This thing must weight thirty pounds!

Does the Logan Paul vlog appearance cost extra?

I'm going to hell.

Maybe not rope, But a Giant Ball of Twine. In a house full of crafty things and mishaps and inventions of dubious quality, not to mention my gardening habits, having and knowing where the giant ball of twine and pair of scissors are is a lifesaver more often than not.

No, a big ass rock.

"Changing" not hanging.

every DnD character I ever made had 50' of silk rope, definitely life saving.

Silk, eh? Look at mister fancy pants here.

Back in my day, we used hemp. And we liked it!

always paid extra for the silk since it's so much lighter, I often played characters who's main focus was not strength, and encumbrance adds up quick.

I wasn't really bring serious. Also I've never had a dnd game where people paid attention to encumbrance.

anyways, hemp products are for hippies XD

Just make sure to put a few points into climb.

found Logan Paul's porn account

. . . and a footstool.

But what if I don’t trade?

I want to hear more about Sam

Military spec paracord(11-strand ~600lb test) Lighter and stronger than rope. You’re welcome.

A rope? I probably have at least 10 ropes. My son and recently went rappeling down a 50 foot cliff. Lots of fun.

I keep 100ft high quality rope in my car. I was helping a buddy move not to long ago and we found ourselves needing to bring his mattress up through a third story window. I went out grabbed my rope and all was well. The three other guys I was with were still dumbfounded by why I had so much rope in my car and plenty of kidnapping jokes were made. All I can say is a toolkit and rope are two things I never leave home without. Not to mention random times at parks where someone doesn't wanna hold their dog... Tie em to a tree. It's not hard.

A little late, but as a breastfeeding mother, a haakaa (catches let down from the other side while your child feeds) You won't believe how much milk you would otherwise lose and how much it actually ends up helping your supply without over doing it. I have a pretty solid stash saved. No extra time pumping, more sleep for me. Every breast feeding mom should have one.

I wish I had known about this! I leaked SO much while I was breastfeeding. I constantly soaked my shirts through the first year!

Thanks for reminding me i needed one of those for my registry!

And a breastfeeding pillow that wraps all the way around your waist and snaps. Not just for breastfeeding but just feeding and holding your baby. It was priceless for me when my son was little. :)

Hitachi Magic Wand

I’ve seen that several times in this thread and I’m not entirely sure what it is but based on the context of other comments I’m scared to google it

It's a "back massager".

Edit: I think i corrected the word.

it sends messages to your back that your butt is being fucked.

If you touch it with your bare hand and you aren't a Bright you immediately explode.

You should replace the name of the movie by "one in a million" ;)

It’s a ladies best friend

Men can use it too!

The taint is a magical place indeed.

Its the only way to be a true Wizard

Or any vibrator really. I'm surprised at the number of women who have never had an orgasm before.

bought one for my girlfriend to spice things up a bit, and I can say that it's awesome. I can just lay there and she turns into a quivering mess within minutes!

Bought one for my ex-fiancée and she said it burned/overheated her ladybits.

Is that why she's your ex-fiancè?

No, she was manipulative and said some things to me that I didn’t like.

You just described every gf I ever had ^^^^and ^^^^^my ^^^^^^wife.

I bought my wife a vibrator, a nice one, a few years back. we've only used it maybe 3 or 4 times as she says she doesn't like it. It "vibrates her whole body". Having that information, is it even possible that she'd enjoy a hitachi magic wand?

Bose QuietComfort 25 headphones. Sure they have a cord, but they’re only $180 (instead of ~350 for the Bluetooth ones) and if you frequently use public transport, they’re a miracle.

QC headphones seriously have turned economy flying into a first class experience for me. When you have to take them off when the food comes around, you really notice all the noise you've been missing out on.

Oh dang, there's a use case I never thought of. Do they also work OK with human speech? Like background noise in a cafe or office?

They work okay with something like speach. I use them in my office all the time. It does not filter it out 100%, but so much it won't bother you. If you play music/podcast at the same time. You never hear anyone!

If it has do both background noise filtering and human speech, i.e. on a plane. The speech goes through a little.

I love them. Worth the money. The newer versions have bluetooth as well!

Nice thanks! Have you heard of https://mynoise.net/ ? I use that site all the time, it's got tons of different noise generators and each one has a EQ curve that you can calibrate to your hearing curve (or to the environment you're in -- different curves for different types of noise) to mask background noise with the least possible volume. Also the soundscapes are just great. Highly recommended!

+1 on this website. I was using cheaper headphones in work and was using the speech blocker generator at low along with another generator and completely blocked out a lot of the background noise

Great. Thank you very much for the link. I will check it out!

Yeah the NC seems to work better when you have some music on. Like even some low volume stuff and you can hardly hear anything at all. I slept with a crying baby next to me on a flight with just some low volume music.

I have the QC30 but it pains me to no end because I live in a fairly humid country and I cant use these headphones even in our air conditioned buses and trains. :\ Only time I get to use them is either in office or taking the plane.

Sure that sounds good but why do you need 25 of them?

I made my own noise cancelling headphones out of the safety earmuffs the guys on airport runways use. Good shit, unless you happen to wear glasses. :/

Arduino starter kit.

What's this?

Edit: Thank you to all the people who responded and informed me of what Arduino is. I appreciate the responses. :)

It's a programable microcontroller, you can code them to do tasks, some simple example scripts are blinking LED's but are capable of much much more

Ah, I see. Thanks for the response.

It's pretty wild what some people do with them. Fully open source, great community. If you like tinkering, highly recommend:

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub

It sounds very underwhelming but I believe people have used them to create cheaper versions of those nest systems that run your lights and heating etc.

Think more basic version of pi without the os and coding and stuff

I just got one plus a sensor kit for Xmas. Can't wait to get started.

What kind of tasks? What makes it useful?

Passing butter

Well you can have it turn motors or servos, and you can have it look for a certain sequence of buttons on a number pad pressed to do something else, such as turn a motor or servo

Really not worth your time unless you have a fondness for circuits

You can make some pretty darn cool stuff with it if you wanted to though!

It's true. I have a mini arcade in my basement, complete with token machine. I don't actually want my friend's money to play games though, it's more for ambiance. My friend who's big on arduinos wired it up with an accelerometer and made it so you can Fonzie the machine to get tokens.

It's amazing.

Edit: it was semi-buggy when I first got it, the accelerometer function would for whatever reason cease to work after a few hours so I just unplugged/replugged... but this has been bothering my friend more and more. He's said when he moves later this month he's taking it back and re-wiring it: with wifi now because he's learned more about arduinos. I look forward to being able to tell my Google Home Mini "Hey Google, tokens" through IFTTT :)

Cool sounding project. Sounds like he's moved from arduino to esp8266/32.

Yeah, true. It’s just the opposite of fun for me. I hate creating things, it’s not how my mind works. My roommates are all engineers and they don’t understand this at all but I don’t see them shouting jeopardy answers at the screen with me so I guess to each their own

So you're advocating the abandonment of creativity in favor of watching game shows..

2/10, no improvement even with rice.

You might get a fondness for circuits by owning one.... I have used a pi to implement the HTCPCP though.

Had to look it up too. https://www.robotshop.com/ca/en/arduino-starter-kit.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAm7LSBRBBEiwAvL1-Lw7FmK0SXJ-YKBW9B9mVFtsABXk_EHlLBriHP6eHqgFyyryHBYu_JBoCKfEQAvD_BwE

Thanks. Any idea what it actually doea?

I made my Christmas light display with an arduino

also, a parking sensor for my garage

Lots of things in my house are powered by arduinos and similar microcontrollers

Holy hell those are awesome. My wife would love something like that at Xmas and the garage sensor would come in handy dandy diddly do o. What type of skill level do you need to pull those off?

Thanks! The coding for those two specifically takes a good amount of skill, specially the Christmas lights. I'm a software developer for a living. But that's the far end of the spectrum. There's so many things you can do with arduinos that a beginner could pick up quickly. And there's endless amounts of documentation and tutorials online. We love to help out at /r/arduino as well.

I approve of your makerness, but your holiday fest disgusts me.

But really, very nice!

Haha thanks!

You ever get into Arduino games? I've got some MAKERbuinos and Arduboys I gotta get into, but got a cheap starter pack of LEDs and such coming; Arduinos are just neat.

Never tried the games. Sounds cool

But you have a perfectly good tennis ball hanging from a piece of rope/string. In all seriousness, I just use the tennis ball and string method, though I have to say, the arduino in the garage is awesome. I'm thinking of getting a kit, but I honestly can't think of any use for it inside my home.

That parking sensor is awesome! I'm guessing since they're LEDs the power draw is minimal? I might ask a buddy of mine to see if he can do something similar.

It's not too much of a power draw. I'm using 5V 2A to power everything and it's plenty

http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Projects/

Whatever you make it do.

You know how they say washing machines and such like all contain computers nowadays?
This is one of those computers, in the form of a microcontroller chip, plus some extra circuitry to make life easier (USB port, LED to tell you it's turned on etc.)

Far from perfect, but I made this using one of those a while back.

It’s called a piezo, and I only know because it’s such a fun word. Piezo.

Had to buy one for a class I took. Looking for new projects to do with it. Thinking about making a garden with it controlling an auto waterer.

I made a remote control buzz bomb with my kit, I taped it under the dash in my mom's car and turned it on from a distance and watched her get confused as to why her car suddenly made an extremely loud buzzing noise.

Similarly I'm using a Raspberry Pi as a cool little retro emulator box for the TV and it's great.

I'm on a college network which doesn't allow port forwarding. I put a Raspberry Pi running an OpenVPN server at a friend's house and set it up to send all traffic on a given port to a remote computer so I can host stuff from inside the college network. I physically forwarded a port!

Yes! Even if you aren’t big on electronics, it is still a great educational toy. It’s like a logic puzzle you make for yourself. The damn things are addicting.

Wireless Headphones. They're great for watching TV or playing games, etc. in a shared house or apartment. Got some recently, and I love them. Its hard to find a good pair, though, but the ones I have are under $100.

Link to the ones you have?

Not OP, but I have a pair of Blue Ant Pump Zone headphones and they're amazing. I've never had it run out of battery for me and the distance is pretty good as well. It's also sweatproof which is nice because i can use it in the gym as well.

I dont remember the model but Skull Candy headphones are pretty damn good

Duuuude......i got a pair of skullcandy crushers wireless headphones for christmas and all I gotta say is the bass is fucking insane!!!! Almost like having a subwoofer in each ear. Gots to be the Best headphones at that price range in terms of bass and battery life I think

Mine are a bit more than 200 ($250 Maple Money) but I got a pair of wireless headphones for my Xbox and they are life changing. Great sound quality and the mic is great as well. Plus my wife doesn't have to listen to my games anymore, just me cussing out all these people who are better than me. Works great for late night gaming too!

If anyone is wondering I have the Turtle Beach Stealth 500x.

ChromeCast or Google Home Mini.

Chromecast is awesome. Cheap as hell and I use it constantly.

YouTube, music, screen mirroring phone (showing pics or broadcasting a movie mainly), and other apps straight to it.

I second Chromecast.

I don't really watch TV or anything but found it on sale for £25. Between Netflix, BT Sport and a PC->Chromecast streaming app I have its amazing. Best £25 I've ever spent, more than paid for itself

How do you mirror screen on the chromecast? I have a few movies on my laptop that I'd like to stream on the screen and can't find the way to do it. I have a mac, if that matters.

Download Chrome. Download Chromecast extension. Click little icon. Select your Chromecast and tell it to cast the current tab. It's really easy.

Thanks, that does sound easy. However, that works for browser viewing, right? What if I want to mirror my screen to view video files?

I have a Chromecast and, if you have the files on your computer, this is what I would recommend. It's an app called Videostream and you can connect it to a file folder on your computer and it will cast things from there. It will be better quality than sharing your screen and you'll be able to control it from your phone as long as your computer is on.

You can use "videostream" to stream hd movies from your harddrive to chromecast. Doesn't even lag me up when gaming since it's only using my wireless. Can also use "Web Video Caster" from phone to cast anything else that doesn't natively have a cast button aka random sports or TV streams.

Best purchase ever

Thanks a lot! I think that covers pretty much all my needs for now.

My MotoX has whole screen casting built in but that probably depends on what phone and flavor of OS you are running. I actually usually just use Solid Explorer to cast video files

I use an iphone that my company gave me, and something tells me there's not gonna be much support for Google from there. Hopefully wrong though!

There's another option when casting ("cast desktop" instead of tab.

https://www.howtogeek.com/199565/mirror-anything-from-your-computer-to-your-tv-using-google-chromecast/

Agree. Bought one for main TV couple years back, and soon I was watching Netflix, or sometimes Youtube, more often than regular cable. Bought another one for my other TV (bedroom upstairs). Works great.

came to say chromecast. But i knew it would already be here, so I used find and upvoted.

My SO bought me a Google mini for the kitchen and I love it. He ended up buying two more for the bedroom and garage.

What do you use them for? Long time Android/Google user and I like the tech but I'm not sure how I would use them.

It's great for doing things when your hands are full. I put one in my baby's nursery and it's a life saver. I put a chromecast on the TV in there and a smart light bulb in the lamp. So when I'm bringing him into the room, I don't have to adjust him in my arms to get a hand free to hit the light switch. Just walk in and tell the mini to turn on the light. And when I'm changing him and he's fussy, I can just tell the chromecast to turn on his favorite song or video on youtube.

It's made life so much easier.

I use it for music (I set up a speaker group so when I'm cleaning it plays through out the house), it reads me recipes while I cook, I can say "hey Google add milk to my shopping list" and it goes right to my phone. I can set timers and reminders.

My SO bought it for my because it is really hard for me to stick to one task and I can set reminders for myself.

There's a lot of other stuff too. My son likes asking it questions and playing games with it.

Edit: my SO uses his in the garage for music and also asking tech questions when he's out there working when he can't use his hands to search.

Our kids are gonna grow up in a a completely different world than us. The progress in the past 20 years is astounding.

I agree! I'm only 29, and my son is about to turn 4 but I'm just amazed at the changes from when I was growing up.

So many tech things that he knows how to use and is just used to them always being there that I would have never even imagined as a kid.

I dreamed of things like this as a kid. If kid me saw what I had now his head would explode. Now it's just normal everyday things to me.

Yeah, they can have robots in their house like Google Mini that listen to their commands and add milk to their shopping lists, it's awesome!

Yet they're arguably never going to be able to own or afford their own place, have a longer retirement age and they're fucked financially.

My 5-year-old nephew drove this point home, he asked "Uncle JVM, what's your other robot's name?"

We have a roomba, and just got a google home mini. He couldn't remember the "Ok Google" phrase. The roomba's name is Ike (Ike-a-roomba!)

My three year old daughter loves the Freeze Dance Game

Ooh! I'll check it out tomorrow!

[deleted]

Have you asked it?

a friend of mine got a google mini

i cant use it because due to accent it misstake things i say

They are constantly improving the voice recognition software plus with practice you will learn to say what you want so the thing can understand it. Accents will always be an issue however.

If you have your own it grows to recognize your voice. I have a minor lisp, but even further back when the voice recognition was just a phone thing it could recognize and understand me properly.

I don't really understand how the chromecast would answer tech questions. There is no real screen right? So does it just read the first Google result to you?

I think you’re confusing a comment about a google home mini with a comment about a chromecast. The home mini has a speaker in it and you can ask it questions, it will then look up an answer for you and speak it to you. The chromecast is something you plug into your tv so you can watch netflix, listen to Spotify, etc. on it. The chromecast would not be able to answer your questions.

That's correct. Like when I'm cooking I'll ask what's half of there quarters of a cup? Or something similar and it will tell me. He does the same thing with converting measurements, etc...

If it's a more complicated answer yes, she will read usually the first result.

Edit: this is for the Google mini, not the Chromecast :)

Agreed. Interested on how these are being utilized.

My BIL has one, uses it for music mainly. He also has a 1yr old son who when upset at times, instead of crying 'Mummy' or 'Daddy', will sob for Google.

Actually, I've just decided to buy one. - Hey Google, find my phone

www.android.com/find

Cool? Being able to say, "find my phone," from anywhere in my house and have it ring it is way more convenient to me than having to log in to my laptop and go to a website to do it though.

"Hey Google, play Black Mirror"

If you get the right lights/switches/outlets you can control lights and whatnot with it.

I replied to the comment above you :)

My mini and regular home are my voice controls for all of my "smart home" things. And since I have an Nvidia Shield TV console, it also controls my tv.

My boyfriend got one and also got smart light bulbs with it. So he can turn off the lights or adjust brightness which is so nice when you're cozy in bed. He also has the light set to slowly turn on in the morning before his alarm. And he uses it for the chromecast to play music or netflix.

Timers and music. Broadcast (like an intercom) to other rooms in the house. Starting my netflix show on the tv while my hands are busy doing the dishes. Finding out the time when I wake up without having to open my eyes.

The morning after Christmas. My mom, sister, brother in law and I played Mad Libs for like 2 hours.

Theirs also fun trivia games. It gives you fun nicknames. My 1st one was Big Cheese. Which is fitting because cheese is my favorite food ever.

It’s great for reminders. Timers. Etc.

[deleted]

"Hey Google, what games can you play?"

I'm currently having one of mine cast music to my Chromecast audio that is plugged into my 5.1 speaker set that doubles as my computer speakers. It's sort of a low-key home stereo set up for pretty cheap.

Firstly, Google Home acts as a physical Google Assistant. Whatever you use GA for on your phone should work on a GH.

Secondly, it's capable of controlling smart home devices. I have mine set up to control my TV through the HDMI CEC that Chromecast takes advantage of. I also have some Hue bulbs that I can control with my voice. They can be used with smart locks, thermostats, sensors, etc.

I have a few Sonoff switches plugged into lamps and one even plugged into my Christmas tree that I can control like my lights. I can use one to plug into any appliance technically to turn it into a smart toaster, teapot, whatever that I can use my GH for.

You can also use IFTTT with them to expand functionality even more. When my son was born we had to keep track of diaper duty and I set up IFTTT to record that in Google Sheets with my GH. There are better examples but that was what came to mind.

You can use it to call people. It also has a broadcast function that allows you to send voice messages to it from your phone. If I'm heading home, I can tell GA to broadcast "I'm on my way home" and my wife will here it on all 3 of my GH's around our house.

Other then that, it acts as a streaming device for Google Music, Spotify, Pandora, etc. It also works with HBO and Netflix. I can tell it to play Trailer Park Boys or The Office or Game of Thrones and it will turn my TV on and start at whatever episode I left off with.

It also acts as a timer for when you are making tea or cooking food. And it can set reminders and remind you when they come up.

There's a ton more that it can do but it sort of start to blend into your life rather then changing it all at once. You can ask it what your day looks like and it will tell you weather for the day, your upcoming calendar events and reminders, and then it will start playing news. I use this in the morning when getting ready for work.

visit /r/googlehome and /r/homeautomation for more if you are curious. But just be warned, home automation can become an addicting and expensive hobby.

I see these plugged all the time online but I have yet to meet a single person that has one in real life. It's weird and a bit creepy tbh.

I have a couple of friends who have them/similar devices. A close family friend just got one and we brought up the fact that it was always listening to her, and she goes "I've decided that nothing I say is really that interesting, so its OK"

Yes, it's always listening. For Syllables sounding similar to "Hey Google". And then it actually starts recording anything, after booting an entirely different computer to do prelim processing before sending anything to google. Stop being worried and realize that it's literally not worth it to listen to everyone who has one. Even for google.

But muh tinfoil!

It'll be happier where it belongs - In the recycling.

[deleted]

I don't get it, it's not like those things are difficult. Everyone I know isn't willing to put microphones belonging to data-centric megacorporations inside their homes for the very marginal utility provided.

But hey, if you like them. I've yet to meet someone as technophile as you in real life.

[deleted]

That is false.

That is false.

That is true. A phone knows everywhere you go. knows everything you search for. Knows everything you buy. A speaker knows you need milk when you go to the grocery store and that you like listening to 80s music

And also literally everything you say in its vicinity. So what every preference you have is and your daily schedule

That's not really how it works.

Yeah, it is. Just because it only triggers on certain words doesn't mean it isn't always listening and cataloging

phone vs home

camera: yes no

microphone yes yes

gps tracking yes no

biometrics yes no

Modern life pretty much demands I have one and it provides a fuckton of utility. The other... can play music and turn on the lights.

Bought one to go with my wifi thermostat and it's awesome -- the fact that it works with my pre-existing Chromecast is a bonus. Then I bought (but haven't set up) some pass-thru plugs and a second for my basement arcade so I can turn on the machines by voice as a party starts. Next will be a few replacement switches for my recessed lighting.

I've been slowly making everything in my house, "smart," over the past couple of months with Homes, plugs, switches, etc. One thing I can recommend is getting IFTTT for your phone. It sets up your phone so that it can send commands automatically when it does certain things. I have it set so that it turns on my living room lights and coffee maker when it connects to my home network. It's so great to come home and already have lights and coffee on. I can't recommend it enough.

They're great for controlling a Chromecast (Netflix, YouTube, etc). You can play music on your TV. You can show your pictures on your TV. You can ask it the weather. Ask it to remind you to do stuff. It's a good voice activated cooking timer. You can broadcast messages to other GH. Play radio stations from TuneIn. If you buy smart plugs you can have it turn on lights. If you use IFTTT you can do all kinds of automated stuff. Add a Harmony or Hue or Smart Things hub and you can do even more. It's fun and definitely addictive.

When you have people over, it's great for collaboratively playing videos on a queue. Other than that, it's basically just a netflix and hulu box. Tbh a dedicated media PC pretty much does all the same things better minus the group queues.

Oh, and casting desktop tabs or a phone screen to it can be convenient sometimes.

If you have multiple, the "broadcast" function is great. If you ask google to broadcast something it'll play your voice over all Google home mini's in your house.

THANK YOU! I will try this out today. I was hoping this was something possible.

You can do it from your phone's Google Assistant as well. "Hey google, broadcast I'm on my way home" or "hey google, broadcast dinner's ready" etc.

That is awesome! My SO works out in the garage a lot and is super noisy and I have to scream over power tools and his music to tell him dinner is ready. Haha. This will be great! But, I'm not going to tell him before I get to try it tonight.

I freaked mine out when she was in the kitchen, but we don't really have a real use for broadcasting because that's the only Home mini we've got.

That's still cool you can do it from your phone. He always sends me a text to let me know he made it to work, maybe he can do that instead :)

I use my google home mini for nature sounds every single night and day. It’s so relaxing.

Do you use the built-in nature sounds? Do you know how to get it to play for more than an hour? I use this feature to cover up the sound of me coming to bed super late when my wife is asleep, but I can't figure out how to get it to play for more than an hour without casting a YouTube video or something.

No I wish I could play it for more than an hour

Snagged that $4 Walmart deal for the Mini -- honestly didn't ever think I'd want one, but at that price?? My favorite features are: hands free phone calls and being able to control my Chromecast Audios verbally. Pretty fantastic being able to walk in the house and say "Hey Google, play Lizzo everywhere"

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Currently only supported in US/Canada, other countries (I think UK is next) will roll out periodically.

Yeah, it's a US & Canada only feature for the moment

Roku so you can have Amazon Prime + YouTube and everything else.

I believe that AP is coming to CC soon?

Chromecast + Movie HD apk download on Android + AllCast app from app store = free, HD movies and TV series that are surprisingly up to date with the cinemas.

Not every link works, and sometimes the movie works in the Movie HD app but then doesn't start when you tell it to cast through AllCast, and the full-screen ads every time you go through the menu are annoying to have to close each time, but hey, 100% free and works 90% of the time.

Just bought both of these this week. The fact that I can turn on my TV that's 5 feet away with just my voice is AWESOME.

It's also surprisingly smart (apparently the smartest home-based AI on the market). Only thing I hate so much is that to play or search for specific songs you want to play with your voice you need a subscription.

Or a better choice, a roku

Why do you say that?

Seriously. Fuck cable. Buy a chromecast.

My boyfriend just got me an Echo show, and although the prospect of having a machine listen to me and watch me all day in my apartment is off-putting (though I recognize me phone already does that), I just need a dot for my bathroom and living room.

Bathroom for music, living room for those last minute shopping needs.

It helps that he got me what could basically amount to a starter pack by getting me a Kindle Fire along with it.

I thought I had a shopping addiction before...

I basically use my Home devices for music around the house. I'm pleased.

I like the little joyous realization I have every few days that if my great-grandfather were to come back to life, this would match speculation from the middle of his lifetime.

And I feel like that’s really ducking cool.

I've got both the Dot and Mini. The Dot is integrated into a lot more things, in my opinion and it makes less mistakes. Just my usage, not trying to say these are bonafied facts.

Never had an issue with my Home or Mini. Both are extremely awesome devices. Haven't got too much into the smart home thing.

I've only got a Mini, but the consensus that I seem to hear on /r/homeautomation is that the Amazon Echo line has more integrations because it was first to market, but the Google Home line is better at natural language (rather than having to memorize set commands) because Google.

I can confirm that I almost never hear "I don't understand" with my Mini.

What is the dot?

Amazon Echo Dot

Also both. Controlling Netflix and starting up my TV with my favorite show, or putting on a relaxing fireplace on the TV by voice alone. Is nice.

Picked up the home mini at target for $20 on Black Friday. I put it in the kitchen. So worthwhile.

I prefer Fire Stick personally. I loaded TerrariumTV onto it. Very cool, I hated using my phone for play/pause and selecting shows.

And a roku with a Netflix subscription!

I have both! They're so awesome!

Lightning edit: if you have these you should probably have the nest thermostat as well, it's the greatest addition I've ever made to my home.

I just bought myself a Chromecast and a Google Home for christmas and I am in love with them, from Playing some music to mirroring my phone, playing youtube videos or movies with Plex, just plain awesomeness.

/r/HailCorporate/

You could say that about almost all the comments in this thread.

Edit: Perhaps downvoters are misunderstanding, I am not complaining about the thread. Just saying commenting '/r/hailcorporate' isn't really worthwhile as the thread kind of calls for mentions of brands etc.

Always wanted a diy wire tap!

Yeah, no. Enough things spy on me already.

A good Swiss Army Knife.

My knife is an retired swiss army knife (got it for $10 locally). Cleaned up and oiled. (Planned on putting brass scales/handles on there, but never got the time. Might go G10 instead.)

I use it all the time. The last time, my mother had a shit fit over my dad not changing the brakelight. We ended up at Canadian Tire, and we picked up the replacement lights, and I used my swiss army knife to unscrew/open the lights. Installed in 10 minutes.

Removes the pride of doing something like this with a key chain bottle opener or a key though, or something you found on the floor of the car.

