Ignoring the free ones, which you should just go and get now, I think the best are:
Sweet Dreams Contoured sleep mask. Massively improved sleep quality, without having to alter the room, close the windows, whatever. 100:1.
Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells. A cheap gym membership is £150 a year; using these a couple times a week for 2 years means I’ve saved hundreds of pounds and dozens of hours commuting. They should last 15 years, so maybe total 30:1. (During the present lockdown, with gyms closed, the dumbbells get a temporary massive boost too.)
[Queal, a complete food powder] once a day. Saves money (if a lunch would otherwise be £4) and time and the delivery vector means I actually use the other powders I buy (spirulina, creatine, beta-alanine). Big discount for verifiable EAs. Also a handy automatic prepper store. 10:1.
Filco Majestouch 2 Tenkeyless mechanical keyboard. Assuming this decreases my RSI risk by 1%, it will have paid off 10 times over. But also in comfort and fun alone. 10:1
I have three of the things you mention and would immediately buy them again if necessary:
A sleep mask (I’ve actually bought several of these because I lost them). Mine is the “Alaska Bear Natural Silk Sleep Mask” since I sleep on my sides sometimes and find the flat kind more comfortable.
Adjustable dumbbells. I have the “Ironmaster 45 lb Quick-Lock Adjustable Dumbbell System”, which get points of durability, but I actually wish I had bought the Bowflex ones since they can be adjusted much more easily.
Bose Quietcomfort headphones. I have the bluetooth version and actually really like it, since I only need to recharge them every few days and they’re nicer to use when I’m walking around. Note that you can sometimes get these for massive discounts on ebay. I bought my Bose Quietcomfort 35′s for $120.
I did a full accounting, including vague cost-benefit ranking:
https://www.gleech.org/stuff
Ignoring the free ones, which you should just go and get now, I think the best are:
Sweet Dreams Contoured sleep mask. Massively improved sleep quality, without having to alter the room, close the windows, whatever. 100:1.
Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells. A cheap gym membership is £150 a year; using these a couple times a week for 2 years means I’ve saved hundreds of pounds and dozens of hours commuting. They should last 15 years, so maybe total 30:1. (During the present lockdown, with gyms closed, the dumbbells get a temporary massive boost too.)
[Queal, a complete food powder] once a day. Saves money (if a lunch would otherwise be £4) and time and the delivery vector means I actually use the other powders I buy (spirulina, creatine, beta-alanine). Big discount for verifiable EAs. Also a handy automatic prepper store. 10:1.
Filco Majestouch 2 Tenkeyless mechanical keyboard. Assuming this decreases my RSI risk by 1%, it will have paid off 10 times over. But also in comfort and fun alone. 10:1
For the people who don’t know acronyms (me), RSI stands for repetitive strain injury.
I have three of the things you mention and would immediately buy them again if necessary:
A sleep mask (I’ve actually bought several of these because I lost them). Mine is the “Alaska Bear Natural Silk Sleep Mask” since I sleep on my sides sometimes and find the flat kind more comfortable.
Adjustable dumbbells. I have the “Ironmaster 45 lb Quick-Lock Adjustable Dumbbell System”, which get points of durability, but I actually wish I had bought the Bowflex ones since they can be adjusted much more easily.
Bose Quietcomfort headphones. I have the bluetooth version and actually really like it, since I only need to recharge them every few days and they’re nicer to use when I’m walking around. Note that you can sometimes get these for massive discounts on ebay. I bought my Bose Quietcomfort 35′s for $120.