Sometimes, you discover that someone manufactures a little piece of (non-computer) hardware that just perfectly solves a particular problem; plus, you can get for well less than $1. Today, I want to highlight one of my favorite examples of this type of discovery. Believe it or not, this is not an ad.
It started when I noticed Outlier, a clothing brand, began using a clever and convenient fastening hardware piece they called the “3Bar”. This piece of hardware allowed one to easily tighten something (drawstrings, mask straps, hat back, etc.) just by pulling. It would hold secure, and then could easily be released by pulling on the hardware itself. Furthermore, it had no moving parts, which makes it highly reliable.
Basically, anywhere you would normally be trying and untying a knot frequently, you could use this instead (assuming your string was an appropriate size, and the thing you were tightening wasn’t experiencing too much force pulling it open).
I had a lot of uses for this, so I did the research to try and figure out exactly what this thing was.
Turns out it can be directly purchased as a Dutchware Double Line Lock (which, frankly, is a far more informative name than “3Bar”) for just $0.21 each (at time of writing).
I’ve found these super handy (e.g., augment your swim trunks, joggers, sport shorts, etc.)