Wonderful article, and so true. I’ve always felt strongly about this: the items you buy should always be the very best you can get. Period.

An interesting side effect, which I hadn’t anticipated, was that I developed a blind trust in the things I used. I trusted my lamp to be bright enough to light up the wheel well of a truck when its tire went flat, and it was. I trusted my wallet to hold cash, boarding passes, and IDs without deforming or falling apart, and it did. I trusted that my towel would dry quickly, because it was designed for travel, and it did. I trusted the zippers on my backpack to stay closed as I hiked through the night, and they did. These might seem like stupid things to worry about, but when you have trust in everything you own, you don’t have to worry about anything. It’s liberating and an amazing feeling. My life was markedly better because of it.

I will always choose quality over quantity. That means owning less stuff, which by the way is a bonus. I’ll have fewer items, meaning less clutter in my life, and the items I do get to have will always be top-notch. That’s why I have my GORUCK rucks, my Bianchi bicycle, my iPhone, you name it. It’s also why I’ve spent the last three weeks (and counting) researching indoor bike trainers, as opposed to just buying a cheap one in my local bike shop. I want to make absolutely sure that the one I end up buying is really the best for me. Would a cheaper one get the job done? Probably. Would it have the same feel, robustness, and customer service? Would it see me through 10, 15 or even more winters and still perform flawlessly? I doubt it.

Sure, it takes time and effort, and it’s usually more expensive up front to buy things this way. But it’s worth it, no doubt about it. Great things are built to last and if you choose carefully, most of the stuff you own should easily outlast you. They are final choices. That’s the code I live by. It gives me peace of mind, knowing I can rely on my things when I really need to. Knowing that they’ll always have my back.