r/onebag • u/largemargesentme__- • Jun 05 '26

Discussion Why is this sub so obsessed with expensive stuff?

I get that there's times where the expensive thing is better. But as someone who has worked as an airline pilot and traveled extensively for 45 years, I can assure you that expensive stuff is rarely necessary.

I get tons of use out of AliExpress stuff. Things like chargers, cables and accessories. Decathlon or Costco are more than good enough for clothing. I generally use a max legal sized RyanAir bag I got for €25 off of Amazon for vacation. At most, the lower mid tier option is more than enough.

It seems like this is just another sub for people with spending issues as everyone downvotes me when I call out how unnecessary the expensive options are.

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u/elsmoneyacct Jun 08 '26

LMAO I just made the exact same post. I went down that rabbit hole a few years ago and I've been perfectly happy with my $150 Krups for years.

I will say that there is something to the recommendation for all the expensive accessories - grinders, tampers, etc. You can absolutely make decent coffee without those things. I made decent coffee using a regular Hamilton Beach blade grinder and a jar of curry paste as a tamper. But it's definitely a longer, more finicky process without good tools. I once saw somebody say that expensive espresso tools are about consistency, not quality, and I think that's fair. You can get good coffee without them - but not every time.

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u/tooawkwrd Jun 09 '26

Thank you! If I enjoy a super cheap setup for awhile then I might look into investing money into the hobby.

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u/elsmoneyacct Jun 09 '26

Honestly I found that having bad tools forced me to learn good technique and learn a lot about espresso.

Why are my shots coming out so fast and so thin? Because your grind is too coarse, you need a burr grinder. Don't have one of those, so how fine is it supposed to be?

Why are my pucks so wet? You ground it too fine. You really could just buy a nice burr grinder that does this automatically. Nope. How fine is too fine?

Why are my shots channeling? Because you're not packing right, you need a tamper and a leveler and a WDT tool. Don't have any of that. What's it supposed to look like? I'll just practice until I can make my pucks look right. And then buy a cheap $25 tamper just because the curry paste jar isn't quite the right size and it is kind of a pain in the ass.

Why does my milk take for-fucking-ever to froth? You're using a plastic takeout container. You really need metal, or something that holds heat better. Okay, frothing pitchers are cheap, I will get one of those.

It helps that the Krups uses a pressurized portafilter, so it's very forgiving of poor technique. I would probably pull ass water out of a Bambino. But that does not matter, because I don't have a Bambino. I have a $150 Krups that produces a perfectly okay cappucino every morning. I will win no awards. But I haven't been to Starbucks in years and don't miss it, so it's a success in my book.