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A handmade acoustic guitar is worth every penny.
A good hi-fi.
Good Red wine.
Good cheese.
Recommend me a mattress Andy.
I have only just decided to replace my 30 yo mattress, as I now want a king size in the spare room for my sister, so still looking. I always went for Vi-Spring or JL own brand when they had their own factory. I worked at the JL factory and visited the ViSpring factory a couple of times. Expensive but amazing quality. I am just looking now and annoyingly JL clearance ends tomorrow so the best I can do for myself is record the prices for future reference. I would still buy from JL now as they used to have brilliant knowledge of mattress composition. JL also used to do a spring unit refurb (recovering) but not looked into that yet.
OK here is my 30 yo knowledge. Key is to go to a shop with the stock to try it and decide on your firmness. JL used to be brilliant for this as they would have a mattress specialist, trained to advise properly. They are very staff light these days so worth phoning and establishing who the specialist is and when they are in. You and whoever else is going to use the mattress needs to have a good roll around on different examples.
A mattress is a sandwich. I dont believe in the memory foam or single sided mattresses. Core is the spring unit. I would go for pocket sprung over coil sprung. Key is a high spring count and each spring sheathed in natural calico, not nylon. Natural fibres breath and handle sweat much better. The rest is about the layers. The best are a layer of horse hair, calico sheet,layer of mohair, calico sheet and a layer of lambswool to give that initial float before settling based on the spring firmness. All natural fibres so it breathes in use. Mattresses are as much about handling sweat as comfort. Its old school tech! Also important is a calico border which is hand stitched to the mattress through the springs. It means the mattress doesnt sag over time at the edges. I have watched them do it and a hand stiched border is quite intricate as they carefully link in the outer springs, and can take two hours to do a mattress properly, they then pipe edge sew the edges on a machine, but it means the mattress wont sag at the edges after 5 years use. Finally you need a good tuft count to hold it all together properly.
A proper mattress should never be rolled or folded. It snaps the internals holding together. A good mattress should also be turned every couple of months on a ventilated bedstead or divan to allow the turned half to breathe the sweat away.
Any decent shop should be able to describe exactly what the layers, border stitching, tufting and layers involves and exactly what the fabrics and fillings used are. If they cant then I would walk away.
I now want a king size in the spare room for my sister,
Christ, how big is she?
Christ, how big is she?
I am sorry. What are you suggesting sir? :o)
There is very little you can cut corners on in mattress manufacture. The spring unit maybe, the border assembly and also the tufting is normally automated these days but the layering, border sewing and edge pipe machining is still hand worked AFAIK so its still very much you get what you pay for and a £1500 mattress works out at £10 a week so pretty much perfectly fits into the "expensive stuff definitely worth the money".
I would spend more time on a mattress than I would on a new car because I will spend a lot more time using the mattress!
At last I have found something useful to add to the STW hive mind! What a time etc etc
WMF Professional Plus Garlic Press
It’s £40 on a garlic press, but after years of using £5-10 ones this is a joy to use, we get through a lot of garlic here!
Tis is a great thread!
I agree with bike lights... Exposure in my case too...
Nice leather shoes would be on my list... I don't think my choices would be in the TRUE expensive category as I normally spend about £120 - 150 on a pair, and am aware they can be MUCH more than that... But I find they are much nicer than, say, a £60 pair ..
And steak from the supermarket... A seven quid steak trumps a four quid one by miles!
DrP
You and whoever else is going to use the mattress needs to have a good roll around on different examples.<br />
Is this a euphemism and if so I’m surprised they allow that in the shop? 🤣
Overtone beers
Yes!! Currently Puget Sound and 99 IBUs. I'd swear you even get a nicer drunk off them than other similarly strong IPAs 😎
Shoes, see Vimes boots
Came here to say exactly that.
another clue to them being any good is when they have stretch in the title.
