<story><title>Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?</title><text>I&amp;#x27;ve abandoned all faith in reviews online.  But the HN crew can give good advice and are extremely unlikely to shill garbage.  Consumer Reports is great for finding which manufacturer&amp;#x2F;model to buy.  But what product or service did you buy that you found really useful&amp;#x2F;entertaining?&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ll start: I caved and bought a robovac.  Wow, unlike many techno-gadgets, this one really delivers.  Real utility, not just taking up space.  Low maintenance, runs while I sleep, and the floor is just cleaner.</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>shireboy</author><text>Second cast iron.  We use ours daily - and it&amp;#x27;s a handmedown from my grandmother who also used daily for 20+ years.  Once seasoned properly, it is non-stick, cleans easy.  We just be sure to put a little oil on it after each use. Really the only skillet you need.</text></item><item><author>Jakobeha</author><text>Material goods:&lt;p&gt;Ear plugs (silicone). Don&amp;#x27;t waste your money on noise-cancelling headphones, I have $200 ones and they don&amp;#x27;t compare to simple ear plugs. If you live in a moderately noisy area and you want peace and quiet, get them. They basically just make everything quiet. 24 from CVS = $10.&lt;p&gt;OpenMove by Aftershokz - Bone-conduction headphones. Perfect for running and just good for listening to music. They work, they&amp;#x27;re way easier to wear and more comfortable than earpods, I haven&amp;#x27;t had any issues since I got them about 8-months ago. Plus, you can wear them with earplugs for music + noise cancellation. $99&lt;p&gt;Cast iron skillet. This is more of a personal preference. I hate getting new kitchenware and then worrying about breaking it or getting it all stained. But these are super easy to clean and AFAIK practically never wear out. Also very cheap (iirc $15).&lt;p&gt;Software:&lt;p&gt;JetBrains tools. Basically the only software I can imagine spending $250 a year on, and it actually being worth it.&lt;p&gt;Patreon and Github sponsors. Not much (I think $15 a month total). It&amp;#x27;s sad how few sponsors a lot of these projects have. I&amp;#x27;m not rich, but I can afford donating $5&amp;#x2F;month here and there. I really think the world would be a better place if more people donate to open source and content creators they like.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>tomtheelder</author><text>I would like to throw in a strong rec for carbon steel.&lt;p&gt;I was (and to a degree still am) a big cast iron guy, but I find that these days I use my carbon steel pans much, much more frequently. They share many of the benefits of cast iron in terms of durability, oven safety, high temp cooking, natural non-stick, etc. However they can be much, much lighter and their heating properties make them superior for many, and I would argue most (but not all!), applications.&lt;p&gt;These days if someone said they needed 1 quiver killer pan,  I would unquestionably recommend a carbon steel skillet over a cast iron one.&lt;p&gt;If you&amp;#x27;re someone who likes using cast iron, I think you are doing yourself a major disservice by not trying carbon steel.</text></comment>
<story><title>Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?</title><text>I&amp;#x27;ve abandoned all faith in reviews online.  But the HN crew can give good advice and are extremely unlikely to shill garbage.  Consumer Reports is great for finding which manufacturer&amp;#x2F;model to buy.  But what product or service did you buy that you found really useful&amp;#x2F;entertaining?&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ll start: I caved and bought a robovac.  Wow, unlike many techno-gadgets, this one really delivers.  Real utility, not just taking up space.  Low maintenance, runs while I sleep, and the floor is just cleaner.</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>shireboy</author><text>Second cast iron.  We use ours daily - and it&amp;#x27;s a handmedown from my grandmother who also used daily for 20+ years.  Once seasoned properly, it is non-stick, cleans easy.  We just be sure to put a little oil on it after each use. Really the only skillet you need.</text></item><item><author>Jakobeha</author><text>Material goods:&lt;p&gt;Ear plugs (silicone). Don&amp;#x27;t waste your money on noise-cancelling headphones, I have $200 ones and they don&amp;#x27;t compare to simple ear plugs. If you live in a moderately noisy area and you want peace and quiet, get them. They basically just make everything quiet. 24 from CVS = $10.&lt;p&gt;OpenMove by Aftershokz - Bone-conduction headphones. Perfect for running and just good for listening to music. They work, they&amp;#x27;re way easier to wear and more comfortable than earpods, I haven&amp;#x27;t had any issues since I got them about 8-months ago. Plus, you can wear them with earplugs for music + noise cancellation. $99&lt;p&gt;Cast iron skillet. This is more of a personal preference. I hate getting new kitchenware and then worrying about breaking it or getting it all stained. But these are super easy to clean and AFAIK practically never wear out. Also very cheap (iirc $15).&lt;p&gt;Software:&lt;p&gt;JetBrains tools. Basically the only software I can imagine spending $250 a year on, and it actually being worth it.&lt;p&gt;Patreon and Github sponsors. Not much (I think $15 a month total). It&amp;#x27;s sad how few sponsors a lot of these projects have. I&amp;#x27;m not rich, but I can afford donating $5&amp;#x2F;month here and there. I really think the world would be a better place if more people donate to open source and content creators they like.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>mynameisash</author><text>I bought a cheapy Lodge skillet -- 12&amp;quot;, I think? -- a while back because I succumbed to the cast iron craze and really wanted to try cooking on induction. I figured I&amp;#x27;d just upgrade to a bigger skillet when necessary.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s now like 7 years later and my skillet shows no signs of giving up, and I don&amp;#x27;t think buying yet another kitchen device would make my wife happy. Should have gone with a bigger skillet to begin with.&lt;p&gt;Also, induction cooktops are &lt;i&gt;amazing&lt;/i&gt;.</text></comment>