Chinese stuff general/Everyday carry

Battery banks

Buying too cheap might result in very hot lithium housefires & most don't have anywhere near their advertised capacity. Stick to the one brand that is known to use great batteries and electronics:

Xiaomi

Tons of Xiaomi fakes are floating around. Either buy from the official mi store, ibuygou, banggood, dinodirect, fasttech, gearbest, dx etc... Aliexpress and Ebay are both marketplaces so your risk of getting fakes is much higher. Even though you will probably get a refund, it's still a PITA to deal with.

Sellers will often trick you by writing something like "Powerbank for Xiaomi" so it shows up in the search results even if it's not a genuine Xiaomi product. Don't just read the title and purchase a product on a whim. This is general advice for Chinese products, but sometimes seller will have a title mentioning "Original *insert brand name* product", but then will say that it's not the original product in the detailed info. Some Ebay sellers claim they have licensed Xiaomi OEM powerbanks but that's total horseshit. Those are fakes, plain and simple. Some even have sand in their "cells": https://youtu.be/Fn_lu-jEv9k?t=55s

Xiaomi powerbanks:

• 5000mAh slim version
• 5400mAh
• 10000mAh (about the size of the 5400mAh)
• 10400mAh (older and larger than the 10000mAh. This one technically has 400mAh more, but because the 10000mAh is more efficient it will actually charge devices for longer. The 10000mAh version is recommended over the older 10400.)
• 16000mAh
• 20000mAh

Bags

Bags & backpacks in general are very affordable from China. For camera use, the National Geographic & Lowepro bags in particular have great design according to /p/

• National Geographic
• Lowepro

Flashlights/Torches

Focus on Cree LEDs with a single chip, especially their Q5 (updated version note: The Q5 is a specific bin of the XP-E2 LED, so disregard what the old pastebin says) and XM-L2 series. They have long battery life / super strong output, respectively. Do not pay too much attention to usually bogus lumen ratings.

• More info on Cree LEDs
• Flashlight Guide
• Fake Cree LED awareness thread
• Budget light reviews

• SK68-type (many have fake Cree Q5 that are actually LatticeBright, don't bother finding genuine ones though)
• Convoy C8 & S2+ (Red / Blue variants on the latter have a nicer strap, but may cost extra vs gray)
• Eagle eye
• Nitecore
• Olight

Headphones/IEMs

AudioBudget has a huge list of IEMs with a detailed review of each.

• KZ-HDS1, ED3, ED9, DT3, EDR2, ATE/S. KZ in general makes great value IEMs.
• Superlux HD661, HD668B
• Takstar Hi2050, Pro80
• Xiaomi Pistons 2 & 3, Dual Drivers (The Xiaomi piston 3 youth edition are cheap, but they don't sound very good.)
• Rock Zircon

An anon compares various popular IEMs:

Zircons are the current meme, huge bass hump if you like that kind of thing, a little difficult to get a good seal with big ears but no real flaws.

Pistons are pretty good for a more balanced tone, still have a bit of a bass hump. It's an older meme.

KZ ATE S are great if you want good isolation + bass in an IEM that stays put very well due to the memory wire. "KZ ATE" is the same earphone but with an inline mic and no memory wire, I don't like this version as well.

I'm the anon that was originally shilling the ED4s, with more time with them I actually like the Zircons better for nigbass (Zircons have better clarity), but ED4s still have their place since they're $5 vs the $12 for the Zircons.

ED3 is also pretty good, slightly tighter, milder signature than the ED4.

Other people like the ED9 s but I found them harsh, sibiliant, and difficult to get a good seal on, as well as poor isolation. I've tried to get into them multiple times, but I just rip them out of my ears in disgust after 30 seconds.

You can find Piston 1 (copies?) for $0.99 which are surprisingly listenable (plastic, marked "Mi" on the back of each IEM). They're a little midsy and sound like shit if you A/B them with anything good on my list, but they're still a vast improvement over the typical pack-in buds that come with cheap mp3 players etc. I give them away to little cousins etc who I know won't appreciate or take care of "nicer" stuff.

Fucking garbage tier: KZ ED2, Fake Piston 2's.

Or to put it another way:

• Piston 3: flat-ish, tiny bass bump, moderate isolation
• Zircons: thicc African-American bass, small treble spike, moderate isolation
• KZ ATE-S: moderate bass, not much treble. "S" has memory wire and stays on well, good isolation with foam tips
• KZ ED9: flat-ish with large treble spike, low isolation

Frequency responses for all 4 can be found on audiobudget.

Zircons for African-American bass, ATE-S for jogging/gym, Piston 3 if you want a flat frequency response. At least one anon can't abide the icepick treble of the ED9.

Knives

Specific models are up to your own taste, but these brands are good:

• Enlan Bee
• Ganzo
• Sanrenmu

As always, ask around before making a purchase.

Pens

Fountain:

• Jinhao
• Baoer
• Hero