Cheap but good.

Like most of you; I don't have money coming out my ears. So, usually I shoot for things that are good enough for my use but are not name brand. Sometimes, I win and the item is better than expected. Sometimes, I do not win and the world is sadness and dead puppies.

So in the spirit of sharing, here is my first big win.

I wanted one of these Thermopens, my wife overcooks everything(FOR SAFETY), and I was getting tired of it. But the Thermopen is $100.

So, I bought this guy for $25 http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Accurate-High-Performing-Digital-Thermometer/dp/B00GRFHXVQ/. A year later it is still trucking and I can eat non-hockey. Highly recommended. Super Durable.

I've had a few LED head lamps now, and a while ago mine got lost somehow. Then I got this one for my birthday:

http://www.7dayshop.com/products/energizer-6-led-headlight-639235

OMG, teh powar Lack of daylight is hardly an inconvenience to me now, even in the power-saving 2-LED mode.

One of the best showerheads I've had, for $5:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Waxman-Full-1-Spray-Showerhead-in-Chrome-8688600H/202192861

slowride wrote: One of the best showerheads I've had, for $5: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Waxman-Full-1-Spray-Showerhead-in-Chrome-8688600H/202192861

I got an awesome shower head for free. It even came with a set of Ramada Inn towels.

A G-body is most of an A-body, but without A-body prices. Other than that, dollar store headphones can actually be pretty good.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

I keep one of those in the bag on my bike at all times.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: I wanted one of these Thermopens, my wife overcooks everything(FOR SAFETY), and I was getting tired of it. But the Thermopen is $100. So, I bought this guy for $25 http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Accurate-High-Performing-Digital-Thermometer/dp/B00GRFHXVQ/. A year later it is still trucking and I can eat non-hockey. Highly recommended. Super Durable.

I can't tell you how glad I am you posted this. I've wanted a Thermopen for quite a while and I was about to break down and buy one. Thanks for the tip!

For my submission to the thread, I'll offer up one that I'm sure everyone here already knows. General Altimax Arctic snow tires. Cheap and great!

ebay stainless steel headers

so summit sells stainless chinese headers with their name brand on them for $202ish. ebay has them for $95 with free shipping, so i took a chance for challenge budget's sake on the cheap ones versus combing the swap meet for painted steel ones that would look ugly. they showed up today and are freaking beautiful. nice thick true/straight flanges, tight fit, plenty of plug clearance, nice metal gaskets, the bolts did not round off while tightening them, and none of the holes needed elongated to fit. i figured if i got $50 swap meet headers i'd be spending another $35 on gaskets, bolts, and possibly collectors so $95 for stainless steel sounds like a heck of a deal to me.

i love stuff that doesn't rust out, i love stuff that is a good deal, so these check both boxes and make me very happy. now i can make exhaust out of all the pipe that came on the donor car.

In reply to slowride:

My best shower head cost about $15 to make, uses similar heads with a couple parts discarded. Pushed about 14GPM on strong water pressure, I wanted to get my money's worth on the free hot water.

I needed to replace a shower head when I lived in an apartment, so I bought one of those Navy shower heads because it was the cheapest thing available. I liked it so much that when I built my house, I spec'd Navy shower heads for both bathrooms.

Also, General Altimax winter tires are awesome.

General Altimax Arctic snow tires are awesome. Mine have two season of aggressive driving on them now, aggressive enough the tread is feathered a little from spinning them. I'm all the way down to 10/32nds (started at 12). Takes the little light front end 1ZZ Prizm anywhere the snow isn't deeper than the pinch welds.

Oh yeah, I've got good cheap knives down pretty good.

Kitchen: Ontario Knife co Old Hickory, carbon steel, same steel and heat treat as an old KA-Bar. Some people actually use the 7" butcher for hunting/woods/"bushcraft" knives in a Ka-Bar sheath. Come with a terrible grind, but once you have a edge on it(took me about 6 hours with a lansky kit), you can shave with one with minimal maintenance. My go to general purpose kitchen knife is their 7" butcher knife, I got it off amazon for $10 or so. I don't oil it or anything, just hand wash with hot water, dry, and throw it on the rack.

