Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100?

Custom motorcycle handlebar ends and levers. Cumulatively ~$80 and makes my riding experience drastically better.

Some of my best purchases were outdoor clothing I bought some 7 years ago on a whim. I constantly regret not getting some 10 of them, and sadly they don't make these anymore.

- Thermal inner pants from Berghaus - Knitted thermal jacket from Salewa

A good burr coffee grinder.

Ergodriven topo standing desk mat - $99

Deltahub carpio 2.0 wrist rest - $35

A no name Espresso machine. I got it as a gift but I doubt it was much more than $100. It works great. I had always assumed I would regret not buying a super expensive one, but it turns out you can have great espresso for not much money.

a good mission burrito is like $10 and makes my life better

An old, pre-online activation copy of Photoshop that I still use today.

One of those reoriented vertical Logitech mice that reduce wrist pain. Amazing!

A nice tea kettle where the temperature is adjustable.

Seki Edge nail clippers.

They're just so much sharper and more pleasant to use than your average drug store nail clippers, you can really feel the quality. I can barely stand regular nail clippers now.

Smartwool shirt and socks. no odor absorption so ability to wear without daily washing. Good thermal regulation as well.

Pocket operators are really fun to play with when you need a break from work.

A travel magsafe stand for flights has been really nice. Here's the one I have, but there's lots of options: https://a.co/d/18k9eCa

I use it with both my phone and also the Steam Deck (with a magsafe sticker). Obviously I could use either device just holding them, but it's more relaxing to do it this way.

Leatherman skeletool knife. Small, rugged, has just the right number of tools on it. I’ve had one for about ten years and it goes in my pocket every day. The one time I managed to break the pliers on it by abusing them really badly, Leatherman replaced the tool under warranty no questions asked.

4 of my 6 animals, which were free. (3 cats, 1 dog) Another was less than $200.

The other one I paid full price for (Miniature Dachshund), and he's an absolute money pit and brings all the drama.

No, we don't have any kids, why do you ask? :-)

gotta be a tire inflater (not sure what brand) that came with a flash light and works rain or snow powered by car adapter

For work: Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse, Anti fatigue mat

For home: Bidet

For personal: Kindle

magnetic shelving for the side of the fridge greatly expanded upon the cabinet space usable to me as a shorter person.

Thermal underwear. Entering the 10th year of a 30 euro Helly Hansen long underpants that keeps me warm half the year.

Raspberry Pi 4 that served as my daily driver for around three years.

A couple of dumbbells that got me started with weight training, and kept me going during covid. Together with the basic equipment that I later bought, it saved me hundreds and hundreds of euros in gym memberships.

Best purchase under 10 euros is a simple cube with blank memo notes, that I use for grocery shopping and all kinds of other to do lists.

Azumaya brand kotatsu futons are now my favorite blankets for both sleeping and using around the house, and some of them at least are around $100.

They're fairly thick and very comfortable blankets, I love these way more than any other blankets we have (and we own quite a few different kinds). I'm seriously considering trying out other kotatsu blanket brands too, even the really expensive ones.

I'm actually jealous of the people that have answers to this questions because I can't come up with any answer even if you multiplied the amount by a 1000.

fucking condoms

Swiss Army knife

Shoehorn!

Particularly a long one if you'd like to avoid bending down at all when putting on slip-ons. Of course they are primarily great for saving the backs of your shoes. The IKEA one is perfect (at least for 6'1" me).

Microsoft Modern Webcam - $50 and the image quality is great.

3M WR209 Wrist rest - $20

Logitech M310 Mouse - $20