(Though in reality, any chain car parts store does onsite free tool rental and will even assist you with your fix like this)

Lol. Yeah, but it was proof that I wasn't an "idiot" for carrying a tool with me.

This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYRAVw8Op8Q

I have one, but I mainly use it to open deliveries, since it has a really sharp knife, it just cuts through cardboard like paper.

Has other useful tools that lock into place (which is essential) and have used it when I don't have other tools at hand, but I usually do have the tools I need when I'm at home.

Or a swiss army multitool.

I love my swisstool Spirit to death.

Instant Pot. Man, those things are amazing.

Not a gadget per se but the most life-changing thing I have bought recently was a roll of gaffer tape. It's like temporary duct tape and is incredibly useful, especially in a rental apartment you can't modify.

Need to hide cables? Tie them together? Seal a crack temporarily like around a window AC unit? Reseal a chip bag? Uses are endless and you can get it several colors.

So, this was the sexiest thing I ended up googling today. Thank you, I forgot this existed.

And now my new high-tack masking tape may be getting some competition.

warning though, this stuff will peel paint off a wall and can lift the finish off of floors depending on the brand you get. Paper tape for walls/floors.

Yeah just be wary of certain colors like grey and red. For whatever reason, they will violently remove the paint from a battleship. Tan also.

Gaff tape is one thing I can barely live without. Unfortunately it's rather expensive.

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Fun fact about the Rumours album. The balls hanging from Mick Fleetwood's (the drummer) belt are some UK toilet thing someone (Stevie Nicks? Going from memory here) gave him as a gag gift. He wore them for two decades. Some asshole fan stole them a few years back, and he's since replaced them. They've sort of became his trademark.

If you don't get Rumours, get their greatest hits album. But get Rumours. I'm not a huge fan, I basically just like most of the singles. But they are very good. Had over 2 dozen members come and go over the years, but it's always been Mick Fleetwood on drums and maybe one other person. They're known for Stevie Nicks on vocals, but there have been others.

We have different definitions of fun.

No, it’s all true.

i heard it was good

Yeah, pretty decent.

Pepper spray.

Unfortunately, it's considered an illegal weapon in many countries.

Fortunately, the ingredients are perfectly legal in all countries.

Just like meth

Now you’re thinking with portals

Now this is pod racing

Where can you buy spray?

A locker at the police department that’s been conveniently left ope- I mean amazon

username checks out.

for the steak.

Only if it has a picture of a person, or describes a person in it’s directions for use. If it’s a picture of a dog, or bear, and you change the word person to dog or bear then it’s fine, as long as you’re somewhere one is likely to run into a dog or bear. That’s how it works in Canada 🇨🇦 at least.

Can you use it on a person in self defense?

As opposed to leaving it in your pocket while being raped or murdered? Even if illegal I'd prefer to be alive to deal with the consequences than on the right side of the law and dead.

Yep, though it can be up to police discretion if they want to press charges and if a judge wants to convict. Generally speaking it’s illegal to carry any weapon(any object who’s intended use is to cause harm), but one is allowed to use any such object in self defence, so long as the level of force is reasonable in that situation. The grey area comes down to if one carried the object, even something like a baseball bat or knife, for self defence, or if they had another reason to carry the object, such as for use in sports, or as a tool, and then used it in a self defence situation.

For sure. Just tell the cops you had it for bears/dogs

Flat out banned in Australia in all forms in all states except WA(Except for law enforcement, of course).

as long as you’re somewhere one is likely to run into a dog or bear

does canada have an official bear/dog-incidence probability index for every citizen?

For dogs it could be anywhere, baring places that specifically limit potentially dangerous items, like an airport, or concert. Just don’t carry bear spray in an urban area.

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Well, you're not wrong.

a plastic waterpistol and tabasco sauce.

I bought some Pepper GEL Spray and wow it is much better! Even came with a training cartridge so I could try it out and feel more confident.

Something to think about. Gel usually shoots a stream, like silly string. Normal pepper spray shoots in a cone. In a high stress situation with a lot of movement, people will often panic and miss. The normal cone spray shoots out sort of like a shotgun, it’s much harder to miss without hitting them.

That’s why for women who are much more likely to be a victim of a predator, I’d always recommend normal pepper spray so they don’t have to worry about aiming, just pointing it in be general direction of their face.

True, you bring up a great point! Personally I am confident enough in de-escalation and avoidance tactics & generally have good aim. I find that the gel-stream shoots further and allows me to reduce the chances of hitting someone else (myself included). I live in a very populated area and chances are there will be lots of neutral parties around if something were to arise.

In Canada owning pepper spray and owning a fully automatic AK-47 will land you between 5 to 20 years.

That's because Canada is amazing and nobody has to stress anyone else. I'm in Michigan and wish I could swim across the river every now and then.

Canada is amazing?

Amazing because our government randomly decided pepper spray, tasers, and other self defense tools should get you the same jail sentence as owning a M240 LMG? LOL.

Haha I meant the people.

Not an epipen.

Only in the US. Here in Australia, the price is $38.50 if you have a medicare card (which is available to all Australian citizens). If you have a concession card it's even cheaper, and if you spend more than $1500 on prescription meds per year, once you pass that threshold you pay $0. Seems fucked to me that a LIFE OR DEATH medication is prohibitively expensive in a developed country like the USA.

Here in the USA, they are closer to $385.50. It is fucked.

Hey, they moved our decimal!

Shit, I'll just go buy them and sell them in the states for $45 to cover expenses.

FUCK Shrekli

Well $38 AUD is around $30 USD, so depressingly enough you would still be making profit if you sold them for $45 despite selling them for 8 times less. The reason it's so cheap is because we have something here called the pharmaceutical benefits scheme, so important pharmaceuticals are heavily subsidized by the government. Seems like a perfectly rational policy if you ask me, always baffles me that there are people in the US who think subsidised healthcare like this is literally the devil.

Mine hasn’t. I got it from my friend as he was dying. It seemed pretty important to him that I have it.

I think they are referring to its high price

How did you miss that

"Hey....get my epipen..."gasps

"Wow thanks!"

LOL. Reasons not to have dumb friends.

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How did you manage to get two for the price of one prescription? I always have to pay the prescription charge per item, so if the doctor prescribes two, I'll pay £16ish.

https://www.consumerreports.org/drug-prices/epipen-alternative-that-costs-just-10-dollars/

Lol, still $110 without that coupon.

Actually, there is a alternative to Eipipen:

Ephidren auto-injector

Opinel pocket knife. Hella sharp and under 15 bucks

But do they keep an edge?

[deleted]

The carbon ones keep an edge very close to some of the cheaper spyderco's. And apart from that they're ground so thin that sharpening really is seconds work.

Opinels are among the best deals you can find in the knifeworld.

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Depends on "rough work". But they'll take quite hard use as a knife. As long as you're cutting with it and not beating on it they'll be good for a looooong time.

(source...I have one at home that's over 25 years in my posession and has been used for all the misschief a young boy could come up with.)

I go for a Gerber EAB (exchange a blade) myself. Uses hardware store razor blades that can be swapped out whenever they get dull, and it folds down to be not much bigger than the blade itself.

A pair of ear protection headphones meant for construction workers, with bluetooth. This past year instead of turning my headphones up to the max and barely being able to hear it over the lawnmower, I can barely hear the mower and listen to a podcast at normal volumes. So worth the $60 or so on amazon.

And save your ears from all of the loud sounds you're exposing them to in that scenario that you just described that everyone has done.

Which brand do you have?

I got a pair for Christmas, they're game changing. I do a fair bit of woodworking, now I can easily hear the podcasts I'm listening to, without having to crank up the volume on a pair of speakers loud enough to overcome the noise of the tools and the dampening of my regular ear pro.

What kind did you get? I want to grab a pair myself but I'm not sure which ones would really cut it.

I got the 3M worktunes, the Bluetooth only ones because I never listen to radio. They're nice out of the box, can't comment on their durability though, I've only had them since Christmas.

3M worktunes

Durability be damned. I'll only use it for yard and house work.

Kindle Paperwhite

A FitBit or similar device. They can really provide the right motivation for people to exercise more and lose weight/be healthier.

and it takes up way less space than a treadmill in case it doesn’t work out :)

But....how do I hang my clothes on a FitBit? ;)

Motivation wasn't really a major thing for me since I'd already started a workout program, but buying one absolutely made a huge difference when I started trying to lose weight. It might help motivate you to do a little bit more, or even try something different, which is great, but the biggest thing in my opinion is how easy it makes tracking things.

Track how much (or how little) you've done. Easily enter and track food throughout the day, so you can measure calories. Set a weight goal, monitor progress, and just record everything without any extra effort. It made it much, much easier to stay honest with the regimen I had set for myself and to learn where I was making mistakes and correct them. The phone app is actually more useful than the fitbit itself, imo, but it's the combination of the two and how easy it is to help stay on track that helped me.

My wife bought one and just uses it as a curiosity to see how little she's walked in a day, but if you actually use the device with the app to record a fitness journal it's absolutely brilliant. Sometimes all the help you need to be healthy is something that makes it apparent how much you're doing that's unhealthy.

I swim, do you know which, if any, are waterproof?

Garmin has good ones

FWIW i have the Fitbit Blaze which i really like and is water resistant. Ive never been swimming with it but its advertised as being able to be used while swimming. The new apple watches are waterproof too I think.

I'm Samsung. And both tight apple watch and Samsung watch are just too expensive for me

Pretty much all of the Garmin ones are waterproof enough for swimming.

I'll have to look into that then!

I have the ForeRunner 35, which is like the cheapest one, and I'm happy with it. I haven't worn it in the pool yet, but it's fine in the shower. It tracks heart rate, so I'm looking forward to seeing what my HR is like when I swim.

Easily enter and track food throughout the day, so you can measure calories

Damn, my fitbit doesn't have a keyboard or a scanner. Which one do you have?

Yeah this should be way higher! Got one and it was very confrontational to see how little I actually move during the day. Especially for people who spent all day behind a computer it can really be life changing. I now take every opportunity to walk a few extra steps just to reach my daily goal.

My smartwatch has been a neat little motivator to have on my wrist.

I love this little thing, it's very useful for tracking exercise and steps and sleep patterns and whatnot. What I was not prepared for was constantly having my HR on tap. The ability to instantly know my heart rate has led me to become dependent on the information and increased my anxiety about my heart health by orders of magnitude.

If I have it on and my heart rate is a little high, I'll get anxious and start having a panic attack, raising it further. If I don't have it on, I'm worried my heart rate is high because I don't know where my HR is at. That or I'll become stupidly convinced my heart has stopped beating.

It's even worse if I even think about getting more than a tiny bit high. Weed raises my heart rate and lowers the threshold for a panic attack. I've managed to get my heart rate up to 165-170 just because I took one hit too many and then looked at my HR.

Ha this is actually the reason I got one without HR monitor. That stuff would just be too much for me.

A clothes steamer. You’ll never bring out the ironing board again.

Oh hell yes. We use ours daily.

How do you get them to actually work? Mine just makes clothes wet, then I iron them traditionally.

So that's what the cloth shops use!

Are they good for shirts?

Not dress shirts. You won’t get crisp lines. Steamers are better for softer fabrics

I bought one of these and was underwhelmed by the performance. I even tried one at an Airbnb I stayed in and same thing. :(

Depends on the fabric you’re steaming, but it’s a lifesaver for most of my casual cotton shirts and pants

Chromecast

Can you describe the benefits of using a chromecast for me?

So, with a Chromecast you can take any media you watch/listen to and put it on your TV anywhere in your house.

Want to watch a YouTube video on your TV? Open up your YouTube app on your phone press the cast button and bam you've got YouTube on your TV.

Have a really nice audio setup for your TV and want to listen to Spotify through it? Open up your Spotify app and chose your Chromecast from the device list.

Want to cut your cable and go with just streaming options? Open up the stream, press the cast button and you can now watch your steamed content on your TV.

The setup is minimal and you can cast most media options with ease and if you use Google Chrome you can cast anything you can load in your browser to your TV.

35$ and you never have to buy another HDMI cable ever again. Cast it over to TV from your phone or laptop from across the room.

I probably shorted out 20 HDMI cables over the years. (Or lent them out never to see them return.)

I love both of mine.

A self cleaning cat box (NOT LITTERMAID). Most of them have sensors and send out some comb to scoop poop into a proprietary throwaway bin. These suck. They are expensive. The bins are expensive. They clog all the time. Littermaid and similar boxes suck, so understand I’m not talking about those.

We ordered a circular cheapie from petsafe that you just put a plastic grocery bag in. It has no sensors, but runs all the time, very slowly. No noise, no scaring the cat, no expensive bins, no special litter. All I had to do was 3d print a shroud over a gap in the front she liked to pee out from, and it’s been great. I tear it down once a month to clean it, and once a week I change the bag and top it off with litter.

No more walking into a stinky office, no more peeing in front of the box rather than IN it, and it was only 80 bucks!

Woah! Is that this one? https://store.petsafe.net/simply-clean-litter-box-system

I got mine on Amazon when it was on sale for like $70. 10/10 everyone should get one. Even if you don't have a cat its just amazing.

Ive had it for five years. The only complaint I had was that my first year with it, litter would get into the gear stuff in the bottom and managed to strip the plastic gear used to turn the bowl. But it was under warranty and they replaced the part for free. And either I'm better at filling it up now or they started making that part stronger but it hasn't had any warping since then.

That same motor made clicking noises and ground the litter into a power that eventually solidified around it. It became a petrified motor. In two months.

I emailed them and they sent a replacement out twice for free. (The first was stolen off my porch.)

I had ordered the replacement part while waiting for a confirmation that it would be covered under warranty and then it took like a week for me to talk to someone that understood my suggestion to just refund the part I ordered instead of sending me one from the warranty and telling me to mail back the other to get the refund lol.

I've got this. It's great. I have 4 cats, so I have to change the bag just about daily and top off the litter every 3-4 days, but it has no problem keeping up with their crapping needs.

I much prefer just throwing the bag away over dealing with having to clean out their gross-ass poop box every day.

There's no way my 13 lb Ragdoll would fit into that thing...

I have 4 cats, 2 of which are gigantic fatties, and they all use the single simply clean just fine.

Ok. That gives me hope. Thanks :)

It’s only $80 so it’s worth the risk.

Its a lot bigger than it looks. I feel like it takes up the same amount of floor space as a cheap washing machine.

Right now, I have three litter boxes for two cats. If I can use one big one...

It takes about an hour for the bowl to complete the rotation.

You do need to be mindful of what litter you use. Has to clump well since the convayor belt thing can bust up weak clumps and they'll fall back into the bowl instead if the bag. I use the litter tub from Sams Club.

We wanted to use worlds best but our cat flat out refuses to use it. Natures miracle here.

OMG - so I bought one and the cats love it and use it all the time now!! What a difference on cleanup!! Thanks for your input.

:D when I first got mine my cat would just lay next to it purring because the motor was so soothing lol

Yes. I have the STL file of the shroud I made for it too if you want.

That's the one I have its amazing I love it so much.

Came back here to say BIG THANK YOU for the recommendation. We've had it almost a month and what a difference. Cats use it all the time (I left their old boxes out just in case), kids change the bags without nagging. So easy. Again, thank you!!

My cat has started to miss the box a lot lately. When I get time, I’ll have to make a 3D printable dome to go around the edges.

Still better ham when she would pee in front of the box. Now she poops on the box. We joke that she likes to think outside the box.

I know that it blows the budget, but I got a Litter Robot for mine (hooray fender bender accident settlement monies) and I love it.

Is that the vertical rotating one I see videos for on Facebook?

Yeah

I was considering one of those, but for that money, I wasn't willing to take the risk. Not after my experience with littermaid.

Do you have a pic of the shroud you printed?

A bike. For a kid, the added mobility of a bike is awesome.

But kids aren't allowed to go outside by themselves anymore, or CPS will be called.

They can't take him away if he can ride faster than they can chase. Who's he gonna choose, the stranger or the awesome dad who got him a bike?

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I bought a safety razor, used it several times, eventually put a non-fixable cut near my lip that left a small scar, and I'll never go back to a safety razor again. I'm perfectly fine using an electric razor and cartridge razors.

I ended up with a bunch of micro cuts whenever and however I used a safety razor. There's a reason cartridge and electric razors superseded them.

For anyone considering getting a safety razor I recommend getting an adjustable one like the Merkur Progress or Futur 700.

I was considering buying one, but since they only have one blade is the shaving cream required?

I don't use shaving cream and don't really want to move to something that requires it.

Yes, you need shaving cream.

Honestly, many wet shaving enthusiasts would recommend using shave soap and a shave brush before even using a safety razor

Smart thermostat such as a Nest. They pay for themselves within a few months.

I bought a Honeywell smart thermostat. Had a professional come to install it. It wouldn't control my heat. The guy said the thermostat was bad and to contact Honeywell. I did. Apparently they only have a warranty through a select few contractors. So, I'd have to pay a different conrractor to come out and say it's broken to get my money back. Another service fee of about $100 to get a replacement for a $150 thermostat. I now have my dumb thermostat again...

That totally sucks. I had an awful time installing mine myself. Unfortunately it's best NOT to buy it online and THEN have someone install it. The person who installs it should also be someone who sells them and installs them regularly, particularly with the Smart thermostats. You need someone who actually knows how to set it up and teach you how to use it. It's pretty complicated, and even though the HVAC guy might think he knows how to set it up... a lot of them are kind of old school.

Not so much saying this to you, OP, but for anyone else reading this.

My Nest took maybe 8 minutes to install. It was connecting like 2 wires to it and everything works super easy.

Yeah I can speak for the Honeywell ones but the Nest is super easy. You enter your current wiring information into their site and it spits out pictures showing you what to do. The only issue I ran into was because one of the wires wasn't properly seated and that was a 30 second fix.

If you've ever done any kind of PC maintenance you can hook up a Nest.

Is it still worth it if you only have heating but no a/c?

Yup. We came home a few hours earlier than normal, so the heat wasn't scheduled to turn on anytime soon. Used my phone to turn on the heat from the restaurant we were at and the house was toasty warm when we got home from dinner.

I might reccomend to my mom as she always wants to save money with AC. Is it low effort?

Absolutely. You can set it on a schedule from the device or your phone. Depending on the season, I usually have it cooler/warmer when I’m at work or sleeping and have it heat up/cool down when I wake up or get home. It was also really helpful when my old furnace started dying and I could remotely see the temperature of the house or see when the temperature started falling and restart the furnace. At that point, it was life saving.

Low effort to install? Sure it’s not too bad. Instructions are good. In terms of using the app on your phone, that’s really intuitive. I️ reluctantly got it got my husband for Christmas and I think I️ like it more than he does.

Thanks its cause my moms aptitude for tech goes stalls at email managment so i hope she would manage without asking me 24/7.

Ha! Understand that. Got mom and iPad for Christmas. Lordy Lordy. Good luck!

Is there savings to be had over other programmable thermostats that aren't "smart"? I'd like to get one for the convenience but it would be more worth it is it would also save me money even more. The programmable has already saved me quite a bit.

Probably not much if your programming is pretty well tuned. I think the nest learns what you do and then does it for you so it’s precisely tuned to your behavior. Also handy is it has sensors to know when you are home so your not heating or cooling an empty house.

I'd probably turn the heating on a lot more if I didn't have to move.

Nest is amazing. Incredibly easy install. Got a rebate from my electric AND gas for getting a smart thermo so a brand new best cost me only $100. Totally worth it!

How does it pay for itself?

I mean does it turn off the heat/ac when you're gone then try to reheat/recool the house right before you get back? I don't think our furnace/ac could really keep up with that.

Plus there's usually someone home. What sort of schedule does it need to actually save you money?

It has sensors so it knows when you're not home and also pairs with an app on your phone. You can set it to a higher temperature when it detects you are Away then when you are on your way home just open up the app and tell it to go back to Home mode (or just program it to start cooling 30 minutes before the end of your shift).

Saved me $50 a month through the Summer last year.

A smartwatch/fitness watch that connects to your phone via bluetooth for notifications.

Youll never have to check your phone every fucking time you feel phantom vibrations in your pocket.

Nope, that's that is just your Hitachi

I got a company apple watch and I find it pretty much useless. For notifications - it has to be connected by bluetooth to your phone at all times, so you have to carry it in your pocket all times anyway. Also I mute the notifications on the watch often, as they get annoying pretty fast. I have to charge it every 2-3 days. The only functionality I find useful is having my messages on me so I can check my gym routine without taking my phone to the gym.

If I spent over 300$ on it - I'd be pretty pissed at how much it sucks for that price range.

Try a mi watch, yes it has to be connected, but with anything with a decent battery (I recommend searching for a cubot) there is no problem, my watch lasts 2 weeks, and I have the awesome useable vibrating alarm. 150 for both, and the phone has 2 sim slots.

it has to be connected by bluetooth to your phone at all times, so you have to carry it in your pocket all times anyway

It also works over wifi.......

Bitcoins in 2010.

Fun story time... My husband bought a bunch of Dogecoin 7-8 years ago on a whim (probably $7k worth - he was a single programmer with a ton of disposable income). Everything eventually crashed, and he thought he'd lost it all. Bummer, but he'd known the risks, and he eventually got over it. He put his thumb drive with his key codes away and didn't think much more of it. Fast forward to several months ago, when Bitcoin started to spike... He saw that he'd break even if he sold all of that old Dogecoin, and given that things were already starting to fall back down within hours, he didn't hesitate to sell once we tracked down that old thumb drive (NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK after 3 house moves!). He sold, and he got all of his money back! Hooray! Well... if he'd just converted to Bitcoin and sat on it for a while, he'd have made almost $200k at its most recent highest. There was just no way to know that it would climb so high. He's happy he got all of his money back, but he's still kicking himself over it... We could have gotten completely out of debt with that :/

Ya, almost everyone has regrets about BC. I almost put 5k in this past summer, hoping make a few hundred $$$. Little did I know it would have tripled my money come December >:(.

Crytocurrency is a pretty fun thing to get into even now. Lots of coins other than Bitcoin are doing well right now.

Just gotta hop in that DeLorean

save up $60,000

build time travel machine

travel back to 2011

buy 10,000 bitcoins for ~$6 a piece

travel back to present

be a millionaire

A TENS machine

YES, so much better than any junkie massager product! It works, used in therapy AND massage clinics, and you can get a decent one with various settings for $100 easy. Direct from companies sometimes do free warranties and future replacements of the sticky pads (though still have my originals after 3 yrs.)

Oh yes. For you kinky folks out there that like electricity, they also sell a myriad of sex toys with leads to hook up TENS unit to.

A plastic pot scraper for $2.99. makes cleaning caked on food on dishes super easy.

My two are kitchen gadgets:

Sous Vide Cooker - Never overcook your meat again. Perfect Chicken, Perfect Medium Rare Steaks, homemade pickles, breakfast egg bites

Soda Stream Home Carbonater - Carbonate your tab water in seconds. Don't have to lug sodas and sparkling waters from the grocery store. $15 to refill the cartridges (usually last 2-3 months), but if you buy them at Bed Bath and Beyond you can use one of the millions of coupons I'd bet you have. But the best part, is it helped me stop drinking so much soda, because I realized I just like the carbonation. So I drink plain soda water now and love it.

Note: I am not affiliated with either of these companies, just a very happy customer. I've had my Sous Vide for 2 years, and my Soda Stream for 6, and both are still going strong.

I'm really excited about smart glasses. I pre ordered mine and can't wait to get them. They use bone conduction so no more earphones, inconspicuous camera, look great, and they're prescription. Under $200!

They seem to be just over 200 now from VUE. 240 for shipping to Norway. I'm really keen

Godt å vite, takk.

We need a link

Where did you order from? I thought that HMDs like this pretty much died with the GoogleGlass experiment!

I feel like if you're walking around with a secret camera you're a weirdo

Well at least ill be able to record all my weirdo stuff hands free :D

Link me? please? I'd like to get a pair as well

It's probably this https://www.enjoyvue.com

I'm a little skeptical of it though, will probably wait til people get theirs and see reviews

The guy above said it had a camera, which the Vue do not seem to have. But what you linked is pretty much everything I’d want from a pair of “smart glasses”, and I share your skepticism. I’ll wait for others to order, then see about getting a pair. I need a new pair of glasses anyway, so this seems pretty neat.

So do I it sounds too great to be real, I always want something like this to play live (if the sound through bones it's audible with earplug) it could be really awesome I hate using headphones while playing!

Me too, thanks!

I want one too. So where is the link?

For everyone looking to buy one, I think it's from the company Zungle

Im actually getting mine from a company called VUE

Guess I'm wrong, tho, Zungle does offer glasses, but it's just bone conduction and its more expensive (wtf?) Anyways, thanks for the company name, I might be getting one for myself

Does it have a screen or HUD of any sort? What's the brand?

No hud, they look just like regular glasses but they have a minimist touchpad on one of the legs with customisable functions. The brand is VUE

So are they essentially just bone conduction bluetooth speakers?

With a prescription option! If you use already glasses

Under 200? My prescription glasses are over 200 alone!

Relevant video.

I get mine from Warby Parker for $100 without insurance, then usually covered at 75% as an out of network carrier.

Yeah I was both surprised and thrilled. My current glasses are also almost 200 so the extra features make these the much better option.

I buy the low dollar frames at walmart, have my lens put in. Break the frames all the time doing this or that. Replacement frames are free for a year under warranty. After the year, I either buy the same frame again or switch to a new cheap frame.

Hard to imagine smart glasses being durable or cheap. The camera would have to be on par with the newest apple/samsung to be worth it for me.

Do they make safety glasses lenses? I'm a welder, but these sound pretty cool

a stabilizer for your (i)phone/camera, also known as Gimbal! changes home videos forever!

I've been looking at those forever...but I still think they're a bit pricey. Any recommendations?

I bought a Zhiyun Smooth Q smartphone gimbal for only $99 at Best Buy last week. Compared it with my friend's $200 DJI Osmo gimbal and it basically does the same thing, and feels just as well-made.

Go Chinese

Checking it out....I might have to order one soon. Found a bunch under $100 even.

Ranch dressing

Raspberry Pi 3

Then what?

Load it up with pihole and never see advertising on your home network again.

/r/pihole

What I want to know is, can I run pihole and OpenVPN at the same time? I only have one Pi3 and want to do both.

Seeing how someone has successfully played WoW on a Raspberry Pi, I'm sure it'll work.

Yep, look at the pivpn package for a really easy install.

Yes you can. I have both pihole and openvpn installed on debian on an intel nuc, it works great for blocking ads on my phone when I'm out and about away from home.

Also has the benefit of allowing me to connect to Home Assistant securely out in the world without having to expose HA directly to the internet.

