A headset, computer mouse, and computer keyboard sitting on a desk – Parilov/Shutterstock
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Short shelf lives in products have become a recurring thorn in the side of the shopping public. It’s frustrating having to factor in a gadget’s eventual failure into your potential purchase, especially if it’s already expensive. While it’s not an option for everything you buy, it would be ideal to find “buy for life” gadgets wherever you can, something you only need to buy once, maybe twice in an entire lifetime, such as a good digital watch or a mechanical keyboard.
Shopping for gadgets is a constant battle against obsolescence and failure, and the best way to keep yourself from getting sucked into the cycle of planned obsolescence and yearly rebuying that plagues most products is to opt for ones that can themselves be repaired, upgraded, and generally have their longevity prolonged. The unfortunate fact of the matter with tech specifically is that electronic components are more prone to wearing out than physical ones, but you can still maintain a degree of control by shopping for sturdiness and relative simplicity.
Read more: 10 Major Washing Machine Brands Ranked From Worst To Best
A simplified laser printer
A Brother multi-function monochrome laser printer. – Gun_Asia/Shutterstock
When it comes to frustrating gadgets, printers frequently top the list. Many printers from major brands have become significantly bogged down in proprietary connections and confusing smartphone apps, all rendered obsolete in just a couple of years. Not to mention the enduring headache that is disposable ink cartridges on inkjet printers. These kinds of printers are about as far from “buy for life” as you can get, which is why it’d be smarter to opt for a monochrome laser printer instead.
Laser printers use an internal laser system, combined with refillable toner, to quickly and precisely etch text and images onto paper. If you only need a printer for quickly running off documents, flyers, or other similarly simple projects, a monochrome laser printer is both simpler and more reliable than its inkjet counterpart.
There are also color laser printers if you don’t mind spending a little more money. As far as laser printers go, Brother is agreed to be the most reliable brand, with its Multifunction Laser Printer offering scanner and copier functions in addition to printing. More importantly, unlike some printers these days, you can still connect monochrome laser printers directly to your PC for easy use instead of having to fumble around with Wi-Fi connections and apps.
A robust standing microphone
A woman holding a Shure SM58 microphone. – Shure/Amazon
Depending on your particular career or hobbies, you may find yourself in need of a microphone. Microphones, generally speaking, are pretty robust as far as gadgets go. So long as you’re not dropping them on the floor repeatedly, any old condenser mic will typically serve you well for a good while. That said, there is one way you can get a little more mileage out of most microphones: opt for a dedicated microphone rather than a headset mic.
Headset mics tend to pick up background noise, despite having noise-cancellation technology built into them, but they can also wear out quickly. If you use something like Razer’s BlackShark headset, the mic is removable, leaving it open to lots of mishaps. If something goes wrong with a standalone microphone, they’re easy to repair. Something like the Shure SM58 microphone is known for its durability. MusicTechHelpGuy on YouTube ran over one of these microphones with a car as an experiment, and aside from some tone shifting, the microphone remained fully functional.
A quartz battery wrist watch
An analog wristwatch on a man’s wrist. – VG1/Shutterstock
It may feel a little silly to wear a wristwatch in an age when everyone has a smartphone in their pocket. However, in the event that your phone runs empty and there isn’t anyone or anything else around to consult for the time, such as on a camping trip, you’d certainly be relieved to have an accurate means of discerning the time on your person. Plus, old-fashioned watches can be a nice fashion statement, improving your look.
All that said, when it comes to a wristwatch that you can be sure will last a long time, your best bet is one with a quartz battery. Quartz watches use special power cells to maintain time, in a manner debatably more accurate than purely mechanical watches, and without any winding. The best part of a quartz watch is that its battery is incredibly resilient, usually rated for around 7-10 years of consistent operation in a good, name-brand model like a Casio F91W Digital Watch. Even when the battery dies, just stick another one in there, and you’re good for another decade.
A swappable mechanical keyboard
A Redragon K668 RGB Gaming Keyboard with several key caps and switches removed. – Redragon/Amazon
A good keyboard is borderline indispensable in today’s tech-powered world, whether you’re working a desk job or playing competitive video games on a Steam Deck or PC. Many cheap keyboards use the membrane format, using electrical circuits joined together with a rubbery material. Unfortunately, these kinds of keyboards don’t last very long and will likely need to be replaced in short order. For intensive, consistent typing and gaming, you’ll want a mechanical keyboard, preferably a hot-swappable one.
Mechanical keyboards use keyswitches with physical components, making them both more resilient and giving them a pleasant, tactile feeling to type on. Hot-swappable mechanical keyboards, like the Redragon K688 mechanical keyboard, can have their keycaps removed and replaced without damaging or hindering the overall device, which allows you to both repair malfunctioning switches and, if you like, swap individual caps for ones of different sizes or tactile sensations.
If you can’t repair a switch, you can also just get a new one and slot it right in, just as easily as the cap. Hot-swappable mechanical keyboards also make for a fun way to personalize your desktop, as you can stick little decorations in place of keys you don’t use very often.
A strong webcam
An Emeet webcam plugged into a laptop. – Emeet/Amazon
In a similar vein to microphones, your need for a webcam can vary depending on your hobbies and professional pursuits. They’re an essential USB gadget for remote workers, for instance. All the same, if you’re going to buy one and plug it into your PC, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have one you’ll be sure you can rely upon for a good while. As long as you don’t mind not getting the highest possible fidelity from a webcam, you should be able to find one that can endure whatever rigors you put it through.
A Reddit user expressed frustrations about burning through several Logitech webcams as part of their regular work video calls and creation of video tutorials for YouTube. Eventually, they settled upon an Emeet C960 webcam, and haven’t had any problems for at least a year afterward. As users in the thread point out, it was unusual for so many of this user’s webcams to fail, with several adding that they use Logitech cameras themselves with no particular issues. If the OP’s story is any indication, when it comes to webcams, you may just have to hope you get lucky and get one with a sufficiently sturdy constitution.
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