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I have a problem.
I have an incredible ability to become completely obsessed with something, research it to an unreasonable degree, spend money on equipment I suddenly cannot live without, and then move on to something entirely different.
The thing is, sometimes the purchases actually turn out to be worth it.
I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff over the years. Some of it was a complete waste of money. Some of it has made such a ridiculous improvement to my everyday life that I now feel obligated to tell other people about it.
So here’s a list of five things I genuinely love. Not five things an algorithm thinks a 35-year-old man might enjoy. Five things I actually own and have developed unnecessarily strong feelings about.
Some are affordable. Some are absolutely not. All five have earned my affection.
1. RYOBI 40V Cordless Leaf Blower
For the guy who finds yard work strangely satisfying.
I fucking love my leaf blower.
There. I said it.
I don’t consider myself an exceptionally tidy person. I certainly don’t enjoy cleaning. But give me this thing and suddenly I’m looking for stuff to clean.
Leaves on the patio? Gone. Pine needles around the pool? See ya.
I’ve even used it to deal with the mountain of Cheerios my children have deposited in my car. Why spend 20 minutes painstakingly vacuuming individual pieces of cereal when you can send them flying out the window?
Is it the most conventional way to clean a car? Absolutely not. Was it satisfying? Unbelievably.
The thing is powerful, relatively quiet compared with a gas blower, and I’ve never come close to exhausting the battery during my typical cleanup sessions.
It’s one of those tools that takes something I otherwise wouldn’t want to do and makes me actively look forward to doing it.
Which, frankly, is a pretty remarkable achievement for something designed to move leaves.
Who’s it for? Homeowners, backyard enthusiasts, and anyone who would appreciate a shortcut to a cleaner patio.
Skip it if: They don’t have an outdoor space or a real use for a leaf blower. This is a tool, not a personality trait.
Check out the RYOBI 40V Leaf Blower at Home Depot
For reference, the one linked here is the 550 CFM model with a 4.0 Ah battery.
2. Ember Mug 2 — Temperature-Control Smart Mug
For someone who drinks coffee at the pace of a distracted parent.
The Ember Mug 2 has genuinely ruined coffee for me.
I cannot enjoy a regular cup of coffee outside my home anymore. It’s a problem.
There is something about having every single sip of coffee at exactly the temperature you want that feels like the absolute height of luxury.
Before having kids, drinking a cup of coffee was a fairly straightforward activity. You made coffee. You drank coffee. Sometimes you made another coffee.
Now drinking coffee is a multi-stage process interrupted by requests for snacks, disputes over toys, and the occasional emergency extraction of Play-Doh from someone’s hair.
I haven’t had five consecutive uninterrupted minutes to myself in years.
With the Ember, I can put my coffee down, disappear into a completely unrelated domestic crisis, and return five minutes later to find it exactly as hot as I left it.
It’s glorious.
Is a temperature-controlled coffee mug an unnecessary luxury? Probably.
Do I now consider it an essential household appliance? Absolutely.
Who’s it for? Coffee drinkers, parents, people who work at desks, and anyone who consistently forgets about their drink.
Skip it if: They finish their coffee in three minutes or don’t care what temperature it is.
Model note: I personally own and reviewed the Ember Mug 2. The link below is for the newer Mug 3, which I have not tested.
3. ThermoMaven Electric Salt and Pepper Grinders
For someone who wants to feel unnecessarily sophisticated while seasoning dinner.
I was firmly against electric salt and pepper grinders.
There are certain things that do not need technological advancements. Turning a knob to grind pepper seemed like one of them.
Then one day I fumbled my trusty salt shaker, which proceeded to explode all over my kitchen floor.
Naturally, the solution was to purchase a rechargeable electronic device to replace an object that previously required no electricity whatsoever.
And I’ll be damned if I don’t love these things.
First of all, they look great. There’s something tremendously satisfying about pressing a button and watching freshly ground seasoning rain down onto your food like you’re operating some sort of precision culinary instrument.
But the real benefit is control over the grind. You can adjust the coarseness to get finer or coarser seasoning instead of blindly attacking your mashed potatoes with a traditional salt shaker.