Can you tell me more about this? What does pihole do?

Ad blocker for your whole network. Instead of installing an extension on every program and device you own, you route internet traffic through the pi with this program and it will automatically block any advertisements online for your whole network and all devices connected to it.

So do you make this your router? How does it filter all ads?

It's not the actual router, so to speak. Your network traffic however is moved from your gateway source (modem or router) to the rPi, which then filters out the ads, so to speak, before it goes back to your device.

Ah I see. How is all the traffic from the router directed to it? Do I need to configure all other devices to use the rPi as a gateway?

Not necessarily. The rPi is acting as either a DNS or DHCP. You can either configure each device to connect through it or do that for your router and it will automatically modify settings on devices for you.

Ah i see now. Thanks for this. I will certainly tinker with one.

If you're cheap than a pi zero w also gets the job done for $5-10.

For the life of me I can't set it up as the DNS server in my router, it's making me mad.

The official website has a lot of documentation as well as a forum. If you are having router specific issues, maybe someone had encountered the same issue.

Learn code and do something cool with it.

It's really open ended as far as what you can use it for, but you will learn a useful skill and own a very malleable piece of hardware. The most popular thing people do with them seems to be turning it in to a media center with Kodi or loading it full of emulators and ROMS for a tiny retro console.

I've been meaning to get a PI, 2 or so years ago I bought an Arduino starter kit and I've had a blast with it ever since. One downside is I've sunk more money into sensor modules and shields and I haven't used a lot of them in any actual projects, they've just been fun to play with.

Don't downplay the tinkering side of things here. Tinkering by itself is certainly a project where the goal is learning or self-improvement.

I tend to find that I have the most fun tinkering, and that actually chasing an end-goal to be frustrating (though smooth seas never made a skilled mariner!)

Ok so people throw this out there all the time but what language. Everyone says learn code but they never tell you what's a good language to learn on. Any ideas?

It doesn't really matter. Basically the choice is start with the hard one or start with the easy one, or start with the one that does what you want to do (phone apps, PC games, etc..). Once you learn one it's waaaay easier to learn another.

But if you just want someone to tell you what to start with, start with Python.

It doesn't really matter. Basically the choice is start with the hard one or start with the easy one, or start with the one that does what you want to do (phone apps, PC games, etc..). Once you learn one it's waaaay easier to learn another.

But if you just want someone to tell you what to start with, start with Python.

The possibilities are endless, and it's a rabbit hole that'll suck you in and never let you go :) RetroPie is a good first timer project and cheap, or you can try an ADS-B tracker if you live near an airport.

Google "Projects for my Raspberry Pi" and pick one that looks interesting to you. Most of them are very inexpensive.

They also make inexpensive servers such as a low traffic web site or you could use it for e-mail. I run my Observium server off of one, and PiHole is a piece of software no home should be without.

I've never done anything like this before. How difficult is it to complete a relatively simple task? I've always wanted to try to do something with pi though!

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Thank you for the info! I'm going to try a project when summer rolls around. I appreciate your help

Thank you for the info! I'm going to try a project when summer rolls around. I appreciate your help

My dad gave me one for christmas loaded with emulators for pretty much every game system up to the PS1. I've been playing a ton of Super Metroid, the first TMNT arcade game, Castlevania, etc. Really awesome gift!

Then build yourself retro-arcade cabinet. The Xarcade TankStick is the way to go!

mock raspberry Pi 2 owners

The main board is ~$35 CAD, and all the bits & bobs would bring the price up to ~$100 CAD.

They're wonderful little machines, and since it's all solid state, they're quiet as anything. You can get NOOBS (New, Out Of Box Software) from the Raspberry Pi Organisation's website to turn it into a retro gaming computer, mini-desktop, or just about anything else you could want a low-end computer for.

Wi-fi powerline adapters... Once its setup you can plug it in to any room and wifi signal will be just as strong as if you were sitting next to your router ;) no more lag 🙌

Can you provide a link to the one you use?

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Yes, and if your wiring in your house is shitty (aluminum wiring yuck) powerline adapters just suck.

Yup. I bought powerline adapters after reading all of the praise about them being so much better than wifi. I usually get about 50-60Mbps down on my wifi (pay for 75Mbps) with the powerline adapters though it dropped to 5Mbps, tested in multiple outlets, but it never got close to my wifi speeds. Apparently my house has awful wiring because that was a major disappointment.

Wifi extenders are useless. They just extend an already weak signal.

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That's so weird haha. I suppose it depends on everyone's situation. All my personal experiences with extenders have been awful. But then again in general the wireless is pretty bad, presumably from thick walls and perhaps the interfering waves from other appliances and what not. Installing a few powerline adapters throughout our house has been very effective thankfully. The wiring is only 10 or so years old so I'm sure that helps.

Bidet attachment for your toilet. $34 on Amazon and it's a game changer.

I bought one a year ago and still haven't installed it yet.

It works a lot better after you install it.

A kneeling chair, I bought it on Amazon for $50. The best investment I've ever made.

Sometimes though you just want to recline though :/

One of those little Honeywell desk heaters. It puts out maybe 250 watts of heat but it keeps my hands warm while gaming.

A Rubix cube and learning how to solve it. You will always be motivated to beat your previous timing.

I purchased a Furbo Dog Camera for my SO at Christmas and it has dramatically improved both of our lives. We only have cats but checking in on them while at work, and shooting them treats has greatly improved my happiness! It is way cooler than I expected.

A nice pair of over the ear headphones. Dont get blue tooth. Bypass in ear options. For once, dont think about portability.

Get a nice set of seinheisser, audiotechnica or another brand that is built around the sound they produce, instead of the image they make, or how small a package they can fit it in.

Good headphones can take you anywhere on earth you want to go and a nice set, especially if you’ve had nothing up to par yet, will blow your mind.

  • Instant read digital thermometer - you will never overcook a piece of meat again
  • Infrared thermometer - you will never burn pancakes again
  • Stud finder - you will never not smile when asking your significant other "how this thing works" while beeping it on yourself

Does it find bones?

A mechanical keyboard.

It starts at 200$

It stops with you going bankrupt and your wife leaving you because you have all your love to the keebs instead of her.

I have a basically top of the line K70 RGB with mx browns and spent way less than $200 on it.

I bought my dad a Logitech mech board with backlighting and a metal backplate for $60 over Christmas.

Not expensive, folks

I wouldnt say K70 is top of the line, at all

My keycap for ctrl broke while playing warframe :( pretty let down with it.

Check Craigslist. I got a Das Pro for $20 and two K70s for $80.

Nuh nuh nuh, he's talking enthusiast level gear, Google hhkb, Pok3r, even keycaps alone can go for a hundred dollars

are they made out of diamonds or is it just overpriced crap like apple and co?

Probably just higher quality components for most. My Filco isn't fancy looking, but you can feel the quality from even the weight alone.

the weight alone.

i don't know the brand, or anything about mechanical keyboards, but this "heavy means quality" perception is something that many electronics producers exploit by just glueing a few heavy screws into the device.

might be worth to open your keyboard and check if that added weight actually has any functionality beyond creating a feeling of quality).

Yes mate, the whole mechanical keyboard community has been bamboozled by a few heavy screws.

worked for audiophiles.

I don't think audiophiles were the target market of Beats™ By Dre™

I mean, in the case of a Filco keyboard it's pretty obvious where the weight is coming from - but appreciate your concern that Filco might be gluing heavy screws in and nobody has noticed for the past 25 years.

What you are saying is true of low end goods, but you're essentially saying hey, go check out your Mercedes and check that they haven't put a shitty engine inside a shell of the proper one!

I'm guessing you haven't heard of Filco.

Definitely not apple. Apple keyboards are garbage.

I’ve tried mechanical keyboards and I’d much rather have my Apple Extended keyboard over a mechanical any day. I just don’t like the click feeling all the keys have.

The best Apple keyboards were mechs. My Apple //c had Yellow Alps and the original ADB keyboard was a dream for typing.

I know lots of people love the feel of a mechanical keyboard but I never have. I’ve used at least one of those keyboards, a model M, and a couple modern ones (Razer and Logitech I think) and I just couldn’t get to where I actually liked the feel of it.

Most of them are high quality and low volume. So they only produce a couple hundred, maybe a couple thousand sets of high quality plastic keycaps. That drives the price up.

A corsair mech keyb isn’t “top of the line”. They’re not bad though.

I got my G910 for I think $129.99 at bestbuy, which I ended up getting for (basically) free as a result of the TV I bought on black friday awarded me with a $125 gift card.

Love that keyboard to bits, definitely the best keyboard I ever used and even if I didn't have the gift card it's entirely affordable.

I bought mine (SteelSeries Apex M500) for $100, and I can say I absolutely love it. Using a membrane keyboard just feels gross anymore

Like pushing into pudding, I have a crappy standard HP at work and a strix tactix with cherry browns at home.

Literally the first thing I bought for my classroom was a mechanical keyboard. I spent way too much time typing on it to use rubber domes.

Sadly for my students, they were MX Blues. "Mr. drgradus can you type quieter?" "Nope."

I liked the tactile feel of the browns and didn’t want too much noise since I do most of my homework when my kids are sleeping, my GF never complains about all the clacking though.

I wanted my keyboard to have MX Blues, but the only ones they had at the time were reds. I don't mind that it doesn't clickety-clack, and my gf is actually very annoyed when she is over and I'm typing. Partly because I'm not paying attention to her, but partly because even the keys bottoming out kind of gets her goat

Get a set of o rings. They quiet the sound and lessen the bottoming out feeling.

I was planning on getting a set, but they're tough to find where I live, unless I buy them online for 3x the price that they're supposed to be

They're worth it.

well, I just bought a set of 150 online. Ran me about $8, but I do have a feeling I will like them.

I have an old school IBM one that I’m sure I could sell for bank...

Im rocking a 1987 model M at work. love love love it.

/r/MechanicalKeyboards for anyone interested on how to lose money :3

I don’t get this. How are these different to standard keyboards? What’s the fascination about?

They last much longer, are much more reliable, and have an audible/tactile "thump/click" when you press the keys. It's pretty neat.

They last much longer, are much more reliable,

I have literally never broken a keyboard though

you should buy a loto ticket then...you are damn lucky

Or they just don't break their shit.

i dunno, i have broken 2 keyboards that just suddenly died mind sentence :(. years apart and different model.

You had the chance to just stop your sentence mid way to prove a point, but noooooo, you had to keep going.

Last longer depending on brand. I love the feel of my Strafe from Corsair but some of the led colors are already off and the start key just stopped working. I hope I can still RMA it.

You should probably check out /r/mechanicalkeyboards first. A corsair strafe is NOT what that sub is about.

I really really really want the Ergodox but I also want to be able to eat daily, sleep in a bed, pay off my car and other such lovely things.

How did you go bankrupt from spending $200?

I’ve gotten a mechanical keyboard for $100+tax...

I’ve owned three great mechanical keyboards and the most expensive one I’ve bought was $70. I can’t even think of any that “start” at $200. The closest you’d get is if you went for something like the Blackwidow, and even that is around $150.

That escalated quickly.

A glucose meter.

I got one because I was concerned I was prediabetic. Turns out I'm just a huge pansy and get awful symptoms when my blood sugar changes completely within normal levels, or dips too low.

It's fun to check though.

What exactly does that do?

Meters glucose.

But what about imperial glucose?

Damn foreigner....

But seriously though can we got to SI units?...please?..

Actually it's funny glucose is monitored by milligrams per deciliter or mmol per liter. Americans use mg/dl and Europeans use mmol/l which both use the metric system.

Probably measures glucose.

Measure blood glucose levels for people with diabetes.

If you're not diabetic but concerned you might be it's a fun little experiment over a couple days to average out your glucose levels and determine whether you are or not. You can also use it after eating certain foods to see the spikes in your personal levels and see if anything raises or drops you too crazily. This happens even if you're not diabetic.

If you're diabetic get a cgm (Continuous glucose meter), in the US thet most common one is from Dexcom I believe, I have a Freestyle Libre (not quite continous as I have to scan myself), completely changes your life.

A very good power bank. I bought mine for 30 bucks in 2014 in thailand. None of that "Oh man im running out of battery." It charges my phone 4x times. I can literally use it 24 hrs nonstop.

how many mAh?

11k. At the time, it wasn't really a thing anywhere and that was massive. I was going to a forest without electricity though so took a chance on it and it worked great.

Defibrillator

Hey Andy. Just make sure the person has a pulse 1st.

And don’t use it just “for fun”.. like when you and April put marbles in a frying pan.

And maybe you could write a song about this. Just like your song about The Pit. This could also be a song that both rocks real hard and informs people too !

I bought a sleepmask for 10 usd and it helps a lot for relaxing. Also ive been hearing good things about white noise makers, especially if in a noisy city.

I am now addicted to my sleep mask!

I use a medium sized fan for the same effect, in summer it points down, winter up.

Nice thanks, i played the sounds on my speaker cause its a bluetooth from youtube but it feels very inefficient.

Sonicare toothbrush + water flosser

As a kid never brushed my teeth properly, was never really made to, had SO MANY problems it was unreal. Eventually bought the sonicare toothbrush and it stopped me hating brushing my teeth. Still had a few problems, dentist said floss or you're fucked. Tried it, hated it, bought an electronic water flosser, takes 5 seconds and the amount of shit that comes out is unreal. Since using both of those my dentist was literally blown away by the fact that my teeth (despite their fillings and crowns) have been perfect for 2 years, and it even reversed a small problem that was developing.

I hate those rotating toothbrushes, sonicare is SO superior.

Interestingly I despise sony and boycott their products after having so many issues with them in the past but these purchases are incredible.

The cost is irrelevant considering the savings in treatment. They paid for themselves 5 times over before you even consider the benefits. These is the one purchase I will always advocate as being life changing.

Oh yeah, I want to add, literally dentists hate it haha 6 months ago my dentist shook his head and said that the electric flosser was not good and I should use regular flossing. My last visit he was amazed at how well I'd taken care of my teeth and how I'd turned things around. So I get to chuckle about that.

Dentists don't hate it. It was just unproven technology until the last year.

Condoms. Prevent unwanted pregnancies; pretty life changing in my book.

And many STDs. That's also pretty good.

Smart lighting. With motion sensors and special switches. Made me replace almost all lights. Motion sensors in the hallway, in the kitchen, in the bathroom everywhere where you need light for a short time and always forget to turn it off. Furthermore , I got used to it, to never have to touch a light switch again in some rooms. And if you are lying in bed, and forgot a light in, just say „Siri, lights off.“ and everything is fine. Or do timers with the app to use waking up lights... so much Future. You’ll love it.

apple slicer if you are a fan of real life apple fruit

We got one for Christmas from a family member. At first we were like, uhh... thanks? And now it’s the most used thing we got for Christmas! Kids love it. We love it.

a popsocket! they're these little sticky things that go on the back of your phone. They act as a handle of sorts and you can also use it as a stand for watching videos which can be handy when you're cooking or just don't want to hold your phone. They come in so many different designs and you can pick your own photo. Ever since I got mine I haven't dropped it as much

Nothing better than circle shaped holes in all your pants ;)

why would there be holes in my pants

I was half joking, but I know that I would brush into stuff and the stickout from a metal disk in my pocket might wear through my pants after aehile

it isn't a metal disk and it doesn't stick out. They're collapsible so they flatten when you don't need to use it. They're also made of plastic

They stick out a few mm when collapsed, and I thought the disk was aluminum but I guess I'm wrong

yeah but you can't see it in your pants, not mine at least. Nope, you can get disks that have designs that look metal but they're all made of plastic. Maybe they made a limited edition aluminum version, who knows.

I haven’t seen anyone mention this but an $80 Insantpot is 100% my best purchase of 2017. It’s a pressurized cooker/crockpot. I can cook meals that take 3 hours in 30 minutes without sacrificing taste. There’s a ton of recipes online and a million ways to use it.

Absolutely, we just got one for Christmas and I think I've used it every day.

Lifestraw. It's a $19.99 compact personal filtration device that can filter 1000L of potable water. Literally life changing.

Sawyer mini, same price, but can be used to filter water into a container. Good for 100,000 filtered gallons. 👌

TIL. Wow even better!

I actually bought a lifestraw until a saw a Sawyer mini at REI and thought the same thing. It's a pretty sweet setup!

I take the Sawyer backpacking and it is probably one of the best filters I've used. The first one I had lasted me about 3 years before I accidentally broke it. I'm on the second one and I went with the Sawyer Mini and it may not seem like much, but it weighs about a third of what the full size one does and lightening your load for backpacking is always helpful.

Thanks for the tip. I need to replace my filter this summer so I'll prob go with the mini.

Pro Tip: Go with the Sawyer Squeez instead of the Mini. Same weight, faster flow rate and filtration though. Screw it right onto the top of a 1L SmartWater bottle and you have an unlimited water supply!

You do a thru hike? You sound like hiker trash :)

Haha! That might legit be the best compliment I have ever gotten! Im not a thru hiker yet. Im planning an AT thru for 2019. I spend a ton of time on trails and in the back country tho. Been hiking for years!

I do a lot of wilderness camping and I you pre plan to go near fresh water the sawyer saves your bag weight by kilos! Love mine.

So you just get water from a river, filter it and then drink it?

Yes.. boil it also if worried about it at all.. I do do water tests once or twice a year at the regular spots that I go too.

Just wait till you figure out it can also filter non potable water too ;)

I bought my son one for his “survival” pack when he goes camping with scouts, he now goes out of his way to find streams to drink from, hasn’t gotten sick once.

Weighted blanket. Helps a lot with anxiety and sleeping better for some people.

The ones I found were uhh.. well over $200. Which is why I don't have one.

Life-changing? A bidet attachment for your toilet. Preferably one that has a self-clean and feminine setting, as well as the normal bum-washing setting. You can get a nice one for around $40. The cheaper ones will work, but aren't as reliable or easy to use. More expensive ones will warm the water (not really necessary) and even have an air-blower to dry you. They're easy to hook up, and worth every penny.

You'll feel a lot better and way more clean, you'll save a ton of paper (and money), and you'll be doing a favor to the environment. It's also a huge relief to your body if you have any problems down there that are irritated or exacerbated by wiping, and it comes in very handy on days when things aren't moving very well and on days when things are moving too much.

I dare say there is no one who would not benefit and have a much better life if they installed one in their bathroom. They attach under the seat, use the water line going to the toilet, and require no major plumbing or effort to install.

Honestly, I think every toilet in America should have had these built into them for the past 50 years. It's such an obvious and basic enhancement, it's ridiculous that we're still dragging paper across our butts like medieval peasants.

If you're on the fence, just think of it this way: You just picked up and handled a pile of dog shit. Do you just wipe it off your hands with a paper towel and go on with your day, or do you wash your hands with water? And if you said "water", then why would you hold a different standard for different parts of your body?

And I know, I know... A lot of guys are all paranoid about shooting water at their butts, thinking it's "gay" or "European" or whatever. Trust me, it's not scary, it's not going to make you a sissy, it's not going to change your political ideology or make you crave fancy cheese and arugula. It's just another tool that makes sense, and saves you money in the long run.

You convinced me I just ordered one off amazon!

You probably won't regret it! :)

Fire extinguishers are fun.

Found Smokey the bear

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With fleeb juice?

The new Plumbus X is the shit.

But everyone has a plumbus in their home already

You should get one for the car. You never know...

Everybody has one of those.

Raspberry Pi. Any versions. They are mini computers that you can hook up and use as a surveillance camera, alarm, whatever. You can even play Minecraft on them if you wanted to.

For females or males living with females: Period cups

Price about $20 and it last for years (5-10 probably more but it's recommended to get a new one every 5 years or so). No more expensive pads or tampoons that put you into risk of getting TSS, no more dryness or yeast infections. It's a great way of saving a lot of money. And when it's in correctly, you can't even tell it's there. No need to change it for 10-12hrs, so in other words, perfect... Has been discribed to be the second best invention since the wheel.

Yes! I LOVE my period cup. I don't even have to think about it, and sometimes forget my period is even happening

I cannot emphasize how life-changing buying one of these was. Bought mine on Amazon, they also sell them at Walmart. Anytime girls at work would ask if I had spare pads/tampons, they would be told about the wonder that is a menstrual cup!

How does it work?

It's a cup made from medicinal silicone (which isn't toxic to put in the body), it's quite large, but soft enough to be folded easily. There's different ways to fold it but generally the folded size is about the same size as a tampoon. You just put in the folded cup and when you relase it, it unfolds and create a vacuum inside. You put it into the right place using either hands and/or the muscles inside. When it's in correctly, it's impossible to feel if it's in or not and it doesn't leak (unless you forget to empty it and it get filled up). Removing it is not messy, you usually don't get any blood on your hands. And it doesn't hurt, as the cup has tiny holes near the edge to make the release of the vacuum go easier. When the period is over it must be cleaned, the reccomendation is to boil it for 5 or so minutes but I've heard about people who clean it with the dishwasher (it's not any more disgusting than cleaning animal blood of plates and that's kind of what dishwashers is made for... to clean of mess from stuff)...

I bought a wallet ninja for 5$, it's been great for a lot of things on the go

A water filter, my skin feels so much better and softer!

A bidet

Fact. That shit is way under rated in the US. Korea has these add on ones that heat the seat, blow air if you want, clean the area with like 3 different pressures of warm water, and there's even an enima setting.

I know that for a fact, because I was curious as to why one setting had a butt with water below it, and one with water on it. I thought it might just be a misprint or something, so I hit it. It was absolutely not a misprint. It worked super well.

White noise machine. My sleep has improved significantly since purchasing it.

But then what will happen to my fan?

Depending on your location, you probably don't want a fan on in the winter. Or you do and you're just weird.

A Kindle. If you travel, these things are god sends. Just allows me to be able to take multiple books with me in a beautifully compact way. Plus, super cheap books all the time, and whispersync with audiobooks too.

A box of condoms. In certain situation, having some or not can be pretty damn life changing.

An actual camera, Better then most smartphones in low light and everything.

I absolutely love my instant pot. It's a crockpot-pressure cooker that does anything. My wife and I use it all the time. Got rid of our rice cooker because this thing does it faster. Cook whole chicken in an hour, made a roast that should have taken all day in just 2 hours. Does so many things. Haven't tried it yet but apparently you can make yogurt with it.

Just got one for my wife for Christmas, and we've used it every night since.

A bicycle. It's one of the best purchases you can make for your health

A second computer monitor

If you have cats, a self cleaning litter box. I have two cats and it was life changing. I just replace the litter after about 40-50 uses and don't have to do anything else. It counts how much they use the bathroom so you can tell if they are sick, and you can either get the disposable litter boxes or empty out the box it comes with and fill it with regular crystal litter. For someone who hates scooping cat poop this was a fucking godsend.

Any recommendations for model? I've looked around, but the reviews tend to be all over the place. Thx!

I use the PetSafe ScoopFree Ultra. It's on Amazon for $145

Thanks! I'll check it out.

Phillips Hues or any other smart bulb. Depending how many you buy and whether you just want dimming or full color switching, its well under $200 and has made my life 1000x better. The app is fantastic and has a widget for iPhones, so I can control my lights from anywhere in the house or the world by swiping to the left. No longer do I need to get off the couch to turn them on or have to make my way to the bathroom at night in darkness. The color models are an even further gamechanger: each bulb can be a different color and it makes for some interesting atmospheres. Third party apps like HueDisco will use your phone's mic to make the bulbs "dance" to music being played in the room. One of the coolest things I've bought for myself lately; all my roommates bought their own the day after I did.

An air frier: cooks pretty much everything in a healthy way, and it’s fast, and tastes extremely good. Better than any other method of cooking

A 3d printer! Once you have one you find uses for it everywhere!

What sort of 3D printer can you get for under $200?

not a good one

youre absolutely wrong.

monoprice select mini

really good 3d printer for 199

Monoprice Mini Delta hype!!!!!!!
^^^I've ^^^only ^^^been ^^^waiting ^^^since ^^^July ^^^2017

IIRC there's riprap or something like that. It prints most of itself and you just buy the electronics / metal bits and assemble it yourself. It's not amazing, but it's good enough to get into 3d printing.

I use a Monoprice MP Mini, and as a beginner I think its pretty good. Prints aren't perfect, but they come out nice enough

Anet a8 is $160ish right now. Perfectly fine 3d printer, obviously much better ones - but mine has done me well, once calibrated.

Monoprice has a pretty decent one with a tiny build volume but I've been really considering it for rc motor mounts and arduino housings.

Go suck a couple of dicks or recycle some cans and once you're up to $400 you can buy a Creality CR-10 when it's on sale. One of the best rated 3D printers and the most affordable at the moment.

Year CR-10 ROCKS, it is absolutely the best. However it can print pretty big kinds of stuff, a lot of people don't need such a big printing volume, so you can get cheaper one - so you don't have to suck that many dicks.

Name 17!

Printing 3D cake toppers for your child's first through seventeenth birthday.

[deleted]

/r/theydidntdothemath

I can't name 3.5568743e+14 things in general!

can you name 3.5568743e+14 things in corporal?

well, I think it looks like a Greg or a Carl, but I'd like to know what name 17! would prefer

Here are some things I have printed using a Monoprice MP Select Mini (which is right around $200):

Organizer for a board game
Hidden wall mount for a Google Home Mini
Bottle opener
Designed a lens cap to hold a sun filter for my camera (for taking eclipse photos)
Small storage box for my wife
Dock for a Nintendo Switch (uses cables from the original dock)
Upgrades for the 3D printer itself
Replacement tokens/components for board games
Replacement part for a car (small interior piece)

Just to name a few...I'll add more later if I can remember.

Eyyy it's BillieRuben, the #2 reason I go to pornhub after jacking off.

Oh really? Wow! That's terribly flattering! I'm so sorry I have so little content.

Hold on there's a great "3d print some" joke in here somewhere...

wait now I'm legit curious if people 3d print sex toys, cause that seems like a thing people would do

Oh they definitely do. I'm part of a group that regularly discusses and shows off such things.

But you really need to cast them. The prints have too much texture to be bacteria-safe, and fillament themselves are not body safe.

So 3d print something, then make a mold from it, then cast the object? I'm kinda curious even if I'll never make one myself. Seems to have a lot of potential.

Yup! That's exactly it.

Ehhh, I was thinking about a 3D printer so hit YouTube to search for useful things to make. It just wasn't worth it, most useful thing I recall was potato chip bag resealing clips.

Browse thingiverse.com for a while

a puppy from a shelter. He (or she) will change your life and you'll change their life at the same time. :)

God, they start at like $500 in Aussie :(

But only if you can take care of them!

They will cost way more than 200, after you've bought a kennel, toys, blankets, insurance, vaccinations, etc.