Utility: Mora, also carbon, these come shaving sharp out of the box. Don't really rust unless you leave it wet. Cheapest model is about $9

Carry: Opinel, I like the #6, which is just under 3" blade length, (they come in different sizes), these are also carbon, lock open and shut, and like to rust if you don't put some patina on them with vinegar/mustard/whatever. Before you ask about the durability of a french picnic knife, I once cut a Mercedes guibo joint apart with one of these at the junkyard, broke the tip off, straightened the edge out on my pen clip and it was sharp again, I still carry it. About $12. I think they come in stainless if you prefer.

Not mine, but similar.

$6 Panasonic earbuds: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-RPHJE120K-In-Ear-Headphone-Black/dp/B003EM8008/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434165912&sr=8-1&keywords=panasonic+earbuds

Leather work gloves at Harbor Freight, 5 pairs for $8: http://www.harborfreight.com/split-leather-work-gloves-with-cotton-back-5-pr-62371.html

In reply to Kenny_Mccormick: opinels and Moras. Alright

In reply to Kenny_McCormic:

That's awesome! I'd almost be tempted to try to put a third one on top...

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=8320

These are fairly well known, but are crazy good for the money. Mine lasted several years.

Sunglasses: AO Pilot, these are the actual old milspec pilot shades, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin wore them on the moon. Steel frames, tough glass lenses. I've had mine (pictured, 55mm, true color gray glass, gold plated, bayonet temple) over two years, dropped the on sidewalks countless times, layed on them and mangled the frame twice(and bent it back), and they're barely scratched and still work fine. They aren't polarized but real aviation sunglasses aren't. Start around $50, tons of options.

In reply to slowride:

Going to 4 heads was considered. there was definitely enough flow for it, with two you couldn't open the valves all the way without it being painful.

Under $5, brigher than heck!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006E0QAFY?refRID=RQZRTYKNYX8AYVGC5R83&ref_=pd_cart_rp_2_3_p

nokincy wrote: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=8320 These are fairly well known, but are crazy good for the money. Mine lasted several years.

Thanks for the link, I think I'm going to pick up a pair of those for when I'm doing yardwork.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: Like most of you; I don't have money coming out my ears. So, usually I shoot for things that are good enough for my use but are not name brand. Sometimes, I win and the item is better than expected. Sometimes, I do not win and the world is sadness and dead puppies.

I usually did not win, which is why I gave up and just buy Good Stuff. Once. Because that way I save money in the long run.

On the other hand, I have also used cut up strips of disposable plastic shopping bag when I was too lazy to go out and buy an 89 cent roll of Teflon tape. And it works just as well.

BTW, you can get Opinel knives with stainless blades if you want. I've got a bunch of both types in various sizes from when I lived in France.

Although I have to admit I'm usually in the "buy the Good Stuff once" camp. The Commander Vimes boots line of thinking. This also came from hanging out at my grandfather's place when I was in college - I realized that he had lots of old stuff. Not because old was better, but because he always took that extra little bit of care, closing a drawer instead of slamming it. Taking the moment to find out why something is resisting instead of forcing it. There's a lot to be learned from that.

Aaaaaaanyhow...

Ooo, I have one. Milk frothers. You can pay pretty funny money for what is an off-balance electric whisk. $20 or more, depending on what fancy coffee snob brand is printed on the side. Or get the Ikea one for about a dollar.

While we're on Ikea - butcher block. They sell massive slabs of butcher block for use as countertops, called Numerar. I've got a couple. The price of the block is ridiculously low, less than $10/square foot. In fact, you could easily make a good living by simply cutting these up into two foot squares, oiling them and selling them at local craft fairs at about a 500% markup.

And on those same lines, instead of paying an arm and a leg for special conditioning oil - pick up some mineral oil from your local pharmacy. Same stuff, but it's about the same cost as milk instead of the same cost as whiskey.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Ikea sells, or at least used to sell a couple years ago, butcher block oil in a quart can, I remember it being cheap, probably much cheaper than medical grade mineral oil.

They still do, it's tung oil. Different sort of stuff. Something like $15/gallon, though.
http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/00184674/

I like Opinel. A similar brand of knife I like is MAM from Portugal around the same price but stainless blade and a lock.