Everyday carry has a reputation for tactical flashlights and titanium everything, and desk setups have one for RGB lighting and monitor arms. Both hobbies are better than their stereotypes. At their best they are about the same thing: choosing a small number of objects you touch every day, and choosing them well enough that you stop thinking about them.
That idea runs through everything in this hub. A Victorinox knife and a Fisher Space Pen earn their place by doing one job for decades. A mechanical keyboard is worth learning about because you will use it for hours a day. A phone that does less, or one you can open with the screwdriver that comes in the box, is a quiet argument against replacing things every couple of years. The same goes for bags and luggage built to be repaired rather than thrown out.
Start with the everyday carry guide, which sets out the whole philosophy in seven objects. Then pick a direction: the desk, the pocket, the bag or the repair bench. Some of the things below are made by hand in small numbers, and some cost less than $40. We have tried to say which is which, and why each one is here.
Start here
- Everyday Carry Essentials: seven small, quiet objects that last for decades, from the Victorinox Cadet and Fisher Space Pen to the Casio F-91W.
Buying guides
- How to Get Into Mechanical Keyboards: layouts, switches, keycaps and firmware explained, plus four starter boards from Keychron and Wooting.
- The Best Minimalist Phones: four phones that deliberately do less, from an E Ink handset to a Jasper Morrison keypad phone.
- Repairable Tech: gadgets built to be opened, from the Framework Laptop 13 Pro and Fairphone Gen 6+ to the toolkit every fixer should own.
- The Best Carry-On Travel Backpacks: six packs that fit the overhead bin and hold a week of clothes.
- Microbrand Watches Under $500: six watches that put the money into sapphire, lume and bracelets instead of advertising.
- Film Cameras You Can Still Buy New: five new cameras, from the Ilford Sprite 35-II to the Pentax 17 and the reissued Leica M6.
- Best Handheld Game Consoles for Indie Games: why a crank, a cartridge slot or a curated store can matter more than raw power.
- Stocking Stuffers for Gear Nerds: ten small things done right, most under $40, from the Victorinox Classic SD to a Nitecore headlamp.
- Tech Gifts Under $100: ten gadgets people actually use, from the AirTag and Logitech MX Anywhere 3S to the Keychron C3 Pro.
- Gifts for Design Lovers: ten design classics still in production, several of them made for the desk.
On the desk
- The Norbauer Seneca: 682 custom parts, assembled and tuned by one artisan in Los Angeles and sold by waitlist.
- Hobonichi Techo: the planner ten million people bought, and Shigesato Itoi, the EarthBound creator behind it.
- Studio Neat: the company behind the Glif, still exactly two people fifteen years later.
In the pocket
- The James Brand Lowe Wallet: a machined aluminum wallet with no visible hardware, thirteen years in the making.
- Unimatic UC2: the smallest watch in the Milan brand's Classic line, and why its edition number explains everything.
- elrow Miniphone Ultra: a 3D-printed shell that turns an Apple Watch Ultra into a palm-sized phone.
- Supreme x mophie Qi2 Powerstation: a 5,000mAh magnetic battery that snaps on, charges properly and wears the box logo.
In the bag
- KILLSPENCER Utility Backpack: cut and sewn by hand in Los Angeles, in materials chosen to outlast its owner.
- Lundi Paris Rubens: water-repellent khaki canvas and vegetable-tanned leather in a grown-up one-day bag.
- Halfday Premium Garment Duffel 45L: a hung jacket plus three to five days of clothes in one bag.
- Db Ramverk Alu Carry-On: swappable components instead of rivets, so a broken wheel housing means replacing one part.
Latest news
- Google Japan's Gboard Conveyor Belt: 116 keys on motorized belts that roll toward your fingers; not for sale, but the build files are open source.
- Playdate Season Three: eight new games, two a week for four weeks, and a smaller season that makes the case for less.
- Fairphone (Gen 6+): a swappable battery, a Torx T5 screwdriver in the box and software support through 2033, now in the US.
- Framework Laptop 13 Pro: every repair and upgrade promise kept, now in a CNC-machined aluminum chassis.
- Light Phone III: a real 5G phone with calls, texts, maps, music and a camera, and no browser, email or social apps.
Where to go next
- Vinyl & Records Hub: turntables, speakers, record care and the reissues worth buying.
- Home Studio Hub: starter gear, studio headphones, synths and samplers.
- Electronic Music Labels Hub: starter guides to Warp, Kranky, Mute, Factory and the scenes around them, plus new ambient and electronic records.
- Sneakers & Style Hub: heritage boots, raw denim, workwear and the stories behind the sneakers.
- Design & Art Hub: Dieter Rams, the design books worth owning, patient makers and the artists worth knowing.
- Film & Games Hub: A24 horror, restored cult films, new releases and games that do more with less.
- The Unknowndivide Buying Guides: every guide on the site in one list.
- Incoming: the records, gear and films still on their way.