Now am glad our doggu doesn't do toys much. She's content with some runaround and snuggles.

Heated towel rack. It’s the cheapest thing you’ve never knew you needed.

Bathroom heaters in fancy places are towel-rack shaped for the exact reason.

The environmentalist and anti-consumerist in me thinks that is just awful.

Many US code enforcers don’t allow them to be built or sold with a house :(

$199 worth of TRX.

TRX

Weights or the cryptocurrency?

For the cryptocurrency, I bought a bunch just before the New Year and it was the best decision ever.

Yeah man. That shit is cruising.

Hell yeah, I use it while weight training for calisthenics and stretching

Silly rabbit TRX is for kids!

I bought a 150 dollar pair of Bose freestyle earbuds a few years ago.

People give me shit for "spending too much" or being a fanboy, but these earbuds have really ruined me for other headphones/earbuds. They are so comfortable that you forget they are in, and the audio quality is superb. I'm not a musician by trade, or an audio engineer or anything like that, but I can't tell the difference between these and more expensive ones or studio headphones. They have good bass and peaks as well.

I bought a cheaper 30 dollars pair off Amazon recently, since I'm poor these days, and I had to send them back immediately. They sounded and felt almost as bad as those shit ones you get on a plane.

That being said, Apple earbuds aren't bad for the price either, but they don't sound or feel half as good as the Bose ones I have. Changed the way I listen to music.

A fried of mine just got a bose bluetooth speaker. Its amazing.

A multi-tool that you will keep in your pocket or purse all the time. They come in all shapes and sizes now, with just about any tool you can think of. Just search "EDC multi-tool" on youtube and you can see the huge number of options there are.

Victorinox Cybertool all the way!

/r/EDC

Mosin nagant 91/30.

I was thinking the same thing...

A raspberry pi. You don’t know it, but you need one. Once you figure out what it can do, you’ll find some use for it. My brother in law uses one in his garage for looking up car parts and diagrams and playing pandora. He doesn’t want a full PC sitting out there waiting to be stolen or sucking in paint fumes. I have one for emulation and another I’m building into some home automation stuff.

If you haven’t figured it out, a raspberry pi is a credit card sized computer. It’s cheap, not very powerful, and meant for educational purposes. However, many things we use much more expensive machines for can easily be handled by a pi. For example, if I want to browse the web on my tv, I could get a pc, a Mac mini, a smarter tv, or just grab a pi, a wireless keyboard, and flash a copy of flintOS to an SD card. Done.

If you like gaming, a steam link! They are on sale right now for $6 or something. Takes your gaming experience of the PC right to your tv. I'm amazed of how well it works and the things you can do with it.

And you can use it to stream your PC to the TV for movies that you.... Paid for legally!

The reason it's on sale so much is because nobody wants it. You can just move your PC nearer the TV if you want to use the TV as a monitor. Not many people want both a desktop setup and a couch setup. I would definitely get one if it was powerful enough to stream VR games to my headset in another room because that would be insanely useful, but it's not.

A Hitachi magic wand. Go for the rechargeable version; it's worth it for the non-porous silicone head and portability.

Thermacell for $20. This small appliance keeps mosquitos about 15’ away. I use one when I sit in a tree stand for hours and not a single bite. On occasion, I’ve forgotten to turn it on and the mosquitos are all over me within a minute of sitting down. Turn it on and they’re gone within a minute.

Shoes, I always believed that if there's something your going to pay alot for it should be shoes, especially if your on your feet all day.

A tiny, very weak LED light pluggable into a wall socket. Plug it in the bathroom. When you need to take a leak at night, it's quite enough to find your way and finish your business without suffering the glare of normal lighting.

Also called a nightlight.

A puppy

Instantpot.

Bidet.

A video doorbell is a great under $200 investment. Most of the popular ones have motion detection, night vision and upload events to a cloud app where you can analyze them. Great way to know what is going on at your front door (and spy on neighbor traffic of course)

Mossberg maveric 88

Indeed a quality piece in 20 or 12 gauge.

A vibrator

Dash Camera. My levels of road rage and stress while driving have been reduced to almost nil because I know that if someone cuts me off and causes an accident, or runs a red light, or whatever, it won't end up looking like I was at fault.

It kinda made driving relaxing again instead of a chore.

A furniture dolly.

My brother got a dash cam and a week after a guy in a truck turned in front of him. Tried to say my brother was speeding. After he submitted the dashcam video the guy changed his story and said the sun was in his eyes.

We got one of those Alexa Amazon Show things for Christmas. We use it ALL the time. Whether its playing music, asking it questions, video calling family, checking measurement conversion (my wife bakes cakes), etc. It's a very cool thing.

Replacing my light switches everywhere so I shut it all down for the night at once.

Which do you use? Are there ones with multiple switches?

I’ve heard good things about lutron

Not OP but I've got a bunch of smart lights in my house. I've tried TP-Link smart bulbs, Wemo plugs, and Wemo smart switches.

Selection is based on the particular light and how I use it. For example, in some scenarios I still like using the switch on the wall if I'm in and out of the room often enough and don't want to make noise by talking to Alexa or don't want to waste time pulling out my phone. In those cases the smart switch is awesome. Can still flip a switch when necessary but can also hook up to groups for controlling multiple lights at once. Only drawback is that it has some specific requirements for wiring that older houses may not be able to handle.

The smart plugs are handy and easy to use. Usually use them for lighting fixtures that plug in but don't conform to a standard bulb size.

The smart bulbs I use for lights that don't have plugs and/or switches that aren't conveniently located.

Been happy with all three devices. TP-Link's app is a bit better than Wemo IMO.

Smart plugs too

congratulations on your glorified spyware

Congratulations on your edgy worldview and uninformed opinions.

It's just like a telescreen from *1984. *

I think people who part these smart home/Xbox is spying on you comments should be required to get a network analysis certificate from Wireshark.

The world would be a better place, either they could prove themselves right, or shut the fuck up.

Put tape on your webcam when you're not using it.

[removed]

For everything that I get out of it, I do not.

Go ahead and try to sell me stuff. I have the self control to say no.

The world would be a better place, either they could prove themselves right, or shut the fuck up.

Well sadly they still wouldn't know. They have no real way of knowing if Amazon is storing their queries and selling that information the way facebook might. Realistically, amazon doesn't care about what we ask and they don't bother to track any of it.

i did that with my smart TV.

i don't have a smart TV anymore :/

It physically doesn't have the ability to listen to you. The chip onboard can barely understand the keyword to activate it, let alone record and upload the silence of your loneliness to the cloud.

There was a good post here last week on exactly how it works but it runs a really dumbed down version of unix and all the interpretation of your question takes places on an AWS

/r/bestof/comments/7mav4y/redditor_explains_how_alexa_works/

+1 for this answer. It doesn't log you any more than Siri or Google Assistant does.

[deleted]

I work in cyber security, we've double checked network traffic after every new firmware release, and it only sends traffic after the trigger word or during done periodic check ins with the Amazon servers (things like checking for updates, additional skills). With that being said, as mentioned in another thread, there is onboard memory that is always recording, with something like a couple second roll over period, which helps it not only process the keyword, but anything that you said directly after. This way you don't have to pause after the keyword before issuing the command.

did you check what it's sending, or only when? it could be storing data until a connection is triggered and then upload

We watched when and where. There appears to be two separate sets of servers, one for command processing, one for maintenance/updates.

It's true, I wonder if the LED ring is hardwired though, would need someone to confirm this for me though/

It definitely does store every question you ask though, in fact if you look at the connected app you can see a list of previously asked questions.

On the same topic, I recently found that google tracks where your android phone goes by default and you can view it all in the location history, I also found it recorded every instance of me accidentally activating voice control... but the recording starts before the keyword is accidentally said... spooky.

but the recording starts before the keyword is accidentally said

If it's listening for the keyword 24/7 it has to store the microphone data somewhere. Once it recognizes your voice there's bound to be some extra data elsewhere in the buffers. It's not like there's enough memory onboard to store hours of 'offline' content, but I wouldn't be surprised if it keeps ~5s before and after the keyword.

It definitely does store every question you ask though, in fact if you look at the connected app you can see a list of previously asked questions.

I believe Amazon stores that else where and not directly on the device.

You'd have to monitor network traffic to know whether it's uploading everything even when it hasn't heard the keyword

Not really. As nobody has ever found evidence that this is happening (despite how easy it would be), there's no reason to do it yourself.

tracks everything you specifically ask it...

I can go into my app and listen to the actual audio recordings of the questions being asked. Last time I checked, I found about 1,000 “Alexa, fart.” requests from my son and a sprinkling of “Alexa, play some Coldplay.” from my wife.

This is why Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world.

christ, you left your wife right? i'd rather find out she was on tinder.

Ha ha. I had forgotten my original comment when I read your response. I thought “oh shit, what did I say about my wife?” Coldplay.

Amazon was subpeoned a few months ago for data recorded by an Alexa device at a murder scene. They're fighting the subpoena - if they had no data to give they would've just responded to it that way.

The device is not open source enough to truly understand how it works unless you actually work for Amazon in a capacity where you would have access to that kind of info.

But a simple traffic analyzer can determine the size of data it is sending. And it's moslty 6 to 7 MB a week. So unless they figured out pied piper technology they cannot send all the sound recordings to AVS for analysis.

They cannot process the data on the device. It doesn't have that kind of computational power.

So current devices will show up in a network monitor if they send your 24*7 sound data.

if they had no data to give they would've just responded to it that way.

I doubt that is true. Amazon fought it because they don't want to be known for handing over your data and handing over that data costs Amazon money.

they don't want to be known for handing over your data

how exactly does "we dont have any data to hand over" make them known for handing over data?

how exactly does "we dont have any data to hand over" make them known for handing over data?

Don't know, I didn't say that.

But since you asked, I would speculate because Amazon's patent filings indicate they have much bigger plans for audio that crosses Alexa's ear. - https://redd.it/7nvw93

Sure. Does it wake to your keyword when it’s not connected to the network?

It will wake then do nothing. The actual functionality on the device is very limited.

-sent from iPhone

If you are worried about privacy, iPhones are the way to go. Apple has easily the best track record

can't remember another brand that had something happening quite as damaging as leaking nude pictures, videos and conversation backups from hundreds of it's highest profile customers...

If you steal my iPhone out of my unlocked 2015 Ford F-150 Lariat with adaptive cruise, lane keeping, parallel park assist, and sync3 cause you know I was not about that sync2 life, is it Ford’s fault for not somehow preventing the theft?

unlocked

see the fault in your analogy?

the problem wasn't that apple didn't secure the data of it's customers, it's that they did a really crappy job doing it.

Please explain? I am under the impression that no icloud systems were compromised at the fault of Apple.

If you’re worried about privacy, a burner phone is the way to go.

I would not be surprised if cellphones are already doing what people are concerned with Alexa doing.

Nah, it's not, read this comment Source

Can't comment on Google devices, but I have several friends who work for the Alexa division at Amazon, and much of the workings of the Alexa/Echo devices are public knowledge if you are a skills developer or connected home, etc. tech partner so I'm not really revealing any major secrets here.

The Echo units have two main "modes." The first is a small firmware chip wired to the microphone that only contains about 50-60k of onboard memory. Its only purpose is to listen to the wake word, "Alexa," "Echo," etc. It doesn't do any actual language processing for this, but only listens for distinct combinations of syllables. This is why they can't be programmed to respond to arbitrary words.

Once the firmware chip hears the wake word, it powers up the main ARM chip, which runs a stripped down version of Linux. This startup process takes just under a second, during which time the firmware chip has barely enough memory to buffer what you're saying if you immediately start talking after the wake word without pausing. Once the ARM chip is on, the blue ring on the top illuminates and recording begins. The firmware chip dumps its buffer to the start of the recording and then serves as a pass-through for the mic. Only this main ARM chip and OS has access to the networking interface, in or out.

The purpose of this next stage is to wait until it's heard what sounds like a real natural sentence or question. Amazon is not interested in background noise -- that would be a waste of bandwidth and resources. So there is a rudimentary natural language processing step done locally to determine when you've said a real sentence and stopped speaking. It also handles very simple "local" commands that don't need server processing, like "Alexa stop." Only at that point is the full sentence sent up to the actual AWS servers for processing.

It is physically impossible for the device to be secretly constantly listening, as the mic, networking, main wake chip, blue LED ring, and main ARM chip just aren't wired that way from a power perspective. If you are curious to confirm any of the above, try disconnecting your home internet and playing around with the Alexa a bit, and you'll see that it only even realizes something is wrong at that very last step, when it goes to upload the processed sentence to the servers.

As for the stories about "eerie" advertising coincidences popping up due to things you've said around Alexa, it just goes to show how spooky accurate advertisers' overall profiles are of you these days. They can track everything you have done across every device you own, and then make such educated guesses about what you're probably interested in that they don't even need to listen in your home.

what a downer man

I like Alexa, but we've got the Echo and the Google Home and the Google Home beats it in spades, especially with contextual question abilities. Still, both pretty useful and awesome to have around.

Maybe not for us in the developing world but in some places in Africa a cheap computer that we would likely trash can provide training and access to a high paying job that can often take care of an entire community. It seems crazy to me that providing something we take for granted to a community could be so powerful and so up lifting.

Well if you want to waste time, an Echo Dot - less than $50. Also does cool stuff like set timers and tells you the weather and looks up stuff for you, but there's so many funny things to ask it.

And you can play Jeopardy on it!

I haven't gotten that far. I have played 20 questions with it - it lost.

Upvote as I have the Google Home, and use it for all sorts of things. Hell I just randomly asked it what time it was the other day while I was playing because I don't have a clock in the room.

Weather, setting timers for cooking, setting alarms, playing music, controlling the lights.

A smart home device really is a great idea.

We've only had ours since Saturday, when we celebrated Christmas with the husband's mom - it was a gift from her, so not sure which I would have chosen if I had bought one. I live in an apartment, so no way I'd go through the trouble of trying to get it to work with the lights or other weird things. I've mostly just used it to ask the time (when I'm essentially too lazy to look at a clock since we have one in almost every room), set a timer (really cool that it rattle off the time left on timer if asked), ask funny stuff, ask the weather, or have gotten it to play music a few times.

No one is going to die without one, but it has come in handy way more than I would have expected.

It's solved a few arguments about facts between me and my wife, "Hey Google, what is the biggest moon in the solar system?" proved to me I had been wrong about that question my whole life. lol

LOL! Had similar except if the husband is being grumpy, I just tell it to "open box of cats" or "meow" to make a cat noise. I know he can't help but smile at something like that.

Ask audio goal for a goal. You’re welcome.

"Sorry I don't know that one." was Alexa's response.

So say Alexa, ask audio goal for a goal. It works for me

Curious if we are from the same place - Indiana, USA here. Maybe a regional/national difference?

Or get a Google home mini and it'll actually know what you ask it.

Well the Echo Dot was a Christmas present from my MIL. I didn't pick it out for myself. :)

The Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer

goes perfectly well with the Banana bunker!

Maybe not a gadget. But getting a hammock has made my life a whole lot more relaxing.

A blender.

A hand gun. It's like walking around with an extra dick

Most decent ones are over $200 tho

Hmmm settle down Donald.

A smartphone

I got a Moto G5 Plus on Black Friday for $160 after my iPhone 6S+ started crashing on me. So far I've really enjoyed this phone.

Currently using this. It's a gorgeous phone.

I'll keep this in mind if I ever had iPhone problems of my own! I'm actually rather determined to make my current iPhone my "last" cell phone, at least for the next several years. Basically, I have decided to use this one until it just can't do the trick anymore. It's a 7, and it currently needs a new battery, but I know how to replace those, and can get them cheaper than even Apple's $29 battery replacement program they've started, so next payday I will be purchasing a battery.

But I've always been the type to use one thing until it just can't continue anymore. My iPad is also super old, and I'm only replacing it next year because it is just so laggy anymore, it's nearly unusable, and more and more of my apps are no longer compatible. It couldn't even update to iOS 11; I'm stuck at iOS 10.3.3. I'm only replacing my car this year because it can no longer pass inspection without putting more money into it than it's worth; it's 25 years old, almost literally falling apart, and worth less than $500 at this point. Poor old Bessie has had a long, hard life.

So, yeah, I tend to hang onto things until it just becomes infeasible to keep doing so, so hopefully I get a lot more life out of my iPhone yet!

You shopping smart phones from the dollar store? Hello Cricket wireless

Honor 6x is a beast of a phone. You don't need to buy from Samsung or Apple to get a nice phone.

[deleted]

How do you milk sheep?

Release a new phone and charge people $1000 for it hahhhah

Truth... Wife and I used to have Galaxy S5's, when they were the new thing. We got tired of fighting the carrier (US cellular was making it hard for us to pay them, why do that?) and went with another service. We got a couple of Nexus 5x's on Project Fi, and we've had them since 2015... the processors screwed up on mine, causing a bootloop, so I reflashed it to use 4 processors, saved up and bought a moto x4. I think I'll get another moto x4 for the wife in a month or two.

oddly enough it's often the same people who get irate at the thought of spending more than 400 on a PC

I actually came across that phone while researching my next phone. Can you give a quick review? I've used the oneplus one until I got my current $50 Blu r1hd

The battery management is super aggressive, so the 2 day battery life is accurate but occasionally you will go to use your phone and it's in the middle of a reboot, or the fingerprint scanner won't work because it just rebooted.

I hear the reason it's so much cheaper is because they made compromises in the build quality, so if you are rough on your phones it might not be for you. I have a simple Tudia case on it and a tempered glass screen protector and mine is still in perfect shape. But I'm pretty easy on my phones though I have dropped it pretty hard several times, still working great and no damage anywhere that I can see.

Phone is nice and snappy, fingerprint scanner is very fast, camera is acceptable but nothing special, screen is just large enough that I can't use the full screen one-handed. I really don't have any serious complaints about it, it's worked really well for me for the year I've had it. The phone I had before it was a Moto G, and the one before that was a Galaxy 1, the Honor is my favorite so far.

I bought my gf the R1 and it seems like a pile of crap compared to the Honor. I'm about to flash a custom ROM on it hoping it will solve some of the issues she has with it, but I may just end up getting her an Honor.

Lol you may not get the latest and greatest iPhone but you can get a half decent android with that kinda money

I have an Android with about as much power as an Iphone 6 we got for like $150.

Ignore this guy. My first smart phone was from google (spent $400).

I replaced it with a $200 Honor 5x (great phone). Lost that phone, got the Moto G from my bro (great phone).

$200 phones do everything I need it to. IMO, the sweet spot for phones.

Good vapes can be bought for well under 200$ and definitely change a smokers life to the better. Handed my dad (who was a nonstop smoker of 20 years) my vape once. He bought one for himself the same day and has not smoked a cigarette once after doing so, which blew my mind.

Get a charging station! Usually under 20 bucks and it is absolutely essential. You might think you have enough sockets for your devices but no you don't have enough!

A crack pipe. Truly life changing, first you wonder why you didn't do it before then you wonder if you will ever stop.

A .001 scale

For science.... right??

Yes… totally for scientific reasons

Fitbits are good and fairly motivating. It will at least get you to think or be aware of your heart rate and how many calories you burn in real time. Also fun to count steps.

Dashcam

An air fryer.

Eyeglasses /bifocals if you need it.

A nice bed set. Nothing feels better than being comfy and cozy in some plush blankets and pillows after a long day.

Epi pen

A hardware wallet to store your cryptos.

Hair clippers, best investment ever.

A bidet

A good vibrator.

Yeelight has this amazing little light that only turns on when it detects motion in the dark.

you can stick it on the hallway and it really helps when you can't find the light switch in the dark.

It's only ~10bucks

An electrical toothbrush. It makes it so much easier to properly reach all parts, saving on dentist bills in the long run.

A good electric toothbrush, oh the difference you’ll feel

VR goggles for my phone.

Gaming on it sucks, but the 360 VR porn is mind blowing. It got me legit scared for a while, because I realised that once it gets about 20% better than it is right now, it will be as good as sex, and thus extremely addictive.

I'm surprised I don't see more love for dash cams. They can literally be life changing by providing proof of what happened leading up to an accident or traffic incident.

One of those little feminine hair trimmers. I Don't always have time to shave and pluck my brows or bikini area. Saved me from going out in public looking like a monkey

  • cast iron casserole: if cooking and great food are your thing.

  • Bluetooth earphones

  • Bluetooth mouse & external (mechanical) keyboard: especially for small laptops. Stop ruining your wrists.

  • an espresso machine

  • anything that connects your phone/laptop to a big TV screen (e.g., hdmi,chromecast, etc) stop ruining your eyes by watching YouTube and films one small screens.

  • a good pillow

  • a pair of shoes for running

  • Kindle paperwhite

  • a good HD and/or cloud service subscription for backups

A book

Library cards are even cheaper.

quality backpack, quality sunglasses

A bidet.

You can get a bidet for under $200?

Sure. There are those that cost more of course, but they start out at less that $50. At that price point you're probably only going to get one that just squirts water at your ass, not the heated seat, adjustable water temperature version with built in air dryer, but if you simply want something more hygienic than trying to scrape your backside clean with dead trees, you can definitely start doing that for well less than $200.

True. I just got a sort of hose like they have im South East Asia. It was cheap but I wouldn't call it a proper bidet obviously.

A smoking gun, Super easy to use and adds a totally new, real restaurant quality to your cooking. It impresses the hell out of people as well.

A musical instrument. I bought my first guitar for £80 about 14 years ago and I still play it most days.

Gps running watch. Really helps me stay motivated to run.

Tim Ferriss crowdsourcing for new material again?

Airfryer. No more deep-fried hot chips and no more of that awful frying fat smell throughout the house. Also my stand mixer. I bake a lot and not having to cream butter and sugar by hand any longer is marvellous.

So aren't the foods that you "air fry" already deep fried and frozen before you cook/heat them? like frozen french fries, they are already fried, aren't they?

They're parboiled and frozen. However, I do also airfry homemade hot chips as well, although of course it's more labour-intensive. :)

Not sure if this counts, but I recently bit the bullet and paid for a VPN. It ended up being about $40 for a one year subscription. It's a tad slower than my natural internet speed, but I still get up to 150-160 Mbps which is pretty good in my area. I've tried free VPNs in the past and I've never had speeds like this while running one.

WIFI Power-line Adapters..

Was hitting 25mb/s on downloads with my xbox on WIFI, but the performance would vary.

Got myself some of these and a decent ethernet cable, now hitting 60mb/s on a bad day.

I'm from Australia where internet is shit, I game on 2.5 to 3 Mbps usually. What difference does all that extra internet juice make?

Well I haven't bought an actual physical game in a long time, always download, so it just means I can do everything faster, never drop out of games and those internet speeds make a massive difference to your game play.

Micro seconds on Rainbow Six Siege is life and death! haha

Firemole.

A tiny device you stick to your charger socket that sets off an alarm when the socket gets too hot.

I just bought a medium quality Bluetooth speaker. The sound quality is making me so much happier

A sous vide machine. Bought a Joule about a year ago and use it almost every night. Cooks food perfectly and makes things in the kitchen so much easier

A metal detector. Could for sure change your life if your in the right place!

POLARIZED Sunglasses. Specifically Costa’s with glass lenses... best sunglasses money can buy and worth 10x the price.

A Roomba style floor cleaner, off brands are under $200, got mine for $169.

I run it twice a day and it always is picking up dust little stuff. What's great about it is it's always picking up dust and little stuff. I never have to vacuum anymore, dusting furniture is infrequent, HVAC filters last forever. Overall the house is always clean and I do nothing but push a button.

An electric toothbrush

what is up with people wishing to change their life ?

A Fitbit. Such a simple device can be life changing. For those that are out of shape (myself included when I picked one up a few years ago), it can be used as a motivational tool to get in shape (or at least become more active). I cannot begin to imagine the number of people whose lives have changed simply by paying $129 for a watch that tracks steps, activity, and heartbeat.

Immersion Circulator (aka Sous Vide cooker)...if you like steak. Good ones are about $100. There is no better way to cook steak

White nosie machine. I really struggled to both fall asleep and stay asleep due to anxiety. This calms me down and I pass the fuck out.

we do this with our Alexa / Echos. You can do ocean wave sounds and rain too!

A decent crockpot. There's nothing like spending 5 min throwing in good sounding ingredients into a pot and it being the greatest tasting thing ready when you get home.

Alexa/Home, and smart bulbs. Set automatic lights up and you realize how dumb it is to have to go into rooms and turn off and on the lights when you arent home

Get a dashcam

Swedish made penis enlarger pump

This sort of thing is my bag...baby

“That’s not mine, baby”

”One book: how to use Swedish made penis enlarger pump, written by /u/clem82”

takes book swiftly

A Desktop Water Distiller

Nothing beats pure H2O. The amount of chemicals in our drinking water is staggering and distilling removes all of them. The distilled water removes deposits of harmful chemicals and carcinogens left in our body over the years. This is an investment in ones health.

http://aquariusthewaterbearer.com

Yeah, no. Anything that claims to bring psychic awareness is bullshit. Anything claiming to remove toxins is bullshit. This is a scam. It's just water. You can get distilled water at your local supermarket.

Something truly magical and life changing... a condom. May not be fully electrical, but it's definitely the perfect example of modern day machinery.

I haven't seen this yet, but a fire alarm, fire extinguisher, and CO monitor. Can literally change your life

A bidet/washlet add on for the toilet

I'm Italian and I don't know how could anyone live WITHOUT a bidet.

A tablesaw. To some people, it might be a gadget, but good lord is there a lot you can do with a cheap tablesaw.

An Intel processor made in the last 20 years.

Don't you start....

A good kitchen knife. Once you’ve cut some veggies with a decent knife it’s hard to go back.

Squatty Potty

Garmin GPS. My brother fell off his bike a few months ago and it immediately texted his emergency contacts what happened and where he was.

A happy light, especially if you get seasonal depression

My seasonal depression lasts 4 seasons a year

The broad city episode on seasonal depression is hillarious.

Raspberry Pi ($35). Install Plex on it and connect it to one or two external hard drives and you have a low power, always on media server you can access from anywhere. Certainly changed my life.

I love my Pi's, got about 10 or 12 of them. My home router has a media function where I can plug in the hard drive and it acts as a media server which my TV can access directly.

I'm working on getting a torrent app on the Pi though.

a smart phone/cell phone and service plan.

seriously, once you get away from your landline and realise you can leave your property and make a phone call... even along the interstate or chilling by the lake. or that you can settle any fact based argument in seconds with a statement prefaced by "ok google".

your life will forever change.

TENS machine. I have had a chronic neck issue for the last 10 months, causing my shoulder and arm to lose strength and have ongoing pain which I was treating with NSAID anti inflammatories at a rate that they just were not working for me anymore.