Hope I'm not misinterpreting that one as my stretch Levi 511s are my favourite ever jeans, and they haven't gone at the crotch like every other pair I've ever owned (Uniqlo included). Definitely worth the extra £££
Am currently also loving stretch chinos although not sure how long £25 a pair will buy me 🙄
Along with the talk of a quality mattress I can also recommend a good wool filled duvet to go with it.
One of the best purchases I've ever made is a wool duvet. I always used to suffer from the cold, especially my feet, no matter what tog rating man made fibre duvet I used but since splashing out on a wool one I sleep like a log, an no longer wake up with a snotty nose.
My current memory foam mattress has done me 15 years though?
I’d have to buy five of them before I’d be in profit with one traditional mattress?
Exposure lights
Expensive cycling bibs that actually fit well (Gore for me but your shape may vary)
Berghaus boots (again a fit thing, although my last pair lasted ages as well).
Battery power tools that you use a lot (combi drills in my case)
Winter sailing kit
As a Topper sailing circuit dad - stacking dinghy trailers with box storage. Depreciation is slow, you can load them up with two boats, all your kit and spares, it's a handy store at the club and at 630 on a cold winter morning when you're heading off to a training event you hook up, pull the straps tight and drive away. No faffing around with lifting onto roof racks and sticking 3m long bags of wet salty gear in the car and repeating when you get home in the dark on a Sunday.
Plasterers
A cleaner.
I think I've employed a "woman who does" from my first paycheck in my first flat, and I still employ people to do the stuff that I cannot abide doing. Worth every penny.
don’t scrimp on boots or beds
if your not in one your in the other
(c) CFH
Church's shoes.
I inherited a few pairs, from the 60s, from my old man.
They fit like a glove but were in dire need of re-soling, so I sent them off to Northants... Re-soling 5 pairs was eye wateringly expensive but they came back as good as new, and I expect them to outlast me!
I agree with most of the things and would like to add:
Good quality shirts, that iron easily and fit well. Essential when heading into the office.
Joinery. If you're making things yourself this is linked to the tools comments. Good quality cabinetry is so nice!
Speakers. I'm a B&W fan.
Bike suspension.
Cadac Carre Chef 2
The wife bought me one as a back handed present a decade ago, it get used in the garden as our BBQ and for cooking on campsites, it has been built up and packed away hundreds of times now and is till going strong. I suspect we will never need to buy another.
When I worked and suits were the only option a made to measure suit was silly priced but oh so worth it. I reasoned that because I HAD to spend 12 hours a day in the thing - probably three quarters of my weekday waking hours - I might as well make sure I had kit I wanted to wear, especially as being 41" and R and a bit I was plumb between sizes. Take care selecting the fabric and a shade that wasn't just this year's thing and they comfortably outlasted the off the peg equivalent, so total cost of ownership was less eye-watering. The downside....Covid killed suits and I retired, leaving me with a rack of serviceable suits.
I’m lying on my mattress
I’ll be in trouble for this as it’s from IKEA. But it’s their most expensive one, now discontinued. £800 which is cheap. But 3 times what their cheap mattresses cost<br /><br />
You couldn’t roll or fold it without a JCB
As it contributed to solving my back pain which was really pretty bad it’s just a huge thing in my life
Another vote for:
Exposure lights, Chris King, Hope, Gerber and Apple products.
I agree with sourdough, 3 quid for a large one at my local bakers.
What all of them? Sounds like price fixing.
Church’s shoes.
I inherited a few pairs, from the 60s, from my old man.
They fit like a glove
Yik
I've had a pair of RM Williams boots for a decade, unfortunately a minor repair resulted in a local cobbler ruining them.
Festool Countersink Bit
Christ, I bought the 5mm version around 10 years ago, it was around £15 then, no way would I pay £67 for one now.
Nice pens.
