Aitor's Cool Tools list 2024
Many years ago, I read What Technology Wants. At that point, I’ve known about Kevin Kelly for a long time by his connection with Steward Brand, his work in Wired magazine and his “1.000 True fans” theory, but I have never followed his personal interests or know his personal life journey. You can see a very succinct recollection of his life as told by himself here:
At that point, I discovered that he had not only published Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities but also created a namesake mini-site on his personal website with a list of recommended stuff that he has been constantly updating for decades.
This list has taken many forms through the years, and today, there is a YouTube edition presented by Kevin. In 45-minute episodes, the guest will present 3-4 item recommendations. This one with Julian Bleecker, founder of Near Future Laboratory, one of my favourite design fiction studios, is a great example.
However, my favourite implementation of the idea is a blog post series called What’s in My Bag. In these posts, he accepted submissions from people who showed 3 to 4 things they carry in their bags. The collection of participants was great because it included people from all walks of life: a well-known author, a pharmacist, a TV producer, a media theorist, award winning and guidebook writers, a memory athlete, a bike mechanic, a software developer/musician, a woodworker…
However, the variety was not limited to the participants’ selection. The item selection was a cornucopia of interesting objects: laser measures, portable immersion heaters, incredibly specific versions of Pilot pens, portable thermal printers, tarot decks, synthetic sable travel brushes, pocket-size preamps, professional yo-yos. The objects ranged from commodities of a particular loved brand to incredible specific instruments associated with the person’s profession.
I loved how they created a lively ethnography of people’s culture. A portrait of the people told by their possessions that was not intended to promote consumption but, on the contrary, to open a small window into the intimate life of others. In Kevin’s own words:
It’s not about people buying more stuff. I’m not interested in people buying all these tools. I just want you to know that they exist, they are a possibility, and the possibilities that are available to us are far greater than we are aware of.
In that same spirit, I’d like to present you with the items I liked most in 2024. They are humble, simple products that made my life better last year and that I’d like more people to know about. There are no affiliate links (although I’m doing this in good conscience, so that should be irrelevant).
Let’s begin.
Danish endurance socks and underwear
Buying good quality underwear that doesn’t look terrible or like a fucking brand ad is increasingly difficult. If you have wide legs and need large sizes in the range of multiple Xs, it’s even more complex. How can something so basic be so hard?
This year, I found the solution in a small -of all places- Danish company that started doing running socks and has eventually expanded to more sports and daily life underwear. I became first a devoted user of their trunks and then of their socks. I love their simple design, their durability (they have a year-long hole-free guarantee), understated branding (just a tiny Danish flag), and how they offer multiple materials for their products: merino wool for hiking/cool weather, bamboo based textiles if you don’t like cotton, etc.
Excellent quality daily products at a reasonable price. Me likes.
Cerave Repairing Eye Contour
After I got three consecutive surgeries on my right eye to prevent a retinal detachment, my eye contour was mostly destroyed. Skin rashes and scaly skin in the area come and go. This year I found this cream that has kept my contour much more hydrated and healthy (not perfect but much better).
Why this one? Well, at ~12-13€, it’s cheap (most high-quality eye contours are targeted to women as “antiaging” and start at 40-50€). It has a very precise (aka tiny) dropper, so it prevents applying too much product, and it works!
Simple as that.
Literature Classics for Children
I’ve read to Atlas every night since he was born (he’s 7 now). During the first 4-5 years, it was easy to pick nice books because there was a plethora of beautifully crafted books in that age range. However, between picture books with simple narrations and full-fledged books with no illustrations and hundreds of pages, there is a very dry desert of despair, where it becomes much more difficult to find quality books.
When Atlas was officially diagnosed with language-related High Intelectual Ability/HIA in late 2024, I made the resolution of finding great books that are interesting but not too dry for his age… and I think I’ve founded them.