I finally head to a chiropractor and he recommends a series of adjustments and TENS for the pain management. I was skeptical but went ahead with the treatment. 4 months later I am convinced, my neck is healed and TENS really does control pain well. These days I use TENS post workout as well for sore muscles instead of ibuprofen. a decent one is only 40 to 50 dollars and its worth it.

A long shoehorn that you can use while standing

Flip Fold. 15 years ago i helped out at Spencers gifts as seasonal help and i was instantly mesmerized by the magic t-shirt folding machine.

youtube link

I think you can get it at the container store.

A bidet. Was skeptical at first but they are awesome. I am a guy btw.

I totally agree

I bought a piece of shit plastic joint roller from a headshop for $2 like four years ago. I still use it all the time, it's a bit of a trick to use properly and you have to pack more than you think you'll need, but it rolls perfectly, whether you want a pinner or a fat one.

This is one of the best investments a joint smoker can make. Every roll is even and symmetrical and you don’t have to worry about canoeing because it’s so tight and uniform.

I never did learn to roll by hand... after someone stole mine I've just put up with maintaining a little bubbler.

I just buy RAW pre rolled cones for all my smoking needs.

All you do is grind it up , stuff the already assembled cone and then twist and light it

Takes like 2 seconds

those are great, also I've seen some pretty nice vapes for like $70 or so that friends had

Gaming peripherals (mouse and keyboard specifically) for your computer. Using 2 keys for copy/paste is sooo pedestrian.

Getting a keyboard with dedicated macro keys changed my life.

I've shifted to using more mouse buttons for macros. Basically at the point where I only need my left hand for typing.

I've been thinking about binding my common usernames and passwords to mouse buttons, but that's a pretty huge security fail.

Lastpass for passwords and username storage, encryption, and auto fill! No two passwords of mine are the same anymore and I never have to type them in.

I don't trust password managers, particularly Lastpass. They've had their security breached in the past, it can happen again. source

Quickly read that article and although they were hacked and the password hashes that were stored were taken they seem to be using quite beefy encryption, technically reversable but it would take a while (which usually means lifetime of the universe in comsci speak). It would probably be easier for a dedicated hacker to bruteforce your password rather than reverse engineer using the hashes. TLDR; While password data was stolen it wasn't data that could be used to determine the passwords

Pepper spray on a keychain. Gives you a sense of security when you're alone in secluded spaces (empty/sketchy parkinglot at night).

The same could be said of an inexpensive handgun, say, a cobra arms .38 from the local pawnshop.

This. Why delude yourself with a mere sense when you can have actual security?

Precisely my thinking. A good pair of sunglasses don't stop a .38.

the feeling of security you get from your gun is no more real than from a can of pepperspray.

quite the opposite actually...

what comes after the dots?

owning a gun significantly increases your risk of accidental death, commiting suicide, becoming victim of a crime and dying as a result of said crime.

in essence, you trade security for feeling secure.

The first two make sense. But, owning a gun significantly increases my chance of becoming a victim of a crime? Are you sure that's not correlation?

Do you have a source for these? Thanks.

(Context: Have been doing a lot of reading lately, and went from anti-gun to pro-gun. Still finding my bearings!)

it makes it more likely to get targeted because somebody wants your gun, in that regard it's not better or worse than owning any other valuable, easy to steal object.

as for the last part, once a crime is happening, having a gun makes you 5 times more likely to get shot.

apparently it's mostly that people with a gun tend to escalate situations that would better be resolved otherwise out of a false sense of security and aren't really able to react appropriately once the situation escalated, or bringing a gun into a situation and then losing control about it, meaning now a bad guy that had no gun prior now has one.

people really underestimate how incredibly untrained the vast majority of american gun owners are.

Excellent, thank you. Those are some great points.

I heard recently this metaphor, that a gun is like a fire extinguisher: you'll probably never need it, but if you do, you'll be really glad you have one.

But from the facts you've shared it sounds like, in the wrong hands, that fire extinguisher can become a flamethrower.

your risk of accidental death

No more than owning a car, let alone driving it.

commiting suicide

Not likely. If I kill myself I'm using argon and hypoxia... and I have every right to check out because I'm tired of dealing with idiots.

becoming victim of a crime and dying as a result of said crime.

If you're talking about getting murdered by cops, they don't care if you actually have a gun; they shoot first and claim fear/qualified immunity later. If you're talking others, I'll take my chances. I'd bet my life that any statistics you're going off of are invalid or unreliable. I know for a fact I'm ok shooting people and won't hesitate in the moment of truth.

in essence, you trade security for feeling secure.

Not really. You are making a bunch of assumptions about me you have no business making.

Not really. You are making a bunch of assumptions about me you have no business making.

no offense, but i think your reply justified all of them.

it's not about looking at the data and use that to form informed opinions but about what feels true.

which is of course your right too, but i still call a spade a spade.

You think I'm ignoring data and just feeling? Data, even reliable data, is meaningless without a framework with which to interpret it. A framework ought to further be valid. You're mindlessly alluding to crap you know nothing about. You wouldn't know a metaphorical spade if it was literally fucking you in the ass. Of course I won't entertain your shit. How about you come back when you start to get a clue how to think. I'll wait.

Heh. Okay. ;)

aneros.

Berkey Water filter... even though nyc is touted as having amazing tap water the fact that the fill chamber of my berkey is scummy and brown after a month says otherwise. Also knowing that my family isn’t ingesting the rest of the city’s antibiotics, meds and vitamins is a nice feeling. I did a lot of research on water filters before purchasing the berkey and if you’re in a living situation where you don’t own and can’t instal a whole home system then the berkey is by far the best when it comes to quality. Not the prettiest or easiest to maintain but it’s the quality of the filtered water that I’m more interested in.

Nespresso, an aeropress, a French press, a Keurig. I like coffee.

I'm no hippy, but I'd recommend steering away from coffee pods, the amount of waste they put in landfill is abhorrent and there's plenty of substitutes, several of which you've already mentioned.

Plus they taste terrible.

I understand the convenience of single cup coffee makers and not everyone wants to attend a French press or other fancy coffee maker, but for Christ sake people, get a reusable filter for your keurig, they cost like 5 bucks. A quick tap on the trash and a rinse and they're clean enough for the next cup. Even the inventor of the kcup regrets it.

i really don't understand what is so fucking hard about a french press.

It’s not so much the use as the clean up.

Convenience

Dump grounds in press. Add hot water. Press plunger after 3 min and enjoy coffee.

Plus it’s so much better tasting! $40 for a French press, some great quality beans, $20 for an electric kettle, an extra 7 minutes out of your morning. BAM! Life changing!

Making coffee in just about any method is about the easiest kitchen task I can think of, its just that different brewing methods require attention to the process where a coffee machine is set it and forget it until you're filling up your thermos and heading out the door.

I really dont understand the difference in attention between a keurig and a regular drip coffee or french press, especially if youre using reusable keurig cups

Coffee machines are either instant or don't require any attention where a French press you need to actually attend to the brewing. I never said it was hard, but you actually have to pay attention which is a lot to handle for some people

Attend the brewing? You pour the hot water in and come back later. Its not liie you have to sit and watch it

Again, didn't say it was hard, but it requires time between steps instead of doing everything at once in the beginning.

Buy a reusable pod. I have also noticed many pods are now labeled as biodegradable.

Great. I've paid $100 to "upgrade" my 12-cup coffeepot to a device that requires the same amount of effort to brew, but only produces a single cup.

You can get Keurigs for $25-50 now.

Nespresso pods are entirely aluminum instead of plastic and aluminum blend like Keurig, so they are recyclable. However you have to take them back to the store or mail them back, so it's not very convenient.

I like my stainless steel percolator.

We have one of those at our cabin. Every time we go, I wonder why I don't buy one for my own house.

I came up with an idea for re-usable coffee pods (made from aluminum or stainless steel.... already exists!

Nespresso sends you free recycling bags that have prepaid shipping back to them once you fill it..

How dare you put Aeropress and Keurig in the same sentence - let alone the same realm of quality. May God have mercy on your soul.

I don't like the idea that aeropress is 100% plastic, but it's still intriguing. Does it make good coffee? I have tried many of the other things, currently using a no name ceramic pour over.

Yes, it makes amazing coffee. Don't stress about it being all plastic, it's built like a tank. You could bludgeon someone to death with it and still make a great cup after a quick rinse.

the rubber gets worn out though. ours isn't as smooth as it used to be

No issues with it being plastic. Only use the inverted method though!

I have a Nespresso. A .70 cup of espresso in the morning is just what I need, cheaper than buying a cup at the coffee shop. I also have an Aeropress and French press.

I've dabbled in each, and also had a moka pot. I was gifted a DeLonghi espresso machine that's under 200 bucks and it's pretty awesome as well.

Same here, but with a cheapy manual espresso machine. Downside is that now most coffee tastes like trash to me.

Tried whey protein in my coffee the other day. Effing amazing !!. Used a keurig, threw ice in to cool it, dump protein in and blend. It was like a cold latte that went down so smooth compared to just the flavored whey alone. I love coffee even more now; never knew that was possible ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

A flick knife.

Switch blade?

Not op, but a switchblade or "automatic" knife is opened with a button press and that's all that's required. A flick knife either uses a lever on the back or a flick of a thumbstud to open. Think spring assisted, you still have to provide the input to get it started. Those are totally legal and can be faster than some switchblades. Ultimately super handy to be able to open and close your pocket knife with one hand

Yup, those are very nice, Amazon has some decent quality ones for around 10 bucks I believe. They don't sell balisongs unfortunately but I did find a cheap $25 one at a smoke shop in the area, that one has been my daily driver and has held up well.

I have an awesome-looking flick knife. It's red and black and has a dragon on the handle, and the blade itself is black and just looks wicked. I bought it at a little store called "Zombie PX" about an hour from where I live. They had all SORTS of cool stuff, but, sadly, they went out of business a while back. Still my second favorite knife, and I don't think I even paid $20 for it, and it even has a window-breaker on the opposite end from the blade, and a belt clip bolted right on the back. (My favorite knife is my Victorinox Swiss Army Ranger knife that my mom got me for Christmas this year. That was only about $50, although they have knives as expensive as $300 on their site. Craziness!)

Forgot to add that I didn't even know switchblades were illegal 'til a friend told me, as he thought my knife was a switchblade. Thankfully, it is not.

A water flosser

A Porter Cable Li-ion battery powered drill/driver. About $130 bucks on the Big A. I don't care how casually or rarely you nee one of these - fully charged, it can lay around for months and still be ready to use. Plus it's got a spare battery that you can keep in the charger if you need to use it all day long. Yes, I have more expensive yellow drills, but, around the house and garage? Can't beat this cheap little sucker.

Vibrator

Tile. It's so useful. I cannot express how satisfying it is to be able to find my wallet or keys when they go missing. As a person with ADD I find myself misplacing my keys or phone all the time. Now I don't have to spend 10 minutes searching for them.

I recently got the Joule from ChefSteps to cook sous vide style. It's been a dinnertime game changer. Super easy, minimal clean-up, and I'm making tastier and more tender meat dishes than ever before. It's almost impossible to screw it up. I was on the fence about sous vide for a while, but I'm so glad I finally tried it out.

THIS. Steaks that will melt your fucking face off. Chicken that is mind bogglingly juicy. I didn't know chicken could be this good. Fish that will bring you near orgasm. Crisp/tender veggies in minutes. And you literally have to try to fuck it up. It's stupid easy. You'll save money by not eating out, because all of a sudden, your food tastes better than the restaurant you were going to go to. All day long, all you can think about is going home to cook and eat your delicious food, even though right now, you often can't bring yourself to cook after a long day at work. By the best purchase I've made in years. Go buy one now. Do it for yourself. Do it for your taste buds. Do it for your family's taste buds. Do it for you friend's taste buds. Do it for America. Who gives a fuck why you do it, it will change your goddamn life.

a squatty potty, get one, use one, you'll understand immediately.

Dude! I just bought one of these three days ago. It’s amazing, I used to have to sit there for like 5-10 minutes. I don’t even need to bring my phone anymore I’m on the toilet for less than 30 seconds.

Worth every penny.

Looks dangerous. What does it do?

It’s a more natural way to take a shit. The posture derived from squatting like that takes a lot of pressure off your bowels and allows for you poop without having to really force it.

The toilet seat is dangerous.

Get some bricks

That would ruin my tile floor as well as not go with the decor.

The squatty potty goes with your decor?

It's white, thin, and quickly maneuvers to the side nearest the wall, blends right in.

Enough bricks to stack to the height of a squatty potty? Not so much. Hard to match brick with bathroom stuff unless you are going for some industrial thing.

Battery Bank..

I stole a 6000mAh 3.7V Battery Bank from my work and I can't go without it!

Some examples

  • In the Car
  • Out in the park
  • lying in bed
  • etc.

Some are under $20 but I'd suggest you buy a good long lasting one to get the most out of it.

Pretty much all are under 200$..

$200 for the 22,000 mah mophie one that has an AC outlet on it

Yes! https://youtu.be/bH0f-yrK9qI

Toothbrush

Electric nose hair trimmer. Best $4 i have spent in the past 2 years.

GPS fitness watch

Bought a 30 dollar toaster oven, pretty life changing

Not necessarily life changing, but a great money saver... A Dremel tool with attachments. I've fixed so much around the house and in the car with a Dremel. I've sharpened blades, cut drywall, smoothed edges, drilled in wood, steel, concrete, and plastic, buffed scratches, restored tools... So many uses.

Water cooler with cold and hot taps.

Blood glucose meter.

Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms.

Not life changing, but life saving

Toilet

A GPS heart rate monitor watch. Garmin just put their Vivoactive Hr in the $150 because they have a newer one out, and it tracks sleep, exercise, and other things.

Awesome.

A good multi tool.. always have a knife, pliers and screwdrivers with you, to take care of unforeseen things

If you live anywhere that is cold, $150 buys you a heated jacket. This is not just a life changer-it can be a life saver. Keeping the core of your body warm is very important because it keeps your body from freaking out and diverting blood flow from your extremities.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-Large-M12-12-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Black-Heated-Jacket-Jacket-Only-201B-20L/207170823

A fit bit

Kindle (or other e-reader). I still buy physical books, but traveling with a kindle vs a whole bag of books is life changing!

A watch...just a $10 plastic watch

A synthesizer

It opens the door to an entire world

Air fryer... What have I been doing with my life

The roomies I just moved in with have an airfryer. It's basically an oven and a deepfryer and a microwave and a toaster and a stove combined and it was $99. I'm totally getting one.

Blew my mind too. I cook everything in that thing. Perfect item for a college student

Heart rate monitor.

Get a watch. Be on time. Makes a difference.

[deleted]

RIP my Spyderco that I lost :(

Basic $20 juicer/blender. Say goodbye to expensive, unhealthy, sugar filled drinks and say hello to a massive increase in fruit and to a lesser degree, vegetable consumption.

I just experiment with whatever is at a great price at the supermarket

Add ice, soy milk and/or low fat natural yoghurt and you're away. Honey maybe too.

As an added bonus, fruit that you'd probably throw out if it's overripe is totally fine in a drink.

Almond milk is good too if you don’t want dairy but also don’t want soy.

A slow cooker has saved me plenty of time with delicious food.

Raspberry Pi... It taught me a fuckload of Linux tricks that helped get me my degree and job.

A small portable battery with a large charge. I use mine while delivering pizza each night and it'll keep my phone charged for over a week.

I got a 20000mAH external battery for $60 and it lasts about a month. It’s awesome!

A $150.00 prepaid smartphone. Its changed my life to have it. I would not be here on Reddit without it.

Vibrator

An SSD for your pc

The average consumer (browsing, ms office) can just take a 120gb model or for a bit heavier use 250gb is really worth it

Store big data (games, archives,...) on a secondary hdd and the OS and maybe your favourite demanding game on the SSD

You will experience heaven

I just did that a couple weeks ago. My desktop PC boots in 15 seconds <3

WiFi lightbulbs, thanks to my Echo and Philips Hue, no more stepping on shit in the dark!

New Englander here - portable car jump starter. Great for peace of mind when it gets that cold. And a good pair of jumper cables.

A bike. Sure you can spend much more than $200 on a bike, but a $200 can be ridden & ridden. You will get fit. You will lose weight. You'll experience the world as you travel.

Source : I did this and achieved all of the above riding a $90 kmart bike to work for a year through Sydney.

One of these fellas.

https://www.mydeal.com.au/victorinox-swisstool-spirit-x-swiss-army-knife?gclid=Cj0KCQiAvrfSBRC2ARIsAFumcm_YjiFpQ1FSSp251XspZltFr3R6rpUydQEJCBYQmoDKtw_gg6VfN0EaAqVGEALw_wcB

I've tried a fair few multi tools and the SwissTool is by far my favourite. I have the model a couple above this one but this one fits the $200 mark.

Shoe insoles. They can get pricey, but it will be the best investment after working on your feet all day

Although not a gadget, I’d recommend a memory foam mattress topper.

/r/INEEEEDIT

Buy a usb mini fan for ur desk for your hands when it gets sweaty or u get hot its like 14 bucks on amazon and i use it every single day! U can also plug it into your usb battery pack for a mobile fan lol. Buy buy ever

gadget guys, OP asked for gadgets...

Good pair of shoes or boots. We spend too much time on our feet not to.

Kindle paperwhite

Those silver things you put under your windshield in summer to keep the sun out.. If you life in a hot-sunny area those things are very underrated.

Second entry would be a proper power bank.

Moka pot. Costs maybe $20-$30, and makes coffee just as nice as espresso machines costing 10x as much. Unfortunately it will ruin coffee for you because you can't go back to the normal stuff afterwards.

A leatherman, or similar multitools. They're great to get yourself out of a pinch.

Philips Norelco Oneblade.

For as long as I have been shaving I suffered with terrible ingrown hairs on my neck and bleeding after every shave. I tried numerous shavers and products, nothing helped. Bought the Oneblade and all of my ingrown hairs are gone and no more bleeding.

All of my friends and coworkers use this thing now. It was a total miracle product for me.

Chromecast,

Does the squatty potty count as a gadget?

Yes and I support that purchase too!

Chromecast. £30 in the UK, no need to pay to watch anything ever again.

One of those smart plugs that works with your wifi.

Theres something magical about saying "Hey Google, Lights"

and then seeing the lights go on.

Those water purification pumps from that TED talk where the guy drinks from water with rabbit faeces in it.

A cell phone

Tieless Shoe Laces.

All my shoes are slip ons now.

A blackroll, a fascia roll to massage your back and neck. Brings your computertable neck back into a more joyful position by yourself without spending a lot of time and effort

A Roomba 650. Picked one up at Christmas time for $125. My wife always wants to clean before bed so I set it to clean 30 minutes before bed. Carpet and hardwood never looked better and no more dog hair.

A smart speaker. Recently picked up a Google Home and it has drastically improved my productivity and overall day to day experience.

Bluetooth cassette adapter. Best $12 I have ever spent. Phone automatically hooks up to my 1997 Escort's sound system as soon as I sit down. No messing with the aux cord every time I drive.

Great, now I need to buy a car that plays cassets!

A power bank. If you get a good one, you can recharge your smartwatch, phone, tablet, and laptop with it. When you’re on the go, you’ll never need to hunt for a power outlet again.

I use the Mophie Powerstation USB-C XXL, it sells for $150 – worth every dime.

Rice cooker.

An insulin pump

Taser

Binoculars. An 8×56 decent set goes for about 160. Go outside at night and look up

Amazon Kindle to read books. Books can really change lives.

A Swiss Army Knife or multitool. I use it multiple times a day and can't live without it. I recommend Victorinox Spirit.

Small rechargeable flashlight. 10180 lithium batteries. The whole light is smaller than a AAA battery. Wear as a necklace or put on keys.

FLESHLIGHT

Fleshlight

I just threw my moneys at Kindle ebook reader in hopes of rekindling my passion for reading thus changing my life.

Swiss Army knives come in different versions for different jobs/hobbies. Last I checked they had versions for fishing, hunting, camping, travel, electronic repair, carpentry, and many more.

I work with science instruments and computers you have no idea how helpful it's been to have a knife, small pliers, and 8 types of screw drivers in one tool.

Hot/cold gel packs with bandage sleeves; also, heating pad. No more living on aspirin/ibuprofen. Apply after workout, relax, feel better.

A slow cooker. It is amazingly useful and can cook a wide variety of things. Just check out /r/slowcooking if you don't believe me.

Definitely, bone conduction headphones. Best headphones ever! Not only do they sound great, they don't get nasty ear wax on them (yes I clean my ears often, the old headphones ALWAYS gets ear wax in the little speaker holes). Also, you can hear other sounds around you clearly, which is safer IMHO.

[removed]

like a yoga celebrity or something?

Air Fryer, no more oil though you can use an oil mister on some items to get a nice crunchy texture without all the fat. I got one from a major shopping channel recently and suddenly lots of dishes i gave up on are back in my diet because of ease of clean up, its fast, and far less calories than if I used a deep fryer

An Aeropress. Changed my life for sure. The coffee you can make is damn delicious. Take it travelling, camping, whatever.

Portable charger for USB devices.

There's tons of brands to choose from, they all generally work pretty well. I have an Anker Powercore 1000. It's one of the smaller chargers on the market, but it's perfect for my uses. It can charger my phone from 0-100% about 3 times, which is plenty for me. I like it because it's super compact and can easily be kept in a jacket pocket without being bothersome when out and about.

Most of the time my phone is charged and I don't even come close to using it. But in the rare occasions I need it, it has payed for itself in my opinion.

My bidet

A mattress pad. Invest in your sleep. And you don’t need an out of this world expensive mattress. Just buy something cushy to slap on top of it.

Pressure cooker. My wife and I both work. Meals are easy as hell. Just throw stuff in the pot and let it cooik for like 30 min and bam dinners ready.

In Russia dash cam run into you!

Honestly, my slow closing toilet seat is awesome. Guests who come over don’t realize how convene it really is when it comes to setting it back down. May not be a gadget but definitely worth the ~$30 or so bucks spent.

Bidet.

Seriously. Sounds icky and strange, but they are amazing. They hook onto your existing toilet and clean your butt. Toilet paper is for peasants.

A bidet! You'll.never want to poop anywhere else again. $40 for a decent cold water one on Amazon, $250 for a seat replacement that had heat and a dryer

It pays for itself anyway in saved TP. You'll realize how gross it is to wipe an do not clean with water after you get used to it

If you spill salsa on a shag carpeting, do you just scrub at it with paper towels? NO! Water gets brought into the mix

Also nixes gross swamp ass fr pooping early in the day and going all day without a shower.

A Lifestraw. $20

A Lifestraw in addition to an emergency kit (www.ready.gov) may not change your life today, but it could save your life tomorrow.

Infared thermometer

A tourniquet. For 30 bucks you can stop an arterial bleed in an arm or leg. Useful for anything done outdoors, trips in a car, or any other place where you or someone can end up being injured. Keep one in your glove box, first aid kit, hunting pack, hiking pack, boat, etc.

An ereader

I bought a fitbit purely to track my heart rate / sleep patterns. I don't care about working out or anything like that, but it is very interesting to see graphs of how I sleep and have a record of how long I've slept.

It also led to discovering my abnormally low heart rate--usually in the low 50's, and as low as high 30's when sleeping.

maybe you'll live forever, since your heart doesnt have to work so hard?

Storez & Bickel Mighty or Crafty Herb Vaporizer.

Have a Mighty and I love it. Ordered my Crafty.

Condom

Somebody's almost certainly mentioned this already, but a Bluetooth OBDII diagnostic code reader for your car. Easily available for under 20 bucks, and plenty of free apps to use with 'em. Reset your check-engine light and actually see what condtion set it off, without having to pay a shop or go begging at Autozone.

A good hose that doesn't kink and easily winds up for transport. Saves a lot of time and frustration.

X-Plane 11 flight simulator. Since I don't have the cash lying around to buy a Cessna or Boeing 737, I can pretend all I want and really learn how to fly an airplane.

A smartphone, depending on how you use it.

Google Home (Mini). Drastically increases productivity and just makes things easier on you. Forgot your alarm? Set one in 10 seconds. Want to listen to a song? Blast it through the suprisingly impressive speaker. Need help with math or any question? It can answer it. Suprisingly underrated for $30.

If you have mediocre wifi, your house doesn't have cat5/6 drops, and your streaming box / console is no where near your router, get a pair of ethernet over powerline adapters.

My Nvidia shield can now stream large MKV rips over the LAN without any stuttering or buffering.

Ethernet powerline adapters are good in situations where adding ethernet drops to an already built home aren't fiscally or structurally feasible.

A good (portable) bluetooth speaker

A gun. Pew pew pew

A fleshlight..? :D

Results may vary

An oven. You can have pie ANY TIME YOU WANT.

RAM for your computer is one thing.

Second monitor if you can get it.

A bidet toilet seat. Hands down one of the most life-changing purchases I've made. We have several, most well under $200, but it's the over $200 one in our master bath that is the best, especially in winter. Warm seat, warm water butthole wash, warm air dry...it makes toilet paper seem like a 100% unreasonable solution for butt cleanliness.

A sous vide - just a fantastic way to cook at home and remove a lot of the variables that can be difficult for new home cooks. The recent price drops have made them accessible for under $200!

agreed, I love mine. made xmas turkey with it even. it was over $200 tho.. :( (when I bought it anyway)

Yea, I think mine was around $225 when I got it but I've purchased a couple more as wedding/Christmas gifts over the last year and they were well under $200.

Get a label maker, it's fun organizing things.

I have a request. For a very long time, I have been trying to search for a portable heater that is USB powered. This so it can plug into my powerbank (it's a huge powerbank so don't worry about it eating all my juice). My initial idea was so I could use it when camping.

Has anyone got any suggestions?

Not an electronics guy, but I suspect that you can't put enough current through a USB cable to run a heater.

Ahh okay thanks.

Some power banks can support a power inverter, which adds a standard plug input. I remember a "as seen on TV" outlet heater that's suppose to just use a little power. This may work for you depending on the power bank

Automatic oil defuser. It’s also a humidifier. One of those “oh cool gift, I’d never buy one for myself “ things. Now that I’m sick and congested I’m using all the minty scents to help me breathe! It’s actually super useful. Also it has Bluetooth so I can have music.

This is mainly for skiers and snowboarders, but I bought my first Stance Driver a few months ago and it really has saved me a lot of time, hassle, and room. It's definitely a must-have for skiers and snowboarders.

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Why? I don’t understand this one at all.

If you use a keyboard a lot it makes a huge difference. No more keys that don't quite register! Satisfying and accurate typing everytime man, I love mine.