Definitely. My indulgence last year when I sold my house was a £300 pen. Yes, a £1 Bic does the same job, but this is a thing of beauty that is lovely to use. I went to the ‘factory’ to see their pens/pencils. There are 3 people working there in a tiny unit in Birmingham. All engraving done by hand, it takes over a hour to engrave each pen.
https://www.yard-o-led.com/collections/the-viceroy-standard/products/the-standard-barley-ballpen
I now want a king size in the spare room for my sister,
Christ, how big is she?
Context is key in 'kingsize' mattress sizing. Charles I was 4'10"
Festool Countersink Bit
Christ, I bought the 5mm version around 10 years ago, it was around £15 then, no way would I pay £67 for one now.
You must have picked up a bargain - they were over £40 back in 2008.
I'll go with exposure lights. My old race must be pushing 20years of use. It fell off the van and was run over. It's no longer a cylinder but it still works. Although I do had the fear it's stored and charged in a metal ammo case.
Good training or coaching to be able to do something / do something better.
A proper Peugeot pepper grinder.
Mine was about £40 and every mealtime I am reminded that it was, in fact, a bargain
the mattress one is interesting. I really do not like sprung mattresses. They make me feel seasick. I slept on a futon for decades and now on a very firm foam mattress. No back issues ( unless I am in a hotel with a sprung mattress) and I sleep well mostly
The cheapo foams do not last long for sure but I find them much more comfortable than a sprung one
I really do not like sprung mattresses. They make me feel seasick.
Pocket sprung mattresses behave very differently
+1 to ViSpring, and maybe go softer than you think
Down duvets
Tailored clothes
Cat-skiing at Island Lake Lodge in BC
Interesting trips
+1 to the Commandante coffee grinder
+1 to sourdough bread
+1 to the Rega turntable, and good turntables in general.
Roksan Xerxes 20 Plus turntable Mine was expensive, sounds fantastic and is still going strong after many years.
Along the same lines, any of Vertere's turntables, arms or cartridges. They're all brilliant engineering, like the Xerxes, formula 1 of turntables. Expensive but definitely worth the money.
Pocket sprung mattresses behave very differently
Still makes me seasick. I have slept on these in a really posh hotel
I am a very active sleeper and its the undamped springs as I move around. I can sleep happily on a carpeted floor tho
I am a very active sleeper and its the undamped springs as I move around. I can sleep happily on a carpeted floor tho
My back really thanks me for this, duvet underneath and I can have a really good sleep.
I don't think we do really expensive stuff. I prefer utility - Berlingo, Uniqlo etc - or maybe a notch up when it's justified to get something solid (dualit, ercol etc). But that's talking middle range John Lewis type brands justified by functionality, wine rarely more than twice the cost of the cheapest bottles that sort of thing. Nothing 'really expensive' as per thread title.
I very strongly doubt that a very pricey mattress would add anything to the quality of my life. The beds I spend most time in have mid range but I don't really see how my sleep quality, state of my back or whatever could be improved, once you're past some minimum level of comfort. Most hotels I stay at seem to be able to manage this.
@tjagain. For super mattress comfort, a Tempur cloud mattress is reassuringly expensive. Seriously though, amazing mattress. They last forever too. Got two Tempur mattresses. One original one, 16 years old. One Cloud, 12 years old. Both still as new with daily use.
Oh, that reminds me.
I bought a couple of Tempur pillows when buying the bed (thanks to a crafty bit of upselling). £100 apiece. For a pillow. One of the best spends of a hundred quid I've ever had, life-changing.
I bought a couple of Tempur pillows when buying the bed (thanks to a crafty bit of upselling). £100 apiece. For a pillow. One of the best spends of a hundred quid I’ve ever had, life-changing.
In what way? Just curious. I don't really have issues with neck pain and have never really believed that a new pillow could help with back pain, despite what the adverts say...
In what way? Just curious.
In that, well, they work. They don't poke you in the face like feather pillows, you don't end up waking up on two layers of pillowcase with all the stuffing out to the sides, you don't need three of them, you don't find yourself turning them over or plumping them up halfway through the night, they don't end up 5mm thick after three years of nightly use.