Sometimes I will use something and realize I’ve owned it forever. It’s a nice change in our throwaway reality. I think my personal record is a bicycle multi-tool I got for one of my first bikes, ~25 years ago. Still have it, still use it. When it comes to electronic devices I have a Panasonic mini Hi-Fi from ~2005. Never felt like changing it.
What’s your record?
Not daily but very regularly: zoom H1. Small handheld recorder that does 24bit 48khz wav. It can go about
8-10 hours on a single AA, has a USB mini port for running an external battery. Stereo out, xy condenser mics built in, line in for lavs and such.
I use it for recording speeches at rehearsal dinners for friends and family to surprise them with, collecting foley audio, plugging into boards to get a mixdown of a band playing, and more. I use it professionally as a backup audio recorder in my video work (it probably saves the day at least five or six times a year doing that). Hell, one time someone brought out a Red but no scratch mic not realizing the camera didn’t have one built-in. We plugged the H1 into the audio input and proceeded to shoot. Day saved.
it’s incredibly portable, surprisingly rugged, and it is an essential part of my tool kit and travels. I have had the same one since 2012 and a second one since 2016. It is probably the single most important piece of equipment I own, and is just so broadly useful that I can’t imagine not having it. Best $90 or so I ever spent.