Products made to last!
Quality tools in general. Be disciplined in storing them well and in one place.
A good chef’s knife and gear to keep it sharp. You will never want to go back.
Cast iron pan has been said. A good multi layered stainless steel pan (so layers all the way, not disc bottom). Indestructible and doesnt give you cancer like teflon.
A leatherman or similar multitool.
Good binoculars, if you’re into that kind of stuff.
The top answer for me is always a good cast iron pan. Doesn’t have to be expensive but should be quite heavy. It’s not just buy it for life either, it’s buy it for future generation’s lives.
Sand the crap out of any new pan can make a 'meh' pan into a 'muah' pan. A lot of them aren't nearly as smooth as they could/should be. We bought a cheap one that was quite bumpy, sanding down was a night and day difference.
I think one of the things a lot of people miss in the bifl mentality is the requirement of maintenance, care, and in this case alteration. My post mentioned knives and watches and boots. Learning the right tools and techniques and treatments for those things is just as important as buying the right thing. Good post, I never would have known sanding down a cast iron to make it smoother would make it a better performer.
I heard that the bumps were there to help the seasoning stick. Actually, looking it up and the point seems moot - with people disagreeing as a matter of preference. So there is a bit of nuance there.
I actually have a Lodge that has gone smooth just from the daily use of repeated oiling and scraping and of course carbon buildup.
I had a lodge that I didn't do anything but cook on, didn't have any issues. The ex got that one. Had an old crappy one that I couldn't get to non stick the way my lodge did, then I sanded and seasoned it well before next use. By far my favorite pan years later.
It's kinda funny just how strong folks' opinions are on this.
Happy to see this community, I really liked it on Reddit
A used steel case or Herman miller chair. (Unless you can afford to buy new) Instead of a godawful PU leather spine shattering gaming chair.
The chairs may not last a lifetime but are very durable and will help your spine last your lifetime.
Their CEO took a bonus and told employees in a video to work hard instead of being in "pity city" when they were left without bonuses.
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/19/1170669245/millerknoll-ceo-andi-owen-video-bonuses
Even more reason to buy used. The CEO might be a cunt, but that doesn't change whether it's good for your body.
The point is that a chair designed for ergonomics of sitting at a desk all day will do you much better than one designed to look like it belongs in a racecar.
That advice stands whether that's Haworth, Steel case, Herman miller, or any other serious office chair brand.