The Great Products™ thread

[Kaido]

This is a thread about legitimately great products you have come across. Shoutout to the Instant Pot (ATOT thread) & Anova Precision Oven (ATOT thread).

To start with, I was recently introduced to a genius toothpaste-tube-squeezer. Ten bucks on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0918V7NWY

It's literally just two metal rods with like a silicone rubber band on each end and it works BRILLIANTLY! I've dealt with the stupid problem of squeezing out every last iota of toothpaste my entire life, and someone finally came along & fixed it lol. You need to have a semi-empty tube & then flatten the end so you can wiggle the bars on, then you just slide it up like you're eating an Otter Pop! How no one had ever solved this problem this effectively before boggles my mind. These are going to be stocking stuffers for Christmas this year lol.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

KORIN can opener. It's stupid, but I appreciate the simplicity of having the last version of something I'll ever own. Nothing to break, nothing to rust, no parts that can fail in any way really. Essentially a modified version of the US Army can openers of old.


I'll give a second shout for instant pots, they're grand.

Outside of the kitchen, Herman Miller Aeron chairs. They really are perfect, I'm confident that I'll be hard pressed to ever find a better chair to sit in.

 

[Kaido]

KORIN can opener. It's stupid, but I appreciate the simplicity of having the last version of something I'll ever own. Nothing to break, nothing to rust, no parts that can fail in any way really. Essentially a modified version of the US Army can openers of old.

I'll give a second shout for instant pots, they're grand.

Outside of the kitchen, Herman Miller Aeron chairs. They really are perfect, I'm confident that I'll be hard pressed to ever find a better chair to sit in.

RIP $8! Yay Amazon lol

As far as chairs go, my old boss had an Aeron & I've found a better one! When I started to do more WFH during COVID, I got back pain from sitting all the time instead of walking around office buildings fixing stuff all day long. Did a bunch of research & came across the Backstrong chair:

About Us

all33.com

It's essentially a swivel-bucket inside of a chair. It's a bit weird to sit on at first & isn't cushy-comfortable like some chairs are, so it's not going to be ultra-comfortable like a gaming chair; it's designed to be supportive. I ordered mine exactly 2 years ago, ZERO back pain since!! I do recommend getting some type of pad for the type, as it wears down a bit over time.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEx-70OQBmipxnAZ0stXvYw/videos

 

[Kaido]

KORIN can opener. It's stupid, but I appreciate the simplicity of having the last version of something I'll ever own. Nothing to break, nothing to rust, no parts that can fail in any way really. Essentially a modified version of the US Army can openers of old.
View attachment 67069

I'll give a second shout for instant pots, they're grand.

Speaking of kitchen stuff, I absolutely love my OKP2, aka "the yellow cheese knife". Pricey little ah heck at $18, but it's by far the BEST knife for cutting cheese I've ever come across!

Amazon.com: The Cheese Knife OKP2, The Cheese Knives with a Unique Patented Blade, Yellow: Cheese Knives: Kitchen & Dining

Online shopping for Kitchen Knives & Accessories from a great selection of Cutlery Sets, Specialty Knives, Sharpeners, Cutting Boards, & more at everyday low prices.

www.amazon.com

It's made from GE Ultem plastic resin (make no mistake, it will CUT you!) & has molded ridges so that the cheese doesn't stick while slicing. I also bought the larger, longer version of the knife, but it's too flimsy; the original short OPK2 is the bomb dot com! I'm not an overly huge cheese guy, but I was properly introduced to Good Cheese a number of years ago & got hooked on a few very specific brands, such as Castello Aged Havarti cheese. I like to make cheese boards with my crafting tools & I always gift this knife as part of the package! Great stocking stuffers too!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

KORIN can opener. It's stupid, but I appreciate the simplicity of having the last version of something I'll ever own. Nothing to break, nothing to rust, no parts that can fail in any way really. Essentially a modified version of the US Army can openers of old.
View attachment 67069

I'll give a second shout for instant pots, they're grand.

Outside of the kitchen, Herman Miller Aeron chairs. They really are perfect, I'm confident that I'll be hard pressed to ever find a better chair to sit in.

One of the best gifts I was ever given.

That can opener: All metal? Replaceable blade?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

View attachment 67071

Can I pop a lego in there, giving better grip for bigger hands?

 

[Kaido]

One of the best gifts I was ever given.

I've collected 3 Instapots (6qt, 8qt, and a Gowise 14qt for jumbo batches) over the last 7+ years of using them, they are indispensable! Absolutely brilliant machines, everyone & their dog should own one lol. Bit of a learning curve, but it's all pushbutton-simple once people get the hang of it! I do everything from crack chicken to lava cakes in mine lol.

 

[lxskllr]

I like the look of that can opener. I used P38s for a long time, but switched over to a retired Swiss army knife. I'll stick with that, but if I didn't have it, I'd definitely give that some consideration.

