Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Non-HT/audio products I like

I think there was a somewhat similar thread about branding that you like, but I've been thinking about specific products that have made my life better. Usually just stuff for everyday functions. These are some of the things that I've been really happy with.

Most recently, I decided to start packing a lunch again instead of relying on the hospital's cafeteria. The choices have been very poor for a while now, so I would almost always end up at the grill getting a chicken sandwich, veggie burger, or the occasional real burger. I liked the idea of the compartmentalized containers, so I decided to try out the system from easylunchboxes.com. Not so great. The lids would just sort of sit on the containers, not really sealing well. I ended up getting an entirely different lunch tote and container system:

Built Neoprene Tasty Lunch Tote

Kinetic Go Green Premium Nano Silver 7 Piece Food Storage Container Set

I also got these reusable ice cubes, but I haven't used them yet, so I can't say whether they're the bomb or not:

Icy Cools Reusable Ice Cubes

I really like the seal on the new containers, and the lunch tote looks cooler than the other ones I'd been looking at. Also stretchy enough to have a little room for accommodation. I can see the tote maybe not lasting forever if you're rough with it, but for me, I think it will be enough for a long time.

Another recent purchase was a Totes Titanium Auto-Open/Close Umbrella. To be fair, it was replacing a pretty crappy umbrella, but I still like it a lot more. Having it open as well as collapse with the push of a button is pretty cool. Again, I don't know yet how durable it's going to be, but I'm sure it's going to be stronger than what I had.

As far as not so recent purchases, it's hard not to mention the Snow Peak Titanium Spork. I tried every brand I could find at one point, and the Snow Peak was my favorite by a fair margin. At first the slender handle and big end threw me off, but I got used to it really quickly, and now it just feels natural.

I use this packaging tape dispenser at work, and after using cheaper ones that my parents own, I can say there's a huge difference in how well they operate:

3M Scotch Gray Box Sealing Tape Dispenser (H180)

All of my retractable badge reels at work kept breaking, so I found this which was a bit sturdier:

Gear-Retractor

It's been probably a couple of years by now, and it's still going strong. I got one for both my coworker and I. It's lasted for us both, and we both get our badges snagged on things fairly often in our work. You have to modify it slightly to work as a badge reel, but it's really not complicated. I'm sure it's even better for other things, since it has more than enough pull for badges.

I mentioned the Swingline Collectors Edition 747 Rio Red Business Stapler not too long ago, and it's still going strong at work, too, with no jams yet. Cheap on Amazon.com still, cheap at Costco.

Anyway, those are some little things that have made my life better. What do you have?

Oh, yeah, I also recently got a Bagel Guillotine, and it's definitely the better way to slice bagels. Of course, a smarter person might get their bagels pre-sliced.

And that of course reminds me of the Luncheon Meat Slicer, which I still enjoy when I'm going to cook up some Spam. Too bad Spam is so expensive these days.

Great idea for a thread, Charles. I like the appreciative nature of it.

My wife often points out that "you're never sorry about buying the 'good' one"

I also bring my lunch to work most days; I like the healthy options (often not taken, but still), savings and convenience. I've been absolutely flabbergasted by the quality of the allegedly disposable Ziploc storage containers. Better than Glad and several others we've tried. They seem just as durable as Tupperware.

I love my autoseal Contigo Travel mug. By far, the best of the many I've lost used over the years.

Good knives are a joy. We have some Wusthof and some Henckels, but I'm also very impressed with the reasonably-priced Victorinox/Forschner brand. We keep them sharp with the wonderful Chef's Choice sharpener. Steels are to maintain an edge; this thing creates a new edge just in case you're not all that diligent about using the steel all the time. Or ever.

This probably doesn't qualify as a product, but after years of wearing progressives and trifocals, I finally bought a pair of full-frame, prescription reading glasses for computer use. Big improvement in quality of life and work. I know I have mentioned them before, but I still can't believe the utter design greatness of my Rudy Project sunglasses.

We have a Dyson vacuum. It just works.

I like my Coda Elite hybrid. Great for street, path and trail riding....also pretty fast.

One of my favorite products is my Panasonic battery charger with rechargeable batteries. Love that thing.

I think I may pick one up for my dad. Thanks for the tip!