Grupo Anaya is a very large (+15M publications), well-known Spanish publishing conglomerate that started publishing textbooks and that nowadays covers almost all editorial markets. They have a publishing house named Anaya Infantil y Juvenil specialising in children and young adults books, and they produce what I think is some of the best classics adaptations in Spanish: Colección Clásicos a Medida.
These are cheap, early teenagers (12-13yo) targeted, ~170-page with excellent illustrations books that try to keep the stylistic richness of the original author while making these classics more accessible. I’ve found that Atlas can perfectly follow the narration, occasionally asking the meaning of the challenging words we found. We read 2 to 3 chapters per night, so most books take just a few weeks. In the last months of 2024, we have read Moby Dick, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Count of Monte Cristo, with Moby Dick being his favourite.
I know he will eventually forget most of the book’s details, but that is not the point. I just want to expose him to great literature as soon as possible before he has the ability to choose by himself while keeping it fun and entertaining. We plan to read Dickens, Chesterton and Doyle in the coming weeks, with Oliver Twist raising great expectations ;)
Lacor Measuring Jar
Every cooking tool in a kitchen should be stainless steel. There it is. I said it. It’s more robust, heat resistant, hygienic, affordable, and maintainable. If you use Teflon non-stick pans daily or crappy pots with plastic handles, you are doing yourself a disservice. Of course, if money is not a problem, you can go full French and spend thousands of euros in copper sets, but for the rest of us, serious home cooks, stainless steel is the answer.
I had a very sad exception in my toolbox: the measuring/mixing jar. For a long time, I’ve used all kinds of shitty plastic boxes to mix and measure liquids, sauces and marinades. But this year, I’ve been making Taco Tuesday at home, and after doing the umpteenth Cochinita Pibil marinade, I said enough and bought this large (2l!) jar.
I love it.
Tanita Scale
After many years of using my old scale, it finally gave up, and I decided to go with a Japanese model.
As with all Japanese appliances, it’s understated, displaying no-nonsense industrial design, affordable, VERY precise for a cooking scale (down to 0.1g), has a tare function (a must!), mL volume measuring (a nice feature!), and a detachable steel plaque in the measuring body that lets me carelessly throw it in the dishwasher when it’s dirty.
I love my Tanita scale.
Footgel Works
My severe overweight (I know, I know, I’ll work on it in 2025) imposes a heavy punishment on my knees. Last summer, because of the heat I guess, it became a real problem that made me feel clumsier and painful all the time.
As a palliative measure, I found these insoles designed to reduce the impact heavy tasks have on construction workers. I don’t know (or care, to be honest) if it may be a placebo, but the very first day I used them, I noticed a clear feeling of relief, and most of the pain subsided in a few weeks. I still have some pain some days, but I think they work pretty well.
Note: They come with a very strong chemical smell of oranges. The first days you use them, taking out your shoes becomes almost overwhelming, but after a week or so, the intensity disappears, and a much more pleasant subtle smell lasts for a few months.
Nike Juniper Trail 2 (and 3!)
| For many years I dressed formally every day (suit, tie, sports jackets, leather shoes), but in the last years, the weight I’ve gained has pushed me out of my usual size and forced me into athleisure. So I know I need a pair of sneakers per year : |
Regarding sneakers, I’ve two rules: they can’t be more than 100€ and if they are going to be used daily and not for sports they must be black. That is how I got to the sneakers I’ve used through all 2024, the Nike Juniper Trail 2. They are simple, look nice IMHO, and have lasted 12 months of almost uninterrupted use.
The sole and general build of the shoe are still ok, but as I’ve pretty wide feet, my pinky has started to break the synthetic mesh, and once the original mesh is broken, patching it just creates further bigger holes.
So just a few days before the end of the year, I bought… yes, the next iteration Nike Juniper Trail 3. So far, I have the following feedback:
- I think they are objectively uglier than the version 2.
- The shoe’s build seems far tougher, especially in the heel.
- The sole design is clearly wider: bad for looks, good for my feet.
Overall, I think I will like this version even more than the previous one.
And that’s all for 2024. Let me know which products made your life easier last year!