A food processor. My ninja changed my life when I bake or cook.

This probably isn’t a gadget or LIFECHANGING for everyone, but a good pair of Ultraboosts are great for running.

A Brezza. It is like a Kuerig for baby bottles. We got it as a gift and didn't even set it up at first because we didn't think we would use it. Once we did we used it 8 times a day for a year. Every bottle warm and mixed perfectly. It saved us so much time at a point in our life when we really needed more of it.

A good crock pot. Amazing comfort food meals, leftovers for days, and millions of easy recipes online. You don't even have to be a good cook.

Retractable USB charging cable. I also have versions for RJ45 and RS-232.

I hate loose cables and these cheap kits really feed my Quan.

Go get 200 dollars off things you've been meaning to get that would make your life easier. Every year I sure 100-200 on stuff that I've wished I'd had.

This year I got the following for myself. If it makes my life easier than awesome, if not, at least I tried it.

Under sinkorganizer Idakey key ring Free key key system A utility key chain pen Key labels

(Getting my keys in order was awesome)

Some surge protectors A USB charging station Sugru Book - getting things done Some styluses for my work

I'm hoping this makes my year a little easier and less frustrating

Smart watch. Used to think was dumb too. But it keeps me off my phone. Instead of checking my phone when it buzzes then being on facebook/Reddit for 20 minutes without realizing, I see my message and get back to real life. (Except right now)

Tinted car windows. You don't need to go beyond what is legally allowed by your local government. You will protect the interior from UV damage which can increase your resale value. I can't stand bright lights when I'm driving and the tinted windows help tremendously. Also my car is much cooler in the summer. Finally, I think it makes the car look much better aesthetically.

Kendama. Ancient game played all over the world. Helps with focus during the day and keeps me off my phone. Kendama has even turned in to a group with some friends meeting on Tuesday to jam together. My Favorite Brand, KROM

Portable Bluetooth Speaker. I have a small one I paid about $50 for. Then I also have those wicked "Marshall" Bluetooth speakers (I think they sell em at the Apple Store - they tend to be expensive, like $350 expensive, but I've also heard of them showing up in Costcos for like $150).
Extra long cell phone charging cables
Portable Battery for charging your phone (wonderful for roadtrips - I find my old truck doesn't have the room for much auxillary plugs - so I can really only plug in my GPS)
Always buy your cables online - never from the stores. You'll save stupid amounts of money.
IF you're old school like me and still run a Laptop hooked up to a TV - Buy a wireless mouse and a wireless keyboard. Nothing better than couch youtube surfing on the big screen TV.
"HDMI Multi Port" - I found a cheap one off Amazon for like 40 bucks. Again, the stores want to sell you one for like $200...Works great! A little "clunky" at times, but works.
If you're an avid coffee drinker: Buy your own coffee maker and a bean grinder. You can make yourself great coffee every single day for a fraction of the cost of your "daily coffee shop trips". I think I spent $20 on a bag of "the good stuff" (Kicking Horse Coffee - Kick Ass Coffee - Seriously, this stuff is amazing).

InstantPot.

Making healthy, tasty dinners for the family in very little time? Just plain wonderful.

Wireless HDMI transmitter - Turn any tv in your house into a computer monitor that has access to all manners of streaming the internet can provide. All without the hassle of cords.

My wife just got this new vibrator. Life. Changer.

Buy one of those universal USB charging cables that can charge different versions of iPhone and Android phones, a quick charge 3.0 charger, and then leave that in your kitchen for guests.

A lightly-used Roomba. It runs automatically every morning, and my floors are spotless and fur-free all the time. I can't recommend it enough, especially if you have pets.

Table saw, you can make all sorts of stuff with one.

I bought a Jump Box (Like jumper cables connected to lithium ion rechargeable battery) for like 40 bucks. Mainly bought it because I had a faulty battery. This thing is amazing. Will instantly jump your car. Even on a completely dead battery. No more waiting on someone else with jumper cables. It also has a usb port for emergency charging of your devices.

It's also nice to have when you see random people with dead batteries in the parking lots. This one older guy was trying to jump his car with another guy and jumper cables. Seemed to not be working great for him. I said I have one of these boxes let me give it a try. I hooked it up and turned it on. I said start it up and he did. Worked instantly.

Where was this thread when I was struggling to think of Christmas gifts?

sigh

An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) has been a fantastic investment for me.

Now, if I ever get a power outage, instead of being frustrated, I become relieved that I have a UPS. It's saved hours of work, gaming time, and 3D printer progress.

A second remote. Now the hubs and I each have one.

Since it hasn't been said:

A subscription to consumer reports

I use this shit before every single major purchase decision.

  • My Sous Vide. It's changed the way I cook.
  • My Garage Door Opener
  • My Bidet attached to my toilet seat

Condom

Buttplug

remote starts...how did I live without one for so long?? I got one installed on my 04 Silverado after dad installed one on his and I love it.

Hot outside? no problem, set the A/C on to high when you turn it off and turn it on while you're brushing your teeth from across the house. Cold outside, do the same just set it to Heat instead.

Air Fryer. It is basically a convection oven. I’m single and I use it to cook everything from eggs to steaks. No grease. If I buy frozen French fries (Red Robin, Arby curly, or rally’s) they cook at half the oven time and taste just like the restaurant without being greasy.

In the morning, I put 2 frozen biscuits, 2 sausage patties, and a hash brown patty for 15 minutes while I get ready. I have 2 freshly made sandwiches and potatoes as I go out the door.

a meditation cushion

A good quality electric tea kettle.

A cell phone. Cell phones don't have to be $800-$1000 bucks (you can get a nice laptop that does waay more for that btw). Really nice ones exist for fairly cheap. Even the ones you wanted not that long ago.

This thread is a entrepreneurs dream! starts taking notes intensely

For me, a Chromecast. Definitely the greatest investment I've made in the past year. It's changed how I watch videos and movies entirely.

Along with that, a Google home is almost as good. Some changes and improvents might help, but they interact nicely together.

Noise cancelling headphones. You don't want to be deaf when you're a senior citizen because you were trying to drown out Taylor Swift at the gym.

Cowin E-7 are $70 USD on Amazon, available without Active Noise Cancelling for $10 less. Love em love em love em. Comfy, look good, sound great.

Edit: be aware Amazon does price jumps when they do flash sales. For example, I saw the same headphones I have (bought for $60) on a Prime flash sale for $35 a few days before Christmas, but the normal price jumped to $100 so they can slap at 65% off sticker on there.

Diva cup instead of pads/tampons. Lasts thru multiple uses, holds a heavy flow all day.

Apparently its not for men.

Still life changing

Use it as a fancy shotglass

If you have butt-sweat, why not

An instant pot. All the goodiness of a crock pot without the wait. Tender ribs in 45 minutes. Juicy chicken in 25. Pot roast done in under an hour. This thing is amazing.

Not sure if this counts but to me a good everyday carry knife was a game changer. I keep wondering how I was able to live without a blade by my side.

I used to have a mini Swiss Army knife on my key chain. It was very useful for opening packages, tightening little screws, cutting off price tags, and it had a tiny tweezer and toothpick. I had this thing for 20 years, then after 9-11 I had to surrender it to TSA

Search for "swiss tech utili key".

The utilikey includes a blade.

Yes, but the good rep from Get Out aside, the TSA aren't the sharpest tools in the shed and it only costs $10 or less if you do get it confiscated.

I got an August smart lock for my home last month, literally a life changer. I never have to take my keys anymore, I just use the app off my phone. And it auto-locks after 30sec so no more worrying if I forgot to lock the door.

I also bought an (optional) keypad for $70 that works with it so I can use a code if I don't have my phone on me. I have it hidden on a wall by my front door. Takes a 6-digit code.

Install for the lock also took a matter of minutes because it attached to your current deadbolt. Easy peasy.

Not a single gadget, but long ethernet cables and ethernet switches. Never have to deal with wifi issues again.

Bidet

God bless this thread.

The fave and forget. Save everything, check wallet, realize am poor, have it sitting saved forever

A external battery jumper with an air pump, tire plug kit, gloves, simple tool kit and YouTube videos on how to plug a nail on your tire. There were MANY times on long distance drives that I ran over a nail gotten a flat. Instead of having to call AAA, a tow or change the whole tire to a spare, I just have to pull out the nail, plug it, pump it and be back on the road in 15 minutes flat.

The squatty potty

I paid 30 quid for a samsung wireless charge that I can just always have my phone resting/charging on it while I'm at my PC. I got it because the charger port was broken on the phone and a wore works just as well but its a cool wee device

My girlfriend got me a set of Tiles for Christmas a few years ago. I put one in my wallet and one on my key ring. I can use an app on my phone to find either one if it’s lost (uses Bluetooth). And it works in reverse too: I can use my keys or wallet to find my phone. I use them almost every day. I don’t always put my keys or wallet in the same place every day. I’ve tried and just can’t seem to be consistent. We have a pretty big house and they can end up in laundry, on my desk, in our foyer, or who knows where. With Tile, I can put my hands on them in seconds and I’m not late to work or pulling my hair out in frustration.

https://www.thetileapp.com/en-us/products/mate

Not a gadget but it’s something that should be in EVERY HOME.

The board game, monopoly

I bought an Echo Dot when they were on sale over the holiday.

Now that I have one, not only do I have a voracious need for more, but I want to get more smart appliances. Thermostat too old? Replace it with a Nest. Light bulb went out? Time to get a Hue system. I'm 100% ready to welcome our robot overlords.

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You'd have a hard time finding a good hunting rifle for less than $200 unless you already have a scope to attach to it. Maybe a Mosin-Nagant but practise a lot with iron sights before you go hunting an animal or you're likely to cause the animal a slow death.

Still, even if you don't want to use it to hunt it's a very rewarding hobby to get into.

You can get a usable hunting rifle for less than 300 caps. It's a lot cheaper to just find one and repair it though.

You find some good deals on r/gundeals. I bought a very basic 308 Savage for about $175 after rebate. The stock was shit and the scope was garbage but once it was zeroed it was an accurate serviceable firearm. Great for an occasional hunter. Sadly even Mosins are starting to climb over the $200 mark.

In a lot of areas, deer hunting is done at less than 50 yards. A lot of people can do that with iron sights

This is true, but I would still recommend a new hunter practise even at those ranges.

an UZI

Costs $8,000

oh dang it, I didn't know that ugly piece of machinery is that expensive

All machine guns are.

Here is one that went for 10.5k

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/72/2552/group-industries-fully-transferrable-auto-bolt-in-a-model-a-uzi

Here are some crap SMGs that went for the 8k range in that same auction:

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/72/2551/swd-m11a1-smg-with-silencer-class-iiinfa-waccessories

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/72/2548/swdcobray-m11nine-fully-transferrable-smg-wextra-magazines

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/72/2542/long-branch-sten-mk-ii-sales-sample-nfa-wextra-magazines

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/72/3707/ingram-mac-m10-9mm-fully-transferrable-smg

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/72/3699/hr-model-50-reising-full-transferrable-smg-class-iiinfa

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/72/3697/hr-reising-50-fully-transferrable-smg-class-iiinfa

If you want something actually nice, you have to go for the 30-40k range, like this MP5

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/72/3706/fleminghk-mp5-smg-pre86-class-iiinfa-machine-gun

Holy moly. I once bought a second-hand air rifle that was 35 bucks, so I thought... well.

It’s changing SOMEBODIES life...

Haha death

Edit: /s

H U N T I N G rifle.

I meant the ‘somebody’ is the animal being hunted

Give $200 worth of decent fishing equipment to anyone on the coast of a 3rd world country. They'll not only feed their family but others.

Also a goat.

Except for the fact that the fish are all but completely wiped out in most of those places due to overfishing and pollution, seawater temp and acidity levels rising.

Whole house humidifier.

I'm from Australia and this sounds horrifying.

I'm from Greece and it sounds impossible with only 200$.

If you can do it yourself it is. It hooks up to the furnace system so the air that blows through the house is humidified.

It'ss for the winter when your heat is making the house extremely dry.

can't say i've ever had that issue, but it doesn't get as cold here as in other places

It's been negative 10 at night here for about a week! My furnace is working overtime.

negative 10 degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius

If I were building a new house or renovating, I'd definitely get a whole house unit to regulate humidity and a separate whole house air purifier.

While you're at it, get a whole house vacuum as well!

A crockpot. Very few things as useful and convenient for it's price point.

Sorry but InstantPot is where it's at. Used to be a loyal CrockPotter but that thing changed my views.

Help me out here… What’s the difference?

Instant Pot (or similar) is an electric pressure cooker, so instead of slow cooking for 8 hours you can get pretty much the same results in like 20 minutes.

Pregnancy test stick

A phone case that can hold several cards.

I hate carrying around a wallet and cash. Got myself a case to hold my ID and credit cards, and it's much easier to just grab my phone and go without having to worry about my wallet.

Don't put your hotel Key in there. Good chance your phone will wipe it you'll have to go back to the front desk and get a new one.

meta mucil

Change your diet and you won't need it.

not under $200 but for 250.. noise cancelling headphones for my office.. We have an asshole coworker who is talking all the time about unrelated work stuff (soccer, politics, etc..).

I had a coworker who ate raw vegetables every single day with his mouth open in a small office with just me. Bought the biggest ass pair of headphones ever.

A gun

Under $200? You rocking a high point?

I got my shotgun for around 200. If you bump up to 250 you can get a S&W shield or occasionally a SD9VE.

A sous vide. Just stop eating over cooked, rubbery protein. It’s worth every penny of the 60-100 USD and you will wonder why you ever cooked meat any other way.

If you want to get fit, a FitBit watch or similar exercise watch does wonders. I suggest Fitbit because a lot of their watches track heart rate "reliably" and can show you your sleeping stages too which I find immensely useful. Definitely an awesome tool to help keep you fit.

And a lot of apps will have stuff like calorie counting, water intake, etc if you're into all of that.

Umm I know it is a bit controversial but a 3D Printer. So many uses. Just this week i fixed a bookcase, toilet, and drawer handle. I am also currently in the process of making a custom PC Case.

Be Warned there is an Addiction to this if you don't believe me just ask r/3DPRINTING. Let this be a warning they are like pringles one is never enough and by the time you have a room full and your power meter is spinning like a tornado about to hit a trailer park it is too late.

In this thread: furiously taking notes on wish list.

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Hybrid drives are a waste of money. Get an SSD and standard drive. OS and programs go on SSD, files on HDD. Say goodbye to loading screens and boot times.

They seem to be more worthwhile for stuff like the PS4 and xbox. The current game you're playing gets cached on the NAND and loads faster, and you have all the other space for cheap for your other games.

I wish WD was still making Black^2 those were so cool

Hybrid drives are essentially gimmicks and not really practical. They aren't necessarily expensive but aren't really worth the price.

In fairness when they came out, SSD prices were still pretty high per GB. If it has enough cache and a good algorithm they are pretty great. Granted SSDs have dropped in price so I probably wouldn’t go back, but my segate Olympus XL or whatever it was called would boot almost as fast as the SSD I eventually replaced it with.

That's very true. Hybrid drives were more worthwhile a few years ago when SSDs were more expensive. Thankfully they aren't as expensive anymore, rendering hybrid drives almost obsolete.

https://youtu.be/sFriDXalSWA

SSHD boot times after learning what to cache. They're quite useful

Spare laptop power supplies. Keep one in every room you use your computer in. Bedroom, office, den. Never drag one around the house again.

Anywhere to get safe reliable ones for reasonable prices?

I got mine from work. After buying the same brand for years there are plenty of spares for the asking.

mostly Amazon. I had success with LaptopsForLess when i was buying for PCs, but they are gone now (no idea where). Since then i've been mostly Mac, so you're sorta forced to buy from Apple.

I love having a spare cord for my laptop. One at my desk, one in the living room. Didn't even have to pay for it, someone left it behind at my hotel and never claimed it. After it sat for a few months, I took it home.

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Or FireStick/FireTV, if you don't want to use your phone for this

Fuck Chromecast

Ruger LCP

Looking through the replies, some of you really have odd lives of half of this mundane stuff can be considered "life changing"...

I mean, for god's sake an air purifier is one of the top replies!?!

Who's life is changed by an air purifier?!?

I had an apartment neighbor who smoked like a chimney and it came into my apt through vent. I'm allergic to smoke and spent 3 months looking like I had the flu before I got an air purifier.

People with dirty houses, Breathing issues, Dry skin...

People with dirty houses

Is cleaning up not an option?

People with allergies. Cleared up my asthma and I could sleep better. Your milage may vary

Underwear with a zip pocket to keep credit cards, cash, and condoms.

Alexa from Amazon. Never have to look at your phone or leave your bed to know what the weather is outside ever again.

Realistically pushing 3 buttons to look at the weather is the safe effort as requesting the Alexa to do it

Imagine opening your eyes first thing in the morning and getting the weather all via voice command. No more bright lights of your phone in the morning anymore!

A breathalyser!

I have one in my car and breath test myself if I've had a few drinks. Over the limit? Wait a bit and try again. Never have to do the subjective "I'm OK to drive" thing. Plus it's a great party trick, everyone wants to see who's drunk the most.

ITT - Not gadgets.

A gun.

You can find cheaper .22s and shotguns for sub $200.

Handguns you may find police trade ins or there is the Hi Point C9 which can usually be found for $100.

Why life changing? Well when seconds count the police are only 10 minutes response time away. So the one time you use it, may be completely life changing.

If you ever find yourself in a really bad situation (And I hope you never do) a gun in the hand beats a cop on the phone.

How did it change your life directly?

I had my house broken into. So I shot the criminal. He was dead before the ambulance arrived. I live in rural TX response time is on average 15+ even lights & sirens.

Turns out the robber was armed with a knife. Not sure if he would have used it against me or if it was just a tool to help him break in. Glad I didn't find out.

Chromebook

10 buckets of instant noodles for 3 bucks

fleshlight

Instant Pot

Damn you inflation!
$50 last year is $200 this year??

An instant pot! It's a multi functional pressure cooker. It can make stews, cheesecake, yogurt, chicken, ribs, rice, veggies, etc. really fast. I made quinoa in 4 min! It's especially good for cooking meats because it literally pressure seals and cooks all the juices in the meat, making it so so tender😋. I'm actually surprised that I never see any ads for it anywhere in the US where I live. For a 6 qt. it's about $120

It was “the” gift of 2017.

My wife got one a little before Christmas and she's basically used it every day. Super versatile and everything you make will be delicious.

Hitachi Magic Wand.

Litecoin

Backup camera for cars. Can barely remember life before them.

Fleshlight

Dare I say a smart phone.

Most modern smart phones cost 2 or 3 times more. The new iPhone sold for 700+ USD

A cordless impact driver. Here's the one I use.

They're incredibly handy for removing screws and small bolts, there's tons of attachments for them. Vacuum cleaner broke a belt? Zip! Zip! Zip! Zip! change belt, then zip it back together. Washer or dryer needs to be pulled apart for something? Tear it all the way down in minutes. I can't believe how useful it has been.

A nice longsword.

AirPods. Easily the best truly wireless headphones available.

Until you drop one/ step on it. Fully wireless headphones are a horrible idea. At least in the way apple implemented them

I disagree. I’ve not had any issues with dropping them. If you spend $160 on AirPods you should be pretty careful when handling them. Over a year of daily use and they perform as new still.

The sticky buddy

I hope you mean bud and not masturbation.

No I mean that thing that gets cat hair off your clothes, that’s really what it’s called xD

Automatic starter for your car

A crackpipe..I guess

Get a FitBit!

I just won one at work in a drawing. Don't think I can bring myself to replace my Pebble though as I would miss too many of the functions and all I'd gain is heart rate.

a noose.......................just saying

AirPods if you have macOS or iOS device(s). You don’t realize how amazing truly wireless headphones are until you’ve tried them. Plus how seamlessly they work between devices. They’re great.

Yeah, but you can get headphones that sound way better for that price. Hell, for $40 you can get earbuds that sound better. The earpods have lots of tech in them for somethings, but they really don't sound good enough to drop $160 on in my opinion.

It's really not that hard to change a song on your phone.

Yeah if you’re an audiophile, these aren’t for you. They aren’t the best sounding for sure.

But the feature set and convenience alone is just on a different level than anything else on the market.

I don't really think the features are all that great to be honest. I can switch songs with my Bluetooth headphones by pushing a button on the ear cup. I can also take calls with them.

I think Apple has people thinking the technology in their headphones is grater than it actually is.

I can do that as well with my AirPods and you can configure different controls for double tap gestures on each AirPod. They also automatically pause when you take one out of your ear, and resume when you put it back.

Pairing was instant, I opened the box on Christmas, opened the case, and they popped up on my iPhone and i tapped “pair”, then they were instantly paired with everything on my Apple ID, including my Apple TV.

They charge up fully about 5 times from the case, and take about 10 minutes to go from 0% to 80%.

They automatically pair as soon as you put them in your ear, and automatically turn off and charge when you put them in the case, nothing to think about.

They are always available from all my devices to pair to with a tap in the control center.

Everything is seamless and it’s just great. I am happy with them.

I get the airpods can do all of that, but the sound is not worth $160. It's like buying a microwave that takes really long to warm food up, but hey the clock is nice.

The earphones are some of the best engineered on the market and really connect you to the Apple world ina seamless way. Bottom line- if you have an iPhone and some extra cash to burn you won’t be disappointed. For example

1) both of the ear pods have chips in them which allow them to function independently of each other. Meaning that you can take one out and the other will continue playing music. Helpful in the office

2) the damn case acts as a charging device for the ear pods. They charge while in the case!

3) As mentioned above the pairing sequence with an Idevice just works. There’s even a infographic that shows how much battery life with some random spinning things.

4) they transition seamlessly between iMac and iPhone.

5) the form factor is cleaner of the earpods and case is just more slick than others.

Frankly putting together the whole package their design and form factor are second to none, but there are some obvious gaping holes in design - 1) inability to control volume unless on phone (done perhaps to drive iwatch adoption) 2) not the most fantastic talk time - 2 hours 3) no battery display from the outside of the case etc. 4) double tapping is haphazard

For more fully featured wireless headphones something like the pxc550 or Bose QC35 comes to mind, while jay birds are amazing for fitness.

Dude don't break your arm jerking apple off, they are just over priced wireless headphones that 80% of users will lose one if not both of them, maybe come up off that high horse where you been suckling on the apple teet for too long and realise there are way better products out there for that price!

I’ve mentioned the alternatives and one’s I’ve purchased personally in my original post. I don’t see my post as being on a high horse, but please feel free to correct me for pedagogical purposes.

I forgot the anti apple circle jerk is strong in these parts.

None of anything you mentioned makes it worth it for the mediocre sound. I can pair my bluettooh headphone using NFC. I just tap them to my phone or any device with NFC. It transitions easily.

A charging case is a joke. My headphones can hold a charge for 25 hours.

The form factor is also a joke considering they don't fit in many peoples ears without falling out.

If people stopped over paying Apple for the stuff, the prices would have to come down. Nothing in the earpods is so great that it justifies the price. Especially considering they only sound like cheap earbuds you can get for around $30 or less.

Apple has fooled it's flock into thinking these are some type of miracle device, when at the end of the day they are just mediocre sounding earbuds for $160.

The earpods also have a 25 hour battery life when charged. So your point is moot there.

In terms of sound quality my $400 PXC550’s are my go to headset but are impractical when taking public transit, but to each his own. You get what you pay for, but the ear pods sound better than run of the mill trash bands like skull candy.

I’m by no means an Apple fan boy/flock whatever the hell you guys call them, but I do appreciate how integrated their ecosystem is and how it fits together. Also the underlying tech for the earpods is pretty neat- which is reflected in my comments.

If you don’t, then more power to you.

We are arguing over an opinion. Get over it.

A nice, self-heating, vibrating butt plug.

there's vibrating ones?

A lot of things come with vibration motors

Skateboard or surf board. I've got a choice to make. Edit: Fuck it, I'll do both

Where are you getting a surfboard for less than $200? Even used ones are north of $200 here easy.

In my area it's less it appears. But, granted I'm willing to bet they are the equivalent of what a "Walmart Skateboard" is to skateboarding.

Easy, a fleshlight

Learned this trick last month when my coworkers insisted on blasting Christmas music 24/7.

Noise canceling Bluetooth headphones. Found a good pair on Amazon for ~$80.

Which ones have you got? I tried Sony for about $120 but it didn’t really do much and microphone was a joke

Cowin E7, $70. Haven't tested the microphone because I don't need it.

Digital radon detector if you live in an area with it. Even with mitigation, I don't use the basement during the winter.

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You dont really need to pay for a net, just look at this net, that I just found

Toaster oven.

Rice cooker.

A wire hanger.

Mobile phone

An epipen

A reasonable quality student guitar, like Yamaha. When you know how to play music you always have something cool to do.

A decent meat thermometer. Even a top quality Thermpen one is well under $200. If you use it, you'll never overcook or undercook anything again.

Amazon Kindle.

Life straw... A $20 investment can save you in the wild.

Definitely a Sonicare toothbrush. I will never again not have one.

Sous vide circulator

now YOU TOO can be the Michelin started chef of your dreams!!

Pocket pussy.

My family has a Japanese fish grill. As Westerners, our fish tends to be filets instead of whole fish, so in our house, it's never used for fish. It's used to grill steaks to the perfect medium-rare!

A toilet.

~3 € hot-shoe-level for my DSLR

Bought it basically cause I liked the looks of it and felt kinda fancy and less amateur (and I might actually have been influenced by the fact that one of my favorite yt-photographers uses one...might even have been a fanboy-buy) but for real: I'm using that thing in almost all of my shots (usually photographing landscapes)! No more worries if the shot is level! Now I know I could just rotate it in Lightroom but why do it in post if I don't have to?

A doxy massage wand. Best. Orgasms. Ever. You can thank me later!

a vibrator

Condoms

Malaria nets

A smartphone.

A paper clip, a little piece of metal is surprisingly useful for being like five cents

A compass

Chromecast

For the record I got it as a gift and there may be others like it at varying prices, but the ninja slow cooker that also functions as an oven and a frying pan has worked wonders for me. I went from having minimal cooking skills to cooking for myself every week and developing my skills at a consistent rate. Of course dumping things into it and setting a timer isn't hard, but you can cook just about anything in it and I've slowly worked my way up to more complicated meals. I think they go for about $150.

A crock pot. The new ones are pretty expensive BUT older crock pots can easily be found in second hand stores and off of Ebay. There the best if you’re not the greatest cook or are running around all the time, but still want to come home to a full home cooked meal.

Headphones

Digital door lock and NFC ring. I always forget my keys.

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Fishing Rod & Reel.