I'll have to remember your recommendations for knives, too, whenever I get a set.

I should probably get some of those. Maybe the same time I finally get a universal remote.

I also like the ever functional bamboo steamer. They don't break down and are also inexpensive. Great for cooking vegetables and the ever important Dim sum...Mmmmmmmm.

Here's one thing that's been getting a lot of use since we bought it:


(Amazon link)

It's an apple peeler with a detachable corer/slicer blade.

I wish they had sold those when my kids were younger Peter. I used to make a lot of apple pancakes and this thing would have saved me a lot of time.

My most favourite non HT product at the moment is a Green Pan stovetop wok.

Its a lot of coin compared to other non-stick pans, but is head and shoulders better than anything teflon based. It will handle much higher temps than teflon and the non-stick performance is as good as the best teflon product.

Which one do you have, specifically, Fred? I was going to start making stir fry for my lunches. This is something I was going to ask for recommendations on.

I prefer a stick pan for my stir fry and pan frying. A tad harder to clean (fine, a lot), but you get such a nice brown...

Way to make me unsure, dude.

My current favorite Non-HT/audio product: Pliny

That's true. The stuck on brown bits -- fond -- contribute so much to the flavor of a stir fry. You just need some liquid -- rice wine, chicken/beef broth, orange/lemon juice -- to deglaze the pan and help loosen those bits about halfway through the cooking.

Such a good beer.

What a cool thread. I love researching different products, so I love all these ideas! Here are some of my favorite products.

• My Citizen Eco-Drive watch. I'll never again buy a watch that needs a battery! If it fails or breaks, I'm definitely buying another one.
• My Rabbit Air air cleaner. I keep it in my bedroom. I've got bad allergies, and while I don't think it's doing anything, I find that my allegies worsen once the filter gets dirty.
• Both my Keurig coffee makers (one at the office and one at home).
• Fossil brand organizer/purses...as if you GUYS would care!
• Various cosmetics items that you guys won't care about either. HAHA!
  
• Last , but not least...my Snuggie blanket. Love it!

Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence. I would have discussed textures and shades with you, but not now.

Next to the other Rabbit?

That's the one that dies.

But then its batteries can be replaced.

Only black leather for me, Bob. It goes best with my dominatrix outfit...which I prefer to wear when I perform magic tricks with the rabbit.

You shouldn't try to kill Jack with posts like that, Mary.

I was trying to figure that out from their site the other day, but I'm not sure. I don't think it matters as long as it has the ceramic coating.

As for browning, because the ceramic coating will handle more heat, you can get very good browning if that's what you want.

Like Mary, I like my (older) Seiko Kinetic Arctura Chronograph , and (new) Seiko Kinetic Velatura timepieces. Collecting Seiko watches is a little hobby of mine.

LOL!

Those are gorgeous AND cool looking watches, Cam!

My Eco Drive is my favorite watch.

Maybe we need a thread on expensive - non HT toys? Like the Stingray boots or some of my Birdwatching equipment?

Thanks, Mary. I LOVE my Velatura. This is what I want next. Watching them hand assemble it is truly amazing.

I don't get the appeal of hand assembly. (With regard to any product.)

I would rather have a cold, unfeeling machine build and test things I buy. Robots don't have bad days, don't stay out too late drinking, and don't get bored from repeating the same task day after day.

Me and cam have already have had our veggie-juice nerd-out on the fitness thread, but I did recently purchase a refurbished Blendtec. I use it every day, and has changed my health for the better. Breakfast smoothies in 1 minute with a press of a button, with less than 5 minutes of prep and cleanup (most of the time, if I don't make a complete mess).

Cheap, filling, healthy "meals". Like a broccoli/tomato/grape/spinach/flaxseed green smoothie. Or soup. It heats and cooks soup by the friction of the blades. Magnets, how do they work?!

The programmers do though .

Yet . . . !

Du-dun dun DA DUN.

"Come with me if you want to live ... in a land of fruit smoothies!"

You would be surprised. I see our maintenance people doing 're-teaches' on the robots in our plant all the time.

Hmmm.

Seems those robots should have been built by robots.

Browning shotguns.

Bren R.

One of the dichotomies in my life - Mossberg 3 1/2" Ultimag in early Mossy Oak Camo pattern.

