Leica Q3 Monochrom

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I’ve spent plenty of time cursing Leica as a company. They can drive a man insane. On one hand, they’re the last half-sane camera outfit left on the planet, the only lunatic craftsmen still cranking out machines that feel like cameras instead of soulless digital calculators wearing a camera costume. On the other hand, they milk that purity for all it’s worth – dropping fashion pieces and limited-edition cash grabs that distract from the mission and jack prices into the stratosphere.

And yet… I’m still a Leica shooter. My main kit is a digital M11, a film M7, and three lenses I’ve owned for damn near twenty years. I’ll never sell those lenses. I’ll never sell the M7. And I’m clinging to the M11 with white knuckles, trying to keep it for a whole decade just to justify the financial beating.

That’s the Leica experience in a nutshell… you bite the bullet, you enjoy the only real camera left in the modern world, and you pray that someday the joy and the investment meet somewhere in the middle.

But every now and then – once a decade if the planets align – Leica drops something that actually makes financial sense, at least for a small slice of humanity. This decade, that unicorn has been the Q-series. You get a modern body, a sensor comparable to the M11, and a Summilux lens baked right in. In the M system, that combination would run you around fourteen grand or more. A Q3? Four to seven thousand depending on how hard you hunt the used market. It’s practically a bargain, by Leica standards anyway.

And now Leica’s done it again. They just released the Q3 Monochrom – basically a 28mm Q3 with a dedicated Monochrom sensor. For a professional who lives and dies in black and white, this thing is a do-everything workhorse. A deadly little machine that earns every bit of its $7,800 price tag.

It’s still outrageously expensive, and the market for it is tiny (microscopic even) but it exists, it makes sense, and for the first time in a long time…

I’m not gonna bitch about it.

Details here.

Herman Miller Dining Chair

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The iconic Eames Molded Plastic Dining Chair is back… same legendary shape, now built with more sustainable materials and smarter manufacturing. It’s the chair you’ve seen marked up in antique shops and scored dirt-cheap at yard sales, only this time it comes with a conscience.

And for the first time ever, it’s available in a non-upholstered version straight from the source.

Details here.

Hot Wheels X Ferrari

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Details are still foggy, but something wicked is brewing—Hot Wheels is teaming up with Ferrari. That’s not a typo.

What we do know is this: part of the so-called “heritage collection” will feature a goddamn GTO perched on the back of that legendary Ferrari hauler—an iconic setup straight out of motorsport mythology.

I’m not a toy guy, not usually, but this? This has my full attention.

Follow along here. The madness is just beginning.

The Oyster Cooler

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About a year ago, an email landed in my inbox peddling a $750 cooler. This high-end marvel was touted as 300% more effective than any other cooler on the market. Pure marketing drivel, I thought, and promptly ignored it. But damn if the thing wasn’t a vision. It looked like something Apple would craft for a NASA mission—sleek aluminum, perfect curves, and a dash of red on an interchangeable strap. Form and function had never danced so beautifully.

But $750 for a cooler? No way in hell.

Then, a few months back, Oyster dropped the price to $395 and asked for a review. Who was I to refuse?

When the Oyster arrived, it was everything I’d hoped for. The packaging was a symphony of high-end Nordic minimalism, and the cooler itself was even more breathtaking in person than in its social media glamour shots. This wasn’t just a cooler; it was a masterpiece.

But did the damned thing actually work? To find out, I devised a haphazard real-world test. On one side, the trusty Yeti Hopper, and on the other, the Oyster. Each loaded with six cans and an equal amount of ice. The Yeti was packed to the brim, while the Oyster had room to spare. This gave the Yeti an edge in cooling density, but being a soft cooler, it had its own drawbacks.

This wasn’t a clinical trial, but a practical scenario. I set them up in my workshop, which held a steady 83 degrees throughout the test. Every few hours, I’d crack them open and check the temperature from the same can top. Here’s what I found:

The $250 Yeti impressed me… but the Oyster? Four solid days of ice retention? That’s one hell of a long weekend. Never did I imagine this cooler could perform so well.

And it’s not just about performance. The Oyster is built like a tank and smartly designed for practicality and durability. The lid opens from either side, it has soft rubber feet, the straps are comfortable and interchangeable, and every part is replaceable. Plus, its thin-wall aluminum construction makes it space-efficient. I managed to cram 36 cans of beer in there.

At $750, you’d have to be out of your mind to buy this cooler. But at $395? Now we’re talking. For the right person with the right needs, this cooler makes a lot of sense. Perfect for the overland adventurer, the hardcore hunter, the dedicated fisherman, and the sports enthusiast.

Rarely does a high-end “luxury” product hit my review table and make me think about value and “buy it for life” purchases. The Oyster Cooler is that rare exception. I don’t even need a cooler that often, but if I were in the market, I’d consider this one in a heartbeat. It’s that damn good.

If you are interested, you can blow your hard earned cash here.

Memobento

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A system of nesting modular lunch boxes for meal preparation. Never has a lunch box been so dope.

Details.

My Coffee Setup

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I only just started drinking coffee really… I have maybe six years under my belt and in that time, I’ve learned the quality of typical coffee gear is shit. I wasted money on name brand stuff from big kitchen brands on multiple occasions, but have finally ironed out my setup with reliable, well-made equipment. Figured I’d share it for input and feedback:

  1. The Technivorm Moccamaster. The cheapest coffee maker you will ever buy, because it will last forever… If there is one thing on this list that I consider a must, it’s this coffee maker. Forget the price and just buy it.
  2. The Fellow Ode Grinder. Coffee made from beans is noticeably better than the pre-ground stuff. It took me longer than it should have to get a grinder and then, I went through a number of them… One broke after another. This offering from Fellow, however, has stood the test of time so far and it feels like it’s gonna last as long as the Moccamaster. Coffee people consider this thing the affordable option.
  3. The Fellow Atmos. I only bought this because it matched the grinder, but it works really well.

At first glance, this setup seems exorbitantly expensive… but in reality, this is all considered entry level gear by most home baristas and I bought most of it used on eBay. Plus, it sort of feels like a buy once, cry once type of deal. All three of these are built with intention.

The Grip Car

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Teenage Engineering is famous for their inspiring bespoke engineering work typically reserved things like digital audio. For this Christmas, however, they’ve made themselves a toy car… And it rules.

Details.

The Best Coffee Maker Ever Made

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I am not a coffee sommelier by any stretch. I don’t care how my coffee is made and I don’t care where the beans come from. All I care about is a consistent taste that is easy to make when I’m tired as hell in the mornings.

Given that, you’d think a generic drip machine would be fine for my needs… and frankly, it is. However, I grew tired of buying a new one every few years because something stopped working and spare parts weren’t available. So, I bought a Technivorm Moccamaster.

The Moccamaster has been in continuous production since 1968. Most coffee experts agree that it is the best drip machine on the market in regards to the quality of its output. But I don’t give a shit about that really… What I care about is that it’s a very simple machine made up of entirely replaceable parts and no computers. Put coffee grinds and water in it and it consistently makes coffee that tastes good enough for me.

Also, it looks dope… And at $350, you will call it a cheap coffee maker after you’ve used it a lifetime.

Details.