The Japanese tidiness guru Marie Kondo recommends that we surround ourselves only with things that “spark joy.”
Your columnist receives at least 25 objects for review each month and also buys quite a few himself. But in the obligatory final reckoning at the end of each year, only a handful of items truly cross the joy threshold.
Here, then, is Landing Gear’s 2024 “Best Of” selection. These are the products that I would be happy to make space at home for, and in many cases already have. Some of them have appeared in this column before—others haven’t, but I suspect are rather joyful, and would certainly make great gifts.
1.
FOR THE STREET PHOTOGRAPHER
I spent a blissful few days in Barcelona in February with the ever ambitious Fujifilm’s X100VI. Its 1950s looks, which helpfully make you appear inconspicuous when using it for its forte of street photography, belie functions that are wholly state-of-the-art. A beautiful camera that’s a delight to handle for $1,599.
2.
FOR THE HI-FI AFICIONADO
One possible reason not to spend $375,000 on these stellar M7 loudspeakers from California-based Magico is that you’ll need to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars more for amps and the rest to live up to their uncanny fidelity. With the right ancillary gear and the best recordings, you’ll honestly believe you’re at a live performance. On the other hand, you could justify purchasing them on the basis that the M7 is an affordable version of Magico’s $750,000 M9 speakers. It’s a bargain, right?
3.
FOR THE TRAVELER
I loved Sonos’s first-ever headphones, the Ace, so much that they’ve been my constant companion on every flight and train ride these past few months. They sound fantastic, are incredibly light and comfortable, and have a superb flat case that is ideal for traveling. Other reviewers have grumbled a lot about the Sonos Ace since, especially when it comes to the app (who cares?) and the case. Don’t be distracted—you will love them.
4.
FOR THE PHOTO NERD
If you love Leica photography—the singular sharpness and luminescence of the Leica look—but are disinclined to spend the necessary $50,000 or so on a Leica camera and a bunch of lenses, the company has a perfect cheat for you. For $69.99 a year, you can use the Leica LUX app, which convincingly simulates a Leica M camera and a whole range of lenses.
5.
FOR THE ASPIRING PILOT
These days, drones have a tricky reputation as rather creepy weapons of war. That’s a shame, because if you think of them as flying cameras rather than flying grenade-dropping machines, they are huge fun and capable of making Hollywood-level aerial movies and seriously impressive still photos. China’s DJI almost invented the modern flying camera drone, and its Avata 2, from $999, is a marvel of modern tech.
6.
FOR THE STUDENT OR MAKER OF LISTS
Norway’s reMarkable company invented the new generation of paper-like electronic jotter pads, and its latest model, the $579 Paper Pro, is a revelation because it’s bigger, has a backlight, and lets you write in nine colors. We mention this final feature, which reMarkable is pushing rather hard, last of all because the colors are a bit washed out. They’re still useful, though, and the Paper Pro is a thing of joy and utility.
7.
FOR THE SURVIVALIST
It wouldn’t be the holiday season without a few apocalyptic thoughts, so why not buy the doom-monger in your life these gold and silver Prepper Bars, which are made in the U.S. and approved for inclusion in individual retirement accounts to diversify your portfolio. Wallet-size, they are designed like a Hershey’s bar, composed of segments that you can break off into smaller bits for emergency purchases when the economic system collapses. Silver is $139; gold, $7,100. Full disclosure: Landing Gear asked one of the world’s leading crypto-currency gurus if he would regard gold and silver as negotiable currency for when even Bitcoin doesn’t work. “How would people know it was gold or silver?” he said. “The best emergency currency would be chickens.”
8.
FOR THE ROAD RAT
Does your old Porsche Targa need rejuvenating? A lot of the world’s Targas, as well as other 911s, are getting a bit creaky in their old age. The oldest models are more than 60 years old. A British company independent of Porsche, Theon, will restore your worn-out Targa—it has already had a couple shipped from the U.S.—to considerably better than new. For around $565,000 (plus shipping and taxes) you get an effectively brand-new, gasoline-powered, Theon-branded Targa. If you don’t have a spare vintage Porsche, they will source a “donor car.”
9.
FOR THE AUDIOPHILE
If you’re serious about sound, you wouldn’t dream of streaming music directly into expensive headphones without wiring a sophisticated D.A.C. (digital-to-analog converter) and amplifiers into the headphone input. Britain’s iFi now has a unit that will do all that’s needed to pep up your music wirelessly using Lossless Bluetooth. Their $299 Zen Blu V3 brings audiophile quality to wireless listening.
10.
FOR THE PET LOVER
Bob, the Landing Gear cat, has been the appreciative recipient these past few weeks of a luxury viewing platform bolted six feet up a blank wall, from where she (yes, she’s called Bob—it’s complicated) can survey both her outside and inside worlds. Cat’s Atelier, a Polish company, makes a range, from $193.
11.
FOR THE STUDIO CREATURE
The world is certainly not short on new headphones, but these, designed and made in France by the peerless Focal, are professional-level, wired cans for a not-terrifying price. The Focal Lensys headphones are $699 and worth every cent, so long as you’re not just plugging them into your phone, which wouldn’t give them a chance to show themselves off.
12.
FOR DAD (BECAUSE WHO ELSE!?)
I got this German-made rechargeable mini chain saw, the Stihl GTA26, last winter and enjoy using it so much that it’s almost a disappointment when there’s nothing to cut down. Please use it carefully, though. It looks rather cute but is powerful enough to go through branches more than an inch thick like they’re softened butter.
13.
FOR THE GYM BUFF
An exercise bike doesn’t need to be a utilitarian lump of metal, nor must it be as complicated and multi-featured as a Peloton. The $2,999 German-built Nohrd Bike V2 is made from a single piece of wood and would not look out of place in even the most designed living room. It has a minimum of functions, which comes as quite a relief because it leaves you to pedal away while watching television, listening to music, and so forth.
14.
FOR THE ANALOG LOVER
Perhaps I nerdishly return to shortwave radios a little too often in this column, but I couldn’t help including this exceptionally sophisticated, tiny communications receiver from China. The ATS-20 is available on Amazon under a lot of different names and at several different prices, but none higher than $33.85. You can pay hundreds, even thousands, for a radio with similar features. If you’re feeling flush and really into a retro shortwave-radio vibe, maybe splash out as much as $159 on a high-end version.
Landing Gear wishes readers much joy—and many gadgets—for the holiday season.
Based in London and New York, AIR MAIL’s tech columnist, Jonathan Margolis, spent more than two decades as a technology writer at the Financial Times. He is also the author of A Brief History of Tomorrow, a book on the history of futurology