What temp should I set my oven to and how long should I leave the shotgun in there?

I'd make a crack, but (one of) my upland gun(s) is a 500 in 20ga... but it wears a dead tree as furniture. Refinished a beautiful (for a field gun) blonde stock on 'er.

350F for 10-15 minutes, checking regularly.

Bren R.

I don't put much into the finish as long as it will knock a turkey down....

Come up here... around the farm we hunt 'em with hockey sticks.

No, seriously. They stand there and hold still for it.

Bren R.

It worked until the turkeys started wearing hockey helmets, anyway.

I can't live without my fleece lined jeans. I wear them so much my wife wants to throw them away.

Honda S2000 accelerating white hot and screaming at 9000 rpm;
Seiko 5 automatic mechanical watches with really luminous dials; Microfibre Geoffrey Beane shirts; Microfiber sheets; Bostonian shoes with rubber soles; Titleist tour blades; Weber kettle charcoal BBQ grills ...

I'm liking this Zyliss spatula for my stir-frying.

This is my favorite ice cream scoop out of the three I own, but it's currently unavailable.

Tom, if I didn't already mention (too lazy to look back through the thread), I did end up with some Victorinox kitchen cutlery. They're working out well. I'll round out my set a bit as needed.

I feel like I had more things to mention, but my brain is a void for now.

So you're going out of your way to tell us that something is good, you have it, and we can't?

Meanie.

Charles, I didn't know you had a Spatula City in Richland. Lucky.

I really like the design of these measuring spoons. I can't speak to their durability yet, but I do like the magnetic stacking for storage, the two ends depending on what you're extracting ingredients from, and the flat bottoms so you can have them sitting full on the counter until you need whatever you've measured.

Also, if you need a great zester, this Microplane is tons better than the KitchenAid one I had before. I haven't used it to grate yet, but I can vouch for the zesting. It may have been TOO good at it, putting more zest into the dish than necessary.

Do I sound too domestic? I swear I'm not cooking as much as it sounds like, even though I should be.

Played with these battling RC helicopters all weekend. Lots o' fun. What a blast shooting your family out of the sky (or the airspace in the living room)!!!

I recently picked up a handheld magnetic sweeper from here http://www.bluestreakequipment.com/ and I love it! I can't believe all the rusted roofing and barn nails, screws, staples and other crap I am finding.

This company doesn't cut any corners with its products. Great packaging (wooden crate), build quality (strong but also light feeling at the same time) and most importantly they don't skimp with the magnets (this is where all the weight is). Very strong! I am finding that it is picking up a lot stuff that is slightly buried beneath the gravel that I can't see.

That looks like what the roofers went over my yard with last year when I had my roof re-shingled.

Ooooh, that looks like fun!

Once you get bored with those, you could try one of these.

They've fancied these up a bit. I remember when it was a kit, without the motor, that you had to assemble. I forgot what type of motor you used. 1970's vintage VW maybe. It didn't have a body either.

Yeah, that one is all gussied up. You can still buy kits or just plans for hardcore diy. I really want to fly one of these.

Edit: just updated my bucket list.

For the kitchen:

-Black & Decker bread machine
-Cuisinart mini-chopper/processor
-Cutco knives (made in USA)-easily beat out similarly-priced Germans

For the house:

-Toto low-flush toilets

Although it's technically HT, the built-in DVD player for the car is the single greatest invention in the history of humanity. Those of you with children will know exactly what I mean

I just upgraded my Sonicare E-series to this one. I love it! I liked the old one, but I got fed up with the screw-on replacement brushes. These replacement brushes push on, so the vibration doesn't change over time nor does a lot of gunk collect around them. They aren't lying when they say it cleans better than the E-series either. My teeth actually DO feel much cleaner than they did before.

I recently got one of these off of craigslist, right now its at the lawn shop getting a tune up.. Should have it next week.

this is one of my favorite kitchen tools, use it every time i cook meat, my chicken has come out out perfect every time since i started using it, before i would occasionally slightly undercook the chicken and have to put it back on the grill for a few minutes, and as you know, once you cut the meat you loose much of the juice...

I bought two of these. I eat a lot more apples now. I bought one for work, liked it so well that I bought a second one for home.

I bought one of the ones Peter liked, but I have yet to use it. I keep getting distracted.

