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What’s something you own that has truly paid for itself? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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I’m curious, what’s an item, tool, or purchase you own that you feel has completely justified its cost over time? Could be anything from a gadget to a piece of furniture or even software. What made it worth it for you?

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[–] 7 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I finally let myself buy a 12v fridge thing for the car, and it has pretty much paid for itself on the first road trip. I wish I had done this sooner. We packed lunches vs drive thru. And it kept my road sodas sooo perfectly cold, I had no temptation to stop and get icy fountain drinks. I went for a model that I can set the temp even down to negative digits Fahrenheit, hoping that it will perform better in the summer compared to earlier units that are basically electric coolers (no temp control, basically they can only cool things 20° from ambient temp). And it's inaugural road test was daytime temps in 70s and 80s with no issues getting to 35° in the fridge.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    This is something I keep getting close to buying, but it seems like all the reputable brands i know are very expensive.

    Then there's "6-letter, All-Caps"-brands selling for like 1/6th the price and they are app controlled which is bad to me, and I'm suspicious of those brands, anyway.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    How big is this thing? do you access it (via passenger) while driving or do you have to pull off?

    Been eyeing one myself but haven't found a good mixture of size and convenience that I feel it could replace fast food and gas station sodas.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    It could fit in the passenger side footwell of my SUV, but I kept it in the way back because I'd rather have my sweetie riding up front, and I also have an extra 12V outlet back there.

    They do come in different sizes. Some have wheels. Mine is 18L and about 15 pounds, so wheels not necessary. Its about a mid to large size cooler shape. Not one of the ones you'd take deep sea fishing, but maybe a small tailgate. Think side handles cooler, not one where the single bar handle locks the lid in place.

    I do not recommend rooting around in it while driving, though if I put it in my pickup on a solo road trip, I probably would put it on the front passenger seat, where if I were stopped at a red light, I could quickly grab another drink.

    If you want me to PM you the link to mine, I'm happy to do so.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    So for example, if I wanted to minimize stopping, I would pack a wrap type sandwich for easy hand holding. I use a tall coffee travel mug in a cupholder to hold trail mix for extra snacking. And I might pre "crack" some lids on some bottles then tighten them back down, so they're easier to open one handed. If you like cans, then you have a leg up already.

    My most frequent solo trip is 500 miles to my old hometown. I usually make 1 stop midway to fill up the tank (even though I can get 400+ miles out of 1 tank), hit the restroom, stretch, maybe walk around a retail store just for fun, then back at it until home. But without a way to keep cold drinks, I would be stopping probably every 100 miles, lol.

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