There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
A very wise person once told me that you should spend the money to get the best quality merchandise for the following three things that touch the ground (or floor): (1) tires for your vehicle - Do your research and purchase the best you can afford, based upon what is rated for your vehicle. (2) your bed - You spend a great deal of time in bed. Take care of your body and give it proper support so that you are rested and refreshed. (3) your shoes - Your feet need proper support in order to provide proper alignment for your body. Throw that alignment out of whack and you'll feel it in your knees, back, or elsewhere in your body. I extended her wisdom on #3 to include not just shoes, but the socks as well. In the past I have bought cheap and not-so-cheap socks. Sweating in cotton socks while on your feet all day on a concrete factory floor or hiking in the woods can yield achy feet with blisters, athlete's foot, and worse.
Again, I'm serious. I do not work for Massdrop or Darn Tough, nor do I have any reason or motive other than to share my experience and thoughts. I ordered 2 pairs of hiking boot DT socks from Massdrop last May for $29.99. Yeah, $15 for a pair of socks is a tidy sum of money. These socks have been worth every penny.
Other people in my hiking club are sold on merino wool socks, as well. Smartwool and Darn Tough are the 2 most popular brands.
All of my socks are Darn Tough, with the exception of some smartwool socks I still have(like $20/pair) that haven't shit out on me yet. I will never have to buy socks again for my entire life because they are under lifetime warranty.
I was also skeptical at first, but I did the research, and I bought a pair to test them out. After that I started replacing all my socks with DTS.