5 Hugely Underrated Products I Use Every Day

I know Mike wrote about his cold brew setup earlier this summer. If you weren’t compelled to buy his same OXO maker, then listen to me and buy this one from Toddy. If you’ve never made cold brew concentrate like this before, a word of warning: it uses an obscene amount of coffee grounds. (Here’s how to make it.) But it’s absolutely worth it, especially if you’re currently paying $7 at a cafe every day. I top mine with sweet cream cold foam (using this New York Times recipe, sometimes swapping maple syrup for simple syrup) and it’s just as good as anything I’ve bought from my local ~artisanal~ coffee shops.

$130 for a tote bag? Are you kidding me?? This isn’t a bag, sir. This is so much more than a bag. Actually, when I interviewed Yeti’s CMO earlier this year, he cited their Camino tote as their most underappreciated piece of gear — underappreciated by the public, specifically. But according to their ambassadors, which include hunters, bull riders and mountaineers, this tote has been an unexpected favorite. Now, I’m not a hunter, bull rider or mountaineer, but I’ve come to rely on this bag for everything: beach days, gym classes, kid field trips. It’s got stash pockets, dividers and loops, and you can blast it with a garden hose to clean. Absolute game-changer.

I’ve written a lot about cast iron. I also own enough skillets to outfit a wagon train heading West. So while I do cook with and love pans from the most prominent brands that tend to surface online, the one I’ve been cooking with most this year is from a company I barely ever hear about: Lancaster. Their everyday No. 8 skillet is smooth, like other modern upstarts, and there’s nothing fancy about it: basic handle, pour spots, lil’ helper handle. But the Pennsylvania-made skillet has been a trusty companion that cooks evenly and seasons well, and the price is just right.

I’m late to the clog-ification of footwear, but that’s kinda how I live my life now. After jumping headlong into the chunky sneaker trend (remember that?) and one day looking down at my feet and realizing I’d made a big, big mistake, I take my time adding anything to my rotation. Then SeaVees dropped this shaggy suede take on their best-selling Tiburon Trekker, and I knew I’d found the one. These slip-ons have been my go-to off-duty shoes for the past couple weeks, and that’ll continue well into fall — just with some chunky socks, too.

Look, I covet the automatic watches that Oren writes about just as much as all of you, and I own a couple I’d recommend to anyone. The watch I wear most days, though, is a quartz model — specifically, this one from Shinola that my wife bought me four years back. I love that Shinola kickstarted the conversation about American watchmaking, even if they’re really just doing assembly here; and I love the timeless design of this 41mm Runwell. I know I’ll be wearing this decades from now and it’ll look just as good on my wrist as it does today. You can’t say that about all the trendy designs racking up likes (not necessarily sales) on social.