Thanks for the testimonial, Mary. I keep thinking of moving to an electric, but I haven't been able to commit so far. Maybe I'll go with that one.

Do it, Charles. I have the model that Mary is upgrading from, and my wife uses the model that Mary is upgrading to. Sonicare products are awesome - you will experience an epic leap forward in dental hygiene.

For the whole dental care upgrade, top it off with a Water Pic, which I find so much easier and more thorough than flossing.

OK, it's spelled Waterpik. Highest recommendation.

I've been using a waterpik for years, but I have a hard time doing it as often as I need to. I get too rushed in the morning. It's good for washing out all of that bacteria that causes halitosis.

What are you guys doing for hemorrhoids and toenail fungus and STDs?

Battery acid works quite well. Generously apply battery acid, then pour a little Coke over the affected spot, than wait for area to rot off. Also, you can speed up the process by digging at it with a dull pocket knife.

Works for me.

that's what i call "preventive maintenance".
i also pick my nose, but won't tell what i use (trade secret).

I must of giggled like a teenager for an hour after writting that. I don't know what comes over me from time to time. Sheesh.

Thanks, JP. Sounds like a good idea. My mouth will thank you. Not in the hitchhiking way.

Yeah, you wouldn't want to end up like your dragon.

Ha ha, ouch. So it's J.P. the Unicorn?

I didn't want to start a new thread....

Has anyone tried some of these "high tech fabric" shirts? I was wondering about treating myself to a couple of golf polos that are supposed to block UV, wick moisture, keep you amazingly cool and improve your short game.

OK, I made the last one up, but I still wonder about spending $50~$60 on the type of shirt that I'd normally spend $15 on.... (Yeah, I've never been known as a fashion plate)

Sunglasses?

I have always liked Ray-Ban. Stylish with a classic look that never will out of style. Here is a few of their models . These are excellent for reducing glare. Night and day difference when driving with and without them.

On the left is the Ray-Ban Cockpit RB3362. "Gunmetal" frame, green polarized lens. On the right is the Ray-Ban Tech series. Carbon frame, grey/green polarized lens.

Mark,

I have a few couple of specialty fabric shirts that I bought for Kayaking mostly but also biking. They definitely do what they say about wicking away moisture and that can be a big part of keeping you comfortable and cool or alternatively, warm.

This is especially true for off-season water sports where if cotton gets wet, you are less likely to get hypothermia by stripping off the stupid shirt than by leaving a wet cotton shirt on.

Now of course, a golf game is not normally a water sport but I heard your's often is. (Damn, where is my snicker dog picture?)

In short they do what they promise on the heat/cool side but I don't know if the UV bit is neccessary. I've certainly never gotten a sunburn underneath a shirt before but with today's evil rays, maybe it's best to block even filtered portions.

Final note: They are waaaayyyyy over priced verses their production costs (friend in the business.) I never buy them unless they are at least 50% off and even then they are making money.

Thanks, Murph!

Yeah, I see them on pretty good sales here and there, but wasn't sure if there was anything to them to even want to favor them over a regular shirt!

To the extent one can have fun splitting wood, I'm having fun with a new Fiskars X27 Splitting Axe . It's going through gnarlies that I was having trouble splitting with a 6 pound maul.

This comes a bit late, but Dorf on Golf will help you with the last one.

For Christmas I got the Sonicare toothbrush Mary linked to above. It's fantastic! My teeth feel a lot cleaner now. Not that I was bad at brushing my teeth before. . . .the Sonicare simplifies the process.

I still need to get one. I keep getting distracted.

I've use one of these Oral B electric brushes. I've had the same unit now for 11 years and it still works like it was new. I just replace the brush head about once every 3 months.

This one was recommended by my periodontist.

for tens of years, i've wanted to buy an espresso machine that would make coffee as good as they brew in the best places, but the machines all cost upwards of $700.; too much for me.

a few days ago, my sister offered me an espresso;
i watched the machine while it was doing its job: only brew coming down, and twisting like a pig's tail. WOW!

Result: the coffee was as good as the best there is, and the machine sells for around $300. cdn.

i will buy one next month.

that was a big surprise for me

Spend about the same on a grinder. You can get a decent shot with an average espresso maker but not if you are using a crappy grinder.