 

[Kaido]

Can I pop a lego in there, giving better grip for bigger hands?

That costs extra! Speaking of neat knives, I was at a sandwich shop a few years back & they were whipping through making panini's like nobody's business. I realized they were using a special knife to spread the toppings & condiments on, so I went on Amazon & found it. $7 online:

https://www.amazon.com/ZYLISS-Sandwich-Condiment-Spreader-Orange/dp/B00421ATIQ/

They're kind of guppy-shaped & are FANTASTIC for spreading stuff! I ended up with a collection of half a dozen of them over the past couple of years...I use them for butter, cream cheese, jams & jellies, mayo, peanut butter, etc. Easy to spread, easy to cover the entire surface, etc. I love great tools like this that solve the problems so well!!

 

[Kaido]

I like the look of that can opener. I used P38s for a long time, but switched over to a retired Swiss army knife. I'll stick with that, but if I didn't have it, I'd definitely give that some consideration.

I have self-induced carpal tunnel, so I switched to using a wireless can opener. Not cheap ($35 to $40, depending on color & sale price), but it's great because I can just drop it on a can & let it do its thing!

Amazon.com: Kitchen Mama One Touch Electric Can Opener: Open Your Cans with A Simple Push of Button and Automatic Shut-off - No Sharp Edge, Food-Safe and Battery Powered Can Opener (Purple): Kitchen & Dining

Amazon.com: Kitchen Mama One Touch Electric Can Opener: Open Your Cans with A Simple Push of Button and Automatic Shut-off - No Sharp Edge, Food-Safe and Battery Powered Can Opener (Purple): Kitchen & Dining

www.amazon.com

One of the biggest benefits is that it gets around the vertical lip, not the horizontal top, so there's no sharp edges! I haven't cut myself on a single can since getting it. It's sort of egg-shaped, so you just attach it to the top edge of whatever side can you have & let it go! Plus it automatically stops when it detects that the cut is finished!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I like the look of that can opener. I used P38s for a long time, but switched over to a retired Swiss army knife. I'll stick with that, but if I didn't have it, I'd definitely give that some consideration.

The theme with me, is everyone knows I love da kitchen. Any time I am given gifts it is almost always for cooking. I was given an OXO a long time ago, it has been doing the job ever since -

 

[DAPUNISHER]

View attachment 67076

They cut the top off of a pop top. I'm dead!

 

[Kaido]

They cut the top off of a pop top. I'm dead!

I have trouble with the pop-tops sometimes because of my carpal haha. Also in general for cans, turns out I've been using it wrong my whole life, which is why I've cut myself on the sharp edges from incorrectly cutting it sideways lol:

 

[lxskllr]

Pop top cans are an abomination. They don't seal as well as fully sealed cans, and it's harder to get all the food out.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

View attachment 67073

Another product where I was given an OXO. Works great, fits in all jars, and is long enough to reach the bottom. Holding that thing all delicate like; I'm making a sandwich not performing surgery.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Pop top cans are an abomination. They don't seal as well as fully sealed cans, and it's harder to get all the food out.

Are there products you buy where you can't avoid them?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

We could just go back to the basics -

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

One of the best gifts I was ever given.

That can opener: All metal? Replaceable blade?

Not replaceable, all stainless steel. I'm not expecting it to ever get dull enough that I'd have to get another, but they're also only like $10 each.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

I like the look of that can opener. I used P38s for a long time, but switched over to a retired Swiss army knife. I'll stick with that, but if I didn't have it, I'd definitely give that some consideration.

It's basically a p38 but a little larger, so not as awkward to use, and no hinge to collect water/gunk and get all rusty or gross.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Not replaceable, all stainless steel. I'm not expecting it to ever get dull enough that I'd have to get another, but they're also only like $10 each.

We haven't met. Those pop rivets are not safe around me. But 10 bean is cheap enough to give it a go. Thanks for the info.

 

[lxskllr]

Are there products you buy where you can't avoid them?

Not really. I mean, yes and no. There's plenty of products that still use the old style cans, but they're slowly going away. It isn't something I specifically seek out, but I'm always vaguely annoyed when a can is a poptop. The primary purpose of a can is to keep food for long term storage. The longer the better. Poptops have a thinner section of metal at the seam, and if the lining isn't 100% perfect, it'll fail at the seam and breach. I'd be totally cool with going back to key open cans. They're a little dangerous to the incompetent, but that's a good thing, right?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Found it in action, now I'm concerned about the grip size.

 

[lxskllr]

I have problems with little handles too. I'm thinking an unauthorized grip around the outside would work ok.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I have problems with little handles too. I'm thinking an unauthorized grip around the outside would work ok.

For $10 can't really go wrong.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

The primary purpose of a can is to keep food for long term storage.

You are right. I don't use them that way personally, and like pop top cans. Dry goods are what I use for long term and emergency. Not throwing cans in a bug out bag if a CAT5 is at the door.