The sweet spot

Today’s ponder is brought to you by rumor of a friend purchasing an “obscenely expensive” bit of sports equipment. The $ figure is approximately 7 times higher than I had just paid for a piece that does the same job. This friend’s choice seems absurd to me, but I have to be realistic. I cause this reaction in many people for my choices about stuff.

Several years ago I read an opinion piece that ponder-asserted we had reached Peak Stuff. Those of my generation and before were brought up in an environment where getting ahead often meant acquiring a lot of stuff. Ownership was good. Cars, stereos, sporting goods, teevees. A house and garage to put all that stuff in. Having stuff was a high priority.

Yes, we can lampoon the excesses of competing for brand names and showing off stuff that was expensive merely to show off how expensive it was. And we did, particularly in the YUPPIE era of the 1980s. But we all still wanted to acquire some stuff. Just….different stuff.

The argument of the article was that later generations were more of a rental mindset. They didn’t amass record or cassette or CD collections. They didn’t buy videotapes of favorite movies… they signed up for streaming services. Cars were more optional, especially for the urban dwellers. Uber/Lyft and smart car rentals took care of that. Even a trend to packaged food was replacing foodie types who bought fancy chef’s knives or argued about ranges generating the proper heat for a wok. Or so the piece argued.

Even for my generation, there was a bit of a backlash against material excess and, to lesser extent, a backlash against stuff in general. However, I would argue that few of us really ever escaped some allegiance to owning stuff. I would argue that most of us find a lot of value in some kinds of stuff, just not for other kinds of stuff. This is particularly poignant when you are sharing finances with some other person, of course. One rarely agrees precisely with another person on the value of stuff, how much to spend on some stuff and how much not to spend on other stuff.

I have the great misfortune to enjoy the equipment sports. My first real competition love was, and is, cycling. Cycling at the enthusiast level offers endless opportunities to buy stuff. Bikes themselves. How many is the right number of bikes to own? N+1, goes the biker meme, one more than you already have. Upgrade parts- lighter, better, cheaper, pick any two. The tools to work on them. I used to race Nordic skiing, and took up Alpine skiing as an adult. Nordic racing skis weren’t cheap. Nor were poles, boots, bindings, suits or gloves. There is a lot of stuff you can buy for Alpine skiing too. Skiis, boots, bindings, poles. Jackets, pants, goggles….the list goes on and on. A zillion things that might possibly make your experience more fun. I also play hockey as an adult, another sport with a lot of equipment associated with it. In particular, everyone knows that if you just have the latest and greatest hockey stick you will totally score more goals.

I like stuff. I like to have stuff that works well to maximize my enjoyment. I have ideas about what that enjoyment should be. I can tell the difference.

Other people cannot tell the difference. They may not understand that you need different cross-country skis for different racing purposes. Or the latest in boot/binding technology. They may not understand that a lighter bicycle is meaningfully different. Or that a bike you do not have to constantly tune and repair greatly improves the experience. They say stuff like “if the equipment is inferior don’t you just get a better workout?”. They do not understand what current ski obsessives mean when they talk about a “quiver” of skis. Their eyes pop out of their head to hear an Olympics racer brought 60 pairs of skiis with her. It isn’t their sport. Or they approach that sport differently than you do. Maybe they take pride in performing at a high level with inferior equipment, so they can sneer to themselves about how you can’t buy skill. For whichever reason, it is not worth it to them to spend what seems like a ridiculous amount of money on the stuff.

I have this reaction all the time to other people’s ridiculously expensive stuff. I’ve never been the primary driver of a car that didn’t have at least 70,000 miles on it when I purchased it. I never see the point of a car that accelerates super fast or handles awesome at above-speed-limit speeds on the twisties. Particularly in preference to a big car that can haul my other Stuff around.

I was never into music playing equipment back when that was a thing. I have zero interest in branded personal fashion items such as clothing, watches, jewelry, shoes. I do not get itchy for replacing my stuff just because it is old, or there is now something newer available.

I pride myself on the utility sweet spot. The price point at which the curve of price to value starts to tip over into a flattening line. The point beyond which you are paying for, in my opinion, the value of a prestige brand or jewelry and not for (significantly, to me) improved function. In my viewpoint, function is both how well it serves the intended purpose and how long it serves that purpose at a high level without declining. I.e. durability.

It’s weird because I will swear to my dying day that some aspects of my views on purchasing stuff came from the exact same people with whom I have had the most lasting resentments about stuff. There’s a concept called “false economy” which I know I got from my parents. The idea that if you opt for the cheaper, or flashier, or more fashionable bit of stuff that is not actually as functionally good or as durable, you will just have to replace it sooner. In the case of the cheaper choice, this is a false economy because the extra money you spend now will buy you more than the price difference in longer service. For reasons, these people who raised me were absolutely not spendthrift types so I did not ever get the impression you purchased the most expensive item either.

A kitchen knife is an excellent representation of the point. Bargain knives from Target will cut a vegetable, sure. They might even be more or less useful for food preparation for a long time. But a higher quality knife, that takes and holds an edge, with a sturdy handle and full length tang…you get the picture. Branded fancy knives though? How much more service do you get? Not much additional past a key level of excellence.

The people who raised me did NOT understand my views on equipment sports, however. Not completely. That kind of stuff had a very different value setting for me and for them. Which was, I will admit, sort of helpful in dictating my lifelong approach. I always had to look hard for what seemed to be bargains and could not just default to “well if it is the most expensive, it must be the best” trap. I often do my homework. This still leads me to purchase stuff that is a ridiculous waste of money to many people, don’t get me wrong. It’s just far from the amount I could have spent.

I was just discussing my old 1994 Alpine ski boots that were returned to regular service last year in the second half of my season with someone. Sure, I expected them to blow up at any moment but it turned out they were still good. I’m sure they were at the inflection point when I bought them- ridiculously expensive to some eyes, but far below the chi-chi level. And they held up. I used them far, far less than I had intended in the years immediately after purchase. So…a potential waste of money. But here we are decades later and I’ve been using them to great effect. Every ski day I use them pushes a $500 purchase down the road. This is what durability and quality gets you.

I’ve discussed how the Time of Covid had me back to riding all of my bikes, including my now 22 year old primary road bike and my 20 year old cyclocrosser. The former has been just fine for the club ride speed that I can manage and the latter for a handful of informal fun races. My bargain ten year old hardtail MTB still runs great. All solid choices on the acute performance and the durability scales. All items that at the time would have seemed like an extravagance….to some eyes.

My latest bike was also at the inflection point. Eye popping price to some eyes. But half of what the jewelry level top of the range costs within this particular use class. I think the bike is incredible. The money I saved by not going all the way to the top could be beter spent on replacing semi-durable items, riding kit, and the like. Tires. And it will take me a looooong time to add up to the differential. If I wanted to do that I’d have to throw in some really expensive add ons such as power meters or fancy wheels.

Or a whole ‘nother bicycle.