Slow cooker/(crockpot?). Wake up, throw some meat and veggies in and set it for when you come home, and you’ll have the most tender meat all ready for your arrival. It also means you can use cheap cuts of meat and they’ll still be super juicy!

They’re super versatile, I roasted a whole chicken in mine a few weeks ago, also made bread with it too for the morning!

An electric blanket

Sous Vide machine, freaking life changing and easy way to cook quality meat.

3x google home mini for different rooms in the house

Heated mattress cover. It is the best money I have ever spent.

A shake-weight, duh. Its a weight, but wait, you can shake it. Shake-weight.

Toothbrush.

A sous vide circulator.

Get a Bullet Journal. What is that? It's a planner/journal/notes all in one journal and you can be as minimalist or as creative as you want. Why not just use your phone? Because it doesn't work for me. Physically writing down on paper helps me keep everything strait and I keep track of it better. You can use any notebook, a cheap compbook would work. Personaly I like a A5, dot grid, 100gsm (for minimal "ghosting" from other pages) notebook. They can be pricey but I have found a couple for $10 on Amazon. Invest in some good pens (Steadler Fineliners are my Fav and I'm not paid to say that :) and you're good to go. You can get started for $0 (if you have a notebook & pens you can already use), but trust me with all of the "extras" out there, it can add up. Take a look at Ryder Carol's vid: https://youtu.be/fm15cmYU0IM

Oh and do yourself a favor and have pen and paper with you and complete the steps as you watch it. It seems more complex then it is. Have fun.

raiblocks

A yoga mat and YouTube, get off your ass people and move. You don’t even have to leave your precious computer/tablet/phone to do it.

The LED headlamp.

A wireless/bluetooth speaker. I love audiobooks and podcasts, and when I got a cheap JBL Go! ($50 AUD) for Christmas one year I was skeptical I would use it. But then I started using it ... and I loved it.

After a year of using the JBL Go! I upgraded to a Bose Sound Revolve and I haven't looked back since. The JBL Go! still gets used when I want to listen to a podcast or audiobook in the bath, but the Bose is what lulls me to sleep at night with a rain app or audiobook. Bliss. It is the one gadget I didn't expect to love but it has brought a lot of joy into my life.

Vibrating Dildo. Anything can be life changing if your life is pathetic enough.

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A good bike is not less than $200.

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I'm of the opinion that a regular cheap bike isn't pleasant enough to make someone ride it enough to change his life.

Squatty Potty. Never knew I was fucking up the way I took a dump.

For my PS4 I bought a dock to charge both my controllers while my PS4 is in sleep mode now I can use both USB ports on my PS4 for my external hard drive and to charge my headset so it's amazing not having to worry about dead controllers cause when ones dying I put the dead one on the dock and use the other controller. It cost me around $30.

For $1000, putting together a good PC was truly a life changer for me. I used to play on PS4 too until decided to take the dip. Best decision I've ever made. It's better in every aspect imaginable.

Truly wireless earbuds, I bought jam wireless ultra for 60$ on Amazon (discount) and I love them

An e-book reader, especially if you're travelling, having a device stored with more books that you can carry is great.

My UE Boom

Chromecast.

It is a small device that you plug into a HDMI port on your television. Once plugged, you can very easily watch videos from your phone apps or web apps (e.g. Netflix, Youtube, Plex, etc.) directly on your TV with a perfect resolution. It is about 50 bucks, and it made me and my gf stop paying for cable television.

Honestly, an Amazon Echo. Sure you really need premium Amazon Music/Spotify/Audible subscriptions to get the best out of it - but my Echo Dot is one of the best purchases I've made in the last year.

It wakes me up, reads me the news, reminds me about things, plays me music, reads me books, controls my TV & there are new skills being added all the time.

It also connects to my multiple bluetooth speakers throughout the house, so I don't have to be sitting infront of it to enjoy it.

Yeah the novelty wore off in about a week with us.

The novelty of asking it questions and asking it for jokes etc wore off pretty quickly. But I still use the alarm, news and music services daily.

Me too. I don't know what I did before that thing. The reminders is the best thing ever. Now, I never miss appointments. That alone was life-changing.

I'm really impressed with mine, and it astounds me that it only cost me £35

Hats off to Amazon for pretty much all of their own-branded tech, keeping the cost low but features high.

An electric toothbrush, I can literally never go back

No money involved: a small (17.5x5x5 cm / approx. 7x2x2 in) pouch that contained some cables for a Logitech product. Now? Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss. It is a life changer to go to the bathroom at work and brush your teeth after a meal.

Anyone here that works Nights, foam insulation in your bedroom windows and a smart light that turns on a bit before your alarm. Dedicated it to it's own lamp that you use separately from your normal lighting or hook it up with alexa or google.

A 12V power drill. Makes home improvements a lot quicker.

18v and you will get those jobs done 6v faster...

A 500 GB preowned Xbox One S. They are fucking sick!!!

A plunger.

A basic toolkit.

Monoprice mini select 3d printer. https://www.reddit.com/r/MPSelectMiniOwners

Pocket pussy. Becaise it doesnt talk back, belittle you, or nag.

An arduino begginer toolkit, you'll learn to life hack your life yourself, you can do pretty much anything with it if you are patient enough to learn

A condom

Hmmm PewDiePie special DXracer chair. It costs $399 BUT CAN YOU DO THIS?? | / __

Wireless keyboard and mouse. Simple enough but I can watch movies or whatever from laptop on my bed in comfort or connected to to in my living room from my couch, in comfort without all the cables hanging everywhere.

196$ roomba from Wal-Mart my cat and pup seem to think that the litter is best on the floor and not in the box. I was tired of sweeping every few hours

A good electric screwdriver. Worked on computers for years without one, never realized how hard I was making my life. A good one can cost $50-$100.

Lifestraw. Google it, life saving!

Fleshlight taped to a shakeweight.

Was waiting for some dude to say "fleshlight."

A phone holder and car charger for your phone. With stick on cable tidys for the cable.

Fitbit bracelet - The one I got specifically was the FitBit Charge HR 2 for $150 or so at the time. I got it so I could see my heart beats per minute (bpm) while exercising. It helped me see that biking burns more calories than I realized, and I got Road Bike (the racing bike kind of bike) and cycle most days now and have lost of ton of weight. Been life-changing for me. Started with the Fitbit.

A breathalyzer. Not exactly life changing but can help you from majorly fucking up and not having a car for getting to places.

Sous vide! Cook the best steak of your life at home.

it doesn't seem like much but I just got myself a diffuser for like 40 on amazon and it's really great. ive never owned an air purifier or anything but this sits comfortably in a little space and make a huge difference in my small apartment. I vendors got a little kit of different oils and it's been splended

I bought a waterpic toothbrush. It's amazing how much bits of meat and shit are left in your teeth even after you clean them. It's hard to use in the winter, but definitely worth it, considering I rarely glossed otherwise

Kindle. I was never much of a reader now I read more books than ever, especially when travelling

Squatty potty, you just need to try it once. They are $20-25 on amazon.

Honestly Google home, and to a lesser extent, Amazon Echo (Alexa is so fucking retarded its not even funny). Over the last couple months from having 1 google home, with a chrome cast, to all rooms having a cast and google mini. Then, having a smart thermostat, and smart locks on my doors.

If you can get past the spying shit, it is actually life changing.

NO need to pay for cable. Hulu has live TV thats cheaper than cable even with the HBO and Shotime package they offer. This obviously will vary by state, but I am SO GLAD to be able to say fuck you to Cablevision/Optimum. I really wish FiOS would be put in where I am.

I just got a Google Home Mini - 2 of them actually - for free with orders from Nest. I haven't set them up yet. Are they easy to get up and running? It seems daunting to me.

incredibly easy. There are quite a few things to set up, as it is incredibly customizabl. For me, I had to link my netflix, hulu with live TV, showtime and hbo through hulu cuz Live TV,

Then you set up your voice so it understands YOU and not a random person or another person set up on your home devices.

Believe me, once you finish it all, and it all comes together, youll just be like "Oh...oh my. This is amazing" Yeap'

Then wait til you get smart plugs, it changes everything. You got the thermostat and door lock?

Cool! Do you know if it works with Roku? I have Hulu, Netflix, HBO, but watch them on my TV via Roku.

A Multi-tool, you can use it for everything.

a sponge with a handle

Water purifiers

2nd battery and a battery charger for your phone.

This really was life-changing for me. To destroy a night's sleep, it only takes one teeny-tiny mosquito buzzing around your head. Early last summer I bought a Dyna-Trap for about $25, and slept like a baby for the rest of bug season.

Recently bought a jbl450T for 40 euro's. Really good quality and 11 hour battery life.

Armabrush. Still waiting for mine to arrive.

Armabrush

Then...how do you know it's "life changing" if you haven't even used it yet?

I believe! xD

The idea is so amazing

A skateboard

I got a Tile a few weeks ago. It's on my keys. So my keys are never lost again and alternately it can make my phone ring even when it's on silent. It's so great.

Smoke detectors.

Luggage scales. Cheap as chips (I got mine for $10). Why oh why did I waste so much time weighing myself, then weighing myself with my bags, then having to either carry both bags on the scale or do some Rain Man shit to work out how much the things actually weigh. That's before we even get to working out the return journey from a hotel room with no scale.

$10 and a pocket sized gadget later - packing is so much simpler :-)

Condoms

Laser thermometer. Easily check the temperature of meat, of your friends, of your cat, of your car... They come in little laser guns, best thing ever.

Although I agree with the notion of a laser thermometer being an awesome thing to have, I probably wouldn't use it for meat. Penetration is important for internal temp reading, from what I understand.

Not life-changing, but definitely useful if you watch a lot of Youtube or Netflix: a Google Chromecast for $40. Any tv with a HDMI port will become a smart tv that you can stream to

Cheaper mechanical keyboard. Got one by accident (misplaced price tag in the store) paid $45 even though I wanted something cheaper but decided to try it out before returning and I fell in love with how compact it is and how great it feels to type on it. It's built like a tank too with a solid metal plate under the switches

A bluetooth speaker. Suddenly you see yourself listening to music in every single moment, around the house.

A hammer.

A smaller multi-tool. I've had my leatherman skeletool for a lil over a year now. You would be amazed how often you could use pliers or a knife. Cost around $70-$80 but if you buy at the right time you can pick them up for $20-$30 when they go on sale once a year. Totally worth the money. r/EDC

Gramaphone for spotify. Little box that connects to your phone and your reciever through wifi. Love that thing.

Skybell Camera -- Is someone at my door? Did my package arrive from UPS yet?

MyChamberlain garage door opener -- Did I leave my garage open? Oh you made it to my place before me let me just open the door for you...

Ring video doorbell.

An ebook reader. I used to be a bookworm as a kid. Back then books (being mostly kids books and being bought by my parents) were rather cheap. Also, as a kid I had my bag with me almost everywhere I went. As I grew up, my love of reading went unfulfilled for quite a while. Buying physical books was expensive on a student budget, and lugging books around wherever I go isn't ideal...especially when people keep ruffling them up and asking to borrow them. I bought a used Kindle for about $30 five years ago and would recommend anyone who isn't too attached to turning pages to buy one as well. I rediscovered my love of reading again and I've read more books in the last two years alone than in my entire preceeding life.

A monitor stand. Especially if your desk is not a "for computers" desk. and i have a desktop and 2 monitors on that desk. so the monitor stand frees up a large amount of space

Save

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Is this a wired or a Bluetooth headphones and what brand?

A coffee maker. So life changing, every one already considers it a necessity

Power bank!!!

Pocket knives, lighters, handguns.

Dash cam.

A kitchen Thermometer or 2. Never over or undercook anything again. Learn your temperatures and do it right :)

A cheap phone?

I bought the most expensive electric shaver on Amazon. It's fucking bad ass. No more painful after shave or ingrown hairs.

White noise sleep machine. I hate it, but my wife can't sleep without it.

A decent graphics card, you only realise how much even a fairly average budget card can do once you have it taken away from you because of a fault. I also bought a really nice pair of closed back headphones for travelling and it was absolute bliss on my trip compared to the nasty earphones most people buy, just spend a bit of extra money and it makes a huge difference.

Also yes, as others are saying, a decent smartphone can make a huge difference in your life as well.

Air fryer for those fried food lovers. It isn't quite the same as frying, but it'll do. Sure as shit beats having all that oil to clean up.... Or something about being healthy or whatever

Pregnancy test

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/?st=JC0GPPLL&sh=109a84c5

My sous vide has changed my protein game alot. I cook everything protein in there now. A perfect medium rare is the dopeness. Can turn a 7 dollar piece of Chuck into deliciousness.

People with pet allergies listen up: an air purifier. I could not breathe through my nose at all. Zero allergy medications and sprays worked. Eventually, I bought an air filter and put it in my room. I did not notice any difference until I moved it into the room with my rat. I still get hives from holding her, but I can actually breathe through my nose again! I bought a little, quiet one, so I can leave it on 24/7.

External Hard Drive for backups. Your pc hard drives can crash anytime and recovering can be extremely expensive or even impossible.

True, but cloud storage is a better solution these days.

As long as it is really save!

Meat thermometer is pretty life changing you can go from being unable to feed yourself to a pretty good cook just by using one

I love my sous vide. It changed everything about my cooking game

Custom insoles

Toilet paper

Ripple

rice cooker

electic toothbrush

A good pair of headphones

Roku 4

Could've really used this post about a month ago....

Frying pan. You can get one under $10 man. Can't stress enough how much a good frying pan can save you in kitchen and life-and-death situations.

You don’t have to spend a lot to get decent ones! SoundPeats QY8 are like $25 on Amazon. They sound great in my opinion and have rubber fins to keep them very secure in your ear. They fit better than any other earbuds I have ever owned. Break em, lose em, whatever! They’re so cheap it barely matters. After I stepped on my first pair I bought three more pair as a backup. I’m still using the first replacement, but if I lose them I have a back up. If not, I have a great gift if I need something in a pinch!

Pepper spray....I think I've made my point.

Buy two giant floppy horse dildos and some nylon rope. bam, nunchucks.

A Vitamix and a food processor.

None of them short of lacking a critical tool or device you need for work or day to day life. You can't really spend your way into much meaningful change... it takes sitting down and reading that book, getting up and going to the gym, turning off the TV and talking to your SO... most any real change takes work and time, which is why you see a whole lot of threads asking questions like this... "what can I learn in 20 minutes that will...", "what can I buy for under X that...".

I watched the transition from payphones and notepads to cell phones and PDA's... back when portable music came on cassette tapes. I've worked in the tech sector most of my career and have owned and watched so many tech, kitchen, home, sports, etc gadgets come and go, but out of all the positive changes I've seen people make, the cost is rarely recorded in dollar figures or related to a physical object.

A Leatherman. I use it all of the time!

/u/opfeels /u/Link3265

Condom

A phone.

Toothbrush

can someone recommend wireless headphones for me. I start looking and get overwhelmed with whats worth it and what isn't. I think i like the gym versions that loop around the back of your neck. Jaybirds?

Flight stick + voiceattack if you play Elite Dangerous

A ricecooker

Pregnancy test.

A midi keyboard. For $99 or less and the software that comes with all mac computers (GarageBand) you can own and play a decent enough approximation of almost every instrument on Earth. Very fun and put in the hands of the right person, could be life-changing

A fleshlight/vibrator

A fleshlight

One of those pop em things for your phone, the kind that stick on, that allows you to hold it upside down and what not.

Awesome! I'll definitely look into that. Can it stream HD quality video?

Kindle - hands down my favourite gadget.

I go to work with a library in my pocket. I commute on a tube (underground train in London) for about 25 minutes every morning and evening. That's 50 minutes a day I get to spending reading. I've always enjoyed books but the amount I now read has gone up so much because of this genius device.

Drugs

kindlefire, corsair mouse/keyboard, a pc (probably achievable) >.>

A condom.

Monoprice Select Mini Delta 3D Printer - Runs $179

A cheap phone to download reddit on it?

Squatty potty or anything that serves the same purpose. Best $20-30 spent.

Heated mattress pad. Turn it on an hour before you get into a nice cozy bed.

Kindle. I read a lot more now and in places I would otherwise not read. Also have handy access to the net when wireless is available (surprisingly frequently)

I bought a Google Home Mini for my dad and it was really life changing for him.

Noise-cancelling headphones :')

Maybe not a gadget but an phone with android or ios with the app headspace as it is a great meditate app and really changed my life

If you have infants or toddlers who sleep in the same room as you - Wireless headphones for TV. One reciever with two headsets. Great for night time wine and movies with wife or even solo a Xbox run

Hot water dispenser. If you are a person who loves tea, having hot water available at any moment is truly a blessing.

Smart lights that are voice activated. It’s just nice to walk into a dark room and not fumble for the light switch.

Second hand bimby?

A pair of nice jumper cables..to beat my son with

Hit me with a recipe?

Helmet!

Gadged or not but 200€ worth LSD and you pretty much view the whole world differently

1 gram of heroin.

An air conditioner

A nice pair of Bowers & Wilkin’s headphones/earphones.

That sound is life changing.

Electric Deadbolt. Great for the kids no keys needed and grandparents, cleaning lady whomever if no ones home.

Microplane for use in the kitchen, you'll never need another shredder, especially for parmesan. Also works great for lemon zest, grinding whole nutmeg and a host of other delightful comestibles.

Mobile phone charger. I don't go a day now without having to use one because my phone is 3 years old and having a charger on me at all times has become a life saver

Under $200 you could just invest in a battery.

also true but the mobile charger i got as a gift

high quality fleece lined leggings. I bought a pair for $100 when I was in middle school with some christmas money. My dad tried to talk me out of it, but I did it anyway. I still wear them, 15+ years later every time I go skiing/snowshoeing. I am 100% warmer for them and everytime I wear them I get to think about how wrong my dad was.

the same pair? they still fit??? :)

yes - the same pair that still fits - seriously! And not because I am some sort of freak who still wears the same size from 15 years ago - I am easily up from a 6 to a 10. They are just a stretchy godsend.

cool, that's great!! I finally broke down and got a down jacket, and I am shocked and sad that I didnt do this years ago. so comfy and warm!!! :)

Oo which brand??

A humidifier

I bought a snowblower for 100$ and 75$ to get it serviced, 50cm of snow coming so I'd say it counts.

Got an Echo dot for Christmas from my parents. It's nice to have verbal reminders in the morning to take things with me or get a morning brief. Plus its web search function makes my fiancee and I's arguments about who's in what movie or what year a song came out a breeze haha

if that's the kind of stuff you argue about, you guys are in good shape!

No, there's a myriad of other things we argue about, but Alexa can't help with those yet.

TrackR - attached to my keys, wallet and few other goodies. You can use your phone to find your keys and your keys to find your phone. 25 buck game changer.

A step stool, or small ladder! Tadaa, you have like 10% more storage, since you can reach weird places now. (on top of cabinets, etc)

bed, mattress, etc. You spend what, 1/3 of your life on it so you should have a comfortable bed to where you don't wake up to aches and pains.

For me, it was simply a bicycle. I'm much fitter, I enjoy pushing myself, I track my miles and I have a little phone holster to listen to all my favorite music and podcasts.

Robot hoover. Changed my life.

A usb 3.0 hub

A shop-vac. Blow and suck capabilities are exceedingly useful at cleaning

Nice sheets and eventually bedding. It's one of those changes you can't go back from! And a really good mattress for that matter but that's well above $200.

Graphics card. You can mine Alt coins and make some money.

how?

Nicehash miner(easiest) or downloading one of the other mining softwares and joining a mining pool.

This is one place to start:

/r/MiningPoolHub/

A Multigroom Kit

is there a multi-bride version?

Rice cooker. Holy moly, ez to prepare and super convenient. Changed my student life.

Rechargeable batteries. Can't believe people still buy disposables.

A Victorinox Swiss Army knife. They have a LOT of knives to choose from, some going up to even $300 or more, but they have probably at least a hundred that are well under $200 and have a LOT of different blades and tools in them. I had one several years ago, but it disappeared, so my mom just got me a new one for Christmas this year. I never go anywhere without it!

Electric outlets with USB ports for charging. Throw in a braided USB line that's 6 to 10ft long, and you're set. I set mine up to loop through our bed's headboard and it's a perfect location for my end-of-the-day phone charging station. It's mine. All mine. Kids be damned with their electronic products.

A Fitbit or some form of wearable technology that tracks exercise.

Honestly made me wanna do more stuff and eventually ended with me becoming healthier.

Smart outlets with an Echo, I feel like I’m living in the future

A raspberry pi. If you get a few one can be set up as a light weight VPN, another can be your media player/server, and another can be used for some cool project like a “magic mirror” (smart mirror with hud).

I got my first one for Christmas and finally have a device that can properly play files my Roku never could.

I've had one sitting on my desk unused for like 2 years. Never can figure out what to do with it.

Consider making a pirate box!

What advantage does that have over just using my PC?

Mobility. Assuming you have friends, family, or other contacts that share music and movies, this is an easy “plug and go” machine that allows for quick sharing without opening your PC up to strangers to access.

More specifically, you can set one up while visiting family (for example) and instead of passing a hard drive around everyone can connect to it when they have time and copy files out.

Then again, it’s not for everyone. I just think they’re neat.

That sounds pretty handy, it's not really for me but I'm glad it's a thing.

I have two. What do you recommend? getting tired of KOdi setup

Retro Pi is always a good way to go or you could research “openvpn” and make you’re own private server space.

Is this a month to month VPN subscription or just the cost of the device?

I haven’t set it up myself. I’ve seen enterprise pricing for it but I think it’s just the cost of the device. Specifically for a Pi you would be using this: www.pivpn.io (you can get answers to your questions there).

A solid pocket-knife. I know some places frown upon, carrying knives,(I have some UK friends) but hot damn, having a good-pocket knife is great. Gerber is a great brand to go with, but you will have to pay for their quality, and I don't know if they ship outside the U.S.. If you want to spend a little less dough, you can try shopping around yourself. Some information before you buy.

  1. Carbon-steel is a must for high-strength and long lasting knives. Other steels, like 410 will serve you well, but I have yet to see reasonably priced pocket-knives offered in anything else than stainless and carbon steel. Stainless will be okay, but carbon steel is much stronger, and will hold an edge longer.

  2. The difference between the swing action is important, as some states, regions, on countries may have restrictions. I prefer "dumb" knives, with no mechanisms, as I don't want them to fail on me, but some users prefer spring-assisted or spring loaded.

  3. Blade-length in another issue to check with your local and national laws. I find that 3" is the perfect length, mixing utility and self-defense capability, but shorter blades will lower the cost somewhat.

  4. Pick you edger wisely. There are 2 major blade types. Fine and serrated. Fine edges have no serrations, and serrated edges have a portion of the blade, or sometimes the spine, serrated. I can't stand serrated edges and how hard they are to keep sharp, but they can be sorta useful to some people. Most knives under 3" won't have them, but just to be sure, I wanted this information on this reply.

  5. Sharpening is important. A simple knife sharpener from a reputable brand will serve you well, and you should keep your blade in good shape.

Any other knife-buffs out there, if I missed anything or said anything stupid, don't be afraid to point it out.

A lot of countries allow some knives based on a lot of stipulations, I personally carry one of these, very legal and very handy. You are likely to be stopped by police if caught with it but if you have any excuse to carry it (I go with the excuse that I prefer to peel an apple before eating it and sometimes get one while I'm out) and I've never had an issue.

Came here expecting dash cam, was not disappointed

Nothing beats a good watch and being on time. Making appointments and arriving when your supposed to can make all the difference.

I just picked up 2 Google Home Mini's for $29 each during christmas. I love it! I'm already eyeing up smart light bulbs.

Get a couple smart plugs while you're at it. Being able to control the xmas tree, outdoor lights, that sort of thing is a nice benefit, too.

ctrl+f and no result so I will share mine. Noise cancelling headphones for flight. Babies on the plane? Nothing, just like hearing low level of white noise.

Noise isolation headphones work better than noise cancellation for filtering out voices

Dildo

Personal body wand cough cough Life Changing ...

Hitatchi's Magic Wand

An ergonomic keyboard!

Breaks the budget by a little but I picked up a neato botvac 80 refurb a while back and they are now $239 on Amazon. They are a game changer. Walking into a clean and vacuumed house every day is amazing.

Neato is, hands down, the best robot vac on the market. It loses in the marketing department, since most people call it a Roomba even if they're looking right at it, but the pathing of the robot, the amount of dirt it collects, it's ability to reach into corners...beats the circle vacs by a mile.

Tools: 1- Drill 2- Circular saw 3- Tape measure 4- wood 5- paint rollers/pan/brush etc...

all of these things cost less than $200, and you can start building things that cost a fortune for a fraction of the cost.

Vibrator

The New Amazon Echo <3

I had dental cement applied to a tooth that was smaller than all my others. It has literally transformed my face. It was alarmingly cheap per tooth.

I don't know how this would be seen by anyone, but if you go ebay and buy those low energy light bulbs, they can last a lifetime.

Scandinavian lightbulbs to be sure! Norway, Sweden, Finland

Immersion circulator (sous vide), there are certain foods I will never make the same way again.

Wallet NInja.

Always handy - especially the bottle opener and screwdrivers.

A telescope. Watch Neil Degrasse Tyson's Cosmos beforehand to increase the likelihood of the "life changing" effect.

Smart lighting. So fun to have things automatically turn on and off, and I can use fun colors if I want to!

check out LinusTechTips' "handy tech under $100" series. Not life changing, but certainly cool stuff.

Smartthings Hub.

Make your home a smart home, add pieces and convert older sensors and motion detectors to work with the hub. Most devices are already workable out of the box, but if not people have written handlers for them already.

(The hub and/or starter kit is under $200) but it easily turns into a deeper more expensive rabbit hole as you add new things.

Fleshlight

T-Fal Opti-Grill (or any similar indoor automated grill). Push a button that corresponds to the type of meat you are cooking, let it warm up, place meat on grill, close it and press OK. Measures the thickness for you and cooks it to perfection. Plus it has a fat tray that removes a bunch of nasty drip. Easy to clean and makes eating healthy a breeze.

Warm water bidet, squatty potty, Hue smart lightbulbs. All 3 under $200. Life changing.

Awg man, getting a chest freezer changed thr game for us. We pretty much freeze everything that can be frozen now

Pregnancy Tests.

[removed]

What happens?

A 2nd monitor.

A game. You will get amazing life experience. Maybe get suck into it for the big part of ypur life.

An electric heater and an electric fan--or both.

When the odds of mother nature are against you and your room has no insulation or is located closest to the outdoors, you need to be able to help yourself.

My tower fan and heater were expensive but they're fucking amazing. Get yourself any kind of either and save yourself a lot of grief.