Not that you can actually ruin mashed potatoes. They’re mashed potatoes.
Do I need an electric motor to distribute salt? No.
Am I going back? Also no.
Who’s it for? Home cooks, gadget enthusiasts, or someone who enjoys making ordinary kitchen tasks feel slightly more expensive.
Skip it if: They prefer simple manual grinders or have no desire to charge another kitchen appliance.
See the ThermoMaven Electric Grinder Set on Amazon
4. LG C5 OLED Television
For someone who’s been convincing themselves their current TV is perfectly fine.
Historically, I’ve been pretty cheap when it comes to televisions.
I’m a tech guy, but I’m also the kind of person who wants to squeeze every possible dollar of performance out of a purchase.
Most of my previous TVs were in the $500–$700 range. I would research them extensively, convince myself I’d found the greatest bargain in consumer electronics, and call it a day.
Then we moved into a new house.
And naturally, after spending an obscene amount of money upgrading our entire living arrangement, I somehow convinced myself that spending even more money on a television was the financially responsible decision.
After an extensive amount of research and some truly impressive mental gymnastics, I landed on the LG C5 OLED.
My god.
I’ve had this television for almost a year and I still regularly look at my wife and say, “Damn, this thing is sick.”
The picture quality is unlike anything I’ve personally owned before. The contrast, the colors, the way everything just looks better.
I’m sure there are people who can tell you exactly how many nits of brightness it produces or debate the intricacies of OLED panel technology.
All I know is that I turn it on and continue to be impressed by the fact that I own it.
That’s not something I can say about many purchases this expensive.
Who’s it for? Movie lovers, gamers, home theater enthusiasts, or someone considering a major television upgrade.
Skip it if: Their existing television makes them perfectly happy. This is a substantial purchase, not something to buy just because a guy on the internet is excited about his TV.
5. Betta SE Plus Robotic Pool Skimmer (a.k.a. Whalebot)
For the pool owner who would prefer to enjoy the pool instead of constantly cleaning it.
I’d like to take a moment to recognize an important member of my family.
Whalebot.
Named by my daughter, Whalebot is a solar-powered robotic pool skimmer that has arguably brought me more joy than any piece of pool equipment has a right to.
My pool gets absolutely manhandled by pine needles. They fall constantly, they get everywhere, and keeping up with them used to be a miserable experience.
Enter Whalebot.
This little bastard just cruises around the surface of the pool all day collecting leaves, pine needles, and whatever other nonsense the surrounding trees decide to deposit into my water.
It eats debris for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
And the best part? I barely have to do anything.
It runs essentially around the clock during pool season, powered by sunlight, and I typically empty the collection basket about once a week.
My pool went from requiring constant attention to looking like something you’d find at a five-star resort.
Obviously, it doesn’t scrub the pool floor or replace every cleaning task. But by grabbing so much debris before it sinks, it’s drastically reduced how often I need to vacuum.
Which is why I find myself looking at the $1,500 Dolphin pool robot I bought last year and questioning several of my financial decisions.
Pool season is over here in New York, and I genuinely miss watching this thing work.
That’s how much I love Whalebot.
Who’s it for? Someone with a pool, particularly one surrounded by trees.
Skip it if: They don’t have a pool. Obviously. Or if their main problem is dirt and algae on the pool floor rather than floating debris.
Charging note: Solar charging depends on available sunlight. The SE Plus runs on stored battery power at night and also supports wall-adapter charging when sunlight is limited.
Meet the Betta SE Plus on Amazon
The Bottom Line
I realize this is a strange collection of products.
A leaf blower, an overpriced coffee mug, electronic salt grinders, a television, and a robotic pool skimmer.
But that’s kind of the point.
I’m not particularly interested in recommending products because they fit neatly into some arbitrary category of things men are supposed to enjoy.
I like things that work. I like things that solve annoying problems. And apparently, I really like things that perform mundane household chores with an unnecessary amount of technology.
If I’m going to spend hours researching something before I buy it, I might as well share the results.
Maybe it’ll save you some time.
Or maybe you’ll end up spending $150 on a coffee mug.
Either way, welcome to Briefly Obsessed.
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