TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Dan Benjamin explains both why he needs a new laptop bag, his criteria for picking a bag, and the bags he considered.

Perhaps just over-obsessive geekery, but I love reading well-thought out explanations of why someone chose their equipment, especially when I can benefit. Usually means I find a few new things to consider.

Dan had one thought that I particularly liked, however:

I’ve probably thought about that phrase every time I’ve made a purchase. Generally speaking, when you buy something impulsively, you’re probably going to make a bad decision. Worse, when you purchase something inexpensive (or maybe cheap is the better word), it usually doesn’t last as long as the expensive version would have. Everything breaks eventually, but cheap things tend to break sooner.

I’ve realized the same, and recently have begun considering the nominally more expensive, but higher quality, item to have a greater value than the cheaper and lower quality item. Paying for a higher quality product tends to also mean researching and taking more value in the item and company as well, which is an ultimately more rewarding experience than buying “affordable” products that are merely consumables, expected to break soon and be replaced.