A knife!

chromebook lol

A zipper

A fleshlight

A vibrator

You can get an entry level 3D printer for under $200

Google Home

A Gear fit, or a fit bit. They really helped me stay committed to exercising by counting how many steps I take and giving me a goal of how many steps to take each day. There are a lot online you can find for under $200.

Condom

If you have a job or hobby where you are on your knees for any length of time (inb4 BJ jokes) then a pair of $20 gel kneepads are amazing.

Fleshlight!

Google Home

If you frequently work with small parts and fabrication, a digital caliper is life changing.

I can measure bolts to the .01mm now!.

Instant pot (Instapot) is an electric pressure cooker which basically all I use now in the kitchen. It incredibly fast and efficient.

Also a traeger these things are amazing! Look into them

A coat hanger

Get a bidet. I got a cheap one this summer for like 30 bucks on Amazon. Installation was really simple and now I dont feel like I need to get in the shower after I shit. If you're willing to spend more you can get nicer ones with more features but its not reallt nessecary imo. Also you save a fortune on toilet paper. I haven't bought any in months.

Wtf reddit savages with their weird bidets. Real men lick their anus clean, like our ancestors

Can't believe this hasn't been mentioned, but a phone.

What is the matter with you people?

It's so obvious........

Cock Ring.

Soup maker!

Ok, it sounds like a classic gift that will live it's life in storage but it isn't. In terms of quick& easy &tasty way to quickly bump your health it can't be beaten.

If you’re diabetic: Dexcom continuous blood glucose monitoring system. My mom is Type 1 diabetic and no longer shows signs that she will get low on her blood sugar. This has literally saved her life multiple times

An SSD.

Seriously, don't sit here reading this post any longer, go out and buy a fucking SSD. Once you try it, you will never go back to a regular hard drive

opens wallet

Well I guess the 5 minute boot time for my 2008 pentium is alright....

A self jumpstart battery so you can boost your car without needing another car or booster cables, usually between $100-200.

Depends on what you define by Life changing.

Build a MAME cabinet from used parts. If you have two joystick/button sets you can literally play several thousands of arcade games with other people who visit... easy fun

Car adapter outlet/usb charger

Chromecast

Alexa Echo Plus - she will listen :-)

Probably said somewhere in the thread but smart light bulbs have been pretty helpful for me. I live in an apartment with lofted ceilings and some lights are easy to handle with switches but others are difficult and require manual click to turn on/off. Bedroom for example has a tall ceiling fan with lights in it and the switch for that is in the kitchen area. Connect a smart bulb to a Google Home or an Amazon Echo device and you can turn the lights on & off with your voice. Not necessarily life changing but when you're already in bed and want to turn off the lights it is way more convenient to just say, lights off, than to have to get up and walk 10-20 feet over to hit a switch. Smart bulbs are like $30-50 per bulb depending on the brand and may have options for color changing effects. The mobile app is easy to use too.

Pants

A quality stove top perculator. Electric coffee pots we're lasting a year or two max and then would utterly fail.

My wife suggested we try a stove top perculator and we were blown away at the quality of coffee it makes. Takes just as long as an electric coffee maker, but makes stronger coffee with less coffee. It also can be taken on camping trips.

The only downside is unless you have a thermos, the stove top burner will have to stay on low to keep it hot. Though an electric perculator can be bought too.

Smoke detector.

A flesh light haha

Fancy HOT CHOPPED Hoagie Spread.... HOT Fresh pack

A shoe horn

Echo Dot

A record player. It is a great way to unwind at the end of the day.

Note: The gadget is less than 200 but the hobby costs thousands.

A battery booster for your car. You can get really good ones for under $100. They hold a charge forever, and come with USB ports these days.

i’ll be honest, i just moved into my first apartment and bought a bunch of new toys and gadgets that i thought would change my life, but none of them have done what a $15 Thermos has done. to go with that, a Keurig and a Magic Bullet Blender. seems like simple stuff, but it adds up.

Fitbit. It really motivated me to keep up with my workouts and it started me on a whole fitness march that led to added strength and loss of fat.

A bread baking machine! Cheaper and much better flavor than from shops.

An SSD for your device will imporve you loading speeds by more then ten times.

Also a good smartwatch can be pretty useful.

An InstantPot. Got one for Christmas and I use it at least once every two days. Forgot to thaw meat for dinner? InstantPot cooks frozen chicken in 15 minutes. Perfect rice, steel cut oatmeal, etc. Also yogurt.

A good quality heating pad. Cold? Cramps like you're getting stabbed from the inside, out? Poor circulation? It's a game changer.

A pressure cooker. You can get them from QVC for pretty cheap and it’s awesome to be able to make some delicious braised beef short ribs and potatoes in less then an hour. Especially if you work long shifts.

If you work long shifts, wouldn’t a slow cooker be better or at least a great addition? Love coming home after a 9hr shift to some 10hr slow cooked meat

Yeah you’re right. We have a slow cooker as well. But I feel like sometimes the slow cooker cooks the food until it’s “mush”...which is good for some things (like chili...yummm). I’ve also burned food in the slow cooker believe it or not. So I guess I feel like some things are good in the slow cooker and some things are good in the pressure cooker.

I may look into a pressure cooker at some point, seems to be a decent amount of people recommending them. Got to recover from Christmas spending first though

Ab roller and a good pair of shoes

My grandparents ordered a ‘cleverdog’ security camera that they can use on their phone from across the world, that really helped with security

A 20 dollar wood burning tool

  • Telephone

  • Whistle

  • Belt

Keyless door locks. Never have i once regretted mine.

Cheap anilog multimeter. Great for trouble shooting common house hold appliances, wall outlets, and other electronic devices. FYI don't use it without a basic knowledge of AC, DC. Youtube can help you learn how to use it. You can get one for about 12 dollars.

DNA test, sometimes people find out things they didn't want to know.

Buy a cheap second hand instrument that you want to learn and learn how to play it.

I've been shit when it comes to doing things consistently, but with guitar i've been putting in an average of 10-12 hours a week for the last year and it's pretty much the only feeling of accomplishment i feel throughout the week. Even if i'm down in the gutters, i can always find enough energy to pickup the guitar and play some riffs for 30min or an hour.

Im talking prepaid budget smart phones. Companies like boost mobile, metro pcs, and walmart all offer smart phones for 200.00 and below. Theyre capabilities may not be as good as lets say the iphone 7 or 8 but still good enough to improve ones life.

Google Home or one of the other assistant things. didn't think I'd use it that much, but it's really cool.

A decent non robot vacuum. You can get a sweet cordless canister on Amazon or anywhere else on the internet you may happen to shop. Waiting for some brain dead little turd to crawl around your floor to pickup exactly what you're trying to clean is a waste of time. Just do it yourself, with unprecedented convenience.

If you are 420 friendly, a quality dry herb vape like the E-nano from Epic Vape (about $170) will certainly change your life.

Takes some getting used to but once you do the effects are the same, if not better.

It takes minimal material to achieve the same results as traditional methods, which in turn saves you money.

It tastes great with considerably less smell.

There is no combustion or smoke, making it healthier for your lungs.

You can save the leftover ABV/AVB to bake with, make coconut oil, or if you're so inclined, smoke it.

Hey a good quality silicone dildo. I bought a Bad Dragon on black Friday for $120

Not a gadget, but cheap and changed my life: well fitted undershirts. Instead of buying loose generic shirts I bought a couple of white cotton athletic shirts that hug my armpits and upper bicep. Now when I sweat profusely during interviews the sweat doesn’t run down my arm or side, and my dress shirt tucks in tightly without weird wrinkles so I don’t look like a goob. Plus if you’re in any type of shape it makes you feel like Superman. Helped me feel confident and get a job! Definitely the best $40 I’ve ever spent.

Life insurance

I know this only applies to women but. A menstrual cup. It's so easy to use, and you don't have to buy tons of tampons/pads.

My Instant Pot was definitely life changing. Crock pot, rice cooker, steamer, pressure cooker all in one. Being able to throw frozen chicken in and have a full meal in under 45 minutes with less than 5 minutes prep time is huge for my busy schedule.

Explanation? Source?

A cool-mist humidifier, even just the little ones you can put on your desk/bedside table! Especially in winter if you have electric heating!

Most people have cell phones that you can take notes on and keep track of stuff, but you will be amazed at how a calendar and or day planer will work. And not like a tiny calendar a big one and hang it somewhere visible.

You write down what’s coming up, other plans, and appointments. You’ll see it most days if not every day. You’ll always know that something is coming up instead of an alert from your phone the day before or week before.

Well... unless you live in the US.... an epi pen.

For regular computer work, I recommend a combination of things to be more ergonomic and efficient, some are gadgets, some doesn't cost anything.

If your monitors don't have height adjustments: Put something under your monitor/s so you'll look straight forward, not down. (Old books, wood, etc.)

Learn keyboard shortcuts.

Get a proper gaming mouse with a perfect sensor. (Used on Amazon for 40$) Disable mouse boost in windows / install some software on Mac to get rid of the mouse boost. This way your muscle memory kicks in and let's you be really efficient and accurate. Once you are used to it: Always have the same mouse / DPI settings. I also recommend having the same mouse DPI / settings and mousepad surface at home and at work.

Have your seat high enough. Sit as much straight as possible.

Never sit to long. Do some regular beneficial activity, like swimming, yoga, climbing, bodyweight exercises, balance exercises, etc.

I gave my girlfriend an oil diffuser this christmas and she loves it! You can get lots of smells for it, that will help you sleep, concentrate or just enhnance your room.

Plus it cures cancer, according to the anti-vaxers in the city I live.

Indoor air pollution machine...

A portable hard disc, I got a 2tb one from amazon and it's great, because I'm constantly on the move between my house, my SO's house and work.

A bubble umbrella - the wind doesn't flip them up

To summarize this thread

Bidet

Sous vide

Vibrators

Rasberry Pi's

PC stuff

Smart light

More toilet stuff

Even more toilet stuff

For me, a Chromecast. Definitely the greatest investment I've made in the past year. It's changed how I watch videos and movies entirely.

Along with that, a Google home is almost as good. Some changes and improvents might help, but they interact nicely together.

Garage door opener. Don’t use one for a winter then tell me it’s not life changing.

I just bought a little handheld gba emulator for $50. It's about the size of an old iPhone, and I've got 500 gba games in my pocket at all times now. And if I want to add or remove any games, I just plug it into my computer and it basically acts like a USB flash drive, just drag and drop .gba rom files.

The only problems I have are:

1) I can't change the save type, so a few games with certain anti-piracy scripts aren't playable. Normally when using an emulator on a PC, you can just change the save type and get around the anti-piracy script. Haven't found a way to do it with this.

2) Apparently the volume can't be turned all the way off. With the volume dial all the way down, the sound is still playing faintly. I just took some old broken headphones and snipped the wire, so I've got a little broken nub plugged in to mute it.

Otherwise, it's great. Fairly cheap, very easy to use, back lit, responsive, and no quality complaints so far. It's called the RetroMini.

I always just used my android device with myboy app

An Anker multi-USB charging brick. Charge all your devices at the same time with a small black box on the counter.

Squatty potty. For those that don't know it's a foot stool to help you get into a better position for pooping and imma tell ya. I've taken the best dumps of my life since getting that thing.

http://www.lifestraw.com/products/lifestraw/

Google home.

I know, I didn't think so either. But after my Wife bought it for me for Christmas, playing shows on Netflix on the TV has been so much more straight-forward.

We no longer have to wait through the LOOOONG Star Trek Voyager intros for EACH EPISODE (Netflix's auto-skipping of intros doesn't work when there's a cold open before the intro...) instead, it's "Hey Google, Fast-Forward 1 minute 38 seconds." Always 100% accurate, no more tap-dragging on the play bar on your phone, hoping you don't skip 10 seconds into the show by mistake.

And we feel like we're also in the future when we can say "Play X on the TV" and the TV wakes up and plays it. TV Remotes at all are so last decade (disclaimer: we lucked out that the new sound bar we bought actually turns on when the TV does. The old one didn't, and I'd have to still use the sound bar controller to manually turn on the sound bar lol)

I think a spice/coffee grinder is a game changer. Your food tastes WAY better with whole spices you grind yourself and there are so many more coffee options when you buy whole bean, and of course the coffee tastes way better too when you grind only as much as you need yourself.

Kitchen Scale (~$20) and MyFitnessPal (Free)

An Instant Pot(~$70-$120 depending on the size). If you do any kind of cooking, this thing will change your life. Perfectly cooks dried beans without soaking in 25-30 minutes. Soups, chili, sauces...even makes yogurt. If I had a choice to do it over again, I would marry my Instant Pot instead of my wife.

Ive seen this exact sentence a time or two before this...sketchy

Really? LOL! What can I say...marriage is a struggle.

condoms. and flare guns.

do you use these together?

if things are getting really wild, then I don't see why not.

I don't know if anyone's said it, but a 3d printer. It changes your life by making you obsessed with fixing every little thing in your house and recreating really useless objects that will just sit around. 10 out of 10 would recommend.

$200 3d printer? Where?

I paid 150 for an anet a8 on gearbest. There are a handful in this price range, none of them are super good but you can always upgrade them with parts you print.

A good flashlight. I personally suggest a TC12, nice and bright, a few different modes, and this model let's you charge with a micro USB cable, while still using a high end removable battery.

And it's better than any flashlight in any horror movie you've ever seen.

Bidet attachment for your toilet.

The Peet Boot Dryer. Warm, dry shoes/boots are like heaven for your feet in the winter.

A compressor, if you have a garage. They usually come with things like a tyre inflator, and one of those pneumatic hammer wrenches that tyre shops use. Addition air tools are ridiculously cheap, eg about $10 for an air chisel.

A good vakuum cleaner.

A good Leatherman. If you've never had one before your mind will be blown by how often you use it.

A good 5'' angle grinder also.

A foreman grill

A neck and shoulder massager. You can get a pretty good one online for $50 or so. I use mine every day and it actually does a really good job of releasing tension. It feels great, too!

Just remembered it’s a Signature. My rug is a funky modern blue, white, grey in triangular and diagonal slashes. I’ve had it on a red shag, it goes over my red and white wide striped rug and it just went up a blackboard indoor outdoor fake grass ikea mat that I have in front of the litter box and vacuumed it. I was surprised because that thing sticks a good 1/2 to 3/4 inch off the ground. I really like that it does the outside walls then does a pattern like mowing a yard to vacuum. If you move something, like a dresser, it knows it and will go over and cleaned that area and then go back to it’s pattern.

Instant Pot - more home cooked meals that are easy and quick to make and eat to clean up.

Good kitchen faucet. Don't get the $40 or $79 kind. Get the $180-200 kind. If you do the dishes, it's totally worth it, never again will I fight with a faucet that's too low, inflexible, and doesn't reach where you need.

A good detachable shower head (as long as you have decent pressure).

Getting a jet up in all your bits and a good hose down makes you feel like a million dollars!

In my gadgets, should be useful and simplify life. For example, the gadget is a smart house. Really be able to cope with this)

A memory foam mattress cover/ mattress

A heating pad

You never know when you'll get a cramp or pain. It's great for bad backs and aches. Otherwise it's great for keeping warm.

Almost any smart home device. Being able to control a majority of your house via your cell phone is simply god like. Did I forget to lock the front door? Let me lock it from work. Garage door; no problem. Oh what’s that? My parents are stopping by? Let me unlock the door for you from the couch. Never will I get up again to shut off the bathroom, or bedroom lights. What am I? An Animal?

Honor 7x

A good pair of headphones

A keyboard. Like a musical one.

These threads are hell on my amazon wishlist...

Fingerprint door lock. you don't have to worry about keys anymore

Remote control toys!! https://thepintstore.com/collections/gadgets

How about a digital breathalyzer. It's cool and can be life changing

Espresso machine and bluetooth, noise cancelling headphones have changed my life.

Try this one... :D https://actiongadget.com/collections/toys-kids-baby/products/laser-shooting-gun-alarm-clock

That will help u get up in the morning and do more useful things in a day...

The PlantHive smart garden BETA

A portable Bluetooth speaker!

[deleted]

200$ Lol?? That is like 9 packs in New York. Most definitely not enough to give people with normal genetics cancer

You can get 10 ft of high quality rope and a stool for under 200 tho. Skip the cancer and take a shortcut to death!

High quality rope,luminous paint to make the rope shine and fuck it why not go all out and buy a metal chair

Do it in a forest in Japan and you'll get to be in a Logan Paul video

A smartphone. Very overlooked because most people already have one.

FitBit Charge 2

Don't know why the downvote. I get so busy with work that I forget to stretch my legs. When I get the reminder each hours, I take a 2 minute stroll up and down my office hallway. I run into people, have a chat, get some blood flowing, and then back to work energized. Definitely worth the $100 I got it for on sale.

An electric blanket the full size of your bed

An Instant Pot multi-cooker!

A condom.

Crack pipe with crack in it

If you have a pretty good pc, recommend a vr headset with vrchat. Either that or....... 3D printer?

A gun.

My Shark Vacuum. I have crazy allergies, and every time I vacuumed in childhood forward I would have problems with allergies later, and never made the connection. No longer! And the house seems to be better for it, too -- I don't seem to have as much dust building up weird places. Best $150 ever.

Bissell Symphony vacuum/steam mop. If you have kids and non-carpeted floors, this is life changing! You can thank me later.

I didn't see it much in this thread, but a smartphone is a gadget and can easily be found for $200 or less.

I mean, you can use it to give you GPS directions in your car, and not even with signal, if you download maps offline beforehand you can use navigation without having data available on the road. I don't know much that can beat modern phones.

Pocket pussy

An immersion circulator. If you love to cook...you need one. Being able to dial in an exact temperature to cook various foods at for extended periods of time takes the guess work out of cooking and gives you the results you want everytime.

Egg poachers... if you like cooking eggs, doing so with steam instead of oil can make a big health difference over time.

$200 worth of lottery tickets could be absolutely life changing

Sous vide. Takes cooking to another level. Perfectly cooked entrees, and it allows you to have more time to prepare sides.

Remote Car Starter.

Fitbit, pretty cheap and has made me way more conscious of how excise I'm not doing, and the sleep app is a great way mate sure your getting enough sleep Sounds like I work for fitbit but I don't

Echo Dot - It’s an awesome personal assistant honestly. I can add stuff to my grocery list or make a new list, ask for the weather and the news, and order dominos. It’s constantly updating and getting smarter. It changes your life subtly, but you notice when it’s gone.

Tens Unit...I no longer go to the chiropractor and get instant pain relief every day when I use this

The "Search" button on Reddit. Completely free.

For me? I went and spent the money on an Apple Watch.

Little thing is always reminding me to keep moving, to slow down and take a moment to take a few calm, deep breaths, and makes texting and phone calls and controlling my music and podcasts easier.

I leave my phone in a safe spot during work, so it's nice to have almost all those functions mirrored on my wrist.

And for motivating me to hit the gym, it's been an invaluable tool. It's like having a little cheerleader on my wrist. And even though I know I'm working out and losing weight...it's cool to track those metrics and physically see the data and watch how I got from one point to another, instead of just seeing the final product in the mirror.

But isn't an Apple Watch more expensive than $200?

You can get a cheaper model. Or buy used.

Doesn't necessarily have to be the newest model.

If you’re a smoker, I’d say the Pax is a must. It’s right at $200 but it’s a super convenient vape. You’ll never want to go back to combusting ever again

Serious follow up question Can a dildo/vibrator be considered a gadget for the purposes of this discussion?

Because it’s definitely life changing. When I finally graduated from putting a condom on the ice cream scoop and actually started sticking purpose-built items up my (mouth), it confirmed everything I’d ever hoped about (mouth) play.

Most applicable proof: my tinder is now set to search for women AND men. If it’s on tinder, it’s true.

Sigh. I see where someone else already said vibrator... but my life has still been changed for the better, so I’m sticking with it

Say what you will, but the Apple AirPods have been invaluable to me. Having always struggled to find a decent wireless headphone that stays in your ear and is comfortable with decent sound quality and battery life—they are fantastic for all the above reasons.

Yoga mat Chinup bar Bible Bicycle One way bus ticket

A mechanical keyboard

Motion sensor activated lights tat olug on wall outlets..

Move around the house like michael fucking jackson.

Specially great if you inly want to go to the toilat in te night or get a sip of water.

They arent too bright to wake you up and your dozey ass dont need to look for no fuck ass hidden switches

A fitbit! You might not think it, but it can be actually sustainably "life changing", assuming you're not a very fit or easily motivated person to start with. Once I got mine I set up goals and did challenges against friends to do the most steps over a week, etc. It got me through periods of depression where I might not have otherwise left the house. Also, I got the one with the heart rate tracker and if you have long term fitness goals you can watch your resting heart rate lower as you get fitter, which is a great way to track progress that isn't tied to your weight or physical appearance.

It's not really a gadget per say but the lack of use can create one of the biggest life changing events possible. I'm talking about a condom, there is nothing more life changing than having a kid.

Life insurance

AirPods. Best product apple makes.

I wish I could get those. They're still sort of too pricy for me unfortunately...

I hear you. $160 is a lot for headphones but I’d easily buy another set if I had to. They are really that good.

A juul

yes! My Juul was the only thing that got me to successfully quit smoking. No vape juice I've ever tried has given me that nicotine hit that those good old death sticks gave each morning.

Yeah same here, for the price you're getting alot with the juul

Honestly I’d go with the Phix. The draw is more similar to a cigarette, the flavors are better (subjective), and it’s less expensive. The pods cost a bit more but they have 1.5ml of juice in them so roughly twice as much. I’ve been vaping since 2010 and I’ve tried everything out there. Aside from higher end rebuildable atomizers (such as the kayfun), the Phix is probably the most satisfying device out there and it’s as close as I’ve found to a cigarette out there.

The Juul has the name out there but in my opinion the Phix is probably the better one if we’re talking about closed system/pod based devices.

Nah I think a sourin is better. It’s the same concept with the nicotine, but it charges better and has more options for juice.

True. The way I see it JUUL is the Apple of pod based systems. Very popular, and an enclosed ecosystem (meaning you can only use juices that come from official juul pods) and sourion is like the Samsung. Very coustomizable, with many juice options from third party makers.

There’s a reason they called it the “Juul Killer”. I didn’t want to buy one because I didn’t care for my Juul and it broke, then I caved and I love it. Although I heard that there’s a new line of Juuls that fixed some of the problems.

Yeah, the new juul v4 fixed alot of the issues with leaking and malfunction. The only issue is the internals are cheap. I actually broke my v4 by cleaning it a while back, the connector pins completely snapped off. No way to fix it. So I bought a juul be. Looking back I probably should have bought a sourin...

I’ve heard the new sourin drop is really good if you are looking for a new one.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I might just bite the bullet and end up buying one tomorrow.

And when/if you feel like a Juul isn't cutting it, hop over to /r/vaping and /r/ecr and find yourself a big boy setup.

Yeah, juul nice for on the go use, I've been looking for a nice mod or something to use, but I have no clue what to buy. I heard the Smok GX350 was the top mod of 2016, any suggestions?

Don’t go with smoktech. They’re pretty cheap and have pretty shitty build quality.

I’d go with a smoant battlestar or a smoant Charon if you don’t want to spend a lot and still want a quality device.

For tanks, the crown III or the super tank mini will be solid.

If you want a mouth to lung draw similar to the Juul, the nautilus 2 will be a solid option too, just at a much lower wattage.

Yup I learnt the hard way. I dropped my smoktech 80w (not even that bad of a drop) and the crap design of the battery latch refused to stay shut ever again. I ended getting the smoant knight v2 and love it. That thing is tough as nails. The recessed tank means it's more durable and compact. I get clumsy when I drink so durability is probably the most important thing to me when it comes to mods.

Honestly, I'm not up to speed on current mods. I've been rocking a JoyeTech Cuboid 150w since spring of 2016. That's a fairly solid device, but the 510 connector has been known to have issues.

Just look around on sites like GearBest and FastTech, and ask the dudes on the subs I linked above, based on your budget and preferences.

A shill thread on Reddit

Impossibly delicate solid gold bands studded with five diamonds for the perfect subtle sparkle. Get it from Ant Eva Crafts on Etsy for $112.50 (originally $125). Available in yellow, white, and rose gold. Rings sizes: 2–10.5

Mossberg 500 12 gauge pump shotgun. If someone is giving you a big problem you can change their life drastically.

A Highpoint will also change your life when it either works flawlessly or explodes in your hands.

No guns in this thread.

-Reddit.

I’d have to say, the tampon.

The internet!

You can use it to look up the other posts about this exact thing.

a rope and a strong ceiling your life will never be the same

The ultimate life improvement. How should I make the noose?

a box of tide pods

Slickdeals and S&S has me stocked

A brain. Then you'd stop voting up all these right wing people.

30$ lazer pointer; take off the case, twist the screw on the diode to turn it up, point at plane, go to jail.

a toaster if u stick a fork in it while it's on

Reddit gold.

A mute button for your wife. So wish they would invent one.

[removed]

u/unclejoe2 the creepy uncle you hear in stories.

An at-home foot massager. Life-changing.

If you want something a little less "lazy", then go with some workout equipment for home as well.

airthings wave. radon is a big cause of lung cancer, not getting it would be life changing.

A lifestraw.

Buy a damn Instapot!

I dunno if its been said but a stand up desk. Just do it. Back problems gone.

Toilet paper.

I'll call the song Shocky Sticks

HAHA my mom just got one and she said the last week has just been stuff made out of that thing

A good radar detector; and some good HID or LED headlights. I have a set of 55w 12,000k and a set of 55w pink HID's in my car. It's not blinding to oncoming traffic and does not really light up the road much further in front of you; it will however light up every reflective surface in front of you as far as you can see. Cop car in the median; before my radar know's its there the side of the car is light up bright for everyone to see and slow down. Oh and it's snowing here in the north east. They are great in snow.

100% those lights blind everyone else.

For the love of Christ do your research before just popping an LED bulb in your vehicle. The light pattern is not the same between different bulb varieties, so the reflector made for your HID won't work correctly for an LED bulb. Plus you may need to adjust the angle of said bulbs (tutorials online) even with the right reflector. If you're lighting up the side of a car 200 feet away I can assure you every other driver hates you.

Unless your car is designed for them, those lights suck.

They do. You need projectors for them. People just buy them because that's what's hot in the streets right now and never set them up right.

A box of tide pods

*Edit: I can't type"

AirPods. Wireless headphones are great!

isnt a gadget by definition sort of useless?

An s3 key. For disabling and removing the tags from items in stores. They're like twenty bucks. Definitely worth the money if you ask me. :)

Yes it can be life changing if you want to run the risk of hurting your future prospects... Don't shoplift, kiddos.

Common sense